Blue Angel

by V-Pony

Prologue-Pt 11: For the First Time in a Long Time

Twilight, Applejack, and Pinkie’s hooves’ clattering changed to a soft thumping as they left the cobblestones of Ponyville proper and turned onto the short dirt path that led to The Library tree. The whole way there, Twilight’s eyes scanned the early evening skies high above the tree, on the lookout for any flying blue objects, but so far, they spotted nothing.

“Twi, Ah really think ya’ll are overreactin’ here,” Applejack stated, though she also kept an eye to the sky, wary of the possibility of Dash leading Volare on a flight he couldn’t handle. Her eyes then met Twilight’s angry purple ones as her friend shot a glare over her shoulder. “A-Ah mean, Ah don’t see’em up there either, do you, Pinkie?”

“Nuffin but muffin to report, AJ,” the pink pony saluted and nearly tripped on a rut in the road, barely catching her balance in time to save her peaches from flying into the air. “Phew, that was a close one,” she squeaked and caught up to her friends. She continued to hop along beside them as they crested the low rise that hid the main body of the tree from the sight of the path.

“See? You silly filly,” Pinkie giggled as she hopped and nodded at the intact Library. “They didn’t burn it down or anything! Nothing bad happened at all, and”- but she stopped short as she took a closer look at the place. “Uh-oh…”

“…Nothin’ bad unless ya’ll count tha broken window an’ snapped branches on the second floor, sugarcube,” Applejack nodded with worry at the shattered glass portal in question. All over the ground below it were scattered twigs among the shards twinkling in the setting sunlight. Even from this distance, they could all see the distinctive red tinge of blood splashed on the glass pieces as well as the broken dark blue feathers that littered the ground and did absolutely nothing to ease their skyrocketing fears over what had just taken place.

“Oh no…no no no no no!!” Twilight cried as she dropped the sack of flour beside the path. The basket of eggs fell to the ground forgotten, spattering yellow yolk all over the grass as she raced at top speed to the front door of the tree, Applejack and Pinkie Pie right on her hooves. She nearly sent Spike flying as she yanked the door open with her magic as he’d been rushing out the door himself at just that same moment. “Spike, Spike, what in Celestia's mane happened?!”

The baby dragon, whose claw was still attached firmly to the doorknob, looked up woozily and Twilight gaped; his face was spattered with blood droplets, but they weren’t his. “Volare…Dash…hurry, Twilight,” he managed to gasp, his eyes bulging in fear and shock.

“Rainbow Dash, what did you do?!” She shouted as the three ponies stormed into the tree.

“Alright flyboy, I think you’ve already got the basics down, right?” Rainbow Dash asked as she trotted in place for a moment, stretching her wings to their fullest and giving them a few strong flaps to get the blood flowing through them. Even that short burst was enough to ruffle Volare’s mane from several yards away.
Damn, her wings are strong.

“As far as I can tell, yep,” Volare replied, imitating Dash and flapping his own wings, giving his neck a few cracks as he loosened it.

“Heh, nice one,” Dash grinned and cracked her own neck, more loudly of course and bringing a chuckle from Volare.

“Are you intent on competing in everything, Dashie?” He asked as he stretched his legs and hopped up and down a few times before settling back down.

“I try,” Dash laughed and hopped just a little bit higher than Volare, giving him that same competitive grin the whole while. “But for now, we’re not gonna push it too hard; don’t wanna mess up like last time.”

“That’s very considerate, thanks Dashie.”

“No problem; what kind of teacher would I be if I got my student hurt during his first real lesson? Now come on!” She spread her wings wide and Volare did the same. “Just do as I do, and we’ll get ya through this in one piece!”

She trotted forward, Volare just off her left wingtip and slightly behind her. As she gained speed, she flapped her wings, obviously going slower than usual so her student could keep up. But she was a bit surprised when Volare pulled even with her as he began to break into a gallop, his own wings fluttering slightly. “Hmph, going a little too slow for ya, I take it?”

“Maybe a little,” he shot her a cheeky grin before she nodded and took off and gained altitude at a moderate pace, Volare mirroring her all the way. As they reached about 50 feet, she leveled off and looked back over her wing to see Volare was still with her, his legs tucked into his body. Good, he was learning.

“Ok, we’re gonna take this nice and easy this time. Stay at my altitude, and we’re gonna do some basic maneuvers,” she called out over the wind that whistled through their fur at even this relatively slow rate of speed. “Not that I don’t think you can do it, but you’re not ready for the advanced stuff yet!”

“Oho, is that a challenge?”

“It could be!” she grinned and then turned her attention to the front. “But not right now! Stay on my wing, flyboy!”

“Yes ma’am!” Volare gave a little salute with his hoof and followed her lead as she banked around the southwest side of Ponyville. After a few minutes of easy cruising, they found themselves flying over a vast orchard of apple trees with a large red farmhouse at the northern end of it all; Sweet Apple Acres. The setting sunlight glinting off scores of ripe fruit and giving the whole orchard a golden-red glow gave Volare pause for a moment. “Hey Dashie?”

“Yep, what’s up, Volare?”

“I was just wondering: it was just barely spring on Earth when I came here…but I’m seeing ripe apples down there, which means it must be”-

“It’s the last week of August, Volare, the 25th, in fact; and we’re just about ready for harvest season again,” Dash completed his thoughts. “Hee-hee, you know, if you don’t get the hang of flying too soon, at least you can take part in the Running of the Leaves in a few weeks,” she chuckled until Volare swiped a wing at her, which caused him to loose altitude and nearly knock the weathervane off of a small farm building they passed over. “Careful there, featherhead!”

Volare regained his composure with an awkward grin and rose back to Dash before realizing that he wasn’t supposed to know what the Running of the Leaves was.Gotta remember this stuff!
“Ok, both you and Twilight have talked about this Running of the Leaves thing; what is it exactly?”

“You don’t know what it-oh derp, you’re new here,” Dash remembered quickly as she banked back over the orchard again. “The Running of the Leaves is an old Ponyville tradition that takes place during the fall. Groups of ponies gather for a hoofrace in numbers so huge that it shakes the whole ground when they run!” Dash threw her hooves up to accentuate the fact. “So much so that it knocks all the leaves off the trees along the race path, helping to bring in the fall season.”

“So the leaves wouldn’t fall off the trees by themselves eventually?” Volare asked innocently, but was rounded on by Dash, in mid-air no less! She gave him a stern look as she flew backwards on her back, front hooves crossed in consternation.

“As far as I’ve seen, they don’t! Ugh, I know you’re new here, but lemme lay a few things out for ya,” she flipped back over and gestured towards the town below and to their right. “Ponyville was founded by the Earth Ponies, specifically by AJ’s family way, way, way back when. With the help of the pegasi and the Unicorns (but mostly the pegasi), the weather is controlled to allow the crops to grow and feed the town and keep business and ponies flowing through the place. I for example, am one of the weather ponies that keep things under control.” She gained a little altitude and Volare followed her higher into the western sky.

“As for your question on whether the seasons take care of themselves here…for the most part, I suppose they eventually would, but the Running of the Leaves helps clear the trees of their leaves faster and I think it gives the ground good compost for next year…or something like that, so AJ says,” Dash said thoughtfully. “But at the very least, keeping the weather on a predictable schedule helps things run a lot more smoothly for sure around here, plus The Running is good competition.”

“Wow, that’s impressive, Dash,” Volare said with no small amount of awe; he had never thought too deeply about the weather system in the show, but now that he thought about it…it was a fairly complicated process to keep things all in mostly neat balance like that. “Must be a heck of a job.”

“Been doin’ it for years, dude,” Dash cracked a grin and polished her hoof on her chest for a moment. “Just takes some practice, but I’ll bet you’ll get the hang of it too some day.”

“You really think so,” his face brightened. True, he’d only been there a day at the most, so this was really the first time the thought of doing something worthwhile here passed through his mind; up until now, it had just been about wrapping his head around everything that had transpired! But she made it sound so inviting…like he could have a bigger purpose here besides just being the local freak.

“I hate to sound cheesy, but the sky’s the limit, Volare!” Dash gained a little more altitude before doing a quick loop and diving back down at the male, who barely had time to duck before she buzzed just over his mane.

“Whoa, what the heck Dash?! I thought we were gonna take it slow this time,” Volare cried as Dash settled down and matched his altitude.

“Sorry flyboy, just got some energy I need to let off! Ok, history lesson is over!” She did a quick flat roll and grinned mischievously. “Betcha can’t do that without crashing!”

“Done and done,” Volare replied and performed the roll horizontally over her, ending up on her right wingtip. “I was doing that when Twilight was showing me how to fly, Dashie.”

“Oh yeah? You wanna take things up a notch or two, then,” she tossed her mane and dexterously flexed her wingtip feathers as if they were fingertips.

“I think I can handle a notch,” he replied with a determined look. He wasn’t quite as comfortable in his flying abilities as he would have liked to have been at the moment, but the only way to get better was to try, right?

“Alrighty then, follow me!” Dash banked back around the town and went into a shallow climb, heading towards the layer of fluffy white clouds above the orchard. “See if ya can beat me to those clouds, Volare!”

Of course he didn’t, but he still managed to meet her at the relatively low cloud ceiling at about 3000 feet. By following Rainbow Dash’s wing movements, he was able to hover somewhat roughly, though it quickly made his wing joints ach a bit. “Breathe deep when you hover, it makes things easier, flyboy; for me anyway.” But instead of focusing on Dash in front of him, she soon caught his eyes roving the ground below, and not in a way that suggested he was enjoying the view. “On the lookout for egghead and friends, Volare?”

“Hrm? Oh, no-well yes, kinda,” he stumbled over his own words, surprised at Dash’s intuition.

“I thought you said you weren’t worried about her,” she narrowed her eyes.

“It’s not that…I just don’t want her to see us up here and disappoint her or anything.”

“What, you afraid she’ll be mad cuz we’re doing a little flying without her babysitting us? We’re across town, and not where she expects us to be. Or are ya worried about what she’ll think about us up here…all alone…just you and me and the sky?” She fluttered her eyelashes and giggled at Volare’s momentarily stunned expression.

“N-no, none of that, Dash!” Volare hovered backwards a bit and regained his composure somewhat, crossing his forelegs in front of him defensively and avoiding her gaze. “It’s not like that at all. It just can’t be…”

“Whatcha mean by that, flyboy?” Dash asked, a concerned look on her face.

“I mean…I am bothered a bit by us being alone like this, but not really because I care what others think…it’s just…gah, like I said, I’m pathetic; I can’t say it!” He flapped his wings and flew up into the clouds, breaking through the other side after a few moments of flying through fluff. It was peaceful above the cloud cover, and he was greeted with the sight of the setting Equestrian sun blazing in all its glory in the West, backlighting the lumpy cloud tops and making it seem almost like another planet up here; no sound but the whistling wind accompanied him.

But the serenity of the scene was soon broken as a rainbow-maned head popped out of the clouds with a curious look on her face. “I thought I told you to forget about what I said earlier, Volare. You’re not pathetic.” She leaned her chin on her hooves as the male Pegasus turned to face her.

“In this regard, I think I am, Dash. I’m….look inside, I’m still human, and-” he started and stopped for a moment and forced himself to swallow the lump in his dry throat. “Even if what you say is only as a joke, the guy part of me appreciates the attention and wants to think it’s real…but then another part of me is disgusted with me wanting to be with someone of a different species,” he sighed. “Common sense says I should hate myself for feeling this way, but then on the same token, I dunno why I feel conflicted…you…me…we’re too different for that to even exist as anything more than just a joke, and so I’m torn three ways. Gah, now I’m just rambling and not making any sense, huh?”

“No, I think I kinda get it,” Dash pulled herself up and hovered closer, the teasing look replaced by a sincere expression. “You’re still too human mentally for you to accept my little pranks as just pranks. They make you uncomfortable because they’re meant to tease you…but you’re not comfy being teased by a female of a different species like that; even though you’re now of that same species.”

“And yet here you are continuing to do it,” Volare frowned.

“I know, I know…it’s just my nature to mess with ponies that way sometimes, especially the stallions. I think it’s cuz I get a weird little sense of control when I make’em weak in the knees or something, I dunno,” Rainbow Dash look a bit flustered herself, as if even she was having trouble telling somepony this. Not like she'd open up that soon to him anyway...or ever. Besides, what would he think of her if he knew the real reason why?

“So what you’re saying is, you like to flirt with the guys cuz it makes you feel empowered,” Volare said with look of slight revulsion. “That’s pretty cold, Dashie.”

“Well, when ya put it that way, flyboy!” She scowled for a moment, but then her face softened just as quickly. “I just like pranking ponies in the way that gets to them the most, and with stallions, that’s usually the best way, that’s all.”

“Ah…I see now…” he nodded a bit. “At least you’re an efficient bitch.”

“Hey, that’s not fair!” Dash fumed, making Volare crack up.

“I’m merely stating the obvious only cuz it gets your goat the best, Dashie,” he said mockingly.

“Very funny, very funny, but I’m onto your little games, flyboy,” Dash narrowed her eyes. “So what is it, huh? You uncomfortable with me teasing you or not?”

“Well, if I say yes, then you’ll know my weakness and so you’ll keep doing it,” he tilted his head a bit, a smirk growing on his face. “But then if I do say no, it doesn’t bother me, then you might take that as an invitation to come onto me, and then the human part of me would make me kill myself for not dissuading a different species from feelings I shouldn’t return.”

“But you are a pony yourself, Volare! Don’t be such a damned bigot!” She angrily kicked a cloud, sending wisps of fluff flying everywhere, her magenta eyes burning in frustration.

“So is that an admission of your attraction to me, dear ol Rainbow Dash?” Volare chuckled; it felt good to have found a weakness of hers in turning the tables on the self-proclaimed greatest prankster in Ponyville. “Too bad I’ll have to be a gentleman about it and respectfully decline due to mutual differences. I hope this doesn’t affect our professional relationship.” He punctuated that last remark by sticking out his tongue at her.

“Oh you are good, Volare,” her statement caught him by surprise; he’d been expecting her to tell him to knock it off, but she wasn’t about to admit defeat that way. “But you’ve still got a lot to learn.” She pawed a tuft of cloud up into the air and grinned fiercely before flaring her wings and scattering the clouds beneath them, leaving an empty hole leading back down to Ponyville. He’d started the competitive fires in her belly, and student or not, she felt it was time to put his smart mouth in its place. “Try and keep up…unless you’re chicken.”

And with that, she dove straight down through the clouds, leaving Volare alone, but without any intention of following her when she was like this. “BAWK BAWK BAWK BAWK,” he heard her teasing him from below the cloud cover.

“Not gonna work, Dashie!” He shouted down. Instead, he concentrated on hovering down through the hole in the cloud cover without wobbling, a feat he finally achieved just as he exited the clouds. He looked down over Ponyville as evening approached, deciding it was one of the nicest looking places he’d ever seen at this time of the day.
Hmm…maybe…maybe it could be-.

“BANZAI!” a scream met his ear and he looked down in time to see Dash barreling upwards at him. Without the time to move, he simply braced himself, hoping the fluff of the clouds would lessen the impact of the rainbow Pegasus…but nothing happened! He cracked open an eye to see Dash hovering inches from his own face, obviously trying to intimidate him. But he glared right back at her just as fiercely, not giving an inch. And it was then that Dash did something completely unexpected.

She bumped her muzzle right up against his, relishing the surprise on his face as she growled in a voice that he didn’t entirely disapprove of. “Well, are you a Pegasus stallion or a weak little flightless human?” A familiar scent washed over him and his eyes widened as he inhaled sharply: fresh rain.

Why was that familiar?!

“Come and get me, flyboy!” Dash whirled in midair, flicking her tail teasingly across his face before diving down again. Any inhibitions he might have had blew to pieces and flew away on the wind as a combination of his male and competitive instincts took over.

Damn me to hell…
He tucked his wings in close to his body and dove after her. He grinned against the wind assaulting his eyes as he got closer and closer to the rainbow Pegasus. In flat flight or in a climb, she beat him through sheer wing strength; but in a gravity dive, he seemed to have the advantage; an advantage she didn’t realize until she felt a tap on her cutie mark. She looked back to see Volare grinning widely at her.
“Going my way, Dashie?”

“Nope!” Dash growled and suddenly changed direction to a flatter angle before shooting up into the air at a near 45 degree angle, causing Volare to overshoot her badly. She laughed as he flared his wings like the air brakes of a jet, finally coming to a halt in midair, albeit with a fair amount of effort; his wingjoints screamed from the stress of the stop. She slowed and hovered as he looked around for a moment before spotting the waning sunlight glinting off her colorful mane.

“Can’t hide from me, Rainbow Dash,” Volare shouted as he drew his wings up and beat the air furiously, gaining altitude at what he thought was a rapid pace, but was nothing for the Fastest Flyer in Equestria. Before he’d even reached her, she shot off straight up again, bursting through the cloud cover and disappearing on the other side, leaving a dusk-colored hole in the fluff. For a moment, a shred of sense tried to force its way into Volare’s mind, telling him this was a stupid idea.
For a moment…

Volare smashed through the clouds and shot out on the other side, looking around for his rainbow-maned companion before he heard a sharp whistle from above him. He looked up to see Dash flying even higher, waving a hoof at him the whole while. “Gimme a break, Dash!” he bellowed before rising to meet her as quickly as his aching wings could take him. After nearly a full painful minute, a winded Volare finally rose to Dash’s altitude, his tongue hanging from his mouth as he gasped for breath in the thin atmosphere.

“What’s the matter flyboy? A little outta shape?” Dash breathed deeply and laughed out loud, taking full advantage of her natural pegasi lungpower.

“Heh, well as much as I’d like to make an excuse about me being new at this,” Volare huffed and puffed. “I’m not one to give up so easily. Besides, you’ve got an unfair advantage that’ll either take me years to learn, or not at all.”

“Oh, and what exactly is that?”

“Piqued your curiosity, eh Dashie?” Volare tried to pull another lungful of air to chuckle, but merely succeeded in making a raspy sound. Better get back below the cloud cover…starting to feel dizzy… “Jeez…air’s thin up here…but I know how to take that advantage away from you!”

“Wait, what?!” Dash cried as he dove back down towards the clouds at top speed. “How exactly do you plan on doing that by running away? Get back here, Volare!” She burst through the fluff and quickly found the cloud contrail he was trailing behind himself as he went faster and faster.

“This…is…awesome!!!” Volare cried through slitted eyes, his backlegs and wings tucked against his body and his forelegs extended in front as he fell like a dart towards the ground far below. As he fell, he let his mind wander just a little bit, his eyes trailing along the growing fields and the town of Ponvyville off to his right as he plummeted. His eyes slowly shut as he concentrated on the wind blowing across the fur on his face and along his mane, the icy blasts numbing his cheeks in a bizarrely joyful manner. He’d never experienced such a rush in the warmth and comfort of a jet cockpit!
This was different…this was dangerous…this was truly flying!!!

Volare, pull up!! His mind seemed screamed suddenly, but he shook his head. No way, I’m gonna beat Dash at something-just watch me!

“Volare open your eyes, you feathering idiot!!!” a voice shouted from his left, causing his eyes to snap open. His vision finally focused in time to realize that he was a lot closer to the ground than he’d thought! “Flyboy, get a grip! Open your wings!! Break, break, break!!”
Lieutenant Cadence?! But how-?

The male Pegasus chanced a glance to his left to instead see Rainbow Dash neck and neck with him, a look between fear and anger plastered across her face, but it was hard to tell with the amount of wind buffeting them as they dove. He obediently flared his wings, trying to slow his descent as well as he could. The wind felt like it was going to tear his wings off with the effort, but it wasn’t going to be enough!! The vast orchard of Sweet Apple Acres spread out before him, glistening red like a pool of blood in the last light of the sun; a crimson portal he was being pulled inexorably towards, and through which there was no return.

Dash’s shouts faded away as things slowed down yet again. Against his will, Volare’s mind flashed back to the jet crash…just like this…was it really only yesterday? It seemed so far in the past…in a different time and place...Open that throttle up…pull the hell up! Use your instincts! Get outta there!!!

Volare forced his pain-shrieking wings open again and gritted his teeth with the effort. Come on, come on, come on, please!!!! Volare’s eyes opened up a small slit to see that his descent had hardly slowed, that he was a mere seconds from breaking to pieces in one of the thousands of apple trees rising up to meet up. He was so close he swore he could see the individual apples…and knew he’d never get to sample them…
He shut his eyes tightly and did the only thing he could do…he waited for the end.

I’m sorry guys…sorry Dash…I screwed up…again...

“Not…gonna…let you go that damn easy, Volare!!!” Dash’s angry shout broke through the darkness and self-pity of his thoughts as she pounded her wings through the air and gained the final precious few inches on her falling friend. “Keep your damn wings open and point your bucking legs!!!” He did as she ordered and soon felt an excruciatingly sharp pain in his tail. He looked back to see that Dash had grabbed it in her teeth and was beating her wings in a furious effort to slow him down and turn his nose above vertical. There was a look of fierce determination on her face that he’d never imagined possible, and her magenta eyes glared daggers at him.

He felt the joints where his wings attached to his ribcage began to tear away, and he slackened them slightly until Dash bit down on his tail. Hard. “KEEP YOUR WINGS OPEN, DAMMIT!!!” Dash growled past the tail clamped in her jaws, perspiration being whipped off her face by the wind as she felt her friend slowing down, but it…just…wasn’t…enough!

“RAAAAGH COME ON!!!” Her frustrated shout ran along Volare’s spine as she grabbed his back legs with her hooves and pulled them towards herself with all her might. That did it! Volare’s nose finally tipped up and his wings stopped making that dreadful ripping noise as they leveled his flight out, Dash’s hooves painfully clipping the top branch of an apple tree and scattering fruit everywhere as they rocketed over the edge of the orchard and back towards the northeast; the impact ripped a portion of Volare’s tail out, leaving her spitting black and yellow fur as his momentum carried him further away.

“Slow it up, flyboy!! Slow it up!!!” Dash cried as she tried to catch up to him, but she had worn herself out from trying to stop him from smacking into the ground; it was all she could do to stay within 20 yards of him as he glided along not 10 feet above the ground, his wings locked in place through the sheer stress placed on the joints. Even his legs had locked up, keeping him from pointing his nose.

“I can’t!! I can’t move my wings, they’re stuck, Dash!!!” He managed to waggle his wings up and down slightly, causing him to pitch and roll a bit, but that was it. He looked up in a panic to see where he could possibly land, but the only thing that loomed before them was the edge of Ponvyville…and The Golden Oak Library. The great tree rose up above him like some sort of nightmarish monolith, windows all aglow with yellow light and branches curled out to greet him like demonic claws in the growing darkness. “Oh shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!!!!”

Dash beat the air in a fury, reaching out to grab him by what was left of his tail, but she had no choice but to bank away from the great tree as Volare crashed into it with a sickening crunch. “Volare…aw no!!” Dash circled back around to see that somehow, someway, Volare hadn’t smashed into the tree trunk itself, but had instead torn off a branch and then crashed right through one of the large windows lining the parapet that circled the inside of the tree and sending flying glass everywhere. From the startled cries coming from inside, Spike was already on the scene.

“Volare! Flyboy! Jeez, are you alright?!” Dash shot through the broken window and nearly collided with Spike; the small dragon had apparently been standing on the parapet when Volare invited himself in, barely missing him as he crashed though the wooden railing that lined the walkway, tumbled through the kitchen doorway, and came to a final violent crash against the kitchen wall, knocking all sorts of pots and pans from their hooks in the process.

“Holy Celestia, what the heck is going on, Dash?!” Spike waved his claws. But Dash was hardly paying attention. Her dilated eyes were instead riveted on the short dragon’s head. “What…is there something on my face?”

Dash nodded, unable to speak, though her lower lip had begun to quiver a bit.

“Very funny, Dash, very”- Spike halted in mid-sentence as he wiped a claw across and looked at it before gasping in shock.
It was smeared with blood. “Wha-huh-oh jeez, is it mine?!” Spike felt himself with his claws, but he wasn’t cut anywhere nor was he missing any digits. “But…who’s…” He looked past Dash to the shattered window, where more of the crimson liquid was spattered and dripped from the jagged broken glass. Along with the blood, numerous dark blue feathers, broken and bent, were jammed between the window frame and the glass, and scattered all over the parapet. A few smaller ones even drifted down from above them, so great had the impact been.

“No…no…no…” Dash managed to whisper as her vision followed the blood drops and feathers from the window…over the shattered railing…along the floor…and finally through the kitchen doorway. A low moan greeted her ears as she slowly made her way down towards the first floor. She stepped in a few drops of blood, and the warm liquid made her recoil at the touch. What have you done to yourself…no…what have I done to you? “F-flyboy,” she managed to say as she poked her head around the kitchen doorway and promptly froze.

“Ugh…Dashie?” Volare wheezed at the sight of his friend in the doorway. He leaned his neck up, toppling the cooking pot that had fallen on his head off with a clatter. “W-we’re not dead are we…agh,” he winced at the pain tearing through his right ribcage. Dead men, er ponies don’t feel pain… “Heh…guess not…well,” he tried to stand but only managed to lean his upper body up. “How much did this little fiasco help my rugged good looks?” He tried to force a laugh but only managed to cough violently for a few moments.

“Oh…m-my…gosh…V-Volare,” Dash's voice cracked as she took soft steps at each word, her face absolutely distraught. It was the look that most humans wore behind their hands, but as she didn’t have those, she wore the look with such horror that it scared Volare a bit.

“Dashie? Agh, oh shit…” the male grunted and fell back to floor, flopping in something wet. “What the…” Something warm and wet…
He looked down, and even in the dim light of the kitchen, he could see the dark pool slowly spreading out from his right side. It felt like the pain was coming from the base of his wing, but he couldn’t see enough of it to know for sure. Weird…my left wing hurts like hell from crashing through that window, but my right wing…it doesn’t hurt at all… He jerked back up and looked at Dash with fearful eyes, but was met only with a look of silent horror.
“D-Dashie….Dash please say something, you’re scaring me!!”

It was at that moment that he realized that she wasn’t looking at him but slightly past him. He craned his neck back around and beheld an absolutely surreal sight: his wing…his frickin wing…was torn completely off and laying halfway across the kitchen and twitching slightly, blood slowly seeping out of it and puddling on the floor. It must have been damaged in the dive and then the crash…and when he rolled into the kitchen…that must have done the rest…he was glad he couldn’t turn his head far enough to see where there was undoubtedly a bloody wing stump poking from his ribs.

“Y-you gotta be kidding me…” Volare gurgled in shock. He began to shake violently as Dash fell to her knees and gently wrapped her hooves around him. He felt something small, cold, and wet drip onto his shoulder as she buried her head in his neck, unable to look him in the eye. “What…what am I”-

“Shh, shhh, it’s ok, Volare,” Dash hugged him closely as he tried to look around at his severed wing. But she grabbed him around the back of his head and pulled his face around, finally meeting his eyes with her own. “Don’t look…d-don’t look, flyboy.”

“Dash, i-is he ok?” Spike asked from the doorway. He was trying to play it cool and tough, but he was still only a baby dragon, and she could tell he was close to breaking down himself.

“Yeah, he’s alive Spike,” Rainbow nodded her head grimly. “But he’s really hurt.”

Spike then clicked the kitchen light on and saw the blood all over the floor and Volare’s pained expression. The small dragon covered his mouth with his claws and uttered a very uncool squeak. “Jeez, I-what do I do Dash?! What do I do?!”

“I don’t know, Spike,” Dash ran her hooves over what remained of Volare’s wing, causing him to wince and cry out as her hoof came away bloody. She looked back at him to see his face growing pale and his body cooling from the lack of blood. She came within milliseconds of panicking right then and there, but she mentally slapped herself. She had to be strong for Volare right now! “We’ve gotta stop the bleeding!”

“R-right, I’ll get a towel!”

“And a blanket-we gotta keep him warm, Spike!”

“Right on it,” he nodded and ran for the bathroom, leaving the two pegasi alone for a moment.

“Oh Volare…why’d you have to do it? Why’d you push yourself to this,” Dash muttered as she brushed his mane out of his face, revealing a look of shame before he closed his eyes against the bright kitchen light; it hurt to look at it.

“B-because Dashie,” he mumbled through his battered mouth, cut up by the window glass. “Because I didn’t wanna look weak in front of you.”

Dash’s heart skipped a beat and she stared at him for a long moment.
Did he just say…what I think he just said?
…he did.
Not now!
…yes now, Dash. You were right about him.
How was I right?!
…strange to find somepony who shares the same fears as you, huh?
Shut up!
“Volare, I”- she began to apologize, but he shook his head once.

“It’s not your fault Dashie…I can’t blame you…I was stupid and I screwed up,” he opened his eyes and gave her a painful smile as a tear leaked from his eye.

But it wasn't you that screwed up, Volare. It was me...again... Dash wanted so badly to tell him...but...she just couldn't, not even now. Damn pride! Dammit, dammit, dammit!!!

“But then y-you saved me yet again…if anything, I should be thanking you. For everything. Heh, it’s getting blurry,” he blinked twice and shut his eyes again.

“Don’t lose focus, flyboy,” Dash grabbed his hoof in hers and squeezed. “Stay awake! Uh um…you said I have an advantage over you, when we were up there above the clouds; what did you mean?” She asked, trying to keep his mind occupied and active.

“Oh that, heh…just a little theory Twilight and I came up with,” he chuckled and coughed. “Something about how ultra-athletic pegasi have over-developed lungs and can function better at…ugh, you don’t wanna hear me ramble do you,” he cracked an eye to see her response.

“Keep going, Volare,” she rubbed her face against his hoof and gave him a comforting smile. “I don't wanna hear you stop.”

“Only cuz it’s about you, I’ll bet,” he managed to chuckle.

“Hey, watch it,” she growled softly.

“Gonna kick me when I’m down, Dashie,” he coughed and laughed again before settling down.

“Maybe later, flyboy,” Dash squeezed his hoof again. “Please...keep going.”

“Alright, alright, jeez can’t let a guy get any shuteye, even when he’s been through a horrific accident. Do I seem giddy to you, because I think I might be, heh-heh-heh,” he caught her slightly stern look and got his thoughts back in order as Spike returned with a towel and a few blankets, which he handed to the rainbow Pegasus with a very worried look.
“Jeez, sorry I’m bleeding all over your floor, Spike. I’ll make it up to ya one of these days, promise. You like cake? I'll have Pinkie bake ya one or something."

“Sounds good, Volare,” Spike forced a smile and nodded, biting his lip to keep from losing it. True he was a pain in his scales, but he didn't want to see him dead!

“Spike I need you to go get help,” Rainbow Dash instructed him as she wrapped Volare’s bleeding wingstump as carefully as she could, still managing to make him cry out loudly in pain. “I can’t stop the bleeding; I dunno how. Go find Twilight…hopefully she’ll know what to do.”

“You got it,” Spike said and patted Volare’s shoulder. “You hang in there, dude. I’ll be back as soon as I can!” As he skittered out of the kitchen, Dash turned back to the stallion, whose eyes had started to flutter a bit.

“Stay with me, Volare! What’s my advantage over you? Focus,” she said gently as she wrapped the blankets around him and herself.

“It’s..it’s…your lungs get more oxygen than other pegasi…also explains why you sleep a lot when you’re near the ground…too…much…oxygen,” he snuggled closer to her. “You’re nice and warm Dash…mind if I catch a few winks with you, ol’ pal…?"

“Volare, don’t go to sleep!” Dash shook him till he cracked an eye open. “You gotta stay with me till help comes!”

“But…this is nice…this is perfect…for the first time in a long, long time, I’m happy…I don’t have to fight right now,” he nuzzled against her chest. “Thanks for sticking with me, Dashie…even if I am pathetic.”

“You’re not pathetic, Volare; don’t you ever believe that,” she ran a wingtip through his mane and shut her eyes as she laid her muzzle upon his, doing her best not to let the tears of guilt flow.
…if only it were different circumstances, huh?
Yeah, you’re telling me.
…or are you telling yourself?
Not this crap; not right now, it’s only cuz of my Element.
…keep telling yourself that, Dashie.

A loud crash and shouting startled Dash out of her thoughts. “Rainbow Dash, what did you do?!” She heard Twilight shouting as she burst through the front door and galloped into the kitchen, nearly skidding on the blood on the floor as she stopped at the sight before her. “Wh-what in the name of Celestia and Luna happened in here, Dash?!”

“Holy moly, Volare’s missing a wing,” Pinkie Pie gawked at the severed blue limb in the corner. She sat the basket of peaches on the countertop and poked the wing with a hoof, making it twitch before Applejack whacked her with her hat.

“Not now, sugarcube; we got a heap o’ trouble on our hooves,” the orange Earth Pony turned and laid her saddlebags of apples down before approaching the two pegasi bundled up on the kitchen floor. “Now Rainbow Dash, ya’ll’re gonna have ta let us take a look at’im, alright?”

“And give us a damn good explanation too,” Twilight added, shocking them all, as she hardly ever cursed. “And I’m gonna kick your plot myself if it’s not the answer I wanna hear, Rainbow Dash.” Her horn glowed an angry purple as she approached the pegasi, avoiding the pooled blood on the kitchen floor as best she could while still looking as intimidating as she possibly could. By the look on Dash’s face, she would bet all her bits that she knew exactly what had happened.
Her friend had gone too far this time!

Notes: Ok folks, the PROLOGUE arc of the story is nearly complete...yes, this massive buildup is merely the prologue, as the real story truly begins after the next chapter! Can Volare's wing be fixed? Will he ever fly again? Will Twilight kick Dash's flank once and for all?! Stay tuned for the next exciting episode of *THUNK*
Volare: Jeez, this narrator is an asshole!