//------------------------------//
// Even Heroes [Thoughtful] 
// Story: Follow The Rainbow 
// by UnlicensedBrony 
//------------------------------//

There were only so many times you could wake up in the accident and emergency ward before it got old. Rainbow Dash had lost count at eight times, it was probably in the tens now. She'd even been allocated her own regular hospital bed which she could use while the doctor patched her wings up. It felt a lot like going through the motions, and it wasn't even a big deal anymore – Rainbow knew she'd be out of there by tomorrow afternoon.

“Thanks, Doc,” said Rainbow, as the stallion finished her wing cast. “How's your wife?”

“Oh, she's getting along well enough,” said the doctor. “The baby is due next week, so we're both very excited. And a little nervous, if I'm honest.”

Rainbow rolled her neck to test the brace. It moved pretty well, wasn't too much of a pain. “Ah, you'll make a great dad,” she said. “So, can I get out of here, or what?”

The doctor checked something off on a clipboard. “I'd like to keep you in for another few hours, until the last x-rays come back. You know the procedure.”

Rainbow groaned. “Yeah, I know the drill.”

“I wouldn't worry about getting bored though, one of your friends is here.” He checked a name on his clipboard. “The nurse said that a... Scootaloo, is waiting at reception.”

“Scoots?” Rainbow glanced at her cast and frowned. She didn't particularly like the idea of the kid seeing her like this, but she couldn't very well turn her away. Well, she could, but it wouldn't be very cool.

“Shall I send her in?” the doctor asked, already starting for the door.

“Uh, yeah. Sure,” said Rainbow.

At least one of her friends would always come to see her when this kind of thing happened, to make sure she was okay and bring her something to keep her occupied – usually a book. It was a first for Scootaloo to drop in on her though. It was also the first time she saw Rainbow crash during a training session though – which was kind of embarrassing – so it stood to reason that she'd know about it.

After the doctor had left, there were a few short minutes of lonely silence. She knew that'd get boring very quickly, so she was actually grateful when the door opened again and Scootaloo poked her head inside.

Rainbow cracked a toothy smile. “Hey, squirt.”

Scootaloo smiled back and stepped inside. “Hey. Um, is it cool for me to be here? My mom said it was okay as long as you said so.”

“Yeah, it's cool,” said Rainbow. She nodded to the empty chair beside her bed. “Pull up a seat, I could use the company.”

“Thanks.”

Once Scootaloo had sat down and stopped awkwardly shifting, she eyed Rainbow's cast with a frown. Rainbow saw her looking and felt her cheeks heating up a little, but she didn't try to hide it. Looking embarrassed about it would just make it more awkward, so she made a point of shifting to give Scootaloo a better look. “Pretty awesome, huh? Makes me look edgy.”

“I guess,” said Scootaloo, clearly not convinced. “Does it hurt?”

Rainbow shrugged. “Only when I breathe,” she joked. Apparently, Scootaloo didn't get it, because her face blanched and her frown got deeper. Rainbow shook her head and smiled. “I'm kidding, squirt. It doesn't hurt at all, seriously. I'm used to it by now.”

“Oh.” Scootaloo stared for a moment longer, but the words seemed to help her relax a bit. She looked up to meet Rainbow's eyes. “Um, I'm sorry you crashed. I guess that wasn't very fun...” She paused, then facehoofed. “That sounded dumb.”

Rainbow laughed. It made her wing twinge a little, but she played it off. “Don't worry about it. Must've been kind of embarrassing to watch, huh?”

Scootaloo shook her head. “More like scary. That tree fell over after you hit it, you know? It looked really painful.”

“Didn't even feel it,” said Rainbow. Honestly, too, because the impact had knocked her right out. The headache when she woke up was another matter-- She blinked. “Wait, I knocked down a tree?”

“Twilight said it was impressive before she teleported us to the hospital,” Scootaloo confirmed.

Rainbow grunted. “That's kinda awesome.”

Scootaloo didn't say anything. When Rainbow checked, she saw Scoots frowning down at the ground, as if she wanted to say something, but couldn't think of anything to say. It made Rainbow frown too.

“...I scared you, huh?” she said, quietly.

“Kind of,” said Scootaloo, blushing a little. “I mean, you didn't scare me – you crashing did. And then seeing you all collapsed and stuff...”

Rainbow felt a lump in her throat. So she really had worried the kid. That wasn't a surprise, really. “Hey.” She waited until Scoots met her eyes, then offered what she hoped was a comforting smile and flexed her good wing. “I'm alright, see? I'm fine. I've done this a million times. My wing'll heal in a few days, just like it always does, and then I'm back to training.”

Scootaloo's eyes flicked down. “I know, that's what Twilight and the doctor said. I just-- I've never seen you get hurt like that before.”

“It--” Rainbow's words caught, and when she stopped for a second, she realised that she didn't know what to say either. Eventually, all she managed was to sigh, “Yeah. I'm sorry.” Unsurprisingly, Scoots didn't reply to that.

They sat there in silence for a long while, with Rainbow just staring down at her hooves and picturing Scootaloo doing the same. She knew how Scoots felt. Rainbow Dash was her hero, her idol, and like a big sister to her. Seeing her knock herself out, and then in a hospital bed, would seriously shake anyone. She had to say something.

“...Look, squirt, I'm gonna tell you a secret,” said Rainbow, not looking up. She knew no-one else was in the room, so she wasn't afraid to speak up. “I may be awesome, and strong, and fast, and all that stuff. But I'm not-- I'm not invincible.”

She closed her eyes and let out a breath through her nose. Saying it out loud brought a nervous, twisting feeling to her gut. Even if it wasn't as difficult as she thought it'd be, it still cost her something. Image was everything, and something like this shook that image more than a little. She wasn't invincible. She wasn't perfect. And it didn't feel good to admit that.

“Everyone gets hurt sometimes. Even me,” she continued. “Like this crash, obviously. And that time when Tank went into hibernation. Remember?”

“Yeah,” said Scootaloo. Rainbow couldn't read any emotion in her voice. She tried not to dwell on it. If she did, she wouldn't be able to keep going.

“But that's okay, y'know?” said Rainbow. “Getting hurt is part of being a pony, something we all have to go through. And it sucks, a lot of the time. But it's not something to be afraid of. It makes us stronger, helps us learn. I guess, in a way, it's kind of a good thing.”

“It doesn't feel like a good thing,” said Scootaloo.

Rainbow gave a short chuckle and opened her eyes, leaning back against the headboard and looking up at the ceiling. “No kidding. Like I said, it sucks.” She rolled her head to the side and smiled at Scoots. “You always get over it though, somehow. You get better, you move on, and the next time's not so bad.”

Scootaloo looked like she'd been staring at the floor through the whole monologue, but when Rainbow fell silent, she finally looked up at her. Her eyes were uncertain, and the worry was still clear on her face. Rainbow didn't know whether she got it. She hoped so, because if not, she'd just given a completely sappy monologue for nothing.

“I might not be invincible,” she said, “but I'll always get better. Eventually. Somehow.” She reached out to nudge Scootaloo on the shoulder. “That's how it goes. I'm just that awesome.”

That got her smiling again. It might've just been a humoured smile at first, but as the seconds stretched on, something shifted behind her eyes, and her concern seemed to fade away. Leaving just a smile and an infectious sense of pride on her face, one that said she was admiring a hero. There were times when Rainbow probably wouldn't have let that go to her head, but this wasn't one of them. She suddenly felt pretty good in herself again.

“You are pretty awesome,” said Scootaloo. “And wise.”

“Ah, I don't know about wise,” said Rainbow, scratching her neck. “I'll take awesome, but leave the wiseness to Twilight.”

“Wisdom,” came a voice from the doorway. Rainbow and Scootaloo both turned to look, as Twilight Sparkle pushed the door open and stepped inside. She had a typical smile on her face and a pair of books balanced on her back. “Sorry, I hope I'm not interrupting. I thought you might like something to read while you're in here.”

“Hey, Twilight. Thanks,” said Rainbow. “I'll be outta here in a few hours, but it'd be cool to have something to kill the time.” An idea struck her, and she smiled over at Scoots. “You gotta be home soon?”

Scootaloo shook her head. “Not until tonight. Why?”

Rainbow grinned. “Wanna read me something?”

It took a moment for Scootaloo to register that and blink away her surprise. When she did, she beamed too and nodded.

Smiling knowingly between the two of them, Twilight levitated the books over to the table next to Rainbow's bed. “In that case, I think I'll leave you to it.” She turned for the door.

Rainbow smiled at her. “Thanks, Twi'.”

“You're welcome.”

She left, and as the door clicked shut behind her, Rainbow leant back against her pillow. “Okay, what've we got?”

Scootaloo took the top book and looked at it. “Of Mares and Magic,” she read aloud.

Rainbow's eyebrows went up. “Are you kidding me? That's, like, the coolest play ever! I didn't know there was a book for it!”

“So... you wanna read this one?”

“Do it!”

As Scootaloo started reading, Rainbow let her head roll back and smiled at the ceiling. Her wing ached a little, but it was really just a passing thought. She took it easy, listened to the story, and felt strangely good about herself.

'I'm wise.'

~FIN