//------------------------------// // Broken Rainbows // Story: Lost Forever, Never Found // by Fire Feather //------------------------------// I pushed myself forward, straining my wings as far as they could go. Faster and faster I went. Captain Spitfire led us, the Wonderbolts. Once upon a time, we were performers, bringing joy to Equestria. But then the war started. The Crystal Empire came back, and Sombra was with it. Within days, he enslaved the residents of the Empire and spread his black magic across the land. His crystal slaves became controlled soldiers, with one goal. Conquer Equestria. Of course, to do that, one would have to kill the Princesses. And he had tried. Multiple times. As I flew towards the approaching army, I yelled as loud as I could, "FOR EQUESTRIA! FOR THE PRINCESSES!" The wind tore at my words, scattering them, but our army understood, and took up the cry. My wingblades shone as I sliced at the airborne crystals, keeping them from impaling Soarin and Spitfire. We were a team, and no shadow king was going to break our bond. Or so I hoped. I still remember that day, that horrible, terrible day. The day when our bond was broken. Sweat shone on our wings even though we were fighting in the frozen north. The three of us were making our way towards Sombra, hoping to kill him. How foolish we were. Blood trickled from a few cuts on my body, but they were shallow. As we approached Sombra, he just licked his lips and laughed. Lighting his horn and stomping the ground, he sent a sharp spear of black crystal towards us. Everything seemed to move in slow motion from then on. The crystal, shining as it flew at me. Soarin's yell as he moved to shove me out of its path. Spitfire's bright orange mane as she shoved both of us out of its path. The crystal, shining as it flew towards her. The crystal, slick with blood. Her blood. My raw, primal scream. Sombra's laugh as he took in the gruesome scene. And then all of a sudden, I was in front of him. I vaguely remember my wing muscles screaming in pain, but it was insignificant compared to the pain of losing my friend. I threw my hoof at him in a vicious punch, but he dodged. So then I sliced at him with my wings. Once again, time seemed to move in slow motion. Black liquid sprayed across the floor. Black liquid dripped down the side of his face. My primal yell of pain and fury and shock that I had actually hit him. Him, giving me the sort of look a predator gives its prey. Me, trying to land another hit on him. Him, sidestepping. Me, on a collision course with the wall. Him, swinging the sharpened edge of his horn downward in a gleaming blood-red arc. My hooves scrabbling against the floor as I tried to get farther away from him. Him, slicing through the base of my wing. And then time resumed its normal speed. The pain hit me like a thousand hot knives stabbing my side, and blood gushed onto the floor. I hit the wall, the impact and the pain almost knocking me unconscious. Sombra laughed as he approached me. "Oh, little pony. How could you ever think you stood a chance against me?" I responded with a growl, the only sound I could make. Laughing again, he lit up his horn, a red glow enveloping me. I attempted to struggle against it, but nothing happened. It just bent and stretched around me. Then he launched me out the window. I fell like a rock, my one good wing windmilling uselessly. The wind tore at my mane and side as I fell, but I couldn't feel any more pain. Blood streamed behind me in a gleaming arc, the drops landing on the already bloodstained ground. As I blacked out, I remember another magic field being wrapped around me. I woke up an undeterminable amount of time later, hoses and tubes feeding liquids into my body. A fuzzy orange shape sat beside me with a blob of purple on it. As my vision sharpened, I recognized Scootaloo, the little filly I had looked out for. She was why I went to war. I wanted to save her from the black magic of Sombra, and I was afraid that I might not have succeeded. "Dash?" Scootlaoo stretched a hoof out tentatively. "Mghtfggh?" "Good, you're awake." Her voice had an authoritative tone, like the war had toughened her up more than she already was. "Where am I?" "In a hospital." "That's what I figured. How's my side?" She shifted her attention to her hooves. "Scoots. What is it?" "Um, about your side," she began. "What about it?" "TheygaveyouafakewingandIwasn'tsureaboutitbuttheydiditanywayandIamsososorry!" The words poured out in a rush, like she wasn't sure how I'd react. "They gave me a fake wing?" "Uh huh." "Can I fly?" "I dunno." Stretching carefully, I slid of the edge of my bed and onto the floor, my hooves barely catching me. Scoots stretched out a hoof, but I ignored it. Looking over my shoulder, I caught a glimpse of metal tucked against the side of my hospital gown. Tentatively, I stretched my wings out, surprised when movement happened on both sides of my body. My metal wing acted just like my flesh-and-blood wing did. Giving it a few experimental flaps, I marveled at the fact that I had full, natural control over it. The few other fake wings that I had seen were stiff things, restricting the movement of the wearer. "How?" I asked, wonder in my voice. "The Princesses," Scootaloo responded. "No, seriously, Scoots. How?" "The Princesses," she responded again seriously. "The Princesses made this for me?" I couldn't believe it. Why would they make it for me? "They said that they needed their Captain able to fly. Are you really the Captain of the Wonderbolts?" I paused, remembering Spitfire's limp body impaled on that hateful spear of crystal, her blood flowing down it. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess I am," I responded, my voice breaking. "Spitfire's dead?" Scootaloo asked, disbelief written all over her face. "Yeah, she is." And just like that, I realized that she was, she really was. It wasn't just a bad dream. It was the never-ending nightmare that the war was. Luckily, the war ended. I survived, otherwise I wouldn't be writing this down right now. War is truly a terrible thing, and I know that first hoof. Don't ever forget this war, ponies. This is Rainbow Dash, signing off.