Act 1
Chapter 5 – The Laws That Bind
*****
Truth can be alluring and repulsive. Either one can sometimes be too much to handle.
*****
Zap! Rainbow reappeared inside her cloud house. Her coat, mane, and tail were singed. It took her a moment to fully recollect herself. She comically fell onto her side and began breathing erratically.
Am I alive? She looked around her house. She…teleported me home. Did she…do that on purpose?
The pony climbed to her hooves and shook her mane in tail a little. She took a glance around her home. “Huh...Look like nothing’s changed since Twilight fell. Not like any place in Ponyville gets robbed.” Rainbow noticed the busted front door. “Gonna have to get that replaced.” She briefly looked outside, and then slowly made her way over to the couch. “Ugh…I’m too tired to think about what just happened…”
Though I’m thinking about it anyway. She can use magic! She’s found some kind of solution to it…though it’s still seems uncl…
She tripped on something. “Woah! Oh…you…” She put a hoof on the Mazes and Manticores box. “Heh…It’s funny she actually wanted to play this…though she would just probably bore me to sleep with exposition.”
Rainbow’s ears twitched. Imagine if I hadn’t told her…if I didn’t agree to let her come over. If I had just left without a word…if I hadn’t visited her that night. Rainbow shut her eyes for a moment, and then opened them to take a look at her wings still in casts. I miss flying…even though it’s only been a few days. It’s felt like months. I still can’t believe it…
“I told Twilight I was past it. I told her I would move on...that dwelling on “what if” was just a waste of time.” She pushed the game box away and dragged herself over to the couch to which she delicately plunked on.
I shouldn’t have let her go out there alone…I should have been brave and went with her. She probably needed me more than ever…even if I was in danger. It’s not like danger and I are far apart anyway. Can’t believe I was such a coward…
Rainbow turned onto her belly and dug her nose under the one pillow on the couch.
She was completely stressed out and her eyes were red. I couldn’t imagine how frustrated she was. She hummed into the cushion and smiled. I remember being so impressed when she subdued that Ursa Minor. It was…actually the first time she looked so…awesome.
She giggled and pulled her head out, and then laid it on top of the pillow. She let out a big sigh into it. “Twi…I just wish I could have told you…that I really would have preferred to stay in Ponyville. If it wasn’t for that one thing…” The pegasus closed her eyes. She felt for a moment that she would drift to sleep, but then her curiosity came rushing back.
Why was she snooping in my closet anyway? Dash slid off the couch and made her way over to the closet. She saw, with all the other junk packed in there, the dress that she had worn to the Grand Galloping Gala. Memories of that event flashed through her mind.
Ha! How embarrassing all of that was. I didn’t get to see Twilight that often during that, but her dress was pretty wicked. Aw, jeez…is that all I can think of now?
She shut her closet gently. “Twilight Twilight Twilight. Ugh!” She pulled down on her eyelids and they snapped back. “You’re such a cancer to the mind! Great…now I’m using words she would use…what would I say? A…bug? Yeah…A really annoying one!”
Twi…I hope you’re all right. Even if you teleport me to the moon, I want to be by you again. When I’m around you…everything just seems right. When I’m alone…
It hit her. She was so deep into her thoughts that she was completely oblivious to the situation she was in. It was partly from exhaustion, but eventually the pegasus realized something terrifying.
I’m home…home and with busted wings! I’m…stuck here! A wave of panic hit her as she darted towards and out the front door. Dash continued running as her natural instincts hit her, she tried extending her wings but they wouldn’t budge.
DASH! What are you doing?!
Rainbow caught herself moments before jumping off the edge. “You have no wings, you idiot!” She breathed heavily and her heart pounded. “Dammit!” She pounded on the cloud.
How do I keep forgetting it?! I’ve accepted it! She wriggled and struggled to get her wings free. But I just…want to fly! Why won’t you let me?! She hit the cloud one more time.
“Rrrraaaahhh!!! Twilight!! Anypony!! Help me!!” Her voice echoed into the night. Her chest heaved from the screams. She stepped closer to the edge and looked over. She could see the ground in the moonlight. The long drop made her dizzy and she fumbled backwards.
“I hate this…this is so uncool! No wings! Stuck in a floating house! Separated from the pony I care about!” Dash stared into the night for a moment or two. She gradually fell over on her side and sank slightly into the cloud beneath her. The moisture from the white puff was soothing on her coat. Her face was already wet from crying. “It…it really happened, didn’t it? The whole thing…it’s not just something I can ignore anymore. Rainbow Dash…the flightless bird. A grounded pony…forever.” She dug her face into the cloud and let out a bunch of muffled cries. She pounded on the cloud a couple more times.
Her head surfaced and she stared at her wings for a moment, and then she popped onto her hooves and walked inside. She went upstairs to the kitchen and swiftly jumped onto the counter. She found what she was looking for…a knife. She stared at the set for a couple seconds then took the sharpest one of the bunch in her mouth and pulled it out.
She made her way into her shower and turned the water on. The knife was still in her mouth.
I’ll believe it when I see it.
The hot water began pouring on her at full blast. She knew it was too hot, but it didn’t matter to her. Whatever it took to get those casts wet. She was soaked in a couple of seconds. She stood completely still with the knife still gripped tightly in her mouth.
They wouldn’t do it…would they?…I told Twilight…that I agreed to it…
“As if…” She closed her eyes and slid her right hoof back and forth on the tiling.
Truth is…I don’t know what they did. Pinioned was what I said…it was what I thought out of my hysteria. They just told me I couldn’t fly anymore…that it would have been painful if they had left them the way they were. I blocked out everything…but now…I remember it…
*****
“…Dash?” The pegasus groaned as she awakened. “Rainbow Dash, can you hear me?” Her vision slowly came into focus…white everywhere.
“Twilight? Is that you?” She mumbled out.
“No, but your friend is fine. How are you feeling? Any pain?”
Pain? No...
“No…but I feel weird…did something happen?” She leaned up slowly, but something pushed her back down.
“Woah, Rainbow. I need to stay still. You’ve been through a serious accident, and it isn’t safe to move around just yet. You’ve just been through some surgery.” This got her attention.
“Surgery?! What surgery?” She shot up again, but was immediately pushed down by a stronger force. “No! What’d you do to me?!”
“Dash, calm down, you stubborn pigeon!” An orange face came into view. A wave of relief hit Rainbow just from seeing a friend.
“Applejack! Oh, am I glad to see you! Tell them! Tell them I’m fine! Nothing Rainbow Dash can’t handle with a few days of rest.” Applejack didn’t answer. “I’m…I’m fine, right?” The mare sighed as Rainbow sat up.
“Ya took a mighty big plunge, Dash. Yer lucky to be alive. It’s just…” She trailed off.
Rainbow couldn’t take the suspense, “Just what? Tell me already!” The orange mare became annoyed.
“You lost yer wings, Dash!” The country pony could see the pegasus’s eyes slowly widen. “You busted them up real good in that fall…at least, that’s what Ah assume happened out there below your house.” Dash didn’t answer. “Ah heard your sonic whatchamathingy all the way from Apple Orchards. It was a big one…not like the one ya did in that competition up in Cloudsdale.” Rainbow was still shocked. “Well, talk to me, ya blue bird!”
The pegasus swallowed and seemed to collect herself. She spoke in a low, calm voice. “Uh…yeah yeah…sure, Applejack. I…a big one, huh? How big?”
“Well, if Ah could see it, Dash…it had to be pretty darn big.” She tried to smile at Rainbow.
Dash let out a fake giggle, “Awesome. Real awesome.” She put on a fake smile, she wasn’t even looking at Applejack. “And Twilight? You said…she was okay?”
“Yes, Rainbow. She’s out right now. It looks like whatever ya did…” Applejack looked off to the side to find a way to finish that sentence. “…y-ya did good, Dash. Real good.”
Dash’s right eye twitched, “Ha…of course. Look at…who you’re talking to.” She looked at Applejack which made the mare blink and move back slightly. “My wings…they’re fine, right? Just battered a bit? A broken bone or two?”
“Y-yeah. No problem at all. Let’s just say yer pinioned…all right? You know what that means?”
“No. What does it mean?”
“It…it means yer fine, Dash.” The mare sighed. “Look, Ah’ll check up on Twilight, okay? Just try to relax and uh…okay, bye.” The mare left quickly.
Rainbow fell back against the pillow. A couple of tears fell from the corners of her eyes. “Rainbow, I’ll let you rest.” An orange stallion began talking to her. “Just try not to move. Don’t want you hurting yourself further, all right?” The pegasus nodded. The doctor exited quickly and Rainbow was alone.
Her bottled emotions suddenly shot up like a rocket into a neat ball in her throat. She pulled at the covers and she squeezed her eyes shut.
She knew everypony in Ponyville heard that scream.
*****
Rainbow gave a jaded stare at the tiling beneath her. “She lied…” Her voice was muffled by the knife.
She tried to break it softly to me…but being that stupid element that she was…she couldn’t help but be blunt. It was shortly after that they returned and told me that they really did it. I still didn’t believe them…I didn’t want to believe them.
“And now…” She slowly stepped out of the shower dripping wet. “…we’ll find out.” She sat on her haunches and tried to stretch out her left wing as far as possible. She bent her head as far as she could to get a good angle, then placed the knife on the cast. It was a challenge, but nothing Dash couldn’t handle.
Ugh…stupid knife isn’t long enough.
She picked a serrated one to make it slightly easier, but the strain was hitting her neck hard. She took constant breaks to loosen her neck muscles. She was getting deep into the cast with the knife when… “Ah!!” The knife fell on the floor as did droplets of blood. “Stupid! Stupid!” She banged on her head with her hooves. She let out a frustrated sigh and picked up the blade again.
About an hour into it, she finally managed to slice open the cast. She wriggled and pushed to get it off when finally her wing was free. She ran over to the bathroom mirror and looked. She groaned, “Stupid mirror’s fogged up.” She put a hoof on the mirror and wiped it down as best she could.
She slowly saw it come into view…and she fell backwards. “No…nonono! It’s not real…it’s not real! I don’t know if I can handle this! I don’t know!” She bit her hooves and didn’t even try to look at her wing. She slowly mustered up the courage once more and went to the mirror. “Ahem…I’m ready…” The fog had mostly cleared and she could see it clear as day.
The wing was basically halved…all of her feathers were gone. Only bone, muscle, and flesh were left. It was a pink, deranged mess of a wing. The cut and blood running from it didn’t make it any more appealing. She again felt that ball in her throat and tears streamed down her cheeks. She swallowed. “No…It is…It’s as real as it can get…No…It’s worse!” She took a deep breath, and then turned around to buck the mirror, shattering it everywhere.
Everything I ever dreamed… She stumbled over to the shower and fell into it. She turned the hot water back on and then her eyes locked onto the knife. She crawled over to it and took it into her mouth again. …taken away by a stupid mare…
Another hour, she managed to get the other cast off, but this time without cutting herself. She threw the knife aside and walked over to a shard of glass. She could barely see her full reflection in it. She stretched and extended her ‘wings’ out. The right one had been cut shorter it looked like.
“It’s hideous…” Rainbow’s eyes were dried out and she was talking in that calm voice once more. “Heh…disgusting.” She pushed the shard away and exited the bathroom.
*****
Dash found herself on the couch again. She lay inward facing the couch. Rainbow stared intently at the fabric that made it up, studying every thread and counting them.
So many things to make up one big thing…what’s one less gonna do?
She fumbled off the couch and landed hard on her hooves. She was extremely tired and weak, but she suddenly bucked up and took a deep breath. Her eyes fixed on the door. Outside it was early morning.
“The world is one pony less awesome without Rainbow Dash!” She stomped the ground. “Junior Speedsters are our lives, sky-bound soars and daring dives.” She knelt down and extended her wings. “Junior Speedsters…” She tightened her whole body. “…it's our quest…” A moment of silence as she hesitates. “I’m coming, Twilight!” She bursts into full gallop towards the front door. She mumbled slowly to herself, “To someday be the very…best…”
She hit the very end of the cloud. Her heart jumped practically into her skull. All of the motions seemed to slow down for her. She bent her forelegs and her head downward. She extended her wings upward fully. She pushed as hard as she could and jumped. She twirled a soft 180 and dived straight towards the ground.
If Twilight could beat it…so can I!
She flapped her ‘wings’ hard. They were stiff and, of course, weren’t catching any wind. She did everything the same regardless. When she felt it was time to pull up, she extended her wings slowly lent upward.
Moment of truth…
~ I could clear this sky in ten seconds flat! You should see the look on your face! ~
~ What do I do? Everypony is gonna see me fail! The Wonderbolts will never let a loser like me join! Princess Celestia will probably banish me to the Everfree Forest! MY LIFE IS RUINED! ~
~ Danger's my middle name. Rainbow "Danger" Dash. Thinking back on it, I acted pretty awesomely heroic that day. ~
Rainbow closed her eyes and a sudden force hits her.
~ Oh, thanks Twilight. I'm sorry I made such a big deal about all of this. I thought reading was just for smart ponies like you. Yeah, I get it. I shouldn't knock something until I've tried it. ~
…
Rainbow opens her eyes and she gasps. She smiles. “I’m…I’m flying!” She looks at the ground below her as it zooms past. “I’m flying?” She takes a look at her wings. Those pink ugly things were still there, but there was some sort of translucent blue outlining of all the parts that were missing. “Impossible…” She stops and hovers to look at them more, but then she hears a scream. She looks in the direction it came from.
Twilight?
*****
Rainbow landed near the fallen pony. She was twitching constantly and sparks were shooting out of her horn. “Twi?” She put a hoof on the pony but was instantly electrocuted by something, causing Dash to fall backward.
“D…D…D-Did it w-w-work? R-Rainbow?” Twilight began to speak, her voice stuttering from the shocks. Rainbow got back on her hooves.
“You did this, Twilight?" She looked at her wings again. " Yeah! It…it did more than just work! You’ve…” They glittered and shone brightly in the rising sun. “You’ve given me my wings back…” She dived to the unicorn and embraced her tightly. She felt the shocks, but she was more determined to thank her friend.
After a minute, the shocks faded and the two ponies were lying there quietly. Rainbow turned the unicorn over so she could see her face. “Twi, are you okay?”
“I’m fine…just tired. I’ve been up all night.” She spoke very softly and didn’t even open her eyes.
“Hold on, Twi. I’m gonna take up to my house.”
“I kinda like it here actually…”
“You’re being stupid, egghead. Come on!” She wrapped her hooves around the unicorn and flapped her wings as hard as she could. It was surprisingly easy as her wings felt much stronger than ever before.
Once inside, she placed the pony down on the couch and Rainbow landed on the ground next to her. She still couldn’t believe it…Twilight had saved her.
How did she even know I was here? How did she know what I was going to do…It’s all…
~ Impossible? I thought impossible was no more than a one-hoof hurdle to you, Rainbow Dash…the best flyer in all of Equestria. ~ Twilight smiled at her.
The pegasus jumped up and hugged the mare around the neck…placing a kiss on the unicorn’s cheek.