Lost Wing, Lost Identity

by Hopeful_Ink_Hoof

An Attempt at Fine Art

Rainbow Dash limped back toward the library, head low and ears down. Twigs stuck in her mane and tail and her coat was so covered in grass, she nearly looked like she was supposed to be green instead of her natural sky blue. Every muscle in her body ached, and not in a way she was really used to.

Next to her, Scootaloo pushed along on her scooter. The young filly went slowly, matching the pace of the older pegasus. Occasionally, the young orange pony would glimpse toward her friend before looking forward again.

"It was pretty good for a first try," Scootaloo finally said, "Maybe you'll do better with a scooter made for older ponies."

"I appreciate the thought, squirt," Rainbow Dash replied, "but I don't think that I'm ever going to be very good on one of those things. You must have some real talent to do half of what you can with it."

"Thanks," the young filly squealed excitedly. The grin on her face faded quickly. "So, does that mean you're going to give up?" She almost missed it when Dash stopped, causing the young filly to make a hard stop and turn to face the older pegasus.

"Are you kidding me? Do you really think that I'm going to give up just like that?" The stained pegasus sat down, looking at the younger one. "Kid, if I gave up just because I couldn't do something the first time I tried, I would not be half as awesome as I am. Do you have any idea how many times I crashed when I was learning to fly and first trying to do my awesome stunts?"

"No."

"Me either. Because it happened so many times that I lost count." Reaching out, Rainbow Dash grabbed Scootaloo and pulled her into a hug. "Trust me on this, even if you're good at something naturally, you still have to keep trying to be great. Got it?"

Scootaloo looked up at Rainbow Dash a moment, seeming to be awestruck. After a moment, she shut her mouth and smile, giving a nod. Taking advantage of the closeness, she gave the other pony a hug, getting her mane ruffled in return. After a moment the two broke apart and continued on. As soon as they reached the front of the library, Scootaloo peeled off to head home on her own.

"Hey, Twilight," Rainbow Dash called out as she entered the building. She continued to limp in, heading straight for the stairs. Twilight turned at the sound of her name, smiling. The smile froze a moment before slowly shifting as she caught sight of the condition Rainbow Dash was in.

"What happened to you?" Twilight finally managed to ask.

"Well let's see..." Dash sat down, thinking a moment. "I was traveling down hill to build up speed when I hit a rock and was launched over the handlebars and landed face first in the ground. I managed to do a jump from the hill, but the front wheel landed wrong so scooter and I both fall to the side. I tried jumping again and spinning the scooter, but I guessed the time wrong so we crashed. That time I ended up rolling down the hill. Uhm... something happened with a bush. That's kind of fuzzy. Basically every thing I tried to do with Scootaloo's scooter ended up with me crashing." She stood back up. "So now, I'm going to take a shower and see how much of this I can wash off."

"Before you do that," Twilight moved as she spoke, "Pinkie Pie stopped by for you. I told her you were out with Scootaloo and didn't know when you would be back. She left a gift for you. We set it up in your room." She smiled then turned to the stairs and started toward them.

"Can't it wait until after I shower?" Rainbow Dash groaned. She stretched her body, feeling a pain in her back from one of the hits it took. Her remaining wing gave a quick flutter before folding back up against her side. She followed her friend to and up the stairs.

"I suppose it could," Twilight admitted, looking back, "but if Pinkie Pie was right then you would just have to wash up again after."

That statement made Rainbow Dash stop a moment. She tilted her head, staring at her friend who continued up the stairs. It was kind of an odd statement. She could not help but wonder; what had Pinkie Pie have brought that would have her needing to take wash up after.

In the room that Dash was supposed to be staying in (she had actually been sharing the bed with Twilight since they expressed their feelings for each other), there was an old sheet spread out on the floor. Standing on top of the sheet was an easel with a large canvas set atop it. There were also containers of paint and several brushes.

"Painting?" Dash asked, moving to look at the set up.

"Pinkie thought that you could use your good wing like a brush," Twilight explained, "something about 'really neat whooshie flying movements' or something. She did bring you a few brushes just in case though." She pointed at them with her hoof.

Rainbow Dash looked at the brushes then back at the easel. She moved to circle around it, studying the whole thing curiously. It was very odd to the pegasus. She had never painted before in her life. Closest thing to it was when she would make rainbows.

"I don't know anything about painting," she finally said. Reaching out with a hoof she poked at the canvas.

"Well some say that you don't need to, since it's supposed to be a form of self-expression. If you want to learn about it, though, we do have some books on the matter."

"Maybe later. Guess it can't hurt to try her idea first." Stopping back in front of the easel, Dash turned to the paints and opened them. Her head tilted as she looked between the colors, trying to decide which one to start with. Finally she reached out with the wing that still remained attached to her right side, and dipped some of the primary feathers into the blue. The pegasus then reached out, stroking the paint across the canvas with a wave of her wing. She shifted to move across the surface several times, leaving a series of strokes.

Dash let out a chuckle as she looked at the marks she made. With greater enthusiasm, she dipped her wing into the green and added some of it to the image. As she got more excited, she added more colors. Her wing fluttered as she used it for a brush, dipping it into the paints and flapping it across the surface of the canvas. Red and purple, orange and yellow, all were added to the white surface, blending as they were added with long flying slashes and short quick flutters. Finished, she sat down, grinning as she looked at it. She then turned to Twilight Sparkle.

"So what do you think, Twi?" the pegasus asked, still grinning. Twilight moved next to her, sitting down to look at the new painting for a moment.

"It's pretty," she finally said. "Almost makes me feel like I'm flying. Do you think you'll keep painting then?"

"Maybe." Dash gave a shrug. "I don't know if I could actually do it to make a living, but it is kind of fun. Might just do it as a hobby or something." She stood back up. "I'm going to take a shower... Would you come help me?"

"Why Miss Dash," Twilight said with mock shock, "Are you suggesting inappropriate behavior between to mares in the bathroom?" In a more serious tone she added: "It does sound like a large jump from simply sleeping cuddled up together."

"It sounds like it could be fun," Dash replied with a grin, "but not exactly what I had in mind. Between how sore I am and how much dirt and grass I got on me, I'm going to need help getting cleaned up." She gave the other pony a shoulder bump. "If you think that you are ready to do more than cuddle, I could return the favor and wash you as well."

Twilight Sparkle looked at Rainbow Dash a moment. A smile slowly spread across her mouth as she moved closer. Twilight tilted her head down, rubbing against Dash's chest.

"That actually sounds nice," she murmured. "I think the new Daring Do is in. We can curl up and...what is it?" She looked up at the pegasus, feeling a shift in the way they were sitting. Twilight could see the wheels turning in her friend's head.

"You mentioned that the library had books on art," the pegasus said slowly, "Are there also books about writing?"

Comments

[Soniko255485]

Wha? Dashie's gonna write books?