A True True Friend

by DiscoRobot

Chapter 2

“RAINBOW!”

Rainbow Dash awoke again, startled. She found herself hovering a few feet off the ground surrounded by a purple aura. Unicorn magic.

“I’m taking you to see the doctor Rainbow Dash, no exceptions. You passed out again!”

Rainbow Dash groaned. There was a dull throbbing in the back of her head. She felt as though she had been steamrolled
by an army of ponies with iron horseshoes. Spots danced in her vision, and she felt slightly woozy. Tired and unable to protest, her legs hung limply as Twilight transported her to the general hospital in Ponyville. She felt her eyelids growing heavy, and once again slipped into unconsciousness.

Even the doctor was puzzled. Rainbow Dash woke to Twilight and an emergency room doctor conversing about Rainbow’s condition.

“We ran tests, but all of her vitals are completely normal. Did you say she collapsed three times?”

Twilight nodded. “The first time she fell from a cloud, the second time she passed out while talking to me, and she passed out on the way here as well.”

The doctor thought hard for a moment. “Well, this is a terribly unusual case. I recommend keeping her here the night, just in case something really is wrong. She can read Daring Do to her heart’s content.” He winked at her. “You remember that, don’t you Rainbow Dash?”

Rainbow Dash was no longer listening. She was lost in her own thoughts.

Alone and frightened, she flew through the night sky. Never had she been this far from home before. As she flew over the Everfree Forest, dark shapes materialized in the edge of her peripheral vision. They grew larger and larger. Rainbow Dash barely registered the fact that they were stallion Pegasi when she was slammed to the ground. Dark spots flashed in her eyes, and a loud ringing had filled her ears. Utter fear and helplessness filled her already nerve wracked mind. The stallion Pegasi landed next to her. There were three of them- big and buff with no sign of mercy in their eyes. They grinned and stared lewdly at Rainbow Dash on the ground, half conscious.

“Well, look what we got here. A pretty Pegasus all by herself in the middle of the night. Where are you headed gorgeous?”

Rainbow Dash sat up groggily and attempted to fly away, but was knocked flat by a glancing blow from one of the stallions. He leered at her. “Woah there beautiful, we wouldn't want you getting away, would we? Not before we've had our share of fun.”

Disoriented and frightened, but still unbroken, Dash struggled to her hooves. “Touch me, and you will see blood” she snarled, hoping her tone was more intimidating than it sounded.

The three Pegasi laughed. “Oh, we’ll see blood alright. Just not ours!” the largest one said with lust in his eyes. “Hold her down.”

The other two Pegasi caught Rainbow Dash by her two front hooves and held her to the ground. She fought and kicked, but they were two fully grown male Pegasi. They overwhelmed her easily. Tears welled in Dash’s eyes. “So this is how it ends” she thought to herself.

The large Pegasus stallion positioned himself behind Rainbow Dash. He grinned wickedly. “Trust me, you’ll enjoy it too. Just relax swee-.”

He stopped mid-sentence. A gargle escaped his mouth and he looked down. A blade protruded from his chest, its tip crimson red. Red trickled down his abdomen. The sword stayed for a few seconds, and as it pulled away, the Pegasus titter tottered for a bit, then fell to the ground. The other two Pegasi panicked. Both let go of Rainbow Dash and attempted to fly away. The sword flashed in the moonlight, as quick as lightning and another Pegasus lay dead, his throat slashed open and blood pouring from the grievous wound. The other got a little further, but not by much. He managed to fly a few meters up, before the warrior pony pounced. The mysterious warrior leaped with incredible agility, and slashed downwards with his sword. The Pegasus fell to the ground, cloven almost in two. He stepped over him, his sword whirling expertly, and his alert eyes darting from side to side. The largest Pegasus had struggled to his feet. He charged at the warrior’s back. Without looking backwards, the warrior sidestepped the charge, and swung at the same time. The final Pegasi of the trio fell at his feet, death pooling in his eyes.

The last thing Dash felt before her eyesight went dark was the strong muscular back of the warrior as he carried her deeper into the forest.

Rainbow Dash woke. This time, she was lying on a hospital bed in a dark room. She checked the clock. 1:00 AM. A heart monitor beeped nearby. She was shivering so she pulled the blankets further around her, but realized the blankets were drenched with cold sweat. “Why is this happening to me?” she wondered as she fell back into a dream plagued sleep.

She smelled something delicious. The rich, tantalizing smell of summer vegetable soup made her open her eyes. A large pot sat simmering in the corner, releasing fragrant vapor into the air. Onions, celery, tomatoes, mushrooms, carrots, some ginger. Her stomach growled at the prospect of food.

Attempting to get up was difficult. Her body felt incredibly weak. Her muscles refused to obey her mind. The events from last night hit her like a storm. She glanced around. There was no one else in the cave with her. A blanket fell off her back as she rose unsteadily to her hooves.

The cave was incredibly well organized. Dried herbs and spices hung from the ceiling. A dry breeze blew through from the entrance. The air was not damp, but rather comfortably dry. A simple bed with a table sat in the corner.

Rainbow Dash walked outside and gasped. She was expecting to be surrounded by thick trees and shrubs in the Everfree Forest. Instead, her gaze was filled with towering, snow capped peaks. Birds of prey soared high above her. A gigantic lake almost completely surrounded the house, except for a narrow path that cut through it leading to the forest. A waterfall fell nearby, causing a light mist highlighted by rays of bright sunlight. It was breaktaking.

A movement nearby caught her attention. Her eyes swung towards a medium size dog with a sandy coat and large brown eyes. The dog looked up at her with expectant eyes. It wagged its tail happily and trotted over to greet this newcomer.

A tap on her shoulder almost made her jump into the lake. He looked amused at her astonished expression. Silently, he beckoned towards the cave where he had already set up a dinner table with three places set, and a supper dish on the ground for the dog.

The soup was as delicious as it smelled. But there was still an empty seat. A gray pony trotted across the land bridge towards her supper.

Author's Note:

The second chapter! The third one might take a a little while to finish, but I'm going to wrap this up within a week.

Comments

[Rainbow87dash]

Better have that chapter up soon

[DiscoRobot]

I'm working on it I'll have it out before the end of the day