Under Her Wing

by Tinyweasels

Chapter 6 - A Visit from Discord

Chapter 6 - A Visit from Discord

Princess Twilight had insisted Rainbow spend the first three weeks of recuperation at her castle so she'd have the castle staff to see to her needs and be closer to the hospital if there were a problem. Rainbow didn't want to impose, but when Twilight threatened to make it a royal decree she agreed. Her friends were all there and made sure she was comfortable and everything was within easy reach.

"Guys, you really don't have to fuss over me like this,” Rainbow said. "I'm going to be fine. This will be, well, like a very uncomfortable three week vacation.”

Her friends all stopped what they were doing and gathered around her. Apple Jewel gave her an annoyed look. "Rainbow Dash, ya just don't get it, do ya? Ya nearly died! We were all shook up deep by that and none of us is ready to lose anypony close to us like that. Yer like a sister to each of us."

Rainbow welcomed the gentle group hug and returned it with equal affection. "I was an only foal, so you don't know how much it means to me to have you all as sisters."

"We just want to make sure your recovery goes okay, Rainbow," Fluttershy said, giving Rainbow a gentle boop on the nose with her hoof.
"Your stunts make us a bit scared, but we'll always support you and cheer you on."

"Chillax, guys. The Rainbow will be dashing again before you know it!" she said with a confidant smile.

Once she was settled in and comfortable, her friends left her to enjoy some peace and quiet. She began reading. Then a flash of light announced another visitor, one she'd been expecting for a while.

"Hey, Discord," Rainbow said with a sigh and put the book aside.

"Hello, Rainbow Dash," Discord said, floating over to her.

"Thanks for the vases. That was a nice touch."

"Thank you. I know you're fond of visual gags. Soooo, how are you feeling?" he asked. While his true motives tended to be hard to read, it seemed his concern was genuine.

"I've been better. The doctor basically said my skeleton’s held together with magic duct tape, so I have to wait for the natural healing to catch up to what the magic's done, but other than that I'm just dandy."

Discord seemed to be missing the usual snark and smugness he normally sported and Rainbow found it curious. "What's wrong, Discord? I thought you'd have enjoyed all this. Isn't this chaos?"

He looked genuinely offended. "Rainbow Dash! While I love chaos, there are different types. When I came to Ponyville the first time, did I hurt anypony? No. I just messed with their realities. Any pillaging or murders? No."

"Okay, okay—relax, dude. Chill. Sorry. I didn't mean it like that."

He sighed and relaxed. "I'm just getting used to the notion of friendship and then you almost die! The thought of one of you dying is deeply troubling. I'm not sure how to deal with that, not without doing drastic reality-altering things that none of you would approve of."

"Discord—warning you now, don't do anything to mess with anything."

"Well, I've messed things up enough, before you were even born. I feel this was my fault."

"How could you do anything back then? You were turned to stone," Rainbow asked, looking at him curiously.

"I still had some power," he held up a mirror so Rainbow Dash could see her reflection and pointed to it. "That is all my fault."

"Discord, you didn't cause my accident. It was some stupid lazy Wonderbolts. Like you said, that wasn't your type of chaos. Even if you were somehow accidentally responsible, I know you didn't intend for me or Scootaloo to get hurt, so forget about it. It’s all water under the bridge."

It seemed like he was going to say more but appeared troubled, then he simply shook his head and vanished.

After a short nap, Rainbow lay back on her oversized version of Rarity's fainting couch and enjoyed her advance copy of Daring Do and The Star of the Badlands that Celestia had gotten for her. Twilight sat on a cushion nearby, reading three books levitated in front of her, astonishingly going left to right rather than reading one page of each at a time. Rainbow couldn't imagine how Twilight could meaningfully follow them reading in that fashion--she wasn't the only one who felt Twilight should have been named the Princess of Books.

Spike appeared, pushing a small cart with a teapot and cookies on it. "Can I get you anything, Rainbow Dash? More tea? Hungry? Want me to fluff your pillow?"

"Spike, I'm fine," Rainbow said, patting him on the back. "I'm not helpless, I just have to take it easy."

"I know you're going to be fine, but I just want to make sure you're okay and I don't want anything to happen to you... at the castle, here, at the castle," he stammered nervously.

Rainbow leaned over and picked up Spike, setting him on the couch beside her and then wrapped her arms around him in a hug. "Relax, little dude. I'm going to be fine."

He leaned against her and she felt a single stifled sob from him. He quickly regained his composure and looked up and smiled. "I know you'll be fine. You're Rainbow Dash. You do the impossible every day!"

"You bet," she said, then leaned over to whisper in what she assumed to be his ear. "Love you too, little bro."

Spike smiled back, returning the hug. When it appeared Spike was content to stay there beside her, she resumed reading with one hand while the other arm remained around the little dragon. Discord's words came back to her as she read and she glanced over to Twilight, who now had four books hovering in front of her.

"Hey, Twilight?"

"Yes, Rainbow?" Twilight replied, not turning away from her books.

"How much do you know about Discord?"

The four books closed with a sharp snap and Twilight turned to look at her.

"Did he say or do something that I need to know about?" she asked, her face turning to a frown.

"No. Nothing like that, I think. He stopped by earlier and he said something along the lines of the accident being his fault."

"He's responsible for your accident?!" Twilight asked, her voice raising.

"No! Not like that."

Twilight's ire quickly cooled. "What do you mean then?"

"He said it was all his fault, but it was somehow because of something he did before I was born. How could his doing something before I was born cause the accident? He said that when he was stone he still had a tiny bit of power."

Twilight pondered Discord's words. "Fluttershy told us that his developing a conscience was going to be painful and at times unpleasant for him and for us. And this looks like one of those times."

"What is it with these ancient dudes like Discord and the princesses? Can't they just say what they mean instead of always being vague and mysterious?"

Twilight cringed at the princesses being referred to as 'ancient dudes', but let it pass. "They've been around a long time and have seen what harm can come from giving too much information. We just have to hope that the ages they've lived have given them wisdom."

"Discord's as old as if not older than the princesses and he's just now learning wisdom."

"I didn't say it was a flawless system, but given the peace and prosperity of Equestria, I'd say they have a good track record."

"Granted."

Twilight put her books aside, approaching Rainbow and putting a hoof on her hand. "Whatever he's hiding, it’s bothering him enough to admit he's wronged you in some strange way. Which I have to admit is a remarkable emotional progression for him. You'll just have to be patient."

"So I just gotta sit around and wonder about what he was saying and wait for him to man up and spill the beans."

Twilight smiled. "Or pony up. Exactly." Her attention turned from Rainbow to Spike, who had fallen asleep while still remaining snuggled up against Rainbow. Twilight's horn lit up to move the little dragon. "I'm sorry about that, Rainbow. He was worried sick about you while you were in the hospital."

"It’s okay, Twilight, just let him sleep. I don't mind."

A sadness come over Twilight's face as she looked at Spike. "When we came back from the Crystal Empire that first time, after Sombra's dark magic had shown him his worst fear, it was over a week before I could get him to sleep in his own bed again."

Rainbow ran a hand over his scaly head. "I'm in the same boat with Spike. Abandonment issues really stink."

Twilight gave her a kindly nuzzle, careful not to wake Spike. "Don't worry, Rainbow. We're not going anywhere either."

"I know, Twilight, but it's still good to hear you say it," Rainbow said with a smile. "Hey, got that recording of my fall? It seems everypony's seen it but me."

"Rainbow, you lived it. Why do you want see it again?" Twilight asked hesitantly.

"It all happened too fast to even remember what happened."

Twilight paused, clearly pondering Rainbow's request, but she nodded her head and sat on the floor beside Rainbow and her horn glowed, a red crystal materialized, the one that Rainbow kept on her helmet to magically record her flying. She felt some alarm when she saw the crystal had been broken and a few small bits were missing.

"Whoa, how hard did I hit the ground?" she asked, looking at the crystal.

"Forgive me, but I'm muting the audio just before you hit. I've heard it once and never want to hear a sound like that again as long as I live," Twilight said.

"Was it really that bad?"

Twilight shuddered at the memory. "Imagine the sound of Bulk Biceps sitting on a bag of pretzels."

"Eww."

"Exactly."

Twilight began the playback and projected it into the air, creating a nearly 3-D rendering around them of the fall. It was difficult to understand the chatter between her and Pinkie due to the noise of the wind, but "Twitchy tail!" was all too clear.

Rainbow scrutinized her own timing, smiling as she couldn't find fault with it. Her mind added a heavy metal soundtrack to go with her high speed fall. She began to notice the rainbow light effect around the crystal.

"Twilight, what's with the rainbowy stuff? I thought that was me getting ready to black out from the g-forces."

Twilight paused the recording and looked to Rainbow with a small smile.

"Celestia believes that you were somehow tapping into your natural magic to give yourself a speed boost. I've calculated the term—" she said before cut off by an excited Rainbow.

"I can give myself magical speed boosts?!" Rainbow whispered in awe.

"It's theoretically possible."

"Dude, you gotta teach me how to do that! This is one of the best days ever!"

Twilight chuckled. "Of course, Rainbow," she replied with a smile and resumed the recording.

Rainbow watched, curious to see her own reactions to what was happening. She could see she was utterly determined to succeed. She found herself getting tense as she got closer and closer to Scootaloo, now watching the ground more than the filly.

"Yes!" she shouted when she saw herself catching Scootaloo, then covered her mouth hoping she hadn't woken Spike. "In your face, death," she whispered victoriously.

She felt a rush of anxiety as the parachute opened and began slowing their descent, but not nearly enough. She looked away and Twilight cut the audio a moment before they hit.

Twilight put a hoof on her hand comfortingly. "The crystal broke and the recording ended there."

Rainbow nodded and wiped her brow, not realizing she had been sweating. "That was intense, but awesome!"

Twilight chuckled a bit and smiled. "It was amazingly brave, Rainbow."

Comments

[Dark Shade 75]

"Forgive me, but I'm muting the audio just before you hit. I've heard it once and never want to hear a sound like that again as long as I live," Twilight said softly as her horn glowed brighter and a red crystal materialized, the one that Rainbow kept on her helmet to magically record her flying. She felt some alarm when she saw the crystal had been broken and a few small bits were missing.
"Whoa, how hard did I hit the ground?" she asked, looking at the crystal.
"Forgive me, but I'm muting the audio just before you hit. I've heard it once and never want to hear a sound like that again as long as I live," Twilight said.

You wrote that one part twice.

[Tinyweasels]

7732224 Thank you! That is now corrected.

[Rainbowandscoots]

Why do you keep calling Applejack "Applejewel" when that's not her name.

[Blaze Song]

"Yes!" she shouted when she saw herself catching Scootaloo, then covered her mouth hoping she hadn't woken Spike. "In your face, death," she whispered victoriously.

Grim: Curses! Foiled again.. I'll get you next time Rainbow.. Next Time! *cat meow sound*

7736366
Poetic Licence?

[Bugsydor]

I don't want anything to happen to you... at the castle, here, at the castle," he stammered nervously.

Are we shipping SpikeDash instead of Sparity? What manner of heresy is this!

[Tinyweasels]

8489722

Nothing like that. The notion is that Spike is still a kid, but around Twilight and Rarity he always strives to show how grown up he is, but RD sees through that and tries to show him it's okay to be a kid.

Thanks for reading the story, glad you're enjoying it!

[King of Kings]

Oh...I remember this story now! It turns out that Rainbow Dash is supposed to be a pony, but Discord made her a human when he was still trapped in stone. All right.