The Long Road to Recovery

by super3rainbow1

Chapter 1

Scattered around Rainbow Dash laid broken branches and the debris of the flood that swept her away. The clearing above allowed rays of light to reach her sore, bruised body. One side of her body remained half soaked while the other had slowly dried. The ground she laid on was more elevated and less marshy than the flooded grasslands nearby. An eye opened before quickly closing again in the harsh light.

"Ughh..."

Almost every part of Rainbow Dash hurt. Her flight muscles had been pushed hard and ached in protest. As she probed the back of head with a hoof, she felt a rather painful bump.

"Why does everything hurt?" she complained out loud.

Minutes went by as a the incapacitated Pegasus laid in defeat. In her confused state, all she could remember was her collision into the tree canopy and the torrent of water that she fell in. Somewhere in her hazy memories she recalls her previous moment of desperation.

The water had been moving so fast, it was pointless to fight a force so powerful. All Rainbow Dash could remember was thrashing as the powerful force dragged her past trees. Too many times she had to exert herself to avoid colliding into a tree. She couldn't remember how she ended up in the clearing though. It didn't matter at this point as she drifted away.

As time went by, she found the fog in the head clearing up. She could remember flying after a boulder that was hurdling down a mountainside, with absolutely no means of stopping it. It didn't take long for the rest to become clear but she could finally focus her thoughts.

"Shit!"

The pain was nothing now as panic took over.

Though her muscles protested, Rainbow Dash began to force her legs up as she briefly struggled to stand on her limbs. Her right wing ached from leaning on the ground as well as the rest of that side as well. Leaves and grass clung to her side as she pulled herself up. It hurt to spring into action but the young mare refused to waste more time.

Yet something was not quite right. Sure the entire area was just flooded, marshy grass but it was much more stagnant than before. From her limited view she couldn't see what the damage was to Ponyville--and Rainbow Dash wasn't sure if she was ready to. For a brief moment, she felt a chill down her spine before flaring her wings. As she lifted off for a better view, her heart began beating faster and faster.

Rainbow Dash peaked over the canopy and immediately recoiled at the view.

Ponyville was about only half a mile away but from her view the detail was horrifying. Beyond the bare foundation of the train station was a mess of destruction. Houses and buildings here and there were toppled over in heaps of split wood. The flooded streets were littered with the debris of broken branches and rubble. As Rainbow Dash flew closer overhead she eyed the path that the torrent of water had taken. The library tree was still deeply rooted in the ground but behind it was the wake of toppled homes.

Reaching the clouds directly above the soaked town, Rainbow Dash spotted what was left of Town Hall and hurried to reach the center of Ponyville. Words failed her as she eyed ponies gathering near what was left of their homes. She had to act but was overwhelmed with deciding where to start. The thought of ponies still trapped underneath rubble bothered her along the way.

As Rainbow Dash glided down to the site of town hall, another wave of panic fell over her.

"Dashie!"

Failing to hear the high pitched voice, Rainbow Dash settled near the gigantic clutter of what used to be the town hall. Around the rubble, mares stallions in bright vests had gathered in groups and were probing the area.

Before Rainbow Dash could react, something pink and fuzzy had blocked her view, and now had her in a bear hug.

"Gahhh!" she yelped before recognizing her friend.

Pinkie Pie was almost crying on her shoulder. "Rainbow Dashie!" she squeaked out before tightening the hug. "I'm so happy you're okay!"

"Pinkie! You found Rainbow Dash?" A voice called out.

Rainbow Dash groaned as a white unicorn joined in on the hug, increasing the unnecessary amount of pressure and invasion of personal space.

"Oh my stars! I was so worried, Rainbow dear!"

"What? Why were you worried about me?" Rainbow Dash croaked out through the intense hug.

"Why, what do you mean, Rainbow Dash?" replied Rarity, perplexed by her friend's response. "You were gone for so long! The Wonderbolts said you never made it back! We thought you had been injured in the middle of the nowhere..."

"Whoa!" Rainbow Dash recoiled as Rarity began to sob.

"I-I was so worried something terrible happened to you too!"

Rarity proceeded to cry even more, prompting Rainbow Dash to return the hug back. She herself was shaken from the ordeal but maybe things weren't as bad as they looked. Sure there was a lot of damage, but the Wonderbolts had managed to warn everybody ahead of time. She wasn't expecting to be terribly missed by her friends.

"Hey, I'm okay! You don't have to squeeze the hay out of me!"

Thankfully, her close friends loosened their tight grips. However, all the attention was getting Rainbow Dash awfully suspicious. From her frame of reference, she was only gone for a half hour tops.

"I wasn't gone that long you guys! Sheesh," she complained.

Pinkie Pie's eyes widened. "Oh my gosh, you've been missing for hours!"

Rainbow Dash was dumbfounded.

"What?"

"Why yes, darling! It's been quite some since Twilight resolved everything in time!" explained Rarity. "You look like you've been through a tornado!"

It Rainbow Dash a brief moment to realize that her appearance wasn't all that normal. Her mane had leaves protruding out and her fur was still half wet. Feathers were bent and unaligned on her sore wings.

"Yeah, so? Look, you don't have to worry me, but like... everyone is okay right?" Rainbow Dash asked, glancing at her friends awkwardly.

"Dashie..." Pinkie Pie had tears in her eyes.

A brief silence fell over the trio as Rainbow Dash exchanged glances with her close friends. But as she looked back, their reddened eyes watered and their lips trembled. They couldn't have looked any more distressed--and that began to bother her even more. Her friends looked miserable!

"What... what's with you guys? You're like scarring me!" Rainbow Dash pointed out with concerned in her voice.

A minute passed before her friends stopped sniffling.

Rarity leaned her head back up through the hug. "Why darling... you have no idea... you have no idea what happened.. to our dear, Fluttershy!"

Panic set in Rainbow Dash as she heard the words that left her friends muzzle.

"What?"

"Yes, I'm afraid she was injured! Poor dear was inside when her house collapsed!" Rarity sniffled.

"She's okay right?"

"I.. we're hoping that she will be okay," Rarity replied. "I believe she's about to have surgery soon," she added.

Rainbow Dash paused before she could find her voice. "Well, we gotta her seen then, right? I mean maybe they'll have good news."

Rarity sighed and gave the cyan Pegasus a light hug. "She's not awake, dear. I don't think it would make much of a difference in this case, but you are right. Perhaps there will be good news."

---

Walking through the flooded streets wasn't ideal but it was a better alternative to using her sore flight muscles. Most buildings that weren't in the direct path of destruction were standing with little structural damage. As the trio passed through town, Rainbow Dash noticed that almost nothing remained of the marketplace. Instead, food floated around street corners in puddles. It was disheartening to see many of the town's residents sorting through the piles of rubble.

Nothing was getting better for Rainbow Dash. She had been hoping the aftermath wouldn't be as bad. Now she found out her girlfriend and true friend had been hurt--and she doesn't even know the extent of her injuries. It was a sick feeling knowing this.

Finally reaching the Ponyville Hospital at the edge of town, Rainbow Dash found a sliver of comfort seeing for herself that it wasn't damaged in the disaster. She wasted little time and barged through the front doors with her friends behind.

To Rainbow Dash's surprise, there were only few ponies waiting in the reception area. Yet none of them appeared to be injured. The waiting area was empty except for a doctor who stood by the hallway on the right of the reception counter. Beyond that hall though was the noise of a lot busy doctors and nurses. They approached the pink maned receptionist with haste.

The receptionist in scrubs looked surprised by Rainbow Dash's appearance.

"Oh my gosh! You poor thing!" She gestured toward the hallway on her left. "Please, go right ahead and someone will examine your wounds!"

"No, no I'm fine! I want to know where my friend Fluttershy is!" Rainbow Dash demanded, losing her patience already.

"Rainbow dear!" Rarity scoffed. "I'm sorry but we would really like to speak to the doctor again," she politely asked.

Nodding quietly, the mare behind the counter motioned towards the set of doors on her right. "Okay, but please be careful not to get in the way."

Rarity smiled at the receptionist. "Thank you, dear."

The three friends pushed past the doors to see a hallway filled with several stern looking doctors. At the end of the hall another hallway intersected with more doctors. Rainbow Dash briefly glanced at the doors as they walked past with a nervous look. As they walked further down, she could see that the rooms near the end were windowed. Rainbow Dash grit her teeth almost in an unbearable agony. She had to see what happened to Fluttershy... but feared it at the same time.

As they approached the last segment of windowless rooms, Rarity slowed down.

"Darling, I want to you know that she's in a rough state." She spoke up. Her tone was serious but she spoke softly. "I don't want you be shocked all at once but she has both of her wings bandaged up and she has this thick neck brace on. For the time being, they have her in a medically induced coma."

A wave of panic came over Rainbow Dash as she nervously nodded back.

"Okay then, it is this last room on the right." Rarity gestured.

Moving past a group of doctors, Rainbow Dash felt her heart sink into her chest. They were almost there yet part of her felt like turning around. She cringed as the window came into better view and froze in front of it.

Inside the white room, Fluttershy laid on a stretcher with her bandaged wings extended. A clear breathing mask covered her face. Wrapped around her neck was a rather thick brace. At one side was her IV bag hanging from a stand and at the other side, a rather complex looking heart monitor producing squiggles on a screen. Looking closer she could see one of the bandaged wings stained with blood. Behind the mask, a gash appeared on Fluttershy's forehead.

Eyes widened, Rainbow Dash couldn't believe what she was seeing. Her close friend had been reduced to this. It couldn't be any more devastating to see her like this. She didn't even notice that Pinkie Pie was no longer with them. Instead her eyes shifted back and forth as she found herself losing control of her emotions.

Rarity had noticed she was about cry and had already wrapped her in a hug. It felt awful to feel so vulnerable but Rainbow Dash couldn't bottle her emotions. She needed this hug. Tears streaked down her cheeks as she chose to remain silent. She didn't need to say anything this time to show how she felt. Rarity understood that and held her friend close.

After a few minutes of hugging, the sound of the door opening interrupted their hug as they glanced at the doctors entering the room. They curiously watched as two of the doctors held on to opposite sides of the stretcher while the third doctor held her IV stand.

"Excuse me, you two." a polite voice addressed them from the right.

Rainbow Dash turned her head to see a rather young, red maned mare who wore a lab coat. She used her unicorn magic to levitate a clipboard in front of her.

"Oh, hello again." Rarity nodded. "You have news for us?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I do have news about your friend here," the mare smiled. "We did scans of her neck and wings and learned that the injuries to her neck are far less severe than we had thought.

"Well that certainly is good news!" Rarity beamed. "And what about--"

"What about her wings?" Rainbow Dash asked, interrupting her friend.

The doctor frowned. "That is our bad news I'm afraid. We know that her right wing has a rather nasty fracture and the other as well, but possibly not as bad."

"Like, how bad?"

The sound of the door swinging open distracted them as the doctors pulled Fluttershy's stretcher out of the room. A doctor followed them with the IV stand. Without stopping they turned and wheeled the injured mare down the intersecting hall.

"I think it would be premature to tell you before the surgery," she explained. "But other than this, we know she's only had a mild concussion. You can speak with the surgeon after the operation and she'll give you a more accurate overview, okay?"

"Well... okay," Rainbow Dash replied, awkwardly scratching the back of the head.

Rarity nodded. "Well, thank you, dear. It means a lot to us that you share these details."

"You're welcome but before I leave, I want you to know that your friend will be in good hooves."

"Yes," Rarity replied. "We know she is now."

As they watched the doctor slip away into a nearby room, Rainbow Dash fidgeted with a damaged feather. She couldn't help but feel distressed and worried. The doctor seemed quite hopeful that Fluttershy didn't have any life-threatening injuries. Yet that wasn't good enough for Rainbow Dash. She couldn't help but wonder if Fluttershy had felt anything at all before she was brought to the hospital. She turned towards Rarity and wondered what she thought of all of this.

"So like what now? How long are we going to have to wait?" Rainbow Dash asked, frowning.

"There's nothing that waiting can do for her, Rainbow. I think right now our time will be better spent helping around Ponyville," Rarity replied, her tone more annoyed. "I think it would best for you for see Twilight first."

"Why?" Rainbow Dash turned to look around the hallway.

There were only a few doctors around, most of whom were talking with each other.

"Where did Pinkie go? I-I totally forgot about her!" she added.

Rarity sighed. "She didn't want you notice but she told me that she would slip out to avoid this whole atmosphere. I think she knows too there's nothing more we can do here."

Defeated, Rainbow Dash shook her head. "Yeah, okay... I get what you're trying to say."

"There's no need to be glum, dear. We should tell the others about the news... and I think Twilight doesn't know yet we've found you," Rarity consoled her with a hoof on her shoulder. "Come," she beckoned.

Rainbow Dash sighed and nodded her head. At this point, she felt like she had crashed into ground--and a tree had fallen on her. The aftermath of the disaster was overwhelming in every sense. Not even the good news could make up for it. To her, it meant nothing if they weren't a hundred percent sure what Fluttershy's condition was. She wanted that assurance that everything would be okay in the end. Having to wait just to know that, would be the longest wait ever.

---

The sun was almost halfway down to the horizon by the time they left the hospital. After saying goodbye to Rarity, she lifted herself to the sky to get another at the damage that had been done. Not much had changed except now there was a cluster of tents being set up adjacent to the hospital. For a brief moment Rainbow Dash watched as workers set up more tents but it only worsened her mood. Most of the tents that had been set up varied in color and size. Whoever had lost their homes now had to sleep in tents that belonged to other ponies.

As Rainbow Dash passed by other ponies, she noticed that several ponies had bandages on their limbs. Some were covered with countless minor cuts and bruises. Her ears perked down as she trotted through the flooded streets. There was enough on her mind and she just wanted to see Twilight before returning to visit Fluttershy again. Seeing the great tree library still brought a small comfort to Rainbow Dash. Maybe talking to the young princess would make her feel better and the wait less agonizing. Without knocking she let herself inside.

"Spike, is that Rarity again?"

Rainbow Dash glanced around the first floor of the library before looking up and seeing Twilight on her bed. She had been looking out her bedroom window and didn't seem to bother to turn around. Several scrolls levitated above her disheveled mane. Spike was there near the bed clutching a scroll in one hand and two more in the other. Behind him was a small pile of scrolls.

"No, it's Rainbow Dash!" Spike replied pointing at the cyan mare.

"Yeah, okay, I'm not dead," Rainbow Dash deadpanned, rolling her eyes. She sighed before continuing. "So, Rarity said that you were looking for me?"

The young Alicorn sprung up from her bed. "Well yeah! You were missing for so long! And now I heard you were there when it all happened!"

"Yeah I was.." Rainbow Dash answered back, looking away. "And then I heard what happened to Fluttershy. I.. I even saw her before she had to have her surgery."

"Oh..." Twilight Sparkle paused as she quietly walked down her stairs. "She was lucky that Applejack found her in time, otherwise she would have lost too much blood. But I heard that her other injuries aren't as bad as they thought."

Rainbow Dash let out a long sigh. "They said that her wings are in really bad shape... but everything else isn't like, life threatening or anything."

"What happened to you, Rainbow? You're a mess!" Twilight Sparkle pointed out as she approached her friend. "Look, maybe I shouldn't ask too much of you right now.

"It's fine..." Rainbow Dash said, sighing again. "I'll be okay for now I guess. It's all because we screwed some stupid corkscrew trick."

Twilight Sparkle blinked several times before responding, "Wait... so this was because of the Wonderbolts? You saw it happen?"

"Well, No!" Rainbow Dash groaned. "It was like a freak accident! One second we're about do a finale move and the next we're bumping into each other and this firework rocket goes off!"

"That's... that's not at all what I thought had happened," Twilight Sparkle stuttered in surprise before continuing. "I mean... I figured that a rockslide was the reason why the dam was destroyed, but I didn't know what caused the rockslide."

Spike hurried down the stairs with several scrolls in his hands to join in on the conversion. "So, does that mean that the Wonderbolts are responsible for everything?" he asked, appearing nervous.

A long sigh followed before Twilight Sparkle shook her head. "No, Spike. I believe Rainbow when she says it was an accident. I don't know we should do with this information though!" she complained.

"So then like don't tell anyone!" Rainbow Dash replied, scratching the back of head as if she wasn't sure. "I mean if you tell the town what caused the rockslide then the Wonderbolts are screwed!"

Another sigh left the muzzle of the young Alicorn while she mussed over the facts. "Well, I get it was an accident... but I can't just hide the truth! I won't tell the town just yet... but Princess Celestia needs to know and we'll see what she says."

Rainbow Dash stepped closer to her friend. "So, what happens now?"

"We're going to sort this," Twilight Sparkle quickly replied.

A scroll levitated past them and hovered next to Twilight Sparkle. She nodded at Spike, who hurried back up the stairs to their room. She then gave her cyan friend a nod before returning to her room. Rainbow Dash groaned and reluctantly followed her up the stairs. She knew that she would have to explain everything that had happened, but she had a feeling she have to get even more involved now.

As they walked into Twilight Sparkle's bedroom space, Rainbow Dash noticed it was even a bigger mess once she saw it from this angle. The pile of scrolls was even bigger and she could see a red nightstand covered with several empty envelopes. Looking at a few of the scrolls, it was clear that Twilight Sparkle had been communicating back and forth with the Royal Princesses already. Rainbow Dash hoped to get everything cleared up as soon she could. She had a feeling they were going to have a lot of work to do.

---

Paperwork had always bored Rainbow Dash, but this session had been even more intense than she thought it would be. Having to explain everything from the beginning was tedious on the account of having to include almost every detail. Twilight Sparkle seemed to show surprise when she mentioned that Spitfire was not there. Yet, she still trusted that Rainbow Dash had been telling the truth about the whole story. It was embarrassing to talk about how she had been wiped out before she could reach Ponyville.

She half-expected Twilight Sparkle to ask another million questions about after crashing but instead she had used her magic to scan her for broken bones. It was awkward for Rainbow Dash but it had only lasted a minute. She didn't want her friend to get the crazy idea of suggesting that she see a doctor when she had bigger problems to deal with. Now they had started sorting out scrolls with instructions from the Princesses.

It wasn't the most interesting task but Rainbow Dash understood how important it was to help her Alicorn friend with this. At the very least, it helped Rainbow Dash feel better about herself. She couldn't deny having a part in the accident this was one way to make things right. As she laid sprawled beside the bed, she couldn't help but guilty about her girlfriend. Still, she had an important task at hoof.

Rainbow Dash briefly looked up from the letter she had been reading. "So, I was thinking," she began before she notice Twilight Sparkle's attention. "You said that train tracks are in bad shape, right?"

Her friend raised an eyebrow from her bed. "Yeah? Well, for now they are." she replied before turning her focus on the scrolls floating at eye level.

"Well, I was thinking of organizing the weather team. 'Cause you said we were running low on bandages and whatever, and that's stuff is light enough to carry, right?"

"I don't know, Rainbow... only Cloudsdale is close enough."

Rainbow Dash flicked her tail. "Yeah, okay but they'll be able to give plenty of medical stuff. And they'd be able to spare some food too."

"We can't count on them to provide enough medical supplies. A lot of ponies got hurt, Rainbow." Twilight replied as she looked away from her scrolls. Her face appeared quite serious. "Several ponies were badly injured and Fluttershy was only one of them. We need to be sure we'll have enough supplies for everyone."

Sighing in defeat, Rainbow Dash turned back to the letters. "Yeah, okay, I get what you're saying.

"I'm not saying your plan has no merit but we need to look at the bigger picture here." Twilight Sparkle's tone became softer. "Maybe you should get some rest. Or at least clean yourself up a bit," she suggested.

"I'd rather not-"

Before Rainbow Dash continue someone had burst through the front door.

"Dashie! And Twi-Twi!" exclaimed an exuberant Pinkie Pie. "I've got super duper news about Flutters!"

In a matter of seconds, Rainbow Dash was already hovering in the main room. "What about her? How did her surgery go?" she asked as she crossed her forearms in anticipation.

"Rarity said that the said Surgeon it went super duper well! They were even able to fix up the really bad wing!" Pinkie Pie replied with a huge grin.

"Seriously?" Rainbow Dash asked. She almost felt a weight lifted off her shoulders.

"That's great news, Pinkie! I had a good feeling things would go well," Twilight Sparkle added, smiling.

"Can we see her, Pinkie?"

Rainbow Dash was almost dying from the suspense. She needed this news badly.

"Oh... sorry, Dashie," Pinkie Pie apologized before continuing. "They told Rarity that she would have to wait until they're absolutely sure Fluttershy is stable enough. But they said that she might wake up the next day!" Pinkie Pie explained as bounced up and down.

"Wait, so like tomorrow we can finally see her?" Rainbow Dash couldn't help but make a victory lap in the spacious library. "Yes! That's awesome!" she cried.

The three ponies plus Spike gathered together in a group hug to celebrate.

---

Under a dark sky, Rainbow Dash returned to her cloud home. She had spent so much time helping Twilight Sparkle; hours had gone by before she felt the weight of tiredness. She was still sore from exerting her wings and getting caught in the dangerous torrent of water. As she flew above the town, she noticed that the field below her cloud house was still completely flooded.

It was a miracle that she was able to make it to her own bedroom without passing out from exhaustion. She wanted to sleep so badly but couldn't help but think of her girlfriend. Things could have gone so much differently. They would have been on their date, doing all kinds of fun activities. Now, she was waiting for Fluttershy to wake up from a medically induced coma.

Rainbow Dash couldn't help but worry for Fluttershy. Her life had been turned upside down and she didn't even realize it yet. Rainbow Dash figured it was better that way. She hoped and hoped to Celestia that Fluttershy had been knocked out as soon as she had sustained her injuries. Just seeing her at the hospital was enough to make Rainbow Dash cringe at the thought of the pain she would have experienced. It was sickening to worry about her girlfriend like that.

Time passed before Rainbow Dash eventually nodded off to a fitful sleep.

Author's Note:

Getting back to writing wasn't the smoothest transition but soon enough the process was almost exactly like what I had done before. After getting this far with my ideas, it was fun to try it out and it developed into this. The only problem was I had no idea what others would think of a more bittersweet story. I wanted a story that was more emotional and yeah FlutterDash too. I'm interested to hear thoughts as I aim to improve.

Comments

[hawthornbunny]

Awwwwww yeah! Off to a good start and I'm very much looking forward to this. I like that we're starting in a pre-Glimglam era; not because I dislike the later seasons or anything, but it feels nostalgic to go back to the show's simpler roots.

I actually thought it was going to be Dashie who would get injured at first :)

[super3rainbow1]

8820610
Glad to hear you've enjoyed it so far. It's easier for me to work with more ideas if it's set back here. A ton of stuff happens after season 4 and that kind of limits what I want to do. I'm glad that I started watching season 4+ because there's been some really decent episodes.

Well actually she did, but obviously just minor injuries that a tough pony like her can shake off.