The Long Road to Recovery

by super3rainbow1

Chapter 2

Rainbow Dash was in the middle of it again, stuck in the center of the raging flow of water. The debris of tree branches and broken wood moved around her. She flailed around as she desperately grabbed at her surroundings to hold onto something. Nothing she could grab was enough to keep her head above the water. Her body felt weak and her muscles powerless against the torrent of water. She screamed as the water carried her through the landscape.

Trees passed by as the Pegasus was dragged through a forest. Ahead of her the water was knocking trees down loudly, causing them to disappear under the water. Water sprayed as more tree were taken down. Suddenly there was a clearing and Rainbow Dash could see the town of Ponyville. Ponies in the distance were scrambling to get out of the way. She wanted to do everything in her power to help but she could only flail in the fast moving water.

Ponyville loomed closer and with a terrible cracking sound, Rainbow Dash found herself in the middle of the streets as house toppled over around her. The torrent of water claimed more helpless victims as she shrieked trying to reach out to them. The more that she tried, the farther the current had pulled them away from her hooves.

Suddenly the water ceased and Rainbow Dash found herself sprawled on a damp, white tile. She coughed up water before finding the strength to pull herself up. A bright source lit up above her as she rose up on her hooves. In front of was Fluttershy, dressed in bandages on the stretcher and in between an immensely large pane of glass.

All the details stood out to Rainbow Dash: the IV bag hanging from the stand, the heart monitor oscillating unpredictably, the clear breathing mask that covered her girlfriend's face, the neck brace that was so thick, and the bandages that covered both of her wings. She leaned closer and as she did, the bandages on her wings slowly reddened with blood. Gasping, she leaned away from the glass and reeled in horror.

Details faded away as the objects in the room began to disappear into the void. The surfaces of the room darkened until only Fluttershy's body could be seen. Cuts and scrapes appeared on her forearms and hind legs along with a large gash across her forehead. Just like that Fluttershy immediately disappeared leaving only the image of her bandaged wings, seeping with blood.

---

Rainbow Dash woke up a sweaty mess. Her heart pounded in her chest while she struggled to process what had happened. Droplets of sweat dotted her forehead and wetted her fur. She was still bruised from the previous day, though her limbs ached much less. With a shaky hoof, she wiped the sweat off her forehead and squinted to glance around her. She had knocked her nightstand over as well as the pile of books that had been stacked on top. Across the inclined area of her bedroom laid her favorite series of books.

"Ughhh!" she groaned out loud.

With a slow brush of her hoof, she lazily combed her mane back to its former style. She was glad that she wasn't as sore as she was the previous day. The strange sensation getting pulled away in the water still lingered in her body. Her wings no longer ached yet they still were ungroomed. Many feathers were misaligned, some of which were far too damaged. Having her wings in such a poor condition was not okay to the speedster. She took pride in keeping herself looking in top shape--and that included making sure every feather was in pristine condition.

She lifted her left wing and curled it towards her face. Delicately using her teeth, she realigned each feather carefully. As she worked her way down a row she plucked feathers here and there that were too damaged. By the time she had finished just one wing, there were already several feathers in a loose pile on her bed. Without pausing she started on the other wing. It wasn't fun but as she realigned each feather, she felt a little better.

Rainbow Dash grinned as she examined her recently preened wings. Just when she had found a way to boost her mood, the image of Fluttershy's wings came to mind. She cringed at the mental image of her girlfriend at the hospital, with both wings bandaged and one slightly stained red.

"Shake it off!" she urged herself.

She had to wonder though if there was to more to the story about what happened to the shy Pegasus. A thought entered Rainbow Dash's mind as she paused in the middle of her bedroom. She had yet to see things for herself. Of course, she had a feeling that Fluttershy's cottage had simply been reduced to nothing but rubble. The thought of what happened to her girlfriend's home piqued her curiosity but was disturbing nonetheless. She couldn't imagine what it must have looked like after everything that had happened. She would eventually have to see the damage done, but her lingering fears told her it was a waste in time. It didn't matter because she knew this bit of curiosity would hold her back. There would be other ways later to keep Fluttershy's situation out of her head.

---

To Rainbow Dash's surprise, the sky was clear of clouds. She had almost forgotten her own responsibility but it seemed that someone else from the weather team had stepped up. Looking down, the town appeared slightly different. Most of the standing water had finally been absorbed into the ground but all the debris remained. Below her cloud house the ground still looked marshy.

The road to Fluttershy's cottage had been washed over, leaving most of the cobblestone covered with dirt and broken branches. It was only a matter of seconds before Rainbow Dash reached the cottage.

Rainbow Dash felt her heart skip a beat at the sight of the destruction.

Only about half of the cottage remained standing. The back half of the cottage had partially collapsed into the remaining part of the house. All around laid broken branches and what was left of the many birdhouses that were hung up. A large section of the cobblestone bridge could be seen protruding from the stream. As she got closer, she noticed that only the top half of the cottage door remained on the hinge.

Now she wasn't sure if she had really wanted to do this. This was where Fluttershy had been when she was injured and rescued from. What was left no longer appeared structurally stable. Rainbow Dash hovered over where the little bridge once was and tilted her head at the sight.

She had already been exposed to the sights of collapsed houses and stores but this was different. This was Fluttershy's house, and Rainbow Dash knew well enough just how much it meant to the shy Pegasus. It wasn't just her home, but it had served as the home for some of the animals she had cared for.

Rainbow Dash was too curious to let her nervousness stop her from getting closer. As she approached, the damaged creaked in response to a breeze. She briefly recoiled before peering past the doorway.

The living room had been half-filled with the rubble of the second floor and roof. Broken glass, boards, and leafage that covered the roof littered the cottage. The stairs on the left side of the room that lead to the second floor had also been blocked with rubble. Yet, the inside of the cottage didn't appear to be damp.

However, in the brief glance around, her attention was immediately drawn to the doorway on the left. The kitchen was there and it also was blocked off by broken boards and wooden support beams. On the floor was what caught Rainbow Dash's attention. Beneath the supports was too dark to see but thick lines of blood were visibly leading from underneath. It didn't take much to piece together the story of what had happened.

Rainbow Dash paused before letting out a nervous breath. Her surroundings felt so surreal that it was difficult to process everything at once. She didn't want to see any more blood, especially that of her injured friend. It wasn't a thought that had crossed her conscious mind. Now she regretted trying to satisfy her curiosity. She had to change her focus on something more useful, something that would be more productive and positive.

Her thoughts were quickly interrupted by a distant voice shouting from behind. Rainbow Dash turned around to find the source of the voice. Above the trees a light-purple Pegasus hovered as the wind brushed her light-blue mane.

"Cloudchaser? What... what are you doing here?" Rainbow Dash stuttered. "How'd you even find me," she added.

"Twilight Sparkle said that I might find you here, boss! She said that you were trying to get the weather team together to do something," Clouderchaser explained.

Rainbow Dash frowned as she addressed her fellow weather mare. "Yeah, I was going to do that... I just..." She stumbled with words inside her head before shaking off the rest of the shock. "It's just that... I needed some time to think about stuff."

Cloudchaser raised an eyebrow after listening to her superior. "Are you okay?" she asked. "Well, I kind of got everyone together... because your friend said it was really important."

Shaking her head, Rainbow Dash lifted herself above the ruined cottage. "I'm fine. I-yeah I need to talk to everyone." she replied.

This wasn't the time to focus on Fluttershy's situation. She needed to turn to something to get her spirits up again. Cloudchaser didn't need to know what she had been doing or what she just saw. Thinking back she had almost scrapped her plans for moving much needed medical supplies.

"About what?" Clouderchaser asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"Our mission!" Rainbow Dash declared. She waited for Cloudchaser to hover closer. "We're gonna be heroes and help Ponyville!" she boldly declared.

Rainbow Dash wasn't sure about newfound energy but it felt like the right thing to do. It felt nice thinking about doing something good for the town. Moping around wasn't going to make difference--and it wasn't going to help anyone with that attitude. She needed to be strong. Even though Cloudchaser was confused by her response she would eventually feel the same.

---

The two pegasi flew over the town, noting that there was much activity going on. Carts had been pulled into the streets to begin the removal of debris. They watched as volunteers hauled large broken branches over in pairs. As far as Rainbow Dash was concerned, this was when things would finally turn around. She had to stay positive and keep her usual up-beat attitude. Enough ponies had been concerned about her and she didn't want that kind of attention. There was little pride in appearing vulnerable.

Their destination was the group of clouds that apparently were spared from the morning cloud-clearing routine. As they approached several members of the weather team appeared to be hovering around. Many of the Pegasi present Rainbow Dash had recognized as her part-time helpers who aided with storms. Yet, this clearly was not everyone who did work for the weather team.

Rainbow Dash turned her head at Cloudchaser as they approached the clouds. "I thought you said everyone was gonna be here!" she complained. "We need the entire team!"

"Yeah, well it was impossible to gather everyone at short notice!" Cloudchaser replied.

"Ugh, this is like half of the team! We're going to need everyone to know what we're gonna do!" Rainbow Dash groaned.

Cloudchaser scrunched her face in frustration. "We all want to help, Dash! Can you at least tell us what this is all about?"

Nodding at her subordinate, Rainbow Dash motioned to land on one of the clouds. The faces of familiar pegasi gathered around the center of the group of clouds. Thunderlane and Flitter were amongst the several others who worked for the weather team. A speech sounded like a good touch but Rainbow Dash had a feeling it was best to lay it all out at once.

"Look, I've been talking and thinking about really helping out around here," Rainbow Dash began before shifting her gaze at the colorful group of Pegasi. "Basically, right now, there's a huge delay on sending trains to Ponyville... and 'cause of that, the hospital is worried that they'll run out of supplies 'cause a lot of Ponies need that stuff . So-"

"Wait!" Flitter interrupted. "Are you about to say that we're going to be moving it ourselves?"

"Yeah," Rainbow Dash curtly replied. Her face was very much serious. "'Cause this is really, really important. Yeah, it's gonna suck but you'll be doing something really good for Ponyville."

Thunderlane raised an eyebrow. "So, is it really that bad? Would we even make a difference?" he asked. The stallion appeared skeptical of the whole briefing.

"Of course it would," Cloudchaser quickly replied. "Haven't you noticed how many ponies are walking around with bandages wrapped all over them?"

"Well... yeah," Thunderlane conceited. "But do you have any idea how long that would take?"

Rainbow Dash sighed as her fellow weather Pegasi started complaining amongst each other. She didn't want to admit that her plan was flawed in that regard, that hadn't put more thought behind that issue. Giving up and letting the town down wasn't an option that she was ready to take.

"We would only be traveling to Cloudsdale and Canterlot," Rainbow Dash deadpanned. "And we only need to do this at least once before they can fix the tracks," she added.

"I agree with Dash!" Flitter spoke up. "We can't just sit by and wait for something as important as medical supplies to get here, especially if ponies need it that bad!" She received a nod of approval from Cloudchaser.

"See, all we need is to get more ponies on board with the plan!" Rainbow Dash pointed out. She leaned her head back and puffed out her chest to make a cool pose. "If everypony could pitch in, we can make a difference!" she declared.

The Pegasi that hovered among the clouds nodded in agreed while Cloudchaser cheered for her. Even Thunderlane reluctantly agreed with solemn nod. It felt good to get everyone to agree with her, especially for a cause this important. If her weather team was willing to help her then things were sure to turn out well.

Rainbow Dash waited before speaking up again. "Focus, team!" she interrupted them. "If you're in on this, I need you to spread the word now!" She stomped her right foreleg and flared her wings for effect. "I need everyone to meet again here tomorrow morning!"

For a moment, the brash Pegasus thought she would have to reiterate the importance of this task in order to justify starting the very next day. Surprise disappeared, leaving faces of confidence looking back. Rainbow Dash nodded before the Pegasi dispersed. While the others are busy spreading word to the rest of the team, she could pay another visit to Twilight Sparkle to give a new update of the current situation.

---

After arriving at the great tree library, Rainbow Dash was anxious to see her friend again. She was convinced that the rest of weather team would back her up on her mission. All she needed to do was let herself in and tell the young princess it was going to happen.

Yet, as soon as she let herself in without knocking she realized that it wasn't going happen. The library was silent with no presence inside. No one was upstairs in the bedroom. What was different from the previous visit was that the bedroom appeared even messier than before, with more piles of scrolls. At the center of the library stood a square dinning table with various papers and map of Ponyville.

Rainbow Dash sighed, as she had missed her moment. She closed the door with another sigh and turned around to face the rubble of what was several homes. Ponies were hard at work removing the debris and loading it into wooden carts, used originally for just garbage. She watch for a minute before deciding to move on. Her Alicorn friend could be anywhere around town.

As Rainbow Dash headed to her first destination, she noticed how busy Ponyville was becoming with the cleanup effort. More carts were around the streets and the toppled homes. Workers and volunteers stood amongst each other clearing out the wreckage. Several of these ponies had sustained injuries yet they still worked as hard the others around them. The town was finally getting back on its hooves and making a strong start.

A familiar building came into view and brought relief to Rainbow Dash. The sight of Sugarcube Corner was straight ahead of her. From a distance it appeared that was very little damage down to the outside. The bushes had been swept away but the structure remained undamaged. It was as bright and welcoming as it always had been. As she approached two ponies came into view. With her sharp vision, she recognized Applejack and Pinkie Pie chatting in front of the store. Both mares wore saddlebags that appeared quite full. Their heads turned as Rainbow Dash approached them.

Pinkie Pie bounced up in surprise with her saddlebags. "Dashie!"

"Ah, Rainbow Dash!" Applejack greeted with a warm smile before appearing flustered. "We could really use yer help at a time like this!"

"What? replied Rainbow Dash. "Well, I'm looking for Twilight right now," she explained as she landed beside her friends. "Why, what's going on?" she asked with a curious face.

"Well, a lot of good folks lost their homes in this mess, so it's up to us to make sure they still get something to eat while we wait for the trains to come in." Applejack explained as she scratched the back of her neck.

"Yeah..." Pinkie Pie frowned as she listened. "Right now they have to eat crummy food rations that are all stale and boring! And there's not even enough of that to last for a week!" she complained.

Overwhelmed, Rainbow Dash found herself imitating Fluttershy as she awkwardly scratched the ground with her hoof. "I don't know what I could do for you. I mean, I was just looking for Twilight."

Applejack rested her hoof on Rainbow Dash's shoulder. "Look, sugarcube, Ah know we're asking a lot from you all of a sudden but Twilight is just too busy anyhow! Ah wouldn't be begging you like this if we were fine on our own!"

Rainbow Dash briefly glanced back and forth at her friends. She had been trying to get her goal accomplished with as little sidetracking as possible. Yet, her friends needed her now and it wasn't in her nature to turn her back on them. It was almost like a weakness in her heart. She couldn't leave her friends now if they wanted her help that badly.

Reluctantly, Rainbow Dash nodded her head. "Okay," she agreed.

"Yes! Thanks, Rainbow Dashie! It'll be great to have your help here!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she bounced towards the front door.

---

The inside of the store was messier than Rainbow Dash had thought it would be. All the decorative rugs had been removed. The tables appeared to have been pushed to the back of the eating area. Towels littered the floor around the doors. Pinkie Pie had insisted on wiping their hooves with one of the towels before they continued walking. As Rainbow Dash followed her friends towards to the kitchen she noticed several worn mops leaning next to doorframe.

"So what happened here?" Rainbow Dash asked with a raised eyebrow.

Applejack shot a glance back. "Sugarcube, ya know what happened."

"Yeah, I guess... I just can't believe this happened to everyone..." Rainbow Dash trailed off as she found herself lost in thought. "I can't believe what happened to Fluttershy," she murmured.

The three mares stood still as they briefly stopped before the pink door to the kitchen. Rainbow Dash couldn't help but awkwardly scratch the back of her head as she looked away at the heart shaped window in the door.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have brought that up now." Rainbow Dash apologized as she looked down at her hooves.

"Nah, it's alright, sugarcube. There's no point in moping. Besides, things have been getting better," Applejack remarked. "Isn't that right, Pinkie?"

"Yep! They said Flutters has been doing well since her surgery!" Pinkie Pie explained, perking back up.

"Like recently?" asked a surprised Rainbow Dash.

"Not too long ago," Pinkie Pie replied as she pushed the pink door open. "Rarity stopped by this morning."

Rainbow Dash followed her friends into the kitchen. "So, like did they say anything about when we can visit?" she asked, sounding a little impatient.

"Well, from what Rarity said, they seemed awfully confident that we would be able to see her soon," Applejack replied as she set her saddlebags down.

Rainbow Dash looked around as she entered the kitchen. The kitchen floor appeared much cleaner than the store front. Though, almost all the green countertop against the wall was messy from preparing food. The large white countertop island in the middle of the room seemed to be the only clean surface. Her eyes focused on the large metal bowls that had been set on the clean counter surface.

"Really? That's great!" Rainbow Dash watched as Applejack emptied her saddlebag of skinned apples on the countertop. "So, what's going here?" she asked with eager face.

"So, we're gonna make apple squares and apple fritters... but we need a lot of help dicing these apples. So that's where you come in, sugarcube," Applejack explained.

"Oh um, okay I guess," Rainbow Dash shrugged. She knew she was going to need to maintain her positive face. Food preparation was anything but exciting for the speedster, and she had to do it in bulk.

Pinkie Pie cleared her throat. "Okay, girls! I've got the batter covered. Rainbow, you're going to help Applejack and core the apples. She'll dice the apple wedges."

"Uh, okay," Rainbow Dash agreed, forcing a smile. "Where is the thing that I need to do this?" she asked, sounding unsure of her role.

"It's right here silly!" Pinkie Pie laughed, pointing at the simple device.

Rainbow Dash looked over between the enormous pile of apples and the metal mixing bowls. Hiding next to the measuring cups was the circular device. The handles on the metal tool appeared worn with numerous scratches and dings. She briefly inspected the slicing side for dents but found none. It would easy enough to use considering her strength and experience of using a similar device.

It was simple but Rainbow Dash hesitated at the sight of all the apples. As much as she didn't want do this, her friends needed her help and she couldn't just turn them down. She held back a sigh and aligned the tool over the first apple. With a quick press, she forced the metal to cut all the way through the apple.

Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie was scooping measures of ingredients and filling the mixing bowls. As she added her ingredients she hummed a happy little tune. Applejack stood across from Rainbow Dash, cutting the apple wedges into fourths. She appeared content of the quality of her fast work.

"So, uh ah've been kinda wondering about something, Rainbow," Applejack remarked, sounding unsure.

Rainbow Dash briefly paused as her friend hesitated. "Yeah, about what?" she replied with a curious look.

"Well... see ah not one to pry into other ponies' business, but uhm... ah heard that you were dating somepony," Applejack nervously asked back. "And well, ah couldn't help but overhear Rarity talking to Fluttershy last week."

"Oh..." Rainbow Dash trailed off as she couldn't help but blush. "Y-yeah, we're dating," she replied, and continued coring apples from the pile.

"Ah don't mean to put you on the spot like that but it's just that ah was a little curious, is all," Applejack explained.

Pinkie Pie paused her rapid mixing to show wide eyes to the cyan Pegasus. "Aww, I think it's great that you finally started giving dating other ponies a try," she commented, slightly annoying the young mare.

Rainbow Dash deflated as thoughts floated in her about the previous morning.

"Awh, Rainbow, ah know you're just as upset as we are, but ya gotta remember things aren't so bad after all," said Applejack as she noticed her friend's expression.

Sighing, the cyan Pegasus shook her head. "I just wish this all didn't happen. Everything would have been so much better if she didn't get hurt," she complained.

Pinkie Pie paused and gave a sad look. "You were going to take her on a date yesterday, right," she quietly asked.

"Yeah... we were supposed to go on a date later that day," Rainbow Dash explained, shaking her head. "Fluttershy couldn't wait for it! I mean, she seemed so excited for it."

"Well, there's nothing you can do about that now, sugarcube. But she's going to be need plenty of company soon. Poor girl's gone through enough already," Applejack consoled her.

"I guess."

Rainbow Dash shrugged and returned her focus to the work at hoof. She had slowed down considerably, preventing Pinkie Pie from finishing another batch of apple fritters. Talking about Fluttershy was slowing her down and affecting her mood. There was still an enormous pile of apples, waiting to be cored.

Using her upper body strength, Rainbow Dash found it convenient to line up apples and rapidly cored with quick thrusts of the tool. It was much more efficient than grabbing one from the pile at a time. She grinned as she took pride in her efficiency. At this rate, it wouldn't be long until she finished her job.

---

By the time the food preparation was all done, Rainbow Dash couldn't help but feel exhausted. She was drained physically and emotionally by the day so far. Still, she felt much better for helping her friends like this, even if was the least entertaining job. She had finished coring the apples so fast, she had to assist Applejack in cutting the wedges into smaller pieces.

As Rainbow Dash rested in the clouds, she thought back on the day. Helping out with cooking wasn't as boring as she had thought it would turn out to be. Though, she couldn't help but feel a little guilty for being depressive while her friends kept an optimistic outlook. It was hard not to let things get to her. Talking about her relationship was an awkward experience that made her feel slightly vulnerable.

She turned over and laid on her back as she gazed up at the blue sky. Thoughts entered her mind about her close friend and new girlfriend, Fluttershy. Years ago she scoffed at the concept of romance, claiming it was for sappy and uncool ponies. About three weeks ago, Fluttershy had confessed her feelings, stirring up the strangest feelings in the speedster. A few days after that, she decided to give dating a try.

It was difficult to pinpoint exactly why she had made that decision. It could have been anything that swayed her mind. She always wondered if after flight school she would return to casual dating. Yet, it confused her that she found no preference over stallions or mares. Somehow, part of her wanted to wanted this.

Rainbow Dash frowned as she shifted through memories. The answer was more obvious as she thought back to the times she had spent with Fluttershy. They had a history and over the time that Rainbow Dash knew her, she had developed an affinity to the shy mare. She had thought nothing of it and continued to spend more time with her.

She shifted on the cloud as she sought to recline more comfortably. Her hooves rested behind her head and her closed in quiet contemplation. Rainbow Dash wished she could understand her strange feelings, despite having the answer in the back of her mind. When Fluttershy had confessed, she admitted to liking her for being strong, confident, and full of positive energy.

It was only natural that Rainbow Dash had to wonder the same about Fluttershy. She was known for her kind nature but there was much more to her than that. At first glance she appeared to be a shy Pegasus who only wanted to be left alone with her animal friends. When Rainbow Dash became her friend, she saw an outgoing filly who wanted to have as much fun as she did. It took work to get her out of her shell but it was always worth it to Rainbow Dash.

As Rainbow Dash slowly drifted away, she found that sorting her feelings out brought relief and eased her nervous hooves.

Author's Note:

Sorry for the delay as this was meant to be finished about a week and half ago. I wasn't able to work on this for a solid week. But... stuff happens. If you can, let me you know what you think of this story so far.