Three Seasons

by shakealchemist

Hearts and Wings

Dash's eyes fluttered open and she found herself in a hospital room with walls and ceiling made of clouds. 'What?' She thought for a moment when everything started coming back to her.

"Hey, hey! She's awake!" Sunbeam announced excitedly.

Dash glanced at him and saw he was holding her hoof and grinning at her. Turning her head she saw her parents standing near the end of her bed. They both offered her a smile. She suddenly realized she needed to find something out. She tried flexing her injured wing but found it was pointless as it turned out her wing was in a sling that held it in place, and the attempt left her with stinging pain. "Ow." Dash took a breath. "So how bad is it?" She asked dreading the answer.

"Broken bone at the end of your wing, which is . . .bald. Other than that you're a little scraped up, but will make a full recovery." Bow informed her.

"You could be flying again in a little over a week. Just be sure to take an easy, okay?" Windy added.

"Wait, bald?" Dash asked confused.

"Yeah, he pulled out pretty much all of your feathers where he bit you." Sunbeam answered.

"That's what happened?! He bit me?! That's so messed up!" Dash said angrily in disbelief.

"The fifteen yards we got on the penalty helped us though." Sunbeam told her earning him a glare from Bow.

"Did we win?" Dash asked curiously. Bow shook his head and rolled his eyes at that.

"No. It was close . . . but we lost." Sunbeam let her know. "But the important thing is that you're okay." He added.

That tone along with the look in his eyes, so caring, made her notice he was still holding her hoof. And then came a kiss to her forehead. 'Jeez, in front of both my parents. What is mom going to say about this? At least Rares isn't here for this.' Although Dash would rather have Rarity here kissing her instead of Sunbeam. It was too bad she was in a cloud room . . . why was that anyway? 'We were playing against an Earthpony school at an away game no less.' "Where are we?" Dash asked looking to her father.

"Oh-"

"Those incompetent idiots at the first hospital felt uncomfortable about resetting your wing, honestly I don't think they knew how to, and transferred you here to Cloudsdale." Windy answered, cutting her husband off.

"Oh yeah, it was pretty crazy. Your wing was so severely dislocated it was basically backward. Made me sick just to look at it. Tartarus, my wing hurts thinking about it." Sunbeam said with a shiver going down his spine.

"Ugh . . ." Dash could picture it. She probably would've found it cool to see but to herself? Having been through it, she wouldn't wish this one anypony. 'Maybe Hoops and Dumbbell.' Dash rested her head back down, feeling tired and still in pain.

"Sunbeam, why don't you let Rainbow get some rest. You'll see her again soon. She should be released by tomorrow morning at the latest." Windy spoke up.

"Alright, see you later Dash!" He said with a playful salute.

"Bye." Dash forced out, watching him leave. She felt her bed shift and looked to see her mother had taken a seat at her side.

"So Rainbow dear, we give you a lot freedom to do what you want, but we still care about you. So we want to know what's going on between you, Rarity, and Sunbeam." She said softly.

Dash started to blush, embarrassed. "Aw, come on mom. I don't want to talk about that."

"Dash, if you're feeling confused about certain feelings . . ." Her mother started.

"No!" Dash's blush deepened.

"You're not trying to start a thing with all three of you, are you?"

"No! Celestia no! Please, just stop!" Dash shouted, her face a shade of bright red.

"Very well, but if you are confused about anything, you can come to us about anything. You may be exploring your sexuality and learning about yourself, but we're right here to help you."

Dash wished she had died on the field as her mother closed the conversation with a kiss to her forehead and a loving stroke of her mane.

***

Dash got out of the hospital the following morning. Not wanting the injury to hold her back from seeing Rarity or missing next week's game, Dash was quick to get to work at figuring out how far back it set her. It hurt to move her wing and flight proved difficult, impossible really, for her first day out. She pushed herself to carry on and worked it without overdoing it.

No flight at least meant no flight school, so Dash could focus on getting better. On her third day off Dash managed a shakey flight that was hard to maintain. It took extra effort with her injured wing to get off the ground, but she could glide fairly easily and she decided that was enough to make a trip to Rarity's. She wanted to make sure she knew she was doing alright.

While the flight wasn't that long, by the time she landed before her destination her wing was aching like crazy. Dash tucked it back into its sling before knocking on the door.

Cookie answered it. "Oh, Dashie dearie! You're here. You should go straight to Rarity's room. She'll be so excited to see you." She said waving her inside.

"Of course." Dash trotted up the stairs and found Rarity's door cracked open. Making her way in she saw Rarity lying on her bed, petting a white cat that was curled up next to her. "Since when did you have a cat?" Dash asked.

"Rainbow Dash!" She shouted excitedly, launching herself from her bed, startling her cat away. Rarity tackled Dash to the ground and affectionately nuzzled her cheek. "I missed you so much! It was horrible. After seeing you like that and- and . . . we went to the hospital after the game, but found out you had been transferred to Cloudsdale. They said they were worried about how bad your wing was, that you might never fly again. I thought I would never see you again!" Rarity said going from cheerful to woeful suddenly as she continued her nuzzling.

"Why? Because I couldn't fly?" Rainbow asked, wincing at the weight on her wing from being tackled onto her back.

"Yes! Please Dash, please! Promise me you'll never leave me no matter what!" Rarity stopped her nuzzling to tearfully look in her eyes.

Dash could hear the seriousness in her tone and simply smiled at her. "What a silly thought. Rares, without my flight the only thing in life I'd care about is you." Dash booped her nose. "I would find a way to you no matter what." She added.

Rarity gave her a kiss, rewarding her for such a sweet answer. "Really?"

"Yes . . . Now could you please let me up? You're crushing my wing." Dash had to say unable to bear it any longer.

"Oh, right." Rarity hurried her off to one side, then helped Dash up. Using that to get a close look at Dash's wing, which she realized was in a sling. "Dashie? Are you able to fly?" She asked concerned.

"Huh? Yeah. How'd you think I got here?" Dash asked then realized she was looking to the sling. "Oh! You wanna see it? Check it out." Dash pulled the sling aside and extended her wing out to show it off.

At first, it looked fine to Rarity, but her eye grew wide when her sight reached the tip of Dash's wing. The tip was in a small splint over bare skin that was freshly healed. From the tip to about six inches in Dash had no feathers whatsoever. "Oh Dashie, that's so . . ."

"Wicked? Yeah, I know."Dash said with a smirk Rarity couldn't understand.

"Uh . . ." Rarity didn't quite know how to respond to that. 'Moving on.' "Does it hurt?"

Dash sort of shrugged. "Not as much as you'd think. It's nothing I can't handle." Dash said to look tough and reassure her she was fine. She took a moment to slip her wing back into its sling. Turning back to Rarity she saw she instead looked upset again. "What? I told you, it's nothing really." Dash said thinking she was upset over how bad it looked.

"This is my fault." Rarity confessed her feelings.

"What?!" Dash exclaimed bewildered.

"I told you to break a leg. This is my fault."

Dash went expressionless. 'What?' "Rarity . . . That doesn't even make sense. One, I broke my wing."

"Still . . ."

"Two, that wasn't even the worst of my injuries. It's like nothing. And three, it's just an expression, it doesn't mean any of this stuff is your fault." Dash put her good wing around her and took a seat with her on the bed. "And to tell you the truth . . ." Dash carried on, pausing to look Rarity in the eye. "You're acting kinda stupid."

Rarity punched Dash in the shoulder.

"Ow." Dash rubbed her shoulder while Rarity glared at her. Shortly after they both burst into laughter.

"I guess you're right. It was a bit of a ridiculous thought." Rarity admitted, whipping fresh tears away. "I'm sorry. It's just that I've been beside myself these past few days. I was an utter mess not knowing how you were. Just look at my mane!" Rarity pointed as she snuggled up to her.

Dash noticed that Rarity's mane wasn't as well kept as usual, but still not as messy as her own.

"The only thing that's been keeping me together is Opalescence. She's my cat. Fluttershy gave her to me to keep me company. She's been my only comfort." 'Besides treats from Sugarcube Corner.' Rarity kept to herself. She glanced around. "Where is she anyway?"

Dash decided to help look a bit. Looking down she spotted Opal poking her head out from under the bed, right beneath her hooves.

Opal hissed and swiped at her with her claws.

"Hey!" Dash retreated further back onto the bed.

"Opal, darling, don't be like that. This is Rainbow Dash. The pony I've been telling you all about." Rarity scolded, picking Opal up and petting her. "Go on Rainbow, say hello." Rarity beckoned her closer.

"Uh . . . Okay . . . " Dash scooted back next to Rarity. "Hey there . . . Opal." Dash carefully reached a hoof out. She hesitated and Opal started her hoof down. Opal bore her teeth, about to hiss when Dash petted her. Dash let out a relieved sigh as Opal started to purr. Opal moved over to Dash's lap and Dash made a series of faces as Opal's claws flexed into her as she got comfortable before lying down.

"Aw, see? She likes you." Rarity gave Dash a kiss on the cheek as she sat there, getting over her new pain. "So Dashie, are you going to stay the night?" Rarity asked, leaning on her, resting her head upon her shoulder.

Dash could've sworn there was a hint of suggestiveness in her voice. "Well . . . practice is tomorrow. So I guess I'll stay the night and hitch a ride with you and your dad in the morning." Dash answered with a slight blush.

"Wait, surely you must be joking. Rainbow, with your injuries you should be resting." 'Preferably with me in bed.' Rarity noted to herself, yet was shocked by Dash's words.

"Come on Rares, hoofball is easy. I could play it on three hooves let alone one winged." Rainbow scoffed at her worry.

"Rainbow! . . . " Rarity let it go with a sigh. "Just . . . be careful, okay?" Rarity requested, squeezing her love.

"I will." Dash nuzzled her in return.

***

"Hey Dash, glad you could make it." Gilda said, patting Dash on the back as they sat down on the bench at the start of the Junior Speedsters' second game.

"Ha! Like I'd miss it! The only annoying thing was getting the doctor to clear me. That and this dang brace he made me wear." Dash replied. The brace was sturdier than her sling had been and held it in place better. A downside was how stiff it felt against her and it was noticeably heavier than her sling. They were both factors that she wasn't used to, and it ended up showing in her play throughout the game. One wing just didn't give her the boost she was used to.

While she was doing better than her last game, she struggled to make any breakout plays. Yet having Dash on the field lifted her team's sports and everypony else pushed harder in a long back and forth one team taking the lead just to have the other tie it up. In the end, the tie was broken by a field goal by the opposing team.

"Buck! Two losses to open the season? I thought we were better than last year!" Dash commented angrily as she stormed about the locker room, getting sympathetic looks in response from a few teammates as they were all upset over the loss.

"Dash! Why don't you go cool off for a moment in the hall, okay?" Hondo suggested, with a nod of his head and a wink.

'Oh right, Rarity! She must be waiting for me by now.' Dash rushed out into the hallway.

"There you are. You know it's not polite to keep a lady waiting." Rarity teased, getting up from where she sat on the floor against the wall.

"Pft. Says the one who always makes me wait." Dash countered annoyed.

Rarity smiled sweetly at her. "Come on Dashie, I know you're upset about the game. You never take losses very well, but luckily for you, I know just what will cheer you up."

***

Dash trotted along behind Rarity, still feeling quite sour about how the game went. She was wondering what Rarity had in mind though. They had returned to Ponyville just to leave it again, but then Dash recognized where they were. 'This is the hill where we shared our first kiss. I hope this means she brought me up here to make out. That would lift my mood quite a bit.' Dash smirked at the corner of her mouth.

Rarity took a relaxed seat on the ground near the tree and Dash wordlessly sat next to her. "Dashie, you know what I do when I have a bad day?" Rarity asked.

Dash inched closer to her. "What's that?" She asked in return, ready for the fun to begin.

"Well, besides going to the spa, I like to think about the future." Rarity answered.

Dash frowned. "This isn't another one of those there's always next game speeches, is it?" She asked disappointed at the realization that there wasn't going to be any making out.

"No, I was thinking much further down the line. Say . . . five years or so." Rarity corrected, looking to the star-filled night sky. She glanced at Dash and saw she looked lost at the idea. "Like I'm a world-renown dressmaker with boutiques across Equestria; Canterlot, Manehatten, PonyVille of course, and maybe with some help I'll have one in Cloudsdale." She hinted, winking at Dash.

"Yeah, and I'm a first-class flyer. . . with the Wonderbolts, no, I'm the captain of the Wonderbolts, and I hold most every flying record there is." Dash described, perking up at the thoughts of how awesome she'd be.

"We'd have a nice fancy, roomy place here in Ponyville." Rarity daydreamed aloud.

"Ponyville? Why would I leave Cloudsdale?"

"I couldn't live with you there, now could I?" Rarity pointed out.

"No . . . So we live together?" Dash questioned.

"Of course. It's what married couples do. Wouldn't you want to get married at some point?"

As much as the question caught her off guard, she got her answer from staring into Rarity's eyes as it filled her heart. "Y-yeah. I'd like that." Dash stammered, not used to the feelings that overwhelmed her.

"And we'll have a foal . . . two foals, so-"

"Wait? What?! Foals? How exactly are we going to do that when . . . you know. . ."

Rarity rolled her eyes at Dash's outburst. "We could adopt them. A little pegasus colt for you to teach to fly and rough house with, though I would make sure he knew his manners. I would want a unicorn mare. She'd be my sweet little angel, and you'd make sure she could stand up for herself."

'That . . . actually sounds really nice.' Dash thought, but she had her doubts. "I don't know Rares . . . me . . . and foals? I don't know if I'd be any good at that."

"Nonsense! You'd make a wonderful mother. You're so sweet and caring." Rarity objected without missing a beat.

Dash blushed. "You really think so?" She asked, idly kicking at the dirt in front of her.

"Yes . . . I know so." Rarity said cuddling up to Dash.

"You're too good for me. You know that? You're just . . . perfect." Dash said holding her tightly. Dash sighed relaxing as they stared at the stars above Ponyville. "Thanks for cheering me up."

"No problem darling. You know . . . maybe I'd like to have three or even four foals." Rarity thought aloud.

Dash snorted in disbelief yet shook her head in amusement.

***

After having such a good season last year, even with its disappointing ending, and now having a poor start Dash didn't appreciate the school and even the city, being quick to call them losers. Luckily for her over the next two weeks, she got support from Rarity off the field and Sunbeam on the field. With that and help from her team, they were able to even their record at two wins and two losses. By the time the Speedsters' fifth game was nearing Dash no longer needed her sling and her splint was off as well. Her feathers had also mostly grown back. So Dash was excited to have a game where she could really show off her stuff for once this season.

Her healthy return did not disappoint. Dash had a huge game with three scores, and while he didn't get the yards Dash did, Sunbeam had two touchdowns himself. The game wasn't even close as the Junoir Speedsters won in a blowout.

Dash was quick in the locker room to change out of uniform and get out to the hallway to see Rarity. Only, she wasn't there. 'Dang it. Was so fast I beat Rarity here.' Dash kicked a hoof annoyed. She leaned against the wall to wait.

It wasn't long when the door to the locker room opened and Dash glanced back to see Sunbeam stepping out.

"There you are. You were so quick I didn't get a chance to celebrate with you." He greeted, trotting up to her.

"Yeah, I did leave in a hurry didn't I? But hey, that was some game huh? Gilda was even pumped about it." Dash said turning toward him.

"You were awesome, and your wing is looking good too." Sunbeam commented, getting closer to her.

"it's not quite one hundred percent, but at least I can work it again. Say, you had a pretty good game too."

"Thanks, but it wasn't your level of good. Guess I need more practice with you." Sunbeam hinted, leaning in closer to her.

"Y-yeah." Dash blushed then realized he was going in for a kiss. 'Let's try to not make this awkward for once.' Dash told herself and met him halfway for a short kiss.

"Love you."

"Love you too." Dash smiled. 'There, much easier. Thanks to all that time with Rarity.'

"See ya back inside. Hey Rarity."

Dash froze at his words. 'No way.' Sunbeam did a short wave, looking past Dash. Dash turned around, following his gaze to see Rarity standing at the start of the hallway. Both of them looked stunned and stood motionless, and after a dull thud of the door as Sunbeam went back inside, they were left in silence. Finally, Dash couldn't take it and spoke up. "H-hey there Rares. Uh . . . how long were you standing there?" Dash asked hesitantly.

Rarity slowly shook her head. "I-I can't . . . you- . . . why?" Rarity's mind was spinning. Had her eyes deceived her? Had she heard them wrong? No, she couldn't lie to herself. What had just unfolded in front of her brought her whole world crashing down. Her vision blurred with tears as Dash flew up to her.

"No, no, no. It's not what it looks like. This is just a misunderstanding. It's confusing, but I can explain. You see-" Dash was cut off midsentence by Rarity's hoof jabbing her in the chest.

"You're absolutely unbelievable!" Rarity shouted in a shaky voice. "You're actually trying to hide this from me still . . . with more lies."Rarity felt her heart twist agonizingly.

"No, Rarity, you don't get it-" Once more, Rarity's hoof hit her, this time with enough force it made her wince.

"No! You don't get it! I don't want to hear any more of your lies! I can't believe everything you've told me . . ." All their time together raced through her mind as it came to her that it had all been a lie. "My father warned me that you seemed close to Sunbeam, but I didn't listen. I thought you were better than-than this! When did this all start?!" Rarity demanded to know so she could find out if her father had really seen something.

Dash thought for a second. "Shortly before we started dating." She answered, hoping this was her chance to explain everything.

Rarity blinked. "So you're not even cheating on me. . ."

Rainbow sighed in relief at that.

"You're cheating on him!" Rarity accused, shaking her head.

"Rarity, please listen! I don't love Sunbeam!"

"Do you think I'm stupid? I heard you both, and I'm done listening to you." Rarity spun away angrily, her tail swatting Dash's face.

"Rarity!" Dash flew after her as she trotted away.

"Leave me alone! I never want to see you again!" Rarity screamed at her, unable to hold back her tears anymore.

Dash fell back to her hooves as Rarity's words made it clear what damage had been done. All words escaped her as she watched Rarity race away. 'What have I done? I messed up real bad.' Dash hoped that she could fix what she had done.

Author's Note:

Took longer than it should have, but the new chapter is out. Dash's secret is out as well. low points are being reached. The irony is that a bout with depression is what slowed me down for about a week. (I'm all good now) I also took up roleplaying online with is taking up time usually saved for typing up the story. The next chapter should still come out faster than this one did though.

Comments

[Admiral Q Ponyform]

And there's the train wreck.

Now we deal with my least favorite oart of this story