Rainbow Dash loses a wing, but she learns a lot about loss, friendship and love.
Rainbow Dash was the greatest flier in all of Equestria—or, at least, she was until she lost her wing. Luckily though, she quickly learned that flying wasn't the only thing that could bring her happiness and comfort.
Thanks to the amazing Cynical and bats for the edits.
Ponyville ponies hastened to clear up loose branches below the trees as dark clouds eclipsed the sun, thundering ominously.
Rarity snorted derisively through her snout, whining, “Again? Wasn’t the one from last month good enough? My mane is going to be ruined again...”
“Lan’ sakes, Rares, weren't ya listenin'?” Applejack complained. “Tha’yall skipped small showers again last week... So they’ll need to make up for that.”
“I know, Applejack. It’s just-” the unicorn wanted to counter but fell silent, turning her head around as strong gusts whistled through her mane.
“We should go, Rar’ty; the show is about to begin, and we really don’t wanna to be caught in the middle of it again.”
Rarity nodded. “We’ll be safe in Carousel Boutique. And it’s much closer than Sweet Apple Acres.” she yelled over the loud howl of the wind.
The two ponies galloped towards the Boutique, sparse but heavy raindrops falling onto their bodies and exploding outwards where they landed.
Rarity stumbled as she tripped on a rock, sending her nose-first into a small puddle. Too close to stop in time, Applejack tripped over Rarity, crashing straight into the ground and flipping end-over-end to land on her back.
“Augh!” Applejack grunted, quickly hopping back onto her hooves and dusting herself off before turning towards the unicorn.
“Pard’n me, sugarcube, but Ah think you’re a li’l dirty,” Applejack snickered.
Rarity shot a dark look towards the farm pony as Applejack helped her back onto her hooves.
“Pard’n, Rares. We should still run... we really don’t wanna catch the main show.”
“But my mane is ruined!” Rarity whined childishly.
“Ah still think it’s mighty pretty,” Applejack assured, feeling warmth spread across her face, her cheeks glowing light red, “But we still need to get the hay outta here!”
~*~*~
High above the few panicking residents of Ponyville desperately trying to find a shelter before the upcoming storm, Rainbow Dash was just about done with the final careful inspection of the dark cloud cover from below.
“Missing some clouds here!” Rainbow shouted as a cross-eyed pegasus poked her head through the hole and closed it with dark grey fluff, while Rainbow continued checking the last few feet of the cover.
Satisfied that her inspection didn’t take her as much time as she’d anticipated, she happily shouted, “All cle—” Halfway through her yell, a sharp pain shot through her left wing, setting every cell and fibre on fire.
“AAAAARGHHH!” she shrieked, her body spasming from the pain as the bolt of lightning struck the rainbow-maned mare, exploding her wing to tattered and smoldering shreds in the burst of energy.
Rainbow’s vision went blurry as her paralyzed body fell towards the ground, seeing a silhouette of the rapidly approaching Golden Oaks library just before her the world went dark.
She felt leaves and branches brushing harshly against her body before she bounced and landed heavily on the floor. Voices of ponies she couldn’t understand or recognize mumbled around her.
Except for one.
“NO! RAINBOW!” a familiar voice echoed through her head, slowly fading away.
‘At least the pain is gone now,’ she thought.
Then silence.
~*~*~
Beep. Beep. Beep.
The familiar sounds of hospital machinery disturbed Rainbow Dash’s ears as they flickered; she moaned softly as she tried to open her eyes with not much luck.
The beeping started to fade away again, just to come back in focus moments later with some additional muttering and mumbling in the background.
“Ooooh. My head,” she moaned softly, trying to prod her head with her forehoof. She wriggled her limb, but it was held in place, up and away from her chest in some sort of restraint.
The muttering in the background came into focus and she attempted to open her eyes again, blinking away the bright light. She realized that her friends had gathered around the hospital bed, along with nurse Redheart.
“Thirsty,” Rainbow managed to let out in a raspy whisper.
The nurse almost immediately turned and left the room as her friends focused on Rainbow.
“Oh, thank Celestia you’re awake Rainbow,” Twilight croaked through her tired throat. With dark circles under her bloodshot eyes, she approached the pegasus.
“How long have I been here?” Rainbow asked, her voice still a dry and raspy whisper.
“Rainbow,” Twilight sighed with tears in her eyes, “You were in a coma for three months. We all thought we’d lost you.”
“Sorry.”
The door squeaked open again. “Visiting hours are over,” nurse Redhead said in a low voice from the door as the five friends turned towards her. “You can visit again tomorrow. Miss Dash should be much better by then.”
Her friends slowly dispersed as the hospital pony approached Rainbow’s bed.
“How are you feeling Rainbow?”
“Pain,” Rainbow said.
“Miss Dash, all your legs suffered complex fractures,” said the nurse, “Some of your ribs and your skull all suffered more complex breaks. You’re extremely lucky to be alive. Here,” she offered Rainbow a sip from the cup which Rainbow gladly accepted.
“Don’t worry...” she paused as she pushed some buttons on a nearby console, “the pain should be gone in few minutes. Oh and,” nurse added with a smile, “welcome back.”
Rainbow’s vision blurred again as she drifted off to a dreamless sleep.
‘The pain is gone again.’
~*~*~
“SPIKE! We don’t have much time!” shouted Twilight the moment the doors of her library flew open.
“W-what?” Spike shot up in confusion from his basket-bed. “Twilight, but we already looked over everything. Twice,” sounded the half-annoyed dragon, “The princesses weren’t very pleased with the mess we left in the Canterlot library.”
“Maybe we missed something,” the unicorn mumbled in desperation. “Maybe we weren’t looking hard enough.”
Spike sighed heavily, knowing full well that arguing with her was pointless, so he nodded. “I’ll make some coffee then,” he said, heading into the kitchen.
A soft knock echoed throughout the chaotic interiors of the Ponyville library.
“CLOSED!” cried Twilight towards the entrance doors.
Soft knocks repeated themselves. “It’s Rar’ty and Applejack!” sounded the voice of the farm pony from behind the closed doors.
“Oh.” The librarian hung her head and lit her horn to let the duo inside. “Hello, girls,” she muttered as she turned her head to the half-empty shelves, pile of books on the floor, and cups with the gunky black sludge of old coffee inside.
The guests silently glanced around the chaotic library, then looked at each other.
“Twilight?” Rarity spoke after a pause, “How much did you sleep for these past 3 months?”
“Too much,” replied the librarian, hastily opening a book, skimming through it and closing it again just to replace it for another one. “No, this isn’t it either,” she muttered to herself.
“Sugarcube ya’ll need to take a break,” Applejack said in a worried voice, “Or ya’ll end up in the hospital ‘sides Rainbow.”
Twilight completely ignored the comment from her friend, muttering, “Not this one either,” as she put the ‘Advanced Spellcasting’ on the pile of already read books.
Applejack sighed worriedly, looking at the white unicorn. “I think it’s time to go, Rares.”
“Just a minute, Applejack.” She turned to Twilight.
“Twilight,” she spoke softly but with a worried tone in her voice. “You’ve been searching for that spell for last 3 months and found nothing. What if what you’re looking for doesn’t exist?”
“IT HAS TO!” the librarian shouted at the duo. “It has to,” she repeated to herself in a devastated tone.
Tears formed in her eyes. “It has to,” she said, almost whispering to herself, “I can’t stand to see Rainbow being miserable.”
The ponies by the door fell silent as dismay glittered in their eyes
“Twilight—” Applejack started when she felt a hoof on her lips, turning slightly to see Rarity shaking her head at the farm pony.
Rarity spoke softly as she turned to the librarian, saying, “We wish you luck, but we must go now.”
Twilight started to browse through the books again, muttering, “No, it’s not this book either,” to herself again.
Rarity lit her horn, silently opening the entrance doors as both ponies left Twilight alone.
“What do we do ‘bout her?” Applejack asked as they started to distance themselves from the library.
“There is nothing we can do,” Rarity sighed. “Whatever we do will be wrong. She already exhausted all the options, but she just can’t accept the answer. She told me she went through the entire Canterlot library twice, asking both princesses and Zecora,” she continued in a sad tone. “Even if she is the smartest unicorn in Equestria,” she added, “There is nothing she can do about it.”
Applejack stopped. “Rainbow was in th’ coma fer three months,” she said. “I don’t wanna lose another friend fer longer...”
Rarity looked at the earth pony quizzically “Wait, wha—”
“I’m gonna to make myself an enemy,” Applejack said as she galloped back towards the library.
“Earth ponies.” Rarity muttered and looked behind distancing Applejack. “Hey, wait for me! You’re not going to do what I think you are, are you?” Rarity panted, trying to catch Applejack.
“What am Ah trying to do, again?”
“Try to knock her out and hope for the best afterwards?”
“Um... Maybe?”
Rarity sighed. “I think I can help you with the second part.”
The duo stopped at the library and Rarity opened the doors. Applejack quietly approached the librarian in the middle of the chaotic room that used to look like a library.
Twilight was still muttering some variation of, ‘This is not the right book, either,’ completely oblivious to the presence of the earth pony.
“Yer gonna hate meh for this,” Applejack said as Twilight turned around just for her face to meet AJ’s hind hoof.
Thump. The librarian’s unconscious head hit a pile of books labeled ‘already read.’
“So crude. Was that really necessary?” Rarity asked.
“Yes,” Applejack replied, “She wouldn’ stop ‘til she finds wha’ she was looking fer,” she sighed. “Saw it once. It drove a pony nutty.”
“Spike.” Rarity turned to the confused and tired dragon who was poking his head in from the kitchen, “We’re sorry for what we’ve done, but-” she turned to Applejack as she finished the sentence “-but it was necessary.”
“I know,” replied Spike. “You might not want to be here when she wakes up,” he added.
“We still need to clean up this mess. Are you going to help us?”
“No. I’m tired and haven’t slept properly for weeks. Good night.” Spike walked away and clambered up the stairs, snores coming from the bedroom a moment later.
The duo glared at each other and sighed.
“Welp, let’s get started!” said Applejack.
~*~*~
Four hours later, the library interior at least looked like a library. The books sat on their shelves, albeit in the wrong order. Instead of alphabetically, Rarity had made sure that books were stacked in a colorful manner from darkest to the brightest. Floors were mopped and cleaned, any remains of coffee cups or coffee stains removed, and the interiors neatly decorated.
“Wow,” Applejack huffed, “I never thought that there were so many book in this library, and-” she stopped, turning her head to Rarity. “Sugarcube; Are you sure, tha’ this is the right order of the books?”
“Of course it is... That’s the prettiest library I’ve ever seen!”
“But the order is s’posed to be alphabetical, not sorted by color...” Applejack replied.
“Oh, silly Applejack... Can’t this library look beautiful at least once in its lifetime?”
“Rarity; this is a library, not a house t’ decorate. Things work differently here...”
“B-but...” Rarity wanted to object.
“Sorry, Rares. Some things need to be functional rather than look pretty.”
“B—”
“Don’t ya worry, Sugarcube. I’ll help you this time around.”
~*~*~
“I never thought,” Applejack huffed, “That a librarian’s,” another huff, “work would be so hard,” she panted heavily after finishing with the book reorganization two hours later.
“Yes,” Rarity huffed and nodded in agreement, “But now it’s just not as pretty as it was before,” she sounded in an annoyed and disappointed huff as she laid down on the floor and closed her eyes.
Applejack watched the white unicorn with a smile for a few minutes, lying down on the floor beside her, she put her head on Rarity’s soft, well-groomed body, closing her eyes and trying to fall asleep.
She could feel the movement of the unicorn below her head a minute or two later, quickly realizing that Rarity wanted to reorganize the bookshelves again…
“Rarity?” Applejack felt a flinch in the unicorn’s body. “I know what yer tryin’ to do.”
“I just-”
“Sleep, sugarcube.”
“Ponyfeathers.” Rarity sounded disappointed, but finding comfort in twisting her neck and curling it towards the farm pony.
~*~*~
Applejack gently nuzzled the coat below her head, slowly turning her head around to look around the library.
Twilight was still lying motionless in the middle of the room, but soft snores were now coming from her mouth.
Applejack sighed in relief, “At least she’s all right.” She stood up, lowering her head just to steal a short kiss from the beautiful white mare. “Hey Rare.”
“Mmmmorning, Applejack,” Rarity softly moaned in delight.
She quickly came around, remembering where they are and why they were in the library. “Twilight?”
“Sleeping.” Applejack replied as the room filled with soft snores from the librarian and not-so-soft ones from Spike.
“Maybe we should go.” Rarity turned her head to Applejack.
“No,” she replied. “She’ll be mad at meh, but leavin’ her alone is not a good idea.”
Just moments later, both mares turned their head towards the now grunting Twilight.
“Augh. My head hurts. What hap-” she grunted as she prodded her head with her hoof, twisting her neck and seeing the two, now standing, mares. “OUT, APPLEJACK!” she shouted, jumping to her hooves, remembering the reason behind her headache and the loss of a big portion of the day.
“But I-” the earth pony tried to explain herself, just to be greeted by a flying copy of ‘Encyclopedia of Spellcasting’ which caught her in the chest, winding her and causing her to lose her balance. Applejack grunted as her head met the wooden floor. She picked herself up and started running towards the library exit.
“OUT!” Twilight shouted again as the earth pony fumbled through the front door just to dive out the path of the second book Twilight had sent her way.
“You too, Rarity!” she yelled as she shifted her focus towards the lone unicorn.
“No,” she countered, “I’m staying right here.”
“You just don’t want me to help Rainbow, do you?” Twilight glared darkly towards the, now silent, Rarity. “OUT!” the librarian shouted again, lighting her horn and picking up ‘History of Equestria: Volume one’.
“No.” Rarity repeated without flinching.
“THEN WHY DON’T YOU WANT TO ME TO HELP RAINBOW?” Twilight cried.
“Twilight,” Rarity spoke softly. “We all want to help Rainbow, and we will as much as we can.”
“B-BUT WHY-” the purple unicorn sputtered, her anger spent and the sheer hopelessness of the situation closing in on her.
“Twilight,” Rarity sighed, “In the time since Rainbow’s accident, you’ve spent every moment searching for a spell to mend her wing; you’ve even asked both princesses and Zecora but haven’t had any luck.”
“W-what are you saying?” Twilight asked, on the verge of crying.
“Twilight,” Rarity hung her head, a tear sliding down her cheek, “Not even you can fix Rainbow’s wing. Not even you can fix everything.”
Twilight sat down, devastated, ‘Not even you can fix Rainbow’s wing,’ echoed through her head, ‘Not even you can fix everything.’
She felt the full weight of those words come crashing down on her as she started to sob, heavy tears of despair sliding down her cheeks, landing on the wooden floor.
Twilight felt a warm set of hooves wrap softly around her neck, and she impulsively raised her hooves to cling to her friend, bawling into her mane.
“We’re sorry,” Rarity said “We’re both sorry about what we did, but—”
“I-I understand,” Twilight replied and sniffled as she wiped her teary eyes. “Thank you.”
“Are you going to be alright?”
Twilight hung her head, sighing. “Yes.”
“Are you really going to be alright?”
“Yes. It’s just-” Twilight paused, she turned back to Rarity, “I just wish I could do something.”
“I know,” Rarity replied in a soothing tone, “We will all help her as much as we can...”
She gave a tight hug to Twilight yet again, planting a soft kiss on her forehead. “It’s going to be just fine, Twilight.”
~*~*~
“Oh that Twilight! What is keeping her? She should’ve been here 10 minutes ago!” Rarity nervously looked at Applejack, standing beside her. “Applejack, does my mane look pretty?”
“Oh! Oh!” chirped an enthusiastically bouncing pony. “Twilight is coming! My Pinkie sense says she will be here in a minute!” She continued to bounce. “Oh and you-”
“Yer mane always looks perdy,” Applejack jumped into Pinkie’s sentence with a smile on her lips. “Bu’ this is a hospital, not a fashion show, so you don’—”
She fell silent and took a step back as she caught a glimpse out of the corner of her eye of the approaching librarian.
“Maybe Ah should-” she grimaced, taking another step back.
“No, Applejack,” Rarity paused, turning her head towards Applejack, “She isn’t angry at you anymore.”
“I’m sorry,” Twilight huffed audibly, “I needed to clean—” she stopped, still heavily breathing through her nostrils, and locked her eyes on the scared-looking earth pony.
“Applejack,” she sighed and hung her head. “I’m sorry for the...” she stopped to carefully choose her words: “Library incident,” she continued.
“No, Ah should be th’ one apologisin’,” Applejack paused, looking at Rarity and turning her head back to Twilight, “But Ah’ didn’t know of any other way to snap you out of it.”
“I know.” Twilight sighed. “I just wish that it didn’t hurt that much.”
“Friends?” Applejack asked.
“Friends,” Twilight replied as she wrapped the earth pony in a hug.
“G-girls?” Fluttershy asked in her usual, sheepishly shy voice, making the heads of her friends turn towards her “We should go. Let us not keep Rainbow Dash waiting.”
~*~*~
“Hey guys!” Rainbow cheerfully greeted the bouncing Pinkie, knowing that other four of her friends couldn’t be far behind.
She wasn’t wrong. Moments later, Fluttershy appeared between the doors, followed by Applejack and Rarity, the last of her friends to enter the room was Twilight.
“Check out the cast, guys!” Rainbow nodded towards her body cast, “Even Spitfire signed on there!” she let out a girly squee.
While her other friends gathered around her, admiring her cast with signatures of flyers, bakers, parents, and other ponies she knew, including the signatures from all three Cutie Mark Crusaders; Twilight was standing in the background silently, looking at the rainbow-maned mare.
“And you know what that means, don’t you?” she sounded even more enthusiastic, “Wonderbolts are gonna let me join the squad as soon as Twilight fixes my wing!”
“Yay!” shouted Pinkie in her usual, enthusiastic voice.
A quiet cheer of “Woo-hoo!” came from Fluttershy.
Applejack and Rarity looked at each other silently.
“Bu’ yer wing—” Applejack started, only to be interrupted by Rainbow.
“Oh, I’m not worried about my wing,” she said, turning her eyes towards the librarian, “Twilight will find a way to fix it.”
Twilight hung her head, tears forming in her eyes.
“I… can’t, Rainbow,” she said, her voice wavering, “I can’t fix your wing.”
'"Nah, I'm sure you're just being modest, I mean you've done bigger and better stuff, right?" Rainbow asserted as the rest of the group nervously shuffled their hooves.
“I'm sorry Rainbow... I'm not joking... I've looked everywhere... there's nothing,” Twilight sighed heavily as a tear slid down her cheek. “I wish I could fix it, but...” she clenched her teeth, remembering Rarity’s words, “But even I can’t fix everything. I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.”
Rainbow fell silent as her brain tried to process the magnitude of the situation.
Rainbow dash, the greatest and fastest flyer in Equestria, the filly who proved to everypony that the Sonic Rainboom is real, a future Wonderbolt. Rainbow Dash, the most awesome pony around was now wingless. Grounded. Lost.
She was devastated. The only thing that she ever wanted to be, her most heartfelt desires, gone in flash of bright light, leaving nothing but a pile of smoldering ashes behind.
The lightning should have just finished the job and had done with it.
“I wanna be alone,” Rainbow said with a sad voice, tears forming in her eyes, “Please leave.”
“Rainbow, I—”
“Just leave, please,” she repeated herself with a sniffle.
The five friends left the room with their heads hung. Pinkie Pie didn’t bounce anymore, Fluttershy whimpered softly, Rarity and Applejack walked close to each other, both silently shedding tears for their friend and Twilight could barely keep herself from collapsing in the middle of the floor and crying her eyes out.
Nurse Redheart entered the room as she saw the group of sad ponies leaving, turning to Rainbow.
“Oh,” she muttered in realization, watching the tears stream down Rainbow's face. “It’s because of the wing, isn’t it?”
Rainbow closed her eyes and clenched her teeth at the sound of the word ‘wing’. “Nurse?” she said.
“Yes, miss Dash?”
“I want you to kill me.”
Nurse Redheart went pale at the sound of those words, “E-excuse me?”
“I want you to kill me,” Rainbow said coldly, “My life is pointless anyway.”
“Don’t be silly,” the nurse replied anxiously, “your wings are just-”
“You really don’t understand, do you?” Rainbow replied, her voice still cold and deterministic, “My wings aren’t just something to fly with. I live and breathe the sky at speeds that even the Wonderbolts would be jealous of. I am Rainbow Dash. THE Rainbow Dash.” She stopped for a bit, turning her eyes toward nurse Redheart just to observe the presence or absence of her emotional attachment. She continued a moment after, “My life went out with that lightning bolt. It burned all my reasons to live.”
“But every life—” the nurse tried to counter.
“—is worth saving?” Rainbow replied, unwavering, “Really? Even those who don’t want to be saved?’ she added swiftly.
Nurse Redheart said nothing.
“My request still stands, nurse.”
“No,” she replied finally, leaving the room.
~*~*~
Twilight’s heart sank as she listened to nurse Redheart.
“Rainbow Dash asked WHAT?!” Twilight cried in shock as she learned about Rainbow’s suicidal request.
“I’m sorry, Miss Sparkle, but...” the nurse handed over Rainbow’s chart to Twilight “... but her cast is coming off tomorrow. She will remain in hospital for observation for few more days, but she’ll have to be released after that... I’m worried about what she’ll do after she’s released.”
Twilight sat down abruptly, shell-shocked.
“I know,” she said in a devastated voice. “I-I’ll take care of her after that...” she sniffled “Me and my friends...”
Twilight stood up, her legs shaking as she slowly walked to Rainbow’s room, trying to regain her composure, but with little luck. She couldn’t silence the sobs, nor could she hide the tears, still flowing down her cheeks.
She finally reached Rainbow’s door, her eyes still tearful and her sobs eminent. She pushed open the door and tried to start talking.
“W-why?” she asked the only occupant of the room, still immobile in her cast. Rainbow said nothing. “Are- Are your wings really more important than your friends? Or your family?” Twilight continued, fishing for an answer. “Or-”
“I...” Rainbow cut in before looking down and falling silent. “Can’t you just go away and leave me alone?” she grumbled.
Twilight pulled herself together, giving Rainbow the most determined, “No,” she’d managed to compile in her entire life.
“What do you want me to become? A nerd? A party clown? Will I need to buck trees with my hooves every day? Go away, Twilight. Leave me alone.”
“That’s not going to happen, Rainbow Dash.”
“Fine. Whatever. I don’t care either way.”
“You may not... But I do. We all do.” Twilight hung her head, shedding another tear, “We all do.”
Twilight’s head was lying on Rainbow’s hospital bed as she snored softly, her ear flicking to the distant sound of nurses chatting.
Just inches away from Rainbow’s head, her wing twitched in her sleep, and she groaned as she groggily opened her eyes. She tried to move ever so slightly, expecting her body cast to block her movement, but it seemed that the doctors had removed it. Flexing her muscles, she suddenly realized that her left wing didn’t respond to any command from her brain.
She gulped heavily as she felt shivers down her spine, unable to accept the worst-case scenario. ‘No, no, no...’ her mind was racing, ‘The wing is okay... It’s just a little damaged,’ she tried to lie to herself, ‘I’ll-I’ll just fly slower, but I-I’ll still be able to fly... The doctors are wrong. They-they have to be wrong! I need my wings. I am the greatest flyer in all Equestria.’
She was terrified. ‘I have to know,’ she thought to herself as she clenched her teeth, mentally preparing herself for the truth.
She turned her head to her right side, revealing a majestic, slightly ruffled, but generally undamaged wing. She caught herself letting out just a little sigh of relief. “I can still feel this wing, but why can’t I feel the other one?“ She closed her eyes and slowly turned her head to the other side. “Please Celestia... Let it be fine,” she whispered pleadingly as she slowly opened her eyes.
She was shocked with what she saw. She expected most of her wing to still be intact, but what she saw left her speechless. She had expected to see her wing in some sort of cast, but instead she found just a small bandaged stump in its place. As she stared at the stump of her wing, she felt a tear fall from her eye and onto the pillow below, quickly followed by another. And another. ‘I-I used to be the mare that d-doesn’t cry, now I’m the pegasus that doesn’t fly.’ She dug her face into the pillow and started weeping, accidentally pushing Twilight’s head off the bed, making her wake up with a start.
Twilight opened her eyes, prodding Rainbow’s mane and asking in soothing voice: “Hey, are you ok—,” stopping the moment she realized the asininity of the question she just formed, quickly putting a hoof in her mouth as trying to shove the words she just blurted back inside of her. She wanted to quickly apologize for that, but the damage was already done as she heard Rainbow’s sobbing abruptly stop and her head rise slowly from the pillow.
“Am I okay?” Rainbow turned to Twilight and snorted, tears streaming down her face.
“...Rainbow?”
“Am I okay?” her voice now deepening as she repeated herself again.
“Rainbow? You’re scaring me...”
“But of course I’m okay, can’t you see?” Rainbow asked calmly, her face now plastered with an obviously fake grin. “I’ll just go and perform a sonic rainboom or two tomorrow. Or maybe even today. Because I’m perfectly okay.”
“Rainbow, I didn’t—”
“WHAT MAKES YOU THINK I’M OKAY?” Rainbow shouted, causing everypony around to turn their heads towards her, “THE LIGHTNING BOLT KILLED ME! I’M NOPONY NOW! NOTHING! EVERYTHING THAT DEFINED ME DIED AT THAT VERY MOMENT!”
“But I—”
“And here I was, thinking that you’re the smartest pony in Equestria.” Rainbow said with bitterness in her voice. “Get lost, Twilight. I don’t need you here anymore.”
“N-no.” Twilight replied defensively.
“GET LOST, TARDY!”
Twilight sobbed, her tears trickling onto the floor. “Rainbow please, no...”
“GET LOST!” Rainbow screamed.
Without another word, Twilight bolted from her chair and galloped out of the room, leaving a trail of tears all along the highway.
“Get lost, Twilight...” the pegasus sniffled as she watched her friend leave. “Get lost,” she cried. “I don’t want you to see me like this. I don’t want anypony to see me like this...”
She sunk her face back into the pillow as she continued to sob.
Nurse Redheart trotted inside Rainbow’s room with a clipboard and said in a soothing voice, “You need to rest, miss Dash.” She pressed some buttons on the nearby console. “This will let you sleep for the next several hours, so sweet dreams!”
As the painkiller and sedative cocktail took effect, Rainbow slowly drifted off to sleep, the pain in the stump of her wing slowly fading away.
~*~*~
As Twilight galloped through the streets of Ponyville crying, several of the town ponies called her name, but she ignored them, letting the pounding of her hooves drown out everything around her.
As she approached the library, she threw open the door with her magic, slamming it against the wall, leaving it ajar. As she ran up the stairs to her bedroom, the pounding of her hooves woke up her sleeping assistant, who fell out his bed in shock.
“What’s going on? T-Twilight?” Spike groaned as he heard Twilight run past him and dive onto her bed. “W-what’s wrong?”
Twilight raised her head from the pillow, turning it towards the dragon, “It-it’s nothing, Spike,” she sniffled, trying to hide her tears.
“Right,” Spike deadpanned. “It’s not nothing if you gallop into the library in tears, nearly smash the doors into splinters, AND almost break the bed when you threw yourself on it. Twilight; what’s wrong?”
“I-it’s Rainbow,” she sniffled again, letting a tear slid down her cheek.
“What happened?” Spike said in concerned voice.
Twilight looked into the dragon’s inquisitive eyes and hung her head, sighing heavily, “I messed up, Spike.”
“Twilight?”
“I-I just asked her if she’s okay, and she snapped at me...she screamed at me and told me to get lost.”
“But she usually doesn’t act like this, does she?”
“I-I don’t know, Spike,” she sniffled “I think that she took the loss of her wing far worse than I thought she would,” she paused, looking at the dragon. “Spike, I’m scared.”
“Scared? Of Rainbow Dash?”
“I’ve never seen her like that, Spike. These past few days... I’m scared of what she might try to do. I’m scared of her.”
“Twilight?”
“I’m scared for her, Spike.”
Twilight squeezed the little dragon tightly as she sobbed softly into his shoulder.
A short distance away, Applejack and Rarity were quickly making their way towards the library, after hearing several ponies talk about Twilight crying through town.
“I sure hope Twi’s ok...” Applejack said worriedly, unknowingly increasing her pace.
Rarity huffed as she tried to catch up to the earth pony, “I wonder what could have upset Twilight so much...” she huffed again, pausing for a moment as she caught her breath... “Do you think... it could be about... Rainbow...?”
Catching up to Applejack, they turn the corner and approach the library, quickly noticing that the door was lazily swinging on its hinges.
“What in the hay happened here?” Applejack asked herself just as she heard soft sobs coming from upstairs. “Wait, it sounds like she’s in her bedroom!”
Both Rarity and Applejack galloped up the stairs and into Twilight’s bedroom, and Rarity quickly spotted the sobbing librarian lying on her bed.
“Twilight? Twilight, are you okay?” Rarity asked with concern as she trotted up to her friend.
Twilight recapitulated the events, leaving nothing out, making her two friends pale in shock as they listened to her story.
“W-what?” Applejack stepped back a bit, “Twilight; what are you going to do?”
“I don’t know, Applejack,” Twilight sighed. “I’ll talk to the doctors... I hope that there’s something that they can do for her...” Changing subjects, she said, “I-I need to write to Princess Celestia.“ Another tear slid down her cheek as she looked at the earth pony. “I don’t know what to do, girls... I really don’t.”
“It’s okay, sugarcube...,” Applejack said in a soothing voice. Both of them leaned forward, embracing Twilight in a tight hug, “Ya know that ya can always rely on us. We’ll find some way to help her. Don’t ya worry,” her voice wavered. ‘I hope,’ she added in her mind.
Twilight shook her head and wiped her tears as the group hug loosened. “I-I’m sorry. I’m most likely keeping you away from your plans.”
“What nonsense,” Rarity replied. “We were on our way to visit Rainbow Dash... We just wondered, if you wanted to come and visit her with us...”
Twilight looked up to the white unicorn, sniffling, “I-I just need some time alone...”
“Are you gonna be alright, Twilight?” Applejack asked.
Twilight nodded, smiling faintly. “I will. But look at this mess... I should really clean this up.”
Rarity met Applejack’s gaze, turning it back to the librarian a moment later. “Twilight?”
“I know, Rarity,” Twilight sighed, “I just need a distraction for a while. I’ll visit Rainbow later on and hopefully work something out.”
The three ponies shared another group hug before Applejack and Rarity set off on their way, leaving Twilight and Spike alone once again.
“Do you want me to clean this up?” the little dragon asked with concern, breaking the awkward silence.
“No, Spike,” Twilight replied “I need to take my mind off of things. You can take the rest of the day off, if you like... You deserve it, anyways.”
“Well, in that case,” Spike sounded cheerfully. “I think I’ll go and visit Sugarcube Corner. I hear that they’ve got a bunch of new ice cream flavors...”
Twilight sighed as Spike left the library with a soft click of the front door. With her thoughts still lingering on Rainbow’s reactions, she lit her horn, and picked up a trash can and a broom. Still deep in her thoughts, she bumped into a bookshelf with enough force to cause a loose book to fall to the ground with a loud bang, startling her out of her reverie.
The task at hoof now completely forgotten, Twilight took a deep breath and focused on reading the book lying in front of her as she muttered to herself: “Maybe I’ve missed something in here...”
~*~*~
“Hey guys!” Rainbow chimed happily upon seeing Rarity and Applejack enter her hospital room. “What’s up?”
The two ponies looked at each other. From what Twilight had just described to them, they expected bitterness to be radiating from Rainbow, and certainly not cheerfulness.
“Rainbow? Are you okay?” Applejack asked quizzically.
“I’m awesome. Why do you ask?”
“We stumbled into Twilight on our way here, and she wasn’t looking or sounding too happy. What happened?”
“Eh, it was nothing. Just a minor disagreement; nothing more.”
“Um, Rainbow?” Applejack asked suspiciously “She said it was much more than that.”
“Ah, you know Twilight. She might exaggerate the situation a little bit. You know what she told Fluttershy when she took Philomena.” the pegasus chuckled a bit. “She’s just Twilight... You know how she is...”
“Mhm,” grunted Applejack, unconvinced.
“Seriously, it was nothing... So I hear you two are a pair now? For how long?” Rainbow switched the topic, hoping to avoid the question she knew would be asked.
Applejack and Rarity looked at each other, frowning. “Yes we are; we’ve been dating for a few months now,” Rarity confirmed, “We’ve grown closer on the day that your... wing... Oh, my.”
Rainbow winced when her ears stumbled on the word wing.
“Rainbow? Are you okay?” Applejack asked in concerned voice.
“Oh, it’s nothing,” Rainbow lied. “I’ve just remembered how awful the food is in this place... I can’t wait to get out of here...” she added.
A few moments of awkward silence passed between the three friends.
Applejack was the first to break it by asking the question that was lingering in the air from the moment of the visitor’s arrival: “So, uhhh...how are yer wings?”
Rainbow expected this question, but still found herself shocked upon hearing it. Her throat locked up, unable to muster anything but a raspy whisper of ‘fine.’
Applejack wanted to argue with that, but the moment she opened her mouth a white hoof prevented her from arguing with the validity of Rainbow’s answer.
Rarity didn't need to shake her head for Applejack to understand her disapproval. “Hurry up and get better, Rainbow Dash,” she said sweetly as she turned towards Rainbow “I already have a brand new dress ready for you, and it’s at least twenty percent cooler than your previous one!”
All three ponies started to snicker and giggle.
“We must go now, Rainbow.” Rarity said. “Granny Smith isn’t doing so well lately, and we’ve promised that we’ll visit her. Take care.”
“It was nice seeing you guys.” said Rainbow as she waved her hoof goodbye. “Oh, and tell Twilight that I’m sorry.”
“Sorry? For what?” Rarity asked quizzically.
“For our argument this morning.”
“Oh.”
Rainbow waved the pair goodbye yet again as her friends left the room. Moments later, she turned her head back to the pillow as she started to strain her leg muscles. In an attempt of standing on her hooves, she cringed as she tried to put her weight onto them, cursing silently. Her muscles were still too weak to support her full weight. But the athletic pony wasn’t quick to give up. She transferred some weight to her front legs, making a few push-ups before collapsing back onto the bed.”This is harder than I thought,” she panted, waiting a few minutes before trying yet again.
~*~*~
“I have a really bad feeling about all of this, Applejack,” Rarity said as they walked back towards the Ponyville library. “Even with reassurance from the hospital doctor, that she’ll manage to cope with the loss of her wing, I am not quite sure how that will affect her in... the... Applejack?”
The farm pony fell silent as she picked up the pace as the library, or more specifically library door, came into her focus. The door was opened widely and there were hints of paper lying on the ground. She saw all this before, remembering Twilight mechanically going through her books and muttering a variation of ‘no, not this one either’ over and over again.
“Twilight!” Applejack yelped in a gasp upon arrival to the library entrance. “Twilight!” she repeated herself again as she quickly approached the busy librarian.
“Gah!” Twilight shouted out loud, startling the concerned earth pony, slamming shut a book named Higher level spells. “It’s useless!” she added with a heavy grunt.
“Twilight?” Rarity ask as she entered the library, looking at the mess that the librarian caused while searching through the books “What’s going on in here?”
“I’m frustrated!,” Twilight grunted with a frown. “The wing spell that I cast for you for the competition in Cloudsdale is completely worthless.” She furiously slammed the book back to the place she found it. “It’s completely useless!”
“Twilight?” Rarity sounded concerned “What is wrong?”
“The wing spell that I casted on you was never meant for adult ponies. It was designed for foals, and I’ve just realized that.” The librarian paused, taking in a deep breath before continuing “The spell could have worn off at any moment, Rarity. It was nothing more than a mere toy.”
Rarity gulped heavily as she echoed Twilight’s words. “T-toy?”
Twilight nodded, sending additional shivers down Rarity’s spine.
“But the wings held long enough,” Applejack said, breaking the awkward silence that momentarily fell upon the library “and you’re still here, Rares,” she spoke softly, nudging the white mare lovingly. After a moment of savoring the white mare’s warmth, she turned toward Twilight, speaking in concerned voice, “Twilight? We went to see Rainbow...”
Twilight turned her head to Applejack, still floating a book she intended to put back into it’s place.
“She’s trying to hide her loss, Twilight,” Rarity said softly. “But she did say that she’s sorry for the morning’s argument...”
Twilight gave a slight nod to the unicorn “How... is she?” she asked with a waver in her voice.
“Surprisingly cheerful,” Applejack replied.
“...And a surprisingly bad liar,” Rarity added “She’s even worse than Applejack...”
Applejack glared darkly at Rarity “Ah don’t lie. Element of honesty, remember?”
“Oh, pardon me, my dear and honest Applejack. But every time I bake an apple pie, slices disappear, and you’re claiming that the squirrels are taking those to Fluttershy, even if your breath and mouth say otherwise,” Rarity calmly replied.
“Well excuse me, if Ah—” Applejack looked around the library, looking for a certain purple unicorn “...Twilight?”
But Twilight had teleported out at the very moment when the lovers had started their argument. She wasn’t interested in what the pair had to say about each other or in getting involved in the argument herself. She teleported to the outskirts of Ponyville, hung her head and started walking in a slow pace for no other purpose other than to clear her mind and maybe finding a new perspective over the entire situation...
~*~*~
Soft knocks echoed throughout the Ponyville Library. Twilight’s ear flicked as they bathed in those sounds, grunting in the hopes that the door would open by itself.
“Miss Tweilight?” asked the voice on the other side of the door as the knocks repeated themselves again.
Twilight groaned yet again, recognizing the voice of Ponyville’s own mailmare, Derpy Hooves. “Derpy, it’s four in the morning,” she half-heartedly shouted towards the entrance door.
“Urgent delivery, miss Tweilight,” repeated Derpy behind the closed door. “I need your signature.”
“Spike!” Twilight yelled towards the empty basket in which Spike usually resided. “Spike?” she repeated herself, still without any reply. “Oh; he probably just slept in Sugarcube Corner. Too much ice cream isn’t good, even for a dragon...,” she muttered to herself as she turned her head towards the door. “I’m coming,” she shouted half-heartedly.
The cross-eyed grey pegasus with a set of bubbles as her cutie mark stood at the library door, awaiting for the librarian to sign a clipboard that she patiently held in her mouth.
“Please sign on the bottom, miss Tweilight,” a muffled speech came from her mouth.
“It’s Twilight, Derpy. Twilight Sparkle.”
“Here you go, miss Tweilight,“ she said again after putting away the clipboard and retrieving an envelope from her bag.
Twilight cringed upon hearing her name being butchered yet again and turning her eyes towards the now floating envelope with ‘URGENT!’ stamped on the top-left corner. There was also neatly written address of the Ponyville Library written on it as well as the name of the recipient: ‘Twilight Sparkle’.
Twilight felt uneasy as she reluctantly opened the letter, instantly recognising the horrible writing she could only attribute to a single pony.
‘Twilight. Waiting for you on Perilous Peak. I need to show you something.
Rainbow Dash.’
She felt shivers down her spine as any sign of drowsiness from lack of sleep and a long walk around Ponyville left her immediately as she slammed the door shut and started to gallop towards the mountain.
~*~*~
Twilight rapidly approached the dark mountain and chuckled as she remembered how Fluttershy defeated the resident dragon with nothing more than a little bit of courage as she wanted to protect not Ponyville, but just five of her closest friends...
Her hooves became heavier as she started to grow tired; but she refused to give up or slow down, the content of Rainbow’s letter still fueling her fears. As she lit up her horn, the path around her was bathed in magenta light, illuminating her path in front and around her as she tried to get to the top as quickly as possible.
She picked up the pace as she approached the top of the mountain, only stopping momentarily to catch her breath and rest her legs until she approached the very top, finding a familiar silhouette now bathing in the rays of the rising sun.
“R-Rainbow,” she breathed heavily “W-what are you doing here?” she huffed, collapsing from exhaustion on the soft, still slightly wet grass from the morning dew “Why aren’t you in the hospital?” she huffed again, holding a breath for a second before forming another question. “Wait... How did you get up here?”
“Hey, Twi’,” Rainbow said without flinching or turning around to look at the exhausted unicorn. She was sitting on the edge of the cliff, staring into the direction of the rising sun. “I was hoping you would have been here sooner. I didn’t want you to miss this,” she said cheerfully.
“Miss what?” Twilight asked as she raised her head, fixing her eyes on the clouds above her, as they were bathed in orange, shortly followed by the tips of the high trees. Ponyville joined in few moments later, as it performed what it seemed to be a fine-tuned choreography of shadows and lights. Twilight’s mouth stood agape as she watched.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Rainbow asked without pausing to wait for a reply “This has to be my favorite spot in Ponyville. It has been since Fluttershy convinced the resident dragon to move away...” She paused and sighed a little. “It’s too bad I hadn’t known about this place before... We’ve always avoided it... It’s not healthy to get eaten, you know...”
“Rainbow?”
“So many times I woke up early just to watch this. And it never fails to impress me,” she continued without even flinching at the call of her name. “And you wouldn’t believe how amazing it is to feel the morning breeze ruffling your feathers and your mane when you’re speeding through the air.” She caught herself shedding a tear as it landed on one of her hooves.
“Rainbow?” Twilight repeated herself again.
“Take this as my apology, Twilight...” she paused “...and my parting gift,” she said in a low voice, slowly hanging her head.
“You’re leaving? Where to?” Twilight asked quizzically, as she tried to get back onto her still wobbly hooves.
“I don’t know. I don’t think that anypony knows, Twilight,” Rainbow answered darkly, turning her head towards her friend.
“Wait, you don’t—,” Twilight stopped abruptly the moment she realized what Rainbow meant. No.
Rainbow gulped heavily as she unfolded her wing, quickly pushing herself off the edge of the cliff with a slight gasp. “Goodbye, Twilight.”
“NO! RAINBOW!” Twilight shouted behind the falling pegasus, ignoring her exhaustion as she lit her horn and leaped towards the edge in hopes that she would be fast enough to catch her friend.
Just a few seconds before Rainbow hit the ground, she was suddenly wrapped in a magical aura that slowed her descent. “No, Twilight! Please, just let me go!” she thought as she was gently laid on the ground. Mere seconds later, the unicorn teleported beside her.
“YOU PROMISED ME! WHY!?” Twilight cried as sky-blue pegasus laid dejectedly on the ground before her. “Why?” she breathed yet again, tears streaming down her cheeks.
“I promised nothing to nopony,” Rainbow replied with a low voice, glaring darkly at the unicorn.
“‘I'd never leave my friends hangin', “ Twilight quoted as she stared at the pegasus. “This is what you said the other day in the Everfree Forest, Rainbow.”
Rainbow snorted. “So what?” she asked disdainfully. “You’ve never lost anything. You don’t know how loss changes ponies! You have no idea what it’s like to lose something that defines you, do you, tardy? What are you going to do next? Follow me everywhere just in case I want to off myself? Is that it?”
Twilight’s expression went hollow and her ears went flat upon hearing those words. Her mind skipped most of the pegasus’ ramblings except for one single word.
“Tardy.”
She flinched, her head jerking in the direction of the offender. “Don’t you dare say that, Rainbow Dash,” she said in a dark tone, void of all emotions.
Rainbow’s eyes went wide as Twilight’s tone suddenly changed. She stared at the unicorn in fear, unsure as to what she was going to do.
“Don’t you dare,” Twilight repeated herself as her horn started to glow. Her magical aura surrounded both of them, and they suddenly disappeared in a bright flash of magenta light.
~*~*~
With a loud pop, they both re-appeared in Twilight’s bedroom back in the library.
Looking around for her assistant, Twilight called out, “Spike!” She turned towards the still-empty basket, speaking in an emotionally-detached voice. With no reply from her scaly assistant, she turned her head back to the still-shocked pegasus as she lit her horn yet again, causing Rainbow to take a nervous step away from her in fear. “This will only take a moment, Rainbow.” she breathed, her magic wrapping the library in a protective bubble, preventing any unwanted company from eavesdropping around the library.
“When I was a little filly—” just as Twilight started to talk in a calm and soothing voice, she was interrupted by one of Rainbow’s thoughtless remarks.
“What is this; another one of those lectures? Are you trying to put me to sleep?” Rainbow asked dejectedly, expecting the unicorn to give up on the entire ordeal.
Twilight paused for a moment, glaring at her friend with a piercing stare. “Rainbow.” Her voice was dark again, void of all emotions, which jolted the pegasus back to attention as she continued, “Sit down and listen.”
Rainbow’s mind protested, but her body listened to Twilight’s words like they were a command from a high-ranking officer. Her flank flopped onto the wooden floor and her mouth, previously ajar to object to the comments that would be spoken by the unicorn, slammed shut and her ears perked up. She was certain that Twilight was doing this to her with her magic, but her horn wasn’t lit. It was something in her voice that made her listen to every spoken word.
“I wasn’t always a reserved pony, you know?,” Twilight continued in a calm and soothing voice, a drastic change from before. “I wasn’t interested in books in general back then,” she added with a little smirk, “but magic fascinated me more than anything else.”
She looked at the still-frozen pegasus, waiting for a moment if she had something to say before moving onward.
“When I was accepted into the School for Gifted Unicorns, I was treated like an outcast because everypony in the class knew what I did on my entrance exam. Everypony was afraid of me... Or rather what I might do, if my magic ever got out of control.” Twilight paused again, again looking into the eyes of the silent pegasus. “Except for one single pony,” she continued. “The sweetest, smartest and most wonderful filly that anypony ever met.” She snickered. “Smarter than me, too...” She paused. “Her name was Crimson Skies.”
“Why are you telling me this?” Rainbow asked almost with a squeak.
Twilight hung her head, “She was my best friend for a great number of years...”
“Yeah, yeah, and then she moved somewhere else,” Rainbow remarked sarcastically. “and that’s the story about your loss.”
Twilight looked at Rainbow with a piercing look. “That would be the happy ending,” she said darkly. “But then there’s the real ending.”
Rainbow closed her mouth as she stared at Twilight.
“Crimson Skies was the only pony that I ever allowed to call me ‘tardy’. That’s because she was much smarter and better than most of ponies in almost everything but magic.” She smirked. “She was horrible at that. She was also the pony responsible for making me enjoy learning things that aren’t magic-specific.” Twilight paused, a faint smile now showing on her lips, “She was the only pony aside of Princess Celestia that I’ve felt comfortable with. She even showed me how to kiss.”
“And? Most mares and colts know how to do that,” Rainbow remarked.
“And she was a great explorer, too... She showed me tons of secret hideouts all around Canterlot. I think, that...” Twilight paused as her face started to bathe in slight red hue “I think I fell for her. I never managed to find out, if she shared those feelings, because...” she paused yet again, taking a deep breath.
“Because?” Rainbow echoed her final word.
“Rainbow,” Twilight asked in a low voice. “Have you ever witnessed a pony being crushed by a boulder?”
“W-what?” Rainbow looked dumbfounded at the sound of the unicorn’s question.
“Because I have,” Twilight replied as sadness crept into her eyes.
Rainbow Dash said nothing as she stared blankly at the normally happy and cheerful librarian.
“We were exploring one of the caves underneath Canterlot. You would never have thought that underneath the castle there are these caves made out of beautiful green crystals. We were warned that the caves were dangerous, but we both thought that those were just tales to scare the foals away from enjoying the natural beauty.” Twilight paused as she hung her head. “As Crimson found out first hoof, we were dead wrong.”
“We were playing in one of the abandoned mine shafts,” Twilight continued. “As we thought that we’ve seen something sparkling at the end of it, we started to race towards it...” Twilight paused momentarily, continuing with a weaver in her voice. “I won the race. But I shouldn’t have. I should be the one that was left behind...”
“W-what happened?” Rainbow asked in a low voice.
“A support beam on the ceiling snapped, and a large crystal crushed her.” A tear slid down Twilight’s cheek, splattering as it hit the wooden floor. “I never knew that something so beautiful could do something so horrible.” She paused for a moment as she regained her focus. “Never stop trying to improve yourself. Those were her last words,” she continued. “That day part of me died in excruciating pain with her.” She took a deep breath. “I’ve told all of you how I passed my entrance exam. Now imagine an older pony like that a few years later losing control. Like I did.”
Twilight looked at the now shivering pegasus who looked like she was preparing to run away from her. But she had no intention to stop speaking. “I wanted everypony to feel what I felt at that very moment.” She continued, “The earth started to shake and some of the Canterlot houses started to tremble.” Twilight lowered her voice as she looked towards the pegasus. ”I wanted for the city to pay for what it did to Crimson Skies.”
Rainbow gulped heavily.
“Princess Celestia figured out what was going on. She managed to stop me by putting me into a coma,” she sighed. “She is trying hard not to show it, but I think she’s still a little afraid of me.”
“W-why are you t-telling me a-all this?” Rainbow asked with a faint squeak, trying to curl up into a ball as if to escape the increasingly darker image of the mare before her like she was some kind of stranger. This wasn't the Twilight that Rainbow knew. This was wrong.
“Rainbow Dash,” she continued. “Have you ever had a nightmare?”
Dash nodded slowly. “W-when I-I was a f-filly,” she added with a stutter.
“Consider yourself very lucky, then,” the unicorn said with a smirk. “Everytime I close my eyes, I can see her and hear her screams the moment the crystal collapsed on her. It’s been ten years, and I can still see it as if it was yesterday.”
Rainbow grew pale as Twilight closed her eyes in front of her. She cringed as she imagined what Twilight must have had to relive every time she shut her eyes.
“Y-you’re lying,” Rainbow said in a raspy voice. “You’re just making stuff up to try and scare me from doing what I was gonna do.”
“No. I wanted to show you that you’re not alone, that the—”
“No; thats a lie!” Rainbow shouted.
“No, Rainbow...it isn’t...”
“Stop lying! I know you! Nothing like that ever happened!”
“Just by you saying that confirms that you don’t know me that well,” Twilight breathed darkly as she turned away from the pegasus. She lit her horn again, and suddenly they both disappeared from the library in a flash of magenta light.
~*~*~
Re-appearing in the caves below the castle, they were greeted with faint, greenly tinted reflections of themselves. Their reflections grew clearer as well as the structure of the cave as Twilight lit her horn and flooded the cave with a magenta light.
Twilight led them over to the wall, and her light revealed an old and deteriorating writing in chalk saying ‘Crimson Skies was here’, and a slightly slanted addition of ‘Twilight Sparkle, too' on one of the support beams.
Rainbow Dash froze as she saw the writing.
“I promised myself that I would never visit this place ever again,” Twilight breathed, hanging her head. “I don’t need to be reminded of what happened...” She paused as fresh tears slid down her face.
Rainbow looked around, the support beams catching her attention.
“You don’t need to worry about those beams...,” Twilight said as she saw what the pegasus is looking at. “I made sure that they won’t collapse... Ever again... At least not in here...”
Twilight stopped, causing Rainbow to lightly bump into her. “I don’t want to go any further,” Rainbow said in a raspy whisper.
“It’s just behind that pile of rubble...,” Twilight said in a low voice, pointing towards the dimly lit pile.
Rainbow walked with a slow pace towards the spot that Twilight pointed to. Her legs felt heavy as she realized that what Twilight told her might be true, rather than just a made-up story. The pegasus’ heart sank as the dimly-lit grave marker with a fading photograph tacked on it greeted her. For some reason, the light started to grow brighter, illuminating the fading photograph that showed the two ponies in a friendly hug. Rainbow immediately recognized Twilight, but she didn’t know the other filly. She was a light-green filly unicorn with a full crimson mane that had a few golden strands in it. Both fillies were smiling and happily waving towards the camera.
“That’s Crimson Skies. She was a lot like you, Rainbow,” a low voice behind her whispered as the pale pegasus turned her head back towards her friend. “You would like her. She was brave and hungry for adventure. She was actually the inspiration for Daring Do and her first book.”
“Why?” the pale pegasus asked in a husky whisper as she turned her attention towards the unicorn. “why didn’t you tell us about this?” she added.
“Everypony has their own their secrets, Rainbow,” Twilight said in a low voice.
“But... You can trust us with things like this... We—”
“We should go now... I don’t want to be in this place anymore,” Twilight interrupted the pegasus, turning away from her.
The two of them quickly disappeared in a flash of magenta light, only to reappear in the library a second later.
~*~*~
Rainbow Dash shook her head as she was met with familiarity of the library interior, turning her head towards the unicorn. “Twilight, you didn’t answer my question...”
Twilight hung her head and after a pause she said in a low voice: “You don’t want to know my answer.”
“What? Why not?” Rainbow countered.
Twilight paused as she glared into Rainbow’s eyes. “Rainbow, trust me on this one.”
“What are you talking about? I want to know.”
“I have a really hard time with trusting anypony.”
“Huh?” Rainbow’s head jerked with a shock. “B-but h-how? W-why? Aren’t we—”
“My brother’s wedding,” Twilight breathed as she saw the pegasus’ eyes widened upon her words as Rainbow took another step back, lightly bumping into the nearby bookshelf.
“But I— we— didn’t—” Rainbow stuttered as she tried to form a coherent answer.
“You have a lot to think about, Rainbow,” Twilight said as she lit her horn. “...but not here...”
“Wait, Twilight I’m—”
Rainbow didn’t manage to finish her sentence as the wooden floor beneath her hooves was suddenly replaced by a patch of grass and a distant view of Ponyville.
“...sorry...” Rainbow muttered, immediately recognizing the place where she was teleported to.
“Perilous Peak,” Rainbow muttered to herself. She clenched her teeth as a sharp pain shot through the bandaged remains of her left wing. But that wasn’t enough to snap her out of her thoughts.
She walked towards the edge as she thought about Twilight’s words; about her loss and what had happened at the royal wedding. Rainbow Dash, the element of Loyalty, had left her alone.
“I’ll never leave my friends hanging...” echoed in her mind as a tear slid down her cheek. “Twilight,” she breathed sadly. She was lost in thought for what seemed like a couple of hours as she tried to figure out a way to comfort the purple unicorn, but with very little success. As she stood up to make the walk back to Ponyville, she felt the ground suddenly fall from beneath her hooves.
Rainbow tried to jump back towards the crumbling edge of the peak but she missed her destination by only a few inches, making her curse loudly in mid-air. She knew that this was a life-threatening situation, but being the seasoned flyer she was, she kept a cool head and didn’t panic. Unfortunately, the safety procedures that were taught to her in flight school never covered situations like this: one wing completely missing and one heavily weakened due to lack of exercise. But that didn’t stop her from trying, because she knew full well that giving up would be fatal.
She winced as a sharp pain surged through her remaining wing on the first flap, her face grimacing as she flapped harder and harder, refusing to give up. She was Rainbow Dash, the best flyer in all of Equestria! There was no way that some stupid little fall was going to be the end of her. She flapped her wing as hard as she could, and she shrieked in pain as her wing cramped up, leaving her with no other options but to close her eyes and brace herself for the inevitable impact. ‘Any second now,’ she thought, her life flashing before her eyes.
But she never hit the ground. Instead, the rushing winds of her fall stopped abruptly, being replaced with a gentle breeze as it ruffled her mane, her hooves making soft contact with a patch of grass below her only a moment later. The pegasus was still in shock, her teeth clenched and her eyes shut, unaware of the soft pop of a teleportation spell behind her.
“You are a very lucky pony, Rainbow Dash,” a familiar soft voice echoed from behind her.
Rainbow Dash shook her head and opened her eyes as she turned in the direction of the incoming voice, revealing a majestic white alicorn standing behind her.
“P-Princess Celestia?” Rainbow managed to breathe out with a stutter, clumsily bowing to the pony in front of her. “H-how, w-where did you...?”
“I was watching you from a distance for quite some time, my little pony... A lone pegasus with one wing sitting on the edge of a cliff might be something that would catch my attention. Even you have to admit, it's a curious sight, as Perilous Peak isn't exactly a tourist destination,” she answered in a soothing voice. “You know, you sat almost perfectly still for four hours...you must have a lot on your mind...”
Rainbow nodded. “Yeah... A lot has happened these past few days and... I guess I’m trying to make sense of it all...” she added with a sigh as she rubbed her aching wing with her leg. “Wait; did you just say four hours?” Her head jerked a little in surprise. "Really? I've been here that long?"
“Longer than that, actually...” Celestia said, sitting down beside the pegasus. “So... what is the matter, Rainbow Dash?”
Rainbow pointed to the bandaged remainder of her wing. “Well, this almost cost me my life three times so far. And...” She trailed off, a bird passing by catching her interest for a brief moment. “Princess?” Rainbow finally managed to ask, turning her head towards Celestia.
“Yes, miss Dash?”
“Is there really nothing that can be done about this?” Rainbow asked as she looked back, flexing the bandaged stump on her back.
Celestia took a few moments to reply, collecting her thoughts. “Twilight asked me this already,” she replied softly, “but I’m afraid not. There aren’t many unicorns, or alicorns for that matter, that are interested in the process of wing regrowth, especially since such damage isn’t a common occurrence in Equestria. There was only one pony that focused on that subject, Starswirl the Bearded, but he passed away a long time ago.”
She sighed, her shoulders slumping. “I wish I could help you, miss Dash, but even I don’t know how...” She hung her head, a corner of her eye catching the sun that was slowly falling behind the horizon, and she turned her attention back to the pegasus sitting beside her. “I should be going now. It’s time to sink the sun beyond the horizon and let my sister raise the moon.” She smiled at Rainbow. “But before I go, I will answer one more question.”
“Alright...” Rainbow paused as she looked towards Celestia. “What happened to Twilight?”
“What do you mean, Rainbow Dash?” Celestia asked quizzically.
“...Crimson Skies,” Rainbow breathed after a moment of pause.
Celestia flinched as her face became pale, taking a step away from the pegasus. “H-How...?”
“She told me,” Rainbow said in a low voice.
“I see,” Celestia nodded. “I have a feeling this will take longer than just a couple of minutes.” She smiled faintly. “But you will need to excuse me for a moment to lower the sun. This shouldn’t take long,” she said as she looked down at the pegasus with a smile. The alicorn flapped her wings as she rose up in the sky and with her horn lit, making the sun to fall below the horizon just in time to make way for her sister’s moon.
Rainbow turned towards Ponyville, mesmerized by the game of shadows that played in the distance for the second time that day, her mouth involuntarily forming a faint smile.
“Now; what is it that you want of me, Rainbow Dash?” Celestia asked as she floated back towards the ground, snapping the pegasus out of her reverie.
“Huh? Oh, right.” Rainbow shook her head, quickly regaining her focus. “I just...I’m not sure what to do, Princess.”
Celestia looked at the pegasus quizzically. “About what, Rainbow Dash?”
“About everything. Ever since I lost my wing...” Rainbow paused as she took a deep breath, turning her head towards the rising moon. “Everything changed. Rarity and Applejack got together, Pinkie Pie’s parties aren’t as exciting anymore, Twilight confessed something she regretted doing, and now I’m permanently grounded.“ She paused for a moment as she turned her head back to Celestia. “The only pony that hasn’t changed is Fluttershy.”
“Change affects us all, Rainbow Dash,” Celestia spoke calmly. “Nopony can be sure if it’s good or bad until we give it time.”
“Even Twilight?”
“She is no exception to this rule...” Celestia answered after a pause, the bandaged remainder of the pegasus’ wing catching her attention for a brief moment. “She is still just a pony. Change affects her just like it does everypony else... When I accepted her as my student, she spent every waking moment behind a book; she managed to get ahead of her class every single year. But...”
“...But?” Rainbow asked quizzically.
“But as time passed by, she changed. She was no longer the cheerful and studious filly that she was in the beginning. Her grades started to decline and she started to shy away from everypony, even from me...“
Rainbow smirked upon hearing Celestia’s description of Twilight’s fillyhood, realizing that it nearly mirrored hers. “She was just growing up... You know, I was like that as well...”
“No,” Celestia calmly countered. “I have mentored many ponies, but I haven’t seen anything like that before... She often vanished in the middle of the class just to be found later in her room or in one of the castle towers, staring blankly out a window. That’s why at the end of the school year, my advisors pushed me to end my mentorship with her... She learned enough self-control in this time not to let her magic get the best of her or the ponies around her...”
“And then she met Crimson Skies?”
“...And then she met Crimson Skies,” Celestia repeated. “She brought the old Twilight back. She was always able to trick Twilight into competing with her in some subject, and soon they grew very close. It filled my heart with joy to see the two spending so much time together, and with time Twilight's grades climbed back up.”
“But that isn’t the end, is it?”
“No,” Celestia breathed..”Because a few years later, Crimson Skies died in—”
“...the crystal cave underneath Canterlot, I know,” Rainbow finished the Princess’ sentence for her. “Twilight showed me where it happened.”
“W-what?,” Celestia gasped in a shock. “She brought you there?”
Rainbow nodded. “Yeah... It’s a long story... But...why are you so surprised?”
“Twilight watched her closest friend die in there, Rainbow Dash. She lost control over herself and her magic just like in her test to get into the school, and she nearly destroyed Canterlot in the process and I was lucky to find her just in time and stop her from destroying it.”
Rainbow nodded. “I know... Twilight told me that as well... But why would you be concerned because of that so many years later? Are you afraid that it might happen again?”
“Yes,” Celestia confirmed. “It is common that traumatic memories make you lose control over yourself,” she added after a slight pause. “I’ve seen it happen many times.”
“But don’t you trust Twilight?”
“Of course I do, Rainbow Dash. However, trust has nothing to do with this, my little pony. The ponies affected by bad experiences are hardly aware of what they just did.”
“But I’m not sure if that completely answers my question...” the pegasus lowered her head and tapped her chin. “Because you’ve said that you’ve stopped Twilight before she managed to cause a disaster... But—”
“...But?”
“How did you know where she was?”
Celestia fell silent.
“I see,” Rainbow said disappointingly. “The Princess of the sun...” she paused for a few moments. “...has to follow her student around because she doesn’t trust her...” She paused yet again. “That’s kinda sad...”
“How dare you speak to your Princess like that, Miss Rainbow Dash!” Celestia exclaimed. “Do you think that this is a game? You don’t know what Twilight is capable of!”
“Princess, with all due respect,” Rainbow continued. “I am well aware of what Twilight is capable of. I was there when your sister returned from the moon and when Discord was sealed back into the statue as well as his release. I might not be as smart as she is, but I wonder from time to time how much magic Twilight invested into Elements of Harmony and how much work the other five elements do...” she paused. “Twilight scares you, doesn’t she? You said it yourself; she is just like everypony else with a special talent. She should be able to do whatever she wants without having somepony watching her every move.”
“What? She has to be—” Celestia exclaimed, shooting a piercing look towards the pegasus in front of her.
“NO!” Rainbow shot back. “Nopony deserves to be treated like that. Not her, not me, not you, not even Princess Luna. Nopony!” she exclaimed.
“You’re dead wrong, miss Dash!,” Celestia exclaimed again. “Twilight is horrifyingly similar to my sister. She can become just as terrifying and dangerous as Nightmare Moon if pushed in the wrong direction! I cannot allow that to happen again!”
“Wait... Princess, do you even trust your own sister?”
“What are you implying, miss Dash?” Celesta asked, her tone darkening.
“Nothing, Princess... I would just like to know the answer to the question; now that Princess Luna is no longer Nightmare Moon; so you trust her as much as you did before?”
“I-I... Yes, yes I do.”
“Why?” Rainbow continued. “She almost defeated you twice. Why do you still trust her?”
“Because... Because she’s my sister.”
“But Twilight can’t raise or lower the moon...” Rainbow replied calmly. “Even if she becomes a pony like Nightmare Moon, the Elements of Harmony will defeat her just like they defeated Nightmare Moon... She is no more of a pony than Princess Luna.”
“Miss Dash?” Celestia asked with a weaver in her voice. “Do you trust Twilight? Especially after today? After hearing of what harm she can cause? What do you think would happen if I wouldn’t be able to stop her? How many families would she destroy with what she almost did?”
Rainbow blinked upon hearing the Princess’ words and hung her head, a fresh tear sliding down her cheek.
“I didn’t think so, either,” Celestia responded with a smug voice. “Now you understand why I had to—”
“I do,” Rainbow responded in a whisper.
“Huh?”
“I do,” Rainbow repeated herself, this time loud enough for Celestia to hear her clearly. “I trust her. She almost sacrificed her own sanity for me... It’s just... I don’t know why it has taken me that long to realize that... Why can’t you trust her, Princess?” She asked with a heavy sigh.
“I’m sorry, miss Dash, but for more than a thousand years...” Celestia spoke calmly, her head now hung. “For more than a thousand years, I couldn’t trust anypony. Not really. Ever since...my sister...”
“I’m the wrong pony to apologize to, Princess,” Rainbow replied after a pause. “This is between you and Twilight.”
Celestia nodded. “I hope that I can make things right again. Thank you for reminding me of that, miss Dash.”
Rainbow nodded, turning her head towards the silver skies of the waxing moon behind Ponyville, sighing.
“Rainbow Dash?”
“I’m sorry, Princess, but I’m tired, the stump of my wing hurts, and most importantly; I am still no closer to knowing what to do than I was hours ago...”
“There are still empty rooms in Canterlot castle, Rainbow Dash. You are free to use them anytime you want,” Celestia offered to the pegasus.
Rainbow shook her head. “Thank you very much for the offer, Princess... But unfortunately, I have to refuse, at least for now. I should return to Ponyville and talk to my friends...”
“I understand,” Celestia said soothingly as she lit her horn, the golden glow of her magic enveloping Rainbow’s stump, relieving the pain inside. “But there is something that I would like to ask of you...” she added.
“What?”
“Please don’t mention this conversation to Twilight. She—”
“...is much smarter than me, Princess,” Rainbow cut into the Princess’ sentence. “I’m pretty sure that she figured out all of this years ago and she also knew the reason why you acted the way you did. She still put her trust in all of us... At least until her brother’s wedding... and that’s when we all let her down...”
Celestia closed her mouth, silently staring at the pegasus as Dash turned around just to catch the first few rays of moonlight that were struggling to escape the small forest in the distance.
“I should go now,” Rainbow said, her head slowly turning away from watching the moonrise behind the Ponyville towards the white alicorn. “Thank you...for...everything, Princess.” She clenched her teeth, sluggishly putting one hoof in front of the other, slowly but surely increasing the distance between herself and Celestia.
“I can help you with that, Rainbow Dash.”
Rainbow stopped, turning her head back towards the Princess, her face still slightly grimacing, replying as calmly as she could. “I’m fine...” she grimaced as she she felt a sharp sting in one of the still-weak leg muscles. “It’s a long way back to Ponyville, and I need some exercise and time to think... Goodnight again, Princess.”
She turned away from the the white alicorn, slowly making her way back towards Ponyville, ignoring the occasional stings in her leg muscles as she slipped back into her own thoughts, trying to find a way to apologize to Twilight for everything she did.
Celestia watched the pegasus slowly disappeared into the shadows and out of sight. “I don’t believe I’ve ever met such a stubborn pony,” she said to herself with a smirk, unfurling her wings as she turned her head towards the sparse clouds above her. “She reminds me of my sister...”
