Serenity Torn
The sun crested over the horizon, painting the sky countless hues as birds began to stir and cry out to the chill morning air. Elongated shadows began to shrink, exposing fresh dew to Celestia's morning sun. Bright rays of sunshine slowly crept across Fluttershy's bed, and soon to her eyes. She winced a moment, then slowly sat up rubbing them. She smiled and walked to her window to see a few pegasi moving clouds on the horizon and marveled at the picturesque scene. Quietly she descended down her stairs, making sure not to disturb Angel who was quietly resting in his basket at the foot of her bed.
Fluttershy's smile only grew as she had remembered what had happened the day before, Ponyville's tornado only barely managing to siphon the necessary water for Cloudsdale's rain factory. The rush and exhilaration of flying at those speeds was new to Fluttershy, and she blushed slightly at realizing how much she enjoyed it. The look of pride Rainbow's face when she saw Fluttershy flying side by side or the cheering crowd that carried her off afterwards cheering her name didn't stifle her blush either, as her normally yellow face began to match her mane's shade of pink.
Her mind continued to wander through her accomplishments that day as she checked up on the critters that lived in her cottage, many of which were still curled up warmly and napping.
"Even getting inside the tornado was hard." Fluttershy thought to herself. "But once I managed to straighten out, and managed to make myself forget about all those ponies that were...laughing..."
Fluttershy's blush and smile quickly disappeared as she whimpered and recoiled as though smacked on top of her head by an unseen hoof. She shook her head and trotted to her door. "I-I just won't think about that if I can help it.." Fluttershy put her hoof to her door and walked outside.
Fluttershy was immediately hit with a gentle rush of fresh air and bright sunshine as she stepped outside, looking to the families of birds singing from the birdhouses which adorned her cottage. Seeing them quickly brought her smile back and she slowly began to open her wings to greet them to the new day. The morning sunshine warmed her fur while the cool crisp air ruffled her mane and wings. As she spread her wings, she felt a strange tingling at the base and noticed they felt a bit stiff.
"Hmn, that's strange, I must have slept on them weird." With a gentle fwomph, Fluttershy forced her wings open with one swift movement.
Fluttershy's eyes immediately shot open as searing pain shot through her entire body. She opened her mouth to speak, to scream, to say anything! Only the faintest whimper escaped her snout as she took a slow breath in and released it, all of her muscles from her hooves to her wings clenched in shock. As she exhaled, Fluttershy realized that her wings specifically were in agonizing pain. She took another deep breath to try to relax, and she tried to lower her wings, but in doing so only managed to make them hurt more!
Tears began to well in the sunshine colored mare's eyes as she brought herself to sit, the base of her wings feeling like two stakes pounded into her back. Doing her best to hold back tears, she took another slow breath in and out to try to bring her wings down. Quivering slightly, her wings inched down towards her sides. Fluttershy gasped for breath and let out a small sob as she took respite from the painful ordeal; moving her wings just seemed to amplify the pain!
Fluttershy's heartbeat grew as she reached up to her wing with her hooves and pulled it down as gently as she could. Using her hooves seemed much less painful than trying to force her wings down on their own, so she carefully and steadily pulled her wing down, folding it down over itself and pressing it firmly against her back.
As the joint of her wing touched her side, Fluttershy felt another jolt of pain which quickly subsided. Sniffling and gasping, she sighed quietly at having completed the ordeal before looking over her shoulder to her right. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and reached over her other shoulder, grabbing at the appendage.
Fluttershy slowly repeated the process of folding her wing against her back, letting out small whimpers of pain in between short gasping breaths. With a pained grunt, she pressed her wing neatly against her side. Fluttershy could swear that she heard an audible pop as the wing came into place with a feeling like twisting a knife in her side.
With both of her wings in place the pain almost magically and completely disappeared. Fluttershy was confused and scared. She sniffled quietly as tears streamed down her face. Looking down at her hoof as though it might bite her, she slowly brought her hoof up to her cheek and wiped away her tears. She let out a cough as she cautiously rose to her feet, not trusting her own body. Taking one more deep breath, she thought to herself.
"C'mon Fluttershy... You were ok before, you managed to walk down stairs!" Flinching away from her hoof as though it might explode, the disheartened mare stuck a hoof forward and planted it firmly on the ground. Then another, and another until she was walking steadily.
Fluttershy walked back to her cottage and quickly set to work filling food bowls. Leafy greens and oats were laid out for critters of all different sizes, and a big juicy carrot was laid next to Angel who was just waking up.
"Good morning Angel, I'm not gonna be here much longer, I've got a bit of a problem I have to take care of in town. I've got some breakfast for you though!"
Smiling sincerely, she gently placed the carrot in front of Angel who looked at it questioningly before picking it up and nibbling on it with a look of discontent.
"Good boy Angel! Eat it all up now so you'll stay healthy ok?"
Fluttershy lowered her neck to give the exasperated rabbit a nuzzle, but quickly stopped halfway as her back suddenly tensed up and gave a hint of the pain she had just experienced minutes before.
Fluttershy flinched and snapped her neck back, making a pained face before relaxing again and patting Angel a couple times. Angel looked back at Fluttershy wide eyed, his tail twitching as he stared at his closest friend carefully.
"What? ..Oh, don't worry about me Angel bunny, I'll be fine. Promise."
Angel looked at her disapprovingly, dropping the carrot he had nibbled on.
"Oh Angel, really, you don't have to worry about me. My wings are just a little sore, I was going to see if somepony in town could help me with them. I'll be back before too long, now finish up that carrot alright?" She smiled at the bunny pleadingly.
Angel once again scooped up the carrot he had and nibbled at it in his bed. Fluttershy smiled and walked towards Ponyville.
The air began to warm as Fluttershy trotted along the dirt path, and she thought aloud as she walked.
"What was that..? Why did my wings freeze up like that? Why did it hurt so much?"
She sighed to herself worriedly and looked to her back at her folded appendages.
"Well at least they're ok now, as long as they're folded against my back. What should I even do?“
Fluttershy held her head down in contemplation and embarrassment, looking at the ground under her feet as she moved.
“Well.. Rainbow tried to help me before when I flew in the tornado, and she is the fastest flier in Ponyville... Right. I'll go visit Rainbow and she should be able to help me. Or at least I hope she can..."
She gave one last sniffle as she picked up the pace with her trot towards Rainbows house.
Ponyville was mostly quiet as she walked through, only a few shop owners and early risers were visible along the city streets and skies. Fluttershy was thankful that there was nobody there to see her in her injured state.
"Celestia forbid, what if I somehow had to walk through town with my wings stuck up!? I'd be the laughing stock of the whole town, and just after everything started looking up with the tornado yesterday..."
Fluttershy gave a whimper and looked around for anybody who might be looking at her, just in case they could somehow hear her thoughts. Seeing nopony near her, she continued on past Sugarcube Corner to the other side of town.
Continuing through the buildings, Fluttershy kept vigilant for Rainbow's house floating on the horizon. As a cloud it was apt to move occasionally, but Rainbow usually did a good job of keeping it in place. Finally on the western outskirts of the town, Fluttershy saw a tall low floating cloud with Rainbows streaming off of it. She smiled to herself for managing to get to it, and as soon as she flew up Rainbow should be able to....
Fluttershy sat there dumbfounded for a minute before facehoofing at the flaw in her plan. Opening her wings before caused pain so bad she could hardly stand it, there's no way that she could possibly bring herself to do it again to attempt to fly with such horrible pain!
"How could I have forgotten that Rainbow's house was a floating cloud!?" Fluttershy moaned to herself and thought for a moment.
"Well I guess I could call her down... although it is a bit early still, what if she's still asleep? Or maybe she's busy practicing some stunt for the Wonderbolts.... I shouldn't have come here..."
She sighed and looked at the ground gloomily, sniffling quietly as she made her way back towards town.
The distraught pegasus thought to herself as she trotted back towards town. "Alright Fluttershy, just think about it for a minute. Who would be up early in the morning and know what to do about hurt wings? I suppose a doctor might be able to help but I don't think its that serious of a problem, or at least I hope not.. who would watch over the animals if I was stuck in a hospital bed for a few days? Or what if it was a few weeks!?"
Fluttershy squeaked pitifully at the thought of Angel looking back and forth worried with the rest of her friends as she thought of them growing hungry and restless in her absence.
Fluttershy stopped in her tracks and sat down, looking over her shoulder to her back. Her wings remain tightly folded against her back just where she had left them before.
"I-it's been a while, maybe that was just a one time thing?" Fluttershy spoke to herself apologetically, almost begging her wings to fix themselves.
"Yeah, maybe if I just try to open them again they'll be fine, and then I'll be able to go back home and make sure everyone's ok, maybe I'll even go and re-fluff Angels tail!" Looking back at her wings, they remained tightly closed to her sides. She inhaled a deep breath and exhaled it slowly. "Okay... here goes.."
Gently Fluttershy tried to stretch her wing out again, already feeling an unnatural tenseness in the base of her wing. She gulped and continued to stretch it out more, unfolding the upper half of her wing outwards, a bead of sweat forming on her face as she did so.
"Just a little more...*sniff* little mooorrre... EEP!" Fluttershy's wing almost completely straightened itself out when finally the old pains shot out through Fluttershy's back for a split second. Reflexively, the shaken mare snapped her wing back at her side at a moments notice, the soft feathered appendage easily falling back into place on Fluttershy's back.
"Okay, definitely not fixed, I've still gotta find help for this. I really hope I don't have to see a doctor..."
Fluttershy let out yet another sigh and resumed her walk towards Ponyville.
"Now what am I going to do? I can't find Rainbow and its not like I could just ask somepony on the street...."
Fluttershy's eyes flashed open for a few seconds before one quick word escaped the yellow mare's newly acquired smile.
"Twilight!" Fluttershy doubled her pace and set straight towards the Golden Oak Library. "If anypony that wasn’t a Pegasus could tell me about wings it would have to be Twilight! I'm sure she's got a book about this somewhere!
Fluttershy moved quickly, her head finally held high, confident that her Twilight could help her. She'd always proven reliable in the past for any emergency from ursa minors to dragons, so something as minor as a hurt wing would of course be no problem for her! Fluttershy walked past a growing line in front of Sugarcube Corner, her destination in sight.
"If I can just make it over to Twilight's, everything will be ok. I just know it!" Fluttershy reassured herself as she walked, so much so that she didn't even mind that she was near a whole line of ponies! A voice ringing in the back of her head told her to stop, but she ignored it and pressed on. Fluttershy was a pony on a mission, and nothing would stop her from getting better. Nothing! Fluttershy approached the Golden Oak's door and knocked.
Light footsteps were heard on the other side of the door approaching quickly.
"Oh, hi Fluttershy! Want me to get Twilight?" Spike smiled cheerfully, a few stacks of books on the ground were strewn about near the bookshelves.
"Oh my, does Twilight have you re-shelving again already?" Spike looked behind him and noticed the stacks of books.
"Oh, yeah. You know how Twi gets."
Spike stood up on his toes, put on a serious face and began impersonating Twilight. "Cmon Spike, you know its time for the bi-monthly re-shelving, its-"
"-Been on this month's checklist of library tasks that needed completion for the last 2 weeks?"
Spike's impersonation of Twilight was finished by none other than the lavender unicorn herself, causing Spike to twirl around in the blink of an eye, claws behind his back and a look of pure innocence on his face.
"Uhh, hi Twilight! I was just about to get you, Fluttershy's here!"
He beamed a giant smile and gestured towards Fluttershy, doing his best to conceal the worry filling the young dragons mind. Twilight giggled a bit and patted Spike's head.
"I can see that Spike, thank you. Hi Fluttershy! What brings you over?"
Fluttershy stepped inside and closed the door behind her. "I... well I came here to ask you about something.. well, for something maybe, I'm not entirely sure and I couldn't find Rainbow Dash anywhere and it's not like I could just ask anypony and..." Fluttershy gulped and started blushing, realizing that she had become lost in her own words while Twilight and Spike stared at her blankly.
Fluttershy looked back and forth between the two a few times before muttering "Could we talk somewhere more private maybe? I-if that's ok with you..." Fluttershy looked down and scuffed the floor with her hoof, her blush growing again.
Twilight simply stared at Fluttershy momentarily, trying to piece together what exactly the pegasus had said before the gears began to turn and she snapped out of her trance.
"Oh! Of course! Spike could you please keep re-shelving while I go talk to Fluttershy?"
"Sure thing Twilight..." Spike replied flatly as he picked up a book and began to study it's spine. Twilight motioned Fluttershy to follow as she walked up the stairs towards her room.
"So whats wrong Fluttershy? I haven't seen you so worked up since... well yesterday."
Fluttershy took a deep breath and sighed. "Oh Twilight, I just don't know what happened. This morning as I was about to start off my day, I tried to open my wings and something strange happened to them! They froze in place, and it hurt. A lot! I couldn't even move, and I still can't open them! Do you know what happened Twilight?"
Twilight mulled her thoughts over in her mind a bit while beginning to scan the shelves of her private study for a certain book in particular.
"What kind of a pain was it?"
Fluttershy looked back at her wings, then back to Twilight as she walked towards a shelf and levitated an anatomy book towards her.
"I.. I don't... it was pain?" Fluttershy looked down.
"Was it burning? Stabbing?"
The pegasus rubbed her chin and thought about that morning. " I suppose it was a crushing pain... it felt like both my wings were trying to squish each other off of my back, and both of them were shaking!"
Twilight flipped through a few pages of the book she was looking at and stopped on the opening paragraph of a chapter about pegasi wings. Glancing at the diagrams, her eyes lit up. "Fluttershy, I think you just had a wing cramp!"
"A wing cramp..? Of course I know about them but I never knew they were so painful... are you sure it wasn't something worse?"
Twilight nodded to herself. "Technically no, but I'm pretty sure it was just a cramp Fluttershy. That tornado was nothing to laugh at, and I'm sure that you were flying as hard as you've ever flown in your life!"
Fluttershy blushed slightly and smiled, still proud of herself from the previous day's trials. "So what does the book say to do about a wing cramp?"
"Lets see... It says that cramps are usually caused by long periods of exercize or bad diet.... minerial deficits or dehydration... Ah hah! Treatment! gently massaging the affected area while stretching the appendage can help to alleviate the pain."
"S-stretching..?" Fluttershy subconsciously rose to her hooves and took a couple of steps back, recalling the painful ordeal her morning had been. "Isn't there some other way?"
Twilight scanned the book as quickly as she could, turning the page and giving her a downcast look. "Well you could drink some water I suppose, but the only other cure is time..."
Fluttershy's eyes widened as she went into another fear induced false premonition. Critters left and right going hungry, cursing Fluttershy and leaving for the dangerous Everfree forest, tears welling in her eyes as even Angel ran away, leaving her alone and despondent in her now critterless house. Not wanting to give herself away, she coughed and awkwardly wiped a small tear from her eye before walking towards Twilight.
"If it will make my wings get better sooner, I'll try it Twilight."
"Try what? You want me to massage your wings for you?"
Fluttershy blinked at Twilight then rubbed her back hoof against the other one nervously. "I.. well I mean if it's not too much trouble I..."
She found her apprehension cut off as Twilight spoke up. "Well Fluttershy I'll be honest, I've never had to give a pony a massage before, much less on their wings, but I'll give it a try! So like the book said, cramps are caused by dehydration, so you should get a drink of water first. I'll get it for you."
Twilight disappeared with a loud crack and a purple sphere of light, only to reappear with a levitating glass of water a few seconds later. Fluttershy took the glass and drank it quickly, setting it down on the ground next to her. "So now I just try to stretch my wings..?"
"Well... yeah. You can stretch your wings can't you?"
Fluttershy took an apprehensive look at her back, reassuring herself that her wings were not in fact torture devices and slowly began to lift one. The slightest movement brought a dangerous feeling of tightness in the base of her wing, but she found that as long as she moved slowly, the tightness stopped increasing. Fluttershy held her breath as she unfolded her wing from itself, feeling the tenseness slowly rise as she flared her feathers out and held her wing high above her head, the unused and damaged muscles causing Fluttershy to wince as she extended it as high as she could before slowly lowering it to her side again.
"How does it feel Fluttershy?" Twilight walked to the pegasi's side and watched as she gently folded the appendage against her back. "It still hurts... but at least I can move it." Fluttershy repeated the process with her other wing, the pain and tense-ness growing as she unfurled her wing from her back and stuck it out far horizontally, then curved it upwards. Fluttershy's mane brushed against her muzzle as she looked up at her feathers, barely visible beyond her flowing pink mane.
Twilight sat behind Fluttershy and carefully inspected her back before raising a hoof and placing it against her croup as Fluttershy's other wing returned to her side. "Ready Fluttershy?"
"I...*gulp* yeah." Fluttershy prepared herself for the worst as Twilight moved her hoof to Fluttershy's withers, pressing gently against the sunshine hued fur. Fluttershy immediately winced at the pressure and pain as her tightened muscles pulled on each other, but she forced herself not to move.
"Is it too much Fluttershy?" Twilight gently rubbed up and down along Fluttershy's spine, eliciting several quick squeaks and pained moans from the poor pegasus.
"I th-eep! That it's okaaahhmmmnn!... for now." Twilight carefully continued her strokes, growing stronger with each pass of her hoof. Fluttershy began to shake slightly as the ordeal continued for another minute or so, Twilight only stopping to give her hoof a rest. "How was it Fluttershy? Do you think it helped at all?"
Fluttershy let out a deep sigh as she tried to stop herself from shaking. "It hurt... but I think I feel a little better." Fluttershy sniffled slightly and wiggled her wings back and forth, becoming used to the pain as she extended both of her wings out an inch and back in.
"Do you think that you can extend your wings yet Fluttershy?"
Her back still tingling from the absence of a hoof rubbing her back, Fluttershy took a deep breath and slowly, as she had done before, raised both of her wings at the same time. Feeling a new looseness in her back as she slowly extended her muscles she looked back and forth from wing to wing as her mane brushed against her muzzle once more. Fluttershy's focus was broken by a solitary strand of pink only barely visible between Fluttershy's eyes. She slowly breathed through her nose and looked at it cross-eyed, following it down to the end of her nose. Only then did she realize the strand of hair was tickling her nose! She wriggled her nose slightly and tried to blow it away but it was to no avail; Fluttershy closed her eyes and inhaled quickly, then let out a powerful sneeze.
Fluttershy's eyes shot open instantly, tears quickly forming and rolling down her cheeks in thick streams as her wings quivered slightly, both of them quickly flung open completely by the force of her sneeze. The same pains from the morning rushed through Fluttershy like a lightning bolt, the weakened pegasi's legs shaking as the muscles in her wings clenched down as tightly as they could. Twilight stared in awe at her back, almost fascinated at the sight of her trembling wings until a hoarse whisper snapped her back to reality.
"Twilight.....help..." was all Fluttershy could manage to utter inbetween shallow breaths as her entire body began to shudder from the pain.
Twilight looked at her in shock, terrified that Fluttershy was hurting so much and that she had no idea what to do. There was no time to consult the books! "Fluttershy, what do I do!? I don't know how to fix this!"
Fluttershy's tears streamed down the sides of her face as the cramp continued, the terrified pegasus paralysed with fear and pain. "...h-help.." Not wanting to cause any further damage by touching her wings, Twilight quickly moved to Fluttershy's face and looked into her eyes, giant shimmering and filled with fear, then gently hugged the pegasus against her.
Twilight softly whispered "I'm sorry Fluttershy.." Weak sobs and tears rubbed against her coat as Twilight gently stroked the side of Fluttershy's neck, Both terrified and sorry that there was nothing she could do to help alleviate her friends pain.
Both of them sat there for what felt like an eternity, Twilight gently stroking the side of Fluttershy's neck as stifled moans and sobs came from the paralyzed pony, her legs shaking more and eventually giving out under their own weight causing Fluttershy to fall into Twilight as her wing spasms began to slow.
Finally her wings stopped shaking and loosened up, falling limply at Fluttershy's sides. The pegasus coughed a few times before taking a deep breath and tightly wrapping her arms around Twilight, sobbing hard into the Lavender mare's chest as her pain slowly began to subside. Twilight held Fluttershy gently and continued to stroke her mane, still scared of inadvertently causing further harm to her friend lest her hooves trigger another cramp like that.
Sniffling loudly, Fluttershy rose to her hooves once more and wiped her muzzle with a hoof. Twilight stared at her awkwardly.
"Fluttershy I-"
"It's ok Twilight, *sniff* it wasn't your fault. T-thank you for being there for me, it really means a lot."
Twilight smiled meekly and extended her hooves to her sides, inviting Fluttershy in for a hug against her better judgment. Fluttershy wiped away a tear and smiled back, leaning into Twilight and holding her tightly around her shoulders, while Twilight made sure to grab well underneath Fluttershy's wings and squeezed back softly.
"Fluttershy I think the only way your wings will get better is with time. You'll just have to stay off of them until they're better, or at least until you can stretch them again."
Fluttershy nodded, her cheek rubbing against Twilight's as she gave one last sniffle. "Well I've gotta get back and check up on the animals again, or they'll miss their mid-morning snack."
Twilight nodded. Sorry again that I couldn't help Fluttershy."
"It's ok, you did your best." Fluttershy swallowed back the memories of her pain and smiled, thankful to have Twilight as her friend. Fluttershy opened the door to Twilight's room and walked down the stares to see spike precariously balancing a stack of books in his claws, putting them away one by one. Fluttershy sighed to herself in disappointment as she closed the door to the library and began the long trot back to her home.
Fluttershy moved like a pony possessed, her spirit broken; she hadn't felt this hurt and embarrassed since Iron Will's training. She dragged her feet through the dust, keeping her head down in the presence of other ponies not out of the usual fear, but apathy.
"If my wings can't work," Fluttershy thought to herself, "I'll barely be able to move. I can't take care of the animals if I constantly have to watch how I move making sure that I don't pull a muscle! What kind of an animal caretaker can't even reach up on a high shelf or give a bunny a ponyback ride? A terrible one, that's what!"
Fluttershy sighed as a small storm cloud began raining on her, complementing her stormy mood.
*FWOMPH*
The rain suddenly and instantly stopped. Fluttershy looked up to see a cyan coated Rainbow maned pegasus kicking away the remnants of a storm cloud.
"Hey Fluttershy, sorry about that! I was wondering where this thing floated off to."
"Oh.. hi Rainbow." Fluttershy responded gloomily before trotting on.
"What? Cmon Fluttershy, I know you're not much for flying but I know you've dealt with clouds before, and its not like the first time you've ever been rained on. It's not that big of a deal!" Rainbow Dash threw her arms up expecting some sort of reply, but recieved none as her friend ignored her and continued walking away. Rainbow cocked an eye and flew to Fluttershy's side.
“And what was with you earlier? You didn't respond when I called you when you went past Sugarcube Corner!”
Fluttershy gasped and looked up at Rainbow, trying to think back. “You called me earlier?”
“Yeah! You trotted right past me! I waved and called for you to stop but you kept going! Did you even hear me?”
“I guess the voice did sound familiar, but I just thought that it was one of my usual thoughts. Always telling me to stop or give up...” Fluttershy sat on her haunches and looked down at the ground again as rain dripped off of her now soaked mane.
“So what's with you today!? You're acting really weird!” Fluttershy turned away from Rainbow, and began to walk back to her cottage.
“It's no use Rainbow, there's nothing you can do.”
Fluttershy glanced up momentarily and stroked her mane over her face, making sure that it hid her eyes from anyone looking at her before returning them to the ground, scanning the dirt under her hooves as she plod on. Fluttershy's meager retreat was soon interrupted as she bumped into an angry looking Rainbow Dash who stood firmly in her path.
"Fluttershy, somethings wrong and I'm not gonna stop until I know what it is." Fluttershy sat and looked up at her oldest friend, trying not to sniffle as she shuffled her light pink mane out of the way with a hoof.
"It's no use Rainbow... Twilight couldn't help me so I don't think that you could either."
"Would you just tell me what the problem is already!?"
Fluttershy looked around carefully, making sure nopony else was around to hear their conversation. Seeing nopony else in the immediate area, she mumbled something quietly.
"What?" Rainbow leaned in slightly closer.
"I'm getting winmerrmn..."
"You're gonna have to speak up Fluttershy." She let out a small squeak, shifting uncomfortably and moving her head around so that her mane covered her face once more.
"For pete's sake Fluttershy, just spit it out already!"
"I'm getting wing cramps, are you happy now!?" Fluttershy stepped forward, almost butting heads against Rainbow, who reflexively took a step back.
"Wing cramps? That's it?" Rainbow cocked an eye and tilted her head over the yellow mare's side, inspecting her wings.
"What do you mean thats it!? These are horrible! I wouldn't wish them on anypony, they hurt so badly I can't move and I can't even open my wings anymore!" Fluttershy was on the verge of tears, clearly less than happy about having to defend the validity of her own pain.
"You can't even move your wings? Even a little bit?"
"Well maybe a little bit, but if I'm not careful I can really hurt myself..." She sniffled as tears began to well in her eyes. "I asked Twilight to help but she couldn't do anything.. she tried to have me stretch my wings but it just triggered another and.. oh Rainbow I just don't know what to do!"
Fluttershy sniffled slightly and grabbed Rainbow into a tight hug, burying her face in Rainbow's neck trying hard to suppress a sob as she felt Rainbow slide a hoof around her back. Rainbow looked towards Fluttershy sympathetically, then quickly grew a look of anger.
"That egghead! You can't just stretch a hurt wing!"
Fluttershy sniffled and looked up to Rainbow. "Y-you can't?"
"Don't worry Fluttershy. We'll go to your house and I'll have that wing fixed up in no time. Fluttershy blinked and pulled away from Rainbow, trying to make sure she had heard what Rainbow had just said.
"You can really fix my wing?"
"Pinkie promise!" Fluttershy wiped away a tear and calmed herself once more as a flicker of hope began to cut through her despair.
The pair of pegasi walked to Fluttershy's cottage as Rainbow got more information about how and when Fluttershy's wing cramps occurred and what exactly Twilight did.
"Well she wasn't wrong with the water, staying hydrated is one of the most important parts of any exercise. However, trying to stretch wings hurt that bad was asking for trouble. At least not before doing one more step to the process."
"Another step? What is it?"
"You'll see soon enough. It's a surprise!"
Fluttershy lowered her head. "I don't know Rainbow, surprises are just so...surprising."
"Trust me."
Fluttershy decided not to press the issue anymore as the pair walked up to her cottage.
"What now?" Fluttershy looked to Rainbow inquisitively, watching as the Rainbow Maned mare worked out a few ideas of her own.
"Uh, I'm gonna need a few minutes to get ready Fluttershy. You should go, uh.... feed your chickens or something!"
Fluttershy gasped. "Oh my goodness Rainbow you're completely right! I DID forget to feed them today! Don't worry babies, I'm coming!" Fluttershy stormed off towards her chicken coop as Rainbow went inside Fluttershy's cottage and headed to her bathroom, pulling a small lever next to the faucet in her bathtub to trap the water inside.
As Fluttershy walked back inside she could hear the sound of running water coming from her bathroom. The yellow pegasus poked her head in to find Rainbow leaning over the side of the tub, swirling the water gently with her hoof as thin wisps of steam trailed their way upwards.
"Your surprise was a bath?" Fluttershy stepped into her bathroom, looking a bit unsure at Rainbows plan.
"Well... yeah."
Rainbow shrugged and beckoned her friend over. Fluttershy stepped up to the side of the tub, a rush of heat and steam gently floating up against Fluttershy's face. Fluttershy dipped a hoof in the tub to get a feel for the temperature as Rainbow began to explain.
"Listen Fluttershy, that tornado was no small feat. You worked your wings as hard as you ever have, and now your muscles are hurt. Twilight was right when she said that you have to stretch your wings, but she left out one veeery important factor; heat. If you can warm up your muscles before you stretch them, they'll hurt a lot less and I can almost guarantee you won't get a wingcramp."
Fluttershy swished the water around her hoof a bit as she looked down in thought. "So the bath is to warm up my wings?"
"Exactly! So whaddya think?"
Fluttershy sighed to herself. "I... I guess I can give it a try... you know, I never really realized how much I use my wings." The injured pegasus carefully crawled into the tub, closing her eyes and losing herself in the warmth and comfort of the hot water.
Rainbow chuckled nervously while rubbing the back of her mane. "Yeah, I learned that one the hard way the last time I ended up in the hospital. You think not flying is bad, try not being allowed to get out of bed!"
Fluttershy was only partially listening to Rainbow as she sank to her nose, forgetting all of her cares and tensions as she almost drifted off into a blissful nap.
"How does it feel Fluttershy?" Fluttershy opened her eyes and sat up, shaking off her drowsiness and a few drops of water from the tip of her nose.
"Absolutely wonderful Dash... you were completely right."
"I'm glad to hear it! Now scoot over so I can get in."
Fluttershy's eyes shot open and she looked to Rainbow Dash, blinking a couple times trying to process what she had just heard. "You mean you're going to bathe with me...?"
"Well duh! I can't get at your wings from the side of the tub!" Fluttershy spun around to face Rainbow Dash while clenching her wings slightly tighter to her back than usual, sending rippling waves all across the surface of the tub.
"I-I-I, uh, I mean um.. Rainbow, I don't think I wanna do this..." Fluttershy frowned as she remembered the pain she had experienced twice earlier that morning, certain that somepony's hooves on her back could only make things worse.
"C'mon Fluttershy! You think that in all my life of speed flying, wonderbolt training and sonic rainbooms that I've never gotten a wing-cramp before? They just happen Fluttershy, and I can tell you from experience that this is the best way to deal with them."
Fluttershy's eyes scooted back and forth from Rainbows to her own hooves as she let out a light squeak. "Please Fluttershy, just trust me?"
Rainbow's face was a mix of desperate pleading and exasperation, silently begging her friend to just listen to her. Fluttershy sighed in defeat and lowered her head. "Allright Rainbow... I'll do whatever you say."
Rainbow's expression quickly changed to one of triumph. "Allright! Then scoot on that side of the tub and turn your back towards me."
Fluttershy quietly shifted as instructed and felt the water in her tub rise as Rainbow climbed in after her.
Rainbow placed her hoof directly in between Fluttershy's wings and leaned against it. Fluttershy reflexively eeped and tensed up her entire body while almost slamming her hooves to the edge of the bathtub to hold herself up under the sudden weight.
Rainbow took her hoof off of Fluttershy's back and looked at her sternly.
"Fluttershy!"
"What?!"
"I can't rub your wings if you're stiff as a board! Relax!"
"I can't.. it's too much.." Rainbow sighed and rubbed her eyes with a wet hoof.
"Stay put Fluttershy, I've got another idea." Rainbow replaced her hoof inbetween Fluttershy's wings, only barely holding it in place. "Now take a deep breath and try to relax with my hoof on your back."
Fluttershy did as instructed, and Rainbow could instantly feel her back loosen. Staying ever mindful of her hoof, she gently moved it up and down the injured pegasi's back, applying so little pressure she wondered if it even counted as a backrub. Fluttershy blushed slightly.
"Oh Rainbow... that feels wonderful.." Fluttershy's wings shuddered from the new-found attention and she sank slightly more into the bath, the familiar drowsiness from before creeping up and enveloping her mind.
Rainbow rolled her eyes and pressed down slightly harder, moving her hoof up and down on either side of Fluttershy's back, being especially careful not to accidentially bump one of her wings.
Fluttershy gulped and held still, trying not to squirm too much under the growing pressure of Rainbow's hoof as it traced up and down her back from side to side.
Fluttershy gave an occasional twitch as Rainbow passed over one or two sensitive spots, but did her best to remain as still as she could. Rainbow began to speak as she worked.
"Ya know Fluttershy, there's another reason why the heat helps."
"A-and wh-uyyeegh!" Fluttershy squirmed to the side momentarily then gritted her teeth and pulled her back straight again. "Why's that?"
"It helps trick your brain into not feeling as much pain. I'm not entirely sure how it works but the idea is that if you're feeling the feeling of being hot, thats some of your brain's feeling power used on that instead of just on the pain."
"I guess that makes sense -eep!" Fluttershy buckled under a sharp pain in the base of her wing as Rainbow's hoof brushed against it.
"So how does it feel So far Fluttershy?"
"Well, I think I'm doing allright... maybe.."
"Good, because we were just getting warmed up!" Fluttershy let out a small squeak and shrunk away from Rainbow, only to find her moving almost directly to her side.
"Weren't you going to massage my back earlier?" Rainbow nodded.
"That was just to get you used to the pain associated with a deep tissue massage. You're having wing cramps so if you want them to get better I'm gonna have to massage your wings eventually."
Fluttershy gulped and looked forward, trying to brace herself for the inevitable aching soreness that she was about to be in. "J-just try to be gentle allright..?" Rainbow nodded and carefully positioned her forehooves on either side of the base of Fluttershy's wing, eliciting a series of small whines and moans from the distressed pegasus.
Fluttershy in turn writhed away from Rainbow's hooves, only to be met with a stern look from Rainbow.
"Fluttershy, just stop squirming for a second would you!? I can't help you if you keep moving away any time I touch you!"
"Rainbow I.. I don't know about this any-AHH!" Fluttershy's protests were quickly silenced by a sharp squeeze from Rainbow once more.
"Hey wait a minute..." Rainbow pressed her hooves together a few times more, realizing that the base of Fluttershy's wings were swollen slightly.
"Whoa.. I don't remember the last time my wings got like this after a long flight."
"W-what? What's wrong? Is it bad?" "Ugh, look, I don't want to explain all the details, but when you get over this, your wings are going to be way stronger!"
Fluttershy blinked and looked back to her wings unsurely. "I-if you say so Rainbow.."
"I do! now take a deep breath and hold onto the side of the tub, this is gonna hurt!" Fluttershy looked back and forth nervously, a bead of sweat forming on her forehead as she pressed her forelegs against the edge of the tub. Finally she took a deep breath and shut her eyes tight as Rainbow began to work her hooves deep into the pegasi's skin.
Fluttershy did all that she could to hold still as pain flooded over her mind. All she could think of was the strain of Rainbow's hooves against her sore wings and the dull yet powerful ache that shot from her back. Small sobs began to rise from the pegasi's mouth, but despite the pain she held still as Rainbow moved her hooves up the base of her wing. Rainbow repositioned her hooves around the base of Fluttershy's wing and squeezed it hard. Tears began to streak down her cheeks as her quiet sobs continued in between shallow breaths.
She could feel how each muscle in her body connected to her wings, as her muscles pulled in various random places from the back of her hooves to behind her ears.
"Just a bit more..." Rainbow pressed her hooves flat against Fluttershy's side and put as much weight on it as she possibly could. Fluttershy crumpled helplessly against the other side of the tub, doing everything she could to keep from screaming.
"S-stop, Rainbow p-please, I can't take it just stop! It's too much!" Rainbow pulled her hooves away from the tortured mare as she broke down into quiet sobs.
Rainbow gently wrapped her arms around Fluttershy and pulled her close, gently stroking her lower back as she turned and sobbed into her chest.
"R-Rainbow, why!? Wuh-why would you put me through that!?" Fluttershy gasped for breath. She looked up at Rainbow, tears streaming down her eyes.
Rainbow looked back and smirked.
"Is this some kind of sick joke!?"
Rainbow closed her eyes and spoke softly, her smirk never leaving her face. "Fluttershy, open your wing."
"W-wha..?" Fluttershy sniffled loudly and looked to her still aching wing, then back to Rainbow.
"Open it!" Fluttershy gulped, expecting the worst and carefully tried to unfurl her wing as she had done before. To her amazement, her wing felt so light it almost floated open!
She stared at the yellow appendage in shock, barely believing her eyes. She gave an experimental flap, and it sent a gentle breeze wafting through the room. There was a twinge of pain, but her wing was open! It was really open!
"I'm sorry I had to do it like this Fluttershy but there was no other way. Deep tissue massages don't feel good, but they help. Think of it like medicine for your muscles."
Fluttershy swallowed back tears and gave a nod as she stretched her wing out harder and in different directions. Fluttershy gently folded her wing to her back with only a slight twinge of pain and turned her head towards her friend.
“I'm sorry for doubting you." Fluttershy leaned into Rainbow again and held her in a tight hug which Rainbow promptly returned. The two pegasi held each other for what felt to both like a long time. Fluttershy's cries and tears died down and soon stopped altogether. Rainbow eventually broke their shared silence.
"We're not done yet you know."
Fluttershy nodded. "I know... but at least this time I know what to expect!"
"Yeah, attagirl! Now scoot over so I can get over to your wing."
Fluttershy put herself in the same position she was in before on the other side of the tub as Rainbow once again wormed her hooves under and on top of Fluttershy's wing. This time however, the mare held still. A look of seriousness and determination was plastered across her face, Fluttershy's resolve and will both strengthened at having overcome the pain of her left wing.
Rainbow began her work once more, squeezing her hooves together around the base of her wing. Fluttershy winced slightly, but held herself together as Rainbow repeated the same process as before, moving her hooves up and down the entire base of the wing as well as on her back around the base of her wing.
Fluttershy bit her lower lip and gave her bathroom wall the stare as Rainbow began to clench her hooves together and stroke up and down the base of her wing, sending electrifying shivers down her spine in addition to the now familiar burning ache she had grown to detest.
"Allright Fluttershy, Just one more push and you should be good!" Rainbow Dash stood up on her rear legs and ground her hooves hard against Fluttershy's back, putting her entire body weight and then some against the small pegasi's side. Fluttershy's resolve was pushed to its limits as she began to shake and take short rapid breaths.
Rainbow was crushing both of her wings against her body at the same time and she began to mewl in agony. Rainbow looked sternly at the appendage and shifted her hooves to a different position, only to push against her back just as hard, re-igniting the burning ache in her sides.
As Fluttershy's legs began to give out underneath her, Rainbow pulled her hooves away just as quickly as she had put them on Fluttershy's back. Fluttershy felt shaky and her wings felt light as she rose to her hooves. It wasn't until she looked back at her wings that she had noticed that both of them had fully extended high to the pegasi's sides, dripping warm water from each feather. She gave both an experimental flap and could barely feel anything at all! She gave another, and another still, lifting herself out of the tub, the excess moisture on her wings being flung around in every direction as Fluttershy began to laugh first out of nervousness, then heartfelt joy and relief.
Rainbow's wings flared open in excitement as she smiled at Fluttershy. Rainbow gently took her hooves and pulled Fluttershy back down into the tub.
"I know you're excited to have your wings back, but you shouldn't fly too much if you can help it. Your wings might feel good now, but they're still sore and hurt."
Fluttershy nodded and pulled Rainbow into one more tight hug.
"Thank you so much Rainbow Dash... I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't helped me. Even if it hurt and even if it was scary, my wings feel a lot better now! I should be able to take care of the animals again!"
Rainbow Dash chuckled nervously. "What else are friends for?" Rainbow gently stroked Fluttershy's back, then pushed her back gently. "C'mon Fluttershy lets get out of here. The bath's starting to get cold."
Fluttershy nodded and pulled the plug to her tub, the water slowly draining away as the two friends climbed out and grabbed a pair of towels.
Fluttershy carefully pulled her mane to one side and wrapped her towel around her head, encasing her mane in a tight wrap. Rainbow gave Fluttershy a funny look, then shrugged and simply ground the towel against her mane violently, popping up looking like she had just rubbed a balloon against her head. Fluttershy giggled at Rainbow and gently poked at the top of Rainbow's spikier than usual mane.
Rainbow looked at herself in a mirror with a smirk, then laughed with Fluttershy as she shook her head back and forth and ran a hoof through her mane a few times until it regained its usual spiked silhouette. Fluttershy meanwhile carefully continued the process of wrapping her tail in another towel, twisting the end of the towel hard enough to give her tail its signature swirl at the end. Rainbow watched the painstaking process with diminishing enthusiasm.
"Are you done yet?" Fluttershy gave one last twist hard enough to snap a bears neck, then let the newly fastened towel drop to the ground and nodded with a calm smile.
"Yep!" Rainbow rolled her eyes as she quickly rubbed her tail in between two halves of a folded over towel, then threw it over the side of the tub to dry.
"I swear Fluttershy, I'll never get you and Rarity with your constant namby-pamby mane-styling and spa dates." Rainbow gave her tail a powerful shake, setting her tail back in place and giving it it's signature rugged look.
"Oh I don't know about that Rainbow, It's not so bad once you try it. I'd be happy to show you if you'd like!"
Rainbow quickly put on a look of apprehension. "Uhh.. maybe another time." She looked back and forth nervously, then smiled as she came up with an explanation. "I wouldn't want to mess up a mane-do by flying too fast through rough weather!"
"It's ok Rainbow, I understand." Fluttershy smirked and trotted out to her living room. Rainbow heaved a silent sigh of relief and followed after her.
Fluttershy was curled up on her couch with Angel in hoof, petting over his ears gently as Rainbow watched with a look of boredom. Rainbow let her eyes wander as she spotted various birds and creatures scurrying around all sorts of small pathways built into Fluttershy's home.
"So what happens now?" Fluttershy asked Rainbow, breaking the awkward silence.
"What do you mean what happens now? What should you do to your wings now?"
"Yes, they're still not completely better right?" Rainbow waved a hoof back and forth.
"It's no big deal Fluttershy, that was the worst of it right there. Now you just have to stay hydrated, stretch it regularly and get plenty of rest and it will be good as new in a day or two."
Fluttershy nodded. "Mmn. I know I said it before but thank you again Rainbow, I feel a lot better and now I'll be able to feed the birds again! I suppose I could always just set up a bird feeder on the ground, but I always feel better about feeding them by hoof."
Rainbow shrugged. "Well, whatever floats your feathers I suppose."
"I was actually about to start doing that now, did you want to come with me?" Rainbow yawned and stretched her hooves.
"Mmmmnnnah. Sorry Fluttershy, flying to do, rainbooms to make, you know how it is."
Fluttershy closed her eyes and smiled calmly, stroking Angel's ears back.
"Allright then. Bye Rainbow!" The pair of pegasi waved to each other as Rainbow walked out and Fluttershy continued to pet Angel, feeling completely at peace with herself.
A few hours had passed and Fluttershy was outside on her rooftop, holding up birdseed for a small group of birds perched on her spread wings. Fluttershy waited until the fluttery birds each had a chance to take a few pecks at the seeds before she deposited the hoof-ful of seeds into a birdfeeder that was hung on her roof. The birds quickly flocked away from Fluttershy and onto the feeder in a wave of tiny feathers.
Fluttershy then turned and ran off the edge of her roof and leapt into the air giggling at the rush of air past her mane, carefully unfurling her wings and giving a quick fly-by of the chicken coop showing that her chickens were all accounted for. Her wings still retained a slight amount of tenseness, but gliding on them helped to ease the pain. Fluttershy rode her momentum downwards as she landed back in front of her house only to find a distraught Angel Bunny at her feet!
"What is it Angel? Is something wrong?" The bunny quickly bound away behind Fluttershy's cottage, and Fluttershy galloped after him only to be met face to face with a grizzly bear!
"Ah! What are you doing here? I haven't seen you since..." Fluttershy put her hooves to her mouth and gasped as the grizzly growled quietly and limped forward on 3 paws, the other held up at an awkward angle with an unnatural tight-ness.
"Oh my goodness, it's your shoulder again isn't it? Don't worry, Doctor Fluttershy is here to help, Rainbow Dash style!"
The bear gulped and tried to prepare himself as the yellow pegasus slowly approached with a slightly menacing smile, having no idea the pain that was in store from the new massage techniques Fluttershy had just learned firsthoof.