New Testingstan

Crazedwraith wrote:It seems weird that professional flyers are allowed in the Olympics equivalent.

Crazedwraith wrote:Also; RogueIce might like this one

Crazedwraith wrote:ja, remember when the wonderbolts weren't asshats? *sigh*

Cold dirt and warm mud. Rainbow Dash tried to breath in, but something was blocking her nostrils. She raised her head, slowly -- her neck was aching. Her whole body was aching. She opened her mouth and breathed in and she could taste blood. She opened her eyes and looked up at the sky: it was full of dark clouds. No, she thought, not clouds. Smoke.

Her mind was blank. Why am I here? She was still for a long time, watching and listening. Birds were squaking in the trees. Rainbow Dash's right foreleg was stinging in particular. Her sight slowly drifted down to a deep cut there. It was no longer bleeding. It was coated with mud.

It all started to come back to her. Princess Celestia had asked her personally to come to Cloudsdale. She'd flown with Spitfire of the Wonderbolts. She'd met up with Gilda once more (something moved a little while away: a twig cracked, some mud squelched). And then...

Raindow Dash looked up at the sky again. She tried to flex her wings, but only one of them moved, and that felt as though nails were being driven through it. Celestia had led them into battle. Spitfire had died before her eyes. Gilda...

There was a quiet whimper a few feet away. Rainbow Dash turned to look, and felt like a red-hot knife was being shoved btween the vertebrae of her neck. Gilda. She struggled to stand. She ignored the pain in her front leg, and the general cramp all over her body. Gilda.

She limped around in a circle. It hurt to put weight on her right foreleg and her other limbs were shaking.

"Gilda," croaked Rainbow Dash, and got in reply a low moan. She looked in the direction it came from but saw nothing: only churned mud and rocks strewn from the crash. Only a dusty pile of feathers and twisted limbs. Only Gilda.

Rainbow Dash moved as quickly as she could, wincing with every step. She nearly stumbled once and had to stop, but eventually she got there.

"Gilda," she said, and leaned down next to her friend. The griffon twitched. "Wake up, Gilda. Wake up."

One of Gilda's eyes snapped open, but the other was missing. There was an ugly line across her face. Rainbow Dash flinched away.

"Dash," said the Griffon, and closed her eye again. Rainbow Dash watched her friend for several seconds, checking that she was still breathing, and then sat up.

The Everfree forest, she thought. A day ago that name would have filled her with dread, but after what she'd seen (Spitfire had been there one moment, and then there was only fire) -- after what she'd done (his eyes had been so small, but she'd seen the fear in them as she cracked open his cockpit)...

"We're in the Everfree forest, G. I think..." she looked to the pillar of smoke in the distance. She looked at the mountain where they'd run off a dragon. "I think I know where we are. Come on."

Gilda didn't move.

"Come on, G."

"Leave me."

Rainbow Dash sat in silence for nearly a minute. She wanted to say: you'll die out here, but of course Gilda knew that. She wanted that.

"No," said Rainbow Dash. She leaned down and put her head under Gilda's neck. Gilda stank of blood and shit: she grunted but did not resist as Rainbow Dash forced her on all fours.

Rainbow Dash stepped away and Gilda fell down again.

"Leave me, Dash."

"That's not gonna happen. No matter how many times you say it."

Gilda raised her head to look at Rainbow Dash.

"Dash. I'm as good as gone. Leave me. I'll just slow you down."

Rainbow Dash stamped her hoof and winced as pain shot up her leg. She snorted.

"No way. We're not that far from Ponyville. You're my friend, and there's no way I'm going to leave you here. No way."

"Friend? Do you mean that?"

Rainbow Dash could feel tears forming in the corners of her eyes. Gilda sounded so tired. Weak. She looke the Griffon in the eye, tried to ignore the scar and the bloody pit on the side of Gilda's face.

"You've known me since forever, G. Yeah, I mean it. Come on."

Gilda looked at her for a long while, then nodded and tried to get up. Rainbow Dash looked at the griffon's wings: they were little more than charred stumps. Even with the help of a hospital, Gilda would never fly again. But she doesn't need to hear that, thought Rainbow Dash.

"Yeah," said Gilda, and nearly collapsed: Rainbow Dash leaned in and lent her friend support. They moved together, slowly, each supporting the other.

"This way."