ADOR Chapter 10: A Dark Turn
#10 of A Dash Of Recklessness
TWO DAYS LATER: Rainbow Dash's POV
"Annnnd clear..." I said, flying through the last cloud in the sky. "DONE!" I yelled, zooming off toward town square. I slow down, gliding over the town. I spotted Fluttershy walking down the road and flew down to say hi. While flying down, I felt a twinge of pain in my left wing.
"OW!" I screamed, plummeting to the ground. It wasn't until I hit the ground did I realize the dirt was softer than normal...
"Oww!" I heard someone say. I looked down, and noticed I had crashed into Fluttershy!
"Oh jeez! I'm sorry Fluttershy." I said, jumping off her and holding out a hand. I helped her up and she brushed herself off.
"Oh that's fine... Are you okay?" She asked kindly.
"Yeah I'm okay." I said, looking her up and down for any cuts or scrapes.
"You sure?" She asked, tilting her head.
"Ya, my wing just started hurting is all." I said, folding it around and caressing it with my hands.
"Oh my... Maybe you should get it checked out?" She said, changing to a worried, but caring tone.
"It's probably nothing, don't worry about it!" I said, putting an arm on her shoulder. "So, what's up?"
"Nothing much I guess... Just going to pick up some food for Angel. He has been eating a lot lately." She said, brushing her hair to the side.
"Interesting..." I said, eyes wandering away from her. I had noticed Spike sitting against the wall of the cake shop. "Hey uh Fluttershy?"
"Yes?" She said
"Mind if we talk later?" I asked
"Of course! I should probably be getting back anyways." She said, hauling the bag of food down the street. "See you later"
I walked up to Spike, "Hey Spike, where's Twilight?" I asked
"Oh uh... She's at her house. She sent me to get a very special order. It's for one of Pinkie's 'many' parties... I think." He said with a groan.
"Heh" I laughed. "Being Twilight's errand boy is always exciting isn't it?"
"I am about to explode with anticipation..." He yawned. "I think I'm going to take a nap...Could you tell Mrs. Cake to wake me when the order is ready?"
"Sure." I said, walking into the bakery. As soon as I walked in, I noticed only a few people here and there. Some sitting waiting for an order, others eating and talking. I spotted Mrs. Cake in the back, putting things into one oven, and taking things out of another. I walked to the back, greeting her as she zipped around the kitchen like a bumble bee.
"Hey Mrs. Cake. How's it going?" I asked, barely keeping track of her.
"Oh! Hey Rainbow Dash, what brings you here?" She said giving me a quick glance, then continuing to work.
"Uhh.. I could come back later?" I said
"No no, just finishing up." She said, throwing the last batch of muffins in the oven, then breathing a sigh of relief. "Okay, all done. Now what was it you needed?" She asked, giving all her attention to me.
"Spike said to wake him up when his order is ready? He's lying down outside." I said.
"Oh..." She said, starting to giggle.
"What's so funny?" I said curiously.
"Oh nothing dear... Just um.." She said, beginning to blush.
"Come on you can tell me, spit it out!" I said, getting impatient.
"Well... There is no order." She said, refusing to make eye contact.
"You mean you haven't made it yet?" I said raising an eyebrow.
"No... Not quite." She said.
"Well I could help if you want!" I said, "With my help it'll be ready in a jiff!"
"No its not that... There really is no order." She said
"What do you mean?" I asked, squinting.
"Well you see... Twilight and me have a thing going..." She said, scratching her neck, still refusing to make eye contact.
"Go on..." I said, now having my full attention.
"Um... This is really private, I don't know if I should be talking about it." She said, turning around.
"Well if you won't tell me I'll just go ask Twilight an-" I said before being interrupted.
"No! Okay I'll tell you, just please don't mention this to Twilight okay?" She said defensively.
"You have my word." I said, making a zipping motion on my lips.
"When Twilight sends Spike down for a 'Special Order', it's to get Spike out of the house when she has 'Guest's over." Mrs. Cake said, blushing redder than ever.
"Guests?" I asked, "Like who?"
She stood there silently, not saying another word. Guests? Who could Twilight have over that she can't talk to with Spi- Oh....Ohhhhhh..........................................Oh..
"Oh..." I said, beginning to turn red myself.
"Yeah..." She said. There was a minute of awkward silence. It finally ended with a DING!
"Oh! Cookies are done. It's good to see you Rainbow Dash but I should really be getting back to work." She said, rushing to one of the many ovens lined up against the wall.
"Of course!" I said quickly, doing a 180 and marching toward the door. I opened the door, hearing the clinking of the bell attached to the top of it, notifying when someone leaves and enters. I stepped out and let the door close behind me. I looked over at Spike, who was startled by the sudden ringing of the bell stuck to the door.
"Oh! Is it ready?" He asked, stretching and standing up.
"NO!" I yelled, causing him to fall back flat on his ass. He sat there, staring up at me surprised. "I mean uh... No it'll be another half ho- I mean hour... Two hours!" I followed up quickly.
"Two hours?! For a cake??" He said confused and irritated.
"Yeah uh... It's a very large cake you know? And after it cools it needs to be frosted... You know, the stuff?" I said, changing back to a calm tone.
"Ugh... Fine. Least I can get some sleep in." He said, lying back down next to the door.
"Um... You know you can sleep inside at one of the tables?" I said, looking back into the shop. I looked down at him, noticing he was already asleep...
"Alright then..." I muttered to myself. Well maybe I can talk to Twilight a little later, when she doesn't have "Guests" I giggled to myself. I extended my wings and started hovering up. I looked back at my wing, stretching it and flexing. "No pain... Maybe I just pulled a muscle? Yeah that's it!" I thought to myself. I turned around, only to be knocked over by a tall man in a black and blue outfit.
"Hey! Watch it!" I said angrily, picking myself up.
"Sorry!" He said, picking up a bunch of scattered envelopes he had dropped. "I'm just in a hurry is all. I have to get these letters delivered or I could lose my job."
"It's fine.. Just watch where your going alright?" I said. He nodded and sprinted off past me. I shook my head, then soared into the air toward home. About 10 minutes later I arrived at the door step, opening the door and walking in.
"Hey Red! I'm home." I yelled down the hall.
"Yeah I'm in here." He yelled back, coming from the bedroom. Getting closer to the bedroom I continued to yell, lowing my voice the closer I got to the room.
"Have you gotten the mail recently? I've been waiting for a reply from the Princess." I said, walking into the room. I saw him sitting at the table, reading a note, a torn envelope on the table.
"Yeah..." He said, sounding a bit worried.
"What's wrong? Is that one from Celestia? Listen, if it say's anything about the letter's I've been sending her...I can explain." I said. He looked up at me, taking his eyes away from the letter for the first time.
"Maybe you should sit down for this one..." He said.
10 MINUTES EARLIER: Red's POV.
"Have a good day!" The man in the delivery outfit said before turning around and heading back down the road.
"You too!" I yelled. I took the bag of mail back to the bedroom. I sat down on the bed and tore open a few envelopes. The first envelope was from... Princess Celestia! This must be important...
Dear Rainbow Dash,
I am glad you have been feeling better
and wish you congratulations
on the baby coming. I hope to
see you soon. Also, I have loved the letters
you have been sending me. They have been
rather....Titillating. I hope to learn more about
Red. Maybe we could get together sometime and
have a little...Fun.
From, Celestia.
Titillating? Fun? I wonder what that could mean... Oh well. I set the paper down and reached in for another letter. I opened it and started reading.
Dear Rainbow Dash.
There has been some grim news that has arisen. I will tell you
more about the problem when you arrive. It's about the surgery and
some information that has come up from past subjects who have
undergone this procedure.
We recommend you come in to the hospital as soon as possible.
From, Doctor Cross.
As soon as I finished reading, I heard the front door open.
"Hey Red! I'm home!"
ONE HOUR LATER: Rainbow Dash's POV
"What do you think it is?" I asked nervously.
"No idea." Red said, holding my hand. "It's probably nothing..."
I could hear the uncertainty in his voice, which only made me more afraid of what this "Grim" news might be... A couple minutes later the door opened and the nurse peeked out,
"Rainbow Dash? The doctor will see you now." She announced to the lobby. I stood up and walked down the hall, being lead by the nurse, never letting go of Red's hand.
"The doctor will be with you shortly." She said, motioning to one of the rooms. We went in and sat down, waiting anxiously for the reason we were called here. The door clicked open and Cross walked in.
"I'm glad you came." He said in a depressed tone.
"What's wrong?" I asked, surprised by his current state. Messy hair, baggy and red eyes.
"We have received some...Bad news from Canterlot." He said, taking his glasses off and setting them on the table.
"What is it?" Red asked, pulling me closer.
"Well.. It's about the surgery done on your wings." He said, taking a seat.
"Yeah? What about it?" I asked
"When you had your surgery, it had just recently been out of the 'Experimental' stage." He said
"What does that mean?" I asked confused.
"Well.. The results sent in to Canterlot from the subjects who went through the trial surgery were only the short term results." He said, still in his depressive state.
"What...I don't understand?" Red said for me.
"We thought it was a successful procedure, Until today..." He said, rubbing his forehead with the palm of his hand. "The short term results were promising.. Until about a month after the surgery."
"What....happens after a month?" I asked, fear growing in my voice.
"The nerves around the Thoracic Vertebrae, the area that we did the surgery on, where your wings meet your spine?" He said, looking me in the eyes for the first time, "Begin to deteriorate..."
"So what your saying... Is that her wings are going to return to what they were before the surgery?" Red asked.
The doctor's eyes began to glimmer, as if he was about to cry.
"It's a little more complicated than that." He said.
"Complicated how? What happened to the other patients?" Red asked. The doctor looked away, giving a long pause, before finally answering his question.
"They're dead."