ADOR Chapter 8: Hope
#8 of A Dash Of Recklessness
"A letter?" I asked curiously. "What does it say?"
She handed the letter to me, a lost look apon her face.
"Read it.." She said, staring at the letter. I opened already torn envelope and unfolded the paper within.
"From a "Dr. Cross" I said, looking up at her. "Isn't he the one that did the X-Rays on your wings?"
"Mmhm..." She mumbled, "Keep reading."
"Due to new breakthroughs, we have sent this letter to you as to ask you to return for a follow up appointment. A new option has come up that might be able to repair your damaged wings." I stopped reading and looked at her.
"Is this real?" I asked, surprised.
"Yep!" She said, jumping towards me for a hug. I opened my arms as she fell into me laughing. I couldn't help but smile, knowing she would be back to her old self!
"I'm going to fly again!" She yelled with enthusiasm.
"That's fantastic! We are already at the hospital, might as well stop by his office." I said. A couple minutes passed as I stood up and pulled myself into a wheel chair. She fell back into her previously saddened state, following me down the hall to Doctor Cross' office.
"Oh you're here!" Cross said, motioning them to sit down as he closed the door behind us. "Oh well, it looks like you beat me too it!" He said, looking at me. I gave him an un-amused stare, verging on face palming.
"Yes yes, sorry." He said, clearing his throat. "Not funny at all."
"Well doc? What's this about fixing her wings?" I asked, wanting to get straight to the point.
"Ah yes, the operation. There is a new surgery that just passed through experimental stage. Are you thinking about it?" He said, looking at Rainbow Dash.
"Of course she is!" I stated, "She would do anything to have her wings back. How much does it cost?"
"About 8,000 bits." He said
"8,000 BITS?!" I yelled.
"Well yes.." Cross said, backing up slowly, "I stated it all in the letter, didn't she tell you?" I looked at Dash, who was back to her depressed self, not making eye contact with me. I saw the look on her face, a knot welling up in my stomach.
"Alright we'll do it." I said. Rainbow Dash's eyes widened and she snapped her head up, looking at me.
"Great! When can we schedule you in?" He asked, pulling out a form.
"Tomorrow afternoon." I replied.
"Good good... There are a few things we must discuss though before you make it final." He said, beginning to sound a bit serious.
"Like what?" I asked, sounding a bit worried.
"For one, the survival rate..." He said, looking me in the eyes. "It's 60%"
"What?! Don't you think that's something that should come up at the START of the conversation!" I said, anger growing in my voice. He raised his hands defensively and said,
"Sorry! You just rushed me a bit. Nothing is final, you can still back out if you want."
I thought about it. It's too big a risk to take... 60 is decent... The odds ARE in our favor.. But I-
"I'll do it." Rainbow Dash said. I turned my head, giving her a surprised look. She walked to the table and signed her name.
"Alright then. We'll see you tomorrow then?" Cross said, giving her a look, waiting for confirmation. She simply nodded, then stormed out the door. I grabbed the wheels and rolled after her.
"Dash wait!" I yelled down the hall. She stopped and turned around, giving me an angry look.
"What the HELL are you doing?" She said, nearly knocking me to the floor.
"What are you talking about?" I said, confused.
"We don't have that kind of money! Why would you say we did?" She said, never breaking eye contact.
"I'll find a way Dash, I always do..." I said, being interrupted by her.
"NO! This isn't funny!" She screamed, attracting the stares of a couple nurses and doctors in the hall. "We can't afford it, there's nothing you can do, so stop being so god damn optimistic!"
"Dash..." I said.
"We just... We can't.." She said, still sounding irritated.
"Oh yeah?" I said, gaining a more stern tone. "Then why did you sign it?"
She paused, breaking eye contact for the first time.
"Maybe you signed it because you still have hope." I retorted, "Because you haven't given up, and I sure as hell haven't either. So don't sit there and tell me what we can't do."
I reached out and grabbed her hand. She returned eye contact, tears beginning to form.
"I'm so scared.." She said, falling to her knees.
"I know Dash... I know." I said, embracing her as she sobbed.
TWO HOURS LATER: Town Square: Rainbow Dash's POV
"This is SOO stupid..." I said, sitting down against the fountain.
"It'll work!" Red said with a cheery tone. "Patience Dash."
"Patience is the one thing I don't have, even if we had the time." I said, "The surgery is only two days away, how do you plan on getting the money?"
"Just a second..." He said, unfolding a large piece of paper and sticking it to the wall of the building. "There we go!" I read the sign for the first time.
ACCEPTING DONATIONS FOR SURGERY.
"That's it? Charity?" I said, a bit let down.
"It'll work, just be patient." Red said, sitting down against the building. A minute later, someone walked by and dropped a bit in the bucket, then walked off. "See! Already got one."
"Red..." I said unenthusiasticly.
"Just give it time..." Red said.
"I appreciate it Red, really... But I am going to go home now. You can stay if you want." I said, before getting up and moving down the road to Red's house.
Red's POV
"Dash wait!" I yelled. I sighed, unable to convince her. I climbed back up into the wheelchair and was about to follow her home, then BAM. Something hit me, knocking me out of the chair and onto the ground. The sudden pressure on my leg send a spike of pain through it.
"What the hell! Watch where you're goi-" I stopped, realizing who it was.
"Oh my... I'm sorry Red, I didn't see you there.. Are you okay?" Fluttershy said, helping me back into my chair.
"Yeah I'm fine, what's the rush?' I said, sounding more curious than angry.
"I was trying to catch Angel, he hates baths." She said, looking around, sighing. "I guess I can find him later."
"Well... I hope you have better luck than me." I said, starting to lose hope.
"What do you mean? What's wrong?" She asked quizzically.
"I'm trying to raise money to pay for Dash's surgery, but it looks like no one here is in the giving mood..." I said.
"Well... Maybe I can help." She said with a smile, looking up at me with her half covered face.
Rainbow Dash's POV
I got to the door and made my way to our room, laid down, and stared at the ceiling. I appreciate what Red is trying to do, but It's just not enough... His heart is in the right place. I closed my eyes and dozed off.
I hung there, clinging to Red for dear life, a storm brewing over us, the wind blowing, thrashing me around.
"Please don't let go!" I cried, watching as tears streamed down his face.
"Dash.... I love you." He said
"I love you Red!" I screamed over the force of the winds. Everything grew quiet as our eyes met. The last ounce of strength faded, as our fingers slipped apart.
I woke up sweating, heart racing. It was morning... Red wasn't here? He couldn't still be sitting out there could he? I shook my head, thinking about the dream. I have had that nightmare every night... At first I thought it was just brought up by what happened a week ago... But now I'm starting to think there is more too it. I have been so pessimistic, bringing everyone down... Everyone....down... with me. Oh my god... I got up from the bed and ran to the door, grabbing a bucket and another sign. I got down to the town square about 10 minutes later, only to notice Red was gone, but his sign and bucket was still there. I sat down, looking in the bucket. There was a few more bits in it than yesterday. I leaned back against the wall, waiting. A few people passed by, dropping some bits in, then a few more... And.... a lot more. Everyone that entered the square was stopping by! Apple bloom and the "Crusaders", Grandma smith, Mr. and Mrs. Cake, Cheerilee and the entire school... They were all crowding around, dropping bits into the buckets. Then the crowd parted, and walking down the aisle of people, Red! And behind him Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, even spike!
"How did you..." I said in disbelief.
"We couldn't leave a friend in need darling." Rarity said.
"Wait... Where's Pinkie?" I asked. Then I heard a faint voice, growing into a loud scream.
"LOOK OUT BELOW!" It said. I looked up to see Pinkie parachuting down with a bucket. She landed and ripped her parachute off, and ran up to me. "HI DASH!" She screamed.
"Why are you screaming?" I asked, leaning back.
"I'M NOT!" She said. "COULD YOU SPEAK A BIT LOUDER?"
Shaking my head, Twilight pushed Pinkie out of the way.
"Plus we had a little convincing to go along with it." Twilight said, pointing to the back of the forming crowd. I looked in the direction, to see Red and Fluttershy!
"Red!" I said with a smile, getting up and jumping in his arms.
"Told you I could do it." He said, holding me tight.
ONE HOUR LATER: Rainbow Dash's POV.
With a sigh, I looked up at the sky, watching the clouds pass.
"We are still 1000 short..." I said, turning my head to Red.
"Hey we got this far didn't we?" Red said, watching Twilight and the others walk around the square, each holding a bucket.
"It doesn't look like we are going to get anymore money..." I said, holding my arms around my legs, staring at the ground, starting to feel my hopes drop.
"I wouldn't say that." I heard a familiar voice say. I lifted my head to see who the culprit was. Standing in front of me, head raised, was Princess Celestia!
"Princess!" I said surprised, jumping to my feet, bowing. "What... Are you doing here?"
She smiled and said, "I heard about your situation, and thought I could help." She pointed up into the sky, and what i saw made my mouth drop. Overhead I saw the Wonderbolts! Flying down towards me, holding two buckets of bits.
"Omigosh ohmigosh! The Wonderbolts!" I said, running over to greet them.
"If Celestia goes out of her way to help you, you are okay on my list kid!" Spitfire said, putting me in a headlock and giving me a noogie. Oh my gosh, Spitfire is giving me a noogie! This is the best day of my life!!
FRIDAY: Red's POV
I heard Rainbow Dash gulp. We were standing in front of the hospital, holding eachothers hands. Twilight and the gang standing with us. Just before we walked in, Dash pulled me to a stop.
"Shit!" Rainbow Dash said, "I forgot one of the buckets at home!"
"Don't worry just give them what you have now, I'll run back and get it." I said, turning around and jogged back home. I went through the door and in my room, grabbed the bucket and turned around. What I saw confused me. The bathroom door was closed... I set the bucket down and walked to the door. I knocked,
"Anyone there? If yes, why are you in my house??" I said, not getting a response. I opened the door slowly and peeked inside. There was no one there. Maybe it just got shut accidentally, oh well. I was about to turn around, when I noticed something on the counter... I walked up to it and picked it up. It was a pregnancy test. And it was... Positive..
Rainbow Dash....
TEN MINUTES LATER: Rainbow's POV
I sat there with my friends, in the waiting room. Nervous and scared out of my mind. Then Red came through the door, holding the last bucket.
"Hey Dash... Can I talk to you for a moment?" He said, beckoning me to follow him.
"What is it?" I asked, trying not to sound as nervous.
"Why didn't you tell me you were pregnant?" He asked, forcing my face a bright shade of red.
"I wasn't ready... I... I didn't know how to tell you." I said, my nerves acting up full force. I heard a sigh from Red, and he pulled me to the center of the room.
"Red..?" I asked, wondering what he was doing.
"Rainbow Dash, I have loved you since the day I saw you." He said
"I know that, why ar-" I said, before being interrupted.
"Shh, Just let me finish." He said, taking a step back. "There are so many ways to be brave in this world. Sometimes bravery involves laying down your life for something bigger than yourself, or for someone else. Sometimes it involves giving up everything you have ever known, or everyone you have ever loved, for the sake of something greater."
"Red..." I said, trying to hold back tears.
"It's one thing to fall in love. It's another to feel someone else fall in love with you, and to feel a responsibility toward that love." He continued. "I knew the second I met you that there was something about you I needed. Turns out it wasn't something about you at all. It was just you."
For the first time since he saved me over a week ago, I saw him stand. He weakly stood up. I could see the pain he was feeling from his still aching legs. He knelt down on one knee and said,
"I never loved you any more than I do, right this second. And I'll never love you any less than I do, right this second. And in case I don't get another chance to say this..."
I covered my mouth with my hand, surprised, and tears streaming down my face. He pulled out a ring, and was holding it out to me.
"Rainbow Dash, Will you marry me?" He asked. I couldn't even breathe, my head spinning.
"Not to rush you or anything, but this hurts more than it looks.." He said with a smile.
"Yes! Yes yes yes!" I chanted. He gently grabbed my hand, and slipped the ring on.
I looked back at the others, Rarity and Fluttershy were crying. The others were smiling and hugging each other.
"I guess they over heard us..." I said
"YOU BET WE DID!" Pinkie appeared in between us. The sudden scream in my ear made me swing around in reflex and smack her in the head. She fell to the ground, shaking her head.
"Oh god Pinkie, you scared me. Sorry.." I said, rushing over to help her up.
"Hey! I can hear now. Thanks Rainbow Dash!" She said, jumping up. "Oh and congratulations!" She said, throwing streamers into the air.
"Hey uh.." Red said, "I know this is probably an awkward question after a proposal but... Could one of you help me back into my chair? I can't feel my legs..."
We all burst into laughing as me and Pinkie helped him to the wheelchair.
"Rainbow Dash?" I heard a womanly voice call my name. I turned to see a nurse with a clipboard peeking out into the waiting room. My heart began to race again as I looked at Red, hoping he would give me confidence.
"I'll stay with you." He said, hugging me. A few minutes passed, and I was in one of the hospital gowns, lying on a stretcher. As it rolled, I held Red's hand, who was being pushed by Applejack.
"Sorry, but you will have to wait out here, no one is allowed in the surgery room." The doctor said. Me and Red locked our eyes together. I was scared...
Red broke the silence, "I wanted to tell you that wherever I am, whatever happens, I'll always think of you, and the time we spent together, as my happiest time. I'd do it all over again, if I had the choice. No regrets."
I squeezed his hand as I was pushed into the room, and the doors shut.