“Prism!”

Soleil rushes to his wife as she breaths hard, laborious breaths.

“I’m so sorry, so…. So sorry, I was performing, and… and they didn’t tell me… is she all right?” he asked, alarmed at the amount of blood on her pure white coat. “Why is she bleeding so much?”

The doctors were all working frantically, but one nurse stopped to try and calm him down. “Don’t worry, sir,” she said soothingly, “there were just a few complications during birth. Prism should be fine, and your foal will be as well.”

Soleil gave the nurse a weak smile and nuzzled Prism’s rainbow mane. She barely opened her eyes to acknowledge him before her face grimaced in pain again. One of the doctors pushed Soleil out of the way and he stumbled back, and the doctors began working even harder. There was a muffled yell, but Soleil only saw the beginnings of a pool of blood before the nurse blocked his view.

“Sir, sir, please accompany me outside into the waiting room. I promise you will be let in as soon as your baby is delivered.”

Soleil tried to butt past her. “No, I need to be with her, I promised I always would be… I told-“ he faltered as the nurse began pushing him out the door with her magic. “Stop! I need to be in there!”

The only answer he got was the sound of the lock clicking in place.

“Mr. Soleil?”

Soleil looked up mournfully. He had sat there the entire night, waiting for the nurse to return, but she hadn’t. This was the doctor.

“Yes?”

He had sat there, straining to hear something. At first, he could hear everything. Screaming, the doctors yelling at one another, and then silence.

And then he heard a baby cry.

He had sighed in relief, glad that it was all over, that he could see his wife and his baby.

But still, the nurse didn’t come. He hadn’t seen another pony until now.

The doctor sat next to him. “Mr. Soleil… you have a new, beautiful baby girl. She’s perfectly healthy and in strong condition. Unfortunately…” The doctor trailed off. “Unfortunately, your wife died in childbirth. We tried everything we could, but she didn’t pull through.” He stood up before Soleil got to even say anything. “I’m very sorry. One of the nurses will be out soon to bring you to see your daughter.”

Soleil stayed silent until the doctor had left through the swinging metal doors that led to the back rooms. Then he let his head droop, and let out a choked sob. He didn’t have long, however, before the nurse came bustling back in.

The nurse stopped before him, and Soleil glared up at her. She only shook her head sadly and nudged him up off his chair. “Come here, dear. Seeing your baby will make you feel better, I promise.”

Soleil slowly got to his hooves and followed the nurse. They walked in silence until they reached the window where the babies were kept.

“That one,” the nurse pointed out to him, but he didn’t need it.

The pony was light blue, like him, with Prism’s glorious, colorful mane he had fallen in love with so many years before.

He leaned against the glass, fogging it with his breath.

“Rainbow Dash,” he whispered.

The nurse smiled at him. “That’s a lovely name.”

He didn’t respond, because she didn’t understand.

A prism always made a rainbow. And with his Prism gone, this was all he had left.

This little rainbow was his dash of color in a gray world.