The darkness surrounded everything. It was everything.

But the pegasus encompassed by it didn't care. In a way, it felt nice. It was warm, it was welcoming...opening her eyes wasn't necessary. She had all she needed right there.

She was curled around something. It was soft, yet tangled. What was it? Was it the gentle, frisky texture of cotton candy that she knew of? Was it simply a bunch of errant string?

No. It was soft. It was soft, and yet ragged...but it felt nice and smooth. Rainbow smiled-at least, she thought she did-hugging it tighter, and stroking its varied surface. Whatever it was, it certainly wasn't unwelcome.

There was a voice. It was faint, and it spoke few words. But the sentiment seemed clear-it was a calm voice. There was an undertone of worry, but nonetheless, it was as if it were absently trying to calm her. It seemed to be working, though she'd really not been distressed since she noticed the darkness.

The voice continued speaking, becoming more worried. Dash became worried, too. What was wrong? What was wrong outside of her little bubble? Was it worth opening her eyes to see? Could she open her eyes?

Ignoring these horrible questions, the pony squeezed that soft object that she curled around ever the harder. It gave a small modicum of comfort, but after the worried voice, serenity seemed to be hard to find.

Her worry shrank as a gentle pressure made itself known on her forehead. A soft, tender touch. A loving one. It was soothing, and she smiled again. It felt like one she knew, but hadn't yet experienced. But it was nice. Unexpectedly, her mouth flopped open, and she drawled a few words. She didn't know what she said, but something worked, apparently. The pegasus felt something else encircle her, and briefly squeeze her tight. It was then that the smell of gentle lavender and lilies filled her nose, bringing back nostalgia and amiability.

She felt tired, oh so tired. Something felt wrong with her wings-there was virtually no feeling at all over there, and something just felt wrong with everything. Now, hardly a thought could be put together. It was a struggle to even guess where the smell had come from. She knew that she knew, but the real task was concentrating.

But why concentrate? The warmth was returning, almost like a big blanket. The voice spoke now, and she could hear every single word that it said. Even if she couldn't respond, or make sense of them herself at the moment.

The words bounced around in her head, filling her mind, resting on top of her own thoughts. They carried promise of a new world. But also of sorrowful self-pity.

"Good night, my little earth pony. Sleep well...because I don't think I will unless you do."

Earth pony?...

It must be talkin' 'bout that pink one that I know...

Or that...oh right. Orangey's gone. That's too bad.

Huh. I feel like I know that voice...

It was beyond her now, however. The darkness slowly once more became everything. The voice faded away. The only trace of the outside world that remained was that strange object in her hooves.

All that was left to do was to fall back into blissful, dark oblivion.

"Is she gonna' wake up any time soon? This is kinda' bo-ring!"

"Oh be quiet, Pinkie Pie. You had your share of fun in the waiting room. Even though we only passed through it..."

"Well, it isn't my fault that they were seriously fun-deprived! I had to fix it!"

Voices. I think I recognize them. Maybe I should check.

Unfortunately, that was the only thought that Rainbow actually got to think. She tried to open her eyes, but it felt like somepony had attached a whole bunch of bowling balls to them. The pegasus only got her eyes open for about one brief second before snapping them shut, exhausted.

Too tired. Later.

It was all a blur by now. She woke to darkness, and on most occasions, heard voices. But she never quite managed to open her eyes. How much time had passed was a mystery. A week? A year? An hour? It was really hard to tell, considering how she had no relation of time whatsoever.

It was on one fateful awakening that she finally opened her eyes.

There were watery specks in her eyes, and she blinked as fast as she dared, attempting to dislodge them. It took quite a bit of time, but Dash eventually managed to clear her vision.

The first thing called to attention was some sort of soft object in her hooves. Puzzled, she looked down. It appeared to be a rather haphazard representation of a pony, or a donkey, or...[something]. It had a bedraggled mane, and it seemed familiar.

"I see that you like Mr. Smarty Pants."

That voice...am I hearing correctly? Am I even awake?
Turning her head as quickly as she could, the pegasus sought out the source of the voice. It only took a second, because soon enough, she found herself staring at a pony who was pretty much ingrained in her memory. Lavender coat, very dark purple mane with color streaks...

The two ponies locked gazes, and it was possibly even a whole minute before Rainbow Dash found the effort to speak.

"...Twilight..." The simple name carried a meaning that even she didn't know what it could be. But the intent was clear to both. It meant, "I'm glad to see you."

The unicorn smiled briefly, but the smile soon dropped as she looked away. "I'm...I'm sorry."

The cyan pegasus frowned. "Sorry? Why? What's wrong?"

Then her senses took over, and she remembered the events of...well, Celestia knew how long ago.

Eyes filling with watery specks again, but this time of a different variety, Dash glanced at herself.

Her heart skipped a beat.

It really shouldn't have surprised her, since she'd heard herself about the choices. But instead of a pair of wings nestled comfortably into her body, instead of her being perfectly fine...

There was nothing. The places where each wing used to be were nothing but bandaged, ugly nubs.

Trembling, the blue pony poked at the tiny bumps, hoping that it was a dream, that suddenly she'd awaken to a huge Pinkie Pie Party celebrating her recovery.

But nothing came.

"I'm...sorry," repeated Twilight, her gaze remaining pointed towards the floor.

"No." said Rainbow. "It isn't your fault. It isn't anypony's fault." But even as she said it, she only half believed it herself.

"I..." the lavender coated mare's voice faltered before she finished the sentence. She looked even further away, and Dash noticed the reddening of her cheeks. Whether she was angry or embarrassed, or both, it was hard to tell.

"So..." began Rainbow. "Uh...how long was I out?"

Not looking back, Twilight tersely answered, as if a subject change only made it worse. "Only about a full day. You weren't really 'out', just sleeping. The procedure involved use of anesthetics, and apparently those make you pretty tired."

"Oh."

The room fell silent. The unicorn continued gazing towards the floor, not once looking up. It was hard to tell whether she was in thought, or just trying to avoid the "pegasus'" gaze.

"I told the weather team about what happened." said the lavender mare, breaking the seemingly eternal silence.

"...and?" encouraged Rainbow.

"They told me to give you this." An object slowly floated out from under the bed with the aid of magic, to come to rest next to her.

She squinted. What is it? It looks almost like a mini solid rainbow...
Dash gingerly poked it, and had her answer. Holy crud, it is. How do you even...

"The captain told me that you were one of the best pegasi they'd had in years. Almost never did the weather go wrong, because you virtually controlled the skies single hoofedly. So, I suppose, fittingly, you have a little bit of the sky to keep with you."

Rainbow frowned. I'm one of the best? Hay, from the way I'm yelled at, you'd think I was the worst pony to ever grace Equestria...

"And then I told the girls..." continued Twilight. "Pinkie was one of the worst, actually. She seemed to take it well enough when I told her. But she's refused to throw a party ever since."

"Pinkie? Not having a party?" asked Dash.

"Yeah. That's what I said," answered the unicorn. "But she absolutely refuses to until she sees you up and out of here. Which should be by next week, seeing as there are no complications, aside from the obvious..."

The cyan earth pony snorted, but she didn’t really seem into it. "Well, that's Pinkie for ya'..."

"I haven't seen hoof or hide of Fluttershy, either." continued Twilight. "And when I asked Pinkie about anything out of the ordinary, she shrugged, as if to say 'not really'. So Fluttershy hasn't really seen anypony at all, I guess."

"What about Rarity?" asked Rainbow. "She still not talkin' to you?"

The scholar sighed. "I'm afraid so."

"I think I know why. And how I can help."

Twilight Sparkle rolled her eyes skeptically. "I doubt that."

"No, really. Y'see, about a week before...'that' day, with Applejack, when I dropped in to see her, I didn't know what was wrong. But she said she had messages for each of you, in the case that anything ever went wrong, or if she didn't make it."

"What?!" The unicorn's voice brimmed with utter frustration. "Why didn't you tell me earlier? Like, way earlier?"

"I kinda'...forgot..." mumbled Dash. Sheesh, not everypony's perfect. "Anyways, I memorized one of them, or the last one I was told."

She cleared her throat. Ugh, I hate accents...

Author’s note-please. Don’t spoil the whole surprise with the languages. If you use Google Translate, the rough translation says NOTHING like what it’s supposed to. It gets the dialect and context entirely wrong. It gets translated next chapter, ‘k? Just leave it as is right now.



If you want to skip it, just control-f “lemon”. Though you really don’t miss anything.

AUTHOR'S DOUBLE NOTE: As the story finished without resolve, I over-ride my previous note. In fact, it's crucial that you do so. SO GO DO EET.

"' Rareté ,il suffit de savoir que je t'aimerai toujours.'"

"Wait, what? French? Or whatever it is? I think it's French. Maybe a dialect of-"

"Just let me finish, Twi'."

"Fine."

"'Tu es mon amie, et la prunelle de mes yeux. Tu as toujours été là pour moi, et même si les autres ne savais pas à propos de nous deux, je ne m'inquiète pas. Si par hasard que l'un de nos amis arrive d'avoir similaire ... l'orientation, s'il vous plaît juste l'accepter. Je sais combien c'est difficile pour vous sentir à accepter la vôtre, et moi pour le mien. Il suffit de considérer ce qu'ils ressentent, et avoir un peu d'empathie, OK?
Je me sens horrible, et je suis dans la douleur constante. C'est seulement maintenant que Dash décide d'arrêter par, et traduire cela pour moi. Je ne sais pas si je vais le faire. Mais n'importe comment, s'il vous plaît ne me rate pas. Ce sera pour l'ensemble de nos produits. Amoureusement vôtre, Calvados.'"

lemon

A silence passed as Rainbow stumbled through the last of the foreign language. "Uh. I'm done."

"So, would you mind translating for me...?" asked Twilight. "I didn't quite catch all of that..."

Jeez, do I have to do everything? "I can't. She just told me that-I never knew she spoke it, either. I guess she learned, though Celestia knows why. Just get Rarity's attention, and repeat it back to her. She'll tell you what it means, I guess. She is the expert on foreign and fancy things, anyways."

"So..." Twilight's gaze began to rise, but she sounded no less depressed. "Is that it? Is that all we have to go on?"

"Not necessarily." replied Dash. Wow, I'm sounding more like her each day... "Just...we'll figure it out when I get out of here."

"What I'm worried about..." said the unicorn. "...is what you're going to do."

She was right. What would Dash do? "I...don't know, Twi'." mumbled the technical earth pony. "I'm still trying to get over the fact that I'll never fly again..."

The room seemed to fall silent once more as Twilight spoke two words yet again, as if she couldn't say them enough.

"I'm sorry."

Rainbow looked up, meeting the unicorn's wavering gaze. And then she, in turn, spoke.

"No. I'm sorry. For everything. For putting you through all of this. You don't deserve it. You saved my damn life, and I'm the one who's sorry. Because I made you do it."

"I think that you two shouldn't take all of the blame, necessarily. It was mostly me."

Both of the ponies' heads turned at once towards the door, and Dash heard a gasp fling itself out of Twilight's mouth faster than she could stop it.

At, or rather already past, the door, stood a large, distinguished figure. A tri-colored, elegantly flowing mane gently hung from a head adorned with a large horn. A pair of wings stayed folded in to the figure's side, ready to elegantly spread at any second. A golden necklace hung gently from its neck, and a matching crown rested upon its head.

"P-Princess Celestia! How-why are you here?" cried the unicorn, hurriedly moving to kneel reverently. But the princess stopped her.

"That won't be necessary, Twilight." she said. "None of this is, either."

"Princess, I appreciate the gesture, but come on..." said Twilight. "This one's kind of obvious. Who made the choice? And I ask again, why are you here?"

"I am here, Twilight, because young Rainbow right there is making headlines." The excited look on the rainbow maned pony's face only lasted a brief second, but for a second it did appear. Fifteen seconds of fame, huh? "If you have one pony in thousands who runs into a particularly bad spot of luck that nopony else has, you...kind of tend to hear about it."

"So, then why are you like, here here, like, in Ponyville?" asked Dash.

"I'm here because this whole disaster..." the alicorn paused, looking at the two ponies across from her. The two who each eagerly waited for a response, and who even held hooves without actively noticing. "...OK, maybe it all wasn't a disaster. But more or less, indirectly or not, this all involved me. Let me tell you why..."

It was literally only a day ago when I received news of this incident. It was deeply concerning, but then I thought:this seems pretty connected, and a little too coincidental.

So I went all the way back to Ponyville's great 'crow incident', and in fact, when I requested the migratory patterns of the crows, something was wrong. The crows, yes, were in Ponyville, but they shouldn't have been at the time. It was in the middle of winter-why would they be there? They must have been fleeing something...

Shortly after the crows, there came the first case of Two Turn Fever. This seemed even stranger, as if on a perfect timeline. I looked closely at where they had come from, and sure enough, they came all the way from the less developed country of Colta Rica. Which is exactly where the fever still ran wild in the weather conditions-hot, and dry.

When the crows migrated, they brought along the virus, and though it's cold in Ponyville, there is one thing that it is at this time of year-dry.

This seemed to be the end of the string of coincidences. But it was not.

When developing the vaccine, I also noticed the small detail of avian species contracting the disease of wing rot. When testing the samples for any evidence of any foreign contaminant, we found none. And then we realized.

Not only was there no contaminant, but all in all, it seemed to be an incurable case, as noted. It took a while, but one pony finally figured it out. It was so, because it was bred stronger by the natural inoculations required to fight back the fever-also gathered from the scrubby area near Colta Rica. The only choices we had were to either call off the vaccine, and start anew, or simply send it off, and let side effects be side effects.

Obviously, the second one was widely opted for.

“...and here we are,” Princess Celestia finished. “Up to this very second, in a way, I’m afraid it was my fault. I failed to keep an eye on matters far off, and to think of how they would affect my subjects back here. I now realize the cost of such actions.”

“...wow. I...never thought of it that way. You know, in the whole scheme of things...” managed Twilight. “Though you still haven't answered my question-why? It's a little unusual for the princess presiding over all of Equestria to just show up..."

The princess smiled. "Can't a teacher check in on her student personally once and a while?"

The unicorn chuckled, blushing slightly. “I suppose I’m just plucking at straws. In any case, it was nice to see you again.”

“The pleasure was mine, Twilight.”

There came a moment when it seemed to be completely silent, if only for a second.

And then Pinkie Pie flew into the room, laughing like crazy and trailing large amounts of streamers. “I told you I’d get ya’, Glenda!” she shouted to a nurse who looked in, trying to look angry, but even she was smiling a little. Turning her head, the pink pony noticed the scene before here. “Hiya’ princess!” she chirped. “Hiya’ Twilight! Hiya’ Rainbow!”

Her cheerful demeanor quickly disappeared, and was replaced by something resembling both concern and curiousness. “What happened here? Is Dashie OK?”

Twilight looked at Dash, and the cyan pony returned the stare all the same. She felt her hoof being squeezed by the unicorn as she turned her gaze to Pinkie, who waited, eyes wide with anticipation. Her attention went to the small plush effigy in her other hoof, as she gripped it tightly. The words she spoke were not to Pinkie in specificness, but rather to everypony, and even herself.

“I...I don’t know...”

Author again:

You may be happy for this, you may be sad, but I don't care. I'm gonna keep going until that [Tragedy] tag is fulfilled.

...ok, technically it has been, but WHATEVER! Stay tuned for more.