Rainbow After The Storm
by milesprower06

Chapter 10
Heart and Healing

PONYVILLE OUTSKIRTS
THREE WEEKS AGO

Mayor Mare was up bright and early at the crack of dawn to oversee preparations for today's race. Without a doubt, this year was going to be special.

It had barely been a week since the disappearances and killings in town had been solved. Newspapers around Equestria had called them “The Cupcake Killings.” Regardless of last week's events, Ponyville was determined to carry on as usual, and it was only a few days ago that the organizers of the Running of the Leaves got quite the unexpected message: Rainbow Dash would be competing.

Several of the organizers voiced their concerns to Applejack, the bringer of the news, that Rainbow should be in bed recovering. She claimed she had been over all this with Rainbow herself, and she was quite stubborn about running the race. News of this spread quickly, and race attendance was looking to highly increase because of this single participant.

Checking all around the starting area on various preparations, the Mayor saw a chariot approaching in the rising sun, from the direction of Cloudsdale. Being pulled by three Pegasi, it came to a slow, gentle landing by the start line. In the chariot, was a black cauldron.

“Where would you like it, Ms. Mayor?” the lead pony on the chariot said, unhooking himself from the yolk.

“Right next to the starting line would be perfect.” she replied, and the gray Pegasus directed the other two to place it so.

“I'd like to personally thank you for donating that liquid rainbow, Mr. Stormcloud. It means so much to the town to see Rainbow Dash getting this kind of support in her recovery.”

The Weather Factory manager smiled.

“I hope it means just as much to her, as well.” he said.

Once the cauldron had been set down next to the start line, one of the other chariot haulers came over to Stormcloud, while the last remaining one went to pull the chariot out of the way.

“Do you think it'll help?” Firefly asked privately, after coming over from the chariot.

“I don't know. I doubt she even knows I got promoted. But if it helps lift her spirits, it doesn't matter if she knows who it's from.”

As the sun began to rise over Ponyville, the spectators and competitors began to trickle into the starting area, and began dipping their hooves in the liquid rainbow. At first, they wanted to actively search for their daughter, but then reconsidered. Knowing now how she still felt, they didn't want to confront her before this big race. Instead, they made their way over to the cauldron they had brought, and joined a few other newcomers at dipping one of their front hooves in the liquid rainbow to show support for their daughter's recovery.

A short time later, as the racers were preparing to begin, the duo subtly slipped to the back of the crowd, close to the starting line. The Running of the Leaves course would take them mostly through the woods, as the purpose of this race was to aid the trees in losing their leaves for autumn, through the hills and back here for the finish.

“Good morning, Ponyville, and welcome to the opening ceremonies of the Annual Running of the Leaves! This is your eye in the sky, Spike! Along with my new co-host, Twilight Sparkle!”

Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia's protege and Ponyville's newest librarian floated above the starting area in a pink and purple weather balloon, along with her baby dragon assistant, Spike, who had assisted with the commentary last year with Pinkie.

“Thanks, Spike. It certainly looks like this year's Running of the Leaves will be one to remember. In no small part to a generous donation by the Cloudsdale Weather Factory!”

“That's right, Twilight. This morning, the Pegasi factory workers brought down an entire cauldron of liquid rainbow to the opening ceremony, and the race's spectators and participants alike have dipped a hoof in the cauldron to show their support for Rainbow Dash!”

“Ever since what's now being known as the Case of the Cupcake Kidnappings having been closed, everypony attending the Running of the Leaves are showing their gratitude that the last victim managed to make it out alive. And despite some concerns about her recovery, Rainbow Dash has decided to enter the Running of the Leaves again this year, and she's determined to win it!”

Stormcloud and Firefly saw Rainbow mingle with some of the other competitors, until the farm pony that they saw in the waiting room the other night come up to her. The conversed briefly before sharing a hug, and then took their positions next to each other on the start line.

“On your marks, racers!” Twilight announced from up top.

“Get set...” Spike continued, the ponies hunched down, ready to take off.

“GO!”

And they were off, leaving a wake of dirt and dust. At first, Stormcloud and Firefly were worried about their daughter's well-being, but their worries were set aside when they saw her hold her own off the start. She and the farm pony stayed neck and neck as they made their way into the words.

“And they're off! And thus begins the annual Running of the Leaves. Rainbow Dash seems to be holding her own along with Applejack in this opening leg of the race. Attendees of last year's event may remember that these two ponies had a competition in last year's race following a controversial Iron Pony match, but due to them constantly trying to one-up the other, they tied for last. But if this start is any indication, it's looking to be quite different this year.”

The two of them listened to every word of the commentators as the balloon moved with the racers along the forest. Before they knew it, they were coming up on the final stretch, and Applejack and Rainbow were neck and neck.

“We're coming up on the final leg and Rainbow Dash and Applejack are nose and nose for first place!” Spike commented enthusiastically. The crowd's cheering became louder as the group of racers closed in on the finish.

“Come on, Rainbow, you can do it...you can do it!” Stormcloud cheered his daughter on, his encouragement not even coming close to overcoming the volume of the crowd.

“Give it all you've got, sweetheart!” Firefly cheered.

The ground began to vibrate as dozens of galloping hooves got closer and closer. When it was apparent that no one would be overtaking the pair in front, the racers a few paces behind them began to cheer as well. Stormcloud and Firefly began to tear up at the overpowering encouragement the crowd, and other racers, were giving their daughter.

“Rainbow Dash! Rainbow Dash! Rainbow Dash!” a group of onlookers began to cheer and chant.

The screaming and cheering became only louder, mixed with the galloping hooves, as the two leaders weren't giving each other an inch.

Then, mere feet from the finish line, Rainbow gave one final bound, and tore the finish line tape a fraction of a second before Applejack.

Stormcloud and Firefly lost themselves in cheering for their daughter, and didn't see her somersault end over end several times before coming to a halt, immediately being helped up by Applejack.

The photo finish pony ejected the photo from his instant-develop camera, and confirmed that Rainbow had won the Running of the Leaves.

SEVERAL MINUTES LATER

“And Rainbow Dash, it is absolutely astounding what you have accomplished. You've not only fought a rigorous physical battle of recovery, but an emotional one as well.”

Celestia unfurled the gold medal, and with the greatest of care, she gently placed it around Rainbow's neck, before putting her rainbow-dipped hoof on the Pegasus' shoulder.

“Congratulations.”

Rainbow gave her a polite bow, as did Applejack and the third place racer.

After the Winner's Circle ceremonies, the rest of the day's festivities began. All around the starting and finishing area, picnics and games began. The Princess took her time enjoying the relaxing time with her subjects. Fall was one of her favorite seasons. She noticed that Rainbow Dash and Applejack had not stayed, and had opted to return to the farm. She thought this was for the best; regardless of her just winning a marathon, Rainbow was still very much in recovery.

As mid-day gave way to afternoon and evening, the games wound down, Ponyville's town folk sat down to a few bonfires across the hills, and as Celestia took a moment to set the sun to make way for Luna's stars and moon, ponies finally started returning to their homes. The stars and moon were bright in the sky by the time the last bonfire was doused, and the last of the equipment was hauled away.

Celestia herself was about to retire back to Canterlot when she heard somepony behind her call her.

“Ex-excuse me, Your Highness? May we have an audience with you?” the male voice said.

Celestia turned, and saw two Pegasi, a gray male and a pink female.

“It's awfully late, my loyal subjects. Don't you want to get home and rest?”

“Please, Your Majesty. It's...it's important, to us. I...we...need your advice.”

Celestia considered their words, as well as their expressions, carefully, and noticed something...desperate...about the pair's eyes.

“Certainly, my little ponies. What can I do for you?”

The gray Pegasus took a step forward.

“Your Highness, my name is Stormcloud. I'm the new manager of the Cloudsdale Weather Factory. This is my wife, Firefly. Rainbow Dash...” he stopped to take a breath.

“Rainbow is our daughter. We...we haven't spoken to her in three years. Not since she ran away.”

“Oh? Why did she run away?” Celestia asked, taking a seat on the grass.

“We had an argument after she had gotten expelled from flight school for getting into fights. We told her to either apologize to the school, or leave the house. She took off into the night, and we haven't approached her since. And...”

Stormcloud again had to pause to keep himself composed.

“And when we heard about what happened at Sugarcube Corner, we got to the hospital as soon as we could. When we got there, we were refused. The receptionist told us she had been given specific instructions to not let any immediate family in. We...we didn't take that too well.”

Celestia continued to listen, and Firefly stepped up to join her husband.

“We just want to know where we went wrong, why she's still so angry at us. We're sorry to come to you with this, but...we have nowhere else to turn.” she said.

Celestia smiled gently at them.

“Well, the first thing you have to do is know and understand why she's angry. Other than the fights in school, was she well-behaved?” Celestia asked them.

Stormcloud immediately nodded.

“Absolutely. She's always been a bit competitive, but the fights at school was the first trouble we had with her.”

“Alright. So when the fights started, did you wonder what was going on? Did you talk to the teachers?”

The parents shook their heads.

“We didn't talk to the teachers until after numerous fights. They just told us to get her under control.”

“Honestly, my ponies, the Cloudsdale flight school has always had an unbalanced instructor-to-student ratio. Perhaps they weren't addressing the source of the problem.”

Firefly turned to Stormcloud. “She did say one time she tried asking the teachers for help, but they were always busy with other students.”

“Chances are, physically defending herself was her last resort. It was a cry for help.”

They understood what Celestia was politely and subtly saying: You were ordering your filly around when you should have been listening to her.

“Also, kicking a child out of their home almost never has the desired result, as I'm sure you've noticed now. She had tried everything she knew how, she was back up against the edge of a cliff, and what you essentially did was throw her off the edge.”

Stormcloud looked like he had been stabbed in the heart.

“Make no mistake, that's why she's still angry at you. She was crying for help, and instead of listening, you showed her the door. She was alone. She had no one. I'm sorry to have to be the one to tell you this.”

Stormcloud's eyes widened, and with a gasp, he fell to his knees and began to cry.

“Oh, what have I done...?” he asked. Firefly stepped over and leaned down to comfort her husband.

“You were only doing what you thought was best.”
“What kind of father thinks it's best to kick their bullied daughter to the curb? What kind of father does that?” he asked in return.

Celestia stepped forward.

“Based on what I see before me, a loving, caring, imperfect father, who's ready to correct his mistakes.”

“Your Majesty, what do I do? I'd give anything to speak to her again, but...but I don't think I could handle being rejected by her again.” Stormcloud said through his tears.

“I'll be honest. What you two did that night probably severely wounded your relationship with your daughter. But all wounds, properly cared for, heal with time. And that's what this is going to take. Time. Likely, more of it than you want. Give yourselves more time. Wait until you're not afraid. Wait until it feels right to approach her and apologize.”

Stormcloud looked up at her, tears glazing his eyes.

“How will I know when the right time is?”

Celestia placed her liquid rainbow-covered hoof on the distraught father's shoulder.

“Your heart will know.”

PONYVILLE URGENT CARE
THREE WEEKS LATER

“In all my years, I've never seen anything like this. It defies all medical reasoning.” was the doctor's reply upon getting Rainbow checked over when Twilight and the others came rushing into the Care Center with the unconscious Pegasus.

Rainbow Dash slowly felt herself return to the physical world. It felt like she'd been sleeping for a week. Her black vision cleared, and she saw blurry outlines of her friends around her bed, in what looked like a hospital room.

“Hey everypony, she's waking up” she heard Fluttershy say as her ears cleared up. With a groan, she sat up, and saw her four friends and Spike were looking at her with smiles of disbelief.

“Rainbow...your...your...” AJ couldn't even get the sentence out, as tears streamed down her cheeks.

Rainbow groaned again. Her chest was sore, she felt light-headed, her wings felt-

Dash looked like she had just been struck by lightning. Slowly, in disbelief, she turned her head to confirm what she was feeling.

There they were. Her wings. Fully intact. Her mouth fell agape. She turned her torso, and slowly unfurled them.

The tip of each feather now had bright pink barbs, like the very ends of each one had been dipped in cotton candy. It seemed to contrast perfectly with the rest of the cyan color of the wings.

Rainbow was beyond words. She became even more perplexed as she looked over the rest of her body. The rest of the scars from that tragic night were still there; the skin tear going down her back from the base of her left wing to her tail, the scars around her cutie marks; even the scar from the hours-old stab wound was still there on her chest.

She looked at all her friends wordlessly as tears welled up in her eyes. All of them were also beyond words. Rainbow noticed that the cut on Applejack's cheek had also started to heal up.

Without so much as a word, Rainbow bolted up out of her bed, the sheets falling off to the side and the suction-cupped wires popping off simultaneously as Rainbow hit the floor and shot out of the room.

“Rainbow!” Applejack called after her. She didn't stop.

She galloped passed orderlies and nurses just getting on their shifts, and slid through the swinging doors to the front waiting room. Not stopping there, she sped through the double doors of the entrance out into the Ponyville morning, spread her wings, and with all her might, leaped into the sky.

Beating her wings furiously, she rapidly gained altitude, and was already 100 feet up by the time her friends rushed out to the front of the care center to see where she had gone. Rainbow lost herself in the euphoria of flight, for the first time in what honestly felt like a lifetime. She soared above the cloud cover, and stopped flapping her wings. Her ascent stopped, and she was suspended in midair for a single breath, and watched the sunrise for a split second, before falling back down under the clouds. Her tears of joy were lost to the wind as she quickly flew down back to the front of the Care Center, touching down lightly, and crying with happiness. Applejack was the first to come up to her and embrace her.

“Congratulations, sugarcube.” Applejack said, tearing up a bit herself.

As all of her friends came and congratulated her on her miraculous recovery, something in Rainbow's mind clicked. This wasn't some otherworldly healing Pinkie had just done. That was evident enough by the scars that remained.

No, this was a gift, a final farewell from a departed friend. And it would be one that she would cherish forever.

SWEET APPLE ACRES
TWO WEEKS LATER

Applejack had to be honest. A small part of her expected Rainbow to up-and-leave now that she had her wings back. But she didn't. She still got up at the crack of dawn every morning with her, and helped with all the chores around the farm. She even swam in the lake almost every day.

So when Applejack came back from the market one afternoon, she knew something was amiss when she saw Rainbow sitting on the bed in their room, her back to her, crying.

“Rainbow? What's wrong, hun?”

Rainbow, shoulders heaving, merely pointed a hoof at the nightstand, where a folded piece of paper sat on top of a torn envelope. Applejack walked to the nightstand, picked it up, and read to herself.

Dear Rainbow Dash,

I would first like to congratulate you on your astounding recovery. It must feel great to fly again.

Secondly, the purpose of this letter is to bring you an offer. For this upcoming season, we would like to elevate you from your position as an honorary Wonderbolt to a full performing member. No audition necessary, Dash. We know you've got what it takes.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,
Spitfire
Wonderbolts Captain

Applejack immediately set the letter down, came up on the bed, and gave Rainbow a tight hug.

“Oh, congratulations, Rainbow! Joining the Wonderbolts is what you've always wanted! Why are you crying?”

Rainbow sniffled, looking at the floor.

“It's not that, AJ.”

“Then what's wrong?”

Rainbow looked her in the eyes.

“I...I don't want to leave you.”