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Organised by
RogerDodger
Word limit
400–750
Clipped Wings
Rainbow Dash clenched her fists and cursed as the needle sank into her back. Across the room, she could see her mother, Firefly, tense up; she clutched her purse with both hands, knuckles going white. Rainbow tried to smile, but she was shot down by a blast of pain running up her spine.
She let out a strangled yelp, forcing her mother to her feet. “Does that hurt?” the doctor asked, adjusting his glasses.
“What does it look like?!” Firefly said before Rainbow could even open her mouth. “Stop this, stop it now!”
The doctor slid the needle out of Rainbow’s skin. A thin driblet of blood ran down her back, seeping into the long sheet of paper below her. She cringed as she sat up, covering her chest with just an arm. She tried to put her shirt back on, but was stopped short as Firefly clamped a hand around her arm.
“Well?” Firefly asked, her voice piercing “Anything new? Or was this just another wasted torture session?”
The doctor hesitated—it was too late. As soon as Rainbow’s shirt was back on, she and Firefly were headed out the door.
“You didn’t have to do that,” Rainbow muttered, breaking up the thick silence. She rested her head on her hand and gazed out the car window at the cityscape speeding by. “I was totally fine, y’know.”
Firefly waited a few seconds before saying, “I know. But I just can’t stand to see you in pain like that.”
“You could just stay in the waiting room.”
“And leave you alone with those perverts?” Firefly tightened her grip on the wheel. “I swear, half the reason they keep calling you in is so they can ogle the ‘girl with wings.’ That’s what they say, isn’t it? That they’ve ‘never seen a girl like you before?’ You’re not a patient; you’re an attraction.”
Rainbow knocked her head against the cold window. “Oh.”
Firefly sighed. “I don’t mean it like that, Rainy. I know that you’re the same little girl who’s obsessed with soccer and kung fu movies. These… powers of yours don’t change that.”
Silence flooded around the car once again. As they drove, Rainbow drew pictures in the window’s foggy landscape; a guitar, a lightning bolt. A stick figure with wings. She stared at the figure for a long moment before reaching up again and wiping away the wings—but now there were just two massive holes in the fog, like black holes sucking the figure in. She narrowed her eyes and dragged the flat of her arm across the entire window, erasing everything.
She finished just in time for the car to jerk to a halt at the end of their driveway. Rainbow moved to unbuckle herself, but froze as Firefly rested a palm on her hand. She looked up, only for her mother's wide gaze to steal the wind from her lungs.
“I’m sorry,” Firefly said, wrapping her hand around Rainbow’s. “I know you think I’m overreacting. But I’m just scared, Rainy. Ever since that Twilight girl showed up, it seems like you’re always off on your own, fighting demons, or magic witches. And then there’s all these trips to the doctor’s, and the way your back is always hurting—“
“My back hurts because I fall asleep on the floor,” Rainbow forced a smile and pulled her hand away. “Not because of my wings.”
“But how do you know that?”
“Because I do, alright?” Rainbow crossed her arms and looked down. “And if I was just gonna let some pain get in the way of me saving the world, I’d be pretty selfish.”
“Taking care of yourself isn’t selfish,” Firefly said. “Rainy, I love you more than anything. All I want is for you to be safe. I don’t know what I would do with myself if you ever got hurt…”
“I know,” Rainbow murmured. “But mom, here’s the thing: if I don't save the world then everyone’s gonna get hurt. Bad. Me and my friends are the only ones who can stop that from happening.”
“But why?” Firefly asked, eyes shining. "Why you? Why my Rainy?"
Rainbow's mouth hung for a moment, but no words came. She could only clench her teeth as her mother wrapped her in a tight hug, her own tears staining Rainbow's jacket. She closed her eyes and thought back to all the students at CHS, all the lives she had saved—it was her only defense against the sob crawling up her throat.
She let out a strangled yelp, forcing her mother to her feet. “Does that hurt?” the doctor asked, adjusting his glasses.
“What does it look like?!” Firefly said before Rainbow could even open her mouth. “Stop this, stop it now!”
The doctor slid the needle out of Rainbow’s skin. A thin driblet of blood ran down her back, seeping into the long sheet of paper below her. She cringed as she sat up, covering her chest with just an arm. She tried to put her shirt back on, but was stopped short as Firefly clamped a hand around her arm.
“Well?” Firefly asked, her voice piercing “Anything new? Or was this just another wasted torture session?”
The doctor hesitated—it was too late. As soon as Rainbow’s shirt was back on, she and Firefly were headed out the door.
“You didn’t have to do that,” Rainbow muttered, breaking up the thick silence. She rested her head on her hand and gazed out the car window at the cityscape speeding by. “I was totally fine, y’know.”
Firefly waited a few seconds before saying, “I know. But I just can’t stand to see you in pain like that.”
“You could just stay in the waiting room.”
“And leave you alone with those perverts?” Firefly tightened her grip on the wheel. “I swear, half the reason they keep calling you in is so they can ogle the ‘girl with wings.’ That’s what they say, isn’t it? That they’ve ‘never seen a girl like you before?’ You’re not a patient; you’re an attraction.”
Rainbow knocked her head against the cold window. “Oh.”
Firefly sighed. “I don’t mean it like that, Rainy. I know that you’re the same little girl who’s obsessed with soccer and kung fu movies. These… powers of yours don’t change that.”
Silence flooded around the car once again. As they drove, Rainbow drew pictures in the window’s foggy landscape; a guitar, a lightning bolt. A stick figure with wings. She stared at the figure for a long moment before reaching up again and wiping away the wings—but now there were just two massive holes in the fog, like black holes sucking the figure in. She narrowed her eyes and dragged the flat of her arm across the entire window, erasing everything.
She finished just in time for the car to jerk to a halt at the end of their driveway. Rainbow moved to unbuckle herself, but froze as Firefly rested a palm on her hand. She looked up, only for her mother's wide gaze to steal the wind from her lungs.
“I’m sorry,” Firefly said, wrapping her hand around Rainbow’s. “I know you think I’m overreacting. But I’m just scared, Rainy. Ever since that Twilight girl showed up, it seems like you’re always off on your own, fighting demons, or magic witches. And then there’s all these trips to the doctor’s, and the way your back is always hurting—“
“My back hurts because I fall asleep on the floor,” Rainbow forced a smile and pulled her hand away. “Not because of my wings.”
“But how do you know that?”
“Because I do, alright?” Rainbow crossed her arms and looked down. “And if I was just gonna let some pain get in the way of me saving the world, I’d be pretty selfish.”
“Taking care of yourself isn’t selfish,” Firefly said. “Rainy, I love you more than anything. All I want is for you to be safe. I don’t know what I would do with myself if you ever got hurt…”
“I know,” Rainbow murmured. “But mom, here’s the thing: if I don't save the world then everyone’s gonna get hurt. Bad. Me and my friends are the only ones who can stop that from happening.”
“But why?” Firefly asked, eyes shining. "Why you? Why my Rainy?"
Rainbow's mouth hung for a moment, but no words came. She could only clench her teeth as her mother wrapped her in a tight hug, her own tears staining Rainbow's jacket. She closed her eyes and thought back to all the students at CHS, all the lives she had saved—it was her only defense against the sob crawling up her throat.