@Midnight Moon
 
Applause

Where did it all go wrong?
 
It’d been a simple mission. Tag one of Sombra’s Force’s forward outposts for later magical artillery bombardment. Between Rainbow’s speed and her own unique skills, the whole thing should have been over in half an hour at most.
 
They arrived to find the base seemingly empty. No sentries, no patrols, nothing. Their first thought was that it was a trap: SOP for them was to level the place before losing or abandoning it, so as to deny Equestria the defensive position and chance to acquire their technology.
 
Rainbow’s sharp eyes spotted explosive charges set at strategic points throughout the outpost. It appeared that they HAD been preparing to level it after all, but had been called away before they could set the charges off. The explosives would still have a timer: Sombra has very thorough security measures in place. However, with speed, skill, and maybe a little luck, they could still disarm the demolition charges, call in the rest of the army, and seize the base for Equestria.
 
“This war’s gone on for far too long already,” she’d said. “This could be our chance to end it. For our friends, our family, and the fallen.”
 
I should have seen through it. I should have known it was too good to be true.
 
The explosives were fake. Sombra’s soldiers had been hiding inside the buildings, beneath the snow, or on the other side of the hills. They were surrounded on all sides. The two of them never had a chance.
 
Dashie took the worst of it. Hit after hit, blow after blow, nothing seemed to slow her down. Even after Pinkie had been subdued herself, Rainbow kept fighting through sheer determination. But even she couldn’t keep it up forever. One bad move, one soldier where she hadn’t been expecting one…
 
She’d never seen so much blood. Nor heard Rainbow scream so loud.
 
At least you’re still alive, Dashie… I don’t know what I would have done if you died.
 
Because of my stupid mistake.
 
The shock and blood loss caused Rainbow to lose consciousness, thankfully. More importantly, Sombra must have wanted the two of them alive. As scared as she was to think about the why, at least it meant the soldiers were quick to tend to her injuries. She knew she’d be dead by now if not for that small mercy.
 
Flying was her life. It was what gave her purpose, what drove her to become the best she could possibly be. It was her Special Talent, for crying out loud, just look at her Cutie Mark. But her wing… she still had to suppress the urge to vomit at the memory of her wing getting cut clean off. Surgical or magical reattachment wasn’t a possibility: Even if Sombra’s Soldiers would have done as such, the wing had been trampled in the chaos following the ‘battle’, if it could even be called that.
 
Rainbow lost her will to resist when she learned of her fate. She just cried, occasionally flexing her remaining wing to remind herself it was still there. And there was nothing she could do to cheer her up. All she could do was be there for Dashie to cry on.
 
Sombra… you’re going to die… slowly and painfully…

“War. War never changes…”
 
@Mildgyth
 
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