A Cliff to Tragedy

Chapter 1

"Come on Dash, is that all you've got!" Sonic cried to a light blue Pegasus Pony with a rainbow coloured mane and tail that was flying above him. "Or was that ' the fastest in Equestria' business a bunch of baloney?"

Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes at the blue hedgehog in anger. "What was that fur ball?! I'll show you true speed!" she cried and forced herself to quickly Dash forward past the blue hedgehog.

Rainbow looked back and smiled as she seemingly left him in the dust, that was until she looked forward again. Right there in front of her was the blue hedgehog, running backwards with his arms crossed and smirking at her. "I repeat, is that all you've got?" He asked playfully and chuckled.

Rainbow pouted at Sonic's joke, but quickly returned the smirk. Rainbow then glanced ahead of them which caused her to quickly look back towards the hedgehog who was still running backwards. "S-Sonic, I think you had better stop now!" She warned the hedgehog who raised an eyebrow.

"Huh? Why Dash?" Rainbow pointed her hoof forward which caused Sonic to turn around and noticed what it was that she was pointing at. Sonic's eyes widened as he saw a cliff that was quickly and surely closing in on them. Sonic quickly turned his whole body around and tried as hard as he could to stop, but it was to no avail. Sonic was running so fast he hadn't even slowed half way down before he had reached the cliff, and the next thing Sonic knew he was falling to the land far below screaming for his life.

"Oh my Celestia! Hang on Sonic, I'm coming!" Rainbow shouted as she started to fly downward towards her falling friend. In less then a minute Sonic had already fallen three quarters of the way down and Rainbow was still quite a few feet from Sonic, but was speeding up by the second. After a couple of seconds Rainbow was about to reach Sonic and quickly held her left hoof out for Sonic to grab. Sonic noticed and reached out with his right hand and attempted to grab her hoof.

But when they were just inches from each other, Rainbow collided with a nearby rain cloud which in being a Pegasus instead of passing through it she pushed all the rain out of it, which in turn pushed Sonic down to the ground faster. The last thing Rainbow heard before she left the cloud was a loud hard *THUD* that echoed for miles. Rainbow glanced down towards her friend with false hope that he might have somehow saved himself, but unfortunately when she looked down that wasn't what she saw.

Rainbow did the first thing that came to her mind, and flow back in the direction of Ponyville hoping to get help. Sonic was awake long enough to see Rainbow fly off and once she was out of sight his vision started to fade and after a minute he fell into unconsciousness.

-Sometime Later-

Sonic awoke to find himself in a bed and wearing what looked like a Hospital gown. Sonic looked to his left to see a heart beat monitor and other medical equipment. Sonic's eyes shrunk as he realised where he was. 'Oh god please tell me I'm not where I think I am.' He pleaded to himself.

Sonic then heard some voices coming from outside the room. "The Doctor said that he'll be ok y'all , we just have to wait until he wakes up." Sonic recognised this voice to be AppleJack's.

Then a second voice yelled at the first. "We have been waiting! Sonic's been out of it for WAY too long!" This voice was all to familiar to Sonic, Rainbow Dash.

Sonic then tried to get out of bed, but stopped when he felt an unbearable amount of pain. "Oh my freaking Celestia that hurt!" He cried as he tried to clench his legs, but moving them caused an equal amount of pain. 'What the hell happened to me?'

Just then the door was slammed open by a light blue Pegasus with a rainbow mane and tail and had a large smile on her face when she saw that Sonic was awake. "Sonic! Your finally awake!" She cried as she flow next to the hedgehog's bed and hugged him.

"Um ok, can someone please explain what the heck happened to me?" Sonic asked. "And just how long was I out?"

Rainbow let go of the confused hedgehog and looked at him with an apologetic look. "Sonic I am so, so Sorry! If I hadn't challenged you to that race last week this never would have happened!"

Sonic gave a weak smile and patted Rainbow on the head. "Hey don't blame yourself, it's not like you can predict the fu- WAIT! LAST WEEK!" Sonic cried which slightly startled Rainbow. "You mean to tell me that I've been out for a whole week?!"

"Well, technically one week and four days." AppleJack corrected as she approached the two of them. "That was one mighty crash you had sugercube. I'm surprised that all you broke was your, uh..." AppleJack explained, but hesitated.

Sonic raised an eyebrow and looked back and forth between the two ponies. "My what?" Sonic asked with his anger starting to rise.

Applejack looked towards Rainbow Dash who looked towards her and slowly nodded then covered her eyes with her hooves. "Well yea see, the fall caused you to, uh..." Applejack hesitated. "To break both your legs, and... severely damaged the part of your spine that allows your legs to function."

Sonic's eyes widened as Applejack finished her explanation. "Wh-what do you mean severely damaged?"

"Well... the doctor said that because of the damage... there's ah chance y'all may never recover." Applejack continued her explanation which caused Sonic's eyes to shrink. "This means that, even if y'all legs heal, you may never be able to run let alone walk for the rest of yea life."

"Again Sonic, I'm so sorry this happened!" Rainbow apologised again. "I wouldn't blame you if you didn't want to see me again!" Sonic sat there not looking at either Rainbow or Applejack, but looking down at his legs in complete shock.

"Ah think Rainbow, and I should leave yea to you're thoughts for ah while. Come on Rainbow." Applejack suggested as she turned towards the door with her head down, and gestured for Rainbow to follow.

Rainbow stared at the hedgehog who had now laid back down on the bed and turned to lay on his side facing away from her, for a couple of seconds before she lowered her head and whispered, "I'm sorry." one last time before she followed Applejack and left the room.

Once the door closed a single tear made it's way down Sonic's face.

-Meanwhile-

"I'm so stupid!" Rainbow and Applejack had just left Sonic's room and were now sitting down on the chairs outside the room. "Now he's going to hate me forever!" Rainbow cried into her hooves.

"Now Rainbow yea heard Sonic, he doesn't blame yea." Applejack said calmly as she tried to cheer up her friend. "And even so, ah don't think he would hate yea forever."

Rainbow looked up from her hooves and glared at Applejack. "Uh hello! I may have forever taken away his ability to run!" Rainbow pronounced in both anger and sadness. "His speed! The thing that he loves most! Why wouldn't he hate me!"

Applejack took a step back from her saddened friend and thought for a second. "Well we don't know that fer sure." Applejack tried to reason with Rainbow. "Fer all we know his legs could heal and nothing maybe be wrong."

Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Do you know how much of a stretch that is?"

"Do you?" Applejack asked with her eyes half open and a smug grin on her face.

"Shut up." Rainbow said quietly as she sat back and crossed her arms.

The two sat in awkward silence for a few minutes. "Well anyway, I ot to be getting back to tha farm." Applejack said getting up from her seat and turned to her friend. "Hey, don't beat yourself up fer this. Everything will be ok." With that Applejack left Rainbow alone with her thoughts.

Rainbow Dash sat there for what seemed like hours, thinking about what Applejack had said and judging whether she should check on Sonic again. The Silence was finally broken when she heard foot and hoof steps coming her. Looking up she saw two familiar faces staring at her, Twilight Sparkle and Miles 'Tails' Prower, Sonic adopted little brother. "Rainbow don't you think you should go home and rest for a while?" Twilight asked her depressed friend. "I know that your worried about Sonic, we all are, but you need your rest."

Rainbow scoffed at the purple Unicorn's suggestion and looked away. "How do you think Sonic would feel if he knew how much sleep and meals you've lost just because of him?" Tails spoke up hoping to get through to Rainbow, but to no avail.

Rainbow shook her head slowly. "What does it matter he hates me now, I just know it..."

"Are you kidding?" Tails asked with a smirk. "That's not true! Like Sonic, and I the two of you are inseparable!" Rainbow slowly looked up to the fox. "Sure you two argue about who's faster a lot, and you are really competitive with each other, but your both almost exactly alike! Hence why the two of you get along really well! There's no way he'll hate you!"

Rainbow thought for a minute then sighed tiredly. "I hope your right Tails."

Twilight stepped in between the two hoping to break the tension. "Why don't the three of us see Sonic before visiting hours are over?" Tails and Rainbow both agreed and followed the unicorn into the room. Rainbow however was dreading Sonic's reaction and prepared for the worst.