Pastelby FlutterDash777ChaptersCreamBaby BlueSoft WhiteCream-Cream The color of her skin is flawless. The softness of her mane is mind-blowing. I will never forget the beautiful feeling she had given me, once upon a time. Rainbow could feel her heart throbbing with agony as she watched the fire rise higher. It was destroying everything she loved. It was devouring all of her life away before her very eyes. All the pegasus could do was watch as the cottage was being burned to the ground. She could feel her memories dying away with it as wood crackled and smoke rose. Dash had almost forgotten that she was being held back against her will. She had almost forgotten the reason that these tears were flooding her eyes. She had almost forgotten that face. Her memories of that beautiful face were being thrown away and now she could no longer remember. It was her that was going to be missed the most, but how would she live on? "Rainbow Dash." The pegasus ignored the caller. Her eyes were swollen and her throat was too soar to scream anymore. She was beaten for the first time in her life and she wasn't going to fight it anymore. "Rainbow Dash?" The second time she heard her name she could feel pain in her stomach. Why was that voice calling out to her? What could they possibly want from her now when everything she had ever loved was gone? "Rainbow Dash?!" The voice was starting to become muffled. She could hardly hear her name now. It was as if her ears were being stuffed with cotton. It was as if she was slowly dying away. "Rainbow Dash!!" The cyan pegasus' eyes shot open. Her heart pounded against her chest as she looked around swiftly. There was no fire. Nothing seemed out of place. She was lying in bed, a cold sweat all around her, but everything seemed perfectly normal. Her pink eyes turned to see her caller. Fluttershy was hovering above her with a slight bit of relief in her eyes. She smiled as she could now see that her marefriend had awoken and she could now take a breather. "You worried me there for a moment. I thought you would never wake up..." Fluttershy turned around and wiped off the bed side table with a cloth that was resting in her cream hoof. Her eye glimmered as Rainbow Dash watched her closely. In her mind, she was terrified. The nightmare she was wrapped in moments ago was still lingering her her mind, and no matter how hard she tried, she could not forget the heat of the flames that had engulfed her life. Her legs were shaky as she began to slowly make her way out of the bed. Rainbow wanted to look at Fluttershy in the eyes and talk to her about everyday things. She just wanted to sit down, eat breakfast, and talk about what their plans would be for the day. But no matter how hard she tried, Rainbow couldn't make eye contact with her. "Is everything alright?" Fluttershy asked as she set down her cloth. Her eyes were filled with concern, and Rainbow Dash could feel it as the cream pegasus began to approach her. Rainbow Dash wanted to say that she was fine. She wanted to reassure Fluttershy that there was nothing to worry about, but all she could do was nod her head and turn around to the stairs and walk away. Rainbow mentally beat herself for ignoring Fluttershy for no reason. She knew that the yellow pegasus would be upset and confused, but she couldn't find herself to turn around and apologize. She couldn't tell her about the dream. She just couldn't. Rainbow made her way down the stairs and she sat down at the dinning room table. She could see Angel in the corner of her eye sleeping on his favorite spot on the couch. She noticed every single detail as she looked around the cozy home that Fluttershy owned. All of these memories seemed to be safe. "Rainbow?" The cyan pegasus could hear Fluttershy making her way down stairs. What was she going to do? What was she going to say? Rainbow Dash looked around her mind for an answer as quickly as she possibly could. It was just a dream, a nightmare. Everything is okay. Fluttershy is okay, she is just confused as to why you are ignoring her first thing in the morning. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid! All I have to do is act like nothing is wrong. Play it cool. Rainbow Dash is completely cool. "Rainbow?" Fluttershy turned into the kitchen and made her way over to the seated rainbow pegasus. "Good morning, Flutters." Rainbow greeted the yellow pony with a bright smile. "Oh. Well, I hope you slept well." Fluttershy sat down across from Rainbow and looked directly into her pink eyes as if she were just waiting to find something wrong. "Yeah, I guess..." Rainbow mumbled under her breath. She was hardly audible, but Fluttershy didn't seem to be bothered by it. "Are you hungry? I'll make you something if you like." Fluttershy jolted from her seat and turned around to the counter behind her. She searched through the cabinets and pulled out a frying pan. "We could just go out for breakfast. You don't have to cook for me." Rainbow began to get up from her chair but she was quickly stopped by her marefriend. "No. Don't worry about it. I'm going out today, so I thought I could at least make you something to eat." Fluttershy smiled softly and then turned to the fridge to retrieve some eggs. "Oh?" Rainbow sat back down slowly with one eyebrow raised. Fluttershy shuffled through the shelves inside of the fridge as she continued to search for what it was she was intending on using for breakfast. She didn't really seem to catch the hint of question in Rainbow Dash's voice over the sound of her moving through various items in the cold box. Rainbow Dash watched Fluttershy's flank as it waved about her face. She could almost feel herself getting a bit antsy just looking at it. Fluttershy turned around as if she sensed somepony staring at her; however, she was smiling and carrying four eggs in her arms. Rainbow Dash let herself relax as she watched Fluttershy's backside more while her marefriend began to heat up the frying pan and break the egg yolks into a bowl. "Where are you going today?" Rainbow nonchalantly asked as Fluttershy began to beat the eggs inside of the mixing bowl. The pegasus didn't stop and turn around. She continued to beat the eggs as she perked her ears to hear Rainbow Dash's question. Rainbow Dash let one eyebrow raise up once again as she heard Fluttershy giggle as a reaction to her question. "Are you that forgetful, Dashie?" Fluttershy put down her spoon and began to pour the eggs into the frying pan. Rainbow could hear it sizzle as the mix slowly poured into the hot pan. Rainbow's muzzle wrinkled up at Fluttershy's response. What was that suppose to mean anyways? "Ah....forgetful....about what?" Rainbow Dash tried to laugh herself, but to no avail. Fluttershy turned her eyes away from the frying eggs to look Rainbow Dash in the eyes. At first she was smiling, as if she thought Rainbow was only messing around, but she could soon feel that Rainbow really was forgetful. Fluttershy turned back to the egg pan and left Rainbow with nothing else to look at but her back again. "I'm going out with Rarity today, as I always do." Fluttershy said cheerfully, but Rainbow Dash could feel a bit of singe behind her words. Had Rainbow upset her because she had forgotten that Fluttershy and Rarity hung out on this particular day every week? How is she suppose to remember that?! Rainbow dropped her head in embarrassment. How couldn't she have remembered that....? "Oh...I was just pulling your leg..." Rainbow said too quietly to hear. She tried to cover herself with a smile as Fluttershy turned back around. The pegasus had two plates in her hooves. She set one down in front of Rainbow and then one for herself. Fluttershy looked up from her breakfast and smiled as if nothing had happened. "Enjoy." Rainbow waved her marefriend goodbye as Fluttershy went along her way to meet up with Rarity at the spa. Rainbow Dash slowly shut the door behind her when she could tell that Fluttershy was completely safe on her trek to Ponyville. She walked over to the couch to see that Angel had got up and left to do better things somewhere other than here. The cyan pegaus sat down and looked up at the ceiling. She slouched lower in the couch to see that this spot was actually very comfortable. She couldn't blame Angel for it being his favorite spot. Rainbow had tried to think back, but she couldn't ever recall ever sitting on this couch. She smiled at that strange thought. She had been living here for how many years now, and this would be the first time she ever sat here? How odd. Rainbow slouched down to a laying position and stretched her legs. Laying here was much better than the dumb old spa. If only she could convince Fluttershy of that, but how could she? Rarity had already corrupted Fluttershy enough with all her fashion and mamby-pamby ways. Rainbow hoped to Celestia that Fluttershy wouldn't become an addict like the unicorn, but she could also never see Fluttershy to become obsessed with anything either. Rainbow smiled at her deep thinking. She had never really had the time to do much of that. She was usually always working or out practicing new moves, but today felt like a nice day to just relax for a change. If Fluttershy was off relaxing, then why shouldn't Rainbow? The pegasus felt her eyes becoming heavy as she let her muscles relax. She stretched both of her arms behind her head and let her eyes slowly shut. She yawned quietly and let herself drift off into the deep. "Oh, Fluttershy darling!" Rarity got up and trotted over to her best friend as she entered into the spa. "I hope I'm not late." Fluttershy could feel a panic come over her as she feared Rarity had been waiting on her. "No, no. Don't worry about such things. I'm glad to see you are doing well." Rarity began to nuzzle Fluttershy off to change into their robes. "Oh, I am. Thank you." Fluttershy smiled as they tied their robes on firmly. "Let us make ourselves even better! I feel like today we deserved a little bit more than the usual." Rarity gleamed as they walked over to Aloe and Lotus. "Oh?" Fluttershy looked over with a bit of confusion in her tone. "Don't worry. It's on me!" Rarity shined as she looked over to the spa twins. "We will have the special please! Give us all you got!" The unicorn smiled wider than she had ever before. Her positive energy was leaking onto Fluttershy now. "That sounds wonderful." Fluttershy turned over to her friend with a smile. The two were rushed over to the steam room by the spa ponies. They kicked back and let themselves relax in each others companies. "So how is Rainbow Dash doing lately? I haven't heard much from her and a good while." Rarity asked as she leaned her head back. Her mane was tied back in such a cute way. Fluttershy had noticed. "She is fine.....I wonder if I could do my mane like that." Fluttershy quickly changed the conversation as she looked over to her friends mane-do. "Oh it's nothing much." Rarity said as she quickly attached herself to this conversation. "I much rather like your mane the way it is. It's so graceful." Rarity smiled as she moved her hoof about slowly, trying to imitate it's grace. "Yes, but it is just so boring keeping it one way all the time. Maybe I could change things up a bit, it might surprise Rainbow Dash." Fluttershy smiled at the thought. Maybe a little bit more could attract her marefriends attention to her. "You know, you are absolutely right, darling!" Rarity jolted up quickly as she let her blue eyes fall upon her timid friend. "I-I am?" Fluttershy looked up in confusion. "Completely! Everypony needs to change themselves up every now and then, and especially if you want to do it for Rainbow. Ah! How perfect!" Rarity giggled as she began to lean back down. "Is that so?" Fluttershy looked over slowly. "Indeed. We will have to get on that immediately! Right after we get done here that is." Rarity giggled. "Oh my. I'm not sure if it's such a good idea anymore..." Fluttershy pleaded at her friend. "Of course it is, Fluttershy! It's perfect." Rarity closed her eyes as she let the soothing steam open her pores. Fluttershy whimpered quietly. She wasn't sure if Rainbow would like something different or not, but after this morning, Fluttershy was desperate to to something else. Rainbow just seems so bored with her lately. Their sex is even boring. Was it all because of Fluttershy? Rarity opened her eyes to see stress upon her dear friend. She moved over closer to the pegasus enough to place a hoof on her shoulder in compassion. "Don't worry, darling. It will be great. You're doing it for Rainbow Dash remember? I'm sure she will love it." Rarity smiled as she could feel Fluttershy's confidence building up. "Okay..." Fluttershy said quietly as she tried to smile at the unicorn. Maybe Rarity was right. Maybe all she needed was a bit of a change to spice things up. "Great, and remember, you can always still go back to your normal self, because I happen to like you just the way you are." Rarity placed a hoof on Fluttershy's cheek. The cream pegasus blushed and smiled as she turned her head. Rainbow will definitely love it. She will love it. Fluttershy just knew she would. The two were soon being rushed out of the steam room and into some hot baths. The hot water was so relaxing against Fluttershy's skin. She just wanted to lie back and fall asleep. "Oh, Rarity. This day has been so much fun." Fluttershy turned over to her friend in the bath next to her. "It has my friend. Very fun indeed. I'm glad we decided to do this so often. It feels nice to get out with the one friend I have that enjoys the things I do." Rarity sighed softly as she leaned against the head of the tub. Two cucumbers were covering her eyes so Fluttershy was unable to see her friend underneath. "Yeah..." Fluttershy said softly. It was so soft that Rarity didn't even hear her respond. The two friends sat there in silence for the longest time. They just silently let the water sooth their skin and their worries as they leaned back together. "Thank you so much, Rarity...." The flames were almost tangible. The vision, almost visible. The sounds were almost audible, but it was all still just a nightmare. Rainbow quickly opened her eyes. She was sweating once again as she awoke from her second nightmare. It was the same one from earlier, except this time everything felt too real for her own comfort and security. Her heart pounded against her chest as she felt herself trying to panic. She knew everything was okay, but she couldn't help but feel like it wouldn't be for long. It doesn't take long for something to disappear before your very eyes, and that is what Rainbow Dash feared the most. For her life to be taken away from her and there be nothing she could do to stop it. Rainbow Dash had been having the same nightmare for over a month now. It was the exact same, only that it got even more real each time it occurred. Rainbow's nights had been restless and she had been discarding her life away without even noticing it herself. There was really nothing Rainbow feared more than losing the one she loved the most, and she knew that without Fluttershy, there was nothing else she could ever live for. She needed Fluttershy to survive in this dark world, but Fluttershy never seemed to be around anymore. It was almost as if she had began to disappear out of Rainbow Dash's life slowly, one step at a time. Rainbow needed Fluttershy more than the sun. She needed her love more than anything, and she needed to keep it safe away from anything and everything. Rainbow had finally began to understand what her nightmares were trying to tell her. Rainbow couldn't keep taking Fluttershy for granted, because soon she would be gone. Rainbow couldn't let Fluttershy leave her. Rainbow needed her love. Rainbow needed Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash looked up from her position on the couch. How long had she been asleep? Fluttershy left at one, and now it's..... The pegasus looked over to the clock. She squinted a bit to make it easier to see what time it was. She could now tell that the big arrow was on the six and the little hand was on the four. What?! Fluttershy had been gone for three hours?? Rainbow Dash jolted up from her couch. Her heart raced as she thought of the many reasons for Fluttershy to be out so late. She could hardly wrap herself around one explanation, but she knew one thing, that Fluttershy had been with....Rarity. Rainbow Dash needed Fluttershy, but did Fluttershy need something else?! Was that what this was all about?! Or was she just late and got tied up with something else? Rainbow Dash began to pace the floor. Fluttershy would be home soon. She had to be. Baby Blue-Baby Blue Fluttershy looked in the mirror on her way out of the spa. Her eyes shined as her heart was brought happiness. Rarity had done such a great job with her mane. It was almost even better than Rarity's herself. "Oh, Rarity. It looks lovely!" Fluttershy tried not to stare too much. She knew it was great, but she was only doing this for Rainbow Dash and not herself. "It does indeed." Rarity brought a hoof over to Fluttershy's mane and fluffed it a few more times before she let her walk out of the door of the spa. "I just hope it's not too much..." Fluttershy felt the curls in her mane with one hoof. "It's never too much, darling. Never." Rarity began to make her way next to Fluttershy as they parted from their meeting place. The yellow pegasus smiled softly with the thought of Rainbow Dash's reaction. She would definitely love it, and maybe she would come back to her normal self instead of just mope around like she had been lately. The two ponies walked side by side as they started on their way home. Their hooves clopped against the ground and it was going to the same beat as Fluttershy's heart. "Thank you so much for today, Rarity. You didn't have to do all of this for me..." Fluttershy looked up at her unicorn friend. She could see Rarity's eyes glimmering in Celestia's sun as they always did. "Oh, but I did. You're my best friend, and you don't need to ask me twice for me to help you out with anything." Rarity smiled with reassurance. The sun was starting to lower, and Fluttershy had just now noticed that she had been out longer than she had planned. Would Rainbow Dash be mad? No. She would understand. Fluttershy smiled herself and the two began to approach Rarity's boutique. "Well thank you again. Have a great afternoon, Rarity." Fluttershy waved her friend goodbye as Rarity turned to her home. "Don't worry about it. You have a great afternoon yourself." Rarity opened the front door with her magic and began her way inside. Fluttershy watched as Rarity began to shut her door, but she soon popped her head out once more and caught Fluttershy's attention before she headed home herself. "Oh, and....good luck!" Rarity winked smoothly, and without a word, shut her door. Fluttershy felt startled at first, but she then remembered what she was planning to do. Was this mane-do really going to seduce Rainbow Dash back on her hooves? That was something Fluttershy was hoping for, but she wasn't really sure if she was confident enough to go home like this now that Rarity was gone. With the white unicorn around, Fluttershy felt like she was on top of the world, but now that she was alone, how was she going to build herself up to actually pull this off? The yellow pegasus closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. She let her thoughts settle down before she opened her large eyes again. She looked down to a puddle of water beneath her. She could see her reflection so clearly in it. Her mane was so fancy, and it took Rarity hours to perfect it. Fluttershy knew that it did look nice, and she felt like it made her stand out a little more. She couldn't just let all of Rarity's hard work go to waste. She couldn't just bail on the plan and risk disappointing her best friend. Fluttershy looked up from her reflection and let out another deep breath. Her legs trembled underneath her, but without anymore hesitation, she began to move forward in the direction of her home. Rainbow Dash was waiting for her, and Fluttershy was going to make the perfect entrance. The yellow pegasus hovered above her cottage door. Her heart pounded against her chest as she edged closer. This was it. She would finally make her scene and hope that Rainbow Dash would be intrigued by it all. Fluttershy lifted her hooves to the door and slowly opened it. She quietly floated in without making not one sound. The home seemed to be empty at first sight. Nothing was out of place, except for the fact that Rainbow Dash was no where to be seen. "Dashie?" Fluttershy flew through each door quickly as she searched for the rainbow mare. She was no where downstairs. Fluttershy turned to the staircase and began making her way upwards. Maybe Rainbow Dash was asleep as usual. "Rainbow Dash?" Fluttershy looked up as she reached the top of the stairs. She walked over to their bedroom to find that nopony was there either. Fluttershy could feel herself begin to panic, but she tried to find an explanation. Rainbow Dash was probably out either flying around or working on weather duties. Fluttershy smiled with confidence. She was almost certain that where ever Rainbow was, she was probably up in the sky. The pegasus turned back to the stairs and made her way back down. She could see that Angel was now sleeping back on the couch as he was doing before she left earlier. She smiled at the little bunny and walked over to the front door. She opened it softly and quietly slipped out, trying not to wake her slumbering Angel. Fluttershy slowly pulled the door shut and she smiled once she heard the quiet click. "It's such a lovely afternoon." Fluttershy smiled as she turned to the sky. She hovered a bit above the ground enough to see the forest slightly overhead. She landed softly upon the grass and sighed. It was indeed lovely, but it just wasn't the same if there was nopony here to share the beautiful view with. Fluttershy lifted one hoof to her mane. The curls felt as if they were loosening from the spray that was holding them in place. The humidity was beginning to ruin Rarity's hard work. Fluttershy quickly turned back to her home and went inside. She looked over to the closest reflection and began to try to salvage her mane. Most of the curls were still in tact, but Fluttershy couldn't help but feel disappointed that it wasn't fresh anymore. Rainbow would never be able to see it the way it was moments ago. The yellow pegasus sulked to her kitchen. She sat down in her chair and looked up to the clock that was hanging above the sink. Fluttershy's eyes perked open when she noticed how late it had already gotten. Her clock was telling her it was already 5:15 and Rainbow Dash wasn't home from her work yet. Usually Rainbow would be done with weather around 4:00, but Fluttershy wasn't even sure if Rainbow Dash had to work today. She never mentioned it when she left. Maybe she got the day off and decided to go visit Applejack or something. Fluttershy brought her hooves to her face and sighed. Rainbow never really spent any time with Fluttershy anymore. If Rainbow Dash wanted to have fun she would do it with one of their other friends. Usually it would be Applejack or Pinkie Pie. They had so much in common with her, unlike Fluttershy. But the yellow pegasus couldn't help but feel like spending time with Rainbow Dash was really something the both of them needed, but never seemed to get. "Oh, Rainbow...." Fluttershy sighed and laid her head low on the dinning table. She could feel that Angel had made his way over to her and was trying to pet her for comfort. Fluttershy of course appreciated his attempt, but nothing would really make her feel better more than seeing Rainbow Dash come home. She closed her eyes and let the darkness seep through. Her mind was trying to empty of all thoughts, but it was soon interrupted by the house phone. Fluttershy was startled by the loud ringing and quickly jumped out of her seat. A few more seconds of the phone ringing, and Fluttershy finally relaxed herself. She let her heart slow back down to a normal pace and then she finally walked over to the phone that was sitting on the kitchen counter. "I wonder who it could be..." Fluttershy looked at the phone for a few more seconds, and then she picked it up and placed it next to her face. "Hello?" Fluttershy's voice was calm and collected as if she were never frightened just moments ago. "Fluttershy!?" The yellow pegasus pulled the phone away from her ear. The screeching voice rung through her ears for a moment before she brought it back to her face. Fluttershy was trying to connect the voice with a pony, but she didn't hear it good enough to recognize. "Yes?" Fluttershy quietly said, questioningly. "Oh, Fluttershy! It's Rarity!" Fluttershy was finally able to hear Rarity's voice speaking and she felt a bit relieved to hear her calling, however, Rarity seemed like she was in a panic and this made Fluttershy's heart begin to race again. "Is...is something wrong?" Fluttershy spoke softly but loudly enough for Rarity to hear. "I...I'm not exactly sure, but I think you need to come by the shop quickly!" Rarity seemed like she was stressing her words a lot. "I....Oh...okay!" Fluttershy looked around in confusion. Rarity's end had already cut off before Fluttershy heard a response. She quickly slammed the receiver done on the counter and began making her way quickly out the front door. She wasn't exactly sure what was happening, but whatever it was, Rarity seemed to be in quite a fix. Fluttershy could feel her heart racing as she flew as quickly as her wings would take her in the direction of Rarity's boutique. Her mind was spinning in so many directions that she was beginning to feel dizzy. Her vision was blurring as she flew swiftly towards Ponyville. What in Equestria was going on over there?! "Fluttershy?" The yellow pegaus jolted to a sudden stop. She tumbled from the sky onto the ground below and she could feel that her wings had been scraped up from her fall. She turned to see who had called out to her. "Applejack?" Fluttershy let the farm pony help her to her hooves. She began to dust her coat off as Applejack wiped her face clean. "What are y'all in such a hurry fer?" Applejack brought her attention to Fluttershy's mane. There were curls going off in all sorts of directions, but the farm pony avoided that conversation and kept it to herself. "I...Oh yes! I need to hurry off to Rarity!" Fluttershy began to lift herself from the ground with her wings, but she quickly fell back down. She turned to see that her feathers were all ruffled up and she hadn't noticed till now the pain that was surging through her body. "Oh no. This don't look good, sugarcube. We need to get you to the hospital." Applejack started towards Fluttershy with a helping hoof, but was suddenly stopped by the usually timid pegasus. "No. I'm fine! Really. Rarity needs me!" Fluttershy said in a frantic. Applejack looked closely at her panicking friend. She wasn't sure how to take Fluttershy's unusual behavior, but she knew something must be awfully serious to get her all worked up like this. "Ah....all right. But let me take you there. I was actually headin' over myself to give Rarity a visit. What y'all mean she needed yer help?" Applejack lifted Fluttershy over her back and turned to make sure she was comfortable and secure. "She called me just a while ago in a panic! I need to get there!" Fluttershy's voice was cracking with every syllable. Applejack could tell that her friend was on the verge of tears. "Don't worry, sugar. We will get y'all there in a jiffy. I'm sure everythin' is just fine." Applejack reassured her as she began to make her way to town. Fluttershy, on her back, was making it more difficult, but Applejack was good at heavy lifting, and she knew that her friend was in a fix. The best thing to do was to help her get things straightened out with Rarity, whatever that happened to be. "So, what exactly did Rarity say to ya?" Applejack tried to keep Fluttershy calm with her soothing voice. She held one hoof on Fluttershy's side as she lugged her to Rarity. She could see the town was only steps away from them. "I'm not exactly sure. She was very subtle and quick, but she really seemed like she was in some sort of trouble." Fluttershy's voice seemed to be calming down as a result of Applejack's comfort and also the sight of town before her. "Well we're almost there, so don't you worry yourself now." Applejack stopped for a moment to regain her strength, and she was soon walking forward again. Applejack walked slowly with Fluttershy on her back in silence for a few moments. The two were both starting to worry again about Rarity. The town seemed to be normal as it usually was. Ponies were out and about doing the daily things of life. Applejack and Fluttershy could see that Rarity's boutique was eyesight away from them. "I can walk from here!" Fluttershy began to climb off of Applejack's back before the farm pony could even object. Fluttershy was running towards the boutique at this moment. Applejack began to catch up with her as the two finally approached Rarity's home. Fluttershy knocked on the door once, but she hesitated not to open the door before she was given a proper answer. "Rarity?" Fluttershy called out upon entering. Applejack looked around as she entered in behind the unusually forceful pegasus. "Rarity?" Applejack decided to call out as well to give Fluttershy a little more help with her mission. Neither of the two heard a response at first, but soon they both turned to the sound of hoofsteps making it's way around the corner. "Is that you, Rarity?" Fluttershy quickly made her way to the sound of the hoofsteps. Her heart raced with fear, but to her surprise, Fluttershy crashed straight into a rainbow-maned pony. Applejack galloped over to the two collided ponies. She looked down with confusion as to why Rainbow Dash was hear at Rarity's boutique. "RD? What'cha doin' here?" Applejack looked down upon her two pegasi friends. Fluttershy looked up into Rainbow's bright pink eyes with her own confusion as well as relief. "I see you decided to finally come." Rainbow Dash got up and turned away from the two ponies behind her. Fluttershy helped herself to her hooves. "Where's Rarity at?" Fluttershy asked frantically. She was glad that Rainbow Dash was here, but what about Rarity's call for help? "Hmph.." Rainbow flicked her tail sarcastically in Fluttershy's face. Applejack was a bit startled by Rainbow's strange attitude, but she slowly made her way over to her friend. "What's goin' on here?" She placed an orange hoof upon Rainbow's shoulder. "Oh, nothing. I was just wondering where Fluttershy was off to. I can never keep my eyes on her. She's always gone somewhere." Rainbow turned around and shot Fluttershy and nasty look. The yellow pegasus' heart was pumping quickly and her mind was spinning out of control. What in the world was she talking about? "I...I..." Fluttershy started, but her words were not heard. "You can never stay put." Rainbow Dash walked over to the other side of the room and then back again. Her pacing was making Fluttershy nervous, and Applejack was just completely dumbfounded as to what was happening between the two. "Well....do you know where Rarity is?" Applejack asked the pegasus who was continuing to pace the wooded floors. "Somewhere." She answered coldly. "Where?" Fluttershy popped her head up. Her voice was soft and timid once again. "Why does that even matter? Why all of a sudden do you care so much about her?" Rainbow Dash turned around from her pacing and looked Fluttershy directly in the eyes. She looked at her from head to hoof. Her lips curled, and she had a look about her that Fluttershy had never seen before in her life. "What did she do to you?" Rainbow looked directly at Fluttershy's mane. The curls were completely ruined by now and Fluttershy had no way of seeing. "Wh-what do you mean?" The pegasus began to cower down lower and lower. She could feel her eyes burning with tears and fear. Rainbow Dash didn't answer. She instead turned back to the room she had entered from and disappeared into the shadows. Applejack looked down at Fluttershy who was now covering her face with her hooves. The farm pony wasn't sure if she should go down there and comfort her, or go over to Rainbow Dash and give her a nice pop in the muzzle. She wasn't able to choose, because Rainbow came back from the room and this time Rarity was behind her. "Thanks to you I was able to find her." Rainbow looked at Rarity with a smirk. The unicorn's expression was ghostly. She didn't have neither a smile or fear to be seen. Applejack turned to her marefriend with her own confusion, but Rarity wasn't able to give her any answers with her expressionless face. Rainbow Dash turned back to Fluttershy who was still crying on the floor. She walked over to her and offered her a hoof to help herself up. Fluttershy didn't know how to take it. Should she accept the offer, or should she just stay on the ground in fear? Rainbow Dash didn't give her enough time to process. She quickly grabbed Fluttershy up herself and lifted her from the ground with force. It didn't exactly hurt Fluttershy, but her heart was aching from all the questions she had inside. "Come on. Let's go home and get you cleaned up." Rainbow Dash smiled at the yellow pegasus as if she had suddenly changed to another pony. Back to her old self. Fluttershy didn't know how to take it. She was confused enough as it was. She turned to Applejack who just looked back at her with just as much confusion as before. She had one eyebrow perked up like she was a bit afraid for her friend, but she knew that Rainbow Dash wouldn't do anything to hurt her. She could get brash sometimes, but that was really all to the pegasus. Applejack slowly nodded her head at Fluttershy in assurance. She smiled to give the pony some comfort before she was taken away from the shop. Fluttershy was softly being pulled away back in the direction of home. She could feel Rainbow's grip on her arm become stronger, but she felt as if it were protecting her from the Rainbow Dash that had just lashed at her. This grip was from the Rainbow Dash she loved, and she was no longer being attacked by the Rainbow Dash she didn't know. She was still confused as to what exactly had just happened back at Rarity's boutique, but she hoped that she wouldn't have to remember it ever again. It didn't even feel real anymore. As Fluttershy looked up at the pegasus who was walking beside her, she felt a sense of safety. This was the pony she loved with all of her heart. "Are you okay, Fluttershy?" Rainbow looked down at the yellow pony who was still staring into her eyes. "Ah...y-yes..." Fluttershy looked down quickly, avoiding the beautiful pink eyes of Rainbow Dash. However, she could still see a glimpse of the baby blue pony that was leading her home. Soft White-Soft White Her heart throbbed with unbearable pain. Her tears stained the sides of her face as she ran through the fire that was overtaking her home. Everything she had ever known and loved was being destroyed, and her along with it. Rainbow, however, didn't care about all those things. She didn't even care about herself, but there was one thing that she could never lose, and that one thing was Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash tried to hold her breath as she ducked under the pitch black smoke that was filling her lungs. Her eyes were squinted as she crawled low in search for her most precious possession; however, Fluttershy was no where to be found, and Rainbow Dash heard nothing more than the crackling of the flames and the breaking wood above her head. She jolted around as she heard the ceiling beginning to weaken above her. It would only be a matter of moments before the cottage was going to fall to the ground. If she didn't get out of the house now, she would be brought down with it, but she couldn't leave. She couldn't leave without her Fluttershy, but where was she?! Rainbow Dash knew that she wasn't going to survive this, but what she wasn't sure of was if Fluttershy would. Rainbow didn't know where she was and the house was starting to collapse. Wood was falling in front and behind her. The pegasus had to dodge quickly so she wouldn't be trampled by the burning lumber that was being destroyed before her very eyes. The smoke was beginning to suffocate her and she wasn't able to stop it anymore. She needed to breath, but she couldn't in here. Where was she going to go? What was she going to do?! "Fluttershy!!!" Rainbow tried to wail out as loudly as she possibly could, however, her voice was muffled by the sound of the burning cottage. She could hardly hear herself above the sound of the destruction all around her. Her eyes jolted from one end to the house to the other. She couldn't see anymore, everything was black. Her thoughts were starting to die away and she could no longer think straight. All that was left on her mind was Fluttershy. Fluttershy Fluttershy! Was she going to die along with her? Rainbow Dash jerked up. Her head was spinning as she released the covers that she was gripping tightly between her two hooves. Her eyes were heavy and her neck was sore. Rainbow turned to the other side of the bed to find it empty. Her eyes lit up as brightly as they could in her condition and she began to pull herself out of the bed. Her body ached as she made her way over to the door and through the hallway. Her head was still spinning and her vision was blurred. She tried rubbing her eyes, but it didn't seem to help much. Rainbow Dash had to stop in her tracks and close her eyes for a few moments before she was able to regain her sight. Her head stopped twirling around and she was able to proceed to the stairs. The pegasus' trek downstairs was hardly memorable and it only lasted moments. She was unable to pay attention to any details at the moment considering she had just awoken from yet another one of her brutal nightmares. They seemed endless and they were all too similar. The cyan pony turned to the kitchen. She rubbed her eyes softly and then yawned. As she opened her pink eyes to see that nopony was in the kitchen either, Rainbow Dash was starting to worry herself. Where was Fluttershy at this hour? Rainbow Dash turned to the living room. She wasn't there and neither was Angel for that fact. Rainbow Dash then turned to the front door. She turned the nob and looked outside. She heard birds singing and a nice breeze was blowing, but there was no Fluttershy in sight enjoying the morning. "Fluttershy?" Rainbow called out the door to check once more for her presence. Rainbow turned her ear outside. It perked up to get a better listen, but there was nothing to hear. Fluttershy was not outside nor was she inside. So, where was she? Rainbow Dash could feel her heart sinking low. Her Fluttershy was not near her and that only meant one thing. She was off with somepony else doing something with them instead. Rainbow Dash always had Fluttershy to wake up to, but why was today so different that she had to sneak off so early and leave Rainbow to wake up to emptiness? What was Fluttershy planning? Was Rainbow just not good enough for her? Was she off with somepony else that she loved more? The suspicious pegasus turned back to the door and stepped outside. She turned back to the cottage and without another thought, shut the door behind her and began making her way forward. She could feel the wind beneath her fur as she trotted down the path that led away from her and Fluttershy's home. The pegasus stopped in her tracks and turned back around. She watched the lonely home as it sat still and silent. It was all in one piece. It wasn't burning to the ground like she had been dreaming up lately. What was that all about anyways? Whatever it was, Rainbow Dash didn't have any good feelings for it, and it just made her worry even more that Fluttershy wasn't here with her. What if something were to happen and she was all alone like this morning? What if something were to happen to her and she would have to face it alone? Rainbow Dash wasn't really the one to be afraid. Actually she never was, but something was different about her lately, and ever since she had been having that reoccurring nightmare she was just not comfortable unless Fluttershy was by her side. So why now, that Rainbow needed her the most, was Fluttershy off frolicking with the one pony that irritated Rainbow Dash the most? What was Rarity to her anyways? She wasn't much of a pony. All she cared about was pointless things that Fluttershy shouldn't even be bothering with, so why did she like to hang out with her so much?! Rainbow Dash could feel herself heating up as she thought more and more about Fluttershy's countless hours spent with the prim unicorn. Wasn't that Applejack's job to keep Rarity busy? Why wasn't it her that was out with Rarity doing pointless things? Why was it that Rainbow Dash's Fluttershy was the one that was hanging out with Rarity instead of Rainbow Dash herself?? The pegasus breathed hard through her nostrils as she turned her head brutally away from her home. She stomped one hoof on the ground in anger as she felt her blood pressure rising quickly. "Fluttershy....is....MINE!" Rainbow Dash wailed at the complete nothingness around her. Her heart was pumping energetically as she clenched her teeth tightly together. The pony could feel herself becoming light headed as she tried to move forward towards town. Her hooves were unable to move her very far before she tumbled to the ground. Rainbow could feel her heart starting to pump slower and slower. She could feel all the pressure inside of her release itself as she closed her eyes slowly. She kicked the dirt underneath her with one hoof before she gave up. She let her muscles relax, and before she knew it, she was drifting off into a deep sleep upon the ground. "Please, do not worry about me, darling. I'm perfectly fine." Rarity looked over to Fluttershy and Applejack who were both standing above her. "I...I'm sorry...." Fluttershy cowered back down and stood back from her two friends. Applejack frowned and turned to the sad little pegasus. "Aw, don't y'all apologize for somethin' y'all can't help, sugar." The orange mare placed a hoof atop of Fluttershy's pink mane. She softly stroked it, trying to calm down the pony. Rarity stood up from her seat and walked passed the two. Her flank was sore for no apparent reason and she felt as if she could use a good nap considering she hardly slept at all last night worrying about Fluttershy. She was relieved in so many ways when she showed up at her shop this morning unexpected. There were so many things running through Rarity's mind after Fluttershy and Rainbow had left last night that she didn't even have any words to speak to Applejack who had stayed the night with her for comfort. She was completely speechless then, and now that she knew Fluttershy was okay, she was still at a loss for words. She didn't exactly know how to approach the situation that they were all thrown into last night. It was dreadful and terrifying all at the same time, but surely Rarity should at least find something to say, but alas, she was still speechless. "Rarity....she didn't...hurt you, did she?" Fluttershy turned to her friend that had stopped to listen, but had not turned around to make any eye contact. Rarity stood there for a few moments to consider the answer. Mentally she was a little achy, but physically the only things that were hurting were things that were caused by Rarity's lumpy bed. Rainbow Dash had done nothing but frighten Rarity to an extent, that was all. It wasn't really too bad, but Rarity still didn't want to be reminded of Rainbow's strange behavior that had put Rarity in panic mode. She let herself gather the words she wanted to say, but all she could make out was one. "No." Rarity couldn't find anything else to say. She was still a bit shaken from the events previously, but she didn't want to talk about them, even to Applejack or Fluttershy. "I just dun' understand what got into her?" Applejack placed a hoof on top of her hat and tried to rub her head underneath. Applejack was probably the most clueless out of them all. She had no idea what happened last night. She wasn't exactly involved, she just happened to be there to see it all go down, but even though she saw it with her own eyes, everything was still very hard to understand. Nopony was clear enough last night to really give Applejack a good idea of what was going down. Rarity wouldn't tell her anything and Fluttershy was too emotionally scarred to, so Applejack was left in the dark about it. "Neither do I....she has never acted like that before towards me....or really anypony....not...that I know of...that is...." Fluttershy let her eyes drop to the floor. She was ashamed by what she had caused to her friends. She couldn't help but feel guilty for Rainbow's actions. "Are you sure there wasn't anythin' botherin' her?" Applejack turned to the timid pony who was now sulking beneath her. "She...she seemed okay....except..." Fluttershy mumbled the rest. Applejack lifted an eyebrow as she tried to make out Fluttershy's silent words, but there was no use in trying to hear something that was barely said. "What was that, sugarcube?" Applejack leaned in closer to her friend. She strained her ears so she wouldn't have to make Fluttershy repeat herself any further. "...except yesterday morning...she wouldn't look at me when she first got out of bed. She didn't say anything to me until I got down to the kitchen, and then she seemed perfectly fine..." Fluttershy made her words more clear this time. She let her mind waver as she tried to put the pieces together, but really there was nothing to piece. It was all just too confusing and the only pony that truly knew what was going on was Rainbow Dash herself. "Ah see.." Applejack turned around to consider all the possibilities herself, but still, she was the one with the least amount of information. "Rarity?" Applejack looked up to the back of her marefriend who was still standing in silence. Applejack waited for a few moments for Rarity's response, but the unicorn acted as if she were in another world. Fluttershy too looked up at the unicorn as if she were waiting for a response from her as well; however, Rarity's silence grew by the minute and the two friends felt a bit cold as they watched and waited in the quietness that surrounded them. They turned to each other and exchanged glances before looking back over to the white pony who had not moved an inch. "Rarity??" Applejack spoke a little louder this time. Rarity didn't budge. She stood in the silence as her two friends behind her began to practically shiver in the coldness she was sending them. Applejack couldn't take it anymore. She approached her marefriend, and without thinking twice, grabbed her by the shoulder and spun her around to face her. Fluttershy was startled by Applejack's bold move, but she watched in awe at the two as Rarity began to break from her statue form and look up into Applejack's crystal green eyes. The farm pony said nothing as her arms were still wrapped around the unicorn. All she could do was look down as she noticed Rarity was being brought back to reality. Applejack felt a sense of relief as Rarity's eyes began to look up at her, but soon her relief began to die away as she noticed large tears forming in the corners of Rarity's large icy eyes. The white unicorn made no movements and no expressions as the tears began to become heavy and fall down her cheeks. More and more began to form in her eyes and they streamed down her face like waterfalls. Her face was left expressionless as she continued to look Applejack directly in the eyes. "Rarity..." Applejack managed to whisper under her breath. Fluttershy watched as the farm pony pulled the unicorn closer in an embrace. She didn't know whether or not to turn away or to watch the beautiful yet sad sight before her eyes. This was all her fault. Rarity was crying because of her and Applejack was dragged into this confusing mess all because of her. But then again, what was it that she had really done? Fluttershy could feel that her hooves were stepping backwards without her even noticing. She was trying to escape before her friends would realize that it was all her fault that they were in this predicament and blame her for their tears and confusion. The yellow pegasus squeaked as she felt fear rising inside of her quite like it was last night. She needed to go back to Rainbow Dash and clear everything up. She needed to fix things before her friends turned to blame her. She needed to make things right again, whatever was needed, she had to fix it. Fluttershy turned to the door and jolted out before Applejack or Rarity could notice. She ran without looking back. Tears were clouding her vision, but she ran still as quickly as her legs would take her. She needed to go find her dear Rainbow Dash and make things right with her before she lost the one thing she loved the most. She had to quickly go to Rainbow and make up with her. Ask for forgiveness, beg for it if she had to. She needed everything to go back to the way it used to be. Fluttershy's galloping must have been taking her farther than she had expected. She could almost see her cottage now and she knew that Rainbow had to be somewhere near by. "Rainbow Dash?!" Fluttershy was out of breath and still running, but she still attempted to call out to her lover. Fluttershy's legs couldn't take her any farther as she was steps away from her door. She collapsed upon the ground and tried to catch her breath as she rested in the grass. "Rainbow..." Fluttershy managed out as she continued to breath heavily. She huffed as she tried to bring herself back up to her hooves. She could feel her body was still weak, but she needed to search for Rainbow as soon as she could. She couldn't live another moment without clearing things up with her. Rainbow Dash was mad because of her anyways. Fluttershy had been causing her some sort of problems, and whatever it was, she needed to apologize. "Rainbow Dash?" Fluttershy called out with more strength this time. Her voice was a little bit stronger as she felt her lungs were filled back up with enough air. Fluttershy pushed herself off of the ground and began to slowly walk towards her home. She felt some sort of chill down her spine as she approached the door. She felt like something was staring her down as she lifted a hoof to the doornob. A sound of scratching wood made the yellow pegasus jump away from the door with her heart pumping wildly. She looked up upon the roof, but she couldn't see anything from where she was standing. She told herself to fly up there and take a look, but her fear was too intense for her to do so. Fluttershy instead took a few more steps back as she tried to strain her neck to look up as far as she possibly could. There was still nothing to see, and now she couldn't help but feel like it was just a squirrel or something of that nature who was causing the noise. Fluttershy still felt uneasy as she began making her way back to her door. She found herself looking all around her as if she were some sort of paranoid fool. She took a deep breath as she tried to regain her strength. She went in towards the door and this time she was able to open it without fear. She slowly walked inwards timidly. Her head jolting around to see if she could catch a glimpse of where Rainbow was. Still, there was nopony in sight, and now she had no idea where to look next. Fluttershy took one step forward, and as she did, she heard the door slam behind her. She jumped up as high as her wings would take her and she spun around in complete fear. Her heart was racing as her mind tried to find an excuse for the door to shut so hard by itself; however, she was unable to come up with a good explanation this time that would make her feel safer. There was no way that door could slam so hard by itself, but who was it that had done it? "R-Rainbow...?" Fluttershy's voice was weak, but she tried to call out to her lover once more anyways. There was no immediate response, however, Fluttershy did hear something crawling about the roof. Her heart was leaping circles inside of her chest as she backed away from the entrance. Her eyes were bulging with complete fear as the sound began to get louder and louder. Something really was up there and it wasn't anything like a squirrel. It had to be something much larger to be making a racket like that. It had to be about the same size as Fluttershy herself, but was it another pony? Was it Rainbow Dash? Fluttershy couldn't answer anything anymore. She had no way of knowing, and she was too afraid to find out for herself. She fell back upon the floor and stood at the door before her. She could sense that whatever it was out there, it was going to come walking through that door any moment. She could feel a pain in her chest that was telling her it wasn't Rainbow Dash. But where was she at? Fluttershy needed protection, but where was Rainbow Dash at now when Fluttershy needed her the most? Being alone was something that Fluttershy hadn't felt in a long time. Rainbow Dash had always been by her side ever since flight school. She had stayed by her side up until this point. There were a few times when Fluttershy had to do without Rainbow, like when she went of to flight camp during the summers when they were younger, but that was only for a short period of time, and Fluttershy lived with her family then. But now she is grown up, and she no longer lives in Cloudsdale with all the ponies she use to know and care for. She lives on her own now, but even then Rainbow Dash lived with her, but where was she lately? It was as if Rainbow Dash had been absent from Fluttershy's life for a month now. She wasn't the same anymore, but what was it that was making her act so strange? What was it that was making her feel so distant? Fluttershy knew it had to be something she had done. She knew she was responsible, but now that she wanted to make things right again, Rainbow Dash wasn't here to listen. She wasn't here to see Fluttersy's apology, and now Fluttershy wasn't sure if she would be able to make that apology. Something was after her, and if she died now, Rainbow would never know the feelings she harbored inside. She would never know how sincerely Fluttershy felt, she would never know... Something began to beat at the door now. Something extremely loud. Fluttershy felt her heart trying to bounce up her throat, but she swallowed it back down. She tried to think of an escape plan, but there was no where for her to go. She couldn't go back outside and even if she were to try and hide, whatever it was that was trying to get to her, would still find her either way. She could see the door nob shaking now. She hadn't locked the door. Fluttershy just let that truth linger through her mind. The door wasn't locked, but the thing that was trying to get it was acting as if they were struggling to open it. They were trying to scare her. They were making this worse than it had to be. They could just open it and kill her, but no, they wanted to let this fear build up. They wanted the tension to rise. They were trying to make Fluttershy feel more fear than she needed to. And....it was working. The sounds were irritating her ears in a violent way. She could feel her heart beating with anticipation, and sweat was no dripping down her face and back. She couldn't believe it, but she just wanted them to get it over with already. Waiting for it to happen was killing her in itself. She could feel tears rising in her eyes as she began to cry out in agony. "Rainbow Dash!!!" She could feel herself starting to scream. She lunged back as the door began to slowly open. "R--Rainbow....Dash.....!" Her voice squeaked now. She had no more energy to scream, cry, or even move. The door was opening as slowly as it could. Any moment now it would be revealed, she could feel it. Fluttershy tried to crawl backwards, but she was only stopped by the wall behind her. She looked around for a last minute escape, but there was no where for her to hide now. There was no where left for her to go. The door swung open, and Fluttershy clenched her eyes shut trying to hide herself from the vision before her. She could hear a screeching ringing through her ears at whatever it was making it's way over to her. She could feel their shadow drowning her beneath it. Fluttershy lifted one eye open. At first she could see nothing, only a blur before her, but soon she could see the large griffon that was towering above her. Her heart leaped at the unpredictable sight. Was this some sort of joke?! "Ha! I gottcha' real good!!" The griffon screamed in Fluttershy's ear. She felt herself closing her eyes again as if it would hide her from the monster. "Ah, don't worry about her. She's a wuss!" Another voice appeared from behind the griffon. Fluttershy recognized this voice to be that of Rainbow Dash. She couldn't believe it. Had Rainbow Dash just pulled a sick prank on her?! That was....unheard of! Her eyes opened to see that it was indeed her marefriend standing behind the large griffon that she now noticed to be Gilda. Her heart pumped as she searched for answers within their expressions. Both looked at her in such a cold way that she couldn't stand. "Dashie...?" Fluttershy tried to make out as her eyes turned over to the cyan pegasus. "I'm off." Rainbow turned around as she pulled Gilda in her direction. "Wait..." Fluttershy called out, one hoof lifted towards Rainbow Dash. "Why don't you just go play with Rarity or something. I got some catching up to do and I don't know when I will be back." Without another word, Rainbow jolted for the skies. Fluttershy felt a cold breeze blow through her hair as Gilda turned around to her. Her bleak eyes stared directly at Fluttershy's. She had no expression on her face at first, but soon a menacing grin appeared in the side of her beak. Fluttershy gasped at the evil look she was being given, but soon Gilda turned up and jolted after Dash. Fluttershy felt sick to her stomach. She had never felt so alone in her life.
Cream-Cream The color of her skin is flawless. The softness of her mane is mind-blowing. I will never forget the beautiful feeling she had given me, once upon a time. Rainbow could feel her heart throbbing with agony as she watched the fire rise higher. It was destroying everything she loved. It was devouring all of her life away before her very eyes. All the pegasus could do was watch as the cottage was being burned to the ground. She could feel her memories dying away with it as wood crackled and smoke rose. Dash had almost forgotten that she was being held back against her will. She had almost forgotten the reason that these tears were flooding her eyes. She had almost forgotten that face. Her memories of that beautiful face were being thrown away and now she could no longer remember. It was her that was going to be missed the most, but how would she live on? "Rainbow Dash." The pegasus ignored the caller. Her eyes were swollen and her throat was too soar to scream anymore. She was beaten for the first time in her life and she wasn't going to fight it anymore. "Rainbow Dash?" The second time she heard her name she could feel pain in her stomach. Why was that voice calling out to her? What could they possibly want from her now when everything she had ever loved was gone? "Rainbow Dash?!" The voice was starting to become muffled. She could hardly hear her name now. It was as if her ears were being stuffed with cotton. It was as if she was slowly dying away. "Rainbow Dash!!" The cyan pegasus' eyes shot open. Her heart pounded against her chest as she looked around swiftly. There was no fire. Nothing seemed out of place. She was lying in bed, a cold sweat all around her, but everything seemed perfectly normal. Her pink eyes turned to see her caller. Fluttershy was hovering above her with a slight bit of relief in her eyes. She smiled as she could now see that her marefriend had awoken and she could now take a breather. "You worried me there for a moment. I thought you would never wake up..." Fluttershy turned around and wiped off the bed side table with a cloth that was resting in her cream hoof. Her eye glimmered as Rainbow Dash watched her closely. In her mind, she was terrified. The nightmare she was wrapped in moments ago was still lingering her her mind, and no matter how hard she tried, she could not forget the heat of the flames that had engulfed her life. Her legs were shaky as she began to slowly make her way out of the bed. Rainbow wanted to look at Fluttershy in the eyes and talk to her about everyday things. She just wanted to sit down, eat breakfast, and talk about what their plans would be for the day. But no matter how hard she tried, Rainbow couldn't make eye contact with her. "Is everything alright?" Fluttershy asked as she set down her cloth. Her eyes were filled with concern, and Rainbow Dash could feel it as the cream pegasus began to approach her. Rainbow Dash wanted to say that she was fine. She wanted to reassure Fluttershy that there was nothing to worry about, but all she could do was nod her head and turn around to the stairs and walk away. Rainbow mentally beat herself for ignoring Fluttershy for no reason. She knew that the yellow pegasus would be upset and confused, but she couldn't find herself to turn around and apologize. She couldn't tell her about the dream. She just couldn't. Rainbow made her way down the stairs and she sat down at the dinning room table. She could see Angel in the corner of her eye sleeping on his favorite spot on the couch. She noticed every single detail as she looked around the cozy home that Fluttershy owned. All of these memories seemed to be safe. "Rainbow?" The cyan pegasus could hear Fluttershy making her way down stairs. What was she going to do? What was she going to say? Rainbow Dash looked around her mind for an answer as quickly as she possibly could. It was just a dream, a nightmare. Everything is okay. Fluttershy is okay, she is just confused as to why you are ignoring her first thing in the morning. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid! All I have to do is act like nothing is wrong. Play it cool. Rainbow Dash is completely cool. "Rainbow?" Fluttershy turned into the kitchen and made her way over to the seated rainbow pegasus. "Good morning, Flutters." Rainbow greeted the yellow pony with a bright smile. "Oh. Well, I hope you slept well." Fluttershy sat down across from Rainbow and looked directly into her pink eyes as if she were just waiting to find something wrong. "Yeah, I guess..." Rainbow mumbled under her breath. She was hardly audible, but Fluttershy didn't seem to be bothered by it. "Are you hungry? I'll make you something if you like." Fluttershy jolted from her seat and turned around to the counter behind her. She searched through the cabinets and pulled out a frying pan. "We could just go out for breakfast. You don't have to cook for me." Rainbow began to get up from her chair but she was quickly stopped by her marefriend. "No. Don't worry about it. I'm going out today, so I thought I could at least make you something to eat." Fluttershy smiled softly and then turned to the fridge to retrieve some eggs. "Oh?" Rainbow sat back down slowly with one eyebrow raised. Fluttershy shuffled through the shelves inside of the fridge as she continued to search for what it was she was intending on using for breakfast. She didn't really seem to catch the hint of question in Rainbow Dash's voice over the sound of her moving through various items in the cold box. Rainbow Dash watched Fluttershy's flank as it waved about her face. She could almost feel herself getting a bit antsy just looking at it. Fluttershy turned around as if she sensed somepony staring at her; however, she was smiling and carrying four eggs in her arms. Rainbow Dash let herself relax as she watched Fluttershy's backside more while her marefriend began to heat up the frying pan and break the egg yolks into a bowl. "Where are you going today?" Rainbow nonchalantly asked as Fluttershy began to beat the eggs inside of the mixing bowl. The pegasus didn't stop and turn around. She continued to beat the eggs as she perked her ears to hear Rainbow Dash's question. Rainbow Dash let one eyebrow raise up once again as she heard Fluttershy giggle as a reaction to her question. "Are you that forgetful, Dashie?" Fluttershy put down her spoon and began to pour the eggs into the frying pan. Rainbow could hear it sizzle as the mix slowly poured into the hot pan. Rainbow's muzzle wrinkled up at Fluttershy's response. What was that suppose to mean anyways? "Ah....forgetful....about what?" Rainbow Dash tried to laugh herself, but to no avail. Fluttershy turned her eyes away from the frying eggs to look Rainbow Dash in the eyes. At first she was smiling, as if she thought Rainbow was only messing around, but she could soon feel that Rainbow really was forgetful. Fluttershy turned back to the egg pan and left Rainbow with nothing else to look at but her back again. "I'm going out with Rarity today, as I always do." Fluttershy said cheerfully, but Rainbow Dash could feel a bit of singe behind her words. Had Rainbow upset her because she had forgotten that Fluttershy and Rarity hung out on this particular day every week? How is she suppose to remember that?! Rainbow dropped her head in embarrassment. How couldn't she have remembered that....? "Oh...I was just pulling your leg..." Rainbow said too quietly to hear. She tried to cover herself with a smile as Fluttershy turned back around. The pegasus had two plates in her hooves. She set one down in front of Rainbow and then one for herself. Fluttershy looked up from her breakfast and smiled as if nothing had happened. "Enjoy." Rainbow waved her marefriend goodbye as Fluttershy went along her way to meet up with Rarity at the spa. Rainbow Dash slowly shut the door behind her when she could tell that Fluttershy was completely safe on her trek to Ponyville. She walked over to the couch to see that Angel had got up and left to do better things somewhere other than here. The cyan pegaus sat down and looked up at the ceiling. She slouched lower in the couch to see that this spot was actually very comfortable. She couldn't blame Angel for it being his favorite spot. Rainbow had tried to think back, but she couldn't ever recall ever sitting on this couch. She smiled at that strange thought. She had been living here for how many years now, and this would be the first time she ever sat here? How odd. Rainbow slouched down to a laying position and stretched her legs. Laying here was much better than the dumb old spa. If only she could convince Fluttershy of that, but how could she? Rarity had already corrupted Fluttershy enough with all her fashion and mamby-pamby ways. Rainbow hoped to Celestia that Fluttershy wouldn't become an addict like the unicorn, but she could also never see Fluttershy to become obsessed with anything either. Rainbow smiled at her deep thinking. She had never really had the time to do much of that. She was usually always working or out practicing new moves, but today felt like a nice day to just relax for a change. If Fluttershy was off relaxing, then why shouldn't Rainbow? The pegasus felt her eyes becoming heavy as she let her muscles relax. She stretched both of her arms behind her head and let her eyes slowly shut. She yawned quietly and let herself drift off into the deep. "Oh, Fluttershy darling!" Rarity got up and trotted over to her best friend as she entered into the spa. "I hope I'm not late." Fluttershy could feel a panic come over her as she feared Rarity had been waiting on her. "No, no. Don't worry about such things. I'm glad to see you are doing well." Rarity began to nuzzle Fluttershy off to change into their robes. "Oh, I am. Thank you." Fluttershy smiled as they tied their robes on firmly. "Let us make ourselves even better! I feel like today we deserved a little bit more than the usual." Rarity gleamed as they walked over to Aloe and Lotus. "Oh?" Fluttershy looked over with a bit of confusion in her tone. "Don't worry. It's on me!" Rarity shined as she looked over to the spa twins. "We will have the special please! Give us all you got!" The unicorn smiled wider than she had ever before. Her positive energy was leaking onto Fluttershy now. "That sounds wonderful." Fluttershy turned over to her friend with a smile. The two were rushed over to the steam room by the spa ponies. They kicked back and let themselves relax in each others companies. "So how is Rainbow Dash doing lately? I haven't heard much from her and a good while." Rarity asked as she leaned her head back. Her mane was tied back in such a cute way. Fluttershy had noticed. "She is fine.....I wonder if I could do my mane like that." Fluttershy quickly changed the conversation as she looked over to her friends mane-do. "Oh it's nothing much." Rarity said as she quickly attached herself to this conversation. "I much rather like your mane the way it is. It's so graceful." Rarity smiled as she moved her hoof about slowly, trying to imitate it's grace. "Yes, but it is just so boring keeping it one way all the time. Maybe I could change things up a bit, it might surprise Rainbow Dash." Fluttershy smiled at the thought. Maybe a little bit more could attract her marefriends attention to her. "You know, you are absolutely right, darling!" Rarity jolted up quickly as she let her blue eyes fall upon her timid friend. "I-I am?" Fluttershy looked up in confusion. "Completely! Everypony needs to change themselves up every now and then, and especially if you want to do it for Rainbow. Ah! How perfect!" Rarity giggled as she began to lean back down. "Is that so?" Fluttershy looked over slowly. "Indeed. We will have to get on that immediately! Right after we get done here that is." Rarity giggled. "Oh my. I'm not sure if it's such a good idea anymore..." Fluttershy pleaded at her friend. "Of course it is, Fluttershy! It's perfect." Rarity closed her eyes as she let the soothing steam open her pores. Fluttershy whimpered quietly. She wasn't sure if Rainbow would like something different or not, but after this morning, Fluttershy was desperate to to something else. Rainbow just seems so bored with her lately. Their sex is even boring. Was it all because of Fluttershy? Rarity opened her eyes to see stress upon her dear friend. She moved over closer to the pegasus enough to place a hoof on her shoulder in compassion. "Don't worry, darling. It will be great. You're doing it for Rainbow Dash remember? I'm sure she will love it." Rarity smiled as she could feel Fluttershy's confidence building up. "Okay..." Fluttershy said quietly as she tried to smile at the unicorn. Maybe Rarity was right. Maybe all she needed was a bit of a change to spice things up. "Great, and remember, you can always still go back to your normal self, because I happen to like you just the way you are." Rarity placed a hoof on Fluttershy's cheek. The cream pegasus blushed and smiled as she turned her head. Rainbow will definitely love it. She will love it. Fluttershy just knew she would. The two were soon being rushed out of the steam room and into some hot baths. The hot water was so relaxing against Fluttershy's skin. She just wanted to lie back and fall asleep. "Oh, Rarity. This day has been so much fun." Fluttershy turned over to her friend in the bath next to her. "It has my friend. Very fun indeed. I'm glad we decided to do this so often. It feels nice to get out with the one friend I have that enjoys the things I do." Rarity sighed softly as she leaned against the head of the tub. Two cucumbers were covering her eyes so Fluttershy was unable to see her friend underneath. "Yeah..." Fluttershy said softly. It was so soft that Rarity didn't even hear her respond. The two friends sat there in silence for the longest time. They just silently let the water sooth their skin and their worries as they leaned back together. "Thank you so much, Rarity...." The flames were almost tangible. The vision, almost visible. The sounds were almost audible, but it was all still just a nightmare. Rainbow quickly opened her eyes. She was sweating once again as she awoke from her second nightmare. It was the same one from earlier, except this time everything felt too real for her own comfort and security. Her heart pounded against her chest as she felt herself trying to panic. She knew everything was okay, but she couldn't help but feel like it wouldn't be for long. It doesn't take long for something to disappear before your very eyes, and that is what Rainbow Dash feared the most. For her life to be taken away from her and there be nothing she could do to stop it. Rainbow Dash had been having the same nightmare for over a month now. It was the exact same, only that it got even more real each time it occurred. Rainbow's nights had been restless and she had been discarding her life away without even noticing it herself. There was really nothing Rainbow feared more than losing the one she loved the most, and she knew that without Fluttershy, there was nothing else she could ever live for. She needed Fluttershy to survive in this dark world, but Fluttershy never seemed to be around anymore. It was almost as if she had began to disappear out of Rainbow Dash's life slowly, one step at a time. Rainbow needed Fluttershy more than the sun. She needed her love more than anything, and she needed to keep it safe away from anything and everything. Rainbow had finally began to understand what her nightmares were trying to tell her. Rainbow couldn't keep taking Fluttershy for granted, because soon she would be gone. Rainbow couldn't let Fluttershy leave her. Rainbow needed her love. Rainbow needed Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash looked up from her position on the couch. How long had she been asleep? Fluttershy left at one, and now it's..... The pegasus looked over to the clock. She squinted a bit to make it easier to see what time it was. She could now tell that the big arrow was on the six and the little hand was on the four. What?! Fluttershy had been gone for three hours?? Rainbow Dash jolted up from her couch. Her heart raced as she thought of the many reasons for Fluttershy to be out so late. She could hardly wrap herself around one explanation, but she knew one thing, that Fluttershy had been with....Rarity. Rainbow Dash needed Fluttershy, but did Fluttershy need something else?! Was that what this was all about?! Or was she just late and got tied up with something else? Rainbow Dash began to pace the floor. Fluttershy would be home soon. She had to be.
Baby Blue-Baby Blue Fluttershy looked in the mirror on her way out of the spa. Her eyes shined as her heart was brought happiness. Rarity had done such a great job with her mane. It was almost even better than Rarity's herself. "Oh, Rarity. It looks lovely!" Fluttershy tried not to stare too much. She knew it was great, but she was only doing this for Rainbow Dash and not herself. "It does indeed." Rarity brought a hoof over to Fluttershy's mane and fluffed it a few more times before she let her walk out of the door of the spa. "I just hope it's not too much..." Fluttershy felt the curls in her mane with one hoof. "It's never too much, darling. Never." Rarity began to make her way next to Fluttershy as they parted from their meeting place. The yellow pegasus smiled softly with the thought of Rainbow Dash's reaction. She would definitely love it, and maybe she would come back to her normal self instead of just mope around like she had been lately. The two ponies walked side by side as they started on their way home. Their hooves clopped against the ground and it was going to the same beat as Fluttershy's heart. "Thank you so much for today, Rarity. You didn't have to do all of this for me..." Fluttershy looked up at her unicorn friend. She could see Rarity's eyes glimmering in Celestia's sun as they always did. "Oh, but I did. You're my best friend, and you don't need to ask me twice for me to help you out with anything." Rarity smiled with reassurance. The sun was starting to lower, and Fluttershy had just now noticed that she had been out longer than she had planned. Would Rainbow Dash be mad? No. She would understand. Fluttershy smiled herself and the two began to approach Rarity's boutique. "Well thank you again. Have a great afternoon, Rarity." Fluttershy waved her friend goodbye as Rarity turned to her home. "Don't worry about it. You have a great afternoon yourself." Rarity opened the front door with her magic and began her way inside. Fluttershy watched as Rarity began to shut her door, but she soon popped her head out once more and caught Fluttershy's attention before she headed home herself. "Oh, and....good luck!" Rarity winked smoothly, and without a word, shut her door. Fluttershy felt startled at first, but she then remembered what she was planning to do. Was this mane-do really going to seduce Rainbow Dash back on her hooves? That was something Fluttershy was hoping for, but she wasn't really sure if she was confident enough to go home like this now that Rarity was gone. With the white unicorn around, Fluttershy felt like she was on top of the world, but now that she was alone, how was she going to build herself up to actually pull this off? The yellow pegasus closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. She let her thoughts settle down before she opened her large eyes again. She looked down to a puddle of water beneath her. She could see her reflection so clearly in it. Her mane was so fancy, and it took Rarity hours to perfect it. Fluttershy knew that it did look nice, and she felt like it made her stand out a little more. She couldn't just let all of Rarity's hard work go to waste. She couldn't just bail on the plan and risk disappointing her best friend. Fluttershy looked up from her reflection and let out another deep breath. Her legs trembled underneath her, but without anymore hesitation, she began to move forward in the direction of her home. Rainbow Dash was waiting for her, and Fluttershy was going to make the perfect entrance. The yellow pegasus hovered above her cottage door. Her heart pounded against her chest as she edged closer. This was it. She would finally make her scene and hope that Rainbow Dash would be intrigued by it all. Fluttershy lifted her hooves to the door and slowly opened it. She quietly floated in without making not one sound. The home seemed to be empty at first sight. Nothing was out of place, except for the fact that Rainbow Dash was no where to be seen. "Dashie?" Fluttershy flew through each door quickly as she searched for the rainbow mare. She was no where downstairs. Fluttershy turned to the staircase and began making her way upwards. Maybe Rainbow Dash was asleep as usual. "Rainbow Dash?" Fluttershy looked up as she reached the top of the stairs. She walked over to their bedroom to find that nopony was there either. Fluttershy could feel herself begin to panic, but she tried to find an explanation. Rainbow Dash was probably out either flying around or working on weather duties. Fluttershy smiled with confidence. She was almost certain that where ever Rainbow was, she was probably up in the sky. The pegasus turned back to the stairs and made her way back down. She could see that Angel was now sleeping back on the couch as he was doing before she left earlier. She smiled at the little bunny and walked over to the front door. She opened it softly and quietly slipped out, trying not to wake her slumbering Angel. Fluttershy slowly pulled the door shut and she smiled once she heard the quiet click. "It's such a lovely afternoon." Fluttershy smiled as she turned to the sky. She hovered a bit above the ground enough to see the forest slightly overhead. She landed softly upon the grass and sighed. It was indeed lovely, but it just wasn't the same if there was nopony here to share the beautiful view with. Fluttershy lifted one hoof to her mane. The curls felt as if they were loosening from the spray that was holding them in place. The humidity was beginning to ruin Rarity's hard work. Fluttershy quickly turned back to her home and went inside. She looked over to the closest reflection and began to try to salvage her mane. Most of the curls were still in tact, but Fluttershy couldn't help but feel disappointed that it wasn't fresh anymore. Rainbow would never be able to see it the way it was moments ago. The yellow pegasus sulked to her kitchen. She sat down in her chair and looked up to the clock that was hanging above the sink. Fluttershy's eyes perked open when she noticed how late it had already gotten. Her clock was telling her it was already 5:15 and Rainbow Dash wasn't home from her work yet. Usually Rainbow would be done with weather around 4:00, but Fluttershy wasn't even sure if Rainbow Dash had to work today. She never mentioned it when she left. Maybe she got the day off and decided to go visit Applejack or something. Fluttershy brought her hooves to her face and sighed. Rainbow never really spent any time with Fluttershy anymore. If Rainbow Dash wanted to have fun she would do it with one of their other friends. Usually it would be Applejack or Pinkie Pie. They had so much in common with her, unlike Fluttershy. But the yellow pegasus couldn't help but feel like spending time with Rainbow Dash was really something the both of them needed, but never seemed to get. "Oh, Rainbow...." Fluttershy sighed and laid her head low on the dinning table. She could feel that Angel had made his way over to her and was trying to pet her for comfort. Fluttershy of course appreciated his attempt, but nothing would really make her feel better more than seeing Rainbow Dash come home. She closed her eyes and let the darkness seep through. Her mind was trying to empty of all thoughts, but it was soon interrupted by the house phone. Fluttershy was startled by the loud ringing and quickly jumped out of her seat. A few more seconds of the phone ringing, and Fluttershy finally relaxed herself. She let her heart slow back down to a normal pace and then she finally walked over to the phone that was sitting on the kitchen counter. "I wonder who it could be..." Fluttershy looked at the phone for a few more seconds, and then she picked it up and placed it next to her face. "Hello?" Fluttershy's voice was calm and collected as if she were never frightened just moments ago. "Fluttershy!?" The yellow pegasus pulled the phone away from her ear. The screeching voice rung through her ears for a moment before she brought it back to her face. Fluttershy was trying to connect the voice with a pony, but she didn't hear it good enough to recognize. "Yes?" Fluttershy quietly said, questioningly. "Oh, Fluttershy! It's Rarity!" Fluttershy was finally able to hear Rarity's voice speaking and she felt a bit relieved to hear her calling, however, Rarity seemed like she was in a panic and this made Fluttershy's heart begin to race again. "Is...is something wrong?" Fluttershy spoke softly but loudly enough for Rarity to hear. "I...I'm not exactly sure, but I think you need to come by the shop quickly!" Rarity seemed like she was stressing her words a lot. "I....Oh...okay!" Fluttershy looked around in confusion. Rarity's end had already cut off before Fluttershy heard a response. She quickly slammed the receiver done on the counter and began making her way quickly out the front door. She wasn't exactly sure what was happening, but whatever it was, Rarity seemed to be in quite a fix. Fluttershy could feel her heart racing as she flew as quickly as her wings would take her in the direction of Rarity's boutique. Her mind was spinning in so many directions that she was beginning to feel dizzy. Her vision was blurring as she flew swiftly towards Ponyville. What in Equestria was going on over there?! "Fluttershy?" The yellow pegaus jolted to a sudden stop. She tumbled from the sky onto the ground below and she could feel that her wings had been scraped up from her fall. She turned to see who had called out to her. "Applejack?" Fluttershy let the farm pony help her to her hooves. She began to dust her coat off as Applejack wiped her face clean. "What are y'all in such a hurry fer?" Applejack brought her attention to Fluttershy's mane. There were curls going off in all sorts of directions, but the farm pony avoided that conversation and kept it to herself. "I...Oh yes! I need to hurry off to Rarity!" Fluttershy began to lift herself from the ground with her wings, but she quickly fell back down. She turned to see that her feathers were all ruffled up and she hadn't noticed till now the pain that was surging through her body. "Oh no. This don't look good, sugarcube. We need to get you to the hospital." Applejack started towards Fluttershy with a helping hoof, but was suddenly stopped by the usually timid pegasus. "No. I'm fine! Really. Rarity needs me!" Fluttershy said in a frantic. Applejack looked closely at her panicking friend. She wasn't sure how to take Fluttershy's unusual behavior, but she knew something must be awfully serious to get her all worked up like this. "Ah....all right. But let me take you there. I was actually headin' over myself to give Rarity a visit. What y'all mean she needed yer help?" Applejack lifted Fluttershy over her back and turned to make sure she was comfortable and secure. "She called me just a while ago in a panic! I need to get there!" Fluttershy's voice was cracking with every syllable. Applejack could tell that her friend was on the verge of tears. "Don't worry, sugar. We will get y'all there in a jiffy. I'm sure everythin' is just fine." Applejack reassured her as she began to make her way to town. Fluttershy, on her back, was making it more difficult, but Applejack was good at heavy lifting, and she knew that her friend was in a fix. The best thing to do was to help her get things straightened out with Rarity, whatever that happened to be. "So, what exactly did Rarity say to ya?" Applejack tried to keep Fluttershy calm with her soothing voice. She held one hoof on Fluttershy's side as she lugged her to Rarity. She could see the town was only steps away from them. "I'm not exactly sure. She was very subtle and quick, but she really seemed like she was in some sort of trouble." Fluttershy's voice seemed to be calming down as a result of Applejack's comfort and also the sight of town before her. "Well we're almost there, so don't you worry yourself now." Applejack stopped for a moment to regain her strength, and she was soon walking forward again. Applejack walked slowly with Fluttershy on her back in silence for a few moments. The two were both starting to worry again about Rarity. The town seemed to be normal as it usually was. Ponies were out and about doing the daily things of life. Applejack and Fluttershy could see that Rarity's boutique was eyesight away from them. "I can walk from here!" Fluttershy began to climb off of Applejack's back before the farm pony could even object. Fluttershy was running towards the boutique at this moment. Applejack began to catch up with her as the two finally approached Rarity's home. Fluttershy knocked on the door once, but she hesitated not to open the door before she was given a proper answer. "Rarity?" Fluttershy called out upon entering. Applejack looked around as she entered in behind the unusually forceful pegasus. "Rarity?" Applejack decided to call out as well to give Fluttershy a little more help with her mission. Neither of the two heard a response at first, but soon they both turned to the sound of hoofsteps making it's way around the corner. "Is that you, Rarity?" Fluttershy quickly made her way to the sound of the hoofsteps. Her heart raced with fear, but to her surprise, Fluttershy crashed straight into a rainbow-maned pony. Applejack galloped over to the two collided ponies. She looked down with confusion as to why Rainbow Dash was hear at Rarity's boutique. "RD? What'cha doin' here?" Applejack looked down upon her two pegasi friends. Fluttershy looked up into Rainbow's bright pink eyes with her own confusion as well as relief. "I see you decided to finally come." Rainbow Dash got up and turned away from the two ponies behind her. Fluttershy helped herself to her hooves. "Where's Rarity at?" Fluttershy asked frantically. She was glad that Rainbow Dash was here, but what about Rarity's call for help? "Hmph.." Rainbow flicked her tail sarcastically in Fluttershy's face. Applejack was a bit startled by Rainbow's strange attitude, but she slowly made her way over to her friend. "What's goin' on here?" She placed an orange hoof upon Rainbow's shoulder. "Oh, nothing. I was just wondering where Fluttershy was off to. I can never keep my eyes on her. She's always gone somewhere." Rainbow turned around and shot Fluttershy and nasty look. The yellow pegasus' heart was pumping quickly and her mind was spinning out of control. What in the world was she talking about? "I...I..." Fluttershy started, but her words were not heard. "You can never stay put." Rainbow Dash walked over to the other side of the room and then back again. Her pacing was making Fluttershy nervous, and Applejack was just completely dumbfounded as to what was happening between the two. "Well....do you know where Rarity is?" Applejack asked the pegasus who was continuing to pace the wooded floors. "Somewhere." She answered coldly. "Where?" Fluttershy popped her head up. Her voice was soft and timid once again. "Why does that even matter? Why all of a sudden do you care so much about her?" Rainbow Dash turned around from her pacing and looked Fluttershy directly in the eyes. She looked at her from head to hoof. Her lips curled, and she had a look about her that Fluttershy had never seen before in her life. "What did she do to you?" Rainbow looked directly at Fluttershy's mane. The curls were completely ruined by now and Fluttershy had no way of seeing. "Wh-what do you mean?" The pegasus began to cower down lower and lower. She could feel her eyes burning with tears and fear. Rainbow Dash didn't answer. She instead turned back to the room she had entered from and disappeared into the shadows. Applejack looked down at Fluttershy who was now covering her face with her hooves. The farm pony wasn't sure if she should go down there and comfort her, or go over to Rainbow Dash and give her a nice pop in the muzzle. She wasn't able to choose, because Rainbow came back from the room and this time Rarity was behind her. "Thanks to you I was able to find her." Rainbow looked at Rarity with a smirk. The unicorn's expression was ghostly. She didn't have neither a smile or fear to be seen. Applejack turned to her marefriend with her own confusion, but Rarity wasn't able to give her any answers with her expressionless face. Rainbow Dash turned back to Fluttershy who was still crying on the floor. She walked over to her and offered her a hoof to help herself up. Fluttershy didn't know how to take it. Should she accept the offer, or should she just stay on the ground in fear? Rainbow Dash didn't give her enough time to process. She quickly grabbed Fluttershy up herself and lifted her from the ground with force. It didn't exactly hurt Fluttershy, but her heart was aching from all the questions she had inside. "Come on. Let's go home and get you cleaned up." Rainbow Dash smiled at the yellow pegasus as if she had suddenly changed to another pony. Back to her old self. Fluttershy didn't know how to take it. She was confused enough as it was. She turned to Applejack who just looked back at her with just as much confusion as before. She had one eyebrow perked up like she was a bit afraid for her friend, but she knew that Rainbow Dash wouldn't do anything to hurt her. She could get brash sometimes, but that was really all to the pegasus. Applejack slowly nodded her head at Fluttershy in assurance. She smiled to give the pony some comfort before she was taken away from the shop. Fluttershy was softly being pulled away back in the direction of home. She could feel Rainbow's grip on her arm become stronger, but she felt as if it were protecting her from the Rainbow Dash that had just lashed at her. This grip was from the Rainbow Dash she loved, and she was no longer being attacked by the Rainbow Dash she didn't know. She was still confused as to what exactly had just happened back at Rarity's boutique, but she hoped that she wouldn't have to remember it ever again. It didn't even feel real anymore. As Fluttershy looked up at the pegasus who was walking beside her, she felt a sense of safety. This was the pony she loved with all of her heart. "Are you okay, Fluttershy?" Rainbow looked down at the yellow pony who was still staring into her eyes. "Ah...y-yes..." Fluttershy looked down quickly, avoiding the beautiful pink eyes of Rainbow Dash. However, she could still see a glimpse of the baby blue pony that was leading her home.
Soft White-Soft White Her heart throbbed with unbearable pain. Her tears stained the sides of her face as she ran through the fire that was overtaking her home. Everything she had ever known and loved was being destroyed, and her along with it. Rainbow, however, didn't care about all those things. She didn't even care about herself, but there was one thing that she could never lose, and that one thing was Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash tried to hold her breath as she ducked under the pitch black smoke that was filling her lungs. Her eyes were squinted as she crawled low in search for her most precious possession; however, Fluttershy was no where to be found, and Rainbow Dash heard nothing more than the crackling of the flames and the breaking wood above her head. She jolted around as she heard the ceiling beginning to weaken above her. It would only be a matter of moments before the cottage was going to fall to the ground. If she didn't get out of the house now, she would be brought down with it, but she couldn't leave. She couldn't leave without her Fluttershy, but where was she?! Rainbow Dash knew that she wasn't going to survive this, but what she wasn't sure of was if Fluttershy would. Rainbow didn't know where she was and the house was starting to collapse. Wood was falling in front and behind her. The pegasus had to dodge quickly so she wouldn't be trampled by the burning lumber that was being destroyed before her very eyes. The smoke was beginning to suffocate her and she wasn't able to stop it anymore. She needed to breath, but she couldn't in here. Where was she going to go? What was she going to do?! "Fluttershy!!!" Rainbow tried to wail out as loudly as she possibly could, however, her voice was muffled by the sound of the burning cottage. She could hardly hear herself above the sound of the destruction all around her. Her eyes jolted from one end to the house to the other. She couldn't see anymore, everything was black. Her thoughts were starting to die away and she could no longer think straight. All that was left on her mind was Fluttershy. Fluttershy Fluttershy! Was she going to die along with her? Rainbow Dash jerked up. Her head was spinning as she released the covers that she was gripping tightly between her two hooves. Her eyes were heavy and her neck was sore. Rainbow turned to the other side of the bed to find it empty. Her eyes lit up as brightly as they could in her condition and she began to pull herself out of the bed. Her body ached as she made her way over to the door and through the hallway. Her head was still spinning and her vision was blurred. She tried rubbing her eyes, but it didn't seem to help much. Rainbow Dash had to stop in her tracks and close her eyes for a few moments before she was able to regain her sight. Her head stopped twirling around and she was able to proceed to the stairs. The pegasus' trek downstairs was hardly memorable and it only lasted moments. She was unable to pay attention to any details at the moment considering she had just awoken from yet another one of her brutal nightmares. They seemed endless and they were all too similar. The cyan pony turned to the kitchen. She rubbed her eyes softly and then yawned. As she opened her pink eyes to see that nopony was in the kitchen either, Rainbow Dash was starting to worry herself. Where was Fluttershy at this hour? Rainbow Dash turned to the living room. She wasn't there and neither was Angel for that fact. Rainbow Dash then turned to the front door. She turned the nob and looked outside. She heard birds singing and a nice breeze was blowing, but there was no Fluttershy in sight enjoying the morning. "Fluttershy?" Rainbow called out the door to check once more for her presence. Rainbow turned her ear outside. It perked up to get a better listen, but there was nothing to hear. Fluttershy was not outside nor was she inside. So, where was she? Rainbow Dash could feel her heart sinking low. Her Fluttershy was not near her and that only meant one thing. She was off with somepony else doing something with them instead. Rainbow Dash always had Fluttershy to wake up to, but why was today so different that she had to sneak off so early and leave Rainbow to wake up to emptiness? What was Fluttershy planning? Was Rainbow just not good enough for her? Was she off with somepony else that she loved more? The suspicious pegasus turned back to the door and stepped outside. She turned back to the cottage and without another thought, shut the door behind her and began making her way forward. She could feel the wind beneath her fur as she trotted down the path that led away from her and Fluttershy's home. The pegasus stopped in her tracks and turned back around. She watched the lonely home as it sat still and silent. It was all in one piece. It wasn't burning to the ground like she had been dreaming up lately. What was that all about anyways? Whatever it was, Rainbow Dash didn't have any good feelings for it, and it just made her worry even more that Fluttershy wasn't here with her. What if something were to happen and she was all alone like this morning? What if something were to happen to her and she would have to face it alone? Rainbow Dash wasn't really the one to be afraid. Actually she never was, but something was different about her lately, and ever since she had been having that reoccurring nightmare she was just not comfortable unless Fluttershy was by her side. So why now, that Rainbow needed her the most, was Fluttershy off frolicking with the one pony that irritated Rainbow Dash the most? What was Rarity to her anyways? She wasn't much of a pony. All she cared about was pointless things that Fluttershy shouldn't even be bothering with, so why did she like to hang out with her so much?! Rainbow Dash could feel herself heating up as she thought more and more about Fluttershy's countless hours spent with the prim unicorn. Wasn't that Applejack's job to keep Rarity busy? Why wasn't it her that was out with Rarity doing pointless things? Why was it that Rainbow Dash's Fluttershy was the one that was hanging out with Rarity instead of Rainbow Dash herself?? The pegasus breathed hard through her nostrils as she turned her head brutally away from her home. She stomped one hoof on the ground in anger as she felt her blood pressure rising quickly. "Fluttershy....is....MINE!" Rainbow Dash wailed at the complete nothingness around her. Her heart was pumping energetically as she clenched her teeth tightly together. The pony could feel herself becoming light headed as she tried to move forward towards town. Her hooves were unable to move her very far before she tumbled to the ground. Rainbow could feel her heart starting to pump slower and slower. She could feel all the pressure inside of her release itself as she closed her eyes slowly. She kicked the dirt underneath her with one hoof before she gave up. She let her muscles relax, and before she knew it, she was drifting off into a deep sleep upon the ground. "Please, do not worry about me, darling. I'm perfectly fine." Rarity looked over to Fluttershy and Applejack who were both standing above her. "I...I'm sorry...." Fluttershy cowered back down and stood back from her two friends. Applejack frowned and turned to the sad little pegasus. "Aw, don't y'all apologize for somethin' y'all can't help, sugar." The orange mare placed a hoof atop of Fluttershy's pink mane. She softly stroked it, trying to calm down the pony. Rarity stood up from her seat and walked passed the two. Her flank was sore for no apparent reason and she felt as if she could use a good nap considering she hardly slept at all last night worrying about Fluttershy. She was relieved in so many ways when she showed up at her shop this morning unexpected. There were so many things running through Rarity's mind after Fluttershy and Rainbow had left last night that she didn't even have any words to speak to Applejack who had stayed the night with her for comfort. She was completely speechless then, and now that she knew Fluttershy was okay, she was still at a loss for words. She didn't exactly know how to approach the situation that they were all thrown into last night. It was dreadful and terrifying all at the same time, but surely Rarity should at least find something to say, but alas, she was still speechless. "Rarity....she didn't...hurt you, did she?" Fluttershy turned to her friend that had stopped to listen, but had not turned around to make any eye contact. Rarity stood there for a few moments to consider the answer. Mentally she was a little achy, but physically the only things that were hurting were things that were caused by Rarity's lumpy bed. Rainbow Dash had done nothing but frighten Rarity to an extent, that was all. It wasn't really too bad, but Rarity still didn't want to be reminded of Rainbow's strange behavior that had put Rarity in panic mode. She let herself gather the words she wanted to say, but all she could make out was one. "No." Rarity couldn't find anything else to say. She was still a bit shaken from the events previously, but she didn't want to talk about them, even to Applejack or Fluttershy. "I just dun' understand what got into her?" Applejack placed a hoof on top of her hat and tried to rub her head underneath. Applejack was probably the most clueless out of them all. She had no idea what happened last night. She wasn't exactly involved, she just happened to be there to see it all go down, but even though she saw it with her own eyes, everything was still very hard to understand. Nopony was clear enough last night to really give Applejack a good idea of what was going down. Rarity wouldn't tell her anything and Fluttershy was too emotionally scarred to, so Applejack was left in the dark about it. "Neither do I....she has never acted like that before towards me....or really anypony....not...that I know of...that is...." Fluttershy let her eyes drop to the floor. She was ashamed by what she had caused to her friends. She couldn't help but feel guilty for Rainbow's actions. "Are you sure there wasn't anythin' botherin' her?" Applejack turned to the timid pony who was now sulking beneath her. "She...she seemed okay....except..." Fluttershy mumbled the rest. Applejack lifted an eyebrow as she tried to make out Fluttershy's silent words, but there was no use in trying to hear something that was barely said. "What was that, sugarcube?" Applejack leaned in closer to her friend. She strained her ears so she wouldn't have to make Fluttershy repeat herself any further. "...except yesterday morning...she wouldn't look at me when she first got out of bed. She didn't say anything to me until I got down to the kitchen, and then she seemed perfectly fine..." Fluttershy made her words more clear this time. She let her mind waver as she tried to put the pieces together, but really there was nothing to piece. It was all just too confusing and the only pony that truly knew what was going on was Rainbow Dash herself. "Ah see.." Applejack turned around to consider all the possibilities herself, but still, she was the one with the least amount of information. "Rarity?" Applejack looked up to the back of her marefriend who was still standing in silence. Applejack waited for a few moments for Rarity's response, but the unicorn acted as if she were in another world. Fluttershy too looked up at the unicorn as if she were waiting for a response from her as well; however, Rarity's silence grew by the minute and the two friends felt a bit cold as they watched and waited in the quietness that surrounded them. They turned to each other and exchanged glances before looking back over to the white pony who had not moved an inch. "Rarity??" Applejack spoke a little louder this time. Rarity didn't budge. She stood in the silence as her two friends behind her began to practically shiver in the coldness she was sending them. Applejack couldn't take it anymore. She approached her marefriend, and without thinking twice, grabbed her by the shoulder and spun her around to face her. Fluttershy was startled by Applejack's bold move, but she watched in awe at the two as Rarity began to break from her statue form and look up into Applejack's crystal green eyes. The farm pony said nothing as her arms were still wrapped around the unicorn. All she could do was look down as she noticed Rarity was being brought back to reality. Applejack felt a sense of relief as Rarity's eyes began to look up at her, but soon her relief began to die away as she noticed large tears forming in the corners of Rarity's large icy eyes. The white unicorn made no movements and no expressions as the tears began to become heavy and fall down her cheeks. More and more began to form in her eyes and they streamed down her face like waterfalls. Her face was left expressionless as she continued to look Applejack directly in the eyes. "Rarity..." Applejack managed to whisper under her breath. Fluttershy watched as the farm pony pulled the unicorn closer in an embrace. She didn't know whether or not to turn away or to watch the beautiful yet sad sight before her eyes. This was all her fault. Rarity was crying because of her and Applejack was dragged into this confusing mess all because of her. But then again, what was it that she had really done? Fluttershy could feel that her hooves were stepping backwards without her even noticing. She was trying to escape before her friends would realize that it was all her fault that they were in this predicament and blame her for their tears and confusion. The yellow pegasus squeaked as she felt fear rising inside of her quite like it was last night. She needed to go back to Rainbow Dash and clear everything up. She needed to fix things before her friends turned to blame her. She needed to make things right again, whatever was needed, she had to fix it. Fluttershy turned to the door and jolted out before Applejack or Rarity could notice. She ran without looking back. Tears were clouding her vision, but she ran still as quickly as her legs would take her. She needed to go find her dear Rainbow Dash and make things right with her before she lost the one thing she loved the most. She had to quickly go to Rainbow and make up with her. Ask for forgiveness, beg for it if she had to. She needed everything to go back to the way it used to be. Fluttershy's galloping must have been taking her farther than she had expected. She could almost see her cottage now and she knew that Rainbow had to be somewhere near by. "Rainbow Dash?!" Fluttershy was out of breath and still running, but she still attempted to call out to her lover. Fluttershy's legs couldn't take her any farther as she was steps away from her door. She collapsed upon the ground and tried to catch her breath as she rested in the grass. "Rainbow..." Fluttershy managed out as she continued to breath heavily. She huffed as she tried to bring herself back up to her hooves. She could feel her body was still weak, but she needed to search for Rainbow as soon as she could. She couldn't live another moment without clearing things up with her. Rainbow Dash was mad because of her anyways. Fluttershy had been causing her some sort of problems, and whatever it was, she needed to apologize. "Rainbow Dash?" Fluttershy called out with more strength this time. Her voice was a little bit stronger as she felt her lungs were filled back up with enough air. Fluttershy pushed herself off of the ground and began to slowly walk towards her home. She felt some sort of chill down her spine as she approached the door. She felt like something was staring her down as she lifted a hoof to the doornob. A sound of scratching wood made the yellow pegasus jump away from the door with her heart pumping wildly. She looked up upon the roof, but she couldn't see anything from where she was standing. She told herself to fly up there and take a look, but her fear was too intense for her to do so. Fluttershy instead took a few more steps back as she tried to strain her neck to look up as far as she possibly could. There was still nothing to see, and now she couldn't help but feel like it was just a squirrel or something of that nature who was causing the noise. Fluttershy still felt uneasy as she began making her way back to her door. She found herself looking all around her as if she were some sort of paranoid fool. She took a deep breath as she tried to regain her strength. She went in towards the door and this time she was able to open it without fear. She slowly walked inwards timidly. Her head jolting around to see if she could catch a glimpse of where Rainbow was. Still, there was nopony in sight, and now she had no idea where to look next. Fluttershy took one step forward, and as she did, she heard the door slam behind her. She jumped up as high as her wings would take her and she spun around in complete fear. Her heart was racing as her mind tried to find an excuse for the door to shut so hard by itself; however, she was unable to come up with a good explanation this time that would make her feel safer. There was no way that door could slam so hard by itself, but who was it that had done it? "R-Rainbow...?" Fluttershy's voice was weak, but she tried to call out to her lover once more anyways. There was no immediate response, however, Fluttershy did hear something crawling about the roof. Her heart was leaping circles inside of her chest as she backed away from the entrance. Her eyes were bulging with complete fear as the sound began to get louder and louder. Something really was up there and it wasn't anything like a squirrel. It had to be something much larger to be making a racket like that. It had to be about the same size as Fluttershy herself, but was it another pony? Was it Rainbow Dash? Fluttershy couldn't answer anything anymore. She had no way of knowing, and she was too afraid to find out for herself. She fell back upon the floor and stood at the door before her. She could sense that whatever it was out there, it was going to come walking through that door any moment. She could feel a pain in her chest that was telling her it wasn't Rainbow Dash. But where was she at? Fluttershy needed protection, but where was Rainbow Dash at now when Fluttershy needed her the most? Being alone was something that Fluttershy hadn't felt in a long time. Rainbow Dash had always been by her side ever since flight school. She had stayed by her side up until this point. There were a few times when Fluttershy had to do without Rainbow, like when she went of to flight camp during the summers when they were younger, but that was only for a short period of time, and Fluttershy lived with her family then. But now she is grown up, and she no longer lives in Cloudsdale with all the ponies she use to know and care for. She lives on her own now, but even then Rainbow Dash lived with her, but where was she lately? It was as if Rainbow Dash had been absent from Fluttershy's life for a month now. She wasn't the same anymore, but what was it that was making her act so strange? What was it that was making her feel so distant? Fluttershy knew it had to be something she had done. She knew she was responsible, but now that she wanted to make things right again, Rainbow Dash wasn't here to listen. She wasn't here to see Fluttersy's apology, and now Fluttershy wasn't sure if she would be able to make that apology. Something was after her, and if she died now, Rainbow would never know the feelings she harbored inside. She would never know how sincerely Fluttershy felt, she would never know... Something began to beat at the door now. Something extremely loud. Fluttershy felt her heart trying to bounce up her throat, but she swallowed it back down. She tried to think of an escape plan, but there was no where for her to go. She couldn't go back outside and even if she were to try and hide, whatever it was that was trying to get to her, would still find her either way. She could see the door nob shaking now. She hadn't locked the door. Fluttershy just let that truth linger through her mind. The door wasn't locked, but the thing that was trying to get it was acting as if they were struggling to open it. They were trying to scare her. They were making this worse than it had to be. They could just open it and kill her, but no, they wanted to let this fear build up. They wanted the tension to rise. They were trying to make Fluttershy feel more fear than she needed to. And....it was working. The sounds were irritating her ears in a violent way. She could feel her heart beating with anticipation, and sweat was no dripping down her face and back. She couldn't believe it, but she just wanted them to get it over with already. Waiting for it to happen was killing her in itself. She could feel tears rising in her eyes as she began to cry out in agony. "Rainbow Dash!!!" She could feel herself starting to scream. She lunged back as the door began to slowly open. "R--Rainbow....Dash.....!" Her voice squeaked now. She had no more energy to scream, cry, or even move. The door was opening as slowly as it could. Any moment now it would be revealed, she could feel it. Fluttershy tried to crawl backwards, but she was only stopped by the wall behind her. She looked around for a last minute escape, but there was no where for her to hide now. There was no where left for her to go. The door swung open, and Fluttershy clenched her eyes shut trying to hide herself from the vision before her. She could hear a screeching ringing through her ears at whatever it was making it's way over to her. She could feel their shadow drowning her beneath it. Fluttershy lifted one eye open. At first she could see nothing, only a blur before her, but soon she could see the large griffon that was towering above her. Her heart leaped at the unpredictable sight. Was this some sort of joke?! "Ha! I gottcha' real good!!" The griffon screamed in Fluttershy's ear. She felt herself closing her eyes again as if it would hide her from the monster. "Ah, don't worry about her. She's a wuss!" Another voice appeared from behind the griffon. Fluttershy recognized this voice to be that of Rainbow Dash. She couldn't believe it. Had Rainbow Dash just pulled a sick prank on her?! That was....unheard of! Her eyes opened to see that it was indeed her marefriend standing behind the large griffon that she now noticed to be Gilda. Her heart pumped as she searched for answers within their expressions. Both looked at her in such a cold way that she couldn't stand. "Dashie...?" Fluttershy tried to make out as her eyes turned over to the cyan pegasus. "I'm off." Rainbow turned around as she pulled Gilda in her direction. "Wait..." Fluttershy called out, one hoof lifted towards Rainbow Dash. "Why don't you just go play with Rarity or something. I got some catching up to do and I don't know when I will be back." Without another word, Rainbow jolted for the skies. Fluttershy felt a cold breeze blow through her hair as Gilda turned around to her. Her bleak eyes stared directly at Fluttershy's. She had no expression on her face at first, but soon a menacing grin appeared in the side of her beak. Fluttershy gasped at the evil look she was being given, but soon Gilda turned up and jolted after Dash. Fluttershy felt sick to her stomach. She had never felt so alone in her life.
