Chapters Apple Jack walked into her room, Rainbow Dash still on her back, now unconscious. She then gently placed her on the soft bed, checking her body for any wounds or bruises. Not finding any, she sighed in relief. Well, at least there aren't any injuries... She looked down at Rainbow, still worried. 'Ah wonder what she needed to speak to me about... She gently nudged Rainbow, then waited. When she didn't move or respond, she began to leave.
"Urgh..." Rainbow Dash moaned, her wings aching from moving way too fast in such a short time. Apple Jack turned around, then sat back down next to Rainbow.
"Hi, Sugar Cube. You feelin' all right?" She looked at her again, then noticed the one spot she hadn't checked yet: her wings. Before Rainbow had a chance to respond, she began to gently pat her wings, checking them for any bruises.
"Ow..." Rainbow Dash bit her lip as Apple Jack touched the sore spot.
"Oops, sorry." The orange earth pony pulled her hooves away from her friend's wings.
"It's okay," She attempted to move her wings, but couldn't without an unbearable pain. She winced as her wings ached badly, the pain back again.
"Listen, Sugar Cube... About earlier..."Apple Jack looked at Rainbow with a worried look. "What did you want to talk to me about?" She then looked at Rainbow's wings, which were twisted at very odd angles.
"Well..." Rainbow Dash thought for a moment. Should she really share that information now? She thought again, then made her decision. She would tell her as much as she knew, besides that they were her parents. So, that's what she did. She told Apple Jack about the 2 ponies that were dead, and described the location she saw them at.
"Oh..." Apple Jack thought for a moment, then knew what she should say. "Well then, let's go." She offered another pony back ride, but Rainbow Dash declined. She could walk, after all.... Both ponies then galloped out of Sweet Apple Acres and headed towards Cloudsdale.
Rainbow Dash woke up in a hospital bed with an IV in her hoof.
"Unh... what?" She looked around the room, eyes beginning to focus. A small door opened across from her room, and she saw an orange earth pony laying in bed, still unconscious. That orange pony.... was Apple Jack.
Apple Jack opened her eyes slowly, her body still weak from her extreme temperature and throbbing head.
"Urgh..." She moaned, her eyes falling on a doctor wheeling a cart into her room. She didn't move, and she controlled her outbursts the best she could. She breathed really quietly, and the doctor began to run some tests. The moment he finished, he inserted a needle into Apple Jack's IV, and she almost immediately fell asleep.
Rainbow Dash tried to move to get up, but couldn't. A nearby nurse noticed her struggling, frowning. She immediately came over and said, "You need your rest, Rainbow Dash. She then inserted some medicine into Rainbow Dash's IV. Rainbow Dash suddenly couldn't stay awake, and with one final struggle and a sigh, she fell into a very deep sleep. Rainbow Dash looked around. She was in front of a cemetery. A... quiet, empty cemetery. What's going on? She thought. Where is everypony? Suddenly, she felt a hoof on her shoulder.
"AAAAH!" She screamed, flying into the air and grabbing onto a cloud. Apple Jack laughed, looking up at Rainbow.
"Wow, you're more nervous than a worm in an apple on cider makin' day." Eyeing her again, she then said, "You all right, sugar cube?" She watched Rainbow for a couple of seconds.
"Yeah... I'll be fine." Rainbow Dash flew down, landing next to Apple Jack with a relieved sigh. "Phew... I thought for a second you were someone else... or something else." She looked at Apple Jack curiously. "When did you get here, anyway?" Apple Jack sighed, looking at Rainbow again with a weird look.
"Well... when the doctor inserted some medicine into my hoof, I showed up here." She looked around, then her eyes landed on a tomb stone. Hmm... I wonder whose that could be... She began to slowly walk towards it. As soon as she was halfway to it, Rainbow Dash followed, constantly looking over her shoulder nervously.
Rainbow Dash gulped, then noticed the familiar words on the tomb stone. Wait a minute... I know who that is.... She dashed up to it, reading it quickly. It read: Here lay Sweet Apple and Washington, loving parents to Big Macintosh, Apple Bloom, and Apple Jack. 1976 - 2009 The moment she finished reading it, she stopped Apple Jack.
Apple Jack looked at her curiously, then managed to shake her off.
"'Ah'm just wonderin' whose that is. Can I at least read it?"
Rainbow Dash sighed, then sat down in defeat.
"Fine, if that's what you really want." She sat there, watching Apple Jack.
Apple Jack sighed. What is with her today? Well, I guess it really shouldn't matter... She put a hoof on Rainbow Dash's shoulder. "You know what? It didn't really matter to me anyway. Let's go." She then walked past the tomb stone, not caring if Rainbow followed her or not.
After about a minute or so, Rainbow Dash followed her. Here we go...
Suddenly, something moved in the bushes in front of Apple Jack. She jumped a bit, then rolled her eyes. Ugh, who cares? It's probably just a little woodland critter anyway. She walked past the moving bushes, ignoring them almost completely.
The moment Rainbow Dash saw a chicken head pop out, she knew.
"RUN!" She shouted, dashing past Apple Jack at an unbelievable speed.
Apple Jack turned her head, then saw the chicken head sticking out of the bush. She laughed, then walked over to it.
"Aww, it's just a chicken, Rainbow. Completely harmless." Suddenly, the "chicken" popped out of the bush in front of her, it's green, scaly wings flapping as it rose into the air. "Uh oh," She said, her body immobilized in stone.
The moment Rainbow Dash saw her, she facehoofed herself. Ugh, does this pony EVER learn? By the time she got there, it was too late. Apple Jack was encased in stone. Rainbow Dash grabbed her stone friend, placed her on her back, and dashed off, stopping in an empty cave after she managed to shake off the cockatrice.
Apple Jack opened her eyes, her body aching and sore from all of the needles that were inserted into her. She tried to move, but a cord prevented her. She found her body strapped to an examination table, a cord going down her throat and another attached to an IV in her hoof. She struggled in panic, trying to escape. Her strength would not do her any good here, though. She was stuck. She quickly calmed herself down.
Instead of panicking and struggling, she should be thinking of a smart way out of there. She immediately thought of two different ways to escape: 1: She could scream for help, and someone would come and rescue her. Immediately after thinking of that, she dismissed it. Nope... that sounds more like somethin' Rarity would do... And that left.... 2: She could try biting the straps holding her. Well.... that might work.... She turned her neck and lowered it so she could get her mouth close enough.... Then tried to do just that.
A few moments later, after she had tried to bite the ropes as hard as she could, her head began to hurt again. She ignored it and continued to bite the ropes. Suddenly, her head began to throb, the pain becoming really really intense. She could barely handle it. She struggled as hard as she could, her head hurting so bad that her eyes began to water. The moment the room began to spin...
A doctor walked in the room, then noticed Apple Jack struggling against the ropes, tears streaming down her face as she did so. He quickly ran over to her and lifted her hoof, inserting another needle and then stepping back.
Apple Jack felt the medicine flow throw her, then her head stopped throbbing and went numb. She felt really calm... and her eyes stopped watering.
The doctor noticed her calming down, watched her sink back down onto the table and relax, and then he began to look at her test results. They showed she had a bad concussion and fever, and it looked as though she must have had both of them for a long time.
Apple Jack was completely calm, laying on the table in silence. The moment the doctor finished looking at the results...
Rainbow Dash looked around, still somewhat confused. Apple Jack was laying on the ground next to her, breathing softly. She must be dreaming.... Rainbow Dash thought, looking at the orange mare. But... how can she be dreaming if we're both inside a dream right now? She looked around the small field, then her eyes landed on a small cemetery entrance. Suddenly, the entire dream came back to her, and she was reliving it.... All of it ending when she passed out. She now understood what she was doing before.... But she didn't know why Apple Jack was asleep. Suddenly, Apple Jack opened her eyes.
"Urgh... Hey sugar cube." She said, her eyes landing on Rainbow. Rainbow Dash sighed.
"Hey, AJ." She eyed the mare with a curious look. "Why were you... asleep?" She tilted her head and waited for an answer.
"Sugar cube... have you forgotten we're in some sort of dream?" Apple Jack sighed, looking at Rainbow. Rainbow Dash stared back at her.
"Well... yeah... I knew that..." She shook her head hard. "But... that's not what I meant... I just... oh, never mind." She got to her hooves.
"So... what now?" Apple Jack got to her hooves. Why are we both here? Is something wrong with us? She thought to herself. She sighed, then walked over to the entrance of the cemetery.
After a moment, Rainbow Dash followed. Gee, I wonder why AJ and I are in the same dream, Rainbow Dash thought. I mean, it's kind of cool, but also kind of strange. Is this... supposed to happen? She walked over to a random grave stone, reading it slowly and carefully. It read: Here lay Firefly and Spectral Dasher, loving parents of Rainbow Dash.1976-2013 The moment she finished reading the tomb stone, her entire heart shattered. She remembered finding the pink mare and indigo stallion on the ground dead near Cloudsdale, remembered going to AJ and telling her about finding them, she remembered AJ collapsing and having to carry her to the Ponyville Hospital, and she remembered waking up in a hospital bed. All of those memories, plus everything else that led up to this moment in her own dream. She couldn't take it. She just.... couldn't. She fell over, her eyes wide with fear, denial, sadness, and regret.
Apple Jack had seen Rainbow fall over, and she came over, looking at her worriedly.
"Are you okay, sugar cube?" Rainbow Dash twitched, but didn't respond.
Rainbow Dash didn't move. She looked up at AJ, but still didn't say anything. Her eyes began to water.
"Aww, sugar cube..." Apple Jack's eyes also began to water, so she grabbed Rainbow and hugged her. Rainbow Dash cried really hard. But... Apple Jack held in her tears the best she could.
"I remember losing mah parents..." She looked up at the sky, then began to describe the entire event to Rainbow. "It was a bright summer's day, and 'Ah was with both of my parents at a festival. 'Ah was just a filly at the time, so I was carried around on my mother Sweet Apple's head."
Rainbow Dash nodded, listening intently.
"The festival was great, and it was sunny for four hours 'er so... but eventually, it started rainin'. My parents then saw a small filly hanging off the edge of a tent." Her eyes watered, but she still continued. "A bolt of lightnin' hit the tent, and it lit on fire, the filly screamin' all the while. My parents put me, Big Mac, and Apple Bloom with Granny Smith, and told her to lead us to shelter. So... Granny smith carried Apple Bloom on her back and led me and Big Mac to a small building with clear windows... where we watched 'mah parents." Tears began to stream down her face, but still she continued. "The filly was losing her grip on the tent, but 'mah mother jumped up and grabbed her with her teeth, jumping down from the tent. Little did she know...." The orange mare was crying now, her eyes dark red and puffy, tears streaming down her face, and small breaths making her pause between words. "A bolt... of lightnin'.... was comin'... And.... she and 'mah father.... were struck.... and fell dead..... near the tent.... the filly was still alive..... she was lucky... but..... but....." She couldn't finish. She was sobbing uncontrollably, sitting on the ground and holding her face in her hooves.
Rainbow Dash came over, placing a hoof on her shoulder. "You're lucky... in a way.... at least you know how your parents died.... I am completely clueless as to how mine died.... They.... They...." She couldn't finish her sentence either, she also was sobbing, hugging AJ again. Both of the mares hugged each other tightly and cried until they both had no tears left and were exhausted.
Soon, Apple Jack felt the same sensation as before, her head and body aching this time.
"Ugh.... Urgh... Unh..." The dream world rippled, and her dream self fell over as she exited the dream, leaving Rainbow Dash alone.
Rainbow Dash sighed, picking the dream Apple Jack up and carrying her to a new spot. This time, she explored the secret tunnel beneath the cave, finding it led to a small, abandoned cottage. She laid AJ down on one of the two small cots, then stood on the other, waiting for her real self to wake up. Eventually, after fifteen minutes of standing, sitting, and pacing, she began to ache, and the dream world rippled yet again as yet another pony began to exit.
"Ugh... it would be nice if waking up didn't hurt so much..." She said as she finished her exit and her dream self fell over, hitting her head on the headboard of the cot.
"Ugh.... Ow...." Rainbow Dash touched her head, then looked at her hoof, which luckily wasn't covered in blood. Geez... I almost got a concussion.... in a hospital? She giggled a bit and thought of how the doctors and nurses would react to that. She stretched herself out, the cords and strange machines gone. Her body felt strangely refreshed, almost as though she had recently had a hot bubble bath. She looked around the room. It was still the same room.... same boring wallpaper and ceiling, same boring green curtains, and same boring old green patient gown. She sighed, her wings still sore. She tried one more time to move them, and finally succeeded. She tried to flap them, and was easily able to do that. Geez... How long was I in here? She looked at the nurse who just entered, smiling. The nurse smiled back.
"We have some great news, Ms. Rainbow Dash. Today you will be released from the hospital!" Rainbow Dash flapped her wings, rising into the air as high as she could without hitting her head on the ceiling.
"Yes!" She said, doing a small flip.
"But..." The nurse frowned, waiting for Rainbow Dash to come down from the ceiling. After a minute or so, she did. "Your friend won't be coming out for a while yet. She has a bad concussion and a fever. She must have had both for months..." Rainbow Dash frowned, looking at the nurse.
"What? Really? She was fine before I brought her here.... and before she fell over..." She frowned even more, really upset that AJ would be stuck in the boring hospital. "How much longer will she be here for?" The nurse frowned, then said,
"Three weeks, at the least." She smiled a bit. "But... I will extend visiting hours a bit for you." Rainbow Dash put a small smile on her face as well. "Well... at least one of us gets to leave... right?" The nurse nodded.
"Are you ready to be checked out?" Rainbow Dash nodded.
"Good. Follow me, please." The nurse led Rainbow Dash to the checkout, giving her the bill, the paperwork, and the forms to take home. Rainbow Dash frowned at the price, but didn't argue against it. She then flew out the big glass doors. I guess I'll visit AJ later... She flew up to Cloudsdale in about ten seconds flat, landing in front of her house. Here we go... She walked through the open door of the quiet cloud house, knowing she had done the impossible. She had gotten over the deaths of her parents in less than a month. Well... almost. As her eyes began to water at the sight of the empty house, she reassured herself. Be strong. Just... be strong.
Rainbow Dash dashed through the sky, feeling the cold wind in her bright mane. Today was a special day, a day she would never forget. Her birthday. She looped around excitedly, then landed in front of Sweet Apple Acres. She then trotted through the entrance, admiring the shiny red apples hanging off of the lush green trees.
"Apple Jack! I'm here!" The blue pegasus smiled, looking around for the orange mare. She raised an eyebrow when she noticed the farm was empty.
"AJ?" She looked around curiously, but still didn't find anyone.
"Where is everypony?" The blue mare trotted over to the barn, opening the big red doors with her hooves. Suddenly, a bright pink pony jumped out in front of her.
"Surprise!" Pinkie Pie, organizer of all parties, stood there with a huge grin spread across her face. Then Twilight, Fluttershy, Apple Jack, and Rarity appeared behind her, all of them smiling.
"Happy birthday, Rainbow Dash!" They all shouted together. Rainbow Dash smiled even wider.
"Aww, you guys are the best!" She pulled her best friends into a tight hug. The party went on just like any other birthday party Pinkie usually plans, with party games like pin the tail on the pony, 20 questions, charades, and musical chairs. It all ended with a conga line and a group hug.
"Best party ever!" Rainbow Dash said as the 6 friends finished their group hug. "You're the best friends a pony could ask for," She looked at each of them in turn. Then she smiled.
"See you tomorrow?" Twilight asked.
"Yes, of course!" Rainbow Dash then took off, heading to Cloudsdale. When she was nearly under Cloudsdale, she stopped. There was something strange down below her... But what? She was going to ignore it, but curiosity got the best of the bright blue Pegasus, and she flew lower, closer to the strange object. As she got closer, she realized that the object was not just one object, but two! She dashed down even closer, then stopped, paralazed and shocked. No... This can't be... She rubbed her eyes, then looked again. No, her eyes weren't playing tricks on her. It really was them... The blue Pegasus flew as fast as she could and as far as she could. She ended up at Sweet Apple Acres again, panting and teary eyed. When Apple Jack saw her friend again, she walked over to her.
"AJ... We need to.... Talk...." Rainbow Dash panted, wheezing a bit.
"What's wrong, Sugar Cube?" Apple Jack had never seen Rainbow like this before... Was she hurt by something? What was going on? The orange mare dismissed her thoughts quickly. 'Ah shouldn't think about that right now. I should help her. And that's exactly what she did. She picked up Rainbow, put her on her back, and carried her inside the barn.
The two mares reached the spot where the two dead ponies lay, and Apple Jack suddenly understood everything. She understood why she had flown so fast, why she had passed out, why she hadn't told her who the two ponies were. She suddenly was reliving the moments of her parents' deaths. Her head ached fiercely, but she wouldn't let that stop her.
"I-I'm so sorry...." She managed, her head burning.
"It's not your fault... It's mine.... I just... Wasn't loyal enough to them.... I was too late.... WAAAH!" Suddenly, Rainbow Dash was crying. Yes, the element of loyalty and awesomeness was crying. But it wasn't her fault. She couldn't control it. Apple Jack hugged her tightly, her head not throbbing anymore. She remembered when she felt pain just like this. She remembered every second of it. And now... Watching it, hearing it.... Her head began to throb again, but she forced herself to stand tall. She did her best to stay on her hooves, but eventually, after two full hours of Rainbow's sobbing, she couldn't hold herself up any longer. She dropped to the ground, her head pounding nonstop, and Rainbow's sobs faded to whimpers... Which faded to whispers of,
"Apple Jack? Apple Jack? Are you okay?" And eventually, she couldn't move, and she was barely breathing, sweating heavily. Rainbow Dash noticed AJ's heavy sweating and immediately threw her onto her back, running as fast as her legs would carry her to the Ponyville hospital. As soon as Rainbow Dash arrived, she placed her friend on the ground. Just when a nurse showed up, she fainted.
The next day, the moment the effects of the cockatrice's stony glare wore off, Apple Jack slowly opened her eyes. Ugh... what happened? She looked around, hoping she would find some answer in the dark cave. To her misfortune, she found nothing. No Rainbow Dash, no evidence of where the heck she was, and no memory of the previous day. She sighed, attempting to get up. The moment she succeeded, Rainbow Dash walked in the cave.
"Oh, hey.... you're finally up." She immediately tossed AJ a small corn cob she had found growing nearby. "Here... eat up." She walked over and sat down next to her, quickly inhaling hers.
Before Apple Jack took her first bite, she looked over at Rainbow.
"Do you... remember what happened before I woke up?" She asked, waiting patiently for an answer. She did want to know after all, since she couldn't remember anything about it.
Rainbow Dash sighed, tossing her empty corn cob outside.
"Yeah... I remember all of it. A cockatrice popped out of a bush in front of you, turned you to stone... and you were motionless until a couple minutes ago... I'm guessing." She then looked at Apple Jack, waiting for her reaction.
Before Apple Jack could answer, her head began to ache.
"Ugh... Urgh..... Ungh..." She moaned, rubbing her head with her front hooves. The dream world rippled as she began to awaken, her dream self falling over and landing on the cold stone floor.
Rainbow Dash saw AJ fall over, and quickly dashed over to her.
"AJ? You okay? AJ? AJ? Hey, quit it. C'mon, wake up already. AJ? AJ?" The dream Apple Jack didn't move, and Rainbow Dash immediately picked her up, put her on her back, and began to look around for something to revive her with. The moment she found something, her head really hurt. "Ow... That... really stings.... Ugh...." She fell over and dropped Apple Jack next to her, the revival herbs falling into the lake near them.
Rainbow Dash opened her eyes, then stretched her hooves out, careful to keep her wings folded in. After she had finished stretching, she looked around the room. Around her were small machines, all of them attached with cords to her head. She was on an observation table, and she ached everywhere for some weird reason.
"Wha..." She looked around, wondering why she was here instead of in her hospital room. Why are there machines around me? She wondered. She looked at each of them in turn, still not knowing what they were. Is this some kind of cruel joke? She sighed, then looked up at the ceiling. Wherever I am... It's extremely boring. As if on cue, a nurse walked in. Rainbow Dash struggled against the straps holding her after seeing what the nurse was holding. The nurse was holding a small mask, which she was trying to place on Rainbow Dash's face. It had a cord attached to it, and it was see-through.
Rainbow Dash struggled hard, trying to escape the straps' tight embrace around her arms, trying to think of some way she could get out. She tried to scream, but the moment her mouth came open, the mask was on her, and it was too late. She held her breath, not wanting to breathe in any of the gas she thought would knock her out again. She wanted to stay awake for a bit longer. Her body was still aching, but that didn't matter. She held her breath for as long as she could, until finally, she began to feel woozy from a lack of oxygen. She had to take a breath. But... she couldn't... She had to. She took one breath... and the gas.... didn't knock her out? What was going on? The moment she realized what it was, she was gulping the oxygen down thankfully, her body still aching for some strange reason, but she didn't care anymore. She had oxygen. She was awake and alive.
She was... a small bit of medicine was inserted into her IV. Dang it! Why hadn't she thought of that? She didn't feel woozy though. No, this wasn't that type of medicine. Her painful spots went numb. Oh.... well, at least she was still awake. And... she was a little thankful that she had oxygen and no pain... but.... why were those machines hooked up to her? The nurse gently pushed a tank of some more of the wonderful oxygen into the machine hooked up to the mask. But... it wasn't oxygen. No... it was.... something else.... Suddenly, Rainbow Dash couldn't think straight. Her head was spinning, and she was giggling uncomfortably. She was... really.... happy? Oh.... laughing gas.... Darn it!
The nurse unstrapped her, and she picked her up, placing her on a bed and then covering her with a warm blanket. Unfortunately, the machines were still hooked up to her, but Rainbow Dash couldn't think straight enough to care. Her hoof was lifted into the air, and a small needle was inserted. The mask was taken off, and Rainbow Dash was breathing oxygen again, the gas wearing off. She wasn't drowsy though... at least, not yet... The nurse gently pushed the apparently mobile bed into her hospital room along with the machines, then took the needle out for a moment. She then inserted another.... Rainbow Dash prepared herself.... and was sucked back into her dream self.
