What would it feel like to have your entire world taken from you, only being able to catch rare glimpses of hope that last but only moments at a time? How would you understand living your life in a world of dense fog that you can't find your way out of? No matter how hard you try, you never reach the finish line. You never capture what was lost. You never recover. That is what it's like for my best friend, Rainbow Dash. Ever since that day, she's been flying around in circles, struggling to regain the memories she doesn't even realize she lost. Ever since that day, she's been suffering unimaginable pain, and she's not even aware of it. Ever since that day, our lives were changed forever.
I had been picking apples at Sweet Apple Acres since dawn as I usually did when a familiar, gravelly voice reached my ears. It was a voice I enjoyed listening to, even on bad days.
"Applejack! Hey, Applejack!"
I straightened myself after putting a large bucket of fresh apples in the cart with the others, wiping my forehead with the long sleeve of my shirt. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see her: beautiful and long multicolored hair, intense and confident eyes of a strong rose-pink, lightly tanned skin, and stunning light blue wings that she took pride in more than anything else. As she approached me, I turned to face her, noticing that she seemed hyped up about something. I flashed her a quick, casual smile.
"What's up, Rainbow?" I asked.
I watched as the young teenager reached into her back pocket, taking out six tickets. She was beaming, more than I'd seen her the day she got to meet the Wonderbolts after rescuing our friend Rarity from what could have been a fatal fall during a talent show.
"Check it!"
I took the tickets from her and studied them, before feeling my heart leap into my throat. I felt like I was about to explode with utter joy and shock, which made me realize just how excited she must have been. The tickets were for an air-show sponsored by none other than the Wonderbolts, and Rainbow was the main event. She had been practicing for this for years, and it was finally her time to shine.
"This is amazing, sugarcube!" I cried with glee, looking up at her.
"I know, right?" Rainbow Dash grinned, her eyes sparkling with an almost unbridled excitement. "It's going to be so totally awesome!"
"Have ya' told the others yet?" I asked curiously, still holding and looking over the tickets.
"Of course not! I wanted you to be the first to know."
I felt heat trying to rush into my face at her words. She always put me first before anyone else. Although she didn't say it directly, her words and actions were sometimes crystal clear in implying that she cared for me more than the others. It made me feel incredibly special, and stirred something inside me whenever it happened. This time was no exception.
"Thank 'ya kindly, Rainbow," I said after fighting off the blush. "Well, I just finished my apple pickin' for today. Why don't we go let the others know about this?"
"Duh!" Rainbow Dash laughed, before her wings unfolded from her back.
As she took flight, I noticed she hung low to the ground so that she could keep close to me while I started moving into town. We talked idly together, enjoying each other's company and the nice weather that spring had to offer. It didn't take long before we reached the small, busy town of Ponyville*. People were bustling around trying to get their afternoon activities done before sundown. I could see my little sister and her two friends lazing together outside the bakery, Sugarcube Corner, where the Cakes and another of our friends lived. They were sampling cupcakes and other sweets that the couple had made. As I looked toward the clock tower to check on the time, Rainbow spotted one of our four close friends.
"Twilight!"
I looked on as Rainbow easily flew over the cluster of people, hovering before dropping to her feet beside a tall, young girl about our age. She was just exitting the library, which doubled as her residence. She had tanned skin a little darker than Rainbow's, long dark blue hair and dark violet eyes. Her hair was streaked with one pink strip and one purple set next to each other. She was Twilight Sparkle, an incredibly organized girl with amazing magical powers. A child about half her size followed her, dutifully carrying a pen and a pad of paper. He had short, green hair held back into a bobtail and bright purple eyes. He was Spike, Twilight's faithful, dragon-blooded assistant. Because he had the blood of a dragon, he was capable of summoning flames from his body. He also had a weird ability to send and receive letters from Celestia, the imperial princess of Ponyville. I say weird because whenever he receives a letter, he belches it out of his mouth in a puff of magical smoke. And to send one, he uses his fire breath to disintegrate it into magic ash and let the wind carry it to her.
"Hi, Rainbow Dash," Twilight said in greeting, smiling gently. "What are you up to?"
I pulled out two of the five remaining tickets, giving them to her. After studying it her eyes widened.
"Wow!" she exclaimed, looking rather impressed and gleeful, but not as much as I had been. "Congratulations! Spike and I will definately come!"
Rainbow Dash gleamed with pride, grinning and puffing out her chest. I smiled, then focused on Twilight and Spike again.
"What are ya'll up to?"
"We were heading out to Town Square to get some supplies. We're running low on pens," Spike said.
Twilight nodded. "Yep. We seem to run out of those really quickly."
"Gee, I wonder why," Rainbow teased with a snicker.
I couldn't help but join her, chuckling a bit. She and I had always teased Twilight growing up. It was just our way of bonding and having fun, and Twilight knew that all too well. She enjoyed it, for she usually laughed right along with us and took our harmless provocations in stride.
A few minutes of idle chit-chat later, Rainbow and I headed off to the bakery to find Pinkie Pie. As we approached, I waved to my kid sister and her two best friends, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. They were all very different in personality, but just like us, they were close-knit and always had fun together.
"Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo was up on her feet and at Rainbow's side in seconds.
The girl seemed extremely attached to her, and I could understand why. She was incredible, despite her arrogant and competitive mindset. She was dependable, friendly, and an amazingly skilled flier. Scootaloo looked up to her, and had been from day one.
"Hey there, kiddo!" Rainbow Dash smiled, patting the young girl's short, dull pink hair. "What are you guys up to?"
"We're taste-testin' for Mr. and Mrs. Cake."
I looked at my sister as she spoke, smiling warmly. Although she was sometimes a bit of a bother, I love my little redheaded rascal of a sister.
"Well, don't stay out too long now, y'hear?" I warned her. "It's startin' to get dark an' I don't want ya' out too late, Apple Bloom."
"Don't worry so much, Applejack!" she said with a light smile. "Ya' worry too much about me. I can take care of myself."
I smirked, then nodded once. "Yer right, sorry. I jus' care about 'ya, is all."
Apple Bloom hugged me softly. "We'll be fine, promise!"
I patted her head, hugging back. "Right. Well, ya'll be good!"
With that, I followed Rainbow Dash into the bakery, looking around. It smelled amazing; sugar, frosting, fruit fillings, bread, chocolate, and a mess of other sweets mixing together to form an aroma that would make anyone salivate more than usual. Behind the main counter was Mrs. Cake, a slightly chubby woman with cherry-pink hair. She was one of the kindest people in town, though there were lots of other friendly faces, too. Just as I start to ask if she had seen Pinkie Pie, a familiarly loud and overly-happy squeal rang through the room. Coming out of the back of the bakery was a girl with long, pink hair in a mess of bubbly curls, and bright, gleeful eyes. She skipped over to us, grinning as she usually did.
"Hey!"
"Hi, Pinkie Pie," Rainbow said, smiling a bit before nudging me with her elbow.
I lightly smacked at her arm, laughing, "I know, I know, gettin' it. Hold yer horses, Rainbow."
I pulled out a ticket and handed it to Pinkie Pie. The girl's bright gaze grew wide with surprise before she jumped at Rainbow, hugging her neck and giggling almost insanely. I swear, she's not on drugs or anything. She is almost always this exuberant. That's just how she is. And we wouldn't ask for anything less of her.
"I take it you're glad for me too?" Rainbow laughed, hugging back briefly.
"You bet'cha!" Pinkie Pie grinned. "I can't wait! It's gonna be so fun! We should throw a--" She gasped overdramatically. "We should throw a party in celebration!"
Rainbow smiled. "That sounds awesome, Pinkie Pie. You do host the best parties around."
Pinkie Pie squealed and giggled. "I should get started on planning the decorations and games and cake and ice cream and..." She continued talking to herself excitedly as she hopped off to go start party planning.
I looked at Rainbow, and she and I traded glances before laughing together as we left the building. There were only two people we needed to give tickets to now: Fluttershy and Rarity. Like me, they both live on the outskirts of Ponyville. It wasn't long before we found ourselves on the doorstep of Rarity's home, which was also her fashion shop, Carousel Boutique. As I knocked, I could hear her inside, mumbling to herself or perhaps her pet Persian cat, Opalescence. Though, we all just call her Opal.
As the door opened, we walked in and spotted Rarity pacing back and forth across the floor, a collection of differently colored ribbon samples floating around her. She, like Twilight, had magical powers. She used her abilities to help her in her line of fashion work. I always kind of envied her, though. She was gorgeous; model thin, blemish-free pale complexion, long indigo hair that flourished down her back in large, silky curls, and light but striking make-up that brought out her blue eyes. Most of the Ponyville boys were wrapped around her finger simply due to her beauty. But she only had a soft spot for one person in particular, and the poor kid didn't even know it.
"Hi, girls," Rarity said, interrupting my train of thought.
"Hey, Rarity. We came by to give ya' somethin'," I said, holding out the next to last ticket.
Just like the light magenta aura surrounding the ribbons floating in the air, the same aura enveloped the ticket and pulled it lightly out of my fingers to dangle itself in Rarity's line of sight as she worked. Another thing I envy her for is the ability to multitask so effortlessly. After a moment, she turned, smiling at us.
"Congratulations, Rainbow Dash! I always knew you could make it this far."
Rainbow smirked, watching her. "Thanks. Oh, yeah! Pinkie Pie's going to be thro--"
"Throwing a party?" Rarity finished her sentence, smiling a bit.
"Yup! Can you make it?"
"Certainly!" Rarity grinned. "I do enjoy getting away from my work occasionally. It can sometimes be such a headache..."
I could easily tell she was trying to cover up the fact that she was dying to take a break. She may not have been a party-lover, but she did like to be surrounded by her friends, fun, and good food.
"Alrighty then, well, we'll be gettin' out of yer hair now. Sorry we interrupted ya'."
"Oh, it's no trouble at all. I enjoy your visits." She smiled, then waved as we left.
Finally, we headed off to Fluttershy's cottage. It was located at the entrance to the Everfree Forest, which was kind of ironic because of how Fluttershy typically is. She's afraid of her own shadow, most of the time, and living on the edge of a forest that has a reputation for being scary and full of monsters... well, you do the math.
As we arrived, we noticed Fluttershy outside in her front yard, lounging in a hammock with her eyes closed. She had fallen asleep reading it seemed, for the book was laying open on her face. She had long, wavy pink hair and fair skin. I smiled, then paused as I noticed Rainbow quietly flying over to her. I felt my heart stop for a moment. I glare at her with warning, shaking my head. If it were anyone else, I'd be all for the prank. But regarding Fluttershy and how she's incredibly easily frightened, I was skeptical and worried.
'Don't you dare!' I whisper.
Rainbow Dash didn't bother listening to me. Instead, she reached down and placed her face close to Fluttershy's, the book seperating them as she hovered over her using her wings to keep herself airborne. Suddenly, she pulled her hands apart, before clapping her hands together loudly. It sounded like a lightning strike. Upon that sound, Fluttershy's body jolted and she sat up quickly. It was too sudden for Rainbow to avoid, and as the book fell, their heads clocked together with an audible 'clunk'!
I stared, then quickly covered my mouth to try and stifle laughter. I felt sorry for Fluttershy, but at the same time their heads colliding like that was just too funny to witness. Fluttershy fell back onto the hammock, and Rainbow fell on top of her. The weight shift caused the hammock to swing awkwardly before dumping them both onto the floor in a groaning heap. Rainbow sat up slowly, rubbing her forehead slowly. Fluttershy whimpered, tears in her eyes as she felt the knot forming on her own.
Rainbow blushed, then stood before helping Fluttershy to her feet. "Sorry about that," Rainbow rubbed the back of her neck nervously. "It was just too good to resist."
"Y-You're mean," Fluttershy stammered quietly, pouting slightly.
As sorry as I felt for the girl, she was awfully cute like that. If I had to pick who out of the six of us was the cutest, I'd have to say Fluttershy. She just had this light, innocent feel about her.
"Sorry, Fluttershy," Rainbow apologized again.
I walked over to them, gently patting Fluttershy on the head to try and cheer her up. "I apologize too," I said, shooting a quick glare Rainbow's way. "I tried to stop her."
Fluttershy sniffed, then slowly seemed to smile forgivingly. "Oh, that's alright... What did you two need? It's rare to see just the two of you coming out here together." She paused, wilting slightly. "Y-You're not going to the Everfree Forest are you?"
We both stared at her, then laughed.
"No, no, not at all!" I grinned, before handing her the last extra ticket I had with me.
Fluttershy tilted her head, before taking it and looking at it. Her bright, cyan eyes grew larger and larger. Finally, she threw her arms up into the air, grinning wide. "Yay...!"
It was a bit quiet, but it was still a congratulatory cheer. Rainbow and I looked at each other, then smiled.
"Thanks alot, Fluttershy," Rainbow grinned proudly. "I know I can count on you to cheer me on with the others."
Fluttershy nodded and blushed, still beaming excitedly. "I'll do my best."
After some idle chatting, I noticed the sun was just about disappearing beneath the horizon. I looked at them, then yawned, stretching my arms up over my head for a moment.
"I think we should get goin', Rainbow."
Rainbow nodded, yawning too. "You're right. Gotta get some rest before the big day tomorrow! See ya'!"
With that, she took to the skies and quickly disappeared into the night. Little did we all know, her memories would never reach tomorrow.
