When I'm Old and Grey

by PaxusJKL

Rating: teen
Tags: Sad, Romance, Adventure, Tragedy
Length: 11058

With great care, Derpy tries to nurse her long-time lover back to health with great hope.

Derpy never was the popular type, but she was never known to run away. When her closest friend and lover is injured in an accident she feels she caused, she works tirelessly to nurse him to health. As the downhill slide begins, Derpy only then realizes that she must try to spend as much time with him as possible before he fades away.

As Derpy tries to make his life worthwhile in his last days, she learns more about herself and their relationship than she ever could have before. Maybe, just maybe, the magic of friendship can work it's miracles one more time…

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2012-03-20 07:08:57 UTC

Village Grey

When I'm old and Grey: Chapter One

"Friendship is Love without his wings!"

Lord Byron

= = =

NOTE: I worked VERY hard on this and the others chapters, if you could PLEASE rate, follow, track or spread this, I would be the happiest pony in the world! <3

Derpy galloped down the small dirt road, sun shining on her face, warming her body up just as fast as the morning air could cool it. Buildings blurred as she ran faster and faster, beating her wings ever so slightly to gain speed. She liked to run her mail early in the morning, something about the quiet air before the birds started to sing; about seeing the sunrise explode in front of her; the cool dew on the grass as she ran through it. Those things, and the fact that she had, quite literally, less ponies to run into.

As she passed town hall, she grabbed a handful of letters from her messenger pouch and daringly tried to toss the mail into the mailbox and gallop on, wasting no time. She slowed down as her letters hit the gravel uselessly and scattered everywhere. The rain from yesterdays storm still puddled in the gravel, soaking into her letters as she picked them up and placed them in the mailbox. She let out a massive sigh and vowed to herself not to do that again.

As she began her gallop again, she reminded herself that she wasn't the most coordinated of ponies, and that there was a reason everyone told her to slow down and stop being so clumsy. Her chest tightened up for a moment, but she ran it away, trying to maintain a positive attitude. It was her fault that people didn't like her anyways. It was because she was so clumsy that people didn't invite her to parties anymore. If only she was more coordinated, people might accept her more.

She passed a small store, slowing down to deposit its mail and take a peek through the window. She saw a few nicely colored ponies rummaging around inside, working through stock and preparing to open for the new business day. Derpy smiled, trying to get their attention by tapping lightly on the window.

A thin blue mare took a look at her, and gestured for her to go away, a mean look on her face. Derpy stopped smiling and laid her ears back, facing her head down as she walked away. She pushed herself to gallop the pain in her heart away again. Things were very rough, especially now-a-days, when Derpy was working for the mail-service. She had a hard time sorting and delivering mail and it didn't make her a very popular mare.

Oh!

As she passed her last delivery, she double checked the address on the mail-bundle. After checking that it was exactly right with the building, she carefully placed it in the mailbox. She sighed, it being her last delivery. As she continued her day, she turned around and began to walk slowly home, trying to enjoy what last bits of calm there were as the city began to wake up. She could already hear the noises of early carts as they rolled down the roads that sprawled throughout the deceptively large town of Ponyville.

"Hey!" Derpy heard a voice call out to her, audibly angry.

Derpy turned her head to her right, and spotted a fairly large stallion practically storm out of a small apartment, marching straight towards her. She turned to greet him, and while trying desperately to focus her lazy eye on him, attempted her best to be nice.

"Hey there miiister!" She greeted him in her classically confused voice, trying to bring out the best in the obviously mad light brown stallion.

"Derpy! In the name of Celestia! Can't you get someone else to deliver the mail?" He yelled frustratedly at her, "You've delivered the same flier to me three days in row! Is this some sort of funny joke to you?"

He ranted for a few more moments, each sentence pushing Derpy closer to the ground, her ears laid back and her eyes unfocused again.

"I'm really sorry mister," She peeped out amidst tears, "I won't do it again..."

"Oh you won't will you?" He continued to scream, "Well I think-"

He stopped suddenly as a bell chimed from the nearby bakery, its door opening. Mrs. Cake walked coldly out, eying the situation. Narrowing her eyes at the stallion, she spoke in a harsh authoritative tone,

"Now you leave that mare alone RIGHT NOW or I may just have you reported for harassment!" She yelled at the stallion, putting a shocked look on his face.

He narrowed his eyes right back at her for a moment or two, then gave a large huff at Derpy and stormed back into his apartment.

Derpy just sat there for a moment, tears attempting to soak into the ground as they fell. When she looked to her left, Mrs. Cake was gone, inside baking or cooking again.

And so she was alone again.

As she walked forlornly back to her house, the sun still shone brighter and brighter, giving her, at least a little, hope for a new day.

Later on, deep inside her basement, where the troubles of the world would not bother her, Derpy tested her sight again. She crumpled up paper after paper and attempted to toss it into the garbage can on the opposite side of the room.

Too far left.

Too far right.

Too far.

Too close.

Backwards.

No matter how hard she tried to focus those broken eyes of hers, she couldn't toss it straight. Despite her best efforts to compensate, she couldn't accomplish even a simple task like that.

No matter how many days, no matter how many months.

Tears rolled down her cheeks onto the soft carpet, and her body shuddered violently as she let out her pain, crying like a little filly once more.

Crying like she did everyday.

Derpy was like everypony else inside. A beating heart that felt pain, a soul capable of love. But no one seemed to be capable of loving her.

If only she could fix these eyes.

= = =

Big Mac sat stoically, resting his hind legs after a long day of apple-bucking. The wind blew through the trees making noises like whispers in a crowded theater. The bright sun shone down from directly above, warming up his back and the grass he sat on. The day was perfect. The atmosphere excellent.

He felt like painting, or drawing, or writing...SOMETHING, if he knew how. Mac was quiet and kept to himself, but all that emotion had to go somewhere. As of right now, it HAD to go somewhere, but it didn't. He was never much of an author. Having tried to write a couple times, he discovered that his hand-writing was less than legible to anyone but him. He would have elicited someone else to help him write it down, but he doubted that he could recite one of his stories.

When it came to art, he could picture everything perfectly in his head. How he would draw it, what colors he would use, the size, shape, content. However as soon as he started to draw, his mind seemed to switch off, and he lost the mental image of what he was trying to convey.

Apple-bucking was truly what he cherished the most. Every season, every day when the apples were ready, he would silently kick them down, sometimes giving Applejack the day off from work to play with her friends. He could just work, and his mind would wander to that lovely little world inside his head. He loved to work, but work couldn't convey emotion could it? Work couldn't explain feelings or ideas. Work was just, well, work.

He chewed on a long piece of straw jutting out from between his front teeth, thinking to himself quietly. This WAS the lovely little world inside his head. Birds called from between the trees, clouds drifted by, let loose by the local weather team. He felt happy and warm in more ways than one. Although it was hard to think of anything but how beautiful the day was, his heart was set on somepony else.

In her house in Ponyville, a small grey pegasus lived alone, away from the world except for when she had to deliver her mail. It was a well known fact that her life at the moment was less than ideal. Everyday, ponies looked at her with poorly hidden disdain, just waiting for another moment where they could trip her up, or make fun of her. He had seen it multiple times since she had first admitted her liking for Mac, but every time, she waved him away from helping.

"You can't help me Big Macintosh." She had said after he had first tried to get involved, "They'll just make fun of you too."

He was hesitant to agree. After all, he was BIG Macintosh (as opposed to small Macintosh, or just Mac), and nopony in their right mind would ever think of making fun of him. People liked him. They looked up to him, even if he was a little on the quiet side. But to put her mind at ease about him, he had promised not to interfere if he saw he made fun of again. She then also came to the conclusion that if they were even seen together, she might just ruin his life. So (against all of his advice) she made him promise not to tell anyone that they we're even interested in each other.

As hard as it was, he had to not get involved in his marefriend's life and over the past 5 months its only got harder.

"Mac?" He heard a soft but slurred voice speak his name somewhere behind him, "It's me Mac."

Mac turned to see Derpy softly pushing her way out of a line of bushes along the fence line. He nodded his head, acknowledging her silently, as he usually did.

"Don't worry, no one saw me come in, your reputation is safe." She said with a small half-hearted dorky laugh, "Can we just...talk for a bit?"

He almost chuckled. If anypony had ever observed their times together, they would have a hard time defining it as a conversation. Conversations require 2 ponies. Derpy was usually deathly silent, or happily gabbing away in her usual 'derp' voice, with the former becoming more and more apparent these days. His heart went out to her everyday, but she refused his help again and again. He wanted to fix her, to always be there for her, to be her protector, but she wouldn't ever let him. The only times he was ever really protecting her were the times when they sat and cuddled.

"Eeyup." He gave his classic agreement to her previous question

Mac calmly trotted under the shade of a nearby apple tree, giving Derpy a cool blanket of grass to lay her tired rump down on. She gladly obliged, adding a little thank you at the end. When she wasn't excited, her voice was fairly understandable and he had spent enough time with her to be able to translate her slurred 'derp'-speak to plain Equestrian.

"I don't know what to do Mac," She started as she sat down next to him, "I just... I just don't know what went wrong."

Mac gave her a puzzling look, silently asking for more answers. She sighed and felt the knot in her throat grow larger.

"I'm too clumsy. I'm losing my friends..." Derpy felt the ache in her chest grow significantly, "I don't know what to do. I just don't know how to fix it. I know its my fault I'm so clumsy."

"Nope." He said simply and matter of factually.

Derpy smiled a bit. She didn't need a stallion of many words, she needed someone who could listen, and put things as simple as possible, so she could understand. She snuggled closer to him under the shade of the tree, resting her weary head against his beautiful soft mane, breathing him in pleasantly. He returned the favor as tears still rolled down her cheeks and she shuddered, the throes of crying taking over the moment.

Mac nuzzled her softly, nibbling at her neck the way she usually liked. He had grown accustomed to the gentle gestures he could give her. He may not be able to help her face the other ponies, but he never failed to do damage control when they were alone. Every spare minute they had together, he was cuddling her, or holding her, protecting her like some prized jewel. The truth was, she was a prized jewel, and her heart showed that. That red lump inside her may not have been made from ruby, or glistening red fire-stone, but it was just as precious and worth its value in gold.

Slowly, she brought her head up to his, kissing his strong neck along the way, and gave him a long kiss, closing her eyes for the entirety of it.

He was her peaceful sentinel.

Her quiet protector.

Her  silent guardian

And when she opened her eyes, and stared with all her might into his, all he could think was that her eyes were the most beautiful thing in the world.

= = =

Thank you for reading this far (assuming you have). I really would appreciate good quality feedback to this, as this story doesn't just end at one chapter. I already have more on the way.

Here's some stuff to criticize:

-Grammar

-Sentence structure

-Spelling

-Humor

-Romantic Exchanges

-Realism and plausibility of conversations

I love you all. <3

Wishblossom

When I'm Old and Grey: Chapter Two

A very small degree of hope is sufficient to cause the birth of love.

Stendhal

NOTE: I worked VERY hard on this and the others chapters, if you could PLEASE rate, follow, track or spread this, I would be the happiest pony in the world! <3

NOTE 2: I've ever-so-slightly rewritten everything to make the chapters longer, and you MAY notice a missing part! That is OK! Nothing is wrong :) just continue reading as you normally would, but now ignore the part that I have removed! <3

[center= = =]

Derpy felt pleasantly warm, the feathery down of the thick blanket trapping the heat inside. She opened her eyes slowly, bright sunlight pouring through the nearly closed blinds, illuminating the room even from just a couple stray rays. She curled up tighter in her cocoon, refusing to relinquish the warmth of the blankets to the morning air. As she lay there, she reached her hoof to the left of her, trying to feel if Big Mac was still there.

Her hoof came across his familiar indent left in the bedding, still warm from where he must have gotten up minutes before. She even noted that the blankets were neatly tucked in around her, either by her own doing or by him. She wasn't sure.

She rested her hoof against the indent for but a moment, savoring the heat that had come off of his body. He must have left fast, because she couldn't hear any sign of him outside her room, or anywhere in the house. She took a quick look at the clock sitting on her nightstand, noting the hands only pointed out 8:16, and decided her still sleepy eyes could get a couple more minutes of sleep. As her mind shut down once again, she began to dream of the night before...

= = =

Derpy opened the door to her home, greeting the cloaked stallion in under the cover of darkness, quickly closing it behind him. As he uncloaked his head, revealing his flaming orange mane and his deep red coat, she smiled wide and they nuzzled briefly, closing their eyes as their snouts rubbed gleefully. The night was cold outside, the cold winds blowing in from the east, sending storms and frost their way, but no snow yet thankfully.

Big Mac had just finished harvesting the apple orchard just a few days ago, and since then he had spent his days inside looking out, his quiet usual self. However, when the dark cloak of nigh fell, he donned his hood and made his way through the village as per his lovers orders, avoiding the night-loving ponies. Every night that he wasn't exhausted from working on the farm, he would meet her at her home. They would laugh, they would cry, cuddle, whatever suited Derpy's day.

As Mac hung his coat on a nearby hanger, Derpy greeted him happily, nearly bouncing up and down at the happiest moments of her life. When Mac came over.

"Did you eat anything today?" She asked, her voice being its usually warbling self, "Are you hungry?"

"Nope." Mac answered in his usual tone, flicking the straw he held in his mouth into a small wastebasket nearby. She opened her fridge and, spying the empty spaces and lack of substance, she closed it quickly afterwards, glad that he wasn't hungry. Money was hard to come by in this day and age, especially when the mail-business was at such an all time low. She considered taking up another job, but her eyes made things extremely daunting for her, and she decided against it, not wanting to cause more trouble than she already did.

She felt a warm snout press against her neck as she closed the fridge door, warm breath flowing down her mane as Big Mac crossed his neck over hers in an affectionate cuddle. He knew how her day went. It went like every other day she told him about. Somehow, he knew how to make things better.

"Hey Mac..." She queried slowly and thoughtfully, savoring every word like a delicate flower, "Promise me that you'll always be here for me?"

A warm and comfortable silence stood in the room, laying a calm hush over everything. Derpy could hear her heart beat in her ears, as well as feel the vein in Mac's neck as it pulsed.

"Ah promise you," He began, defying his usual speech to give it more meaning "Ah will never leave you alone. Ah will always be here for you."

He nuzzled her closer, trying to share as much skin contact as possible. Like a lost puppy, she responded more to contact and physical gestures from him than anything.

"Thanks Mac..." Derpy responded quietly, turning around and cuddling him even closer.

They stayed like that for a half an hour, locked in each other embrace, Mac softly giving her loving kisses occasionally and Derpy returning the favor.

To anyone who would have seen Mac enter the house and leave the following morning, one would assume the worst, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Their relationship was much more than a friendship, but neither one had ever thought of sharing anything more than their hearts with each other, and neither of them felt like that would be an issue anytime soon. It was deeper than that. They exchanged kisses and emotional support, and they were both fine with that.

It was the perfect relationship for both of them.

= = =

Derpy awoke once more, but this time with a terrible start, her alarm clock ringing like a happy foal covered in bells. Her arm flew out and tried to smash at the clock, causing her to fall and lose her balance on the bed. She laid there huffing for a moment and her alarm fell off the nightstand, cracking its glass front but ceasing its incessant ringing. She sighed, and blew a stray lock of her mane away from her face. One of those mornings.

But wasn't every morning one of those mornings?

She slithered out of her tangled mess of blankets and trudged to the kitchen, throwing on a housecoat in passing. The blinds were open here, letting the full blast of Celestia's great sun beams into the room and illuminating everything more than she was ready for. She let out a soft groan and stumbled towards the kitchen counter, passing into the small enclosed area where she cooked her food.

The air hung light with the smell of something warm and nice. As she passed the counter, she ran her hoof along it to keep her balance as best as she could, but she nearly tipped over a bowl of something. Cursing to herself she finally made it to the fridge, opening it up in a sorry attempt to see if she had ANY food to eat. As the absence of any edible items in her fridge became clear, she simply grunted and pushed the door closed, stumbling around the kitchen once more like an newborn foal. As she turned to find her piggy-bank, her eyes came to rest on the small bowl sitting on her counter. She hadn't put it there. Did Mac leave his dishes lying around?

As she got closer, she saw it was indeed filled with something. By the smell of it (the same smell that had pervaded the room since she entered) it was oatmeal, and as she pulled out a spoon and began to eat it, she tasted finely powdered sugar mixed in.

A huge smile played across her face, replacing the normally sad face of a normally sad pony. Mac must have made oatmeal just for her. She kept on her smile the entire time while eating it, and she thought to herself that maybe, just maybe, today might be a good day.

As she stuck her hoof outside for a small spell, quickly retracting it when she felt the cooler winds outside, she talked to herself:

"Okay Derpy, this is your day to shine!" She put on her boots and threw a warm mid-weather jacket on, "You control your future, and if your careful, people will like you!"

She stepped outside, instantly craving the relative warm of her cozy (if not slightly small) home, and began her trek to the mail-office to open up for the day.

= = =

Big Macintosh sighed deeply as he surveyed the barren fields. Each harvest for each crop had been completed simply days before the killing frost came in, and he knew he would have to try harder next year, just in case the frost decided to come faster than expected. A chilly wind cut to his bone as he trekked back to the farm-house. Applejack awaited him in earnest.

"Is it finished Mac?" She inquired as he walked through the door, shaking off the cold by the fire.

"Eeyup." he responded quietly, looking into the fire as if staring off into some strange other world, his eyes focused on something far away.

Applejack let out a stiff huff as she took her place next to him.

"Ah know yer thinkin' you have to do this Mac," She started hesitantly, trying desperately to stop her brother from doing something he would regret, "but Ah'm here right now tellin'ya ya don't. You can wait one more tiny little year can'tchya?"

Her voice was so sincere, full of concern for her brothers well being, and as much as he admired that, there we're just things he had to do. He seriously doubted that Derpy could last one more year the way she was.

"Ah don't think Derpy HAS one more year Applejack," He started, his voice showing his concern for that small grey mare that he so loved, "Ah think if I don't do something about her soon, she might just...fade away on me."

Applejack was the only pony that knew about Derpy and Big Macintosh, and she handled the news quite well. At first when Big Mac told her about his growing affection for his friend, she was slightly worried and taken aback.

"You have to be joshin' me," she had said, a small laugh had erupted from her, "Derpy hooves?"

After telling her that it was his decision and that she wasn't allowed to make fun of her, she took it a little better. As time went on and he told his sister more about Derpy, she slowly warmed up to the idea, even going as far as greeting the mare when she saw her on the street. After several months, she was ready to trust her brother on nearly anything related to his love interest.

This was... one of those "nearly anything" times.

"Mac, the snow'll be fallin' any minute now, you really wanna do this alone?" She ventured, "Ah can come with you, Ah can help you find it!"

He shook his head and wrapped a hoof around her middle, shaking her slightly. Even when it was simply his cross to carry, his burden, she was still willing to help him the entire way.

"No can do little sister, you know the rules," he laughed a little at her stubbornness, "only one pony can pick it, or else it wont work."

Applejack sighed a deep relinquishing sigh, as she called Applebloom down from upstairs.

"Coming!" they both heard as hoofsteps smashed down on hardwood above as the hyper little pony came down from whatever she might have been doing up there. As Applebloom galloped down the stairs, nearly tripping as she carried a pair of heavy satchels on either side of her. As she teetered towards them, they both laughed.

"Hey! Ah could get my cutie mark by balancing stuff If I wanted!" she chirped at them in mock anger, setting her packs down in front of Big Mac.

"We thought we could give you some help packing," Applejack, still sad, informed him as Applebloom opened up one of the packs, pulling out a thick woolen jacket that looked like it had been designed for arctic explorers, "so I had Rarity stitch this up for you when you told me you had to leave."

He didn't know what to say, he really couldn't believe his sister was THAT supportive of his decision. Even though she was worried sick for him and scared he wouldn't come back, she still gave him her all to help him with whatever he needed. She trusted him to come home safe, and was doing everything she could to help him. That was Applejack for you, dependable until the very last minute.

Applebloom passed him the coat, and he wriggled his way inside, loving the feel of it on his skin as he buckled it up.

"It's lovely." He said with a massive grin spreading across his face as he felt the warmth from his body already being trapped inside with him. The coat had barely any gaps at all and covered nearly his entire body. Just by standing by the fire he was already beginning to overheat.

"And don't you forget! I've packed enough food and water in there for a couple 'a days, and there's a sleeping bag in the other pouch fer when you need it."

A few moments passed as Mac thought of his journey ahead. It would only take a couple days, but not seeing Derpy would be hard. On the other hand, he would be able to think much better with the cold air of the mountains keeping him awake and alive. It nagged at the back of his mind that the same air could also kill him.

He stepped forward, wrapping his neck around Applejack and his front hoof around Applebloom.

"Ah love you guys." He said will a warm feeling in his heart, showing his compassion to his sisters like he did as usual.

They exchanged their goodbyes and "Ah love you"s, and soon Big Macintosh was on his way down the cold road, the sun still coming up in front of him as he set off for the mountains, intent on finding the one thing that would make Derpy happy.

= = =

As Big Macintosh trekked his way up the narrow part, past the nearly bare trees and the frosted grass, his thoughts wandered to the task ahead. Making Derpy happier than she had ever been.

Big Mac had been searching for months to find a surefire way to make Derpy happy, but with mixed results. No matter how much damage control he did, no matter how many times he slept next to her at night, holding her tight until he had to return to the farm, he couldn't make her happy. Sure, when he was there he made her ecstatic, he could tell, but it never lasted more than a couple hours before the rest of the ponies brought her down. He needed a permanent solution.

By imploring Twilight to read up on the subject for him and his mystery lover, he managed to track down a book. One singular book that was related to his problem.

The Wishing Garden

Mac spent the entire night reading through the book after he left Twilight at the library (after thanking her profusely). By daybreak, he had read through the entire thing, and was nearly ready to begin his search.

The Wishing Garden was a place of great mystery, factually told to be a legend, but rumors persisted that it existed on the very peak of the mountains near Ponyville, surrounded by storms and the chill of deep winter. Though the vicinity around the garden was told to be extremely inhospitable, the garden itself was said to be lush, warm and green. This was not beyond the realm of possibility, as there had been such places discovered in Equestria before, and the land was full of wonder and mystery.

However, it wasn't the garden itself that intrigued Mac, it was the certain flower that grew there. According to the book, a flower of amazing power flowered there. Wishblossom. The name itself was cheesy, but the power behind it was unparalleled.

A single Wishblossom was allegedly supposed to give you the one thing you wished for the most in the entire world when used properly. At first he had laughed at the creative name the old wizards gave the flower.

The garden was supposedly full of them, but only one Wishblossom grew every ten-thousand years. All Mac could do was hope there was a few left for him. Even one last one would do, because only one pony could pick one flower each visit. Stories persisted of pairs of lovers that went up to pick one together, and had never been seen since. Fear ate at the back of his mind, reminding him that he wasn't the best reader, and he could have made a mistake.

He set those fears aside. Mac needed to do this for Derpy. This wasn't about him anymore. It was about that small grey pony that needed him more than life itself. She needed to be happy, to have friends, to be loved by more than just him.

The cold wind began to get colder as the minutes passed, it was beginning to nip at his ears. He shrugged up the wooly hood that Rarity had sewn into the already wooly enough coat.

Mac shivered as he passed the treeline, the constantly thinning forest giving way to a barren slope and began his trek up the cold face of the mountain itself, clouds swirling above almost unnaturally. He gulped, but continued on. The mountain path was steep and rocky, working its way to the point through a series of switchbacks littered with snow, ice and rocks. As Mac climbed steadily to the top, the air got cold extremely quickly, frost beginning to attack his face with furious abandon. He felt his limbs begin to lose feeling, and at that point he knew he had to find shelter. As he pushed further and further up the mountain, he felt his strength slowly wean and fail, the great storm breaking apart his resolve.

"Dear Celestia, I can't do this on my own." He prayed, desperately hoping that she might give him the strength to carry on. But it fell hollow. No help came, and nothing felt any better inside him.

If it were anyone less than Derpy, he would never do this. But she needed this wish as much as she needed him, if not more.

But that feeling in the back of his mind still loomed. What if he didn't come back this time?

What if he left her alone?

= = =

HEY! Thanks again for reading this far, it means a lot to me! I tried to put as much as I could into this chapter and keep it interesting. Except GUESS WHAT! I need feedback from you guys!

So if you notice any errors, feel free to let me know!

Here are some things you can criticize:

-Plot

-Spelling

-Grammar

-Conversation Plausibility

-Logic Errors or conflicting lore, etc

Thanks a bunch :)

I love you guys <3

Savior

When I'm Old and Grey: Chapter Three

Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.

Lao Tzu

= = =

NOTE: I worked VERY hard on this and the others chapters, if you could PLEASE rate, follow, track or spread this, I would be the happiest pony in the world! <3

NOTE 2: I've ever-so-slightly rewritten everything to make the chapters longer, and you MAY notice a missing part in the previous chapter! That is OK! Nothing is wrong :) just continue reading as you normally would, but now ignore the part that I have removed! <3

"It's been too long Twilight. It's been three days." Applejack spoke in a worried tone to the purple pony, jittery and nervous, "What if something happened to him? What if he's hurt."

"I know Applejack!" Twilight said back Sympathetically, "But what can we do? If we go up after him we might, uh, get lost like him too!"

Twilight was trying to avoid the words 'die' or 'freeze' out of respect for her friend and partly because she didn't want to consider the idea herself. Big Macintosh had left for the mountains three days ago, with enough food packed for two, and a sleeping bag. Now, the air was getting colder down in Ponyville, and Twilight could only wonder how cold it was on the mountaintop.

"We can get others ta help us can't we?" Applejack asked tentatively, not sure if it would make things better or worse for Big Mac than things already were (although considering the life-threatening circumstances, anything might be better than things already were).

"We don't want to spread the idea that he has a secret love, ponies might get suspicious." Twilight responded thoughtfully, "Although we could tell them he was getting it for a dying Aunt or sick grandparent right?"

"Hah!" Applejack let out an exasperated laugh, "What Grandparent? This is Ponyville! Everypony knows everypony! Besides, Ah'm Applejack! Ah can't lie worth a gem-dogs behind!"

"Is it possible that we can let the rest of the group in on this?" Twilight said, thinking of ways she could work around this new development without harming a sensitive situation, "I mean, we wouldn't have to tell them anything really."

"Well as long as they don't start asking me questions Ah can't answer, Ah'm okay with that." Applejack said, hurriedly trying to get Twilight to help her with this problem, "Now can we PLEASE get on with this? Ah don't know if Mac is okay 'er not!"

"Yes yes! But first one question..." Twilight started, an inquisitive look on her face, "Who is this lucky little mare anyways?"

Applejack shook her head,

"Nuh uh, I ain't tellin' you that!" She said with a snort and a stomp of her foot, Twilight let it rest for now.

As they walked from the library to gather the help of the others, Applejack was worried not only for her brother, but for poor Derpy, who had no doubt noticed his absence by now. Applejack wondered if she should talk to the small pony before she became too grief-stricken.

= = =

Derpy felt that something was wrong. Deep inside her heart she felt that familiar feeling of uneasiness and worry, threatening to overtake her as she continued her daily rounds. Over the past three days her worry had increased significantly. She hadn't seen Big Macintosh since that last night he slept with her.

The first night it wasn't so strange, Big Mac had often skipped being with her because he was too busy and she figured she could survive one night. But even as she lay in her bed, the covers wrapped around her comfortably after a long day, she missed the warmth and love that was always present when he was near. When he was around she felt safe, sheltered from the world that so obviously hated her. She missed him, but not unbearably so.

But now, three days later, she was near heartbroken.

Derpy waited each night, until Luna's great moon rested high in the sky, throwing a glow over everything, but still he didn't come to the door.

He had never been gone this long, and fear ate away at her nerves and her heart. As she galloped along, her heart pounded not from her deliveries, but from fear of the worst.

Was this his gentle way of saying goodbye? Was their time together finished and through with? Was this going to just be a "fling" that some other ponies talked about?

Was he mad? Did she do something to him by accident? Did she fail to say goodbye? Or to show enough emotion? Was this her fault?

Tears almost came to her eyes as she thought of the idea that it might be over, but she galloped on, refusing to let her fears or emotions destroy her perfectly good work day. Although, if she we're being honest with herself, she would realize that any day spent without him was a ruined day.

She pressed forward, maintaining her speed as she delivered a small package to Sugercube Corner. Spotting it up ahead, she grabbed the small parcel from her right pouch and prepared to drop it off. Just as she was about to begin her deceleration, she felt a familiar feeling.

The feeling of falling.

As her hoof caught on a rock she was propelled forward violently, tumbling for several meters and nearly ramming her skull into the building herself. As she sat there, her body aching from the pain of the fall, she felt tears of desperation well up inside her, trying to force their way out.

She sat their for a couple moments as ponies passed by, not paying any heed to her at all, and tried to press her emotions back down, where they couldn't hurt her. Not today. Not when she was so vulnerable. As she stood, she grabbed the package in her hooves from nearby and entered the bakery.

"Uh, delivery for the Cakes!?" She called out, noticing that the main room was empty, "Anyone here?"

Suddenly a pink blur exploded through her vision as Pinky Pie attacked her, knocking her to the ground.

"Derpy!" She screamed in delight, "I'm so glad you have the package!"

Derpy fought back the sore feeling in her heart and laughed a little, cherishing Pinkie's energetic personality.

"Of course Pinkiee!" she said, holding her words like she usually did, "I alwayyss get the job done!"

Pinkie Pie helped her up, laughing and smiling,

"of course you do!" She said happily, then paused, looking to the corner of her head and putting a hoof under her mouth, "Except for that time you accidentally shipped my package to Canterlot..."

As she saw Derpy's smile vanish, she quickly backtracked.

"BUT me and Twilight had A LOT of fun trying to track it down again!" She said, still her genuine smile plastered on her face.

But Derpy's smile didn't come back, in fact, she felt worse now than ever. Suddenly she felt her emotions come up again like fizz from a bottle. She just couldn't hold it anymore and she figured to herself 'Who better to let it out to than Pinkie Pie?'.

Moments after Pinkie backtracked and tried to make Derpy feel better, she slowly began to sniffle, breaking down into her most emotional state.

As Derpy's tears began to flow freely from her face, pinkie pie began to grow nervous and worried.

"I'm so sorry Derpy..." she started, trying to console the obviously hurting pony, "I'm so so so so so sorry..."

"No I'M sorryy Pinkie..." Derpy said bluntly too her, "I just keep messing stuff uuup!"

Pinkie Pie was panicked. She hated it when someone was crying, even someone as...strange...as Derpy.

"Derpy! I can get you cake! Do you need cake?!" She said, trying desperately to get Derpy to stop crying. She didn't understand the proper protocol for calm and consoling actions yet, so she went into action doing the things she knew best.

When Derpy looked up from the now wet ground, Pinkie had gathered balloons from around the shop, bundling them up into a massive bouquet and was handing them to Derpy with her mouth.

"Ahpey Derpy?" She said, a mouth full of balloons, affecting her speech.

Derpy let out a small pitiful grin, but the ears quickly drowned it out.

"Pinkie Pie..." She said with sadness still flooding her voice, "Do you know how to hug? A proper hug?"

Derpy put her head back down, expecting the hyper pony to continue with her hyper parade of gifts and giggles, but within seconds she felt her heart lighten as she experienced the soft feel of a mares forelegs around her.

"Yes..." she heard the small sound escape Pinkie's lips.

As Derpy returned the gesture, wrapping her forelegs around Pinkie respectively, she felt the need to get something off her chest. Something that had been eating at her for quite a while, and annoying her that she couldn't tell anypony.

"Pinkie Pie, can I tell youu something?" she started, not really sure where to begin.

Pinkie lightened up a bit, pulling back from the hug slightly and looking at Derpy snout to snout.

"Anytime Derpy," Pinkie spoke while she smiled in a supportive way, "I'm here to listen!"

Derpy was unsure whether Pinkie was a reliable confidant or she would tell everyone in town.

"Promiiise you wont tell anyone?" She asked slowly, "Pinkie Promise?"

Pinkie recited the Pinkie Promise and nodded.

"Yes!" She said confidently, "I promise you that!"

Derpy felt slightly more ready to go on, but still wasn't completely sure.

"It'ss about a stallion-" She started, but before she could finish, Pinkie pie cut her off.

"Ooooooh, DRAMA!" Pinkie said with foreshadowing and emphasis.

Derpy glared at her for a moment, tears still in her eyes.

"Okay! Sorry!" Pinkie apologized as she gave the classic "Lips Zipped" signal.

Derpy continued.

"Well, I like this stallllion, a lot... and he likes me back, a lot..." Derpy started, feeling nervous. She usually didn't spill her feelings to anyone but Big Macintosh, but as she continued telling Pinkie about this magnificent stallion, using words such as "dashing" "loving" "caring" and other words ill-fitting to Big Mac except when they knew him like Derpy or Applejack did. She told her about how she longed for him to be near, and how when he was gone it seemed like time was going by at half the speed that it usually was. She told her about how he would come over nearly every night, just to hold her and be near her.

She told her about how all the other ponies made fun of her, but how this mystery stallion was always there for her, no matter how mean the others were. He nuzzled her in all the right ways, sending her heart soaring to the heights of the stars when he was around. She told her that he didn't talk much, and how his actions meant more than words ever could. She felt less clumsy around him, like she could rule the world and not make a mistake.

As she reached the end of her story, she told her about how things had been getting worse lately, and how even though ponies were meaner than ever and she couldn't seem to change that, Big Mac could, even just for one night. As the conflicts and insults got worse and worse, she missed him more and more. He was her anchor, her land line to this world. Without him, she would have left it a long time ago.

"And... Even though I wait up for him at night... I haven't seen him in three days." Derpy said as she was almost finished, "I'm getting very worried... I mean, what if hes gonna break up with me? Or he just decided to leave!"

Pinkie Pie seemed almost happy as she whispered something.

"That's...so...adorable..." her eyes were bright, but looked almost teary, "Whats his name?"

She paused, scared of what she would say.

"Um..." she began to freeze up, but she quickly worked through it. She trusted Pinkie.

"Big Macintosh..." Derpy quietly whispered.

Pinkies mouth dropped.

"Big Macintosh?" She inquired, awestruck, "THE Big Macintosh? Applejacks BIG BROTHER!?"

Derpy nodded slowly, eyes to the ground.As soon as she moved her head, signalling a positive response, Pinkie Pie cried out in joy, her wavy curly mane bouncing up and down as she did.

"OH CELESTIA!" Pinkie screamed out in joy, "YOU AND BIG MAC ARE IN LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE-"

She was abruptly cut off by Derpy's hoof over her mouth,

"Shut up Pinkie!" She said with a scared tone, "Don't let anyone hear you! And its not love!"

Pinkie was taken aback,

"Why?" She asked innocently, obviously confused as to why she couldn't spread the good news, "You guys would be SO cute together! I would throw you a massive party and even-"

"Because I'm afraid they'll make fun of him tooo!" Derpy cut her off, quickly explaining the situation.

"Oooooh," Pinkie said in an understanding way, making the whole action quite dramatic, "I guess that makes a little bit of sense."

Derpy felt good finally having told someone other than Big Mac about what was going on, but that didn't change the nagging in the back of her mind. Where was he? Did he hate her now? What did she do wrong?

Feeling old emotions bubble up inside her, she hurriedly tried to enlist Pinkie Pie's help.

"Do you know where he is?" Derpy asked nervously, almost afraid of the answer. However, knowing was ALWAYS better than not knowing.

"Well the last I saw of him was-" Pinkie began, but was stopped quickly as a very flustered Twilight, Applejack and Rainbow Dash busted through the front door, each wearing a slightly alarmed look.

Before anyone could stop her, Twilight belted out her proposition.

"Pinkie Pie you need to come with us because we need to find out if bi-" She paused as she spotted Derpy and Pinkie Pie, both with red eyes having some sort of intimate moment, "Are we interrupting something...?"

Applejack took a place beside Twilight,

"What in tarnation is going on in here Sugercube?" She said, addressing Pinkie Pie, who now had both hooves covering her mouth dramatically to stop her from screaming everything Derpy had just said. She looked like she was having trouble.

"Well now we have to tell her!" Rainbow Dash said frustratedly, landing down to Twilight's left.

"Tell who what?" Derpy asked, trying to seem like things were normal and not at all out of place. Her heart sunk as she saw each one of the ponies look at each other nervously. Suddenly Twilight and Rainbow Dash pushed Applejack forward against her will, somehow automatically electing her to say what was to be said next.

"Ya..." Applejack started, her hoof scratching the back of her mane, "About that..."

= = = = =

Welp! 1:30 Am and ready to go to bed! Tell me about any spelling errors you find (bearing in mind that Derpy's speech is only spelled wrong to give you that hint as to when she does her classic Derpy speak!) and I hope you enjoyed it.

Just a bit uneventful, but it sets the next chapter up nicely!

I might come back and polish this up ever-so-nicely if I have time tomorrow, but most likely I will be writing the next chapter!

Anyways! Criticism is ALWAYS appreciated, and without it, I would be nowhere! So please! Don't tolerate this, CRITICIZE!

(-Sentence Structure -Plausibility of Conversations -Realism, etc)

So, off to bed now! Just thought I would let you guys have this before I left :)

Love you guys <3

Apple of My Eye

When I'm Old and Grey: Chapter Four

Love makes your soul crawl out from its hiding place.

Zora Neale Hurston

= = =

NOTE: I worked VERY hard on this and the others chapters, if you could PLEASE rate, follow, track or spread this, I would be the happiest pony in the world! <3

Big Macintosh felt strangely warm. A soft gentle wind blew through his mane, refreshing him. The soothing midday sun beat down on him in a pleasant way, making him feel alive and ready to start working again. Water babbled in a brook somewhere, giving the very atmosphere a peaceful feeling. He wondered if this was what heaven felt like.

As he opened his eyes, sun shone in like a torrential waterfall, burning his unfocused eyes. He cringed as his eyes fought the sunlight, trying to rebel and close again, but he pushed through. He tried to stand, expecting to feel weary and broken from a journey he couldn't remember very well, but to his surprise, his muscles felt as if they had just been created anew. As he stood, his brain struggled to reboot, his memories like leaves falling from the apple trees. As he looked around, white fog ate at his vision, pulsing with his heartbeat, trying to overtake him and put him back to sleep, but he refused to let it, forcing the fog away slightly with willpower alone.

Something deep inside him felt wrong. Like it was trying to warn him. A sense of foreboding and impending doom came over him very suddenly, nearly making him nauseous.

As he looked over the scene surrounding him, the feeling went away, simply leaving him with an emotion of wonder and magnificence. The garden was perfect.

Birds flitted beneath the thick foliage, looking for seeds or berries to feed on. Water tumbled across a cliff side to his right, creating a beautiful waterfall that seemed to disappear into the ground. Long grass, overgrown and wild, sprung up everywhere, carpeting the forest floor in a massive cushion of flora. Sunbeams danced through the gaps as the wind buffeted the trees lightly, giving the already wonderful garden an even more surreal feel to it. Strangest of all was the small fountain that seemed to spring up in the middle of it all, nestled in the shade of the forest, spewing out water lightly, forming a small stream that had cut its way through the grass and rock below. Big Mac figured that it would have taken thousands of years for such a formation to occur.

He took one hoof and set it in front of the other, testing his steps and walking. Like everything else, his body responded to the steps perfectly, and his legs felt like they could walk on clouds.

As he slowly began his walk to the center of the forest, guided by some strange feeling that rested in his subconscious, a gentle tune began to play in his head, almost like surround sound.

The tune whispered and cooed to him softly, sounding like wind chimes in an unbelievably soft wind. He followed the advice they whispered into his head, and walked deeper into the forest.

How did he get here? Was this heaven? The afterlife? Celestia's final creation?

These thoughts plagued him as he followed the tune, but slowly drained from his mind like water from a canteen.

The shadows of the trees enveloped him, bringing him into the comfortable warm darkness of the garden, protecting him from everything outside this world, keeping him safe. His legs whisked him along, almost against his will as he struggled to place what was actually going on, with what he knew.

The hike up the mountain.

Suddenly, like a train hitting him, Big Mac was jolted, his hooves losing feeling and a cold bitter wind biting at his neck and face. Just as suddenly as it came, it ended, the cold again replaced with that comfortable warmth.

Even though his body was docile and warm, his mind still remembered the jolt like a bullet to his hind-quarters. He struggled to return himself to a fully awake state as his legs resumed their fanciful walk to the garden. The fountain.

THE FOUNTAIN THE FOUNTAIN WATER WATER!

The tune suddenly cheered to him in it's strangely understandable tone.

However, it was too late, Big Macintosh was already forcing himself to remember more of his previous life.

Derpy! His brain screamed at him, knocking him back into the coldness of wherever he came from, the white snow and ice trying to pull him back, with the same result, his docile warm feeling returning once more.

As Mac tried to conjure up more memories, the chimes began to get louder and louder, threatening to deafen him. As he forced himself to remember the past, he felt an increasingly malevolent entity growing in the garden.

Applej- His mind began, but was cut off by a jolt that send him tumbling backwards.

STOP The tune commanded, taking on a completely authoritative tone, Memories mean death.

Big Mac tried to stand up again, but was quickly whipped into the air by invisible hands, carrying him to the fountain.

"What do you want!" He screamed, questioning the tunes motives and feeling afraid for the first real time in the garden.

The tune just continued to carry him like a cloud in the breeze. He felt no pressure of hands, or the tingling of magic, only the air it self levitating him. The tune carried him to the fountain, softly and gently laying him in front of it. He felt relaxed, loose, limp.

Big Macintosh... The air breathed to him, trying to get him to listen, The tune wonders why?

Against all rationality and higher-brain function (both of which he was severely lacking at the moment), he answered "The Tune".

"Ah'm..." He struggled to move his mouth as the relaxation became too much and he began to think of home, "Ah'm here for... a wish... er... I think..."

Another cold jolt brought him to his senses, shocking him into the upright position.

The tune is keeping you here. Don't let the past take you home. To death. The Tune said to him, somehow warning him of the dangers of his memories, Tune knows you want wish, and Tune will grant you wish.

There was a dark pause as the tune quieted to a small chime and deep hum.

Tune wants to give you wish, but Tune wants you to know trade. It breathed to him again, its melody soothing his troubled mind, Does Macintosh accept trade? Tune must know...

Big Mac just stood there in a daze. His brain felt fuzzy and slow, like after he had too many mugs of Grannies SPECIAL apple cider. Suddenly waking himself up (at least partially) from his daze, he addressed "Tune" half-consciously.

"Hay yes I accept!" He said with a passion, letting his heart open to a beast or entity that he had met moments before, but who seemed to know all about him, "Ah love her! Ah love her! Ah really do love that mare!"

As Mac babbled like a baby, the tunes tone changed, something darker and more evil than before.

Tune is sad. Tune would have liked to keep you here with Tune right now, to live together with Tune, but unfinished business Macintosh does have that Tune can not follow. So Tune will give you wish. The Tune said with a deep bass vibrating through Big Mac.

As Macs world began to crumble, white breaking through the foliage, ice raining from the sky, wiping away any trace of the Garden, he heard the tune chime out one final "sentence".

Tune awaits Big Macintosh returning to Garden

With those final cryptic words, the green world gave away to a hell of ice, snow and cold, shocking his body and mind back into unconsciousness.

= = =

Derpy couldn't breath, her body locked up in a stare of disbelief and pain. Applejack had brought her into another room, trying to explain to Derpy exactly what happened to Macintosh.

She explained how Big Mac had told her all about their relationship, and how he bragged about what a wonderful marefriend he had managed to find. About how he would lay with Derpy all night, just so she could feel safe. About how he didn't talk much, but when he did, he talked about her. Derpy just sat and listened in silence as the information sunk in, forming a deep layer of emotional sediment.

"One day he jus' randomly said he couldn't take it anymore." Applejack had gone on, "About how he couldn't handle his beloved marefriend sad any longer."

She explained that he searched day and night to find something, a miracle even, to make you happy. As Derpy's tear hung heavy in her eyes, and heavier in her heart, Applejack went on, no sign of stopping.

"When he said he wanted to find this crazy "Wishblossom" Ah told him he had lost his marbles! That he had gone completely loco!"

Applejack had tried to stop him from doing something stupid, but his heart was set on trying to cure Derpy's unhappiness, and nothing seemed to deter him from that task. Not cold, nor heights or distances.

"Ah sent him up there with enough food to last two days, some bedding and a super-warm coat that Rarity had worked up for him, but Ah'm starting to worry." Applejack went on before pausing to think, "Awh hay, who am I kidding, Ah AM worried about him! Probably as worried as you are!"

Derpy just stood there, her tears not quite falling yet, but as she thought of what Big Mac looked like right now, eyes lifeless, mouth frozen in a freakish sneer of death, her head began to bob ever so slightly, betraying her control. Her face remained the same, her mouth wide open, but her eyes squinted shut as tears began to flow from her convulsing form. Unable to move, but every bit able to cry, Derpy stood there.

"Now, you listen to me Derpy..." Applejack said in her strongest voice, "He's mah brother too, and..and Ah love him SO much...and..."

Applejack's tears began to flow as freely as Derpy's, betraying her normally strong and capable demeanor for that of a small filly who had lost her best friend.

"We're going...going to find him Derpy!" She said between sobs, "I promise you that! We ALL are going to find him!"

As Derpy kept her eyes tightly shut, tears and emotions seeping through like water through a crack in a dam, she felt a warm pair of forelegs around her, trying to comfort her and hold her tight. Applejack was embracing her in a moment of co-loss, seeking comfort from Derpy as much as Derpy was seeking comfort from her.

As Derpy wrapped her forelegs around her, she stuttered out a few teary words.

"I'm so sorry Applejack," Derpy began, sobs racking her body again, "it's all my fault!"

"No, no no no Derpy..." Applejack shuddered, trying to speak Derpy away from that those thoughts, "None of us saw it coming, we never-"

Suddenly a blue head shot around the edge of the door. Rainbow Dash peeked in on their intimate moment.

"Hey, we really don't have time for this!" She informed them, a hint of desperation in her voice, bringing it up an octave at "this", "I mean, every second we spend here is another second he's up there!"

Applejack let go of Derpy, wiping away her tears and replacing them with drops of pure anger.

"Ah ought'a sock you right in the mouth for doing that to us!" Applejack screamed as she marched Rainbow Dash out of the room, Derpy following in pursuit, "You little suckling filly, don't you-"

Applejack stopped and looked around at the rest of the group nervously, who had gathered in the main room of Sugercube Corner and were now waiting anxiously to get moving.

"Rainbow Dash is right Applejack," Twilight interjected as Applejack pressed into Rainbow Dash's personal space, causing the cyan mare to recoil, almost hurt, "if we don't go now, we're going to lose the sunlight and get caught in the dark before we can do anything useful."

Applejack knew she was right, so she put her hoof down and sighed, apologizing to Rainbow Dash, who forgave her immediately, stating that she felt what she was going through.

"Ok, Ah'm ready." Applejack finally said, trying to hold back her tears a bit longer, for everyone's sake.

Twilight took change, just like she always did.

"Ok, listen up, here's the plan." She stated, ready to tell everyone her multi-staged plan, just like Twilight was known for.

As Twilight explained her ideas, each one focusing on a specific pony, Derpy considered just staying back and waiting for Big Mac return.

She mentally slapped herself at the thought.

He's YOUR stallion, YOUR lover! Her heart screamed at her, Have some courage!

= = =

Rainbow Dash flew at full speed towards the mountain that was now a swirling vortex of ice and snow, guiding the way for the Weather-Team behind her. The storm circling the mountain seemed to get worse with every passing minute ,as it usually did when winter came around in Equestria.

The air grew colder with every wing-beat, reminding her of the unfortunate fact that she had nothing even remotely useful to wear due to her flying status and wings, all while her best friends were bundled up in massive parkas. SHE was the one up in the cold air!

She risked a look behind her as they approached the mountain, and through the ever growing fog and cloud-cover, she spotted her friends, all strapped in tight to the makeshift metal case they had constructed. The metal case looked more like an over-sized sled with walls than anything, housing 5 strong brave ponies lined up single file in the bay of it. It was cold, it was rustic, but with 6 Weather-Team ponies, rope, and some luck, it flew faster than they could gallop.

Twilight spotted the cyan pony though her thick winter goggles, giving her a short hoof salute before yanking it back in to keep warm. A few other squads of Weather-Team ponies had joined in in the search and rescue, happy to help find Big Mac and bring him home safe and thawed.

As the wind began to pick up, Rainbow Dash figured she should say anything she had to now before the background noise got too rough.

Flying a few meters ahead of the sled, she called back to her friends.

"I want you to know that I'm with you guys as much as I possibly can be on this one," She screeched back, trying to convey legitimate emotion to her friends before they went headfirst into a dangerous situation, "and that I will really REALLY miss you guys if you don't come back!"

Twilight nodded, giving her another quick salute to signal that she had heard.

Rainbow Dash was suspicious.

"And if you don't come back, I'm burning all your books to keep warm this winter!" Rainbow Dash screamed at her, twilight giving her another salute, obviously not knowing a word the pony was saying, "Oh brother..."

As Rainbow Dash neared the swirling tornado that was the mountain, she braced herself for the impact. Flying into a storm was always difficult, and she couldn't afford to mess this up. As she hit the grey rotating wall, she felt as if the wind had been knocked out of her. The storm was stronger than expected, and now Rainbow felt the ever-so-rare feeling of danger in her stomach.

As the other two weather teams took positions in front of the sled, trying to clear a path through the storm, Rainbow Dash could see it was a losing battle. She swooped down nearer to the sled, trying to warn her friends.

"You have to let it down!" She warned the squad carrying her friends frantically, "You need to land! Now!"

Her frantic screaming may have been lost on her friends, but the weather-team heard it just fine. They began to descend to the near invisible ground below, ready to drop the sled off and return to the relative safety of OUTSIDE the storm, where they would wait and attempt to slow it down for the 5 ponies below.

Rainbow Dash took one last look at her friends as her team dropped the sled off on a relatively flat part of the mountain, hoping to Celestia that she wouldn't be the one to recover their bodies in the spring.They soon disappeared into the grey and white mass that was the storm, and she was left alone, attempting to find her way out.

Until Twilight sent the signal spell, she would desperately try to keep the storm in check with the Weather-Team Squads, all the while wondering what horrible fates were befalling her friends down below.

= = =

I know! Cliff hanger after cliffhanger! Don't worry! Resolution comes tomorrow (at least, for a certain while)!

You know the drill! any errors or spelling mistakes, feel free to let me know! Comment on it and rate it pwease :3

Things to look for:

-Plausibility of conversations.

-Grammar

-Plot-holes

-etc

So thank you for reading so much of the story! You have no idea how much it means to me :)

Anyways! 2:04 Am! Bedtime!

<3 Love you guys <3