Breathless

Brokehoof Lake was an area not known to many ponies-if one happened to mention it, the most likely response to its name would be a confused stare. It was only a lowly lake outside of Sweet Apple Acres-who cared what it was, or what it was called, anyways?

Of course, each 'uncharted' area has its secret inhabitants, or in the case of one mare, a visitor. The reed-scattered, murky-with-silt waters were perfect for swimming. Especially after a long, hard day at work in the sun, nothing was better than taking a dip in the cool waters of Brokehoof Lake. It was this pony's favorite past-time, but now she was enjoying it with another pony-

"I win again, Rainbow! Ya'll owe me 20 bits now!"

Rainbow Dash immediately shot back an objection towards her friend-"No, you didn't! I said that you couldn't use the plants for leverage!"

The orange mare chuckled. "Really, Dash? All's fair in water and war."

The pegasus groaned, rolling her eyes. "I'm really starting to regret agreeing to this..."

"Ya'll scared of a little water, then?" asked Applejack, sending a quick splash in the direction of her friend. "Come on now, it won't hurt ya'."

"Uh, duh." said the pegasus, shaking the water from her mane. "One more race, huh? Winner takes all, double up?"

"You're on," agreed the earth pony. "First one across and back wins. Readysetgo!"

In a sudden splash, the country pony had already begun her journey across the murky waters, sending up many subsequent ripples as she went. Her trademark ponytail was no obstacle-in fact, if anything, it made it easier to move at the speed that she went at then.

Rainbow blinked once before grinning, shooting off across the water. Hoof over hoof, the cyan mare glided through the water, enjoying the cool feeling that it brought over the summer heat. Well, I can see why she likes doing this. But she isn't winning this time!

While Rainbow Dash was a strong swimmer, Applejack was a stronger one. The orange mare's hind legs had been heavily been built up through years of apple bucking, and as she now reached the far edge of the pool, the power that they held was more than evident. The laughing pony passed by Dash, calling in between breaths-"Eat-my-bubbles!"

Not if I have anything to say about it... thought the pegasus, as she rounded the edge of the body of water, taking a deep breath. This pony's going under, one way or the other.

With a quick twist of both torso and trajectory, Rainbow was now underwater, moving with a steady speed soon to be upset. She slowly spread her wings, and began using them to funnel herself through the water. Haha, sucker... thought the cyan pony. She never said no-WOAH!

The pegasus whipped around as a sudden jolt stopped her cold, knocking half of the air out of her lungs. A searing pain arose in her left wing, and she attempted to cry out before realizing her mistake-a precious bubble of her air now floated towards the surface, gone.

Don't panic, don't panic... the cyan pony told herself, attempting to still her shaking limbs. Just head for the surface.

Once again, as she veered upwards towards the surface, another jolt stopped her cold-this time pulling on both wings, and her left hind leg. It was too much to bear-she let out a short, high pitched shriek, wasting yet another bit of air. By now, her lungs were near empty, and her movements grew quicker as she tried both to find what held her, at the same time attempting to break for air.

But the force held fast. Rainbow could feel the last vestiges of air in her lungs leaving, causing her chest to burn fiercely. She only managed one snippet of a desperately called name before she was cut off completely-"Appleja-".

The cyan mare's plea for help was cut short as she struggled ever the harder, attempting to free herself from her unseen captor, which resulted in the last few bits of air jerking from her lips. But it was no use. As hard as she tried to avoid it, she was now taking huge gulps, trying to get any amount of air into her lungs, but only receiving deluges of liquid.

Whether her vision was fading or not, it was hard to tell-the murky, enclosing waters didn't allow much light through. But what Dash did feel, above the pain and the panic, was herself slipping away.

Her last thought was to live, and the last sensation that she felt was even more repeated tugging on her wings, but more urgently...

Thump. Thump. Thump.

What is that sound? Is it a heartbeat? thought the pegasus. Am...am I dead or something?

The thumping repeated itself, this time more insistent. A panicked voice cried out from somewhere above her-"Breathe, darnit, breathe!”

There was hardly any time to process who the voice could belong to, before the thumping returned yet again-now the source was evident, it was, in fact, on Dash's chest. But the key word was "on"-isn't it rude to be hitting a dead pony? I thought etiquette would show that much...

The thumping stopped, as Rainbow lay still. She felt herself drifting, as if in mid air. How could a pony be hitting her if she were in midair?

Her thoughts soon ended, though. A frantic, trembling force pried her strangely still lips open, leaving just as quickly as they'd come. The voice rang out once more, strangely echoing-"You ain't leaving me, Rainbow. I won't let ya'!" Soon after, another thing forced itself upon her-it felt like another pony's muzzle, a familiar one. The vague feeling of air filling her lungs was enough to cease her 'drifting', causing her surroundings to become more evident.

The ground felt unusually solid beneath Dash's back-even with her limp, unresponsive muscles, she could feel it. Along with the unforgiving ground, there came a shooting pain in both of her wings. She was unable to respond, however, and simply lay wherever she was, wishing she could cringe.

The thumping repeated itself, before the supposed muzzle returned to her own, and air once more forced itself into her lungs. This was enough to stir her reflexes, and she coughed suddenly, causing the invader of sorts to withdraw. She coughed again and again, as her muscles suddenly shot her upwards, before being stopped by a heavy weight across her torso.

Her eyes remaining shut, the pegasus turned to the side, and continued coughing. Well, I'm not dead, but oh Celestia it HURTS...

A gentle splattering of water made itself known as the cyan mare felt herself regurgitate the fluid in her lungs, clearing her airways. Immediately, she took in a deep breath, a second, and a third, gasping in as much oxygen as possible.

Her head flopped back down, and her eyes opened into a squint, attempting to make out what was pinning her down.

Still taking deep, hurried breaths, Rainbow Dash fought to see through the sudden glare of the sun that now rained down upon her eyes. A vague hue of orange surrounded some sort of shape, but it was not quite evident. The only detail that she could make out was a pair of shimmering, emerald eyes.

"Rainbow!" shouted the orange figure. "Ya'll had me worried sick to death, ya' know that? When ya'll didn't come up, I thought it was a trick! But then when you never came up, ah thought you was done for! You gotta' be more careful! I literally had to just save your life right there!"

Dash could make no response, except to lay on the hard dirt surface, shuddering with each breath she took in. The orange figure continued rambling, and as her vision sharpened, she recognized it as Applejack. Her trademark ponytail was sopping wet with water, as was with the rest of her body. Ordinarily, Applejack hardly got her mane that wet while swimming, but the conclusion soon came to Rainbow's foggy mind- She...she saved me...

"...and just 'cause my granny taught me CPR a while 'go, doesn't mean I hav'ta' use it!"

The orange mare's expression softened, as she peered closely at the rainbow maned flier. "Ya'll are OK, right? Besides the..." Her voice trailed off as her gaze darted to the side. "...never mind."

"I...I think so..." wheezed Rainbow. "Thanks to you..."

"T'aint no problem...it's jus' that I sort of-"

The cyan pony waved her hoof in the air, signaling for Applejack to stop. Rainbow Dash took a few gulps of air, preparing to speak. Her breathing had more or less settled, but her nerves were still frayed. "I just wonder...did you ever see what did it? Like...I-"

"I haven't the faintest," interrupted Applejack. "Some sort of spiky plant had gotten you all tangled up or something. I don't know what it's called, but I see 'em all the time 'round here. Near the bottom, so I stay away. Just...yeah."

"Oh." said the pegasus. She sighed, looking up at the earth pony with unsteady eyes. "Seriously, Applejack," she insisted. "I don't know how to thank you...I mean, I was just drowning, and it hurt a bunch and then...along came you."

The orange pony smiled weakly, tossing her mane. "Aw shucks, it was nothin'."

"Just one thing..."

"Yeah?"

"Could you please get off of me?"

Applejack chuckled apologetically, obligingly moving off of the cyan mare. "Sorry."

Dash groaned, hauling herself upwards. Her head swam from the effort, and she soon found herself back on the ground. "Ugh...dizzy..." she managed.

Almost immediately, the southern mare was once more looking at the pegasus with copious amounts of concern. "You sure that you're okay?" she asked. "I mean, if ya' can't even sit up..."

One last attempt, and one last groan, and Dash had her answer. "Well, I...don't think so."

Strangely, the orange mare sighed. "'tis exactly what I was afraid of..." she muttered. "C'mon, we gotta' get you to a hospital. Like, now."

"Hospital?" asked the cyan mare. "Applejack, I'm fine. Just give me a little while to rest, I can handle it."

"It ain't whatcha' think, Rainbow..."

"What?"

Applejack ignored her, turning towards a nearby bush and reciting some familiar words: "Giving away a secret is the best way to lose a friend."

"FOR-E-"

"Good, Pinkie, you're here." said Applejack as a familiar pink pony popped out of the bush that she had been facing. "No time to explain, get down to the hospital, tell 'em to bring over a stretcher on the double. Brokehoof Lake."

Pinkie saluted with a giggle, enthusiastically replying "Will do!", before glancing at the pegasus, and wincing. "Ouchies!" she said. "You gonna' get a band-aid for that?"

Band-aid? "What?"

"Pinkie." grumbled the orange earth pony. "Now."

Pinkie Pie only beamed wider. "Okay!" she chirped. Then she cleared her throat, passing a hoof over her face. It set in serious lines once more as she slowly sank into the bushes, finishing what she'd started.

"-veerrrrr..."

A short silence followed as Applejack paced nervously in front of the pegasus. "...band-aid?" asked Dash. "What's she-"

The freckled mare immediately lunged into Rainbow's face, speaking in a quick, tight voice. "Ya'll don't worry 'bout her, Pinkie's going to be Pinkie. Now just sit tight so we can make sure that you're OK, and try not to sit up or look back or nothin'. Got it?"

"Look back?" echoed Rainbow Dash, beginning to turn her head to the side. As her gaze froze, the hurried-and rather forceful-warning cry from Applejack hardly registered.

Her rose hued eyes had alighted rather quickly on her wings, where they froze,and shrank. Though her wings seemed to be extended properly, as they would be on her back, it was what was actually on them that made her heart skip a beat.

Across both wings, were a score of deep red scratches, which had seemingly even scraped off some of her feathers. A scarlet, deeper red liquid ran in thick rivulets along the path of gravity, clinging to everything that it could.

Blood. Lots of it. Like, just...

"Rainbow, quit shakin'! You're gonna be fine-...I hope."

Dash's shell-shock only worsened as Applejack tacked on the last two words. "You h-hope?" she stuttered, whipping her head towards the country pony. "I...I mean, I can't even...there's just...nothing. I...I'm scared, Applejack. I can't even feel my wings. They're just...there."

The orange mare sighed, finally managing to seat herself on the ground, though her tail still swished, agitated. "That's what I was 'fraid of..." she began, her voice barely above a whisper. "I had to save ya'll, and to do that, I had to tug as hard as I could. You did come out, but not without quite a bit of effort. And that's what got me. I had to choose between either doing what I did, or running the risk of going slower, and losing you.

I can't lose ya', Rainbow, all right? Not by my own two hooves, not on my life."

The earth pony froze, absently covering her mouth with a hoof. "Ah...kinda' yelled near the end, didn't I?"

Rainbow managed a shaky nod.

"Sorry 'bout that..." apologized Applejack. "It's jus' that...well, I've been having these problems lately, and...oh who the hay cares, look at you." amended the orange earth pony. "Just hang on. Them doctors should be here soon."

As she finally met the pegasus' gaze, Applejack's voice was far from anything that even resembled 'composed'. Her eyes shone with regret and empathy as she spoke seven words to her friend.

"You're going to be okay. I promise."

"I don't e-"

Ignoring Rainbow Dash's worried musings, the earth pony shifted around until she was next to the rainbow maned flier. With one movement, her head came to rest on the cyan mare's chest, as she reassuringly snuggled into the small crook on the side of Rainbow's body. Interestingly enough, the pegasus began taking deep-though shallow-breaths, as the warmth of the earth pony provided a certain sense of security, making it just a little bit easier for her to relax.

Even with all of the worries, the fears, and the frights that the polychromatic mare had, she might have found it hard to believe that her eyes closed right around then.

But close her eyes, she did. With the gentle presence of a kindred soul next to her, it was enough.

Rainbow Dash did not fall asleep, per-say. What she did do, was drift into a rather subcutaneous state, not unlike the way some trauma victims suddenly 'zoned out' from their situation, as if to shut out the world. Time became seemingly nonexistent, along with her general sense of direction and attention span.

The last worldly things brought to her attention were the sudden absence of Applejack, as if she'd suddenly stood up.

The other was a gentle touch on her forehead, which left a pleasant sensation behind. It seemed oddly similar to a bird landing gently on her head, until a voice spoke out.

"I shoulda' been more forward with ya' Rainbow..." it said, tinged with a gentle southern accent. "And 'cause I didn't, now I've gone and let somethin' bad happen to ya'.

But just know, that either way, whether I still hate myself or not, that -oh, good. They're here."

Hoovesteps echoed around her, or so she thought-were they really echoing? Were there even hoovesteps at all? Who did the steps belong to? And what had come in contact with her? A leaf? Perhaps a feather? It was rather light to the touch...

"You're gonna' be OK, Dash." repeated the voice. The rainbow maned flier could feel herself lifted up by an exterior force, and that was enough to force her eyes open. It wasn't quite enough to clear her foggy mind, though-she was still lingering on what that touch might have been. The words still had no effect on her.

Her sight, however, worked well enough.

Staring back at her was a rather nervous sort of mare-her emerald eyes sparkled with determined vigor, but everything else seemed to scream 'reluctance'. A weak grin spread across Applejack's face, as she took hold of her friend's hoof, and nodded.

"I promise."

Author's Note(A/N):

"LIKE OH MAH GAWD, DAT CLIFFHANGER IS SO UNSATISFYING."

It made you want to see what happens next, right? Plus, uh, the next chapter is right there.

I wouldn't fear too much for Rainbow. This is only the hook.

Anyways, from here on, my chapter format will be largely scattered. You'll see what I mean. Or not. Meh, who cares.