Daybreak over Ponyville was gloomy at best. Celestia’s Sun was hardly able to break through the thick cloud cover that hung dismally over the quiet town, a remnant—a reminder—of yesterday’s tragedy. A lonely wind sang its keening song through the valley, rustling the browning trees, victims of the impending winter. The streets remained empty, devoid of life, for the citizens of Ponyville had yet to free themselves from the clutches of last night’s sleep… except for one individual. Contrasting rather starkly against the ashen sky was a rainbow contrail that darted from cloud to cloud, almost reminiscent of a busy little bee collecting nectar.
Rainbow Dash was working tirelessly in maintaining and perfecting the cloud cover, shifting the grey, puffy clouds around, shaping them as needed, and occasionally bucking and dissipating one that stubbornly refused to cooperate with her. It was an unusual hour for her: after all, the Element of Loyalty was infamous for her habit of napping and sleeping in. Usually, one would not be able to find her up and about no earlier than noon, let alone as active and lively as she is right now, not even an hour after dawn.
But perhaps “lively” was the wrong word to describe her state of being at that moment. As Rainbow Dash continued on with her weather duties, she seemed as energetic as ever, but a close examination of her appearance would contradict that observation. To put simply, she looked exhausted. There were bags under her bloodshot eyes, her prismatic mane hung limply and looked even more unkempt than usual, and her powerful wings were beginning to look in dire need of some preening from all of the non-stop flying they had been subjected to.
The events that had transpired the day before had left Rainbow Dash almost completely drained, yet when she went to lay her head on her pillow last night, hoping that that the refuge of sleep would protect her from cold reality at least temporarily, she found that sleep was unmercifully elusive that night. Tossing and turning, Rainbow all but begged for it to just take her, yet she remained as awake as ever. In the middle of the night, teetering on the precipice of lucidity, Rainbow ultimately decided that some attempt at productivity might distract her sufficiently from all that had happened. And now, several hours later, there she was, still working diligently on the entire cloud cover all by her lonesome.
Rainbow Dash continued on with her task. Noticing a stray cloud, she flew over to push it into its proper place, but the movement was mechanical, almost lifeless, lacking any of her usual vigor. Indeed, Rainbow was just so tired—she wished she could just rest, forget her troubles and the rest of the world, but she knew that she could not.
She knew that she did not deserve it.
Clearly, Rainbow looked terrible on the outside; internally, it was a different story, but no less miserable. Her psyche raged with thoughts that had constantly been plaguing her since that happened the day before. Numerous emotions—pain, fear, anger, guilt—warred and melded with one another, forming some twisted amalgamation that threatened to tear her fragile mind asunder. What had happened the day before… there was no forgiveness for that. Nopony would forgive her for what had happened.
Midway through pushing the cloud away, Rainbow Dash paused and squeezed her eyes shut. No forgiveness at all… Cloudchaser… How? How could I have let that happen?
It was a question that had been haunting her non-stop. It was supposed to be a routine storm formation. It was nothing special; the weather team had performed the required procedures and techniques countless times before, with Rainbow Dash at the helm organizing it all. So why…? Why did it happen?
The question still remained unanswered. Official investigations into the matter were underway, having already started yesterday soon after the incident. Deep down, Rainbow knew that there would not be an answer to her question for some time… But even if there were, she did not know whether it would soothe the conflict within her mind.
It’s all my fault…
That was something that Rainbow knew to be true. As the captain of the weather team, one way or another Rainbow was at fault, even if there was nopony to blame her but herself. Failing to prevent the incident from ever happening, letting it hurt somepony in the first place, not being able to get help for Cloudchaser in time… She had been responsible for directing the storm formation, and look at what happened. Some leader she turned out to be. No matter how she looked at it, Rainbow Dash could not help but think that that all of it was her fault, and that she deserved every single moment of her torment and suffering. But it’s nothing compared to what Flitter must be going through…
At the thought of Flitter, Rainbow Dash winced, also remembering what happened when she tried to break the news to her. Another reason why I’m a failure… Everything’s such a mess… and it’s all my fault… Damn it… Damn it… Damn it damn it damn it!!!
The poor cloud could not even tell what was happening, silently disintegrating into mere wisps of vapor as Rainbow relentlessly pummeled all of her pent-up fury, agony, and frustration into it. When it had completely dissipated, she dashed over to the nearest cloud and started projecting her self-loathing into that too, quickly reducing it to nothing. Over and over she repeated the process, slowly undoing her painstaking labor as her venting created a growing hole in the cloud cover.
However, even her fit, athletic body could not keep up with her mind’s demands, and Rainbow Dash eventually exhausted herself as all of the physical and mental stress, combined with her lack of sleep, at long last caught up with her. Puffing and wheezing, she groggily flew over to a nearby cloud, this time opting to simply collapse into its marshmallow-like embrace. Feeling absolutely helpless, Rainbow buried her head into the cloud and let loose a muffled scream, not caring in the slightest as she started to wrack her voice raw. Finally, there was silence as she just lay there, doing nothing. Try as hard as she might, though, Rainbow could not completely choke back the sob that bubbled its way into her throat, and the tears that she miraculously managed to hold back since yesterday’s events finally coursed their way down her cheeks.
Rainbow Dash dimly wondered how pathetic she must have looked then, curled up and crying like a little filly, but she could not find it in her to care. She just lay there on her little cloud, hoping that she could just disappear from the world forever. But fate was not so kind, and to her dismay nothing at all changed by the time she ran out of tears to shed. She eventually found the strength to wipe at her damp cheeks and stood back up, albeit shakily. She despondently flew up, warily looked around, and sighed tiredly. Ignoring her body’s demands to just rest, she resigned herself to return to work and repair the damage her little tantrum had caused.
Well, she would have if she had not been suddenly blindsided by a grey-blue blur.
Rainbow Dash yelped as she and her assailant tumbled into the cloud cover, rolling head over heels over one another. After finally coming to a complete stop, she groaned achingly, slowly opening her eyes to find the hazy silhouette of a pegasus standing on top of her. More exasperated than truly angry, Rainbow got ready to bark a severe lashing, to demand what was going on, but the words died on her tongue and she stiffened as the individual in question came into focus in her vision.
“F-F-Flitter?!”
Rainbow Dash’s appearance may not have been exactly presentable at that moment, but Flitter looked downright awful. Her long, normally well-groomed mane was a tangled mess. Her beloved pink bow was askew, barely tied in place. Her eyes were bloodshot and red-rimmed, and her cheeks were still streaked with tears. It looked like she had been crying all night.
It was little wonder why.
“Rainbow Dash… Cloudchaser…” Flitter panted, fighting to catch her breath. She sounded as though she had just sprinted from her cottage all the way on the other side of Ponyville. There was desperation in her words as she continued. “She didn’t come home last night. I’m so worried… Where… Where is she…?”
Rainbow’s head reeled. She had not been expecting this to happen, not quite like this.
When Rainbow Dash did not say anything Flitter began pleading, “Please, Rainbow Dash… Where is she?” Fresh tears began welling in her eyes. “Please… Tell me where she is. I know you know… You talked to me yesterday about her. Where is she…?”
Slowly getting up onto her hooves, Rainbow Dash took a moment to process what was happening before responding. “Flitter…?” she began uncertainly. “Didn’t… Didn’t you listen to me yesterday? About what happened?”
To her surprise, Flitter shook her head, almost shamefully. “I’m sorry, Rainbow Dash. I got upset at what you said… I didn’t believe you. I’m sorry that I said those mean words to you… Will you tell me where CC is, now? P-Please?”
Rainbow Dash was stunned into disbelief. How could Flitter not have believed her? Did she truly think that she lied to her?
Flitter continued tearfully. “P-Please, Rainbow Dash.” At Rainbow’s prolonged silence, she got on her knees and started to beg and babble, forgoing any and all sense of her dignity. “I-I’ll do anything! You can dock my pay, if you want! Or… Or I can work double shifts! Yeah, and I’ll clean your house… for a month, no, two months! Without pay! How about that? No? Um… you can… Oh! You can fire me if you want! Give my job to somepony else; I don’t care! CC… P-Please… Just… just tell me where she is… let her be all right…” No longer to hold herself together, Flitter completely broke down at this point, her tears flowing anew.
Rainbow Dash could feel her heart breaking in two at the pitiful sight before her. She stayed silent, but she wrapped her hooves and wings around the crying mare without hesitation. While Rainbow was more than happy to try and comfort her, she knew that the truth would absolutely crush Flitter once there was no other choice but to accept it. It utterly shattered Rainbow’s heart into a million pieces to know that that was the only possible outcome.
Eventually, Flitter stopped her blubbering. She was only sniffling now, but the two stayed locked in their embrace for a while.
“…Flitter?”
“…Yeah?”
“You all right?”
Flitter whimpered, but managed to let out a quiet “kinda.”
Rainbow Dash broke the hug and looked Flitter straight in the eyes, though it almost terrified her to do so. She swallowed thickly, before marching on. “Do you… Do you want me to take you to Cloudchaser now?” She could scarcely believe the words that had just tumbled out of her mouth.
A far cry to her emotional state mere moments ago, Flitter perked up immediately, hope and relief flooding into her eyes as she hastily wiped her tears away. She nodded fervently. “You know where she is! Please, tell me!”
Rainbow Dash grimaced inwardly, knowing how much worse this was going to turn out. She wished she could just fly far away, never to look back, but she knew she had to accept responsibility. Resolving to accept her fate, she mumbled, “It’s… It’s better if I just take you there.”
“Then let’s go!”
Nowhere near as enthusiastic, Rainbow merely nodded stiffly as she beckoned Flitter to follow her. Before taking off, however, she said, “Oh, and uh Flitter? You don’t have to do all those things you said earlier… and you don’t have to worry about your job. I’m not going to fire you or anything, so don’t worry about that.”
Flitter smiled sheepishly. “Thanks, Rainbow.”
The flight was quiet and uneventful. The cool air caused Rainbow Dash to shiver, but perhaps that was more due to what was to come. For once in her life, she opted to fly as slowly as possible. Part of it was so that Flitter was physically able to keep up with her, but really it was so that she could hold off on getting to their destination for as long as possible.
While Rainbow Dash struggled to hide her apprehensiveness, Flitter was feeling much more upbeat, though still worried for her sister’s safety and slightly annoyed at how slowly they were going. As much as she wanted to just rush ahead to look for her sister, she had no idea where she was. She knew she had no choice but to tail Rainbow, regardless of how unusually slow she was right now. Flitter briefly wondered why that was the case. Probably because she’s tired. She was up bright and early to do some weather duty. Nice of her to do that for once, though still kinda strange. She just brushed the thought aside, however.
Below the two, ponies had finally awoken and had started on their day-to-day activities, and the streets began to bustle with activity. Slowly but surely, Ponyville was waking up. When they flew over Sugarcube Corner, they could smell the mouthwatering aroma of freshly baked pastries. Flitter’s belly grumbled in protest. She blushed, remembering that she had skipped both dinner last night and breakfast this morning. A muffin sounds so good right now… But gotta find CC first. We can grab lunch at Sugarcube Corner later, after I scold her for worrying me sick, that is!
Flitter’s patience was beginning to grow thin after a while, though. She needed to find Cloudchaser now! She was about to complain to Rainbow Dash and tell her to hurry up, when Rainbow abruptly banked left and began to descend. Flitter blinked in surprise before she inwardly cheered. They had arrived at last!
Flitter’s little moment of celebration turned out to be short-lived, however, when she saw exactly where they were. Her eyes widened as she felt a stone drop into her gut.
“Rainbow Dash, why are we at the hospital?!” Flitter cried in alarm.
Rainbow Dash did not say anything. She only stared at her sadly, before she trotted up to the front door and held it open, motioning for Flitter to enter first.
Flitter stood stock still. Her chest tightened. Her mind was racing. Cloudchaser! Is she all right! Oh my gosh, what if she’s hurt! Or worse? How could I have not known? No no no! As if a switch had been flipped in her brain, Flitter suddenly launched herself forward and frantically galloped through the entrance, with Rainbow quickly following.
This early in the morning, the receptionist area of the Ponyville Hospital was deserted, save for the receptionist herself—one of the nurses—conversing with an earth pony mare with a tan coat and a light brown mane, who had a small brown colt by her side, his eyes glued to some sort of portable video game.
Flitter charged up to the receptionist’s desk and rudely shoved aside the mare who had been in front of her, cutting her off in mid-conversation.
“Where is she?” Flitter demanded, a panicked tone in her voice. “Where’s my sister?”
The receptionist was briefly stunned at Flitter’s sudden and rather rude arrival, but she quickly regained her composure, looking cross. “Ma'am, I don’t know who you think you are, but there was somepony in line before you! Please, wait your turn!”
As if she had not even heard her, Flitter repeated herself, this time a bit more sternly. “Where’s my sister?!”
The receptionist rolled her eyes, clearly annoyed at having to already deal with somepony unpleasant so early in the morning. She went to open her mouth, but the mother she had been talking to earlier was faster.
The mother said calmly yet firmly, “Miss, I was talking to the receptionist first. I’m scheduling a very important doctor’s appointment for my son.” She gestured at the colt beside her. He had actually stopped playing his video game, startled by the unexpected turn of events. “I’d very much appreciate it if you’d just wait a little longer. I’m sure that your sister can wait, too.”
Flitter practically screamed in her face, “No! I need to see my sister! I need to see Cloudchaser now!”
Worried that the situation might devolve into something even uglier, Rainbow Dash moved to try and defuse the conflict. However, she was thankfully beaten to it by a voice emanating from a nearby hallway.
“You’re Cloudchaser’s sister?” The owner of the voice walked into view, a handsome but clearly stressed unicorn stallion with a cream caramel coat and dark brown mane. He wore a white lab coat, and a stethoscope hung around his neck. He looked like he had been working through the night, his current conscious state fueled solely by who-knows-how-many cups of coffee.
On the verge of hysteria, Flitter nodded.
Doctor Stable sighed, an invisible weight on his shoulders growing even heavier as he appeared to age ten years in just that instant. He said wearily, “Then you must be Flitter. Please, follow me. I’ll take you to see Cloudchaser.”
Without question, Flitter scrambled to follow after the doctor.
At that point, Rainbow Dash decided to make herself known. “Heya, Doc,” she piped up, giving a small wave.
Doctor Stable blinked, as if noticing her for the first time, but he immediately recognized her, being one of his more frequent patients. “Oh, hello, Rainbow Dash. How are you?”
Rainbow’s frame drooped, her eyes downcast. “I’ve… had better days.”
Doctor Stable’s tired expression softened into sympathy. “I can imagine. I assume you’re here with Flitter?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, I suppose you can come along too, if you want.”
Rainbow Dash nodded and began walking after the doctor. Strangely, for whatever reason—simple curiosity, maybe—she looked back behind her. She saw that the receptionist was looking at them with sad understanding on her face, while the mother wore an expression of horror and mortification, her hooves covering her mouth. The little colt looked confused, but it seemed that even he could tell that something was wrong. Rainbow steadfastly returned her gaze back forward, unable to meet their eyes.
Flitter grew increasingly anxious by the second as she and Rainbow Dash followed Doctor Stable deeper into the bowels of the hospital. The group had moved into an unfamiliar hallway, off-limits to the general public and located a ways away from the receptionist area and the other patients’ rooms. It traded the hospital’s usual warm, cheerful colors and inviting atmosphere with bleach white walls and the nauseating stench of disinfectant. The sound of their hooves echoed eerily down the empty corridor, and the ambient temperature plummeted lower and lower the farther they went.
Part of Flitter wanted to turn tail and run, knowing that something was deeply wrong, that she had made a mistake in coming here. But a larger, more outspoken part of her, the part that told her Cloudchaser was in trouble, gave her the courage to keep moving forward, step after trembling step.
After what seemed to be an eternity of walking, Doctor Stable stopped next to a particular closed door, indistinguishable from all the others in that unwelcoming corridor, but just as daunting. Flitter and Rainbow Dash followed suit.
He spoke gravely, “Flitter, this isn’t easy for me. Never is, when it’s something like this. I would normally ask you to wait for a day or two, but as the next of kin you deserve to know. Now… are you absolutely sure you want to go through with seeing Cloudchaser?”
Flitter, for once, did not react immediately. Truth be told, she was utterly terrified to see Cloudchaser, to see what had happened to her twin sister. As she shuffled her hooves restlessly, she was tempted to just up and leave. She even made small glances through the corner of her eye down the way they came, wondering how long it would take for her to escape from this wretched place.
“Flitter?” Rainbow Dash said hesitantly.
Flitter snapped back to attention. She looked at Rainbow Dash, then at Doctor Stable, then at the closed door. Behind that door… is Cloudchaser… Is she all right…? I need to know… I need to…
She made her decision.
She took a deep breath and exhaled, mentally fortifying herself.
“Yes. I want to see her.”
Doctor Stable nodded somberly and moved to open the door. Before he did so, however, he said, “Oh, I’m sorry Rainbow Dash, but I can allow only Flitter inside. You’ll have to wait out here. I hope that won’t be an issue.”
Looking relieved, Rainbow Dash agreed without question and sat on her haunches. “It’s no problem, Doc.” She directed her attention to Flitter, and her posture slumped. “Flitter… I’m… I’m so sorry… for everything.” Nevertheless, she flashed a weak but honest smile at her. “…If you ever need any help, you can come to me, okay?”
Flitter stared at Rainbow with an unreadable expression, but she did not say anything. She looked at Doctor Stable, who took that as his cue and finally opened the door. Bracing herself, she entered the room.
As Flitter walked inside, the first thing she noticed was just how cold it was, even more so than in the hallway. It had to be borderline freezing. She began shivering almost immediately, instinctively tucking her wings even more tightly against her sides as her nervous breaths became visible in the air. The second thing she noticed was how much stronger the stench of disinfectant was in the room, almost making her gag.
Overall, though, the room she and the doctor had entered was quite small and spartan. A long counter lined one wall of the room. There was a metal trolley holding medical tools pushed against another wall. A small sink was located in the far corner.
However, Flitter’s eyes locked onto what lay in the center of the room.
Or rather, who.
Resting peacefully on a gurney, a white linen blanket draped over her body, was Cloudchaser.
She looked as though she were sleeping.
Only she was not.
Cloudchaser’s…
Flitter froze as the entire world fell away from her at that moment.
Her heart stopped.
She could not breathe.
This had to be a nightmare.
This could not be real.
She shut her eyes, praying that she would wake up.
The scene before her did not change when she opened them again.
She wanted to scream, but there was only the roaring silence.
Meanwhile, Doctor Stable placed a placating hoof on Flitter’s shoulder. When he spoke, he sounded so old. “Flitter… Cloudchaser was brought in yesterday afternoon, around 4:30 PM. The lightning that hit her was strong—too strong for even a pegasus like her—and the malfunctioning storm had delayed prompt medical attention… She suffered severe electrical burns, and by the time she was brought in she had no pulse and wasn’t breathing. We performed CPR on her for over thirty minutes, trying to revive her… but we had no success. There was nothing more we could do. She was pronounced deceased just after 5 PM. I’m… I’m sorry, Flitter. I can only imagine how difficult this must be for you.”
If Flitter made any indication that she heard the doctor’s solemn, condemning words, she did not show it. She stared blankly ahead as her jaw quivered. She remained petrified, her addled mind working in overdrive to take it all in. Finally, after a moment that seemed to stretch to infinity, she feebly shrugged away the doctor’s hoof. She took one tiny, wobbly step forward, her legs threatening to give out from under her. She made another step, and another, slowly inching her way to cross the sudden, vast abyss between her and her sister. She was on the brink of collapse, yet Flitter stumbled onward, one excruciating step after another, as her growing tears muddied her swaying vision.
When she finally reached Cloudchaser, Flitter stood next to her, just looking at her, barely refraining from outright throwing herself onto her and refusing to let go. Her sister did look as though she were sleeping, but nothing about it looked right. Her body was too still. Her once-pristine coat and wild mane were singed, the black streaks contrasting wickedly against her natural light colors. When Flitter shakily raised her hooves and delicately cupped them around Cloudchaser’s face, she found that she was ice-cold to the touch.
Try as hard as she could to deny it, this was happening. This was real. Her worst fear was manifesting itself before her very eyes, and she could do nothing to stop the rising tide of fate, no matter how hard she tried.
“Cloudchaser…?” Flitter whispered, so softly, so weakly it was barely audible. She shook her sister once, twice with the gentlest touch. “Cloudchaser… wake up… This… This isn’t funny… Don’t do this to me, sis… Please don’t do this…”
There was no response. All Flitter could hear was her choked, unsteady breaths.
“Cloudchaser…? CC…? Wake up…” she whimpered.
Nothing.
Cloudchaser did not wake up.
At that moment—that long, unforgiving moment—Flitter felt something break inside her, snapping in two under the pressure of the harsh truth finally sinking in and stabbing into her naked soul.
“No… No!” She redoubled her efforts, shaking Cloudchaser more forcefully than before as she started to sob freely, the knife embedded in her heart twisting and jerking more and more viciously by the second. “Wake up! CC, wake up! DON’T DO THIS TO ME, CC! DON’T LEAVE ME! WAKE UP!”
In the corner of her increasingly blurry vision, Flitter noticed somepony appear beside her, saying something to her before trying to move her away. However, with frenzied strength she pushed them aside, refusing to leave her twin sister alone in this cold, lonely place. “NO! CC!”
She heard the door burst open and the sound of unfurling wings as somepony else rushed in. Then, she felt two strong pairs of hooves starting to pull her away from her beloved sister, that dark abyss between them growing ever wider. “NO! NO NO NO!” Flitter cried and struggled against their grasp; try as hard as she could, though, she could not break free. “CLOUDCHASER! CLOUDCHASER! WAKE UP! PLEASE, WAKE UP!”
But for all of Flitter’s kicking and wailing and screaming, her desperate pleas went unheard.
Cloudchaser never woke up.
Author's Note
Kind of surprised I decided to update this. Aside from the usual excuses, a big reason why I took so long was because I couldn't exactly figure out how to make Flitter confront the fact that Cloudchaser was dead. I kind of wanted it to be at least somewhat medically accurate (i.e. how morgues work in real life, what to do for a patient that died in a hospital versus someone that is DOA, what is the protocol for allowing family members to see the deceased, etc.), but then that got kind of complicated and I figured that most people that read this won't really care with how realistically I handled it or not.
Overall, I'm not really too happy with the way I wrote this chapter—I feel like it lacks that emotional impact that I originally pictured in my head and that I tried too hard to convey how the characters are feeling (in particular, I'm concerned that I'm making Rainbow Dash too OoC). I also realized that I'm not so good at writing out dynamic scenes with lots of movement or action, so I apologize if the quality of this chapter kind of falls short. Oh well, at least I wrote something, right? (And quite a lot, too, by my standards.)
As for future updates: well, you can obviously expect them to be few and far between, but I honestly doubt that I'd go so far as to completely abandon this story. I have the next couple of chapters vaguely planned out, but beyond that... not so much. I do worry that I'm biting off more than I can chew with this idea, though: I really feel like I'm a bit out of my element here. I am fortunate enough to have never truly experienced the grief of losing a loved one (so far) and for that I am grateful, but that does make it a bit harder for me to figure out how exactly I want to write this story.
Eh... I guess we'll just have to see how things play out from this point on.
~~Anyways, back to hiatus!~~
Flitter did not know when she had stopped breathing.
It was as if the whole world stopped for her at that very moment—and it might as well did, if she had heard correctly. She hoped to the Goddess above that she had not, but she had to be sure. Regaining her breath, but just barely, Flitter whispered, “What?”
It was barely audible, yet it echoed through the still air, a single, simple word laced with the dread and forlorn hope of the pony that uttered it.
Rainbow Dash sighed, not out of exasperation, but something more akin to weariness. For the first time in her career, she cursed being captain of Ponyille’s weather captain. Situations like this… Though they were historically few and far between in Ponyville, when they did happen it was up to nopony else but the captain to sort out the mess. She knew such responsibility came with the job, contrary to what some of the more ignorant folk around might think, but that did not mean she ever wished she had to fulfill it. Moreover, she had never thought that something like this would ever happen in the first place, not under her watch.
But it did anyway, and Rainbow Dash felt that much worse for it.
After what had happened, standing on the doorstep of the quaint, homey cottage on Ponyville’s outskirts to deliver her message to a certain pony on the other side of the door, under a sky of ashen gloom and against a backdrop of brilliant reds and oranges—a constant reminder that the Running of the Leaves was fast approaching—was something she had never planned on doing.
Yet there she was.
She wished she could be anywhere else in the world but there at that moment.
Rainbow Dash shivered, though she doubted it was from the sudden, chilly, autumnal breeze that sang its way through the treetops. Her task… Her message… The first time she recited her words, it was as if an icicle had speared her through the gut, the coldness clawing at her from the inside out—but now she would have to repeat herself. Damn it all…
Licking her dry lips with a parched tongue, once more she silently prayed for strength and began heavily, “Flitter… There was… an accident at the weather factory. A malfunction with the storm machine. The clouds got too unstable, and…” She swallowed thickly. “Cloudchaser… Cloudchaser was too close and got caught in the lightning. It took a while, but we managed to clear away the clouds and shut down the machine… but the lightning was way stronger than it should’ve been… The machine must’ve done something to it; I don’t know what. We called for medical help as soon as we could, but…” Briefly averting her gaze, Rainbow Dash grit her teeth before forging on and finishing what had been started, once more bravely looking straight into the wide eyes of the pony before her. “It was too late. Cloudchaser… She’s dead… She died on the way to the hospital… I… I’m so, so sorry, Flitter.” Despite her best efforts, she did not succeed in hiding the weakness in her raspy voice as she said those words, now forever branded into Flitter’s mind, red-hot and screaming.
Cloudchaser’s… dead?
Two words. Just two words that Flitter thought—hoped—she would never hear being said together in her lifetime. Yet here they were, muttered into existence, the first unforgiving drops of reality beginning to seep its way into her rationale, a pit that had formed in her stomach the first time Rainbow Dash delivered the news starting to grow larger.
But no. Flitter would have none of that. Something else inside her being refused to give in, and she loudly breathed in a single breath before saying her piece.
“You’re lying.”
Rainbow Dash blinked, clearly surprised at her reaction. “Wha…?”
“This is some sort of prank, isn’t it?” Flitter snapped, something akin to confidence tinging her words, though for some reason bitter on her tongue. But in her mind it made sense: the Element of Loyalty’s notoriety as a local prankster was almost as legendary as her feats of aerial prowess. “It’s not funny, Rainbow Dash.” She looked sternly at her target, clearly shaken, pale raspberry eyes boring into cerise ones. “I know you can be incredibly daring—incredibly stupid—at times, but this… you just went too far. How dare you? How could you make a joke like this, huh?”
Rainbow Dash said nothing, left speechless as the disgust and accusation in Flitter’s voice shredded apart what little remained of her poise and professionalism.
“Well?”
Rainbow Dash remained frozen for a good five seconds before replying uneasily, her usual bravado nowhere to be found: “…Flitter? I’m… I’m not joking. I know I like to pull a good prank every now and then—” She could not help but pause for a moment at the vicious scowl directed at her, a stark contrast to her normally quiet and gentle demeanor. “But not this. This is serious. I’m being completely serious here.” She tried to paint a look of grim determination on her face, but what she said next was almost like desperate pleading, her scratchy voice cracking with emotion. “Your sister… Cloudchaser… She’s gone, Flitter. She’s… She’s gone.”
The scowl did not leave Flitter’s face, though it felt strained and unsure upon her hearing the distraught tone behind her broken words. Her expression slowly reverted back into something resembling neutrality as she also took in Rainbow Dash’s appearance. The mare was hunched over, her shoulders sagging, legs struggling to hide the apprehension in her knees. Absolutely none of her characteristic pride or élan was present in her posture. Similarly, her face bore an expression of genuine distress: her jaw quivered as she worked to take in shuddering breaths, while the forelock of her wild, prismatic mane hung miserably over large, sad eyes as she looked beseechingly back at her. Looking closely, Flitter could have sworn she even saw the beginnings of small tears forming in the corners of her eyes.
For a moment, a single, fleeting moment, Flitter felt inclined to believe Rainbow Dash…
Cloudchaser’s dead…
That she was right, that something terrible had happened to her sister…
Cloudchaser’s dead
That she was gone forever…
CLOUDCHASER’S DEAD
Her sister… Her twin sister, her other half…
Gone forever…
In that moment, the pit in her stomach widened exponentially, its gaping maw now threatening to consume her whole. Flitter lowered her head, her long, pale opal mane falling over her eyes, and after a while finally gave her response:
“Leave.”
Rainbow Dash recoiled. The word was spoken, not screamed or cried or anything of the sort. There was no grief or hysteria behind it; it was merely spoken, low in volume and lacking any emotion, yet it carried far more force than anything Rainbow Dash had ever faced before.
“Wh—“
“Leave, Rainbow Dash. Go away. You’re not welcome here.”
“F-Flitter!”
“You may be my boss, Rainbow Dash, but that doesn’t mean I’m all right with you ruining my day off like this. Now if you’ll excuse me, Cloudchaser and I have got plans for later tonight after she gets h-home… ”
Failing to overcome her shock and unable to think of something else to say, Rainbow Dash barely registered the heavy wooden door almost slamming against her muzzle.
She did, however, notice the sudden tremulousness in Flitter’s voice, the way it cracked at the very end, as if something from deep within had finally managed to break through a chink in her armor and wiped away a thin veneer that coated the vitriol in her words…
Flitter braced herself against the door, her frame shaking and mind racing as she fought to regain control of the unusual slip in her composure. Refusing to acknowledge the wobbling in her knees or the slight stinging in her eyes, with some effort she managed to straighten herself and had some success in quelling the raging storm within her. She fumed as she stepped away and entered the modest living room of the cozy cottage, not bothering to look at the numerous pictures—precious memories throughout the years—of herself and her sister on a nearby table. Hooves clopping staccato against the aged wooden floor, she muttered lowly to herself, “S-Stupid Rainbow Dash… Doesn’t know what she’s t-talking about… B-Better leave me and my day off alone n-now…”
She laid down on the single plush sofa, sighing in contentment as she sank into its cushiony embrace, ruffling her wings slightly and snuggling for a bit before she reached over and retrieved from the nearby coffee table the Daring Do novel she had been reading.
Before I was so rudely interrupted, thought Flitter crossly, allowing a small frown to mar her delicate features. She opened the book back to the page where she had left off and resumed her reading, only somewhat successful at pointedly ignoring the incessant knocking and hollering at the front door.
Rainbow Dash finally gave up and flew away perhaps ten minutes later, her rainbow contrail—strangely appearing somewhat lackluster, for once—standing out against the gray clouds and disappearing soon afterwards as Flitter watched warily through a nearby window. Immensely grateful for the reprieve, Flitter settled back and was now finally able to enjoy the rest of her book in undisturbed solitude, eager to spend the rest of her day off without any more unwanted visitors. Reading was a pastime she had always enjoyed (as opposed to her more spunky and outgoing twin sister, who preferred spending her time flying and practicing tricks in her free time); it was nice and quiet, with only her thoughts to keep her company as slightly tired but still enraptured eyes hungrily devoured the words on the well-worn pages while the hour ticked away.
It was peaceful, and everything was as it should be.
…
Although…
In the dull silence of her home, broken only by the occasional turning of a page, Flitter could not help but think that, for some reason, everything felt a little bit… empty as she patiently waited for Cloudchaser to arrive back from work. In the middle of a particularly exciting scene, Flitter stole an anxious glance at the front door, expecting it to burst open.
When nothing happened, she hurriedly turned away and resumed reading. What am I doing? Cloudchaser isn’t gonna be home for a few more hours anyway. Just gotta wait until then. From then on, Flitter made a conscious attempt to focus on the book… but for some reason, her eyes kept wanting to look at that door. And try as she might to suppress it, something stirred in her stomach once again while Rainbow Dash’s words—those two words—from earlier echoed through her head.
Cloudchaser’s…
Suddenly the prospect of reading no longer looked as promising as before.
After a few more minutes of half-hearted reading, Flitter eventually found herself completely unable to focus on her story, the gnawing feeling in her gut and the message Rainbow Dash had brought her earlier distracting her too much.
Cloudch…
Her entire frame trembling, she simply stared at the pages as she began to take in choked, shallow breaths. She hardly noticed the strange blurring in her vision as the words and passages before her degenerated into nothing more than unintelligible smears, and she had to make an endeavor to hear the sound of something wet dripping on the pages.
Roughly shoving the book and its tear-stained pages away from her and to the floor with a muffled clatter, Flitter buried her head in her forelegs, curling up and sniffling quietly as she weakly—desperately—kept her ears high and alert for that assuaging yet elusive sound of the front door opening.
As minutes turned to hours, and as the late afternoon gave way to dusk and dusk gave way to nightfall, Flitter heard nothing but the sound of her lonely sobs.
Cloudchaser…
Where are you…?
Please…
Please come home…
Author's Note
I honestly was tempted to leave this as a simple one-shot, but I don't think I'd do the idea any justice if I didn't expand on it. I will say, though, that I'm not exactly sure where and how to proceed from this point on.
