Fluttershy slowly walked into the house, her every footstep made the house creak and groan, as if struggling to hold up her weight.
She looked around the living room, every doorway on the floor she was on was completely sealed, there would be no way for her to get through any of them, at least that's what she thought until she saw one door open up for her.
Fluttershy walked inside, and it just seemed to be an empty closet. She turned to leave, but then she felt one of her hooves slip on something on the floor. Looking down, she found a picture of her and Rainbow Dash together at Ponyville Park.
"Oh, Rainbow Dash, I hope you're okay." With a sad smile, Fluttershy tucked the photo under her good wing and resumed her search of the house.
"I'm…sorry you fell in love with somepony like me Fluttershy." Rainbow's voice cracked, as if she was holding back tears, "I'm not one who deserves it." Dash turned away from the picture, putting her back to Fluttershy, "You should forget about me." Dash began to slowly walk away, walking towards a doorway Fluttershy couldn't reach through the burning flames.
"Rainbow Dash… Wait!" Fluttershy cried out.
Rainbow Dash stopped in her tracks for a moment, as if she didn't want to, but she had to hear what Fluttershy needed to say.
"Rainbow Dash…" Fluttershy whimpered a little, feeling tears burning at the edge of her eye. She gulped the lump in her throat and lifted her head, saying with everything she was feeling inside,
"I... I gave you my heart. Please don't walk away! Please don't do this!"
"…I'm... sorry," was all Rainbow said before disappearing into the doorway before her, shrouded by the fire that filled the house. For a moment, Fluttershy thought she had seen tears fall from Dash's face.
Fluttershy lowered her head as tears began to fall from her own eye, rolling down her cheek and down her chin. She didn't care how hot she felt, or that the fires were still burning so close to her.
She just had to cry right now.
Fluttershy looked up at the dark creature with a smile, "You're a part of my life…and I have to accept that."
The rush of darkness came crashing down, engulfing everything she could understand. She tumbled and rolled through the waving darkness all around her, before something snapped.
With a thud, she found herself back in reality. "Ugnnn…" Fluttershy moaned softly rubbing her head. She opened her eyes to find Twilight standing over them. Beyond her, Rainbow Dash stood up stiffly, wide-eyed and taking everything in. Fluttershy's heart sank as she remembered their last talk.
"Is everypony okay?" Twilight said with some concern, snapping the yellow mare's attention back to the present. "Yes. I think so," Fluttershy calmly confirmed, even if it was only partially true.
Pinkie Pie slowly roused to her feet. Realizing where she was, she put on a big smile and stretched her front legs out into a cheer. "Wow! What a rush! For a minute there, I thought that other Pinkie was going to give me my very last party!"
"I'm... I'm glad you both are okay. I'm not sure what I would have done if you had been hurt trying to help me." Fluttershy gave a small smile as she looked at Pinkie Pie and then back to Rainbow Dash. The blue pegasus returned the look without changing her expression, then turned and walked past them all, leaving without a word.
"Hunh.. Dash?" Fluttershy called out after her marefriend.
Pinkie quickly interrupted the moment before more could be said. "Well girls, I'd like to stick around and chat, but I have a party to plan. Decorations and sweets and... So much to do!" Pinkie giggled, "We should definitely catch up later though."
Twilight watched Pinkie leave with a raised eyebrow. "That girl..." Turning to Fluttershy, she saw the quiet-natured element of kindness still looking at the doorway with obvious sadness on her face. "Fluttershy, did something happen between you and Rainbow Dash during the Mind Delve?"
"Its... personal." Fluttershy dreaded her next conversation with her marefriend. Her heart ached as she was certain she knew its ending. A sad sigh escaped her lips before giving a quiet opinion, "Twilight, I don't think you should ever use that spell again."
'So much to plan, so much to do... I'll need my party favors and desserts and then there's the guest list and...' Pinkie stopped in her tracks. Somepony was walking around the square. She could only just barely make out who in the dark.
'Rainbow Dash? Walking around town? At this late hour? Hmm.' Pinkie walked closer to be sure.
'That's definitely her.' Pinkie gave some deep thought on what was going on. 'Something must have happened to her over there. Something that really shook her.'
An idea sparked to mind. 'Oooooh! I know I should wait to setup the lottery, but if I have the rainbow mane to start with, that could really bring the design for my new dress into focus. Especially with that shade of blue. I could get an early start!' Pinkie drew closer to her first party guest. "Oooooh, Dashiiiiiiiie!"
Rainbow Dash stopped and turned to Pinkie slowly, looking at her with that same wide-eyed expression she had earlier.
"Hunh?" Something was off. Pinkie walked up to the pegasus slowly and looked into her eyes. The poor girl seemed totally empty on the inside, hollow even. But it left an impression on Pinkie's mind. 'Rotting cloth and stitching?' Pinkie's eyes lit up as she realized what it meant. Falling over backwards, she burst into a laughing fit she found hard to keep quiet enough to not wake the neighbors. Which didn't matter much when she shouted out "This is going to be THE BEST PARTY EVER!"
Pinkie Pie had returned to the square a couple of hours later to start hanging up decorations. She needed to be sure the town had gone back to sleep to keep everything a surprise. 'Its not only going to be the best party ever, its also going to be the biggest I've ever thrown.' Looking over at the time on a nearby clock, she figured it wouldn't be too much longer. 'Hm, she'll be back soon and there's still several more decorations to put up. Better put a hustle in my bustle.' Pinkie giggled softly to herself as she sped things up a little.
It had taken a few hours for Rainbow Dash to find the cave in the Everfree Forest on foot. There were only a couple of things left that Pinkie had wanted her to do. Dash stepped stiffly into the cave to find its owner, an Ursa Major.
