"What's this?" Scootaloo asked herself as she stared at the flower before her.
It was a dark flower. Dark petals, dark leavs and it looked like a flower from her old coloring books. To Scootaloo it looked like a three dimensional shadow. Scootaloo bent over and sniffed the flower. To her surprise it didn't smell like anything, but it looked pretty, so she bit off the stem and walked back to Ponyville, deciding to take it to Rainbow Dash as a surprise.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"Hey, Twi!" Rainbow Dash called as she pushed open the doors to the Golden Oaks Library, saddle bags at her sides.
"Rainbow!" Twilight squealed as she dropped her book and ran over to her marefriend, planting a kiss on her when she got close enough. "I missed you." She continued as she wrapped Rainbow in a warm embrace.
"Heh, heh. Geez, Twi." Rainbow said, taken aback by the sudden embrace. "I've only been gone for a day."
"I know," Twilight said, not letting go of Rainbow. "but I still missed you."
"Hey, Rainbow!" Spike's voice sounded from the second floor.
"Hey, Spike!" Rainbow called up to the dragon. "Oh, Twi." Rainbow said, rummaging in her saddle bags.
"Yes, Rainbow?" Twilight inquired, relieving Rainbow from the embrace.
"I've got a question for you." Rainbow began, taking out a lavender box and flicking the lid open, revealing a silver ring with a piece of amethyst in the middle, resembling Twilight's cutiemark. "Will you marry me?" She asked.
Twilight stared at the ring for a full five seconds, her jaw hanging open. Finally she jumped at Rainbow, wrapping her in the tightest embrace she could muster.
"Yes!" She squealed in delight.
"Uhh... Thanks, Twi. But I kind of have to breathe." Rainbow groaned from her spot under Twilight.
"Oh, sorry, Rainbow." Twilight apologized, releasing Rainbow from her embrace.
"It's okay." Rainbow said, picking herself up off the floor.
"You're getting married?!" Came a voice from the doorway.
Rainbow and Twilight jumped, and turned around, only to find Scootaloo, a flower clamped in her mouth by the stem.
"Awesome!" She exclaimed, running over to Rainbow.
"Heya, Squirt. Whatcha got there?" Rainbow asked, looking at the flower in Scootaloo's mouth.
"Oh, this?" Scootaloo asked, showing Rainbow the flower. She then quickly proceeded to tuck the flower into Rainbow's mane. "For you." She happily said.
"Heh, thanks, Squirt." Rainbow said, walking over to the mirror to look at her reflection. The flower stood out against her mane, like a dark sun.
"Wow! It looks awesome!" Rainbow happily said, turning to Twilight. "Hey, Twi. What's this flower called?"
"I... Actually don't know, Rainbow." Twilight said, her eyes transfixed on the flower currently in Rainbow's mane, an uncertain expression on her face.
"You don't?" Rainbow asked incredulously, "Ah well." She sighed. Looking back at her reflection, when suddenly a wave of nausea washed over her. "Ooohhhh..." She mumbled, grabbing her head with her right front hoof, her balance failing.
"RAINBOW!!!" Twilight shrieked, galloping over to her marefriend and catching her as she started to fall.
Once Rainbow regained her balance, she pushed away from Twilight in her effort to stand up by herself.
"I'm okay." Rainbow said, "Nothing to worry about."
"No, Rainbow." Twilight replied. "You have to stay here today."
"But we have that meet with the girls." Rainbow insisted.
"I'm sorry, Rainbow, but you'll have to stay here." Twilight cut off, wrapping her in a gentle hug. "You seem too sick to go. Don't worry, tbough. I'll tell them why you couldn't make it."p
"... Fine." Rainbow relented, climbing up onto the nearest couch and resting her head against the pillow Twilight grabbed.
With that, Twilight got up, and started towards the door, gesturing to Scootaloo that it was time for her to leave as well. Scootaloo left first, giving Twilight the time to double back, and levitate the flower out of Rainbow's mane.
"What are you?" She muttered to the flower as she set it down on her desk, determined to study it later.
. . .
"Hey, girls!"
"Howdy, Twi."
"Hello, Twilight."
"Heya, Twilight!"
"Ummm... Hello Twilight. Where's Rainbow Dash?"
"She's... Not feeling well, Fluttershy." Twilight explained.
"Rainbow Dash? Not feel well?" Rarity inquired, her eyebrow arched.
"Ah've never known the gal to get sick." Applejack's commented, taking a bite out of one of her apples she'd brought from her home. "But I rekon she'll pull through in no time."
"I hope your right, Applejack." Twilight replied.
She decided not to tell the others that Rainbow and her we're getting married, she decided it would be better to tell when Rainbow was with them. So she attempted to push the thoughts of Rainbow's sudden sickness to the back of her mind and just enjoy this time with her friends.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Rainbow was running.
Running through the dark green bushes of the Everfree, away from the monsters she knew were chasing her. She wanted to fly, but she couldn't. Her wings were frozen against her sides, unwilling to move. She couldn't help herself, and turned her head around to see just how far they were behind her. They were close. So close she could see their eyes. Their cold, lifeless, yellow eyes. They were catching up to her, no matter how hard she ran, every time she looked back the would see their shadowy bodies moving in complete silence, and their pearl white teeth and claws glinting in the darkness. No matter if they caught up to her or not, Rainbow put on another burst of speed, determined to get away from her shadowy pursuers, yet one jumped. She turned around just in time to see its claws come in contact with her head.
Suddenly, Rainbow found herself in a grassy plane, the wind calmly sweeping above the grass, and moving the shadowy flowers that grew in clumps everywhere. Rainbow bent down to examine the flower closely. It looked like the flower that Scootaloo had given her, even if it was enveloped in a dark aura. Then, the ground started to give way, eating giant holes in the ground. One opened up directly below Rainbow. She tried to scream, but she couldn't. All she could do was gasp, as she fell down into the dark void of nothing.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Rainbow slowly opened her eyes, only to be greeted with the familiar view of her cloud house. She smiled slowly. I feel better now. She thought to herself. Suddenly she felt something rub against her cheek. Turning, her eyes fell upon Tank.
"Hey, Tank." She whispered to her companion, a smile on her face.
Tank seemed quite happy to see Rainbow, but he kept glancing over to the calander, as if u wanted to tell Rainbow something.
"What is it, Tank?" Rainbow inquired, her eyebrow rising.
Tank began to tap his head repeatedly on a date, making Rainbow look at him in confusion.
"Uhhhh... That's tomorrow, Tank." Rainbow said.
Tank shook his head.
"Yes it is, T- SWEET CELESTIA, THE GET TOGETHER'S TODAY!!!" Rainbow shrieked as she made a mad dash for the door. She couldn't believe that she forgot about the get together. She had planned to meet up with the others at Sugarcube Corner with... Twilight?
Rainbow stopped in her tracks.
"Wait a minute..." Rainbow muttered out loud. "I was gonna go with... Twilight? I had just asked her to marry me..." She trailed off as she turned around to look at her house, her memories flooding back into her head. "How the HAY did I het here?" Rainbow could feel her heart rate rising rapidly. "I passed out at Twi's place... Scootaloo had just given me that flower..." Rainbow felt in her mane for Scootaloo's gift. "It's gone..." Rainbow muttered to herself. Wasting no time, she took off for Ponyville. Twi will know what's going on. She thought to herself.
. . .
Once Ponyville came within her sight, Rainbow nearly fell out of the sky in shock. Ponyville's town hall was in ruins. There were beams scattered everywhere, and the town hall's roof was sitting in the outskirts of Ponyville. Rainbow flew to the library, and pushed open the doors.
"Twilight!" Rainbow called into the library.
No sooner had the name left her lips, a flash of lavender light appeared in front of Rainbow, revealing her marefriend. Suddenly Rainbow fet herself get tackled to the ground in the biggest hug she had ever experienced.
"Your back!" Twilight sobbed into Rainbow's coat.
"Ummm..." Rainbow mumbled, trying to take in the events of today. "What do you mean 'I'm back'?"
"When I got back from the get together you were missing, Rainbow! For a whole day! In that time a creature attacked town hall!"
"I've been gone a whole day?!" Rainbow shrieked, pushing herself away from Twilight, "And some pony attacked town hall?! When I get my hoo-"
She was interrupted by a scream from Twilight.
"Twi!" She yelled as she spun around to face her marefriend, but was shocked to find her staring at Rainbow now with an expression of horror. "What's wrong?" Rainbow asked, her voice beginning to waver.
"R-Rainbow... Your cutiemark!" Twilight stammered.
Rainbow looked at her cutiemark in curiosity, and nearly fainted on shock. For where her familiar cutiemark comprised of a cloud and rainbow lightning bolt used to be, now sat a dark flower that bore an uncanny resemblance to the one Scootaloo had given her just yesterday.
