When The Sky Fallsby Bigwig6666ChaptersI - FillyfriendsII - Crash LandingIII - If OnlyI - FillyfriendsWhen The Sky Falls Part I - Fillyfriends One week before the incident. Twilight Sparkle nervously glanced up at the clock. Her date would be here any minute, and she refrained from tearing her mane out from the stress of making sure nothing went wrong. Her friend was very special to her. One of her best friends, actually. She smiled as she remembered her flowing, rainbow coloured mane, and her graceful soars through the sky. But Rainbow Dash would have a fit if she was called 'graceful'. She giggled to herself and once more glanced at the clock. "Any second now," she murmured, suddenly fearful and sweaty. "Oh maybe I should just say I'm busy with something the princess said to do-" *Knock knock knock, knock knock* Twilight cocked an ear out at the slight pause in the rhythmic knocking. *Knock knock* She gave a small shriek and scurried forwards. "OK, deep breaths." She took a deep breath and grasped the door, pausing for a moment and giggling away to herself like a madpony. Rainbow Dash stood there, with her usually untidy mane in a nice little knot at the end. She smiled at the unicorn and winked. "Hey, Twi. What's so funny?" she asked. Twilight blushed and gestured inside. "Nothing. Come in Rainbow, please," she tittered. The pegasus obliged her and stepped inside, rustling her wings and glancing around. "Can I get you anything, D-Dash?" Rainbow raised an eyebrow at the stutter. "Sure. You got any AJ?" Twilight blinked. "AJ? Applejack?" "Apple juice," Dash deadpanned and smiled a bit at her friend's ineptitude. "Oh right. Yeah, one second." The unicorn trotted away, feeling a hot blush spread across her cheeks. Of course she meant apple juice. We don't drink our friends. The pegasus grinned to herself and leaned against the wall, playing with the knot in her hair. She watched the back of the unicorn's head and scratched her own. C'mon, Dash, say something. You've been waiting for this for days. Twilight trotted back with a glass of the orange liquid in her magical grasp. "Here you go, Rainbow. Anything else?" she asked, somewhat eagerly. "No thanks, Twi." An awkward silence fell upon them. Owlowicious hooted in the corner as he watched the two mares with his beady owl eyes, wondering what the flying feather was going on. Twilight shot him a death glare and inched closer to her friend. "So, uh... what do we do now?" Dash gulped and smacked her lips together as she set the glass down. "Uhh... I think... we do this," she mumbled and leant forwards. The unicorn watched as her friend's face filled her vision, an their noses pressed up in a tender gesture. She raised her hind leg slightly as they pressed their lips to one another. Dash suddenly pulled away and scowled. "Uh, sorry, Twi if that was too fast for ya. I know not all ponies can keep up with the Dash," she said, back in her normal 'Rainbow Dash' mood as the trotted over to the couch. Twilight giggled and batted her eyelashes. "Oh yeah!" she suddenly cired and turned around. "Where is it, where is it?" she muttered. Rainbow glanced around and shifted out the way just in time. "Uh, Twi? What're you looking for?" The unicorn shot up and blushed. "Ah, um, surprise. For you. As a sort of present. From me. To you." Dash rolled her eyes. "Twilight, we don't have to start giving each other presents yet. I mean, we have been going out for two months now, but you don't need to start the random gift giving. That's Pinkie's job." "No, I mean for your bir-" A purple hoof promptly shoved itself into her mouth and refused any more words to pass. The pegasus's eyes widened. "My what?" Her jaw worked up and down for a moment. "Birthday," Twilight squeaked and turned away again, bright red and cursing herself for ruining the surprise. Rainbow blinked and furrowed her brow. "My birthday? My birthday's not 'till next week." Twilight turned back and blushed. "Well, it's your first birthday since 'us' and I thought I'd like to give you something special, as an early birthday present." She glanced over her shoulder and sprang out of her seat. "Aha! There it is!" The cyan pegasus sat back, slightly transfixed by the wiggling flank of her fillyfriend inches away from her face. The unicorn giggled as she flicked through the book. "I really think you'll like this spell. Its purpose is to make the caster, or the receiver, faster." "Uh huh," Dash murmured as she watched Twilight's cutie mark. "Just a pinch couldn't hurt," she told herself and bit her lip. She carefully and slowly extended a hoof and stroked her fillyfriend's back, eventually pinching the tender magenta area. Twilight blushed deeply and pulled back, resting her forelegs on the edge of the sofa and turned to face Rainbow Dash. She raised a hoof and placed it on top of the pegasus'. Rainbow blinked and suddenly pulled away, turning as red as the red streak in her mane. "S-sorry, Twilight," she mumbled and glared at the hoof which had stroked her friend's back. "I just really wanted to-" She was silenced as Twilight leaned in and pressed their mouths together again. They kissed passionately.To them, the world was a blue face and a purple face, pressed up in an intimate action, for all the world to see. Twilight broke the kiss and felt her eyelids flutter. Rainbow did the same and gently stroked the side of her friend's face. "Twi... do you... wanna... go upstairs?" she murmured and moistened her lips. The unicorn nodded with a slight grin as she took her fillyfriend's hoof and led her to the bedroom. ~~~ Three days before the incident. Twilight poured her eyes over the spell book once more. She'd been staring and glaring at the same page for the better part of three hours, all while Rainbow Dash sat opposite and immersed herself in Daring Do's world once more. Occasionally, they glanced up at each other with grins and blushes. And also occasionally, Dash would slide her hind leg up the inside of the opposite mare's, eliciting a couple of giggles and joking scowls, as would Twilight, who gladly returned the gesture with a titter and a smile. "So how long will the spell last?" Dash asked, breaking the silence that had fallen between them. Twilight glanced down at the book again. "About... twelve minutes if I'm reading this right. That's plenty of time to do something dashing isn't it?" she giggled and glanced up again. Rainbow's cheeks were a colourful red as she furiously turned to the book. Unbeknownst to Twilight, this was one of Daring Do's more... exciting books. And it was making her sweat. Every time Dash glanced upwards, she felt the need to re-enact several scenes from her book with the aid of her companion. "But I think we could perform it soon," Twilight said, making the pegasus's head raise once more. "I mean, there are still a few calculations to perform, and a few bits here and there I would need to tweak, depending on your wing span, and your top flight speed already." Rainbow grinned. "I'm sure by now, Twi, you'd know my full wing span," she said, matter of factly, as she felt her wings rise of their own accord. Twilight blushed furiously and giggled softly. "I guess I do. But we still have a few modifications. It says there's a high chance of... crashes." She winced and glanced up once more. "I... I don't want anything to happen to you, Dashie. I love you too much, as a friend and a fillyfriend. If anything happened it would be my fault..." Dash quickly set down the book and moved around the table, hugging her fillyfriend tightly and whispering sweetly, "Nothing bad's gonna happen. Trust me." She suddenly frowned and leant back. "What do you mean 'my top flight speed'? Surely you of all ponies should know, that the Dash doesn't have a top flight speed. I just keep goin', remember?" Twilight giggled again and rested her face in her hooves. "Alright, alright. But I want this to be your birthday present. That's only three days, remember?" Rainbow sulkily picked up her book again. "I guess so," she huffed. "But I don't wanna wait three days! I wanna go faster than I've ever gone before," she said, subconsciously referencing a scene in the book. "And I want you to help me get there, Twi." The unicorn turned red and smiled weakly. "And I will, don't worry, but I still refuse to do anything until your birthday," she said stubbornly and turned her nose up with shut eyes. The pegasus frowned as she watched her fillyfriend's mouth twitch upwards. "Oh, yo do, do you? Well then. Take... this!" she cried and lunged forwards, mercilessly tickling the unicorn's soft belly. Twilight shrieked with glee and tried to fight her off. Tried being the key word. "Rainbow! Sop it! I can't breathe!" she gasped. Her tormentor released her hold and helped her up. "You're too easy, Twi." She walked around her fillyfriend and grinned mischievously, drawing her tail across the purple flank. "Plus, I know your ticklish spots." Twilight blushed and swiped her away. She smiled and yawned. Dash saw her cue and inclined her head for a nuzzle. Twilight happily returned said nuzzles and smiled even more. "We should probably... *yawn*... ahh... get to bed." The pegasus nodded. "Your house or mine?" Her fillyfriend's face fell momentarily. "Oh... I just remembered I need to be up early tomorrow. The princess is coming to visit," she apologised. "Sorry, but it looks like we're gonna have to sleep in our own beds tonight." Dash huffed and sulkily nodded. "I suppose. Goodnight then, Twilight Sparkle." "Goodnight, Rainbowlicious." Rainbow Dash froze and her pupils shrank to pinpricks. "You promised you would never call me that again," she whispered. Twilight fell back laughing. "It's not funny." "It is." "Not." "Is." "Not!" "Is!" "You keep arguing and Im gonna have to tickle you again," Rainbow warned. Twilight stuck her tongue out as she dusted herself off. "You'll have to catch me first!" she cried and darted of to the left. The pegasus snorted and rose into the air. "Have it your way, Twilightlicious." ~~~ After the chase, Twilight waved goodbye to her companion for the night. At that moment, she realized she hadn't seen Spike all evening. "I wonder where he is?" she murmured as she straightened her mane. She tutted at the messiness of her living room. She sighed contently as she flared her horn up and started picking everything up. "Where would I be without magic?" she wondered out loud with a light chuckle. As the books danced themselves to the shelves and the wash towel dried up the coffee spills on it's own, she smiled to herself and trotted upstairs, up to her bedroom and her comfy mattress. She reached under her pillow and took out a small, blue feather. She hugged it to her chest as she drifted off to sleep with a smile on her smitten face. II - Crash LandingWhen The Sky Falls Part II - Crash Landing The day of the incident. Rainbow Dash flexed her wings and cracked her neck. "You ready, Twi?" "Sure Rainbow Dash. Just gimme a second to work up the spell." "Oh this is gonna be so awesome!" The cyan pegasus squeed with delight. "Best. Birthday. Ever!" she declared and raised a triumphant hoof. The purple unicorn smiled as her friend did a loop-de-loop, momentarily losing her focus. "Only if it works. This is a highly volatile spell, Rainbow. It could go wrong-" she started. Rainbow Dash waved a hoof. "Yeah, yeah. You won't screw it up, Twilight. You're like the me of magic. You don't - nah... you can't make mistakes when it comes to that stuff. You're just too cool. For an egghead that is," she chuckled and landed next to her friend. Twilight Sparkle blushed and focused more on the spell again. "Really, Rainbow, I'm just a regular old unicorn. Everypony makes mistakes. Remember when you crashed a few months ago? When you discovered you love reading?" "I do not love reading!" Dash protested. "I just really, really like it is all. And that crash was a fluke. The sun was in my eyes," she muttered and turned away, feeling a blush on her blue cheeks start to spread. "Uh huh. So what if the sun got in my eyes while I was doing this spell?" Twilight teased. Dash furrowed her brow as she shot up into the air and placed several clouds in strategic locations, just so they had enough light to see, but not enough to blind Twilight. "There. Happy now?" "I suppose. But you didn't have to do that, you know?" "And you're not a regular old unicorn," she heard her friend whisper as she flicked some of her rainbow coloured mane away. The 'egghead' laughed it off and sparked her horn. "OK, based on what I've read, this spell should amplify the way you move by-" "Twenty percent?" Dash cut in eagerly. "Well, yeah. Just about. More like twenty point five, five, five-" "Yeah I get it Twi. So how is it dangerous?" the brazen pegasus asked as she dropped, and began to do push-ups with her wings, cracking them at regular intervals and occasionally using only one. "Hmph," Twilight snorted and looked at the book again. "Once you start you may find it hard to stop. Take it easy, Dash, we don't know how this spell will work after all. I don't want you to get hurt," she said quietly and gazed into the magenta eyes of her fillyfriend. The pegasus in question winced. "Aww, don't look at me like that Twi. Nothin' bad's gonna happen. You just watch." She inclined her head forwards for an encouraging nuzzle and smiled. "Now c'mon. I'm just dying to go twenty percent faster than usual. Beam me up, Twilight!" she commanded and spread her wings. Twilight giggled softly and flared her horn up. "OK. Here goes..." She fired a magenta beam of energy at her friend, who lit up like a Hearth's Warming Eve tree. "Twi-i-i-i-l-l-l-i-i-ight!" she cried and took a step forwards. Twilight yelped and ceased firing the beam. Dash lay panting on the ground with a few magenta sparks flying around her body. "Rainbow! Are you OK?!" the purple friend screamed and rushed to her aid. The pegasus coughed and opened her eyes. The world seemed to move so fast. "I'mfineTwilightseeItoldyounothingwasgonnahappenwelllgottagowishmeluckgettingfasterWOOOOO!" she said, in the space of roughly three seconds and zoomed into the air. Twilight blinked and watched the smoke trail laden with her magic shoot off into the sky. "Uh... oh..." she murmured as she watched the distant speck of her friend perform hundreds of tricks in a few seconds. "Well, she is faster," she said, thoroughly impressed with her own spell. "I guess it worked." "WAAAAAAHHHHHHOOOOOO!" Dash cried as she zoomed past, promptly knocking her friend over with the force of the wind. The unicorn yelped as she tumbled over, and received a face full of mud, once more, from her fillyfriend. "Ugh... Rainbow..." she jokingly growled. The pegasus curved around in mid-air and waved to her fillyfriend. "HeyTwilightwatchthis!" she said. Twilight got up and nodded. "Oh, I'm watching Rainbow Dash. Just try not to... to..." she watched in open mouthed horror as Rainbow shot up further into the sky and began to descend. Rapidly. "Oh no, no, no, Rainbow! If you do that you won't be able to stop!" she yelled up. The comet of Rainbow Dash didn't hear her as she sped towards the ground. With this much speed, I'll be able to make a sonic rainboom easily! she excitedly thought as she felt the G-Force wrench her lips apart. Tears streamed from her eyes as the wind forced itself into her and she felt the sound barrier beneath her. C'mon... c'mooon... She closed her eyes and faced away from the rising ground. Then she felt something wrong. She straightened her wings, trying to pull out. Her heart pounded with the intensity and the sudden rush of air. Oh no. Twilight was right. No, no, no, no, no. "TWI-I-I-ILIGHT! I C-CAN'T STOP!" she screamed, still with her eyes shut. She heard the unicorn below scream in response as she opened one eye and stared into the face of her fillyfriend, and the sudden green of the grass, and then... *CRACK* Twilight froze up in horror as she heard the sound and her friend skidded to a halt, some ten feet away from where she'd made contact with the earth. "R-Rainbow?" she croaked. Her throat was coarse and dry as she stumbled forwards. "Rainb-bow D-Dash?" Silence. Save for the birds in the trees and the cold wind that tore through her mane. "Rainbow!" she screamed and charged forwards towards the broken body of her pegasus. "Oh Rainbow! I told you it wasn't safe!" She heard voices behind her. She turned and saw a small crowd had gathered, coming to watch the legendary sonic rainboom performer as she showed off. A few of them ran over, offering assistance and words of comfort. "Get help! Somepony! Anypony! get help! Call an ambulance!" she yelled at them as she huddled over the body of her friend. "Rainbow Dash... don't you leave me... don't you dare..." she whispered and cradled her head in sobbing hooves. Blood trickled out around them, forming a small pool on the damp grass. The clouds overhead rumbled with annoyance and splashed out a single drop of rain onto her nose. Twilight hunched over her friend and heard faint sirens approaching. "Rainbow..." she whispered and brushed the rainbow mane back. "Please be OK." ~~~ Applejack petted her friend on the back with a worried frown. The scene didn't look pretty. They hoisted Rainbow Dash's body onto the stretcher. Twilight shivered. "It's my fault..." she murmured. "Shhh," the cow-pony murmured and brought her into a hug. "Ya'll didn't know this would happen, Twilight. Neither of you did. And with Dash bein' so headstrong, ah'm sure she'll be fine. She always is." She glanced up at their other friends with sad eyes. Rarity nodded and hugged the crying form of Fluttershy. "Yes. I'm sure she'll be fine, Twilight. Applejack is right; Rainbow Dash always pulls through when she crashes. You mustn't beat yourself up over this, dear." "But I knew it would happen. I knew and didn't do anything. If she's dead, it's because of me. BECAUSE OF ME!" she screamed, making them all jump. She hung her head and leant against Applejack as she wept. Pinkie frowned and raised her chin. "Hey now, don't say things like that, Twilight. Dashie will be alright. Look: Here comes the doctor to tell you she'll be alright." She pointed over to a dark orange stallion trotting over to them with a pained expression. "I'm... afraid you aren't going to like the news," he said, avoiding their eyes. Twilight wailed and buried herself in Applejack's shoulder. Fluttershy wailed just as loudly and threw her hooves around her pink, comforting friend. They all gaped. "You mean.. she's..." Rarity whispered with fear ridden eyes. The doctor glanced up. "Oh no, she's just really badly hurt. Really badly hurt. There's a high chance she may not live. Now the bad news-" "That was the good news?!" AJ yelled in his face. Rarity and Pinkie paled as they tried to hold Applejack back. "What in tarnation is the bad news then?!" she roared as she sat back down and nuzzled her crying friend gently, glaring at the doctor. The doctor cleared his throat. "I'm afraid that there's a very high chance of your friend never flying again." They all gaped with horrified expressions. Twilight looked up with red, puffy eyes. "You mean... she's grounded... for life?" she whispered. "She could be. Her wings are severely broken in several places. It could take months of medication and therapy for her to fully heal. It could even take years. I'm sorry." He turned away with sad eyes and kicked the ground. "I take it she meant a lot to you?" They all nodded solemnly. "Twilight and her... they were close," Applejack explained. He nodded. "Then I'm sorry there's nothing more we can do." He trotted away and began to talk amongst his peers, all of them shaking their heads sadly. "...Poor girl..." "Someponies can't handle their own speed sometimes. It's awful when this happens..." "I'm more worried about her than the patient. She looks like Tartarus." "Indeed...." Twilight blocked them out as she slowly got up and pulled away from her friends. She staggered forwards on shaking legs. Rarity caught her just before she hit the ground. "Applejack, help me." The orange mare nodded and held her friend up too, draping a hoof around her neck, so the unicorn in question was walking on two legs, with each front hoof draped around her assistant's necks. They hobbled over towards the ambulance, where they saw their broken friend. "I'm... fine... girls..." Twilight whispered. They sighed and released heir holds of her. She sunk to the ground and held a hoof over her friend's body. She hesitated and retracted it. "I'm so sorry, Rainbow Dash..." she whispered. Applejack winced and glanced at Rarity. The ivory mare winced back and turned away. "We'd better give her some privacy, Applejack. It's for the best," she said quietly. AJ reluctantly agreed and also turned away, giving Twilight one last reassuring pat on the back. Twilight sniffled and stared at the closed eyes of her fillyfriend. "I'm so... so sorry... I... I..." She broke down in tears again as she turned away and pawed at the moist ground beneath her hooves. I did this. This is my fault. I'm a monster... I hurt my friend - my fillyfriend! I'm a monster... a monster who deserves no friends... Who deserves no more magic... She looked up and wiped some tears away. "My magic did this," she mumbled. "My magic hurt one of my best friends, and the only pony I will ever love... I don't... want... magic anymore..." She let a hoof hover above her friend's body for a few moments, before limply dropping to one side as she stood up and slumped away. Her friends watched her go and quietly and slowly followed her, all fearing for her life. Who knew what she might do right now? "We've got ta convince her that it wasn't her fault," Applejack whispered. "But it wasn't, AJ," Pinkie said as she hobbled along, with one hoof around Fluttershy. "If it was anypony's fault, it was Dashie's." They froze as Twilight disapparated and reapparated in front of the pink mare. "How dare you say that!" she growled, clearly on the verge of a severe mental breakdown. Her eyes spoke wonders to them. Red and bloodshot, and blazing with fury and disgust, partly at herself, and partly at the mare who suggesed it was anypony's fault besides her own. Pinkie winced. "I didn't mean it like that, Twilight. But she does go a bit fast-" "Pinkie, just... stop talkin'," Applejack snapped and placed a hoof on her purple friend's shoulder. "Listen, Twi, she didn't mean it, nopony's ta blame-" "Get off me!" Twilight suddenly shouted and backed away, eyes completely changing to those of a scared kitten: Big and wide and swimming with tears. "Get away! I might hurt one of you next!" Uh oh, thought Applejack. This isn't good. "Twilight, you can't blame yerself. It was nopony's fault, Dash was jus' goin' a bit fast, is all. Come on now, let's all go and get something ta eat. We can talk about this later, if ya'll want-" "Get away!" Twilight blurted out, making them all flinch and hop backwards one step. "No... no... I'lll leave... I'll - I'll run away, where I can't hurt anypony..." she mumbled, more to herself than her friends, who, upon hearing her words, started forwards with worried faces. "Oh no, you are not running away on us, Twilight!" Rarity scolded and grabbed her hoof. "Come o- OOF!" she cried as she was flung backwards. Applejack and Pinkie Pie gaped while Fluttershy froze up and stared ahead with unblinking eyes. Twilight gazed after Rarity, then snapped herself back to reality with a horrified expression. "Oh... oh no... what... what have I done?" III - If OnlyWhen The Sky Falls Part III - If Only The magenta sparks fizzed down as Twilight stepped backwards with a horrified expression as she realized what she'd just done, and was filled with self loathing and a vile feeling of regret and fear. ""Oh... oh no... what have I done? I've... I've done it again... see?! I'm a monster! A MONSTER!" she wailed and flared her horn up once more. Tears streamed from her eyes as she disappeared into thin air with a crackle and a bright flash of light. Applejack stared at the spot where her friend was a few seconds ago, then, snapping herself back to reality, "Rarity! Rarity are you OK?" she yelled and charged over to where the unicorn had been flung. Rarity coughed and sat up, glancing down at the small, red mark on her midriff. "Yes, I'm fine, dear. What happened? Surely Twilight didn't mean to do that - where is she?" she gasped as she realized Twilight wasn't there anymore. "She left. She thought she hurt you and left. C'mon, we've got ta find her and make sure she doesn't hurt herself," the cow-pony said and helped her friend up. "C'mon everypony!" All three of them, Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie Pie, charged towards the town. Then they stopped and looked at Fluttershy. The butter yellow pegasus hid behind her long, pink mane and gave long, heartbreaking sobs. "Please... I don't want... just..." she whimpered. It was the first she'd said since they heard about Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash. Applejack smacked her head. "We'd better stay with Dash. Ah'll stay while you two go make sure Twi's OK. I'll stay with Fluttershy here." She trotted over and nuzzled her crying friend. "Hey now, it's alright, ah'm here. You two, go!" Rarity and Pinkie nodded, the latter giving somewhat of a comical salute in a vain effort to lighten the mood. Upon seeing the disapproving glares from her friends, she sadly turned and cantered in the direction of the town once again. The orange mare carefully eased the yellow mare to her feet. "Easy now. C'mon. Ah'll take you to see Dash. Is that OK?" Fluttershy squealed and shook her head. "I'm sorry Applejack, but I don't - I can't see her like that. Knowing how much pain she must be in... never being able to fly again..." Applejack winced. She'd forgotten the doctor had said that. "Hey now, the doc only said she might never fly again. And knowin' Rainbow like we do, all she'll need is a glass of warm cider and a shove in the air, and she'll be up and about in no time," she forcefully chuckled, in an attempt to crack a smile onto Fluttershy's face. She was disappointed. Fluttershy looked back down at the ground and trembled. Applejack grimaced. What if ah'm wrong? she thought. A grounded pegasus is no way to live. They weren't built for walking all the time... Her thoughts traced back to Scootaloo, where she winced further. Poor kid. She looks up to Rainbow Dash... Ah wonder how Dash'll react at being told she's grounded forever. She turned her gaze skywards and sighed. It seemed hopeless. Twilight was probably running away as she thought about it, and Dash was comatose. Fluttershy was in no state to do anything. She felt utterly hopeless and did the only thing she could think of. She huddled her friend close and whispered quiet words of encouragement. "We'll just... stay here for now then... is that alright?" she whispered. The pegasus nodded and sniffed, nuzzling her face against the orange coat. "I'm scared Applejack," she confessed, just above whispering volume. AJ looked down with a frown. "About what?" "About Twilight. About Rainbow Dash." "Oh." Silence fell upon them as a few drops of rain descended onto their heads. Applejack pulled her hat low and covered up her own tears as she hugged her friend. It was a grey day for them all. ~~~ Spike finally finished re shelving the library books when he heard sirens. He immediately rushed out and just managed to catch the trails of the ambulance disappearing towards the hill where Twilight said she'd be going. Uh oh, he thought. I hope nothing bad has happened. He went back inside and rang his claws together. It never sat well with him when Twilight went off to try a new spell without him. "But she does have Rainbow now, so I guess..." He sat back down on the comfy beanbag and picked up a small bucket of rubies, and promptly began guzzling them down, mainly to reassure himself. He jumped up in shock as a purple unicorn suddenly appeared in the centre of the room. He squinted and realized who it was almost instantly, standing up and knocking the bucket of rubies over. "Twilight! What happened? I heard sirens and-" "I'm leaving Spike. I'm leaving for good," she coldly told him and pulled out the large trunk from under her bed. "I'm going to pack up and leave. I'm never going to hurt another pony again." "Twilight, what are you talking about? You didn't hurt anypony!" the baby dragon insisted and placed a claw on her leg. "Talk to me." She turned to him. He noticed her eyes were red and puffy. Tears soaked her coat around her cheeks and her muzzle was wet, like she'd been crying, which he assumed she had been. "I... almost... I almost..." she murmured as she placed a few of her things in the trunk, before giving up and just standing with her head so low it almost touched the ground. Spike patted her leg again and smiled. "Take it easy, Twilight. Have a seat, tell me what happened." Twilight shook her head and suddenly cast a fearful gaze around. "...Killed Rainbow Dash..." He gaped. "That's... that's stupid, Twilight. You wouldn't dare hurt another pony, let alone one of your best friends, not your fillyfriend either." She shook her head and pressed her nose to his, losing the self pity and taking on more of a self loathing tone. "No, I did. I almost killed her and Rarity just now. I have to leave before I actually do kill somepony. You could be next, Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie Pie. I'm dangerous. So I'm leaving. Goodbye." She turned back to her trunk and sighed, pushing it back and picking up her saddlebag. He watched her with an open jaw. "You... you couldn't have.. they're your friends. You wouldn't hurt anypony. You couldn't, Twilight." "Heh." Her laugh was hollow and filled with angst as she raised her head and gazed at the ceiling. "Dash said something similar... I failed her, Spike... I failed all of you, I failed the princess, I failed my friends... I failed myself. I promised her I would never do magic again. So I won't. ever. I'm leaving. Don't follow me.... just in case I do hurt one of you. I'm sorry, Spike. But It's for the best. I'm sure you'll be fine with Rarity or Fluttershy..." She turned her head back down and looked at him. "Take... take care of Rainbow for me, will you, please?" she begged. Before he could respond, the door flung open. "Hold it missy!" Pinkie bellowed and tackled the purple unicorn. "You aren't going anywhere, not never, no way, no how," she proclaimed from atop her friend. Rarity sighed and quickly tried to salvage the situation. "Twilight, you can't run away. Rainbow needs you. We need you. Twilight, darling, you even need yourself-" "I almost killed you, Rarity!" Twilight squealed as she covered herself up under Pinkie's legs. "Pfft. Rubbish. You only gave me a small scratch. Now come on, stop this foolish talk and-" She yelped as Twilight kicked Pinkie off and dove out the window. "Hey! Get back here!" the pink pony cried adamantly as she lunged forwards, missing her friend's hoof by an inch. "Come on! We've got to tell everypony to watch out for her!" Rarity cried. Pinkie nodded and charged outwards. Rarity was about to follow when she saw Spike staring at the window. "Spike?" Spike was silent. A single tear rolled down his cheek as she turned him to face her. "Did... did she really hurt Rainbow? Or you?" "No! of course not! The incident with Rainbow Dash... I'm not really sure what happened, but I refuse to believe Twilight did it on purpose. And she really did only give me a scratch." She gestured to a small red line on her side. "See? Just a scratch." He fell silent and gazed at the ground. The unicorn grimaced as she heard a sniffle, and brought him into a gentle hug. He slowly wrapped his claws around her neck, and began weeping into her coat. Her own tears trickled down her cheeks as they shared a quiet moment of sadness, both worrying greatly about their friend. "Now come along, Spikey. If we hurry we might be able to catch her before she reaches the Everfree." The dragon nodded and pulled away from her with sorrowful eyes. "I hope so. I really do, Rarity..." He looked up and gazed out the window at Twilight's fresh tracks. "I wonder where she's going to go." "She can't go far. We'll find her, Spikey-Wikey. Now come, let's go out and find our friend," she told him with a smile. He nodded sullenly and gazed at her. Even with the horribly forced and pained smile, she still resembled the most beautiful thing on Equestria he'd ever seen. "Alright," he bravely said and puffed his chest out. "Let's go." Rarity's forced smile turned genuine as she watched the little dragon march over to the door and fling it open. If only, she thought. If only he were a pony. Or older. If only... Suddenly, Spike turned away from the door and plucked a quill up from the desk and began to furiously scribble something down. He wiped away tears from his eyes and focused on his writing. "Spike? What are you doing?" Rarity asked as she peered over his shoulder. "I'm sending a letter to the princess. She needs to know if Twilight runs away," he replied. She smiled a little. Ever the faithful assistant. "Nice work, Spike. What are you putting in it?" Spike coughed as he dipped the quill in more ink, not caring for splodges or tear marks. "Just that Rainbow's hurt and Twilight thinks it's her fault. The princess is like her second mother, she told me once. If anypony can talk some sense into her, it'll be Celestia. And done," he said proudly as he took a deep breathe. Rarity saw her chance and gave him a small peck on the cheek, making his tear-soaked cheeks turn blood red. He exhaled slowly as she pulled away, the green fire taking the letter up on it's way to the princess. He smiled at her and sniffled again. They spoke no words as they quickly left the library and started the hunt for their friend. They spotted Applejack and Fluttershy trotting over to them, the latter looking decisively better than she did moments before. "Are you alright, dear?" the ivory unicorn asked. "Ah'm fine, Rares. So's 'Shy. We just needed a bit of a talk. Get some emotions out," Applejack said. Rarity frowned. "Applejack, your eyes..." she murmured. The applebuckin' pony turned away. "Ah'm fine, Rarity," she grumbled and flicked her hat in annoyance. Fluttershy giggled and smiled at them all. "Should we get going then?" Spike nodded eagerly and hopped up onto Rarity's back. "Let's go save Twilight." "Guys! Guys!" Pinkie Pie bounded over to them and pointed a hoof in the direction of the forest. "Twilight went that way. My Pinkie Sense tells me so." "It can do that?" "Sure it can! It can also tell what time it is half away around the world. Now hustle your bustles! Let's go save Twilight from herself!"
I - FillyfriendsWhen The Sky Falls Part I - Fillyfriends One week before the incident. Twilight Sparkle nervously glanced up at the clock. Her date would be here any minute, and she refrained from tearing her mane out from the stress of making sure nothing went wrong. Her friend was very special to her. One of her best friends, actually. She smiled as she remembered her flowing, rainbow coloured mane, and her graceful soars through the sky. But Rainbow Dash would have a fit if she was called 'graceful'. She giggled to herself and once more glanced at the clock. "Any second now," she murmured, suddenly fearful and sweaty. "Oh maybe I should just say I'm busy with something the princess said to do-" *Knock knock knock, knock knock* Twilight cocked an ear out at the slight pause in the rhythmic knocking. *Knock knock* She gave a small shriek and scurried forwards. "OK, deep breaths." She took a deep breath and grasped the door, pausing for a moment and giggling away to herself like a madpony. Rainbow Dash stood there, with her usually untidy mane in a nice little knot at the end. She smiled at the unicorn and winked. "Hey, Twi. What's so funny?" she asked. Twilight blushed and gestured inside. "Nothing. Come in Rainbow, please," she tittered. The pegasus obliged her and stepped inside, rustling her wings and glancing around. "Can I get you anything, D-Dash?" Rainbow raised an eyebrow at the stutter. "Sure. You got any AJ?" Twilight blinked. "AJ? Applejack?" "Apple juice," Dash deadpanned and smiled a bit at her friend's ineptitude. "Oh right. Yeah, one second." The unicorn trotted away, feeling a hot blush spread across her cheeks. Of course she meant apple juice. We don't drink our friends. The pegasus grinned to herself and leaned against the wall, playing with the knot in her hair. She watched the back of the unicorn's head and scratched her own. C'mon, Dash, say something. You've been waiting for this for days. Twilight trotted back with a glass of the orange liquid in her magical grasp. "Here you go, Rainbow. Anything else?" she asked, somewhat eagerly. "No thanks, Twi." An awkward silence fell upon them. Owlowicious hooted in the corner as he watched the two mares with his beady owl eyes, wondering what the flying feather was going on. Twilight shot him a death glare and inched closer to her friend. "So, uh... what do we do now?" Dash gulped and smacked her lips together as she set the glass down. "Uhh... I think... we do this," she mumbled and leant forwards. The unicorn watched as her friend's face filled her vision, an their noses pressed up in a tender gesture. She raised her hind leg slightly as they pressed their lips to one another. Dash suddenly pulled away and scowled. "Uh, sorry, Twi if that was too fast for ya. I know not all ponies can keep up with the Dash," she said, back in her normal 'Rainbow Dash' mood as the trotted over to the couch. Twilight giggled and batted her eyelashes. "Oh yeah!" she suddenly cired and turned around. "Where is it, where is it?" she muttered. Rainbow glanced around and shifted out the way just in time. "Uh, Twi? What're you looking for?" The unicorn shot up and blushed. "Ah, um, surprise. For you. As a sort of present. From me. To you." Dash rolled her eyes. "Twilight, we don't have to start giving each other presents yet. I mean, we have been going out for two months now, but you don't need to start the random gift giving. That's Pinkie's job." "No, I mean for your bir-" A purple hoof promptly shoved itself into her mouth and refused any more words to pass. The pegasus's eyes widened. "My what?" Her jaw worked up and down for a moment. "Birthday," Twilight squeaked and turned away again, bright red and cursing herself for ruining the surprise. Rainbow blinked and furrowed her brow. "My birthday? My birthday's not 'till next week." Twilight turned back and blushed. "Well, it's your first birthday since 'us' and I thought I'd like to give you something special, as an early birthday present." She glanced over her shoulder and sprang out of her seat. "Aha! There it is!" The cyan pegasus sat back, slightly transfixed by the wiggling flank of her fillyfriend inches away from her face. The unicorn giggled as she flicked through the book. "I really think you'll like this spell. Its purpose is to make the caster, or the receiver, faster." "Uh huh," Dash murmured as she watched Twilight's cutie mark. "Just a pinch couldn't hurt," she told herself and bit her lip. She carefully and slowly extended a hoof and stroked her fillyfriend's back, eventually pinching the tender magenta area. Twilight blushed deeply and pulled back, resting her forelegs on the edge of the sofa and turned to face Rainbow Dash. She raised a hoof and placed it on top of the pegasus'. Rainbow blinked and suddenly pulled away, turning as red as the red streak in her mane. "S-sorry, Twilight," she mumbled and glared at the hoof which had stroked her friend's back. "I just really wanted to-" She was silenced as Twilight leaned in and pressed their mouths together again. They kissed passionately.To them, the world was a blue face and a purple face, pressed up in an intimate action, for all the world to see. Twilight broke the kiss and felt her eyelids flutter. Rainbow did the same and gently stroked the side of her friend's face. "Twi... do you... wanna... go upstairs?" she murmured and moistened her lips. The unicorn nodded with a slight grin as she took her fillyfriend's hoof and led her to the bedroom. ~~~ Three days before the incident. Twilight poured her eyes over the spell book once more. She'd been staring and glaring at the same page for the better part of three hours, all while Rainbow Dash sat opposite and immersed herself in Daring Do's world once more. Occasionally, they glanced up at each other with grins and blushes. And also occasionally, Dash would slide her hind leg up the inside of the opposite mare's, eliciting a couple of giggles and joking scowls, as would Twilight, who gladly returned the gesture with a titter and a smile. "So how long will the spell last?" Dash asked, breaking the silence that had fallen between them. Twilight glanced down at the book again. "About... twelve minutes if I'm reading this right. That's plenty of time to do something dashing isn't it?" she giggled and glanced up again. Rainbow's cheeks were a colourful red as she furiously turned to the book. Unbeknownst to Twilight, this was one of Daring Do's more... exciting books. And it was making her sweat. Every time Dash glanced upwards, she felt the need to re-enact several scenes from her book with the aid of her companion. "But I think we could perform it soon," Twilight said, making the pegasus's head raise once more. "I mean, there are still a few calculations to perform, and a few bits here and there I would need to tweak, depending on your wing span, and your top flight speed already." Rainbow grinned. "I'm sure by now, Twi, you'd know my full wing span," she said, matter of factly, as she felt her wings rise of their own accord. Twilight blushed furiously and giggled softly. "I guess I do. But we still have a few modifications. It says there's a high chance of... crashes." She winced and glanced up once more. "I... I don't want anything to happen to you, Dashie. I love you too much, as a friend and a fillyfriend. If anything happened it would be my fault..." Dash quickly set down the book and moved around the table, hugging her fillyfriend tightly and whispering sweetly, "Nothing bad's gonna happen. Trust me." She suddenly frowned and leant back. "What do you mean 'my top flight speed'? Surely you of all ponies should know, that the Dash doesn't have a top flight speed. I just keep goin', remember?" Twilight giggled again and rested her face in her hooves. "Alright, alright. But I want this to be your birthday present. That's only three days, remember?" Rainbow sulkily picked up her book again. "I guess so," she huffed. "But I don't wanna wait three days! I wanna go faster than I've ever gone before," she said, subconsciously referencing a scene in the book. "And I want you to help me get there, Twi." The unicorn turned red and smiled weakly. "And I will, don't worry, but I still refuse to do anything until your birthday," she said stubbornly and turned her nose up with shut eyes. The pegasus frowned as she watched her fillyfriend's mouth twitch upwards. "Oh, yo do, do you? Well then. Take... this!" she cried and lunged forwards, mercilessly tickling the unicorn's soft belly. Twilight shrieked with glee and tried to fight her off. Tried being the key word. "Rainbow! Sop it! I can't breathe!" she gasped. Her tormentor released her hold and helped her up. "You're too easy, Twi." She walked around her fillyfriend and grinned mischievously, drawing her tail across the purple flank. "Plus, I know your ticklish spots." Twilight blushed and swiped her away. She smiled and yawned. Dash saw her cue and inclined her head for a nuzzle. Twilight happily returned said nuzzles and smiled even more. "We should probably... *yawn*... ahh... get to bed." The pegasus nodded. "Your house or mine?" Her fillyfriend's face fell momentarily. "Oh... I just remembered I need to be up early tomorrow. The princess is coming to visit," she apologised. "Sorry, but it looks like we're gonna have to sleep in our own beds tonight." Dash huffed and sulkily nodded. "I suppose. Goodnight then, Twilight Sparkle." "Goodnight, Rainbowlicious." Rainbow Dash froze and her pupils shrank to pinpricks. "You promised you would never call me that again," she whispered. Twilight fell back laughing. "It's not funny." "It is." "Not." "Is." "Not!" "Is!" "You keep arguing and Im gonna have to tickle you again," Rainbow warned. Twilight stuck her tongue out as she dusted herself off. "You'll have to catch me first!" she cried and darted of to the left. The pegasus snorted and rose into the air. "Have it your way, Twilightlicious." ~~~ After the chase, Twilight waved goodbye to her companion for the night. At that moment, she realized she hadn't seen Spike all evening. "I wonder where he is?" she murmured as she straightened her mane. She tutted at the messiness of her living room. She sighed contently as she flared her horn up and started picking everything up. "Where would I be without magic?" she wondered out loud with a light chuckle. As the books danced themselves to the shelves and the wash towel dried up the coffee spills on it's own, she smiled to herself and trotted upstairs, up to her bedroom and her comfy mattress. She reached under her pillow and took out a small, blue feather. She hugged it to her chest as she drifted off to sleep with a smile on her smitten face.
II - Crash LandingWhen The Sky Falls Part II - Crash Landing The day of the incident. Rainbow Dash flexed her wings and cracked her neck. "You ready, Twi?" "Sure Rainbow Dash. Just gimme a second to work up the spell." "Oh this is gonna be so awesome!" The cyan pegasus squeed with delight. "Best. Birthday. Ever!" she declared and raised a triumphant hoof. The purple unicorn smiled as her friend did a loop-de-loop, momentarily losing her focus. "Only if it works. This is a highly volatile spell, Rainbow. It could go wrong-" she started. Rainbow Dash waved a hoof. "Yeah, yeah. You won't screw it up, Twilight. You're like the me of magic. You don't - nah... you can't make mistakes when it comes to that stuff. You're just too cool. For an egghead that is," she chuckled and landed next to her friend. Twilight Sparkle blushed and focused more on the spell again. "Really, Rainbow, I'm just a regular old unicorn. Everypony makes mistakes. Remember when you crashed a few months ago? When you discovered you love reading?" "I do not love reading!" Dash protested. "I just really, really like it is all. And that crash was a fluke. The sun was in my eyes," she muttered and turned away, feeling a blush on her blue cheeks start to spread. "Uh huh. So what if the sun got in my eyes while I was doing this spell?" Twilight teased. Dash furrowed her brow as she shot up into the air and placed several clouds in strategic locations, just so they had enough light to see, but not enough to blind Twilight. "There. Happy now?" "I suppose. But you didn't have to do that, you know?" "And you're not a regular old unicorn," she heard her friend whisper as she flicked some of her rainbow coloured mane away. The 'egghead' laughed it off and sparked her horn. "OK, based on what I've read, this spell should amplify the way you move by-" "Twenty percent?" Dash cut in eagerly. "Well, yeah. Just about. More like twenty point five, five, five-" "Yeah I get it Twi. So how is it dangerous?" the brazen pegasus asked as she dropped, and began to do push-ups with her wings, cracking them at regular intervals and occasionally using only one. "Hmph," Twilight snorted and looked at the book again. "Once you start you may find it hard to stop. Take it easy, Dash, we don't know how this spell will work after all. I don't want you to get hurt," she said quietly and gazed into the magenta eyes of her fillyfriend. The pegasus in question winced. "Aww, don't look at me like that Twi. Nothin' bad's gonna happen. You just watch." She inclined her head forwards for an encouraging nuzzle and smiled. "Now c'mon. I'm just dying to go twenty percent faster than usual. Beam me up, Twilight!" she commanded and spread her wings. Twilight giggled softly and flared her horn up. "OK. Here goes..." She fired a magenta beam of energy at her friend, who lit up like a Hearth's Warming Eve tree. "Twi-i-i-i-l-l-l-i-i-ight!" she cried and took a step forwards. Twilight yelped and ceased firing the beam. Dash lay panting on the ground with a few magenta sparks flying around her body. "Rainbow! Are you OK?!" the purple friend screamed and rushed to her aid. The pegasus coughed and opened her eyes. The world seemed to move so fast. "I'mfineTwilightseeItoldyounothingwasgonnahappenwelllgottagowishmeluckgettingfasterWOOOOO!" she said, in the space of roughly three seconds and zoomed into the air. Twilight blinked and watched the smoke trail laden with her magic shoot off into the sky. "Uh... oh..." she murmured as she watched the distant speck of her friend perform hundreds of tricks in a few seconds. "Well, she is faster," she said, thoroughly impressed with her own spell. "I guess it worked." "WAAAAAAHHHHHHOOOOOO!" Dash cried as she zoomed past, promptly knocking her friend over with the force of the wind. The unicorn yelped as she tumbled over, and received a face full of mud, once more, from her fillyfriend. "Ugh... Rainbow..." she jokingly growled. The pegasus curved around in mid-air and waved to her fillyfriend. "HeyTwilightwatchthis!" she said. Twilight got up and nodded. "Oh, I'm watching Rainbow Dash. Just try not to... to..." she watched in open mouthed horror as Rainbow shot up further into the sky and began to descend. Rapidly. "Oh no, no, no, Rainbow! If you do that you won't be able to stop!" she yelled up. The comet of Rainbow Dash didn't hear her as she sped towards the ground. With this much speed, I'll be able to make a sonic rainboom easily! she excitedly thought as she felt the G-Force wrench her lips apart. Tears streamed from her eyes as the wind forced itself into her and she felt the sound barrier beneath her. C'mon... c'mooon... She closed her eyes and faced away from the rising ground. Then she felt something wrong. She straightened her wings, trying to pull out. Her heart pounded with the intensity and the sudden rush of air. Oh no. Twilight was right. No, no, no, no, no. "TWI-I-I-ILIGHT! I C-CAN'T STOP!" she screamed, still with her eyes shut. She heard the unicorn below scream in response as she opened one eye and stared into the face of her fillyfriend, and the sudden green of the grass, and then... *CRACK* Twilight froze up in horror as she heard the sound and her friend skidded to a halt, some ten feet away from where she'd made contact with the earth. "R-Rainbow?" she croaked. Her throat was coarse and dry as she stumbled forwards. "Rainb-bow D-Dash?" Silence. Save for the birds in the trees and the cold wind that tore through her mane. "Rainbow!" she screamed and charged forwards towards the broken body of her pegasus. "Oh Rainbow! I told you it wasn't safe!" She heard voices behind her. She turned and saw a small crowd had gathered, coming to watch the legendary sonic rainboom performer as she showed off. A few of them ran over, offering assistance and words of comfort. "Get help! Somepony! Anypony! get help! Call an ambulance!" she yelled at them as she huddled over the body of her friend. "Rainbow Dash... don't you leave me... don't you dare..." she whispered and cradled her head in sobbing hooves. Blood trickled out around them, forming a small pool on the damp grass. The clouds overhead rumbled with annoyance and splashed out a single drop of rain onto her nose. Twilight hunched over her friend and heard faint sirens approaching. "Rainbow..." she whispered and brushed the rainbow mane back. "Please be OK." ~~~ Applejack petted her friend on the back with a worried frown. The scene didn't look pretty. They hoisted Rainbow Dash's body onto the stretcher. Twilight shivered. "It's my fault..." she murmured. "Shhh," the cow-pony murmured and brought her into a hug. "Ya'll didn't know this would happen, Twilight. Neither of you did. And with Dash bein' so headstrong, ah'm sure she'll be fine. She always is." She glanced up at their other friends with sad eyes. Rarity nodded and hugged the crying form of Fluttershy. "Yes. I'm sure she'll be fine, Twilight. Applejack is right; Rainbow Dash always pulls through when she crashes. You mustn't beat yourself up over this, dear." "But I knew it would happen. I knew and didn't do anything. If she's dead, it's because of me. BECAUSE OF ME!" she screamed, making them all jump. She hung her head and leant against Applejack as she wept. Pinkie frowned and raised her chin. "Hey now, don't say things like that, Twilight. Dashie will be alright. Look: Here comes the doctor to tell you she'll be alright." She pointed over to a dark orange stallion trotting over to them with a pained expression. "I'm... afraid you aren't going to like the news," he said, avoiding their eyes. Twilight wailed and buried herself in Applejack's shoulder. Fluttershy wailed just as loudly and threw her hooves around her pink, comforting friend. They all gaped. "You mean.. she's..." Rarity whispered with fear ridden eyes. The doctor glanced up. "Oh no, she's just really badly hurt. Really badly hurt. There's a high chance she may not live. Now the bad news-" "That was the good news?!" AJ yelled in his face. Rarity and Pinkie paled as they tried to hold Applejack back. "What in tarnation is the bad news then?!" she roared as she sat back down and nuzzled her crying friend gently, glaring at the doctor. The doctor cleared his throat. "I'm afraid that there's a very high chance of your friend never flying again." They all gaped with horrified expressions. Twilight looked up with red, puffy eyes. "You mean... she's grounded... for life?" she whispered. "She could be. Her wings are severely broken in several places. It could take months of medication and therapy for her to fully heal. It could even take years. I'm sorry." He turned away with sad eyes and kicked the ground. "I take it she meant a lot to you?" They all nodded solemnly. "Twilight and her... they were close," Applejack explained. He nodded. "Then I'm sorry there's nothing more we can do." He trotted away and began to talk amongst his peers, all of them shaking their heads sadly. "...Poor girl..." "Someponies can't handle their own speed sometimes. It's awful when this happens..." "I'm more worried about her than the patient. She looks like Tartarus." "Indeed...." Twilight blocked them out as she slowly got up and pulled away from her friends. She staggered forwards on shaking legs. Rarity caught her just before she hit the ground. "Applejack, help me." The orange mare nodded and held her friend up too, draping a hoof around her neck, so the unicorn in question was walking on two legs, with each front hoof draped around her assistant's necks. They hobbled over towards the ambulance, where they saw their broken friend. "I'm... fine... girls..." Twilight whispered. They sighed and released heir holds of her. She sunk to the ground and held a hoof over her friend's body. She hesitated and retracted it. "I'm so sorry, Rainbow Dash..." she whispered. Applejack winced and glanced at Rarity. The ivory mare winced back and turned away. "We'd better give her some privacy, Applejack. It's for the best," she said quietly. AJ reluctantly agreed and also turned away, giving Twilight one last reassuring pat on the back. Twilight sniffled and stared at the closed eyes of her fillyfriend. "I'm so... so sorry... I... I..." She broke down in tears again as she turned away and pawed at the moist ground beneath her hooves. I did this. This is my fault. I'm a monster... I hurt my friend - my fillyfriend! I'm a monster... a monster who deserves no friends... Who deserves no more magic... She looked up and wiped some tears away. "My magic did this," she mumbled. "My magic hurt one of my best friends, and the only pony I will ever love... I don't... want... magic anymore..." She let a hoof hover above her friend's body for a few moments, before limply dropping to one side as she stood up and slumped away. Her friends watched her go and quietly and slowly followed her, all fearing for her life. Who knew what she might do right now? "We've got ta convince her that it wasn't her fault," Applejack whispered. "But it wasn't, AJ," Pinkie said as she hobbled along, with one hoof around Fluttershy. "If it was anypony's fault, it was Dashie's." They froze as Twilight disapparated and reapparated in front of the pink mare. "How dare you say that!" she growled, clearly on the verge of a severe mental breakdown. Her eyes spoke wonders to them. Red and bloodshot, and blazing with fury and disgust, partly at herself, and partly at the mare who suggesed it was anypony's fault besides her own. Pinkie winced. "I didn't mean it like that, Twilight. But she does go a bit fast-" "Pinkie, just... stop talkin'," Applejack snapped and placed a hoof on her purple friend's shoulder. "Listen, Twi, she didn't mean it, nopony's ta blame-" "Get off me!" Twilight suddenly shouted and backed away, eyes completely changing to those of a scared kitten: Big and wide and swimming with tears. "Get away! I might hurt one of you next!" Uh oh, thought Applejack. This isn't good. "Twilight, you can't blame yerself. It was nopony's fault, Dash was jus' goin' a bit fast, is all. Come on now, let's all go and get something ta eat. We can talk about this later, if ya'll want-" "Get away!" Twilight blurted out, making them all flinch and hop backwards one step. "No... no... I'lll leave... I'll - I'll run away, where I can't hurt anypony..." she mumbled, more to herself than her friends, who, upon hearing her words, started forwards with worried faces. "Oh no, you are not running away on us, Twilight!" Rarity scolded and grabbed her hoof. "Come o- OOF!" she cried as she was flung backwards. Applejack and Pinkie Pie gaped while Fluttershy froze up and stared ahead with unblinking eyes. Twilight gazed after Rarity, then snapped herself back to reality with a horrified expression. "Oh... oh no... what... what have I done?"
III - If OnlyWhen The Sky Falls Part III - If Only The magenta sparks fizzed down as Twilight stepped backwards with a horrified expression as she realized what she'd just done, and was filled with self loathing and a vile feeling of regret and fear. ""Oh... oh no... what have I done? I've... I've done it again... see?! I'm a monster! A MONSTER!" she wailed and flared her horn up once more. Tears streamed from her eyes as she disappeared into thin air with a crackle and a bright flash of light. Applejack stared at the spot where her friend was a few seconds ago, then, snapping herself back to reality, "Rarity! Rarity are you OK?" she yelled and charged over to where the unicorn had been flung. Rarity coughed and sat up, glancing down at the small, red mark on her midriff. "Yes, I'm fine, dear. What happened? Surely Twilight didn't mean to do that - where is she?" she gasped as she realized Twilight wasn't there anymore. "She left. She thought she hurt you and left. C'mon, we've got ta find her and make sure she doesn't hurt herself," the cow-pony said and helped her friend up. "C'mon everypony!" All three of them, Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie Pie, charged towards the town. Then they stopped and looked at Fluttershy. The butter yellow pegasus hid behind her long, pink mane and gave long, heartbreaking sobs. "Please... I don't want... just..." she whimpered. It was the first she'd said since they heard about Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash. Applejack smacked her head. "We'd better stay with Dash. Ah'll stay while you two go make sure Twi's OK. I'll stay with Fluttershy here." She trotted over and nuzzled her crying friend. "Hey now, it's alright, ah'm here. You two, go!" Rarity and Pinkie nodded, the latter giving somewhat of a comical salute in a vain effort to lighten the mood. Upon seeing the disapproving glares from her friends, she sadly turned and cantered in the direction of the town once again. The orange mare carefully eased the yellow mare to her feet. "Easy now. C'mon. Ah'll take you to see Dash. Is that OK?" Fluttershy squealed and shook her head. "I'm sorry Applejack, but I don't - I can't see her like that. Knowing how much pain she must be in... never being able to fly again..." Applejack winced. She'd forgotten the doctor had said that. "Hey now, the doc only said she might never fly again. And knowin' Rainbow like we do, all she'll need is a glass of warm cider and a shove in the air, and she'll be up and about in no time," she forcefully chuckled, in an attempt to crack a smile onto Fluttershy's face. She was disappointed. Fluttershy looked back down at the ground and trembled. Applejack grimaced. What if ah'm wrong? she thought. A grounded pegasus is no way to live. They weren't built for walking all the time... Her thoughts traced back to Scootaloo, where she winced further. Poor kid. She looks up to Rainbow Dash... Ah wonder how Dash'll react at being told she's grounded forever. She turned her gaze skywards and sighed. It seemed hopeless. Twilight was probably running away as she thought about it, and Dash was comatose. Fluttershy was in no state to do anything. She felt utterly hopeless and did the only thing she could think of. She huddled her friend close and whispered quiet words of encouragement. "We'll just... stay here for now then... is that alright?" she whispered. The pegasus nodded and sniffed, nuzzling her face against the orange coat. "I'm scared Applejack," she confessed, just above whispering volume. AJ looked down with a frown. "About what?" "About Twilight. About Rainbow Dash." "Oh." Silence fell upon them as a few drops of rain descended onto their heads. Applejack pulled her hat low and covered up her own tears as she hugged her friend. It was a grey day for them all. ~~~ Spike finally finished re shelving the library books when he heard sirens. He immediately rushed out and just managed to catch the trails of the ambulance disappearing towards the hill where Twilight said she'd be going. Uh oh, he thought. I hope nothing bad has happened. He went back inside and rang his claws together. It never sat well with him when Twilight went off to try a new spell without him. "But she does have Rainbow now, so I guess..." He sat back down on the comfy beanbag and picked up a small bucket of rubies, and promptly began guzzling them down, mainly to reassure himself. He jumped up in shock as a purple unicorn suddenly appeared in the centre of the room. He squinted and realized who it was almost instantly, standing up and knocking the bucket of rubies over. "Twilight! What happened? I heard sirens and-" "I'm leaving Spike. I'm leaving for good," she coldly told him and pulled out the large trunk from under her bed. "I'm going to pack up and leave. I'm never going to hurt another pony again." "Twilight, what are you talking about? You didn't hurt anypony!" the baby dragon insisted and placed a claw on her leg. "Talk to me." She turned to him. He noticed her eyes were red and puffy. Tears soaked her coat around her cheeks and her muzzle was wet, like she'd been crying, which he assumed she had been. "I... almost... I almost..." she murmured as she placed a few of her things in the trunk, before giving up and just standing with her head so low it almost touched the ground. Spike patted her leg again and smiled. "Take it easy, Twilight. Have a seat, tell me what happened." Twilight shook her head and suddenly cast a fearful gaze around. "...Killed Rainbow Dash..." He gaped. "That's... that's stupid, Twilight. You wouldn't dare hurt another pony, let alone one of your best friends, not your fillyfriend either." She shook her head and pressed her nose to his, losing the self pity and taking on more of a self loathing tone. "No, I did. I almost killed her and Rarity just now. I have to leave before I actually do kill somepony. You could be next, Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie Pie. I'm dangerous. So I'm leaving. Goodbye." She turned back to her trunk and sighed, pushing it back and picking up her saddlebag. He watched her with an open jaw. "You... you couldn't have.. they're your friends. You wouldn't hurt anypony. You couldn't, Twilight." "Heh." Her laugh was hollow and filled with angst as she raised her head and gazed at the ceiling. "Dash said something similar... I failed her, Spike... I failed all of you, I failed the princess, I failed my friends... I failed myself. I promised her I would never do magic again. So I won't. ever. I'm leaving. Don't follow me.... just in case I do hurt one of you. I'm sorry, Spike. But It's for the best. I'm sure you'll be fine with Rarity or Fluttershy..." She turned her head back down and looked at him. "Take... take care of Rainbow for me, will you, please?" she begged. Before he could respond, the door flung open. "Hold it missy!" Pinkie bellowed and tackled the purple unicorn. "You aren't going anywhere, not never, no way, no how," she proclaimed from atop her friend. Rarity sighed and quickly tried to salvage the situation. "Twilight, you can't run away. Rainbow needs you. We need you. Twilight, darling, you even need yourself-" "I almost killed you, Rarity!" Twilight squealed as she covered herself up under Pinkie's legs. "Pfft. Rubbish. You only gave me a small scratch. Now come on, stop this foolish talk and-" She yelped as Twilight kicked Pinkie off and dove out the window. "Hey! Get back here!" the pink pony cried adamantly as she lunged forwards, missing her friend's hoof by an inch. "Come on! We've got to tell everypony to watch out for her!" Rarity cried. Pinkie nodded and charged outwards. Rarity was about to follow when she saw Spike staring at the window. "Spike?" Spike was silent. A single tear rolled down his cheek as she turned him to face her. "Did... did she really hurt Rainbow? Or you?" "No! of course not! The incident with Rainbow Dash... I'm not really sure what happened, but I refuse to believe Twilight did it on purpose. And she really did only give me a scratch." She gestured to a small red line on her side. "See? Just a scratch." He fell silent and gazed at the ground. The unicorn grimaced as she heard a sniffle, and brought him into a gentle hug. He slowly wrapped his claws around her neck, and began weeping into her coat. Her own tears trickled down her cheeks as they shared a quiet moment of sadness, both worrying greatly about their friend. "Now come along, Spikey. If we hurry we might be able to catch her before she reaches the Everfree." The dragon nodded and pulled away from her with sorrowful eyes. "I hope so. I really do, Rarity..." He looked up and gazed out the window at Twilight's fresh tracks. "I wonder where she's going to go." "She can't go far. We'll find her, Spikey-Wikey. Now come, let's go out and find our friend," she told him with a smile. He nodded sullenly and gazed at her. Even with the horribly forced and pained smile, she still resembled the most beautiful thing on Equestria he'd ever seen. "Alright," he bravely said and puffed his chest out. "Let's go." Rarity's forced smile turned genuine as she watched the little dragon march over to the door and fling it open. If only, she thought. If only he were a pony. Or older. If only... Suddenly, Spike turned away from the door and plucked a quill up from the desk and began to furiously scribble something down. He wiped away tears from his eyes and focused on his writing. "Spike? What are you doing?" Rarity asked as she peered over his shoulder. "I'm sending a letter to the princess. She needs to know if Twilight runs away," he replied. She smiled a little. Ever the faithful assistant. "Nice work, Spike. What are you putting in it?" Spike coughed as he dipped the quill in more ink, not caring for splodges or tear marks. "Just that Rainbow's hurt and Twilight thinks it's her fault. The princess is like her second mother, she told me once. If anypony can talk some sense into her, it'll be Celestia. And done," he said proudly as he took a deep breathe. Rarity saw her chance and gave him a small peck on the cheek, making his tear-soaked cheeks turn blood red. He exhaled slowly as she pulled away, the green fire taking the letter up on it's way to the princess. He smiled at her and sniffled again. They spoke no words as they quickly left the library and started the hunt for their friend. They spotted Applejack and Fluttershy trotting over to them, the latter looking decisively better than she did moments before. "Are you alright, dear?" the ivory unicorn asked. "Ah'm fine, Rares. So's 'Shy. We just needed a bit of a talk. Get some emotions out," Applejack said. Rarity frowned. "Applejack, your eyes..." she murmured. The applebuckin' pony turned away. "Ah'm fine, Rarity," she grumbled and flicked her hat in annoyance. Fluttershy giggled and smiled at them all. "Should we get going then?" Spike nodded eagerly and hopped up onto Rarity's back. "Let's go save Twilight." "Guys! Guys!" Pinkie Pie bounded over to them and pointed a hoof in the direction of the forest. "Twilight went that way. My Pinkie Sense tells me so." "It can do that?" "Sure it can! It can also tell what time it is half away around the world. Now hustle your bustles! Let's go save Twilight from herself!"
