Run

by cjledford

Rating: teen
Tags: Dark, Other, Tragedy, Pinkie Pie, Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 5948

Pinkie Pie's fight for life.

Pinkie Pie wandered into the Everfree Forest in search of a special ingredient for her best friend's birthday cake. But she gets interrupted as she starts being chased down by a timberwolf. Can she make it out alive? Or will she suffer a painful death?

Published 2013-03-04 19:10:01 UTC
Last updated 2013-03-20 15:33:31 UTC

Getting out alive

Run.
Just run, get out of there, get away from whatever is following you.
And whatever it is.
It’s got the same idea.
Run.
*********
I skid to a halt, panting and gasping for breath. It seems the more I run, the faster it gets. I can’t keep it up. It’s near impossible
I looked around, expecting it to come and do whatever it plans to do to me.
Rip me to pieces. Eat me. Anything that might be painful. Celestia, for all I know, it might just want to talk to me.
But God knows that’s not possible with that thing.
Made out of wood, in the shape of a wolf.
Everypony calls it a timberwolf.
But what do I call it?
A vile creation against the Creator's hoof.
And that creation is closing in on me now.
There’s nowhere to run, but there’s one plan in mind. If I’m fast enough...
Go.

I took off running, as fast as my legs could take me, the sounds of hooves and wood thwapping against solid earth filled the forest. If I could make it before the monster rips my legs off, I could survive.

I jumped over fallen logs, vaulted over trees, broken by years of storms. I hurled myself over brambles, not wanting the searing pain to slow me down. But I just heard it getting closer and closer, the wood creaking, the snarling, the pure hatred illuminating the darkness.
I heard it’s jaws snap together behind me, and realized just how close it is. But I had just one chance. Up there.

I hopped into the air about 7 inches, grinned, and the second my hooves took place on the molding, rotting wood, I kicked off as hard as my little legs could go. I heard the crashing and tumbling of the timberwolf, before I ended up crashing and tumbling myself. But I had to get up. I had to keep running. As far as I know, they are much stronger than that. It could take a beating, being made out of trees and all. In fact, for all I know..
There could be more.

I burned out, galloping as fast as I could.
But I had no idea which way to go.
I kept turning, skidding corners, avoiding trees, the branches reaching out to slow me down, to make me fall, for me to wait for my approaching inevitable death. But I had a plan. A smart plan.

I bolted through an opening, and there it was. The Everfree Ravine. The very ravine me and my friends were trapped from when the bridge went out. The very lake that my best friend earned her right as the Element of Loyalty. The very lake that should save my life.

I pumped my legs to the limit, hearing the timberwolf nearing me. I saw the point of access, the bridge. I jumped over a rock, landing right on the wooden panel, but froze.
The bridge is old. Older than me. Older than me and all five of my best friends put together. And it’s very unlikely to be able to withstand me galloping. So I can only walk. But the longer I take, the closer it gets. So I racked my brain for something to save my life.

The Timberwolf broke through the forest into the clearing, snarling at me. I had been perched up on one of the ropes of the bridge, smirking at it.
“Hey, big boy!” I called out, sticking my tongue out at it, making a face. Naturally, this only made the wolf angrier. More bloodlust. The more reason to rip me to shreds. The exact thing that I needed.
It charged, snarling, those red eyes glowing in the night, getting closer, locked onto me, the natural desire to cause as much pain as it possibly can just flickering in those eyes. The closer it got, the more clear it got, the malice, the hatred, the pure desire to draw blood. And it was coming right at me.
My legs trembled as I stood on the front plank of the bridge. But I had to move now. The timberwolf got to pouncing distance, and sped up.
Now.

I jumped, jumped as high and hard as my little legs could push. I felt the wind whipping my mane around, the timberwolf skidding to a stop on the bridge below me. It looked down to the sound of creaking.
Bingo.
The bridge gave way to the two hundred pound monster. The planks breaking, the wolf pawing at them for grip, before the bridge broke, and along with it, it took the timberwolf. It seemed like a brilliant plan.. Until I realized that I jumped straight up, when I was supposed to jump forward.
I started falling. Falling with the broken bridge. With the timberwolf. With the debris whipping in my face. It became clear, my biggest fear.
I was gonna die.

I felt myself slipping back into consciousness. I was instantly shot with searing pain, a scream escaping my bleeding lips. I curled up, holding my stomach, which seemed to be bleeding heavily. And I quickly found why. Upon landing, I hit my head, which was throbbing painfully. I may have broken my leg, as well. But the worst is what’s lodged into my stomach. A large chunk of wood, jagged from snapping the wrong way, jabbed straight into my body. Thank god it didn’t puncture an organ or anything important. But the pain was worse than anything I ever imagined.

Another scream escaped my lips as another searing jolt of burning pain ripped through my body. I felt burning hot tears in my eyes at the fatal realization. There was nopony there to save me this time. Unlike how Rainbow Dash always saves my life. This time, she isn’t there, nopony’s there. I was gonna die alone, and possibly never be found. Nopony will know how I died.

I tried my hardest to stand up, but the more I tried, the more I bled, the more I felt the pain. I let myself drop back down onto the dirt, defeated. This couldn’t be it, what about my friends? What about the Elements of Harmony? If I die, who’s gonna be the Element of Laughter? This isn’t a time for games, Pinkie Pie.. It’s time to get out of there.
I looked around desperately for some sort of method of survival. There were many sticks from the remains of the timberwolves, and there was an occasional fallen leaf. Yeah, that’ll do me a lot of good..

But the more I think of it, if I can get over to that bush, I might be able to put together a sort of bandage of leaves to stifle the blood flow. Years and years of icing cakes, maybe I can do this. But then, if I do what I think I’m doing, I’m just gonna chicken out.. I’ve barely ever been hit, how am I gonna rip a jagged broken chunk of wood out of my stomach? It seems like I got no choice right about now. There’s a large piece of wood in the timberwolf’s remains, I might be able to make a cane out of it. But still, how do I get out of here?

My heart sank when the crushing realization hit me. I’m trapped, walls all around me. I was in a ravine with no way out. I’m too weak to stand, let alone play a nice game of rock-climbing with no tether. But what other choice do I have? Wait for help? Yeah, sure, maybe the timberwolves will come and save me. I still don’t know the remainder of them, if there’s one more, two more, hell, there could be a pack of twenty for all I know.
But what do I do?

It’s those moments when all you wish in the whole world is to rewind time. To fix your errors. To save your own life. Yet, there was so much more I was planning to do before all this happened. The most depressing part of it was I was going to get some ingredients for a special cake. It was gonna be for Rainbow Dash for her birthday, the birthday I never miss. I never miss anypony’s birthdays. But now I have no choice but to lay in here and rot.
Rot.. Gone from Ponyville.
Of course, somepony’s gonna come looking for me, but what’s the chances of them coming straight to this cliff, look down, and see me bleeding out? By the time they realize I’m gone, I’ll probably be on my descent or ascent to heaven or hell. Now who’s gonna keep the spirit of Ponyville up? Without me, who’s gonna make everypony smile? But I have no choice. I’m gonna slowly and painfully bleed out with a chunk of wood in my gut. I just wish Rainbow Dash was here.. She’d get me to a hospital in an instant..

Is this what it feels like to die? It feels like everythings slipping past me, things blurring, everything I ever worked on, everything I ever did, all the ponies I met, all gone, put to waste by a stupid wooden wolf. I felt alone, just completely alone.
I just hope someone will at least find my body, know what happened to me. I can’t bear myself leaving without somepony knowing why or how I died. And all the ponies who will miss me.. Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity..
I felt weaker and weaker by the moment, my natural impulse to close my eyes kicking in. I don’t wanna die, I just wanna get up, climb those rocks, rip the wood out, and return home, to be with all my friends. I want to just be with them before I die, to not be alone. But what else am I to do? I can’t think of anyway to stop the bleeding. Even if I do, to hell with having enough energy to get up those rocks. So what do I do?
The more I look, the more my eyes light up. The bridge fell, hitting the side of the clff. So if I find a way to climb up to it, I might be able to crawl to the top. But then there’s the stick problem. There IS plenty of wood about to bite on. I guess I should make the bandages and get it over with.

Using the knowledge of years of frosting patterns, I start tying up leaves, putting them on sticks, making a sort of stiffened bandage, the sticks acting as padding. I’m almost done when another cry of pain escapes my lips. I grip my hind leg, which I was sitting on. The leg I broke. Ignore the pain, Pinkie. It’ll get at least six times worse when this comes out.
Let’s get it over with..

I took a hold of the wood, inhaling and exhaling deeply. I grabbed a chunk of wood from the remains of my attacker, and put it in my mouth. I gritted my teeth, and gripped the chunk of wood that invaded my stomach.
As soon as I started slightly moving the wood jabbed into my stomach, I let out a guttural scream. The pain was like a death itself. My jaws clenched on the wood, I heard it cracking, as I used it to muffle murderous screams. I felt the wood sliding out, and felt the stinging hot tears on my face.
I groaned one last time, bursting out in a shorter howl of pain. The wood finally yanking out. It looked like it fallen in a paint bucket, there was so much blood on it that it was dripping. I bit the wood to muffle another scream of pain as I felt blood gushing out of the hole. I gotta move fast.
I started wrapping the leaves around my lower torso as quickly and carefully as I could, the pain was overwhelming. By my guess, I’ve lost about a quarter of the blood in my body. But I still keep myself awake, driven on getting back to Ponyville, to see those friends, to get some real medical attention.
I jabbed a stick through both ends of the leaf gauze, sealing it firmly. I hope they’ll last out.. I can’t move too fast, the blood might soak through the leaves. I groaned, standing back up, unsteadily. Oh, I miss my bed. I wish I could just lay down and go to sleep, never wake up. But I had to do this, I need to make it out of here, I couldn’t stand the thought of my friends mourning for me, trying to move on. Truth is, I don’t think I could move on myself.

I looked around for a way to get to the bridge. There was rocks, sticks, a few patches of dirt and grass... Bingo.
I looked among the wall, grinning with hope. The wall as covered in vines that look like they might be sturdy enough to hold my weight. I’m the lightest of my friends, after all. So I groaned with each limping step, staying off my broken leg as much as I can. I feel so numb, so weak. But I can’t die yet.. Can I?
I might have lost enough blood to pass out right now, and just bleed out in my sleep. But I gotta make it at least close to the entrance to the forest, I might make it if I do, somepony might find me.
I sighed, and grabbed a hold of the vines. If I’m gonna do this, I gotta do it now.

I lifted myself up, grabbing a higher vine with my other hoof. I put my good hind leg on one of the lower vines, hoisting myself upwards. Pain shot through my body with every movement, but I did my best to ignore it. But it was so hard, I just wanted to stop. I wanted to stop so bad, just give up. But I HAVE to do this. I need to get out of here, I need to get out alive.
I kept climbing, gritting my teeth with pain. I should have brought the wood to bite on, it’d help so much. But I eventually got to the point where the vines end. The bridge hangs right behind me. I gotta try.

I let go with one hoof, holding onto the vines with the other, hind hoof still on a lower vine. I studied the distance. Can I make the jump with only one hoof? It’s a large chance I won’t make it, an even larger chance I won’t be able to grip the bridge strongly enough. But I ready myself anyway.
And I push off the mountain.
I let out a yelp as I grabbed the wooden plank, gripping it for my life. It’s at least a twenty foot skydive to death. So I put my hind hoof on the plank, and swing myself around, rotating to the side of the bridge, gripping with my other hoof on the other side. I shimmied over so that I’m in the middle.

The planks are big, can I climb them? The ropes are in large knots. I should be able to step on a knot, and climb up the plank. I just gotta avoid stressing my lower torso too much, or stepping on my broken leg.
I shimmy back over, grab a hold of the plank above me, and lift myself up, groaning in pain. I place my hind hoof on the rope, and push myself up. I get that same leg up on the plank, grabbing the rope for balance. I shake my head, and keep going.

It hurts.. So bad. Just ignore it, just ignore it. I kept climbing, my eyes lighting up, watching the cliffside getting closer and closer. Getting closer and closer to home, to safety. I finally gripped the cliff’s edge, hoisting myself up. My legs ached, I think I’m bleeding heavier, and my head is throbbing greatly. I rolled myself over, onto dirt.
I made it.

Out of the ravine, anyway. Now I gotta crawl to Ponyville. Maybe I could get halfway there, then-
I burst out with one of my loudest screams of pain yet. The pain was excruciating, but not as bad as ripping the wood out of me. I doubled over, hitting the floor on my side, groaning in pain. It was coming from all over, the pain searing through out my body.
Everything was blurring, I felt like I was slipping through a cold darkness. But I can’t die yet! It can’t end now, I got so far! I saved Equestria from eternal night, I stopped the god of chaos, I defeated a changeling army, I saved the Crystal Kingdom from an evil demon thing. I got away from a timberwolf. I saved Ponyville from the parasprites. I can’t be defeated yet, all the things I’ve done. I’ve tried so hard, and gotten so far, just for it to end now?
The darkness was clouding my vision, I felt myself getting weaker, losing consciousness. Before I slipped away, I hear a faint thudding.. Is it...?
I don’t have time to ponder this, as I fade away before question.

**************** Chapter one end.

A True True Friend

A True True Friend

If only I was faster.. She would still be here.. But I couldn’t do it.. I betrayed the most joyful pony in Ponyville. ********* My ears perked up. I had them folded so they wouldn’t catch on the wind. I could have sworn I heard something. Like a scream? Except that was too high pitched to be just anypony. It seemed so familiar, though.. There it is again. I flew down and skid to a stop, ears tuned towards the sound. It sounded like.. Shock filled my body. “Pinkie Pie..” I mumbled under my breath, my wings expanding. I broke into a full out dash towards the sound. But it seemed to be coming from the forest.. “Pinkie Pie!” I called out, hoping for some way for her to respond. But how could she, anyway? I flew lower, getting closer to the next scream, this one seemed to be in a LOT of pain. Dear Celestia, how bad could it be? Then I spotted a pink dot. Next to the ravine. The bridge was broken, and the pink dot just fell as soon as I noticed. “Pinkie!” I dived down, my hooves thumping on the ground. I got there just in time to watch my bleeding, dying best friend slip from consciousness. “Pinkie Pie!” I yelled at her, as if expecting her to sit up and say “Right here!” I gotta move fast, she’s bleeding heavily. But she seemed to be bent on survival.. How could she get out of there with leaves wrapped around her, which I could guess is covering a severe injury, as the leaves turned from green to dark red. I lifted her onto my back, securing her by wrapping my hooves around hers. Is this what a pulse feels like when somepony’s dying? It’s speeding up, then slowing down, taking a longer slow speed than the fast speed. It just tore me up that she’s like this. I took off as fast as I could, feeling stinging hot tears on my face. Not from the wind whipping me in the face. Not from seeing Pinkie messed up so bad. But because I didn’t get there sooner. I blasted off towards Ponyville, I could see the light barrier bending in front of me. So I slowed down, the barrier disappearing. I skid to a stop in front of the local hospital, bursting in, yelling for help. The nurses quickly jumped to action, rolling a gurney to me, helping me ease Pinkie onto it. They hooked some stuff to her, and then they rolled her away. Rolled my best friend away, who’s slipping away from life, who I could possibly never see again, the joy of Ponyville. ********* The doors to the ER opened, a doctor stepping out. My head rose in hope, I’ve been waiting for the past one and a half hours, bent on the hope that she’d be alive. I braced myself for the good or the bad news. But the look on the doctor’s face seemed to tell me. It was bad. My heart sank. What could have happened to her? Did she lose her pink fluffy kinetic energy? Did she have to have her lungs removed, so she would never breathe right, never be the same? Could she have.. Died? “Rainbow Dash, correct?” The doctor asked softly. The softness that’s meant to comfort the loved ones of the lost. “Yes.. Is she okay?” I asked quickly, praying for that yes, praying that he’ll tell me everything’s fine, that she’s alive, that she’s the same Pinkie Pie, that they could fix her with ease. The doctor was silent, obvious hurt in his eyes. This didn’t mean anything good. “I’m sorry.” He said plainly. And just like that, my whole world fell apart with those two words. My best friend, the one who keeps Ponyville out of a riot, the one who I known since childhood, the one that we’ve done so much together with.. Is gone? I don’t care what you say, if this would happen to you with someone that close to you, you would too. I broke down, and burst out sobbing. The doctor sat down next to me, I could tell he was sharing the pain. It’s never easy to tell someone that somepony close to them died under your care. It never is a good thing, it makes the doctor feel just as awful. He sat there, his hoof rubbing my back comfortingly as I let out every ounce of sadness that just washed over me. “Rainbow Dash.” The doctor broke the silence. My ears perked up, not expecting his voice. “I never really got to finish.” The sound of his voice saying those words seemed to wash the darkness and pain away. “What?” My voice cracked, looking up. “Pinkie Pie is.. Alive. But she’s gonna be.. A bit different.” He said. Hope rose through my body, I felt the grin spread across my face. “She’s alive?” I asked with a mixture of depression and joy. “Yes. But you need to do something..” The doctor replied. “I’m counting on you to make sure she doesn’t consume too much sugar when she gets out.” He paused. “Which will be in three days.” He finished. “That’s it?” I asked hopefully. “Not at all.” The doctor replied again, his expression darkening. “She needs to avoid any fast movements. There’s still wood lodged in her lower torso, so if it moves, there’s a large chance it will eventually puncture an important artery.” He said. No fast movements? But that’s what Pinkie Pie loves to do. “How fast?” I asked. “Jerking too hard as in if you were to be in a dark place, scared, and heard something behind you. The reflex to jerk back and look will kick in. That could cause the wood to be misplaced.” He explained. “So.. She’s okay..?” I verified, uneasily. “Not for now, but I can guarantee you she’ll be out of here by the end of the week.” The doctor assured, standing up. I waved back at him as he trotted through the ER doors. Pinkie Pie? Not being able to move fast? That’s bad, it’s real bad. That isn’t her, she can’t stay still her whole life. I guess I’ll have to wait it out on this one. **************

Pinkie Pie

Am I dead? Is this what it’s like to be dead? I feel so cold.. Freezing.. And there’s just.. Darkness.. It’s so.. Weird.. Did I not make it? I thought I could do it.. I got so far.. I escaped the Timber wolves and managed to get out of the ravine.. But to die on the forest floor, possibly by bleeding out? I can’t believe it.. So where is it? Where’s Heaven, where’s Hell? Is this that Purgatory ponies talk about? Am I just drowned in endless darkness for eternity, never ending? No Heaven, no Hell? Celestia, I’d rather have Hell.. So what now? What do I do now? Maybe I’ll be reincarnated.. Live a new life without all my friends.. Oh, my friends that I’ll miss so much. Who will miss me. Well, I’m guessing this means I got some time to think. An endless amount of time to think.. I sure did have fun.. Meeting all my friends.. Rainbow Dash.. I met her first.. ************

FLASHBACK

Boring.. I sat upstairs in my room, playing with my dolls. The rock farm sure can be a boring place. All I have is dolls and rocks.. I wonder what other ponies there are out there. But my daddy never lets me go see them, anyway.. I’m private schooled. But I keep hearing there’s an entire world out there. I put down my dolls, very shortly followed by my door opening. “Pinkie!” My sisters Inkie and Blinkie burst into the room, energetic about something. They get excited really rarely. “Yup?” I ask. I had already seen the Sonic Rainboom that lifted me off the depression. But there still an emptiness in it.. “We just seen a cyan pegasus with a rainbow mane out by the Apple orchard!” Blinkie said, excitedly. “A pegasus.. With a rainbow mane.. Talking to the Apple family?” I verified. It seemed strange. I like it. “Yup! You coming?” Inkie asked. “Yep, lemme get ready!” I turned, about to get my stuff together to go. “Hold up.” Everypony turned. My father.. He’s a very grumpy one. My parents are both Amish.. And they’re VERY protective of us. Too protective at times, in fact, to the point where we wear football helmets to use the bathroom.. And I just know he’s gonna try to stop us. “A pegasus with a rainbow mane?” My father asked. “Yeah?” Inkie replied, uneasily. “Well, I’m not gonna let my daughters talk to a.. A.. “FillyFooler.” He demanded, his voice raising. A fillyfooler. It’s what ponies call two girls who like each other. Of course, with a rainbow mane, my father would jump to conclusions and say that whoever that pegasus is is a fillyfooler. “Now go to your rooms.” He ordered. We obediently slumped over to our rooms, the doors closing behind us. And I was alone. I sat in silence on my bed, thinking. ‘A cyan pegasus? With a rainbow mane? Maybe I’m not the weirdest pony around..’ I bounced my mane with my hoof for emphasis. ‘She sounds cool. But I can’t meet her..’ A few hours passed of me passing time with rocks, throwing them around softly, playing with them. Until I heard my door creak open. “Pinkie.” Inkie whispered, poking her head in, quickly followed by Blinkie. I felt a grin spread across my face. “We’re going?” I asked happily. “To my bedroom.” Inkie replied, and opened the door for me. I followed her into the hall, us being careful to be quiet. If my parents found us outside our bedrooms this late at night, who knows what they’d think we’re doing? Sneaking around past our curfew, possibly up to something bad. So we tried to sneak as carefully quiet as we could. We stopped in front of Inkie and Blinkie’s bedroom door. They shared the bedroom, the two being so close. We carefully creaked it open, and slipped in one at a time. I shut the door silently behind us, then turned to see Inkie and Blinkie motioning to their bedroom window. The window leads to the roof, which has a ladder that was left up there for management purposes. “Inkie, how did you think of all this?” I asked, bewildered. “Easy, just a trip to the roof to look out and try to find them, then I noticed the ladder. We can set it up and climb down. Then go down the path, take a left, go straight, and you’ll end up at the Apple farm. I think she’s staying there for a while.” “Inkie, you’re the best!” I squealed happily, wrapping my hooves around her in a tight hug. “I know I am.” Inkie happily replied. “Now get onto the roof, you first, Pinkie.” She commanded. I obediently walked to the window, and lifted it open. The cold air shot at me like a bullet. It must have been a mere 30 degrees. But I didn’t care. I climbed through the window, stepping onto the cold roof. It creaked warningly under my hoof. Eep.. Inkie and Blinkie shortly followed, walking to the ladder. The ladder was leaning against the wall next to the window we climbed through. They lifted it up, and brought it to the edge of the roof. Then carefully lowered it to the ground. They motioned me to go. I obeyed, grasping the wooden rungs of the steps, slowly and carefully lowering myself. I felt my hooves come in contact with the bare grey dirt, all grass taken out for rock farming purposes. I flattened all four hooves on the dirt. It felt relieving to be out of my room. I helped Inkie and Blinkie off the ladder, and we proceeded down the road. I wonder what this cyan pegasus is like.. What would her name be? Blueie? Rainbowie? It sounds funny just thinking of it. But when I think of my name, Pinkie Pie, it starts to seem normal. But what else could she be like? I wonder if she’s friendly.. We turned the last corner, and down in the distance, we saw them. The Apple Family’s youngest daughter, Applejack, was arguing with the trusted blue pegasus. Her mane seemed... So unnatural. But I like it a lot. It was messy, a nice way to look messy, as well. Looked as if it was pushed everywhere, as if by wind. Was she a racer? She seemed athletic enough for it. She seemed angry, though. Yelling at Applejack about something. Inkie and Blinkie approached them, I followed. “Hi.” Inkie started. Applejack and the blue pegasus stopped, and looked at us. Conversation broke out, it started out slightly heated, until everypony broke into laughter, except me. I stayed back, watching. Applejack had this bow, she calls it her hat. It’s really just a bow.. Inkie ran up and grabbed Applejack’s bow, and galloped back, Applejack running at her. “Blinkie!” Inkie called, throwing the bow at her. Blinkie caught it, and galloped around Applejack. Now was my chance. Before the pegasus went to join in the game, I approached her. “Hi.” I shyly started. The pegasus turned to me, us eye to eye. “My name’s Pinkie Pie. I live down the road at the rock farm..” I introduced. I’m not good at this, the only ponies I had to do this with was the Apple family. “Uh, hi.” The pegasus awkwardly replied. “My name’s Rainbow Dash.. A rock farm? How do you.. Farm rocks?” She asked. “Very long process.” I giggled. Rainbow laughed a bit as well. We began talking. We talked like old friends, like we knew each other a long time ago. We talked about our lives. Rainbow lived in Cloudsdale, a pegasus home, a city literally made out of clouds in the sky. She attended flight school, and right now she’s out looking for her friend, Fluttershy, who we quickly forget about as we talk. We talk about our families. Rainbow didn’t know much about her family, they never visited. She lived in the school, her parents were unable to take care of her due to financial issues. Also, as I had guessed, Rainbow was a racer. She came looking for her friend because he accidentally knocked her off the cloud. As we talked, the sun slowly went down. Inkie and Blinkie were still teasing Applejack with her hat, fakely asking themselves if they should keep it. I took notice at the sun went to the point of a sunset. “Oh!” I exclaimed. “It’s sunset, it’s really late! If I don’t get home soon, Daddy’s gonna kill me..” I pranced in place frantically. “You’re right.. My curfew has almost run out as well.” Rainbow agreed, looking up at the cloud city. “I gotta get home now.. But how do I get there fast enough?” I asked myself, panic rising. “Well, need a ride?” Rainbow asked, expanding her wings. I looked at her, puzzled. A pegasus ride? I’ve never rode a pegasus.. Or anything for that matter. I hesitated, but finally agreed. “Alright, I guess. Don’t drop me..” I warned. Rainbow laughed, and leaned down. “Just climb on and hold on tight. Don’t choke me, or I’ll purposely crash us.” Rainbow warned back. I smiled, and climbed onto her back. By choking, I guess she means I gotta wrap my hooves around her neck. Which I do. “Ready?” Rainbow asked behind her, grinning at me. “I guess..” I replied, unsure. Then we took off. The sensation of flight, wind in my face, hooves off the ground, going so fast. It was amazing. It felt free, off the ground, out of the farm, away from the rules. It felt so amazing. Every turn lurched my stomach, which made it even better. I burst out laughing, it was so much fun! We finally landed in front of my house, in the farm. I realized danger, the lights were still on. “Uhh, Rainbow? Can you fly me up to the roof?” I asked, pointing to the open window. “Sure thing, Pinkie Pie.” Rainbow replied, flapping up softly to the roof, and touching down. I climbed off, my knees shaking, mane whipped back slightly. “Why don’t you come in?” I asked hopefully, wanting to spend some more time with the pegasus. “Can’t.. Curfew..” She replied. My heart sank slightly. “But.. You can come back tomorrow.. Right?” I asked. “I’ll try.” She said. I smiled happily. “Alright. Bye, Rainbow.” I called. “See you tomorrow!” Rainbow called back, taking off into the sky, back to the city of clouds. She’ll be back tomorrow.. I hope she will. ************ I waited. All day. From morning. It seemed like she wasn’t coming back. The more I waited, the worse I felt. I was wanting Rainbow to come back so badly.. I wanted to spend lots of more time with her. Hours passed. I was about to give up and exit my room, when I felt a thump on the roof at 8:30. I looked outside, hopefully. And sure enough, she stuck her head through the window, grinning. “Rainbow!” I exclaimed, grabbing her, and pulling her inside with a tight hug. She laughed, hugging me back. “What took you so long?” I asked, letting go of her. “Well, I couldn’t come because of school..” Rainbow answered. “So I waited until after school.. After curfew, I’m supposed to be in bed right now, but I snuck out. I made a promise.” Rainbow added, smiling. “Really? Does this mean you’ll visit often?” I asked. “Every day.” Rainbow replied. So we spent the day together. Talking, laughing, showing her stuff I’ve done. The day passed, and she had to leave at 10:00. But she came back at exactly 8:30. Right on the dot, every day. From then until she had to leave, leave school. But eventually, we met again. That’s when Friendship is Magic was made. We met again in Ponyville. And since that day, we’ve been best friends forever. END