//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: Awakening-part 2 // Story: Before The Party // by TheEveryDaySparkle //------------------------------// By lunch, the group was back to normal. After some much needed rest and relaxation under the pretense of food, the seven friends were happy to sit around and talk for the rest of the time until the third class bell rang. "Hey, Twilight! Remember when I steamrolled you in that soccer match?" Rainbow could be heard saying as she enjoyed her spaghetti. "That was the other world's Twilight Rainbow." "Oh yeah, right. But it was still pretty awesome." "It sure was. I still remember her face when she tried to score." Somewhere on the other side, in Equestria, a purple alicorn sneezed. "Hey, have you heard about flash sentry's new song?" Fluttershy suddenly said. "What, ya mean that 'Lessons Learned' or whatever he calls it? Yeah i've heard of it. he let me hear a bit of it sos he could see how it sounded." "What?! You got to hear one of Flash sentry's songs and didn't tell us?" Fluttershy said, upset that she didn't get to study another bands lyrics for herself. "He told me not to tell ya'll. Said he wanted it to be a surprise." "Then how does Fluttershy know about it?" Twilight said, causing everyone to turn to Fluttershy and her to sweatdrop under their piercing gazes. "I just walked by their practice alright!" she yelled as quickly and loudly as her little voice would let her. "Well, did you go inside to watch?" Rainbow asked. "What? No! I was just coming back from my locker when I heard the sounds of their instruments through the door as I walked by." Everyone sighed, relieved. Fluttershy sighed as well, but mostly because she wasn't being put on the spot anymore. "So how was it?" Pinkamena asked. "The song?" "Duh! Now tell us how it was!" Rainbow said. "It was pretty good." "Was it pretty good as in better than us, or pretty good as in it was okay?" Rainbow continued to pepper Apple Jack with questions. "Look I just said it was alright, okay, so back offa me." "Alright? I thought you said it was good." "Enough!" Twilight yelled, causing the entire lunchroom to look her way. "Ehehehe, sorry." she apologized, sheepish grin and all. "so, if it was so good, why are you so upset?" Sunset asked. "I'm not upset. I'm tired. He had me listening to that song so much it's stuck in my head. He said it had to be perfect. Part of the reason I feel like I do now is because I had to sit there holdin' still for a whole 5 minutes. I don't even know what a D flat is!" All of a sudden they understood. They themselves had just run all the way to class not too long ago. That, along with the added stress of being forced to listen to a song over and over can really wear someone out. "Excuse me, girls, but I do believe something quite terrible is happening outside." Suddenly they all stopped and turned toward the windows, following the direction indicated by Rarity's words. She was right. something terrible was happening outside. It looked like a storm was brewing. But this was no ordinary storm. Each boom of thunder was like a drum, and each flash of lightning brought about colors like those of the rainbow, and it was as if the clouds had been colored in by the odd crayon. Common sense would have told them they shouldn't be out there. But curiosity at the sight before them, as well as the possibility of it being a danger that they must face, brought them away from their seats and out toward the storm that raged before them. "Wow! That's awesome!" Rainbow said, watching the colors. "I must admit is is rather beautiful for a storm." "Only you would say somethin' like that, Rarity. On the farm, storms meant all the animals had to return to the pens." "Wow is right, Rainbow! I've never seen something like this before. I have to study it's effects on the weather patterns." "There you go, nerding out again. This is a storm, remember? What if you get hit by lightning?" "Oh please. That couldn't possibly happen." "If you say so." "I'm s-scared of thunder..." Fluttershy said, shaking. "It's alright Fluttershy. I've got you." Pinkamena said, placing her hands on Fluttershy's shoulders. As they all watched the storm, it began to get a little windy. A little too windy. "This storm is getting rather bad, don't you think?" Rarity shouted over the sound of the wind. "This? This is nothing! I can handle a storm like this in my sleep." "Really, Rainbow? Ya'll are sayin' that now, of all times!" "Apple Jack is right, girls. I think it's time we went back inside." With a nod from all, the girls made their way back inside, not noticing that one of them had not shook their head. In fact, one of them had been standing in one spot ever since they first walked out there. Pinkamena stood entranced by the storm, it's colors and sounds mesmerizing her to no end. Fluttershy stopped the girls retreat back inside to turn and go get her, but when she turned around it was too late. A rainbow colored lightning bolt struck the spot where pinkamena was standing, snapping her out of her trance long enough to knock her unconscious. Fluttershy freaked out and ran toward her. The girls had no idea what Fluttershy was so worked up about. "What's wrong, Fluttershy?" Twilight asked. "I-its Pinkamena! She's passed out!" Fluttershy put her thumb and forefinger around Pinkamena's wrist. "And she has no pulse!" This spurred the girls into immediate action. Rainbow rushed over to her, picked her up and ran down the halls to get the principal. the girls following behind as fast as they could. Once in the principal's office, Twilight nearly yelled in her panic. "Principal Celestia! Pinkamena's-" "Calm down, Twilight Sparkle. Deep breaths." twilight did as she was told. "Good. Now what is the matter with Ms. Pie?" "It's terrible, Principal Celestia! Pinkamena's passed out!" "She's passed out? What on earth happened? Is she anemic? It never said anything about it in her records." "No!" Rainbow Dash spoke now. "She's not anemic. She would have told us if she was." She sighed, looking down. "We saw a storm outside and went to see it. Out of curiosity ya know?" Principal Celestia simply nodded, and Rainbow continued. "Turns out, the storm was strange-" "Strange how?" Celestia said, worried now. "It was like a rainbow storm. We thought it was magic, which is also why we were out there, but then the wind picked up and we left." "And what happened after that?" "We left, but Pinkamena didn't. It was like she was in some sort of trance or something. She just stood there." "And when I turned around to go get her after we realized she hadn't come with us," Fluttershy spoke up now. "She got hit by a rainbow lightning bolt and passed out! She has no pulse!" Celestia was already dialing 911. "Get her to the nurses office quickly. We have to make sure nothing else bad happens to her." With that the girls did as they were told, taking her to the nurses office. After telling the nurse the situation, they left her in the bed and sat beside her on chairs, crying and praying and staring down at her with sad, nearly dead eyes. The ambulance arrived in 30 minutes and took her away, along with the girls, as they had refused to leave her side. "Come on, Pinkamena. Wake up." Rainbow said. It was all she said for the whole ride to the hospital. As of now, Pinkamena was in the emergency care unit. The lightning bolt did more damage than the girls thought. It gave her third degree burns, bruised up her body and broke a few bones in the process. She needed quite a bit of medical attention, and the girls agreed to let the doctors work, after being told that if they stayed with her, they would not like what they saw. A few days later, after countless attempts to revive her over the course of each day, the doctors were ready to declare her deceased. They told the girls, making them nearly cry rivers upon hearing it. "No. Not her. Anyone but her!" Rarity screamed. Apple Jack put a hand on her shoulder "I-i t's...fine, Rarity. She's...moved on, now. Ya'll just...be happy for her. She's in a better place." "How can we be happy?! She's gone!" Rainbow cried. "I know. And that's why we have to be strong. For her." The girls huddled close to each other and hugged one another tightly. They were there when the doctors pulled the sheet over her eyes and wrote down the date of death. But, that meant that they were also there to see the impossible happen, because as soon as the last pen stroke was finished on the doctor's chart, Pinkamena made a sound under the sheet, and sat up. Everyone was wide eyed, for they had just witnessed something that should not have happened.