My Little Dashie: The Aft5rlife

by Rdasher12


Chapter 6: The Emergency

"Everfree Forest: One Mile."

I wonder what Fluttershy's been up to lately? It's been quite a few weeks since I've seen her. Well, it's been quite a few weeks since I've seen any of my friends, really. That's just one of the many things that suck about being in the midst of our careers. Finding the perfect time that we'd all be in Ponyville to hang out has been next to impossible these days.

Twilight is constantly having meetings with the princesses, either at Canterlot or the Crystal Empire over newly discovered magic.

Applejack's cousin, Braeburn, has been needing her help over in Appleloosa, ever since the better chunk of his side of the family moved to suburban towns.

Rarity now has multiple boutiques spread across Equestria, and she's often visiting them to make sure that things are running smoothly.

Pinkie makes Equestria-wide deliveries for the Cakes since they're getting a bit old to be doing that themselves.

As for Fluttershy, she's actually the only one of us who's almost always here, but it doesn't make planning much easier.

As for me, I'm up at the Wonderbolt training facility every day of the week, and we travel to different cities twice a month to do performances, as well as races, which is an event that I can still say I'm superior in. It's pretty childish to be saying this at my age, but I quite literally finish those races in ten seconds flat.

That's not to say I'm old or anything. I only turned thirty-two just a few months ago.

If this were NASCAR, I'd still be in the prime of my career. Back on Earth, those racers wouldn't retire for ages! But recently, I've felt my energy run out a bit earlier in the night than it used to. Not to mention that I've been finding it increasingly difficult to beat or even match my top time or speed on the Wonderbolt training course.

I bet Pops went through this sort of thing while raising me. I wonder how he coped with it?

After thinking on it for a moment, I don't think I have the slightest clue... But, I suppose the best way for me to do so is to push through with more training! After all, anything can be overcome with a lot of hard work, right?

In all of my thought, I've been making my way to Fluttershy's cottage. It’s still the same cottage that's just on the edge of the Everfree Forest. At least that's one thing that hasn't changed over the years. We all still live in more or less the same places we always have, but we just aren't ever there anymore.

Normally, I'd just make a quick dash for her place instead of taking the time to travel there on hoof. But I've just come back from today's training session, so I feel a bit flustered. Plus, it’s kind of nice to soak in the beauty of the land, as well as the time to think that comes with it.

Wait, did I really just say that? That doesn't sound like me at all! Since when do I enjoy looking at the scenery? No, I like going fast. Really fast. I'm the fastest pony alive for crying out loud! Screw the scenery! I'm dashing my way to Flutter's place!

I spread my wings and launch myself into the air. Spotting my target, Fluttershy's door, I propel myself forward with all my might. Which leaves the all too familiar rainbow-colored streak in my wake.

"Ah, yeah! Still aweso-"

THUD

My words are cut short as I slam into the wooden door.

I slide off of the door, which surprisingly didn't budge an inch from the impact. I dust myself off and shake my head to clear my vision. Did she get a new one or something?

I thought that the noise would alert her to come see what it was, but all remained quiet. Maybe a little too quiet. I suppose that she might not be home right now. But I'll knock just to be sure.

KNOCK KNOCK

I wait a few moments for the door to be opened, or for some kind of answer. I get neither.

Several years ago, I'd just barge into her home and start looking around for her and probably end up finding something I'm not supposed to see. But, I decide against it this time. I'd like to think that I'm mature enough at this age to respect my friend's privacy, but I dunno...

She may just be in town doing some shopping, so I turn around and head back down the path that I used to get here. But as I continue, a strange feeling rises inside of me, like I haven’t done something right. Maybe this is telling me that I should find Flutters, that'd probably put me at ease. Just like Dad told me once.

"Seeing you for the first time after those painful months we were apart made all of my worries disappear. Nothing else mattered then."

This was probably the same sort of thing. Chances are, she's in town, buying food for her animals or something. I'll just fly on down there, and all of my worries should disappear.

I quickly fly down to the town plaza, wanting to rid myself of this feeling as soon as I can. I circle the town, searching for the yellow and pink that was unique to her.

After ten minutes of scanning the town, I fail to find what I was looking for. She's got to be around here somewhere, it's like she just disappeared into thin air, unlike my increasing worries that something bad may've happened to her.

I guess the best thing to do now is to check with ponies around town. There's not much else that I can do, really.

I honestly shouldn't be so worried right now, this sort of thing used to happen all the time with Pinkie. She'd be all over the place, and back in an hour. I guess that's one good thing that's come out of getting older. Pinkie isn't a mid-twenties spaz anymore, and at the age of thirty-three, she doesn't really bounce much. Although, I feel kinda bad for thinking that Pinkie's dwindling personality is a good thing. That sporadic energy of her's is what makes her Pinkie. I don't ever want that to leave her, no matter how annoying it can be sometimes.

After coming back from my thoughts, I notice that I'm directly above Sugarcube Corner. Well, that's pretty good timing. I think Pinkie's in town today, so chances are she's here. Great! I can catch up with her, and maybe find out where Fluttershy trotted off to, as well!

I glide down to the sill of Pinkie's window, and I notice that her bedroom light is on. She must be in here, then.

Before I can react further, something grabs me and pulls me inside. I struggle to get free for some seconds until smelling the scent of cotton candy that was unique only to Pinkie, and I’m set free almost as quickly as I was grabbed.

"Pinkie, what's the deal?! I know it's been a while, but you could at least say ‘Hi’ before grabbing me like that!" I'm a tad bit pissed right now. I'm not in the mood to receive any sort of affection, especially Pinkie's kind.

"I wasn't hugging you, I just needed you in here A.S.A.P.!" She has a look of worry in her eyes. This could turn out to be one of two things. It could just be Pinkie being Pinkie, and she needs me to help plan some kind of party. Or, the kind of thing I'm hoping it isn't, and something really is wrong, and I got a feeling that I might know what this is about.

"What is it, then? Do you need help organizing a party, or something?" I say that, although I doubt that's the case. I'm merely distracting myself from what might really be going on, to keep myself from freaking out. I need to stay calm here.

"It's Fluttershy, she's in really bad shape. I don't know how it happened, but I need your help!" Despite the fact that I was almost certain there was something up with Flutters, it still shocks me hearing my suspicions confirmed.

"Wait, what happened to her?” I'm managing to stay relatively calm right now, but the situation is starting to feel more urgent. I need to know what happened, pronto.

"I'm not entirely sure, she's been unconscious ever since I found her at the cottage, and she was lying on the ground. Quick, come look!" She heads off towards the bedroom, and I follow suit. She opens the door and heads in, as I go through, I have to squint my eyes due to the bright lighting in the room.

No words are spoken as we look upon our dear friend, who was lying motionless on Pinkie's bed. As I inspect her for any sort of answer as to what might've happened, I notice that she looks exhausted. Her mane is rather scruffy, and there are noticeable bags under her eyes. Aside from that, she seems to be sweating profusely.

"Pinkie, why did you bring her here?! We need to get her to the hospital right now!" I'm almost frustrated at this point. I know that thinking clearly and making smart choices is a lot easier said than done during times of crisis, but what kind of pony hides a friend in their room when they find them on the ground unresponsive? How did she even pull that off without anypony else noticing?

"I’m so sorry, Dashie... I guess I just wasn't thinking clearly and thought that all she needed was some rest. I found her early in the morning before most of the town woke up... I went to her cottage bright and early because it was Angel's birthday. I figured it'd only be an hour or so before she was back on her hooves, but once it was past noon, I really started to freak out. You're right, let's get her to the hospital!"

Angel's birthday? I shouldn’t be surprised that she remembered.

With that said, we nod to each other and quickly, but smoothly, grab ahold of Fluttershy. Pinkie hoists her up onto my back and I carefully, but swiftly fly out of the bedroom window.

As I fly off towards the town hospital, I see Pinkie galloping on the ground below heading in the same direction.

After a few short minutes, I arrive at the hospital, gliding through the doorway, I land inside.

"We need a doctor, stat! We got a pony down!" Almost immediately, several doctors notice me, drop their clipboards, and rush over. One doctor lifts Fluttershy off of my back with his magic and lays her on a gurney.

"We'll see what we can do, you wait here!" I hear one nurse shout as Pinkie comes galloping through the doorway and skirts to a stop right beside me. We both watch as the doctors pile into a room, and close the door shut behind them.

As I stare off into the now empty hallway, my mind can't help but flashback to the first time that I ever got sick. It wasn't nearly as bad as this, but it still felt awful.

----------

A strained "D-Dad." was all that managed to escape my throat. It felt so dry then, and my voice was even raspier than usual.

In the eight months that I'd been living there, I hadn't ever gotten sick. But for some reason, that day decided to become the very day I did, and man did it suck. Luckily for me, it was a Saturday, so Pops could stay home and take care of me. Speaking of him.

"I'm here, Dashie, and I brought you some things that should help you feel better." He kneeled down next to the couch and handed me a small cup of water. I eagerly accepted it and gulped down half of the glass. I then put the cup on the coffee table.

"T-Thank you." The water helped, but I still found it hard to speak. It was then that I noticed he had two other things in his hands. One looked like a purple container, while the other looked like a tiny version of the glass of water he'd just given me, but without the water in it, of course.

"I also got you something that we call 'me-di-cine'. If you drink some, you should start feeling better in a little bit." He then revealed the purple container, untwisted the cap and poured it into the tiny cup. The way it flowed was kind of like maple syrup, but would it taste the same?

"Now, it might taste a bit bitter, but it'll make you feel better, and that's definitely worth it, right? You can't run around and play if you stay sick like this." I simply nodded my head in response. He slowly moved the cup up to my lips, and I opened my mouth and leaned my head back to let the syrupy liquid enter.

It tasted... pretty bad, actually. Nothing at all like maple syrup. I quickly swallowed the rest to get it over with. After finishing, I stuck my tongue out and gave him a sour face. Since it was like syrup, the taste really clung to my mouth.

He realized this and handed me the glass of water from the coffee table. I gulped down the rest of it and pushed the glass back onto the counter.

"Now, I need you to rest for a couple of hours, okay? It won't work unless you get some sleep. I'll stay here with you. How does that sound?" To be honest, it sounded pretty nice at the time. When you only have one person in your life to interact with, you tend to want to be around them whenever possible. I gave him a smile as if to say yes, and he gave me a big smile back.

The pain unnoticedly disappeared after a few short minutes, as the heat of my blanket replaced it. I was in full bliss. Then again, that's a good way to describe the majority of my childhood. He raised me to the best of his ability and did a darn good job of it. It showed, too, as within a few short minutes, I'd fallen asleep at his side.