//------------------------------//
// Chapter 13 
// Story: A Rainbow Forms 
// by TheRainbowDashShow 
//------------------------------//

The shock of the impact as she fell into the cold mud jolted Rainbow Dash awake. At first she didn't move, her mind still grasping at where she was and what was going on, the severe pain in her leg and wing slowing her thoughts. The air around her felt alarmingly warm for how cold the earth beneath her was. The bright glow of the nearby growing flames capturing her attention, her mind finally becoming lucid enough to comprehend what was happening.

Rainbow Dash looked around as she tried to find her bearings. She soon spotted the unconscious orange mare next to her. Quickly, she attempted to shake the pony awake, but unfortunately for her, it did no good, "Applejack, get up!" she screamed into the pony's ear still receiving no response.

The fire grew closer, the heat intensifying as it approached. The air started thinning as it became replaced with the thick ashen smoke. Rainbow Dash braced herself, maneuvered herself beneath the unconscious mare and lifted. Her eyes widened when the pain amplified itself as the extra weight pressed down on her injured wing.

Several minutes passed as she desperately tried to pry herself from the mud and stand up while Applejack's weight pushed down on her. At last she obtained a steady footing and pulled herself off the ground with her remaining three good hooves. The wound on her shoulder gushed with blood, the pain multiplying rapidly with each passing second.

Rainbow Dash was not able to walk normally with the injured leg. She pushed her thoughts past the torment from her injuries and experimented with her movement. She placed her two front hooves in front of her, than she used the muscles in her hips to drag the other two forward through the mud. Pain shooting through her leg as it was slowly pulled forward, her body trying to seize back with every motion, but she kept on.

The clean breathable air was nearly depleted now, the smoke overpowering what was remained. Each breath burned and scratched at her throat. She let out loud retching coughs as it tried to clear each intake of smoke from her lungs. Her leg and wing were screaming in utter agony, the crimson liquid dripping from her every bit of torn flesh that it could squeeze through.

The heat from the flames behind her scorched her tail as the determined Rainbow Dash slowly tried to drag herself away from the licking flames. Her vision started to blur and spin as the lack of oxygen began to disorient her. In front of her a single clear shimmering silver light visible just up ahead.

Rainbow Dash could no longer think, her every last ounce of her willpower was being concentrated into pushing herself forward. The hot flames growing ever nearer, just as did the silver lighting. Her eyes began to dim and blacken. She shook it off and inhaled deeply, trying to draw in even the slightest bit of clean air from the smog. Her injuries pleading for her to cease the torment she continued to place on them, she ignored it their cries and kept on.

The glittering light, she perceived to now be only a few feet away now. The trees surrounding them suddenly engulfed in a rapid flame blazing at Rainbow Dash's eyes and drying the thin layer of sweat that had seeped out from her in attempt to cool her burning body.

"We're almost there, Applejack", she panted aloud to her passenger. She threw aside the limits that her mind had tried to set trying to force her into submission. Her muscles felt as if they were being shredded apart. Her lungs pulverized as they took in each breath of hot unfulfilling smoke. Every step she took was agonizing and her bones felt as if they were splintering when she moved.

Only the sweltering red and orange colors of fire and her small ray of silver light were all her eyes could make out now. She marched on blindly as her vision finally failing her, the colors vanishing from her eyes as they rolled to the back of her head. With one last loud and desperate gasp, Rainbow Dash threw herself into the flames through the clearing and out of the burning forest.

Rainbow Dash collapsed onto the cool wet road, her lungs drinking in the beautifully pure fresh air that hadn't been tarnished by the smoke just meters behind them. She sucked in all the clean air her lungs would allow, ignoring the weight of the orange mare as she pressed down onto the wooden shrapnel, driving it down deeper into Rainbow's body.