7pm - Sweet Apple Acres
Dear diary,
Okay, so, here goes. My life, written down right here. In a diary.
And why does everypony always start with "Dear diary", anyway? It's not like it's anything dear to me. It's just a notepad. I don't see why we now have to address inanimate objects.
I don't even think this is a good time to start writing in my diary, but I can't do anything else right now and I'm scared if I stop I'll think of everything that's happened and start crying again.
(Yes, I have been crying. A lot. Lame.)
I guess I should probably write down what happened to "keep a record" like Fluttershy said.
...I hope she's forgiven me, at least.
It started yesterday, at work. I was out on field duty, trying to work out how to spread a storm from Ponyville to Trottingham without it bordering Fillydelphia, and I was doing quite well on my own. I guess the math thing with Dessie sort of helped.
I was doing that for a while, making it as precise as I could, when Aurora and Star came over.
"Hey, Dash!"
"Like, what's up?"
(I really, seriously don't see the point in putting 'like' before every other word.)
I said, "Hey, not much. Just doing my duties as always." and I grinned too, to emphasise my awesomeness. Because, you know, I just radiate awesome.
"O-M-G, totally cool!" said Star.
"Yeah, you are so, like, dedicated!" said Aurora.
"Yeah," I chuckled. "I guess I am!"
And then came the moment of disaster, followed by a very bad decision.
"So dedicated that you could do a Sonic Rainboom?" (moment of disaster, right there.)
"Right...here?" I asked.
"Like, right here, right now!"
"Oh, I'm not sure girls." I said. "Something bad could happen."
Then Aurora and Star started twizzling their manes with their hooves and looking at me with sorrowful eyes, which was really irritating. To shut them up, I said:
"Well, I guess one tiny Rainboom won't hurt..." (Big mistake, fillies and gentlecolts. Take notes here: there is no such thing as a 'tiny' Sonic Rainboom.)
So, I flew up really high, above even the highest floating clouds, and whizzed down. The familiar exhilaration and thrill coursed through me, and I whooped, flying so fast, gaining speed. The force built up around me, the pressure rising, and I braced myself.
Then there was pain. Searing, shocking, dreadful pain, striking my wings down and making me physically scream. I careered into my storm, pushing it out of control with the air around and it whooshed straight downwards - towards Ponyville.
Nothing else mattered then but that runaway storm. I flew so hard that the stab-like pains in my wings were numbed by cold, rushing air and exertion. The clouds whirled around me, as if they were taunting me for my actions and trying to pull me out of the air. The rain was like pin-pricks to my eyes, and I blinked in the lowered light, my heart pounding, my body screaming at me to stop. I couldn't see, I couldn't breathe, and all at once, I lost complete control. The thunder bellowed out, laughing at me.
I could see the storm; rain, lashing, thundering down on innocent ponies, little fillies and colts having to gallop to find shelter, tents and small, portable structures being knocked unmercifully down. I watched it as it flew; a strong, powerful force, an abnormality of weather, destroying in its path. My mind raced. I didn't know what to do, and I couldn't come to terms with what I had done. My eyes searched frantically around, and I flew full-speed towards it again, where it was headed in the Everfree Forest. That's when I saw Fluttershy.
Fluttershy was there, Angel tucked under a wing, confused and afraid by the onset of harsh weather. She was completely frozen, stuck in the Forest, shivering from the cold wetness of the rain soaking her through and Angel clearly in open distress. I left the storm, letting it fly overhead. I was saving Fluttershy first.
Zooming down, the rain plastering my hair to my face, I blinked and rushed over.
"Fluttershy!" I hollered through the wind and thunder.
"R...Rainbow D-dash!" she stammered, and I could see her getting weaker and weaker, wetter and wetter.
"Follow me! We've gotta find shelter!" I yelled, but she didn't move. She sniffled and I could see her eyes were glazed over with fear. Acting on impulse, I grabbed her, picking her up off the ground and gently tossing her onto my back. She gasped, but I made no effort to slow down.
I galloped faster than I ever had before, the wind and rain lashing around me. I couldn't think straight anymore, I just had to find shelter.
Then, suddenly, I spotted a cave to the left. Anything could have been living in there, but it was a chance I would have to take. Diving in, I slowed down, putting Fluttershy gently down and gasping for air. It was pitch black.
"Fluttershy, are you okay?" I said, nudging her. She didn't move.
"Fluttershy...?" I shook her.
"Flutter, wake up." I shook again. I was getting desperate now.
"Wake up, Fluttershy!" It was no use. She wasn't responsive at all. Unconscious...
Fear crept through my veins.
...dead?
Turning her on her back, I fumbled quickly to her neck, my hooves shaking. I hurriedly checked her pulse. I breathed out, slowly. Alive.
Angel had fallen asleep on top of Fluttershy, his chest rising and falling with each small breath. I roused him, worried, then relaxed when he woke up and promptly bit me in frustration before going back to sleep. I sat down and thought.
What do you do, though? What do you do, when there's a storm you created wreaking havoc outside, and you're stuck in a cave in the Everfree Forest with your unconscious best friend and her sleeping pet rabbit? We had shelter, but there was no light. There was no food, and no water. It was cold and damp, however, so I couldn't light a fire. My wings were excruciatingly painful.
I decided to try and rest, lying down as close as I could to Fluttershy and wrapping my hooves around her to keep her warm. I just hoped she'd be okay.
Please be okay, Fluttershy. Please.
I was asleep for a few hours from what I could tell, but not peacefully. I kept waking up to check on Fluttershy, and I was too damp and too scared to be comfortable.
I opened my eyes, and the storm had miraculously stopped. It was lighter outside now, and sunlight peered in from the entrance of the cave. Something else was in the entrance of the cave, too. A pony, by the looks of it, with supplies in saddle-bags on her back, and a hat perched firmly on her head. Her golden hair glistened with rain, and at that point, I knew.
"Applejack!" I cried, without thinking, cantering over. She opened her arms and held me tight, and I suddenly felt so warm and safe that I didn't want to let go. After a few long seconds, she pulled away and gazed at me.
"Ah'm so glad Ah found you, Rainbow. Thank Celestia you're safe. And Fluttershy? Is she with you?"
"She's in the cave. She's unconscious, but breathing."
Applejack rushed over to Fluttershy, and checked her pulse as I had. "She's okay, and she'll be fine, she's just in a deep sleep," she said, pulling a blanket out of her left saddlebag, "but she'll need food, water, warmth an' rest. An' so will you."
I helped her put the blanket around Flutter, before watching her sit down, and pull out two apples. "Here, have this," she said gently, handing me one. I wasn't hungry, but I chewed at it anyway.
"So...how did you know about us?"
"Y'all know what we're like. As soon as somepony goes missin', we send out a search party," she chuckled. "we looked all around Ponyville, and some Pegasi folks looked through Cloudsdale, too, but Ah went in the Forest on my own."
"Why?"
"Most of 'em were too frightened, an' Ah told the rest that Ah'd be okay."
"But isn't it safer to go in numbers?"
"Ah don't know, Rainbow. Anythin' goes in this Forest, an' Ah didn't want anypony else gettin' hurt."
We sat in silence for a bit, eating slowly, before Applejack looked at me carefully.
"Are you okay, Dash? You look a bit paler than normal."
Out of absolutely nowhere, the waterworks came on and I burst into tears. Applejack leaned over and hugged me again, and I sobbed into her coat.
"It...it's my w-wings..." I mumbled forlornly, not making an effort to stop the flow of my crying.
"Do they hurt?" Applejack asked sincerely.
"Yes...s-so...m-much..."
"All right, sugarcube, we'll get that checked out back in Ponyville," she said, still holding me even though I must have looked pathetic.
"And...A-...AJ?"
"Yes, sugar?"
"It...it...the storm...it was all m-my fault..." Fresh tears ran down my cheeks. I did this to Fluttershy.
"It was?"
I nodded, but Applejack didn't loosen her grip at all. Instead, she straightened up.
"We'll hear the story when we get back, an' then Ah'll make a judgement of whose fault it was." She stood up, breaking the hug. "An' Ah guess we should be gettin' back while it's still light."
I nodded again. "Should I carry Flutter?"
"No way, Dash! Not with yer wings in that state. It'll hurt!"
"I carried her through the Forest before you came..."
Take notes again here. Applejack is stubborn as all hay and you can't argue with her once she's made a decision.
"No, Rainbow. Ah'll take her," she said firmly.
I helped Applejack hoist Fluttershy onto her back, and we started off back through the forest, heading for Ponyville.
When we arrived, we were swamped with ponies, all of them dizzy from the storm and concerned for us. Nurse Redheart rushed over, taking over from Applejack by gently lifting Fluttershy off her back and carrying her to the hospital. On the way there, I caught a glimpse of Silver Flash in the crowd. I looked at him, and he smiled at me sympathetically. He doesn't know what I've done yet. He'll find out soon.
I had to have my wings checked over at the hospital.
"Wow, Rainbow Dash, you've been overworking yourself recently. You've got whiplash and bruising to your wing muscles, as if you've been flying at high speeds. You're lucky you haven't broken them," explained the nurse. I felt my face burn at the thought of my failure.
"Will I still be able to fly?" I asked. If I couldn't fly, I couldn't get home, or go to work, or anything.
"Yes. Not for the next day or so, but yes, you will."
"But how will I-"
"You'll be stayin' with me, Dash," Applejack interjected quietly from the corner of the room, smiling. I curiously felt a lot better after she had said that.
The nurse grinned, and looked between us for a while, before getting some bandages out and wrapping them around my wings. "Just take it easy for a bit, okay? No Sonic Rainbooms for a while!" she laughed pleasantly. I chuckled politely.
"And what about Fluttershy?"
"She's suffering from shock and exhaustion, but she's woken up now. She'll be staying overnight but no longer, and she'll be right as rain in no time. You want to see her?"
I nodded eagerly. "Yes, please, nurse."
Nurse Redheart nodded back. "All right, but be quick. There isn't much visiting time left."
Fluttershy was sitting up on a bed in one of the wards, looking tired but happy. She smiled when she saw Applejack and I approaching.
"Oh, hello, you two."
"Howdy Fluttershy!" giggled Applejack, leaning over to nuzzle Flutter gently. I did the same after her, forcing a smile through my guilt.
"Hey there. Are you feeling better?"
"Oh, yes. I'm so glad you both took such good care of me and Angel bunny." Angel sat in her lap, lazily nibbling a carrot. "And how about you?"
"I...I've been better. But I'll recover, I'm sure! Look...Fluttershy..."
I had to say it. It was killing me inside, keeping the truth from her.
"The storm. It was my fault. I was pulling a stunt for a laugh at work, and when my wings started hurting I flew in the wrong direction and it spun out of control. It's my fault I've got these," I said, gesturing to my bandages, "and it's my fault you're in here. I'm so, so sorry, Fluttershy. I've been a complete foal."
Fluttershy just gazed at me, her expression unidentifiable. I could feel Applejack's eyes burning into me, too.
"What?" she said finally in disbelief. "...you, Rainbow Dash?"
I opened my mouth, but nothing happened. I tried to word it out in my head, but I couldn't. I felt so guilty and horrible that all I wanted was for the ground to open and swallow me, right there.
I heard a bell, and turned towards the front of the ward where a nurse stood.
"Okay, everypony," he called. "Visiting time's over."
Saying nothing, I turned away from my friends and walked quickly from the ward. I could still see Applejack and Fluttershy behind me, watching, staring.
Tears splashed onto the floor in front of me, and I hung my head.
And now I'm sitting here, in my spare room. Applejack hardly spoke to me all evening, and she didn't talk to anypony during dinner. It's hurting me so much. She's never been this quiet, even during our worst feuds. Big MacIntosh gave me this notepad to write in. He said I deserved it after being so brave, but I'm not brave at all.
I'm stupid stupid stupid.