-Soft White
Her heart throbbed with unbearable pain. Her tears stained the sides of her face as she ran through the fire that was overtaking her home. Everything she had ever known and loved was being destroyed, and her along with it.
Rainbow, however, didn't care about all those things. She didn't even care about herself, but there was one thing that she could never lose, and that one thing was Fluttershy.
Rainbow Dash tried to hold her breath as she ducked under the pitch black smoke that was filling her lungs. Her eyes were squinted as she crawled low in search for her most precious possession; however, Fluttershy was no where to be found, and Rainbow Dash heard nothing more than the crackling of the flames and the breaking wood above her head.
She jolted around as she heard the ceiling beginning to weaken above her. It would only be a matter of moments before the cottage was going to fall to the ground. If she didn't get out of the house now, she would be brought down with it, but she couldn't leave. She couldn't leave without her Fluttershy, but where was she?!
Rainbow Dash knew that she wasn't going to survive this, but what she wasn't sure of was if Fluttershy would. Rainbow didn't know where she was and the house was starting to collapse.
Wood was falling in front and behind her. The pegasus had to dodge quickly so she wouldn't be trampled by the burning lumber that was being destroyed before her very eyes. The smoke was beginning to suffocate her and she wasn't able to stop it anymore. She needed to breath, but she couldn't in here. Where was she going to go? What was she going to do?!
"Fluttershy!!!" Rainbow tried to wail out as loudly as she possibly could, however, her voice was muffled by the sound of the burning cottage. She could hardly hear herself above the sound of the destruction all around her.
Her eyes jolted from one end to the house to the other. She couldn't see anymore, everything was black. Her thoughts were starting to die away and she could no longer think straight. All that was left on her mind was Fluttershy. Fluttershy Fluttershy!
Was she going to die along with her?
---
Rainbow Dash jerked up. Her head was spinning as she released the covers that she was gripping tightly between her two hooves. Her eyes were heavy and her neck was sore. Rainbow turned to the other side of the bed to find it empty. Her eyes lit up as brightly as they could in her condition and she began to pull herself out of the bed.
Her body ached as she made her way over to the door and through the hallway. Her head was still spinning and her vision was blurred. She tried rubbing her eyes, but it didn't seem to help much.
Rainbow Dash had to stop in her tracks and close her eyes for a few moments before she was able to regain her sight. Her head stopped twirling around and she was able to proceed to the stairs.
The pegasus' trek downstairs was hardly memorable and it only lasted moments. She was unable to pay attention to any details at the moment considering she had just awoken from yet another one of her brutal nightmares. They seemed endless and they were all too similar.
The cyan pony turned to the kitchen. She rubbed her eyes softly and then yawned. As she opened her pink eyes to see that nopony was in the kitchen either, Rainbow Dash was starting to worry herself.
Where was Fluttershy at this hour?
Rainbow Dash turned to the living room. She wasn't there and neither was Angel for that fact. Rainbow Dash then turned to the front door. She turned the nob and looked outside. She heard birds singing and a nice breeze was blowing, but there was no Fluttershy in sight enjoying the morning.
"Fluttershy?" Rainbow called out the door to check once more for her presence.
Rainbow turned her ear outside. It perked up to get a better listen, but there was nothing to hear. Fluttershy was not outside nor was she inside. So, where was she?
Rainbow Dash could feel her heart sinking low. Her Fluttershy was not near her and that only meant one thing. She was off with somepony else doing something with them instead. Rainbow Dash always had Fluttershy to wake up to, but why was today so different that she had to sneak off so early and leave Rainbow to wake up to emptiness?
What was Fluttershy planning? Was Rainbow just not good enough for her? Was she off with somepony else that she loved more?
The suspicious pegasus turned back to the door and stepped outside. She turned back to the cottage and without another thought, shut the door behind her and began making her way forward.
She could feel the wind beneath her fur as she trotted down the path that led away from her and Fluttershy's home. The pegasus stopped in her tracks and turned back around. She watched the lonely home as it sat still and silent. It was all in one piece. It wasn't burning to the ground like she had been dreaming up lately. What was that all about anyways?
Whatever it was, Rainbow Dash didn't have any good feelings for it, and it just made her worry even more that Fluttershy wasn't here with her. What if something were to happen and she was all alone like this morning? What if something were to happen to her and she would have to face it alone?
Rainbow Dash wasn't really the one to be afraid. Actually she never was, but something was different about her lately, and ever since she had been having that reoccurring nightmare she was just not comfortable unless Fluttershy was by her side.
So why now, that Rainbow needed her the most, was Fluttershy off frolicking with the one pony that irritated Rainbow Dash the most? What was Rarity to her anyways? She wasn't much of a pony. All she cared about was pointless things that Fluttershy shouldn't even be bothering with, so why did she like to hang out with her so much?!
Rainbow Dash could feel herself heating up as she thought more and more about Fluttershy's countless hours spent with the prim unicorn. Wasn't that Applejack's job to keep Rarity busy? Why wasn't it her that was out with Rarity doing pointless things? Why was it that Rainbow Dash's Fluttershy was the one that was hanging out with Rarity instead of Rainbow Dash herself??
The pegasus breathed hard through her nostrils as she turned her head brutally away from her home. She stomped one hoof on the ground in anger as she felt her blood pressure rising quickly.
"Fluttershy....is....MINE!" Rainbow Dash wailed at the complete nothingness around her. Her heart was pumping energetically as she clenched her teeth tightly together.
The pony could feel herself becoming light headed as she tried to move forward towards town. Her hooves were unable to move her very far before she tumbled to the ground. Rainbow could feel her heart starting to pump slower and slower. She could feel all the pressure inside of her release itself as she closed her eyes slowly.
She kicked the dirt underneath her with one hoof before she gave up. She let her muscles relax, and before she knew it, she was drifting off into a deep sleep upon the ground.
---
"Please, do not worry about me, darling. I'm perfectly fine." Rarity looked over to Fluttershy and Applejack who were both standing above her.
"I...I'm sorry...." Fluttershy cowered back down and stood back from her two friends.
Applejack frowned and turned to the sad little pegasus.
"Aw, don't y'all apologize for somethin' y'all can't help, sugar." The orange mare placed a hoof atop of Fluttershy's pink mane. She softly stroked it, trying to calm down the pony.
Rarity stood up from her seat and walked passed the two. Her flank was sore for no apparent reason and she felt as if she could use a good nap considering she hardly slept at all last night worrying about Fluttershy. She was relieved in so many ways when she showed up at her shop this morning unexpected. There were so many things running through Rarity's mind after Fluttershy and Rainbow had left last night that she didn't even have any words to speak to Applejack who had stayed the night with her for comfort.
She was completely speechless then, and now that she knew Fluttershy was okay, she was still at a loss for words. She didn't exactly know how to approach the situation that they were all thrown into last night. It was dreadful and terrifying all at the same time, but surely Rarity should at least find something to say, but alas, she was still speechless.
"Rarity....she didn't...hurt you, did she?" Fluttershy turned to her friend that had stopped to listen, but had not turned around to make any eye contact.
Rarity stood there for a few moments to consider the answer. Mentally she was a little achy, but physically the only things that were hurting were things that were caused by Rarity's lumpy bed. Rainbow Dash had done nothing but frighten Rarity to an extent, that was all. It wasn't really too bad, but Rarity still didn't want to be reminded of Rainbow's strange behavior that had put Rarity in panic mode.
She let herself gather the words she wanted to say, but all she could make out was one.
"No."
Rarity couldn't find anything else to say. She was still a bit shaken from the events previously, but she didn't want to talk about them, even to Applejack or Fluttershy.
"I just dun' understand what got into her?" Applejack placed a hoof on top of her hat and tried to rub her head underneath.
Applejack was probably the most clueless out of them all. She had no idea what happened last night. She wasn't exactly involved, she just happened to be there to see it all go down, but even though she saw it with her own eyes, everything was still very hard to understand. Nopony was clear enough last night to really give Applejack a good idea of what was going down. Rarity wouldn't tell her anything and Fluttershy was too emotionally scarred to, so Applejack was left in the dark about it.
"Neither do I....she has never acted like that before towards me....or really anypony....not...that I know of...that is...." Fluttershy let her eyes drop to the floor. She was ashamed by what she had caused to her friends. She couldn't help but feel guilty for Rainbow's actions.
"Are you sure there wasn't anythin' botherin' her?" Applejack turned to the timid pony who was now sulking beneath her.
"She...she seemed okay....except..." Fluttershy mumbled the rest.
Applejack lifted an eyebrow as she tried to make out Fluttershy's silent words, but there was no use in trying to hear something that was barely said.
"What was that, sugarcube?" Applejack leaned in closer to her friend. She strained her ears so she wouldn't have to make Fluttershy repeat herself any further.
"...except yesterday morning...she wouldn't look at me when she first got out of bed. She didn't say anything to me until I got down to the kitchen, and then she seemed perfectly fine..." Fluttershy made her words more clear this time. She let her mind waver as she tried to put the pieces together, but really there was nothing to piece. It was all just too confusing and the only pony that truly knew what was going on was Rainbow Dash herself.
"Ah see.." Applejack turned around to consider all the possibilities herself, but still, she was the one with the least amount of information.
"Rarity?" Applejack looked up to the back of her marefriend who was still standing in silence.
Applejack waited for a few moments for Rarity's response, but the unicorn acted as if she were in another world. Fluttershy too looked up at the unicorn as if she were waiting for a response from her as well; however, Rarity's silence grew by the minute and the two friends felt a bit cold as they watched and waited in the quietness that surrounded them.
They turned to each other and exchanged glances before looking back over to the white pony who had not moved an inch.
"Rarity??" Applejack spoke a little louder this time.
Rarity didn't budge. She stood in the silence as her two friends behind her began to practically shiver in the coldness she was sending them.
Applejack couldn't take it anymore. She approached her marefriend, and without thinking twice, grabbed her by the shoulder and spun her around to face her.
Fluttershy was startled by Applejack's bold move, but she watched in awe at the two as Rarity began to break from her statue form and look up into Applejack's crystal green eyes.
The farm pony said nothing as her arms were still wrapped around the unicorn. All she could do was look down as she noticed Rarity was being brought back to reality. Applejack felt a sense of relief as Rarity's eyes began to look up at her, but soon her relief began to die away as she noticed large tears forming in the corners of Rarity's large icy eyes.
The white unicorn made no movements and no expressions as the tears began to become heavy and fall down her cheeks. More and more began to form in her eyes and they streamed down her face like waterfalls. Her face was left expressionless as she continued to look Applejack directly in the eyes.
"Rarity..." Applejack managed to whisper under her breath.
Fluttershy watched as the farm pony pulled the unicorn closer in an embrace. She didn't know whether or not to turn away or to watch the beautiful yet sad sight before her eyes. This was all her fault. Rarity was crying because of her and Applejack was dragged into this confusing mess all because of her. But then again, what was it that she had really done?
Fluttershy could feel that her hooves were stepping backwards without her even noticing. She was trying to escape before her friends would realize that it was all her fault that they were in this predicament and blame her for their tears and confusion.
The yellow pegasus squeaked as she felt fear rising inside of her quite like it was last night. She needed to go back to Rainbow Dash and clear everything up. She needed to fix things before her friends turned to blame her. She needed to make things right again, whatever was needed, she had to fix it.
Fluttershy turned to the door and jolted out before Applejack or Rarity could notice. She ran without looking back. Tears were clouding her vision, but she ran still as quickly as her legs would take her. She needed to go find her dear Rainbow Dash and make things right with her before she lost the one thing she loved the most. She had to quickly go to Rainbow and make up with her. Ask for forgiveness, beg for it if she had to. She needed everything to go back to the way it used to be.
Fluttershy's galloping must have been taking her farther than she had expected. She could almost see her cottage now and she knew that Rainbow had to be somewhere near by.
"Rainbow Dash?!" Fluttershy was out of breath and still running, but she still attempted to call out to her lover.
Fluttershy's legs couldn't take her any farther as she was steps away from her door. She collapsed upon the ground and tried to catch her breath as she rested in the grass.
"Rainbow..." Fluttershy managed out as she continued to breath heavily.
She huffed as she tried to bring herself back up to her hooves. She could feel her body was still weak, but she needed to search for Rainbow as soon as she could. She couldn't live another moment without clearing things up with her. Rainbow Dash was mad because of her anyways. Fluttershy had been causing her some sort of problems, and whatever it was, she needed to apologize.
"Rainbow Dash?" Fluttershy called out with more strength this time. Her voice was a little bit stronger as she felt her lungs were filled back up with enough air.
Fluttershy pushed herself off of the ground and began to slowly walk towards her home. She felt some sort of chill down her spine as she approached the door. She felt like something was staring her down as she lifted a hoof to the doornob. A sound of scratching wood made the yellow pegasus jump away from the door with her heart pumping wildly.
She looked up upon the roof, but she couldn't see anything from where she was standing. She told herself to fly up there and take a look, but her fear was too intense for her to do so.
Fluttershy instead took a few more steps back as she tried to strain her neck to look up as far as she possibly could. There was still nothing to see, and now she couldn't help but feel like it was just a squirrel or something of that nature who was causing the noise. Fluttershy still felt uneasy as she began making her way back to her door. She found herself looking all around her as if she were some sort of paranoid fool.
She took a deep breath as she tried to regain her strength. She went in towards the door and this time she was able to open it without fear. She slowly walked inwards timidly. Her head jolting around to see if she could catch a glimpse of where Rainbow was. Still, there was nopony in sight, and now she had no idea where to look next.
Fluttershy took one step forward, and as she did, she heard the door slam behind her. She jumped up as high as her wings would take her and she spun around in complete fear. Her heart was racing as her mind tried to find an excuse for the door to shut so hard by itself; however, she was unable to come up with a good explanation this time that would make her feel safer. There was no way that door could slam so hard by itself, but who was it that had done it?
"R-Rainbow...?" Fluttershy's voice was weak, but she tried to call out to her lover once more anyways. There was no immediate response, however, Fluttershy did hear something crawling about the roof.
Her heart was leaping circles inside of her chest as she backed away from the entrance. Her eyes were bulging with complete fear as the sound began to get louder and louder. Something really was up there and it wasn't anything like a squirrel. It had to be something much larger to be making a racket like that. It had to be about the same size as Fluttershy herself, but was it another pony? Was it Rainbow Dash?
Fluttershy couldn't answer anything anymore. She had no way of knowing, and she was too afraid to find out for herself. She fell back upon the floor and stood at the door before her. She could sense that whatever it was out there, it was going to come walking through that door any moment. She could feel a pain in her chest that was telling her it wasn't Rainbow Dash. But where was she at?
Fluttershy needed protection, but where was Rainbow Dash at now when Fluttershy needed her the most? Being alone was something that Fluttershy hadn't felt in a long time. Rainbow Dash had always been by her side ever since flight school. She had stayed by her side up until this point. There were a few times when Fluttershy had to do without Rainbow, like when she went of to flight camp during the summers when they were younger, but that was only for a short period of time, and Fluttershy lived with her family then. But now she is grown up, and she no longer lives in Cloudsdale with all the ponies she use to know and care for. She lives on her own now, but even then Rainbow Dash lived with her, but where was she lately?
It was as if Rainbow Dash had been absent from Fluttershy's life for a month now. She wasn't the same anymore, but what was it that was making her act so strange? What was it that was making her feel so distant? Fluttershy knew it had to be something she had done. She knew she was responsible, but now that she wanted to make things right again, Rainbow Dash wasn't here to listen. She wasn't here to see Fluttersy's apology, and now Fluttershy wasn't sure if she would be able to make that apology. Something was after her, and if she died now, Rainbow would never know the feelings she harbored inside. She would never know how sincerely Fluttershy felt, she would never know...
Something began to beat at the door now. Something extremely loud. Fluttershy felt her heart trying to bounce up her throat, but she swallowed it back down. She tried to think of an escape plan, but there was no where for her to go. She couldn't go back outside and even if she were to try and hide, whatever it was that was trying to get to her, would still find her either way.
She could see the door nob shaking now. She hadn't locked the door. Fluttershy just let that truth linger through her mind. The door wasn't locked, but the thing that was trying to get it was acting as if they were struggling to open it. They were trying to scare her. They were making this worse than it had to be. They could just open it and kill her, but no, they wanted to let this fear build up. They wanted the tension to rise. They were trying to make Fluttershy feel more fear than she needed to.
And....it was working. The sounds were irritating her ears in a violent way. She could feel her heart beating with anticipation, and sweat was no dripping down her face and back. She couldn't believe it, but she just wanted them to get it over with already. Waiting for it to happen was killing her in itself. She could feel tears rising in her eyes as she began to cry out in agony.
"Rainbow Dash!!!" She could feel herself starting to scream. She lunged back as the door began to slowly open.
"R--Rainbow....Dash.....!" Her voice squeaked now. She had no more energy to scream, cry, or even move.
The door was opening as slowly as it could. Any moment now it would be revealed, she could feel it. Fluttershy tried to crawl backwards, but she was only stopped by the wall behind her. She looked around for a last minute escape, but there was no where for her to hide now. There was no where left for her to go.
The door swung open, and Fluttershy clenched her eyes shut trying to hide herself from the vision before her.
She could hear a screeching ringing through her ears at whatever it was making it's way over to her. She could feel their shadow drowning her beneath it.
Fluttershy lifted one eye open. At first she could see nothing, only a blur before her, but soon she could see the large griffon that was towering above her.
Her heart leaped at the unpredictable sight. Was this some sort of joke?!
"Ha! I gottcha' real good!!" The griffon screamed in Fluttershy's ear.
She felt herself closing her eyes again as if it would hide her from the monster.
"Ah, don't worry about her. She's a wuss!" Another voice appeared from behind the griffon. Fluttershy recognized this voice to be that of Rainbow Dash.
She couldn't believe it. Had Rainbow Dash just pulled a sick prank on her?! That was....unheard of!
Her eyes opened to see that it was indeed her marefriend standing behind the large griffon that she now noticed to be Gilda. Her heart pumped as she searched for answers within their expressions. Both looked at her in such a cold way that she couldn't stand.
"Dashie...?" Fluttershy tried to make out as her eyes turned over to the cyan pegasus.
"I'm off." Rainbow turned around as she pulled Gilda in her direction.
"Wait..." Fluttershy called out, one hoof lifted towards Rainbow Dash.
"Why don't you just go play with Rarity or something. I got some catching up to do and I don't know when I will be back." Without another word, Rainbow jolted for the skies.
Fluttershy felt a cold breeze blow through her hair as Gilda turned around to her. Her bleak eyes stared directly at Fluttershy's. She had no expression on her face at first, but soon a menacing grin appeared in the side of her beak. Fluttershy gasped at the evil look she was being given, but soon Gilda turned up and jolted after Dash.
Fluttershy felt sick to her stomach. She had never felt so alone in her life.