//------------------------------//
// Chapter 3 
// Story: Be Strong 
// by fluttershylover357 
//------------------------------//

The two mares reached the spot where the two dead ponies lay, and Apple Jack suddenly understood everything. She understood why she had flown so fast, why she had passed out, why she hadn't told her who the two ponies were. She suddenly was reliving the moments of her parents' deaths. Her head ached fiercely, but she wouldn't let that stop her. 

"I-I'm so sorry...." She managed, her head burning. 

"It's not your fault... It's mine.... I just... Wasn't loyal enough to them.... I was too late.... WAAAH!" Suddenly, Rainbow Dash was crying. Yes, the element of loyalty and awesomeness was crying. But it wasn't her fault. She couldn't control it. Apple Jack hugged her tightly, her head not throbbing anymore. She remembered when she felt pain just like this. She remembered every second of it. And now... Watching it, hearing it.... Her head began to throb again, but she forced herself to stand tall. She did her best to stay on her hooves, but eventually, after two full hours of Rainbow's sobbing, she couldn't hold herself up any longer. She dropped to the ground, her head pounding nonstop, and Rainbow's sobs faded to whimpers... Which faded to whispers of, 

"Apple Jack? Apple Jack? Are you okay?" And eventually, she couldn't move, and she was barely breathing, sweating heavily. Rainbow Dash noticed AJ's heavy sweating and immediately threw her onto her back, running as fast as her legs would carry her to the Ponyville hospital. As soon as Rainbow Dash arrived, she placed her friend on the ground. Just when a nurse showed up, she fainted.