//------------------------------// // a burning flame // Story: fixing a pinkie promise // by The Drifting Bard //------------------------------// dying embers. Sugar cube corner was ablaze. i was stupid enough to go in and look for a certain pink pony. as i ducked under broken beams, the fire raged on. i heard the sobs, the cries for help. then i heard the ragged coughing. "i'm coming pinkie" i wheezed, the smoke combined with my condition, had caused a bizarre chain reaction. as i got nearer to the source of the coughing, i grabbed her by the foreleg, "come on pinkie, i'm" i coughed, "i'm getting you out of here" she looked at me like i was lying. i noticed her leg was trapped underneath a broken beam. "this is going to hurt okay?" she simply nodded, as i lifted the beam with my magic. she let out a soft wail. i then crawled underneath her and carried her out. the adrenaline going through my body had finally dissipatte as we got outside. i placed her on a stretcher and collapsed. the smoke, the adrenaline and my condition was too much. but Pinkie was safe, thats all that mattered. i was suddenly lifted up and placed onto a stretcher. "wait," my voice was raspy and haggard. i pulled out the keys to my home and handed them to the cakes. "you can live there..at least until your shops rebuilt" i smile weakly, rainbow simply watched the scene. she had watched me carry pinkie out, she had watched me collapse... and now she had seen me seemingly give up my home for someone who needed it more, i then blacked out. "Fluttershy... you were right" Rainbow sighed in defeat. "i'm sorry" Fluttershy simply looked at her frined with a small content smile. "i'm not the one you should be apologizing to" she said softly. "yeah i know..." Rainbow sighed once again. The cakes were incredibly grateful, they had a roof over thier heads sitll. but it almost cost someponies life. they knew that Blueberry Bass had nothing to do with this, because by Pinkie's description, he wouldn't hurt a fly. it was lucky nopony was hurt. especially the foals. "i'm so glad we took the foals to the nursery" Mrs cake sighed. with a half-hearted chuckle. awaking in the hospital i simply smiled. "heh, you jsut cant keep me away can you" i chuckled, which soon became involintary coughing. "ow" was all i said after wards. Nurse Redheart simply smiled. "you've got visitors" she smiled. "who would want to visit me?" upon saying this, a certain cyan pegasus trotted in with a sad expression on her face. "oh... its you, come to shout at me some more?" "no..."she continued to look down, ashamed of herself "i'm sorry..." i simply sighed, "did i hear that correctly?" i said, trying not to cough. "you said you were sorry? what for?" "for shouting at you, for...how i treated you" she spoke, "pinkie pie told us about you once, said you were the beat of the party drum... but then you" "left 5 years ago..." she suddenly looked at me, she could see a small tear roll down my cheek. "her father never let me say goodbye" isighed. Rainbow felt even worse... she began to sob, "i'm so sorry dude" she felt a pair of hooves pull her into a hug. "look..forgive and forget" she looked up at me in confusion. "i've already accepted the things that i can't change," she listened. "so i just moved on" i let go of her. "so, hows pinkie?" "she's okay," Rainbow answered yet hesitated. "she...she's coming to see you tommorrow" she stated. i smiled weakly. "just go to my place and pick up my guitar would ya?" fluttershy walked in with it. "Already planned ahead, Twilight's idea" i took a sip of water for a moment. "thanks... are those 3 coming tommorrow?" yeah, they want to apologize too" "well, Fluttershy must be lucky..she's the only one of Pinkie's friends thats managed to stay in my good books" "what about the rest of us?" "less-than-good books" i chuckled. she huffed. "how long will it take?" "eh... a little bit of time... like.. when i finally get out of hospital, so how long was i out?" "two weeks" the realization of two weeks missed hit me , "well....buck" the only two words i could muster.