//------------------------------//
// part 2 
// Story: A Rainbow in the Dark 
// by Fluttershy 117 
//------------------------------//

Rainbow Dash opened her eyes and blinked a few times before looking around at where she was at. The last thing she remembered she was in a river bed trapped under some stupid branch. She tried to remember more about what had happened but the last thing she could recall was water covering her head and then everything goes black. She observed her surroundings wondering where she was and how she got here. She was in a small cozy looking room, there were a few cabinets and dressers and a window. She couldn’t see out the window, the curtains where covering it. She looked down and saw that she was lying down on a bed and tried to get up only to gasp at the pain that shot up her back and leg as she tried to get off the bed causing her to fall making a loud thump as she hit the hard wooden floor. Rainbow Dash laid there panting from the amount of pain she felt right now as a loud blast of thunder shook the room she was in bringing all the memories of what happened to her flooding into her head. She had decided to go practice a bit for the upcoming tournament the wonderbolts where hosting but there was a unscheduled storm. She wanted to practice in the everfree forest because the trees would help her with her dodging but the storm got bad so she landed in a small clearing in the forest. She was hit by a falling tree branch and ended up being trapped in a river bed and the rain was filling it up and she was drowning under the water and then...nothing. She remembers screaming for help and no pony coming and the fear she felt as the water filled up over her head and yet that’s all she can remember. She doesn’t have any memory of being rescued or even seeing any pony at all. As she was laying there she heard the noise of something coming up what sounded like stairs and it sounded like it was in a hurry. Rainbow Dash tried to stand up but only managed to get a little off the floor before the pain coursing through her entire body became too much causing Rainbow Dash to collapse back on to the floor. She managed to keep her eyes open long enough to see the door to the room she was in fly open and a blur of yellow and pink enter before she blacked out.___


Fluttershy had been laying down on her couch, sore and battered by the storm and exhausted from the emotional and physical toll searching for Rainbow Dash and then almost losing her had taken on her. She had carried Rainbow Dash all the way back to her house during this horrible storm and she did so with a badly injured hoof. She had bandaged up Rainbow Dashes wing which was badly damaged and her back was pretty injured too. She did the best she could do and she hoped it was enough. Angel had helped with patching her up and so far has been the only animal the storm hadn’t scared off. He had also helped her with her damaged hoof which wasn’t as bad as Fluttershy originally thought it to be. It had been about 5 hours or so since she brought Rainbow Dash in and she still hadn’t woken up but after what she has gone through she wasn’t surprised. She hasn’t heard anything from her other friends yet and she hoped they were all alright. As she laid there lost in here own thoughts she heard a loud thump coming from upstairs followed by a scream of pain and agony. "Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy gasped as she got off her couch wincing from the pain that went up her hoof. She ignored it though and she limped her way towards the stairs she heard another loud blast off thunder and paused momentarily before continuing up the stairs and bursting through the door stopping as she saw that Rainbow Dash was lying on the floor she must have passed out from the effort of trying to stand up. "Oh Rainbow Dash" Fluttershy said as she kneeled down and nuzzled Rainbow Dashes face "what am I going to do?" she said as a tear streaked down Fluttershys face as she looked at the broken Pegasus with sadness in her eyes. It was painful to see Rainbow Dash like this; she was such a brave, strong, fearless pony and pretty much the exact opposite of Fluttershy in every way. She always looked up to Rainbow Dash and now she was lying on the floor broken and unconscious. Rainbow Dash was always there for her and Fluttershys going to do the same. She’s going to do whatever she possibly can to help Rainbow Dash and get her better.___

Rainbow Dash woke up and found herself in the same place she was in the last time she woke up and was in the same bed. She knew better then to try and stand up this time and instead laid there and examined herself. As far as she could tell she had some cuts and her back and hind leg was killing her. She looked at her left wing; it looked alright though it was missing a few feathers. She tried moving it and it moved alright though it did hurt a bit, then she looked at her right wing and for the first time noticed that it had been wrapped up in bandages. She tried to move it and shrieked from the sudden explosion that ripped through her wing and back. "Well great so much for the tournament" thought Rainbow Dash as she noticed that she had bandages wrapped around a good part of her body. "How badly was I injured?" Rainbow Dash thought as she also noticed her hind leg was wrapped up as well. She remembered the yellow blur she saw enter the room when she blacked out and began to wonder who had rescued her and where she was. The thought of somepony rescuing her made her feel pathetic and weak "I'm the fastest, toughest, and coolest pony in equestria and I got beat by some stupid storm!" Rainbow Dash yelled in frustration putting her face in the pillow and screaming "I’m never going to become a member of the Wonderbolts now" thought Rainbow Dash as a wave of sadness washed over her. A few minutes passed before she heard movement downstairs, somepony was coming up the stairs again. She listened and waited for a few minutes before she heard a slight knocking on the door. Rainbow Dash waited for a moment before she heard a light knock on the door again "uh come in?" said Rainbow Dash wondering why they were knocking. Next thing Rainbow Dash sees is Fluttershy burst through the door and hug Rainbow Dash causing her to wince in pain. "Fluttershy?!" Rainbow Dash said in surprise looking at Fluttershy who had tears running down her face. Fluttershy was still hugging her and her mane was in Rainbow Dashes face. ___

"YOU’RE AWAKE!" Fluttershy said as she looked at Rainbow Dash who seemed hopelessly lost. "Oh my you must be so confused" Fluttershy said as she looked at her. "Uh yah kinda" Rainbow Dash admitted as she tried to sit up only to gasp in pain. "Rainbow Dash you shouldn’t move too much you’re still hurt!" Fluttershy said as she helped her sit up. "You need your rest" said Fluttershy as she began to examine Rainbow Dash "your wing was badly damaged and your back was hurt pretty bad too" Fluttershy said as she stepped back and looked Rainbow Dash over. "How long was I out?" Rainbow Dash asked wondering what day it was. "About seven hours or so" Fluttershy said walking over to Rainbow Dash "I’m actually surprised you’re awake though...when i found you..." Fluttershy said trailing off a bit "you were under water and you weren’t moving" Fluttershys eyes were starting to tear up and Rainbow Dash could see a tear already going down Fluttershys face and dropping to the floor. "I pulled you out but you weren’t moving and you weren’t breathing and i thought I lost you and that it was all my fault and that i was too late and..." Rainbow Dash put her hoof over Fluttershys mouth stopping her from saying what she was going to say. "It’s ok Fluttershy...I’m ok" Rainbow Dash said looking at Fluttershy with a small smile "Besides I’m not going to let some stupid old storm take me out" Rainbow Dash said smiling at Fluttershy who still seemed like she was on the verge of crying. Rainbow Dash had been completely shocked by how much Fluttershy cared. She hasn’t seen her speak that much or that fast in a very long time and she seemed so worried. Fluttershy smiled and checked to see how the bandages where holding then asked if she wanted anything to eat before leaving the room. Rainbow Dash smiled to herself for a moment then decided she was exhausted and closed her eyes to rest, drifting off to sleep.___

Rainbow Dash was standing in an open field with flowers of all kinds covering the open expanse. Rainbow Dash looked around wondering where she was, she started to walk around examining her surroundings. There was a forest around the edges of the field and the sky was clear and beautiful. She looked at her wing to find that it was completely untouched and in perfect condition, she stretched it out and it felt great. She looked up at the clear open sky and decided to fly up to see where she was. She crouched down a bit before leaping up in the air and spreading her wings to fly only to find herself hitting the ground hard. She looked up to see the once beautiful sky had been replaced by blackness and that the once peaceful field had been changed to a dark forest. She was surrounded by tree's and darkness, the sky lit up in a flash of light temporarily blinding Rainbow Dash making her stumble and trip over a root sticking out of the ground. She grunted as she hit the ground, she looked up to see the lightning flashing all over the sky illuminating it in a brilliant light. Rainbow Dash was momentarily stunned by the lightning show she was witnessing before a blast of lightning hit the ground near where she was making her jump to her hooves and gallop to take cover only to find that she couldn’t move her legs. She looked down to see that her feet where stuck in the ground and that she was being pulled into the pitch blackness that had enveloped the ground. She tried to fight its strong pull only to find that the more she struggled the faster she sunk. She looked up to see Fluttershy standing off in the distance lit up by what looked like sunlight. Rainbow Dash tried to scream for help only to find that she couldn’t, she began to panic as her legs had already been pulled into the black pit and that she was sinking even faster. She tried to get Fluttershys attention but she couldn’t, she watched as the blackness covered her body. Fluttershy just continue to stand there and watch as the blackness covered Rainbow Dashes neck. She tried to open her mouth and force words out only to find it being filled up by the darkness that was pulling her in. Panic filled Rainbow Dashes mind, the last thing she saw was Fluttershy fading away into darkness before she was completely sucked in.___

Rainbow Dash woke up screaming, leaping out of the bed only to find herself hitting the floor causing pain shoot through her body. Her heart was racing and she was breathing quickly. She put her hoof on the side of the bed and slowly pulled herself up trying to ignore the pain she felt as she started to pull herself onto the bed. The cover she had her hoof on slid causing her to fall back on to the floor landing right on her injured wing causing unimaginable pain to shoot through her wing making her scream. "STUPID WING!" Rainbow Dash yelled as she laid there on the floor, “what was up with that nightmare?" she thought to herself as she laid there waiting for the pain to settle down a bit. Fluttershy ran through the door and knelt down to check on Rainbow Dash "are you ok?!" Fluttershy said as she helped Rainbow Dash back onto the bed. "Yah I’m fine, it’s nothing" Rainbow Dash said trying her best to fake a smile. Fluttershy could tell something was bothering her but decided she wouldn’t say anything for now. “What time is it?" Rainbow Dash asked still slightly dazed from the fall "oh it’s about mid-day" said Fluttershy as she walked around the room cleaning up the mess that Rainbow Dash had caused when she fell off the bed. “Oh you must be hungry" Fluttershy said as she finished putting up everything that fell. Rainbow Dash was about to protest that she was fine but her stomach had spoken for her, growling in hunger. Fluttershy giggled "I guess I’ll take that as a yes" she said as she walked out the room. "I will be back up when your foods done" Fluttershy left the room slowly closing the door as she walked out. Rainbow Dash laid there for a while before realizing how bored she was "this is so boring" Rainbow Dash said as she laid there staring at the door. She was surprised when she found out it was still mid-day, she figured she would have been out cold for at least a few days, instead she was only asleep for a few hours before waking up and after passing out again she was only out for like one more hour. She had slept for only a few hours before some stupid nightmare woke her up. She looked back at the door and wondered what Fluttershy was up to and decided she would try and go see for herself. She rolled over slowly and put her hoof on the cabinet near the bed so she wouldn’t fall again and after a few painful minutes she managed to get herself off the bed. She was now standing up for the first time in what felt like ever, she was still weak from all that has happened to her but she wasn’t going to just lie in bed all day. She started to walk towards the door; the pain was starting to get a little less intense and she finally made it to the door.___

Fluttershy was flying around her little cottage cleaning things and making sure all the animals where ok now that the storm was over. She then flew over and gave angel a carrot for helping her with Rainbow Dash "oh thank you again angel I would have never been able to do such a good job if it wasn’t for your help" Fluttershy said dropping the carrot in front of the grumpy looking rabbit. Angel looked at the carrot before grabbing it and walking back to his usual spot. Fluttershy smiled then flew over to the kitchen and began to grab all the ingredients she needed. After a Few minutes of chopping up the vegetables and other ingredients she put them into a pot and put it over the fireplace. She was making a stew because she didn’t know what Rainbow Dash liked, it was nothing fancy but she was sure she would like it. She was stirring to stew a bit and adding some spices and herbs when she turned and saw Rainbow Dash down in the living room. “Oh what are doing down here?" Fluttershy said as she flew over to where Rainbow Dash was. She looked exhausted, probably from the effort it took to come down the stairs. She looked like she was about to collapse from exhaustion "you’re walking!" Fluttershy said excitedly. "Yah well like i said I’m not going to be beaten by a storm" Rainbow Dash said as she stood there, she looked like she could fall over any minute which made Fluttershy worried. "Here why don’t you sit down on the couch?" Fluttershy said looking at Rainbow Dash who was barely standing "ok i guess, it sure beats being stuck up in a room by myself" she looked at the couch and went to sit down but before she could Fluttershy came up next to her and helped her sit down. "Umm thanks Fluttershy" Rainbow Dash said trying to smile "your welcome" Fluttershy said as she checked to make sure Rainbow Dashes wing was alright before flying in to the kitchen to check on the stew. Rainbow Dash watched her as she flew around the kitchen Rainbow Dash had always know Fluttershy wasn’t a good flyer, she must have stood up for her a hundred times during flight school for her bad flying and yet her she is flying around with such grace that Rainbow Dash was surprised to find herself watching her every move. Rainbow Dash was always about speed and tricks, the adrenaline rush she got when she did a dangerous trick, the excitement. Yet here she was enjoying watching Fluttershy fly around her kitchen preparing food for her. Rainbow Dash quickly turned away wondering why she had been so captivated by Fluttershys flying. He has seen her fly all the time and never thought this before and now she was. "What’s wrong with me?" Rainbow Dash said to herself quietly.___

Fluttershy came into the living room smiling "foods done" she said before walking over to Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash went to try and get up but Fluttershy stopped her "no don’t move I don’t want you to hurt yourself, just sit here and stay comfortable ill bring you your food" Rainbow Dash was about to protest again but before she could Fluttershy had already flew back in to the kitchen. She came back out carrying a try with a bowl of what looked like soup and a small glass of something. "I made you a vegetable stew with a glass of apple cider" Fluttershy said as she laid the tray down in front of Rainbow Dash" I didn’t know what you like to eat so I sort of just guessed, I hope you like it" She smiled and then walked back in to the kitchen to clean up the mess cooking Rainbow Dashes meal had caused. Rainbow Dash looked at the food in front of her; it looked great and smelled even greater. She took a sip of the stew and smiled "this is really good" she thought to herself as she started to eat the stew Fluttershy had made her. Fluttershy walked back in to the living room after cleaning up the mess in the kitchen and was surprised to see that Rainbow Dash had already eaten the stew. "I’m guessing you enjoyed it then?" Fluttershy said giggling "yah it was great I really liked it" Rainbow Dash said smiling. Fluttershy blushed and quickly hid behind her mane "oh...well thanks" Fluttershy said quietly she then grabbed the tray and took it back into the kitchen. Fluttershy finished cleaning and examined her work, the mess the meal has caused was now completely gone and everything was back to looking the way it did before. She smiled to herself and walked back into the living room to find Rainbow Dash had fallen asleep and was now slumped over the couch out cold. She smiled and walked over to the couch and put a small cover over her before lying down on the floor next to the couch and closing her eyes. She was glad that Rainbow Dash had enjoyed her meal and was happy to see that she was able to walk already; she looked up at Rainbow Dash and smiled. She could get used to having her friend around she thought before falling asleep for the first time since the storm hit.