Chapter 5: Near death
Rainbow Dash was lying against the rock and slept through the storm. The lightning kept on striking the ground and the wind kept increasing in strength. Her body was completely soaked from the rain, her mane was dirty from mud and twigs. She slowly woke up and her vision was blurred. She felt weak and her body hurt. She opened her eyes fully and tried to look around but her vision was to blurred for her to see. She felt the rain hit her and she realised how cold she was. Her body shivered as she felt the water run down her body. 'How long have I been asleep?' Her thoughts gathered and slowly, her vision recovered. She saw the storm, still raging on above her. She tried to stand up, but her legs were weak and couldn't support her weight. She felt her body weaken for every moment that passed. Rainbow tried her best to get up on her hooves and she slowly got up and leaned against the rock and looked around. She felt extremely weak and the only thing she wanted now, was to be in Ponyville with her friends. She couldn't do anything until the storm had passed and she looked around for better cover.
She saw a few bushes close together and she started to walk towards them. She had forgotten about her broken leg and quickly remembered when she took a step and her whole leg ached and collapsed under her. She managed to recover and stood up again but the pain was still surging through her. She made her way to the bushes and laid down between them. They offered a good wind protection and a bit protection from the rain. She laid there for a really long time, without a single thought in her head. After two hours in the bush, Rainbow Dash saw the sunlight hit the ground. She looked up and saw that the storm was fading.
She noticed that the sun was rising and she realised that a whole day had passed. The sun felt really nice on her cold body when she stepped into it. She felt warmth fill her and she felt some energy come back. The rain had stopped falling a few minutes earlier. She looked around and thought about which direction she should go. She thought about which way the sun was at when she crashed. She turned and faced the same direction as before and started walking. She hoped that it was the correct direction. Her walking speed was a bit slower than normal since she had broken her leg. She thought about Fluttershy, about all her friends. 'They must be worried about me...' she thought as something else hit her like a wall, 'Fluttershy probably thinks I'm dead. I wonder how she's doing.' Rainbow Dash kept on walking, looking out for any dangers in her path. She felt a bit stronger than before but the pains kept aching in her body.
After a few hours, Rainbow was exhausted and lied down next to a tree. Her body was screaming at her for rest. She closed her eyes but opened them quickly. She realised that she couldn't waste more time with sleep. She rested for a few minutes and stood up again. She felt a bit stronger and started walking once more. She walked slower than before to save strength. A shadow moved quickly across the ground. She looked up to see what caused it. She saw nothing above her and she started walking again, slower. The shadow crossed the ground again. She quickly looked up ans saw a pegasus fly high in the air. She realised that they were looking for her. Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to scream but nothing came out. Her voice had failed her in her time of need. The pegasus in the sky flew away and she was alone again. The feeling of hopeless fell upon her again. After a minute the pegasus came back, flying slowly this time. Rainbow waved as good as she could but it was unnoticed. After this, Rainbow was alone. No other pegasus flew across the sky. Rainbow started to walk again, weak and lonely. Her vision blurred and she felt weaker and weaker for every step. Suddenly Rainbow collapsed onto the ground. Her vision became black.
Fluttershy was sitting in the same room, refusing to come out, still looking out the window. Twilight had sent out search parties to look for Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy had seen them fly away. She was still crying for her friend and suddenly Twilight knocked on the door.
"Go away, I want to be alone." Fluttershy cried.
"Fluttershy, please. I have to talk to you."
"W-why?"
"It's about Rainbow Dash."
Fluttershy looked up and turned her head to the door. She was filled with hope again and quickly walked to the door. She opened the door and looked at Twilight.
"What did you say Twilight?"
"I got news about Rainbow dash."
Fluttershy's sad face quickly grew happier and Twilight saw that her friend was expecting something good.
"I got some... bad news."
Fluttershy's happy mood disappeared when she heard Twilight.
"B-bad news?" Fluttershy stuttered.
"The search parties found something... where Rainbow crashed."
"What is it?"
"They found blood and blue feathers..."
"W-what?" Fluttershy couldn't keep the tears in.
"I think Rainbow Dash might had survived the crash and she's trying to get back here."
Fluttershy's tears kept coming and she tried to talk but nothing sounded.
"There is also another thing..." Twilight walked to the elements of harmony. Fluttershy walked over as well and looked at them. Twilight continued.
"Rainbow's element is fading... it's losing colour."
"What does it mean, Twilight?"
Twilight took a small pause and turned to Fluttershy,
"It means that Rainbow Dash is dying...she's trying her best to keep alive, but she is losing the battle."
The news hit Fluttershy and she started crying again. Fluttershy wanted to run away and hide but her body was frozen. Fluttershy's legs collapsed under her and her body hit the ground, tears flowing down her cheeks. These tears was both of joy and sorrow. She was happy that Rainbow Dash was alive but she was sad that she was dying. The tears had formed a puddle on the ground under her. Twilight put a hoof on Fluttershy's back and she tried to comfort the crying pegasus.
"We are still looking for her Fluttershy. I'm sure that we will find her."
"T-thank you Twilight..." Fluttershy managed to say between tears.
"How are you feeling?"
"Better than before..."
"Fluttershy, you should probably go to our friends and tell them what had happen to Rainbow Dash."
"Okay Twilight...I will." Fluttershy agreed to the idea and felt it was the right thing to do.
"You don't need to tell them about how you feel for her, you only need to tell them what happened her."
Fluttershy stood up and wiped away the tears. She took a deep breath and started walking towards the door. She quickly turned her head and gave Twilight a smile before opening the door and walking out. Fluttershy started to walk to Sweet Apple Acres.
Fluttershy walked to each of her friends and told them what had happened. The same reaction came from all of them. They cried when they heard the news and Rarity almost fainted. Every time she told what had happen to Rainbow Dash it got harder for her. She felt horrible. After a few minutes at each of her friends, and a few of Rainbow's friends, Fluttershy walked home.
After a few minutes of walking, she arrived at her cottage. She fed her animals and walked upstairs. She laid down in her bed and let the tears flow free. Fluttershy couldn't hold it in any more.
Next to her bed was a picture of Rainbow Dash. It was signed by her as well. She got it at the young fliers competition. It helped her sleep at nights, seeing a friendly face right before she fell asleep. But at the moment, the picture only caused pain in her heart. Her blue love was missing and dying.
"What am I going to do?" Fluttershy cried out, looking at the picture. She laid on the bed crying herself asleep.
Rainbow woke up a few minutes ago and had started walking. Rainbow Dash was struggling to keep walking. The moon was rising in the sky and she started to feel cold. Each step took more energy out of her but she wouldn't give up. She needed to get back. She looked down at her legs and saw the blood, still dripping out of the wounds. Her body hurt for every step she took and she knew she couldn't keep going for much longer. Her body was yelling at her to stop, but her head was pleading for her to continue walking. Her legs had caught an infection and was hurting almost all the time. Her walking pace was slow and she had tears in her eyes. She started to think about Fluttershy again. She thought about why she loved her. 'You have always been there for me, you are my best friend and... I think you are beautiful.' Fluttershy's words popped up and Rainbow thought about the last word. 'Beautiful... Fluttershy thinks I'm beautiful.' Rainbow Dash started to feel dizzy again and her legs collapsed under her. She looked around but could barely see. Her vision had blurred and she felt like her head was about to explode. She groaned of pain and put a hoof on the side of her head. Her vision became black and her mind filled with fear. "I'm sorry Flutters... I'm so sorry." Rainbow Dash whispered and felt tears run down her cheeks.
When her vision returned and the pain gone away, she stood up on her weak legs. She started walking again, slowly and without a single though in her head. Rainbow Dash forced herself to keep walking. She managed to walk for another hour before she was to weak. She laid down in the grass and closed her eyes. She drifted asleep within minutes. Her pulse started to fall and her breathing became slower and slower. Rainbow's body was failing due to the infections and blood loss. The injuries was far to big to survive alone and without medical attention. She didn't have enough strength to keep going and when she fell asleep, it felt really nice to rest. 'You need to keep going Rainbow Dash!' a voice said to her in the dream. Rainbow recognised the voice but couldn't remember who it was. She looked around in the dream to try and locate the voice but was unsuccessful. 'You cannot rest now Rainbow Dash.' the voice was there again. She shouted but nothing sounded. 'Wake up... Fluttershy needs you.' the voice was further away and she started to wake up.
Rainbow Dash's eyes shot open and she felt cold and wet. The moon was low in the sky again and the rain fell rapidly. She had slept for half a day, or night in this case. Her vision was blurred and grey, body ached. She looked around to try and find where the voice came from but couldn't see anything. She tried to stand up but her legs didn't respond. Tears started to fall down her cheeks and she forced herself onto her hooves. After a minute she managed to stand up. She started to walk again, in a slower speed than before. She walked for a long time, maybe an hour, maybe two. She couldn't tell how much time had passed but she kept walking. She felt pain rise in her body and she tried her best to ignore it. Rainbow Dash walked through the pain and after a few minutes, it started to fade away. The pain was worse than before and if it came back, she might not be able to ignore it. After a hour her body could take it any more and she collapsed. her vision became black. She had fainted again.
End of chapter 5