//------------------------------//
// Chapter 8 - At The End Of The Rainbow 
// Story: I'm gonna cuddle you. And you're gonna enjoy it! 
// by Shin Guyviroth 
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Chased. Tied up. Challenged to a test of magical prowess. Socked right in the face. And now, almost taken advantage of by a schizophrenic pony. If there was one thing this day brought me, it was a violent tandem of wild experienced and rushed emotions. And not good ones, either.

At least the trees weren't going to try and seduce me and have their way with me. I think they were probably the only good company I had in the time I've been here -- or at least they were the least touchy-feely company I've had since I've been here.

Actually… No, I was wrong. Trixie was. I had nearly forgotten about her, what with everything going on. How could I forget about her after what I did? God, I hope she's okay…

And then I felt something hit me right on top of my head, knocking me out of my thoughts. I looked down, and saw a fairly big lump on the ground. It was an acorn -- a pretty big acorn, too. As I looked up, I saw something whizz by me, flying off into the distance, leaving only a faint rainbow trail behind it. I guess with speeds like that, it would knock even a secured bird's nest from its branches. Fluttershy wouldn't like that one bit.

I came to the end of the path, leading me right back to where I first left from. All the tents were still up, and even Carousel Boutique seemed open, too. I sighed, making my way back to it. I don't think Rarity's going to take the news too well. She'll probably just laugh at me.





Nope. She just gave me a scowl. And I think part of her wanted to give me another knock round the cheek. "Jamie Summers!" she gasped at me, exasperated. "Now, I don't know what has gone into you, but I've known Fluttershy long enough to know that she would never do something like… like that!"

"I'm telling you the truth, Rarity!" I exclaimed back at her, flinging my arms to my side. "She kept telling me how much she loved me, and how she wanted me to stay with her forever! Then, when I told her it wouldn't work out, she… snapped, or something! And then she told me that she was gonna make me love her!"

"You are just being absurd! I'm sure that this entire thing is just a big misunderstanding. And really -- you tied her up!? Why would you do such a thing?"

"What was I supposed to do? Let her just… have her way with me? It was the only thing I could do to get away from her!"

"This is simply just utter nonsense! You didn't have to go to such extremes to get away from her! No, Rainbow Dash, yes, but Fluttershy?" She growled deeply as he eyes bore into my own. But she suddenly stopped, closing her eyes, and taking a deep breath. "At least no one got hurt. Now, let's go back to Fluttershy's, and we can get this mess all straightened out."

I felt my brain freeze in my skull. Just the thought of it nearly caused it to shut down there and then. It simply could not register. "Oh, no, no, no," I replied, stepping back and waving my hands in front of me. "I am not going back there any time soon -- even if she does have adorable eyes and long, pretty hair."

For the first time since I came back, Rarity shot me a smile. Actually, no. It was more like a smirk. "Oh, Summers, I thought you didn't love her? You certainly sound like you do."

"What? No! I just---Look, I just don't think it's a good idea to go and see her right now. Or rather, for me to go see her right now. Maybe we should just let her cool off or something?"

"Absolutely not! You're going to go see Fluttershy, and you're going to apologize to her, and give her a big cuddle to show her that you mean it!"

Cuddle? Oh, God, no. Not while she was in that maniacal state that I left her in. "No chance, Rarity! That's the last thing I'm gonna do!" I turned from her and sprinted towards the door.

But the door slammed before I could reach it. "Hah! Not while you're in my home you're not! You're not--"

She was cut off with a sudden loud crash. I shielded my face with both arms as I crashed through one of the windows that flanked the front door, littering the porch of the boutique with shard of glass and strips of purple painted wood. I'd learned from Twilight that windows weren't gonna keep me locked up so long as I could jump out of them. 

I tumbled forwards, catching parts of my hands on the discarded fragments of glass as I rolled over them, making small punctures and cuts on the backs of them. The pain was barely noticeable through the adrenaline as I shot to my feet and sprinted away from her. 

"H-how could you!?" I heard Rarity cry from the window. But I dared not to turn back to her. "Get back here right this instant, Summers! I KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE!"

I think she just ran out of things to threaten me with. 





And now I was lost. I just had no idea where to go from here. I found myself stuck between the bazaar where Rarity and Fluttershy was, and the town center where Twilight was probably still out on a manhunt for me. No, she was a princess; she probably had her guards patrol the town for her. And I couldn't take the path on the outskirts either, in case Applejack was still looking for me.

I was caught in a pincer without even so much as a hair's breadth to move in. I couldn't stay standing here either, in case Rarity decided to come out and start looking for me, too. 

I guess I had only one option; to just follow the river upstream and see where it took me. Pushing off the railing of the arcing bridge, I stepped off and followed the river from along the bank. 

I couldn't help but think about everything that had happened whilst walking along the edge of the river. I thought about how why they were so obsessed with hugging and cuddling me. That thought soon turned into thoughts of their overfriendliness. I just couldn't understand why they were all so nice to me despite me being a complete stranger. No. Not even that. I was completely alien to them; none of them knew what I was or where I had come from. I wasn't even from this world.

And then I thought about what I was. Who I was. And why I was so adamant about them keeping away from me when they tried to touch me.

But I knew. I knew why I was the way I was, and why I acted the way I did. And then I felt that burning pain in my chest again, searing me the more I thought about it. I don't know why it took me this long to realize it, but those pains were because of them. Maybe I just didn't want to believe it, that these sudden shots of aching pains was because of them.

How could I? How could I accept that pastel-coloured ponies that just wanted hugs and cuddle could want to hurt me this much? If they knew… If they knew…

I felt my body grow numb. Cold. Motionless. My vision blurred and became cloudy. I began to breathe heavy, unable to take in the air around me. My breaths became short and shorter. And then I felt myself stumble, falling forwards. Everything went dark.





"…ey… Hey… Hey! Are you okay…?

A scratching voice soon found their way to my ears. Ah, stupid voices, always trying to wake me up when I was having a good dream. Oh… I wasn't dreaming. Everything just felt hazy. But I just wanted to sleep a little longer.

"Come on! You can't seriously be this tired!"

Ugh. Go away…

"Well, you moved an arm, at least. Now move the rest of your body!"

I groaned as I began to slowly move my arms from where they had sprawled out in front of me. I gripped the ground below me, feeling the blades of grass between my fingers as I pushed off of my knuckles. My eyes slowly began to open. I could see the blurriness of green in front of me.

"Oh! You can move! That's it! Just a little more!"

I tried to turn my head, but the sudden glare of the sunlight only made me shoot my gaze away, back to the ground once more. But I was beginning to regain my sight, at the very least. I saw a shadow flickering as my eyes gazed up once more, still averting the light. I saw wings beating ever gently, rustling the grass with each beat. Then I began to feel the cool air wafting over me rhythmically.

"Now, look up."

As I shifted onto my knees, kneeling on all fours, I tried as much as I could. My eyes adjusted to the light, finally, as I gazed up above me. That's when I saw another pony---No, another pegasus---looking down at me as her four legs dangles down from her slender body. I gazed up at her strong, magenta eyes, and her fringe-like rainbow-coloured hair.

"You awake there, buddy?" she asked. "You've been laying there for quite a while."

I coughed, and clenched my hand to my chest. No -- the pain had gone, now. "What happened?" I blurted out through my strained throat. I don't know why I asked. I knew what had happened. "How long have I been laying here?"

"Let's see… I found you at three, and--" her head tilted back, gazing at the sky. I think she was looking towards the sun. "--It's about four now. So about an hour, more or less."

An hour? I was unconscious for nearly an hour? Just… Just what was happening to me?

"What're you doing laying here anyway?" she asked, her voice raised. "You coulda been swept away by the river if you weren't careful! Y'know, like, your body coulda rolled down the slope or something."

"Sorry." I didn't know what else I could have responded with.

She just tutted at my response, looking away. "Well, you weren't hurt, and nothing bad happened, right? Just try and be a bit more careful, okay?"

"Right. Right…" After she had finished scolding me, I rose back to my feet and dusted the dirt from my clothes. "Hey, um…?"

"Name's Rainbow Dash," she interjected. Hm… Rainbow Dash… That was the pony who Rarity mentioned when she was having a go at me.

"Right. Thanks, Rainbow Dash, for… you know. Getting me up."

"Yeah, well… I didn't need you ruining my day even more."

That seemed a bit harsh. But I had to ask. "Is there something wrong?"

"Heck yeah!" Her eyes shot out at me, burning with frustration. I didn't know if she was charging up laser beams in her eyes or if it was from the light's trickery, but I could have sworn that I saw her eyes turn a bright red. "I was helping Derpy Hooves with her mail runs, and then I dropped my ticket! I didn't even realize it until I got back to the post office! And I've been around all of Ponyville trying to find it, but I just dunno where it is!" She let out a heartful, angered growl, aimed right towards the sky. "Now I'll never get to see the Wonderbolts!"

Wait… The Wonderbolts? That was the name on the ticket I found near Fluttershy's house. I had completely forgotten to ask Rarity who it had belonged to. Rather, I didn't get the chance to. I guess it was Rainbow Dash'.

"And now I'll probably never get another ticket in time for it tomorrow!"

I placed my hand in my pocket. It was still there. "Hey, Rainbow Dash?" She turned to me, her eyes gazing at me in heartbreak. Until she saw the shimmering gold of the ticket, I suspected. "This is yours, right?"

Her eyes widened. There must be something in that head of hers, making her inner workings work, because I could have sworn I saw her eyes light up like the headlights of a car. She swooped down right in front of me, with her head jutting straight out at my hand as she pushed her hooves against her cheeks, making a pretty cute and funny kissy face.

"Ohmygosh ohmygosh OHMYGOSH!" she blurted out with ever escalating vocals. Before I could even say anything, she snatched the ticket from my hand and twirled with it in her grasp. If I blinked, I would had missed it. "B-but… Where in Equestria did you find it?"

"I found it in one of the bushes on one of the paths at the bazaar," I told her. "I thought I'd keep hold of it until I found who it had belonged to."

Her lips began to quiver tremendously. Just looking at her, I knew that it meant a lot to her. And her ever growing smile just made it all the more apparent.

But I knew that smile. I had seen it so many times today. But before I could say anything, she bolted at me, tackling me to the ground as she pushed me back five, maybe ten feet. It was hard to see and judge the distance with her huge cyan face smushed against mine, rubbing her cheek against mine as she caught me in a bear hug. "Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU SO MUCH!" she screamed. 

I didn't know what was more painful: the thumping in my ears, or the bone-breaking pain in my arms and chest?

"R… Rainbow Dash," I managed to wheeze. "You're… crushing me…!"

And just at that point, she stopped. Her eyes glanced over at me. And as quickly and as suddenly as she glomped me, she shot away from me back into the air, looking away and crossing her forelegs across her chest. "I-I mean---Uh… Yeah, thanks for that," she spoke bluntly. But her flushed cheeks gave away her embarrassment. I couldn't help but smirk and snicker at her. "Hey! Don't you tell anyone about this!"

I simply nodded and smiled. "My lips are sealed. Hope you enjoy the show tomorrow."

She smiled back at me. "Hey, I never got your name," she said.

"Call me Summers."

She chuckled lightly. "Summers, eh? Well, you certainly brightened up my day!" And with that, she bolted up and towards the sky, leaving a familiar rainbow strip across the sky as she soared across Ponyville.

Perhaps I did brighten up her day. But she was the one who cast that beautiful rainbow across my darkened spirits.