//------------------------------// // Chapter 15- One Small Spark, One Big Wildfire // Story: The Shy One // by TheBluWaffle //------------------------------// Chapter 15-One Small Spark, One Big Wildfire -------- I slowly opened my heavy eyes, immediately feeling the softness of my beautiful friend. I smiled silently from it, sighing as I brought my head up. I stared at her again, seeing if anything had changed. She was still asleep, she hadn't moved. How could she? I would have noticed anyway. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes again, letting the softness and warmth of her fur steal my senses. It made me feel sleepy, even though I just woke up... "Have a nice sleep there?" That startled me. I nearly jumped off the bed when I heard that voice. I looked over to the door...it was only Doctor Hooves. "Oh. It's, just you. Um...yeah..." I yawned. "I did." It occurred to me in that moment, that I made a mistake last night. I was only supposed to be in the room for an hour... "Oh, I'm sorry...I just realized, I shouldn't have--" He put his hoof on my shoulder. I looked up at him. "Don't worry about it. I was contemplating weather to let you stay or not, but due to the circumstances, and your inspiring words, I let you stay. I could have easily taken you out and put you back in your room, but I didn't, because she needs a friend with her right now." He smiled. The respect I had for him was rising greatly with each word and each action. I couldn't have thanked him enough if I wanted too. "Thank you. I really appreciate it." I looked back at Fluttershy's still body. "And I know she does, too." I sighed sadly. He nodded. "I'll leave you alone with her for a little while. I need to take my coffee break." He was at the door, but he turned back around. "I'll get you some breakfast, and I'll leave some for her as well, in case she wakes up." He left at that. I stared at the door's opening for a little while, thinking. I turned back to Fluttershy, still here, still not moving. I sighed and lay my body beside hers, my hoof on her chest, stroking her soft yellow fur. I closed my eyes, thinking only two words. Wake up... That's all I wanted right now. I wanted to see those deep blue eyes open and shining. I wanted to feel her moving, even if it is only a slight shift. Wake up...please... I almost couldn't take it. I just wanted to see her here, with me, her head nuzzled into my fur like old times. I had a little flashback of when she had the nightmare, and she cried and cried and cried for minutes on end in my fur, her body shaking from the terrible visions, and all I could do, was stroke her pink mane and give her calming words. She always seemed to like those words, and the way I stroked her soft mane. I wanted to feel it again...I reached my hoof up, and I slowly let it down, and I sighed from the softness that came next. I smiled as I began to stroke it. It felt exactly the same. For some reason, I felt tears welling up in my eyes. Where did they come from? Was it the memory of that night, and the pain that came along with it? I didn't know, but soon my silent tears were falling on her luscious pink hair. I sniffed, trying to hold them back. It wasn't a time to cry...was it? Look at her...look at her condition. She may never be the same again! You don't know what that concussion did to her! My subconscious had me there. I really didn't know what kind of permanent damage that hit caused. I could believe the doctors words, of it all being okay, but there was still a part of me that was unsure. That caused more tears, just the thought of my best friend...my lover, being damaged for life, something hit me, something I had never realized before, but I found out that it was all so true... She may already be scared for life, just from everything that had happened before... How did I never realize this? It made so much sense. All the damage from the past may never go away. It may never leave her thoughts. I hoped to Celestia that it would. I hugged her soft body tightly in my hooves, crying my eyes out on her shoulder. I couldn't stand her like this. I wanted her to move, to feel, to breath...but she was stone. She wouldn't be moving for a while, and I knew that. I saddened me more. "I wish...I could feel your s-soft breaths again...I-I hate seeing you like t-this..." I said to no one. "Please...w-wake up soon...it's...t-tearing me apart..." I stopped for a moment. My tears had hindered my speech. "I-I know you c-can't hear me b-but...I-I just want you t-to know that I'm here f-for you...and I a-a-always will be...t-till the day I d-die--" Something amazing happened in that moment; right as I said that last line, I thought I could feel a slight shift in her body. That couldn't be, could it? She was still unconscious...but then I heard her make a small sound. It was very faint, and very light, but I could hear it... "Mhh..." It wasn't even a word, just a sigh. I looked down at her, hope in my mind. Was this really happening, or was this some sort of dream? Had I really fallen asleep before the doctor came in to greet me? But it couldn't be! I was there, I heard him, and all the stuff afterwards, was that all a dream too? No, it wasn't. I'm here, right now...and a miracle is happening in front of me. My heart starting pumping faster. My breathing quickened as I watched her with anticipation and hope. Come on...I thought. I really hoped I wasn't dreaming... She shifted again, very slight, but I could see it. She made another sigh, and her hoof brushed against mine...and she gasped, as if realizing that her protector was in the same exact room as her. She brushed it again, concluding that someone was right here, on the same bed. I almost couldn't hold back my tears of joy, and she hadn't even opened her eyes. Please...open them...come on...I begged in my mind. Not even a second later, she took a short breath, and slowly opened her magnificent blue eyes. I could tell she was still regaining her senses, for she had been out for about a day. I smiled wide, seeing the instant color before me. My eyes immediately welled up with more tears. She blinked twice, her eyes rolling around, getting a view of the room she was in...then they turned to me; a bright, smiling, crying Rainbow Dash, heart full of happiness and joy. She seemed surprised to see me. She stared at me, mouth slightly open. I was anticipating her words. She had to say something...right? That was my wish right now...and it was granted a moment later. "Rainbow...Dash?" She asked. "Yes, yes i-it's me, Fluttershy..." I hugged her tightly, bawling my eyes out again. These were tears of joy this time. "Wha...what are you...doing here? Where...where am I?" She asked wearily. I wiped my eyes, trying hard not to stutter. "You mean...y-you don't remember?" I asked. She gave me a confused look. "Remember what? Ahh..." She held her head with her left hoof. I noticed she had tried to sit up, but I had to push her back down. I didn't want her accidentally making her head worse. "Don't try to get up F-Fluttershy...just relax..." She lay back down and removed her hoof. "Why do I have...such a bad, headache?" She asked. I sighed. Now you have to tell her the whole story. Be ready to comfort her...Said one half. I'm always ready to comfort her. Said the other half. "Well...I'll tell you Fluttershy." I sat in the bed next to her, reciting the conversation we had before her tragic accident. She smiled for a second, chuckling at my words, but when I got to the bad part, that's when she turned serious, and she even seemed a bit scared. "W-What? I...f-fell out of the sky? I...I don't even remember that..." She said. "You had taken a big hit. You were probably already unconscious before you realized what had happened. It...all happened like a flash..." It was hard to speak. A part of me didn't want to say these things, but another part of me just wanted to get it all over with. I went wit the other part. I continued telling my tale, and when I got to the part where I swooped down and back up before she hit the ground, that's when her eyes widened, and she stopped me. "Wait...w-what did you just say?" She asked. "Fluttershy, I swooped down and...caught you before you hit the ground. I--" "You...saved my life?" She seemed shocked. I took a breath, tying to hold back my tears. "Yes...yes I did. I wasn't going to let you fall..." In the air, as she falls With my arms around her. "You...saved my life..." She couldn't believe it. I sniffed. Holding back was hard. She looked at me, and I could see tears in her eyes too. "You...s-saved my life...Rainbow...I..." She started crying, and I was already holding her tight. "Of course Fluttershy..." I couldn't hold it anymore. "I w-wasn't going to let you die...n-not after everything you've been through. I...I wasn't just going to s-sit there and watch you fall to y-your demise. I couldn't...I w-wouldn't..." I stopped and nuzzled my head in her shoulder again, letting my tears soak her soft fur. She glanced down at me. "R-Rainbow...I just...c-can't believe you would...d-do something like that for me." She paused, seeming pained to say it. "N-No one else would..." "Hey..." I pushed her hair with my hoof, revealing her tear stained face. "Don't say that. I know for a fact...t-that someone else would do what I did...y-you just don't now it. T-They would save you too...if they knew w-what was happening." "I...I would like t-to believe you...Rainbow...but I can't." My heart nearly broke right there. "You and I, b-both know...no one else would have saved me...y-you k-know..." She started crying again, this time more than before. I didn't know what to say. I couldn't really say anything to cheer her up. She was right. After all the stupid shit that they put on her, after all the mean comments and physical play...I realized I couldn't even believe my own statement. She had a point. No one else would have even cared. I hugged her tighter, not saying a word. She pushed her cheeks against my chest, letting the warm feeling bring her a sense of safeness. She sighed, her crying stopped. I looked down and started stroking her soft hair. She seemed to like it, because she kept sighing from the soft feeling of my hoof. "Ahh...that feels...nice..." She said, her voice almost inaudible. I smiled. "Aw..." I couldn't say much more. She looked pretty dang cute right now. Her eyes were closed softly, her ears flicked with each stroke, she had a little smile on her face. I was so glad to see her like this; breathing, smiling, alive. She was back, and that was a fact. She shifted slightly, nuzzling her body more into mine. She took a deep breath. I could tell she was tired, even though she had just woken up. "You getting sleepy, Fluttershy?" I asked with a smirk. All she made out was a small "Mmm..." I nodded. "Here..." I lay down beside her, keeping her snuggled into my body. I could feel her slow, soft breaths on my fur. It felt like bliss. "Sleep well Fluttershy...don't let any bad dreams haunt you." I gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I'll be right here...don't you worry..." I sighed, lay my head down, and soon fell asleep, the little yellow pegasus wrapped warmly next to me. ---MEANWHILE--- Doctor Hooves was sipping slowly on his coffee, trying to get as much of his break as he could. He wouldn't have another one until tomorrow. Suddenly, the intercom buzzed up, and a mare's voice rang up. "Um...Doctor Hooves, please report to the entrance...now!" It clicked and went off. He looked up at it, interested in what they needed him for. It seemed rather urgent, just from her voice, including that added "now!" at the end. He sighed and walked out the door. A minute later, he was at the front. He didn't even look in front of him, he just looked at the receptionist, who was staring straight ahead. "Alright, what is it?" He asked. No answer from her. What was she staring at? He looked ahead...and nearly dropped his coffee on the floor. "Oh...wow. Um...why are they all here?" He asked. "They all want to see...um...who was it again?" Someone tugged at his white doctors coat. He looked down, and there was a little filly there. She motioned for a whisper. He leaned his head down and listened to her words. "Mm hmm...I see...really? The whole school? Wow...okay...okay..." He looked towards the crowd. "I see why you are all here..." I smile grew on his face. "Let's give her a little surprise visit, shall we? I'm sure she would appreciate it very much." The all cheered in agreement, and the doctor lead the way them. ---------- I was awoken by the sound of the doctor's voice. "Rainbow Dash, wake up!" The doctor said urgently. I lazily lifted my head, rubbing my eyes from the slight haze that was in them. "Mmm...what?" I asked. He had a big smile on his face. I looked ahead at the mass of people. My eyes shot open wide. I stared at them for countless moments. "Wha...what are they doing here?" I asked. "They came here to see Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash. Look at all the things they are holding." He said. Indeed, almost every pony was holding some sort of card. I couldn't see what was on them. "Wake Fluttershy up. She'll get a nice little sight here." He said. I nodded. I whispered in her ear, hoping she would get up. "Fluttershy...Fluttershy...wake up..." She shifted, and a moment later, she opened her eyes. "Mmhh...Rainbow? What's going--" She gasped and nearly fainted under the covers by all the ponies that had suddenly appeared in her room. The all looked very happy to see her up, and some of them even started talking. "Fluttershy! Fluttershy! We heard what happened, we feel so bad!" They all started talking at once, and I could barley even make out one word of it. Dr. Hooves tried to calm the crowd. "Now now, hold on one minute, let's not make Fluttershy too flustered. Just leave the cards by the bed and be on your way. We don't need to much of a commotion right now." Dr. Hooves said half-halfheartedly. They seemed rather disappointed, but they followed his demands. One by one, they left a card next to her bed, said a couple of words like; "Get well soon!", and then left. Fluttershy tried to say "thank you" to every pony, but she was already so shocked and surprised, she could barley speak. She was mostly surprised to see that, some of these ponies that were leaving get well soon cards, were some of the ponies that had laughed at all the insults and all the other stuff that the bully did. I was equally surprised by that fact. When the last one left her card, she stopped the filly before she could leave. She had one big question that she needed to ask. "Why...why are you all...doing this?" She asked. She smiled. "We all heard what had happened Fluttershy, the whole school did. We all felt so terrible for you, so, we gathered the whole school up and made cards for you, just to show that we all care about you, and to thank you ad well--" "Care about me? Half the people that came in...they were the ones who laughed at all my insults, who made fun of me when he pushed me down. I'm...I'm so confused..." I pulled her close. The filly dropped her head. "Yes well, we were going to tell you...we all felt really bad for the things that we had done. We...we were just scared Fluttershy. We didn't want the same thing that happened to you, happened to us, so we made it seem like we were on his side." Her face brightened. "But when you told him off that one did, we got inspired. I thought, 'if Fluttershy could stand up to him, than...we all could!' Fluttershy...we did, we stood up to him like you did. We weren't afraid anymore...and even his little sidekick friends joined us. You were the one that started this, well, basically, an uprising! He actually moved back to Baltimare where he was from!" Fluttershy gasped when she heard that. "Fluttershy, you helped us do this, you were the one to show no fear, you started the spark, and we created the wildfire." As she walked towards the door, she turned back and said, "Thank you Fluttershy. Thank you for everything. You may not believe us, but we really appreciate everything you did, and we all care about you. Get well soon." She left at that. She had no words. I had heard all of it, and the excitement I had inside was more than I could explain. I wanted to let it all out. "Well," I had forgotten that Dr. Hooves was still here. "I will get you two some breakfast, and I'll be back shortly. Enjoy your cards, Fluttershy." He left. Fluttershy looked at the cards, than back at me. "What...what just happened?" She asked. I smiled. "Fluttershy, I realize you're confused, so...i'll try to explain it as best as I can...you basically showed the kids that you shouldn't fear anyone that may seem tougher, meaner or even greater than you, that one mare, can't stand up to a whole school's worth of ponies. You showed them that they shouldn't fear that bully, and they didn't, and now he's gone." She still just stared, mesmerized at my words. "I...helped them...overcome their fears? Of him?" She asked, still very confused. "Yes! Yes, you did!" I just wanted to blurt it out to everyone in the hospital, I was so excited. "I...I can't believe it...I...I never realized...the thing that...that I created...without even knowing it..." She still was trying to process it all. It was so much to take in at once, but she was starting to put it all together. For some reason, I wanted to hug her tight and cry. Was this a time to cry? I didn't think it was...well, they would be tears of joy, but I just had that feeling to do that. "I...I'm so...surprised and...s-shocked...I can't even--" I did it. I hugged her tight and began to cry. All my emotions of happiness, joy and even a little sadness, came out all at once. I couldn't stop. I could feel her soft hooves wrap around my body. "Aw...Rainbow...come here..." She returned the hug, letting me snuggle my head into her fur. I kept crying. Why was I? This was a happy time...there was no need to cry, but...as Fluttershy always said-- "It's a beautiful thing to cry." She said with a soft smile. I looked up at her. Did she read my mind? "I...I was just t-thinking that...F-Fluttershy..." I stuttered. "It's the truth...and like I said..." She brushed some hair out of my eyes and she stared into them. "You look beautiful when you cry..." I teared up even more when she said that. I laid my head back down on her chest, her hooves hugging me tight. I sniffed. "I l-love you...Flutters..." I had to say it. It was such a sensitive and touching moment. It's almost as If I could feel her smile widen. She hugged me tighter. "I...I love you too...Rainbow..." We were kept in each others warm embrace for many minutes, until we heard a voice, and the sound of flapping wings. There seemed to be some commotion outside...we could hear the sound of clanking metals and different surgical instruments hit the ground, as well as possibly a coffee mug, and a whole bunch of the doctors and nurses were shouting and crying out loud. What was all the commotion about? "Scuse' me--sorry!--oops...uh sorry!--whoops!" Out of nowhere, for a split second, I could see a pegasus from our school fly right by our room, then we heard a loud crash, followed by the annoyed and angry shouts from a nurse. "Uh...sorry nurse, hehe..." She looked in our room. I recognized that face and I sighed and rolled my eyes. "Oh Derpy..." I muttered under my breath. There was some sort of metal bowl on her head. When Fluttershy saw her, and the bowl, she started giggling. She smiled at us and walked forward, looking excited. "Guys guys! Did you hear? He's gone! The bully's gone! I can't believe it!" She jumped from joy. I rolled my eyes. "Yes Derpy, we heard." Oh Derpy...always the one to give late information... I thought. I chuckled. She is one of my best friends, though... She could see Fluttershy looking at her head, and giggling madly. Derpy was confused. "Why is she giggling so much?" I pointed to her hair. She looked up, and saw the bowl. "Oh...yeah, this hat! I got it when I came in er...flew in." She smiled. I laughed in my head. "Ahem..." I looked behind her. Doctor Hooves was standing there, looking a little annoyed. Derpy turned around, the usual smile on her face. "Oh, hi doc'!" She said. He looked towards me. I smirked. "She's a friend...a little, destructive but, she's welcome." He sighed. "Alright then," He looked to Derpy. "But you will have to clean up the mess that--" He just noticed her eyes, and how they were a little...different. I noticed him, and so did Fluttershy. "Those eyes are...fascinating. I have never seen any pony with those eyes before." He said, astonished. Derpy's smile faded. Uh-oh. I thought. I tried to motion to him to stop, but he didn't see me. "There...there...amazing, to say the least!" Derpy gasped, not expecting that kind of reaction. "You...you really think so?" She wasn't so sure if what he was saying was true... "Yes, they are! You are somepony special, Derpy." Derpy's smile widened. I made a sigh of relief. He looked back at the door. "But seriously, you are going to clean some of this up, for you did cause it all..." "Hehe...sorry...I just don't know what went wrong..." Her famous catch phrase. I chuckled. "Yes yes. Anyway, Fluttershy," He walked up to her. "I have talked to the nurses, and we want to run a few more concussion-based tests, so you'll need to stay in the hospital for another few days." She was saddened to hear this, and I was too. "But...I will let Rainbow Dash stay with you at all times, just so you can have some friendly company." She smiled wide at this. I wrapped my hoof around her shoulder and pulled her next to me. "Now, anyway, please follow me, um...Derpy, you have some cleaning to do..." He rolled his eyes. When he left, Derpy looked back at us. "Did you hear that? He said that I was special, in a good way! He said that my eyes were amazing! I...I guess--" "Come on little filly! You need to help us. Some of the nurses are very angry at you..." The doctor said from the doorway. "Oh, gotta' go. Get well soon Fluttershy!" She ran straight into the wall heading out. We chuckled at that. "I'm glad she's doing better.* It seems that the event in which the bully moved, has really changed some ponies lives." I said. "Yes...me too...Just like me, she never deserved any of what she got." This time, Fluttershy laid down on my body. I held her close. "In a few days Flutters, we'll be back to our old lives again. Isn't that great?" I asked. "It really is..." She sighed. "It really is..." She closed her eyes, letting my warmth drift her to sleep. I gave her a soft kiss on her hair. She made a little sound. "Sleep tight, and remember, I'll be right here." I said happily. She smiled and fell asleep. I thought about those words. I'll be right here... I hugged her tightly. "I was always be here...Flutters..." That promise was still intact, and I knew, that it would be a promise that I would never break, for as long as I live.