Fluttershy and Twilight worked to fix the library. While Fluttershy organized scattered books and scrolls, Twilight multitasked, using her magic to protect them from the rain, and forge the chunks of wall together. Twilight could see the look on Fluttershy’s face.
“Don’t worry, I guarantee Rainbow Dash is perfectly okay.” Twilight reassured. It didn’t seem to calm her down. “What is it about her, anyway?”
“She saved my life when my house burned down. I’d hate to see her die, and me still alive. It’s not fair.”
Twilight put a hoof on her shoulder. “Fluttershy, I bet my life Rainbow Dash is okay. You can kill me if I’m wrong.” Twilight stated.
That got her attention. “Well, okay…”
……………………
Thunder Flash waited for Rainbow Dash’s answer. She looked really nervous right now.
“Don’t feel pressurized, it’s okay if you say no.” Flash mentioned.
“It’s not that, I’ve been thinking about dating you when I first saw you. And you’re the first. It’s just…what will my friends think?”
Flash thought for a moment. “Don’t worry; your friends will LOVE me!” Flash stated with a grin.
Rainbow smiled. “Could you help me get off this couch?” she asked.
Flash thought again.
“Hey, I got some old crutches from my closet! Be right back!”
Flash zoomed off, and was back ten seconds later. “Here, try these on!” He handed her the crutches.
Rainbow grabbed them, and awkwardly wobbled off the couch, balancing on them. Suddenly, she toppled and the crutches flew in the air.
Flash gasped, then quickly grabbed Rainbow Dash with his front hoof and head, and snatched the crutches with his back hooves. He was only standing by his one front hoof and the crutches he held.
“Wow, you have excellent reflexes! And you’re so flexible!” Rainbow gasped.
“Yeeeaah…….help me…” Flash was stretched in an uncomfortable position.
Rainbow mustered all the strength she had to help out Flash. Then she grabbed the crutches and tried again. She quickly got the hang of it, and almost instantly she was mobile once again.
“Thanks, Flash.”
“Not a problem. So tell me more about this bad luck streak you’re having.” Flash asked with interest.
Rainbow began to tell the whole story. As she was speaking, they walked outside, and by the time she was finished, they were standing on the edge of his porch.
“Wow…that IS depressing.”
“Yeah, I know.” Rainbow looked over the edge. “Wow, the storm looks weird from up here.”
Suddenly, Rainbow was struck in the head by an anvil. Her face lost all expression, and sort of had that ding-dong-derp-eyed look. Like an inanimate object, she toppled right off the edge of the porch and plummeted to the earth below.
Mouth agape, Flash looked up, and saw Derpy.
“Derpy! How did you even MANAGE that?!?!” Flash screamed angrily.
“What just happened?” Derpy asked absent-mindedly.
“You just K.O.ed my marefriend!” Flash answered back.
“Rainbow Dash is your marefriend? Cool!” Derpy mused.
“(Oh no, there goes my secret. Now everypony is gonna know.)” Flash thought.
…………………..
After yelling at Derpy, Flash flew down to where Rainbow had landed. Not surprisingly, she was unconscious. He slung her on his back, and carried her to the hospital in the rain.
……………………
Flash sat in Rainbow’s room, playing solitaire on the table. Several times the nurses and doctors had asked him to leave, but he refused. He wasn’t leaving Rainbow Dash’s side.
He heard groaning. Quickly, he rushed over to the bed to witness Rainbow wake up. She had a bandage around her head, a cast around her hoof, and some gauge around her wing. She also had a huge bandage around her waist.
“Uuugh………Flash? What’s going on?”
“You were struck in the head, and fell to earth. Derpy accidentally dropped an anvil on your head. Don’t ask me how she managed to do THAT.”
“See? I told you…”
“Told me what?”
“About my bad luck. Gimme a break, an anvil? That’s nothing but bad luck!” Rainbow stated. “How long was I out?”
“Three days. The storm’s over.”
Rainbow’s jaw dropped. “And you stayed here the whole time?”
“Heck yeah. I’m not leaving you.”
Flash leaned in and kissed Rainbow Dash on the lips. Her eyes went wide in surprise, and then slowly closed as she accepted the kiss.
After a solid thirty seconds, Flash broke the kiss. Rainbow seemed dazed.
“I’m not afraid to take my chances.” Flash said. He walked back over to the table and continued his solitaire game.
Rainbow stared at him in awe. “(How did he manage to win ME over? Heck, I’m not complaining…)” Rainbow thought.
……………………
“There, we’re finally done. The library is as good as new.” Twilight marveled.
Fluttershy was STILL shivering a little. Twilight looked at her.
“Would you be satisfied if we went to search for Rainbow Dash?” Twilight asked, concerned.
Fluttershy nodded her head vigorously.
Twilight sighed. “Okay then, let’s go.”
…………………….
The two stepped outside. “Okay, if you’re so sure there’s something wrong with Rainbow Dash, the first place we should check is the hospital. If she’s not there, we know she’s alright.” Twilight and Fluttershy ran off to the hospital.
After five minutes they arrived, panting from running so fast. They stepped inside and wiped their hooves on the mat. Twilight walked up to the mare at the counter.
“Hi, we’re looking for a pony named Rainbow Dash. Is she here?” Twilight asked politely.
“Here honey, let me check.” the pony replied. “Uh, yeah. Miss Rainbow Dash is on this list. She’s in room 204.”
“Okay, thanks. By the way, Rainbow doesn’t like to be called MISS Rainbow Dash. Just Rainbow is fine by her.” Twilight mentioned.
Twilight and Fluttershy walked down the hall.
“Let’s see…200, 201, 203, ah! 204.”
Twilight knocked on the door, and then slowly walked in. They saw Rainbow in a bed covered in bandages, and a stallion playing cards.
Twilight and Fluttershy both yelled “Rainbow!” simultaneously. They ran over and hugged Rainbow Dash, who hugged them back.
Rainbow had tears in her eyes. “I’m so glad you guys are alive!” she said.
“Of course! Why wouldn’t we be alive?”
“I saw your library get torn down. I figured you guys got taken with it.”
Fluttershy was also crazy relieved. Her and Rainbow conversed. Twilight turned to the stallion. “Who are you?”
“I’m Thunder Flash. I’m Rainbow Dash’s coltfriend.” he answered. Twilight’s jaw hit the floor.
“Oh Rainbow Dash, how much did I miss?” she asked herself. She walked back over to Rainbow. “So Rainbow, who’s your friend?” she asked in an accusing tone.
Rainbow cringed. “He’s kinda…my coltfriend. Name’s Thunder Flash.” Rainbow answered.
Twilight leaned in and whispered to her. “What happened? You were only gone for five days! How did you get a coltfriend?” she asked.
“………I’ll tell you later.” Rainbow whispered back.
“No, I want to know now.”
“Then could you get rid of Fluttershy?”
“Fluttershy, could you leave the room for a second?” Twilight spoke up.
“Oh, okay.” Fluttershy left without arguing.
Now that Fluttershy was gone, Twilight spoke in a regular volume. “How did you, the hard-to-get tomboy pony, get a coltfriend so quickly?” Twilight asked.
Rainbow sighed. “Okay, when I was trying to evacuate everypony from the tornado, I tripped and twisted one of my joints. That’s when I saw your library get torn down. Thunder Flash came and rescued me, and took me back to his house. He cared for me and all that, and he turned out to be really charming. He also happened to have a crush on me.” Rainbow explained.
Twilight was dumbfounded. Charming! RAINBOW DASH used the word ‘charming’! This stallion must really be something, because he’s softening up Rainbow Dash. And that was bad.
“I don’t believe you.” Twilight objected as she tried to test Rainbow.
“What? What part of it don’t you understand?” Rainbow asked.
“I just don’t think you can get a stallion so easily. You ain’t got the stuff.”
“You wanna go? Right now?” Rainbow raged as she sat up in her bed.
Twilight sighed with relief. Good, some of the old Rainbow Dash still existed. “I’m not sure I approve of this. He’s changing you, Rainbow Dash.” Twilight stated, worry in her voice.
“What? I’m sure he’s fine, he’s actually really nice.” Rainbow told her.
Twilight sighed again. “Fine, but don’t let this go too far. I don’t want a huge mess to have to clean up, if you know what I mean. Physically, and emotionally.”
“A physical mess to clean up? That’s gross, Twilight.” Rainbow stated.
“Hey, you never know. Romance has changed a lot of ponies before my very eyes.” Twilight mentioned.
Twilight walked out of the hospital, and Fluttershy followed. As Twilight walked, her worry grew. Rainbow was not cut out for romance, and this whole thing could spiral out of control very quickly.
To be Continued…
------------------------------------------------------------------
Author Notes:
Sorry this chapter came so quickly. It's just that when I fire something up like this, the ideas swirling around in my head make it hard to sleep! Hope you like it so far!