The hardwood floor beneath Fluttershy's feet chilled her hooves as a sense of dread fell into the surrounding air. Muscles in her body began to tighten. Her room grew hotter, and Rainbow came across Fluttershy's mind. Her grace and power was always a factor that she had enjoyed with Rainbow Dash, but this image of her seemed to be different. It was as if Dash was on the brink; about to let go of reality and all of its connections. Fluttershy scrunched her eyes together and grit her teeth, trying to keep back a volley of tears.
She didn't know why she wanted to cry, or why she even felt like there was something tragically wrong with Rainbow. Something in her heart just told Fluttershy to worry about her even though her mind told her that everything was alright.
Fluttershy was alone in her room, the bed made neatly, the curtains swaying in the gentle breeze that was flowing through the windows. She knew that there was nopony else here, but she had a feeling like someone was watching her. She kept her eyes closed, not wanting to see if anypony was actually standing behind her. She cracked her eye open slightly, turning her head just enough to look behind herself. Her lower jaw dropped as she turned in a flurry if pink and yellow, racing over to the rainbow figure that lay on her floor.
The image of Dash was terrifying to Fluttershy, her body was battered and bruised and looked like she had been doused in hundreds of gallons of water. Fluttershy extended her hoof, slowly reaching out towards the pony that lay on the hardwood floor. As her hoof grew closer, she could feel the beating of Rainbow's heart in her own. The hoof rested upon where her heart was; it still beating strong. Fluttershy closed her eyes for a moment just to let the feel of her heartbeat resonate through her hooves and into her body. The enjoyment of being able to know her heart still beat was glorious for her, but the fact if this hallucination was real – that would mean Rainbow would be hurt somewhere. She would be somewhere, hurt and unconscious near water where she could possibly drown.
Fluttershy began to panic as she felt the heartbeat that echoed through her body come to an abrupt stop, and when she checked for the mare that once lay in her room, now was only a damp messenger bag laying on her floor. She was shocked to see what had replaced the fabled mare of her dreams, mainly because there was only one pony on all of Ponyville who had this type of bag. The resident mailmare, Derpy Hooves. It just all seemed off to Fluttershy; Rainbow Dash unconscious in a puddle of water with injuries, and Derpy somewhere nearby. Fluttershy had nothing against Derpy, she thought she was a nice pony and all, but she was not the type to be around Rainbow Dash. She would much rather be around a flier than a mailmare. Not to mention her lazy eyes, those also did tend to freak out Dash a bit when she was around her.
The hoof that had touched her body was slightly damp from touching Rainbow's body. Her eyes became locked on her hoof . She knew that Rainbow was in trouble, but she had no idea where to even start to look. Out of the corner of her teal eyes, a faint cyan aura could be seen.
The glowing aura caught her attention, and she swiveled her head to face the glowing feather that rest on her nightstand. Her eyes were wide at the sight of the feather emitting its own light; she had never seen such a thing before. Fluttershy was scared of it, but at the same time she wanted to get closer and figure out why it was glowing. Was Rainbow on the other end of the glow? Did she give the feather to her just as a gift, or something ever more meaningful and special?
Fluttershy's hooves made a slight click noise with each step she took as she inched closer to the feather; never breaking eye contact with its mysterious forces. Inching closer to it, the glow became slightly brighter with each and every step. As she finally reached the letter, the entire room was engulfed in pure black instantly, startling Fluttershy. She looked around to her left and right, but there was nothing in this void but darkness. That was until her eyes fell upon a rainbow mane across the darkness, and it was undoubtedly Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy could hear her sobs as they echoed, and she felt the need to be by her side and comfort her with everything that she knew to be true.
With a powerful thrust of her delicate wings, she was airborne and heading in the direction of Rainbow Dash. Her body was gaining speed and she could feel the adrenaline rushing through her body as she came nearer to Dash. She could almost smell her, but then an invisible was constructed itself between the two ponies, letting sound in but not out.
'Rainbow!' Fluttershy yelled many times, worry and sorrow dripping from her voice.
She tried to call to her, but it was to no avail. She could see and hear her best friend and the mare she loved crying but 10 feet out of her reach. The mane of Rainbow Dash was partially matted and dripping with water, and Fluttershy had the urge to just stroke it with her hooves. That was one thing that Dash had always enjoyed when she was stressed or injured. Sometimes all a pony really needed was a caring hoof to glide through their mane. Fluttershy didn't know why she liked it, but she knew that that Dash needed that now more than ever. Her hoof extended to reach for her mane, but was stopped by the barrier in front of her. She sunk her head low at the though of being helpless when her friend was in such dire need of help and compassion, but she heard Rainbow speak those four words she had wished to hear for sometime.
'I love you, Fluttershy,' Rainbow murmured in her weak and broken state. 'I love you.'
Fluttershy let a smile escape her lips, and she closed her eyes for a moment to let those words sink into her mind. 'I love you.' The moment came when her eyes opened, and she was standing in front of her window, staring out over the fields with the feather in hoof. Her eyes glanced back down at the feather, when she noticed how oddly shaped it was. There was something different about it, but she just couldn't place her hoof on what it was exactly. The magic flowed strongly through it, but she just couldn't figure it out. Fluttershy had seen what Dash really felt, saw her current state, and it almost felt like she was looking into her soul. Fluttershy lout out a small gasp, finally realizing the importance of the lone feather that had been given to her.
It was more than special, it signaled an undying love to whomever it was given. It was the signal of devotion to that pony, and for a pegasus it was practically considered a marriage proposal. Fluttershy knew the importance of what she was holding, and what may have come of it. Had this feather been plucked from the pegasus before his or her time, there was no telling what could happen to the pony. Mental instability, emotional distress, and sometimes could drive a pony into insanity.
Fluttershy gave a slight smile to the feather, but that smile quickly faded to sorrow as she placed the feather into her mane. Rainbow needed her help more than ever, and since she had pulled such a stunt to give Fluttershy a signal of such affection, she felt that it was up to her now to go and find Dash no matter the cost. Her mind was still reeling at the thought of being given such a gift. She couldn't help but wonder why Rainbow would give it to her since she knew what could come of it. Why her, of all the ponies in Equestria, why did she deserve Rainbow's...
...Soul feather.