Love Them While You Still Have Them

by FictionFreek

Chapter 2

“Come on, you can do it!” a young filly found herself standing alone on a cloud. Across from her standing on another cloud was another pony, but his body was too dark to make out. They were both high up in the sky, and the only way for her to get to him was by flying.

“It’s too far, what if I fall?” the young filly was hesitant; she hadn’t been able to fly more than a few feet at a time. This time she would need to fly farther than she’s been able to push herself. If she wasn’t able to maintain flight, she would end up falling from the sky.

“I won’t let you fall, I’ll catch you, but trust me when I say that you won’t need me to” the voice of the stallion was so sure, so comforting, the filly had no reason to doubt it.

“You really think I can do it?” said the filly as she walked closer up to the edge. It was a very long way down, the young filly gulped lightly, she forgot lesson one “Don’t look down”.

“I know you can do it, you can do anything you set your mind to!” the young filly took a few steps back until she couldn’t back up any further.

“Anything I set my mind to” the young filly repeated in her head several times. She continued until she finally picked her goal. And that goal was standing on the other cloud. The filly took a running start launching off the cloud when she ran out of room. Extending her hooves forward and flapping her wings, the filly continued forward feeling the wind rushing around her mane. The moment was amazing, she was flying in the open air for the first time in her life; she just wished it could have lasted a bit longer.

The young filly finally touched down, her heart was racing and she was panting heavily, but there was a victorious smile on her face.

“I did it, did you see that dad?” there was no response “Dad?” the filly looked around, but the stallion was nowhere to be seen. “Where’d you go?” she began to run around trying to find the stallion, but he didn’t appear anywhere. Eventually she was able to spot him; he was in the distance and was walking away from her.

“Wait, did you see me, I flew; I made it the whole way on my own!” she yelled as she tried to run after the stallion. But no matter how hard she ran, the stallion just continued to get further away from her. ”Don’t go, I still need you!” the filly began to cry, she continued to call for the stallion only to get no response. Even when she could no longer see him, she continued to run, begging him to return.

---

“Come back, please come back. Don’t leave me!” Rainbow Dash rose from her bed, she began to pant heavily, she was sweating, and she had cried in her sleep. It took the Pegasus a few seconds to remember where she was. A few seconds later she began to think about the dream she had, sure enough, she began to cry again. It took her hours to get to sleep, and after she was finally able to, she ended up being haunted by that dream. Although a little sweat never bothered her, Rainbow’s bed was completely drenched in it, it was uncomfortable.

Rainbow got out of bed and removed the sweat drenched sheets; she then flipped her mattress so that the wet side could dry off on its own time. Once the sheets had been changed Rainbow Dash checked her clock, it was already 6:30; she would need to be at work in an hour. Letting out a sigh, Rainbow made her way to her bathroom, she didn’t have time to get back to sleep, not that she wanted to. Once Rainbow opened the door to the bathroom and turned on the lights, she noticed something that she had forgotten.

“Oh my gosh, Tank!” Rainbow yelled as she grabbed on to the tortoise’s shell. “I left you here all night, I’m so sorry!” Rainbow had placed Tank inside her bathroom before she went off on her tantrum the day before. She did it so that Tank wouldn’t end up getting hurt, but she completely forgot to let him out after that. Rainbow took Tank to the kitchen and placed some food and water for him.

“I’ll be right back okay, I’m just gonna take a quick shower.” Tank peeked out his shell for a second before going back in. Rainbow could tell that he was mad at her, she couldn’t blame him; she left him in a dark room all alone. Rainbow went back to her bathroom and grabbed one of the clouds she had stored moving it to just above her shower. After striking the cloud enough, the water stored inside of it began to rain out. The water was cold, but Rainbow needed the wake-me-up from not having slept much during the night.

“Great, first I lose control of myself, and then Tank ends up being the one to suffer.” said Rainbow as she shook her head. This is one of the things Rainbow was afraid of, that she would let her frustration of on one of her friends and they would end up hating her. She needed to stay away from them, at least until she was able to move on.

The shower was relatively short; Rainbow wasn’t one to take too long to get cleaned up. Once she had toweled herself dry, Rainbow made her way to her kitchen. Slowly she looked around the corner where she left Tank to see that he was eating. “Hey buddy, you okay?” she asked once she was right behind her pet. Tank looked back at her with an angry look then turned back to eat. Rainbow sat on the floor; she pretty much deserved the cold shoulder she was being given at the moment.

“I’m sorry Tank; it wasn’t fair to lock you in the bathroom just because I’m having a rough time. Think you can forgive me?” it took a while before Tank turned to face Rainbow again. He looked like he was thinking it over. He saw the look on her face, and she had never treated him badly before. Tank walked up to the Pegasus and nudged her with his head, Rainbow returned the nudge.

“Thanks buddy, I still have time before work, how about we just play till then?” Tank gave her a slow nod. Rainbow did what she promised; she hung out with Tank for about forty-five minute before she had to leave. Admittedly, enjoying some time with her pet cheered her up a little, at least enough to get her through the day.

“I’ll be back in a couple of hours okay, we’ll hang out more after that.” said Rainbow as she turned towards the door. Once she opened it she noticed a container on the cloud floor. On top of it was a note signed to her, she had a pretty good idea about who left it. Rainbow grabbed the note and read.

“I’m still here to listen when you’re ready to talk.

Love Fluttershy

P.S. I made you a sandwich, please eat something.”

Rainbow’s stomach began to growl; it just hit her that she hadn’t eaten anything in over twenty-four hours. She’s surprised she hadn’t noticed earlier, normally she can’t go a few hours without having to snack on something due to her high metabolism. Rainbow opened the container to see that it was a daisy sandwich, one of her favorites. Rainbow couldn’t help but smile, she knew Fluttershy would always be there for her, whether she would admit she needed help or not.

Rainbow inhaled the sandwich in three bites and placed the empty container in her kitchen before leaving. Normally flying was how Rainbow Dash cleared her head, but for some reason, it didn’t feel the same. Rainbow found the rest of the weather team getting ready to prepare for the weather for the day.

“Yo Cloud Kicker, you ready to work?” Cloud Kicker turned to face Rainbow Dash; there was a smile on her face.

“Ready to work? Who are you and what have you done with Rainbow Dash?” she said with a chuckle. Rainbow was glad to hear the friendly insult from her; it meant that she didn’t know about Rainbow’s problem, so she just treated her like she normally would.

“Oh haha, very funny” Rainbow said with a small chuckle. “Come on, I bet we can get today's work early.” she said as she prepared to take off.

“Actually” Rainbow halted and turned back to face Cloud Kicker. “The boss wants to talk to you about something”.

“About what?” Rainbow asked as she arched her eyebrow.

“Don’t know, he said it was ‘on a need to know bases’ or something.” she said with a shrug. Rainbow’s stomach tightened up, she was almost sure what it was that her boss wanted to talk to her about, and she prayed to Celestia that she was wrong. Rainbow made it to her boss’s office, she hesitated slightly, but eventually she knocked on the door.

“It’s open!” she heard her boss say from inside.

“Hey boss” said Rainbow as she opened the door. Her boss gave her one look, and his face quickly changed.

“Hello Rainbow, please, sit down” he said with an awkward tone. “I was informed about what happened to your father, you have my condolences” Rainbow sucked her teeth, she was right all along.

“Thanks, but listen, I just want to put it behind me. I’m sure I’ll keep my mind off of it if I just focus on my work.” Rainbow tried to assure.

“I’d like to believe you Rainbow, I really would. But there are procedures that I’m legally obligated to take for situations like this.”

“Like?”

“You have to see with a psychologist, and if he or she gives you the okay, then you can go back to work.” Rainbow felt her eye twitch, but she kept herself under control.

“And if I refuse…?” she said trying to keep her anger under control; the strain was noticeable in her voice.

“Then I’m going to have to place you on medical leave, but it will only be paid medical leave for the first month. If you don’t see one in that time, then I’m afraid I’d have no choice but to cut you loose.” Rainbow didn’t say a word; she simply got up from her chair and exited her boss’s office slamming the door behind her. Her boss sat down on his chair and rubbed his temples with his hooves. He more or less expected that to be her response, he already signed her up for medical leave, now all he could do was hope that she could swallow her pride enough to get the help she needs. And in case she couldn’t, he had already made preparations with somepony he thinks could.

---

Applejack bucked her first tree for the day, just like always, she was able to clear it of apples in her first attempt. Only a couple hundred more trees and she would fill her quota for the day, it was tiring work but she didn’t mind. Whenever she was worked up or anxious about something, bucking a few dozen trees always made her feel better. But letting out your frustrations on a tree doesn’t work every time, and definitely not for everypony.

“Hello, Applejack” Applejack turned around to see Fluttershy landing in front of her.

“Hey there, Fluttershy, and luck with Rainbow?”

“Well, I got her to eat something, I think.” said Fluttershy “I left her a sandwich this morning and when I came back it was gone.”

“That’s a start ah guess, ah take it she’s aint talking much?”

“No, but you know how she is, she can be—“

“Stubborn?” Applejack said cutting of Fluttershy but at the same time finishing her sentence for her.

“Well, yes.” said Fluttershy as she kicked at the ground. “And, well, that’s sort of why I’m here.” she added as she rubbed the back of her head. “I uh, think I need some advice” Applejack stared at her for a second with a raised eyebrow.

“You callin’ me stubborn?”

“Yes, I mean, no, I mean…”

“Easy there” said Applejack as she placed a hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “Ah’m just kidding. I’d like to help ya, but I don’t know Rainbow like you do. If it were me ah’d probably lock her in a room with me and not let her out until she talks. No offence, but ah don’t think that’s an option for you.” Fluttershy nodded. The most intimidating feature of Fluttershy is her stare, and she can’t quite use it on Rainbow, Not that it probably wouldn’t work if she did use it, but she’d rather not go that far.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right…”

“And honestly, I don’t know if that would work on her. Not everypony deals with grief the same way, that much ah’m sure.” Fluttershy understood that, when she had gone through this she pretty much cut herself from any kind of pony interaction. “And although ah don’t want to ask this, ah’m pretty sure ah have to.” Applejack said as she kicked at the ground.

“Is there a chance that Dash could…you know…” she asked awkwardly. Fluttershy stared at Applejack with a puzzled expression. At first she didn’t understand where Applejack was coming from, but when she did, a chill went down her spine.

“N-no!” said Fluttershy as she stomped her hoof on the ground. “Rainbow would never do that, she’s stronger than that!”

“Is she? We’re talkin’ emotional pain here Fluttershy, and just like me, Rainbow hides hers from us. She want’s other ponies to see her as a strong mare, and ah can understand that, but we both know it aint healthy to keep you emotions bottled up!” a short silence fell between the mares. They weren’t strangers to the pain of losing somepony; there was no reason to argue the point any further.

“You followed after her yesterday, how did she handle it?” Fluttershy let out a sigh and bowed her head.

“Not so good, she cried a lot, and I think she trashed her house…”

“See what ah mean?” said Applejack keeping her voice in a calm and understanding tone. “As tough as Rainbow try’s to make herself on the outside, she’s just as vulnerable as everypony else. A broken heart is worse than any broken bone; it’s not something that can heal quickly, and stings a lot worse.” Fluttershy nodded.

“Now ah don’t want to think that it could come to that, but this is gonna get worse for Rainbow before it gets better. The moment you think Rainbow could be in trouble, ah need you to come get me, or anypony that you think can help you.” Fluttershy knew Applejack could be right; the mere thought of Rainbow going over the edge terrified her. Fluttershy didn’t notice but she began to tear up. Applejack noticed it and quickly gave the meek Pegasus a hug.

“Ah’m sorry to put that burden on you, ah’d share it if I could, but ah’m stuck on the ground. You’re the only one that can help Rainbow the fastest, you can fly and you live closer to her place.” Fluttershy whipped the tears from her eyes.

“You’re right; I need to be there for her. Thank you, Applejack” said Fluttershy as she nuzzled Applejack. “I’m going to check on her again, I won’t stop until she opens up to me!” Fluttershy said with confidence as she took off into the air. Applejack watched as Fluttershy flew off, a smile on her face, but that smile soon faded. Applejack covered her face with her Stetson, but that didn’t hide the tears that ran down her cheeks. A pain filled Applejack’s chest, not the pain she felt years ago but something that hurt just the same. It was the pain of knowing she couldn’t be there for one of her best friends when she needed her the most.

“Ah’m sorry, Rainbow…”

Comments

[SuperPinkBrony12]

There were some spelling errors but this is still pretty good.

Right now Rainbow Dash seems determined to remain on the Denial stage and forget that it ever happened but on the inside she's on both the Anger and the Depression stage. She'll likely skip the Bargining stage but she'll have a hard time coming to the Acceptance stage.

[Sky Charmer]

Gah! Why do I always read the comments?! That just ruined the story for me. But I will still like and fave it. Just because I have a feeling it would of been a tear-jerker.

[LeopardCay]

Good job there mate!
I sure do like this story!

[Golden Scrolls]

I really like this story, good work!

[Scootaloose]

Damn man, cried once in every chapter i read already..

*drinks water to refill tear tank*