The Division Bell

by FloydienSlip

Loyalty, or The Approval

Music for this chapter:

Applejack nodded in understanding. "It's alright, Rainbow, let it happen. Ah reckon there ain't nothin' you can do."

Rainbow, her teeth tightly clenched, acknowledged the earth pony's statement with a flick of her ear. Her eyes briefly turned yellow, then reverted back when Rainbow Dash blinked. She winced, then collapsed to the ground with a dull thud. Applejack sighed wearily, and trotted over to the pegaus' side. Ever since her accident, Rainbow Dash had become prone to these vivid flashbacks to her fillyhood, and frequently lost control over her mind for brief periods of time.

Two pinpricks of blood appeared on the top of the cerulean mare's head, which the pegasus in question quickly wiped from her being. Shakily, she made her way to her hooves once more. Thankfully, she seemed to have regained her stability, though she panted heavily from her effort.

"You alright, Rainbow?" queried Applejack.

"I... I'll manage..." replied Rainbow Dash weakly. Extending her wings, she tested the wind around her. "Come on, let's get going. Granny Smith and Apple Bloom will be waiting, right?

Applejack hesitated, then sighed. "As long as you still feel up for comin', then yeah. We should go."

---

"Pull up, Rainbow! Pull up!"

"Relax, Spitfire. I've done this hundreds of times."

"Pull up now! That's an order!"

"Look, I told you not to worry about it! Get off my tail!"

"Rainbow!"

A sickening crunch. An inequine screech. A cloud of pegasi rushing towards the ground. Commands being barked and general expressions of disgust and fear. Then, blessed silence.

*****

"How is she doing, doctor?"

"She appears to be stable, but we have yet to see any significant movement from her. Whatever she hit, it could have easily killed her."

Slowly, the cerulean mare stirred and opened her eyes warily. Blinking, Rainbow Dash took in the view of her current residence. It was a rather simple hospital room, with white walls, ceiling, and floor - Like a box, she thought - as well as her own bed. Reaching to push her sheet off of her, she realized that her hoof hadn't moved an inch. Looking up, Rainbow saw that an IV had been attached to her left foreleg, which happened to be suspended above the bed.

"Buck this," she muttered to nopony in particular. Looking up, the pegasus concentrated on the two equines in front of her. A brown stallion, with an hourglass for a cutie mark, was dressed in a white lab coat, and Dash correctly assumed that he was the attending doctor. The other pony...

"'M sorry, Spi'fire..."

The yellow pegasus sighed, and laid a hoof on Rainbow's shoulder, causing the injured mare to wince slightly. The offending pony quickly removed her limb and sat down beside the cerulean daredevil.

"Rainbow... maybe you should take a break for a little while."

Rainbow Dash sat bolt upright and glared at Spitfire. "Meaning what, exactly? Leave the Wonderbolts?"

"No no, just a... vacation. Look, the team and I can send you someplace nice. Manetucket is very nice this time of year, you know. Or maybe Hosston? I've heard that those Bitalians in the North End have great food," she enticed.

A look of pure shock and horror dawned on the rainbow-maned pegasus' face. "You don't want me here. You... you're going to replace me..." Dash lost her previous vitality and buried her head in her pillow, her shoulders shaking as her sadness and disappointment poured forth.

Spitfire shifted uncomfortably. "Rainbow..."

"No! Get out of here! I never want to see you again! It's my fault anyway, I should have pulled up like you asked! Look at me! 'Element of Loyalty,' my hoof. I didn't care about you guys at all. It was always about me. Me. Me me me me. I wanted to reach the top like you, Spitfire. That was my life's dream, but now... I just wrecked that, haven't I?"

Wincing, the yellow mare folded her ears and seemingly became very focused with a spot on the floor.

Rainbow groaned in frustration. "That's not fair, Spitfire. As your right-hoof mare, I'm begging you: don't kick me off the team. Give me another chance." She paused. "Please."

"Look, Rainbow Dash, you're a great addition to the team, and I appreciate everything that you've done for me. I really do. But you're in no condition to fly right now, and several members have already left." Spitfire sighed wearily. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't agree with you. It was always about you. You were the youngest to make the team, and your sonic rainboom wowed the crowds all over Equestria.

"But it all went to your head. You blew off practice. You skipped appearances. You didn't want the team to tie you down. You wanted to live the high life, the kind of life a superstar has."

The pegasus in question hung her head. "I... I know... and I'm sorry. But we can work this out, right?"

The flame-maned flier shook her head. "Rainbow... I don't know. I'll... I'll think about it, alright? But no promises."

"If you two don't mind, Rainbow Dash really needs her rest," interrupted the doctor. "We also need to check her vitals again, seeing as how this is the first time she's woken up since she was admitted."

"Of course, doctor," Spitfire consented reluctantly. As she trotted out of the room, she heard Rainbow sigh heavily.

She did not look back.

---

Applejack couldn't remember the last time somepony had tried to make up for something to such a degree. Well, except for Spike, but he wasn't really a pony. Shaking herself out of her stupor, the blonde-maned mare cast a glance of longing at Rainbow Dash, only to find her staring back.

"You alright?" asked the pegasus.

Applejack sighed. "I reckon. Just thinkin' back to... you know, your accident."

"Oh..." If Applejack was the worst at hiding her emotions, Rainbow was certainly the second. "That was before us, you know. You shouldn't worry about it. Spitfire was... certainly justified for doing what she did, and I've learned to keep my head down since then."

"What?"

The cerulean mare chuckled. "Just an expression, AJ. Come on, we've wasted enough time already."

*****

"Aaaaaaapple Bloom!" called Granny Smith from the front of the barn. "Applejack an' Rainbow 're back!"

"Hi, Applejack! Hey, Rainbow," said the big-bowed earth pony. "You two got yerselves a couple letters."

The two mares looked at each other in confusion, then back at Apple Bloom.

"Really?" inquired Rainbow Dash. "Who were they from?"

"Fluttershy an' Pinkie, from the looks of them. Here, take 'em."

Applejack took the mail in her right hoof and tore them open with her teeth. The first letter was a light yellow color, and as the orange equine read it over, she visibly paled.

"What...?"

Taking the second letter (this one a fluorescent pink), Applejack scanned it for significant details. If it was possible, she blanched even more. Rainbow had a look of absolute fear in her eyes as she watched Applejack's emotions change from confusion to shock to thoughtfulness. Clearing her throat, the normally composed pony stared directly at the pegasus.

"Rainbow... could Ah talk to you? Alone?" she asked pointedly. Motioning for Rainbow to follow her, Applejack galloped towards the farmhouse as fast as she could.

"Hey! Wait for me, ya melon fudge!" Turning to a stunned Granny Smith and Apple Bloom, she chuckled nervously and shrugged. "I'll, uh... I'll be right back." Unfurling her wings carefully, the cerulean mare hovered off the ground and flew to the farmhouse as fast as she dared.

*****

"Okay, okay. Calm down."

"How can Ah possibly calm down, Rainbow?! Did you even read those letters?" Applejack huffed and shot Rainbow Dash the dirtiest glare she could muster.

"Yeah. Fluttershy's suggestion was a really good corla... colar..."

"Corollary."

"Yeah, corollary to Twilight's idea."

"But this is permanent! Both letters said that!"

"So? Twilight's idea is actually really good. Fluttershy changed it a little bit to make the end result better, and I'd rather fight a giant centipede than not go along with this!"

Applejack paused, then sighed. "Well, when you put it that way... Ah suppose it's better than bein' stranded alone on some island in the middle a' nowhere."

"Besides, Apple Bloom can take care of Granny Smith and Big Mac can take over the farm work. Think about it, AJ. We can get away from it all... forever."

"Yer right. Ah reckon we should tell Fluttershy and Pinkie that we're on board with the idea."

Both ponies exited the farmhouse. Neither looked back.

---

At a higher altitude with flag unfurled

We reached the dizzy heights

Of that dreamed of world

Comments

[Avenging-Hobbits]

OH MY GOD WHAT ARE IN THOSE LETTERS!

If it's a suicide pact I'm out of here.

BTW damn good choice for the theme song and great end quote. High Hopes is an awesome song.

[zaponator]

The mystery deepens!
Whatever's in those letters, it's an invitation to something permanent.
Hmm... The suicide pact seems more and more likely.

"Well, when you put it that way... Ah suppose it's better than bein' stranded alone on some island in the middle a' nowhere."

[FloydienSlip]

2240870

OH MY GOD WHAT ARE IN THOSE LETTERS!
If it's a suicide pact I'm out of here.

Wouldn't you like to know?

2242095 Refer to the above comment. And of course I included that in there. How could I not?

[Avenging-Hobbits]

2242743 YOU TROLL