For Want of a Nail

by Arandur

Applejack

Applejack

I remember exactly what I was doing when Rainbow Dash knocked at my kitchen window that night. It had been fixing to storm all day, so we'd spent the day pulling dead branches down in the east field. It had been a lot of work, and after supper that night I was plumb tuckered -- just had to wash the dishes, and I'd be out like a candle. But Rainbow had other ideas.

"AJ! Come watch me practice!"

I had to smile, despite my weariness. It didn't ever occur to Rainbow Dash to ask whether somepony wanted to come with her -- she knew that she'd never miss a chance to be with her friends, and she expected the same from them. Not that she wasn't understanding -- sometimes a pony is tired, or wants to be alone. And I was tired, no doubt. But after seeing the excitement on that mare's face, I couldn't quite bear to say no.

It was getting windy out, though. The storm that had been threatening was just getting ready to follow through on its promise. I gave it no more than an hour before the floodgates opened right up on top of us.

"You reckon you can get much done before it starts coming down?" I asked. "Could be a mite dangerous, with all that wind."

Rainbow snorted in derision -- friendly derision, but still. "You think I'm scared of a little wind and rain? If I'm gonna be a Wonderbolt..."

"I know, I know," I interrupted, hiding a grin. "Neither gust nor gale, right? Get your head out of my window; I'll get my jacket." I slammed the shutter on her smile, shaking my head.

It was still reckless to go out there right before a storm, and I knew it, and I reckoned that Rainbow Dash knew it, too. But Rainbow Dash had always been a bit reckless, and the way she pushed herself paid off. It had always been her dream to join the Wonderbolts, Equestria's number one team of stunt fliers, and she'd spent as long as I've known her training to join up. She raised some eyebrows along the way, too -- Spitfire had told me a secret, last time she was in Ponyville.

"She's basically in already," she said. "She's shown us that she has what it takes, and she's certainly the most technically skilled flier I've ever seen. We have to call her in for tryouts, per protocol, but it's really just a formality at this point. As far as I'm concerned, Rainbow Dash is a Wonderbolt.

"She can't know that, though. Not yet. If she knew that she had done `well enough', she'd start to slack off, and that would be bad for her and for us. I know you're her friend, Applejack; I need you to keep her at the top of her game until the tryout comes. Think you can do that?"

I'd promised that I would. It was certainly best for Rainbow Dash -- Spitfire was not wrong about that. But as soon as she'd walked off, I'd realized that this required me to keep a secret from my best friend -- for almost a month!

That had been three weeks ago, and I'd done all right so far. Kept my mouth shut, kept encouraging Rainbow to practice, kept cheering her on. I kept thinking about how happy she'd be to find out she'd been accepted, though, and I ached something awful to just tell her that she'd done it.

Some secrets need to be kept, though, I guess.

By the time I'd gotten on my rain-jacket, Rainbow was entirely out of sight. That didn't bother me, though; Rainbow never could keep still for long. I started walking toward the clear field, and she spotted me in less than ten seconds, flying down to keep me company on the walk over.

Rainbow could chatter to beat the birds when she had a mind, and I don't reckon she stopped for breath the whole way to the practice field. I have to admit, to my shame, that I didn't pay much attention to what she was saying. I was too busy concentrating on keeping my mouth shut. If you've ever had to keep a secret from your best friend, you'll appreciate how hard this was. Or maybe you won't. Maybe you're good at keeping secrets. I sure ain't. You don't exactly get to carry the Element of Honesty by being sly, after all. But I was doing my best, and I didn't think Rainbow had noticed. Least, she did enough talking for the both of us, the whole way there.

We got to the field, and she was off like a rocket. I tell you, if you've never seen Rainbow Dash fly, you haven't quite lived. She can do things most pegasi don't dare to dream about in the air. I'll confess I was scared for her life a few times, but that fear was never enough to take the smile off my face. I loved seeing my friend do what she did best. The sky was where she was free. She was born in it, and she was never quite alive unless she was flying.

I have no idea how long we were out there in the field. Time lost all meaning, as I lost myself in her grace. At some point it started to rain, but I didn't really care, and neither did she. If anything, she took it as a challenge -- she became more daring, faster, as if racing the wind itself, and the wind couldn't hope to keep up.

I lost sight of her at one point, she flew so high. The sun had just set, and I couldn't see any stars through the clouds and the rain. I figured at that point it was just about time to turn in, so I was waiting for her to reappear.

The flash of lightning in the clouds came at the same time as the roll of thunder -- so loud it near drove me to my knees. My heart stopped as I scanned the sky for a sign of my friend... but I only had to wait for a moment before I saw her form coming out of the canopy.

She plummeted like a stone.

I don't remember her landing; all I remember is finding her crumpled form on the ground. She wasn't moving. One wing had a hole clean through it, and the whole wing was blackened.

I prodded her still form with my hoof, calling her name. My voice sounded strange in my ears -- far away, somehow. She didn't move, and I don't think I expected her to.

My friend was dead.

Author's Note:

Well, everypony, welcome to my story! If you're one of the few people who know the background behind me writing this, you know what's coming, but it'll take quite a while to get there. If you don't know my reason for writing this, though, then buckle your seatbelts -- I plan on this being a bumpy ride!

This chapter is really short. I know this. The next one is, too. I'm hoping it's not *too* short, but I guess that's a matter of personal opinion.

I welcome critiques, comments, ratings, etc. Thanks a ton for reading!

Comments

[Metta]

OnO oh s***..
Eagerly waiting for the next installment!!

[Arandur]

2131093 Next installment is written, and my prereader is going through right now! Chapters 2 and 3 should be up by tonight.