A freak storm hits ponyville and Rainbow Dash finds herself trapped
A freak storm hits ponyville while Rainbow Dash is out practicing and she soon finds herself trapped and in desperate need for help. Will a certain yellow Pegasus be able to overcome her fears and save Rainbow Dash or will she be too scared to to leave to safety of her cottage and go out into the deadly storm to save her?
It had been a wonderful and beautiful day, at least it had been until the storm hit. It had arrived unexpectedly, catching every pony off guard. "hmmmm" thought Rainbow Dash as she was flying threw the late evening air " I dont remember there being a storm scheduled today". She had planned on doing some practice flights for the upcoming competition and she wasnt about to miss out on a chance at improving her trick she had been working on. "After all" thought Rainbow Dash "if anything the storm might just help me improve my trick". She looked down and realized she had arrived at her destination, the everfree forest.___
Meanwhile in a quiet little cottage sat a scared Pegasus with a yellow coat and pink mane. Fluttershy had been enjoying the evening spending time with all her wonderful animal friends when the storm showed up. She had just finished feeding all the animals and was about to lay down to relax when a loud clash of thunder nearly scared the Pegasus right out of her coat. The storm was now fully developed and was blasting away at Fluttershy's cottage. The Pegasus was terrified, she never liked storms even as a young filly. She shuttered when a loud blast of thunder shook her cottage making her tighten up and lose all control of her muscles. As she layed there unable to move due to the fear that any moment the storm might blow her and her cottage away she could swore she heard something. " it must be the wind" thought Fluttershy trying to calm herself down, then she heard it again only this time it sounded more like some pony screaming for help. Fluttershy tried to dismiss it as the wind again, still too scared to move or speak. The noise carried on for a few more minutes until it stopped.___
Rainbow Dash had begun to practice her trick. Dodging back and forth through the trees on the edge of the Ever-free forest. She needed to practice on dodging in between obstacles for her trick and the trees outside the forest where the perfect candidates for practice. The trick she had in mind was a bit dangerous but then again, that never stopped her before. She had been practicing for a few minutes and the storm had already began to get too bad for her practice. "great" thought Rainbow Dash as she landed on the ground and stared up at the storm "so much for practice". As Rainbow Dash stood there watching the storm a lightning bolt had hit the tree behind her. Rainbow dash had saw the blast but was unable to move in time and was crushed under the large tree branch. "HELP!!!!!!!!!!!" cried Rainbow Dash as she layed there trapped under a large branch. she had tried and tried to get herself free but it was useless, the branch had landed on her right wing and she had no choice but to call for help and hope that some pony heard her.___
Fluttershy was finally able to get control of her muscles and had slowly gotten up off the floor when she heard that noise again. Except this time, it was different, Fluttershy could have swore she heard the noise say her name. "huh?" said the yellow Pegasus as she turned and looked out the window. Did the wind just say her name? She listened closely to the noises caused from the strom outside. She sat there for what seemed like forever before she heard the noise again. "FLUTTERSHY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" at that Fluttershy jumped back and slammed into the cabinet sending it crashing to the ground, as well as all the things on it causing all the already startled animals to go into a frenzy. Fluttershy stood up and looked at the chaos she just caused "oh Fluttershy look at the mess you just caused" she thought to herself. She looked out the window at the storm raging outside and started to shiver just at the thought of going out there however before her fear got any worse she heard the voice again shaking her out of her thoughts. "Some pony needs my help" she said outloud still shaking from her fears "and I cant just ignore that" at that she slowly started to edge towards her door.___
Rainbow Dash layed there helpless and trapped. She had been screaming for help for what seemed like hours and she was too exhausted to do it anymore. "This is hopeless no pony is going to hear me" she thought to herself as she layed there, beaten and battered by the storm and the branch landing on her. She could have possibly gotten free if the branch had just landed on her wing, "tho" thought the rainbow colored Pegasus "the last time i couldnt" at that she sighed. The branch had also landed on her back too making any attempt of getting free by herself pointless. As she layed there thinking to herself she noticed that the ground she had been laying her head on had started to fill up with water. "Oh just great!" screamed Rainbow Dash as she realized she had been trapped in a dried up river bed this entire time. She started struggling to get herself free of the seamlessly impossible weight of the branch but it was a losing battle and Rainbow Dash just didnt have the strenghth or energy to get out from under it. The water was quickly filling up and was already up past her wing. Rainbow Dash started screaming for help again knowing that no pony was going to hear her over the noise of the storm but she had to try anyways. As she was yelling for help she noticed something familiar off in the distance. As her eyes began to focus in on the small cottage she realized why it looked so familiar. "Its Fluttershys place!" she said out loud at that she screamed fluttershys name as loud as she possibly could hoping that some how she would hear her. She looked down at the rising water and a thought began to creep into her head, "if Fluttershy or some pony doesn't come and help me....im going to drowned".___
Fluttershy had finally reached her door and the fear that had been building up inside her was making it almost impossible to move. She slowly approached the door and began to open it but her fear of the storm was making it very difficult. "Come on Fluttershy, be brave" she brought up what little courage she could find and began to open her door. As it opened the intense wind from the storm caught the door and caused it to fling open slamming against Fluttershys cottage causing her to jump back in fear. Fluttershy, whose muscles had completely froze up again slowly got control over herself again, stood up and peered out the door cautiously. The storm had grown even worse then it had been earlier and was tearing away tree branches and other various debris. "Oh Fluttershy......what are you going to do?" she said out loud staring into the chaos the storm was causing. She was starting to give into fear and go back inside where it was safe and there seemed like there wasn't anything she could do about it. She slowly started to back inside when she heard her name being screamed again causing her to stop and look into the ever-free forest. Fluttershy was fighting her fear the best she could and slowly began to move outside, one hoof at a time. She got about half way outside when a bolt of lightning struck another tree closer to her house causing the tree to burst into flames. Fluttershy froze in fear her body refusing to move for a moment until the shock from what had happened wore off. "This is pointless" Fluttershy said out loud dropping to the floor of her cottage,"Im just a scaredy pony" she lowered her head in defeat. She had let her fears get the better of her, and worse let some pony who needed her help down. As she sat there staring out the front door she heard the familiar cries of help, each cry of help tearing her up inside. "Oh what am i going to do? she thought to herself " I cant just leave them out there in this terrible storm they could be hurt or..." Fluttershy shivered "worse". She layed there in defeat listening to the cries of help slowly fade away. She closed her eyes fighting back tears when she heard one last desperate cry for help..."FLUTTERSHY!...ITS...RAINBOW...!!!" the cry for help had been cut off but it didnt matter she had finally realized why the voice had sounded so familiar, "that wasn't just some pony stuck out in this storm" thought Flutteshy with fear beginning to rise up again, "it was Rainbow Dash".___
The water was rising quickly and the more Rainbow Dash struggled the worst it seemed to get. "Oh this is just great!" shouted the pegasus as she tried to lift the branch off her back and wing with all her remaining strength. "How heavy can a stupid tree branch be?!" Dash shouted as she collapsed back to the ground her face causing the water to splash. The water was already almost pass her wing meaning she only had a little longer before it reaches her neck and then her head and if she isnt free by then, well she didnt really want to think about it. She tried to call for help again but she knew it wasnt going to work. "Fluttershy's probably curled up in a ball somewhere freaking out" she thought to herself "shes never going to hear me in this stupid storm anyways". She looked down at the water and her eyes widened in terror. The water had risen up to the base of her neck and was rising fast. She had to get free of this stupid branch or she was going to drowned in the water. She pushed up as hard as she could using all her strength to try and lift the branch enough to get free. It wasnt enough however and she dropped back to the ground. Her head went under the water and she quickly lifted her head back up gasping for air, spitting out the water that had entered her lungs. The water was already up to the top of her neck and was rising up quickly. "Oh man this is not good!" said Rainbow Dash starting to freak out at the sight of the rising water. She didnt know what she could do, so she did the only thing she could do, She yelled for help. She yelled a few times with no results "come on Fluttershy why arent you coming to help me?!" she said out loud with a tint of desperation in her voice. She only had enough energy for one more shout and she had to make this one count. She took a deep breath and screamed as loud as she could. "FLUTTERSHY ITS RAINBOW...!" she was cut off by the water pouring into her mouth making her cough violently. The water had reached her head and had splashed into her mouth, causing her to choke on the water. Before she had time to take a deep breath the water rose over her mouth and then her head. She was now completely emerged under water. If Fluttershy didn't hear her...she was going to die.___
Without even thinking Fluttershy bolted out the front door, running straight for the ever-free forest. The storm was blasting the yellow pegasus, the rain and wind biting into her face but she didnt care. She didn't know where this sudden burst of courage came from but it didnt matter. Only one thing mattered and that was saving her friend from this terrible storm. She ran straight into the forest not really knowing where she was going or where her friend was at. The tree branches tore into her coat and face scratching her, she hadnt been paying attention however and tripped over a fallen tree brach causing her to stumble down a small hill. She landed on the ground hard causing pain to shoot up her back fore leg, She stood up and gasped at the pain that shot up her leg. She couldnt let anything stop her from saving her friend, she looked up at the surrounding forest around her. "Oh Rainbow dash where are you?" she said with desperation in her voice. She stopped when she noticed a small river bed peeking through the cracks in the forest where a tree had been knocked down by the storm. She looked closer before noticing the large fallen branch partially submerged under the water. SHe quickly limped over to the edge of the river bed and looked closer at the fallen branch. It was a large branch, it looked like it had been hit by lightning and must have fallen during the storm. As she was looking at the branch something caught Fluttershys eye, she looked down and noticed what looked like a Pegasus wing under the water. As she looked at the object she noticed the bright cutie mark under the water. "RAINBOW DASH!" Fluttershy screamed as she ran as fast as her hooves could carry her reaching the fallen branch in seconds. She quickly bent down and lifted the tree branch off Rainbow Dash, suprising herself with the sudden burst of strength. She then grabbed Rainbow Dashes coat with her mouth and pulled her out of the water. She wasnt breathing and showed no signs of life causing Fluttershys heart to break. She pushed down on Rainbow Dashes chest a few times in hope that it will cause her to cough up the water in her lungs and start breathing again. "Come on dash" said Fluttershy starting to cry "you gotta pull through!" she was screaming now, her voice racked with grief and despair "DON'T DO THIS TO ME!!!!" Fluttershy screamed as she brought her hoof down on Rainbow Dashes chest with all her might. Rainbow Dash just layed there, absent of life. "I was too late..." Fluttershy said quietly as she dropped her head, "this is all my fault". She started to sob heavily as she put her head in the blue Pegasus's mane. "HOW COULD YOU LEAVE YOUR FRIENDS...HOW COULD YOU LEAVE ME?!" Fluttershy screamed shaking Rainbow Dash. She buried her head in Rainbow dashes chest as she continued to cry. "How could I let this happen?! Why do I have to be so afraid of everything?! THis is all my..." Fluttershy was cut off by the sound of Rainbow Dash coughing up all the water that was in her lungs, She slowly opened her eyes just a bit looking straight at Fluttershy before passing out. "Rainbow Dash!!!" Screamed Fluttershy as she hugged Rainbow Dash. She had already passed out but she was alive and that was all that mattered.
Rainbow Dash opened her eyes and blinked a few times before looking around at where she was at. The last thing she remembered she was in a river bed trapped under some stupid branch. She tried to remember more about what had happened but the last thing she could recall was water covering her head and then everything goes black. She observed her surroundings wondering where she was and how she got here. She was in a small cozy looking room, there were a few cabinets and dressers and a window. She couldn’t see out the window, the curtains where covering it. She looked down and saw that she was lying down on a bed and tried to get up only to gasp at the pain that shot up her back and leg as she tried to get off the bed causing her to fall making a loud thump as she hit the hard wooden floor. Rainbow Dash laid there panting from the amount of pain she felt right now as a loud blast of thunder shook the room she was in bringing all the memories of what happened to her flooding into her head. She had decided to go practice a bit for the upcoming tournament the wonderbolts where hosting but there was a unscheduled storm. She wanted to practice in the everfree forest because the trees would help her with her dodging but the storm got bad so she landed in a small clearing in the forest. She was hit by a falling tree branch and ended up being trapped in a river bed and the rain was filling it up and she was drowning under the water and then...nothing. She remembers screaming for help and no pony coming and the fear she felt as the water filled up over her head and yet that’s all she can remember. She doesn’t have any memory of being rescued or even seeing any pony at all. As she was laying there she heard the noise of something coming up what sounded like stairs and it sounded like it was in a hurry. Rainbow Dash tried to stand up but only managed to get a little off the floor before the pain coursing through her entire body became too much causing Rainbow Dash to collapse back on to the floor. She managed to keep her eyes open long enough to see the door to the room she was in fly open and a blur of yellow and pink enter before she blacked out.___
Fluttershy had been laying down on her couch, sore and battered by the storm and exhausted from the emotional and physical toll searching for Rainbow Dash and then almost losing her had taken on her. She had carried Rainbow Dash all the way back to her house during this horrible storm and she did so with a badly injured hoof. She had bandaged up Rainbow Dashes wing which was badly damaged and her back was pretty injured too. She did the best she could do and she hoped it was enough. Angel had helped with patching her up and so far has been the only animal the storm hadn’t scared off. He had also helped her with her damaged hoof which wasn’t as bad as Fluttershy originally thought it to be. It had been about 5 hours or so since she brought Rainbow Dash in and she still hadn’t woken up but after what she has gone through she wasn’t surprised. She hasn’t heard anything from her other friends yet and she hoped they were all alright. As she laid there lost in here own thoughts she heard a loud thump coming from upstairs followed by a scream of pain and agony. "Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy gasped as she got off her couch wincing from the pain that went up her hoof. She ignored it though and she limped her way towards the stairs she heard another loud blast off thunder and paused momentarily before continuing up the stairs and bursting through the door stopping as she saw that Rainbow Dash was lying on the floor she must have passed out from the effort of trying to stand up. "Oh Rainbow Dash" Fluttershy said as she kneeled down and nuzzled Rainbow Dashes face "what am I going to do?" she said as a tear streaked down Fluttershys face as she looked at the broken Pegasus with sadness in her eyes. It was painful to see Rainbow Dash like this; she was such a brave, strong, fearless pony and pretty much the exact opposite of Fluttershy in every way. She always looked up to Rainbow Dash and now she was lying on the floor broken and unconscious. Rainbow Dash was always there for her and Fluttershys going to do the same. She’s going to do whatever she possibly can to help Rainbow Dash and get her better.___
Rainbow Dash woke up and found herself in the same place she was in the last time she woke up and was in the same bed. She knew better then to try and stand up this time and instead laid there and examined herself. As far as she could tell she had some cuts and her back and hind leg was killing her. She looked at her left wing; it looked alright though it was missing a few feathers. She tried moving it and it moved alright though it did hurt a bit, then she looked at her right wing and for the first time noticed that it had been wrapped up in bandages. She tried to move it and shrieked from the sudden explosion that ripped through her wing and back. "Well great so much for the tournament" thought Rainbow Dash as she noticed that she had bandages wrapped around a good part of her body. "How badly was I injured?" Rainbow Dash thought as she also noticed her hind leg was wrapped up as well. She remembered the yellow blur she saw enter the room when she blacked out and began to wonder who had rescued her and where she was. The thought of somepony rescuing her made her feel pathetic and weak "I'm the fastest, toughest, and coolest pony in equestria and I got beat by some stupid storm!" Rainbow Dash yelled in frustration putting her face in the pillow and screaming "I’m never going to become a member of the Wonderbolts now" thought Rainbow Dash as a wave of sadness washed over her. A few minutes passed before she heard movement downstairs, somepony was coming up the stairs again. She listened and waited for a few minutes before she heard a slight knocking on the door. Rainbow Dash waited for a moment before she heard a light knock on the door again "uh come in?" said Rainbow Dash wondering why they were knocking. Next thing Rainbow Dash sees is Fluttershy burst through the door and hug Rainbow Dash causing her to wince in pain. "Fluttershy?!" Rainbow Dash said in surprise looking at Fluttershy who had tears running down her face. Fluttershy was still hugging her and her mane was in Rainbow Dashes face. ___
"YOU’RE AWAKE!" Fluttershy said as she looked at Rainbow Dash who seemed hopelessly lost. "Oh my you must be so confused" Fluttershy said as she looked at her. "Uh yah kinda" Rainbow Dash admitted as she tried to sit up only to gasp in pain. "Rainbow Dash you shouldn’t move too much you’re still hurt!" Fluttershy said as she helped her sit up. "You need your rest" said Fluttershy as she began to examine Rainbow Dash "your wing was badly damaged and your back was hurt pretty bad too" Fluttershy said as she stepped back and looked Rainbow Dash over. "How long was I out?" Rainbow Dash asked wondering what day it was. "About seven hours or so" Fluttershy said walking over to Rainbow Dash "I’m actually surprised you’re awake though...when i found you..." Fluttershy said trailing off a bit "you were under water and you weren’t moving" Fluttershys eyes were starting to tear up and Rainbow Dash could see a tear already going down Fluttershys face and dropping to the floor. "I pulled you out but you weren’t moving and you weren’t breathing and i thought I lost you and that it was all my fault and that i was too late and..." Rainbow Dash put her hoof over Fluttershys mouth stopping her from saying what she was going to say. "It’s ok Fluttershy...I’m ok" Rainbow Dash said looking at Fluttershy with a small smile "Besides I’m not going to let some stupid old storm take me out" Rainbow Dash said smiling at Fluttershy who still seemed like she was on the verge of crying. Rainbow Dash had been completely shocked by how much Fluttershy cared. She hasn’t seen her speak that much or that fast in a very long time and she seemed so worried. Fluttershy smiled and checked to see how the bandages where holding then asked if she wanted anything to eat before leaving the room. Rainbow Dash smiled to herself for a moment then decided she was exhausted and closed her eyes to rest, drifting off to sleep.___
Rainbow Dash was standing in an open field with flowers of all kinds covering the open expanse. Rainbow Dash looked around wondering where she was, she started to walk around examining her surroundings. There was a forest around the edges of the field and the sky was clear and beautiful. She looked at her wing to find that it was completely untouched and in perfect condition, she stretched it out and it felt great. She looked up at the clear open sky and decided to fly up to see where she was. She crouched down a bit before leaping up in the air and spreading her wings to fly only to find herself hitting the ground hard. She looked up to see the once beautiful sky had been replaced by blackness and that the once peaceful field had been changed to a dark forest. She was surrounded by tree's and darkness, the sky lit up in a flash of light temporarily blinding Rainbow Dash making her stumble and trip over a root sticking out of the ground. She grunted as she hit the ground, she looked up to see the lightning flashing all over the sky illuminating it in a brilliant light. Rainbow Dash was momentarily stunned by the lightning show she was witnessing before a blast of lightning hit the ground near where she was making her jump to her hooves and gallop to take cover only to find that she couldn’t move her legs. She looked down to see that her feet where stuck in the ground and that she was being pulled into the pitch blackness that had enveloped the ground. She tried to fight its strong pull only to find that the more she struggled the faster she sunk. She looked up to see Fluttershy standing off in the distance lit up by what looked like sunlight. Rainbow Dash tried to scream for help only to find that she couldn’t, she began to panic as her legs had already been pulled into the black pit and that she was sinking even faster. She tried to get Fluttershys attention but she couldn’t, she watched as the blackness covered her body. Fluttershy just continue to stand there and watch as the blackness covered Rainbow Dashes neck. She tried to open her mouth and force words out only to find it being filled up by the darkness that was pulling her in. Panic filled Rainbow Dashes mind, the last thing she saw was Fluttershy fading away into darkness before she was completely sucked in.___
Rainbow Dash woke up screaming, leaping out of the bed only to find herself hitting the floor causing pain shoot through her body. Her heart was racing and she was breathing quickly. She put her hoof on the side of the bed and slowly pulled herself up trying to ignore the pain she felt as she started to pull herself onto the bed. The cover she had her hoof on slid causing her to fall back on to the floor landing right on her injured wing causing unimaginable pain to shoot through her wing making her scream. "STUPID WING!" Rainbow Dash yelled as she laid there on the floor, “what was up with that nightmare?" she thought to herself as she laid there waiting for the pain to settle down a bit. Fluttershy ran through the door and knelt down to check on Rainbow Dash "are you ok?!" Fluttershy said as she helped Rainbow Dash back onto the bed. "Yah I’m fine, it’s nothing" Rainbow Dash said trying her best to fake a smile. Fluttershy could tell something was bothering her but decided she wouldn’t say anything for now. “What time is it?" Rainbow Dash asked still slightly dazed from the fall "oh it’s about mid-day" said Fluttershy as she walked around the room cleaning up the mess that Rainbow Dash had caused when she fell off the bed. “Oh you must be hungry" Fluttershy said as she finished putting up everything that fell. Rainbow Dash was about to protest that she was fine but her stomach had spoken for her, growling in hunger. Fluttershy giggled "I guess I’ll take that as a yes" she said as she walked out the room. "I will be back up when your foods done" Fluttershy left the room slowly closing the door as she walked out. Rainbow Dash laid there for a while before realizing how bored she was "this is so boring" Rainbow Dash said as she laid there staring at the door. She was surprised when she found out it was still mid-day, she figured she would have been out cold for at least a few days, instead she was only asleep for a few hours before waking up and after passing out again she was only out for like one more hour. She had slept for only a few hours before some stupid nightmare woke her up. She looked back at the door and wondered what Fluttershy was up to and decided she would try and go see for herself. She rolled over slowly and put her hoof on the cabinet near the bed so she wouldn’t fall again and after a few painful minutes she managed to get herself off the bed. She was now standing up for the first time in what felt like ever, she was still weak from all that has happened to her but she wasn’t going to just lie in bed all day. She started to walk towards the door; the pain was starting to get a little less intense and she finally made it to the door.___
Fluttershy was flying around her little cottage cleaning things and making sure all the animals where ok now that the storm was over. She then flew over and gave angel a carrot for helping her with Rainbow Dash "oh thank you again angel I would have never been able to do such a good job if it wasn’t for your help" Fluttershy said dropping the carrot in front of the grumpy looking rabbit. Angel looked at the carrot before grabbing it and walking back to his usual spot. Fluttershy smiled then flew over to the kitchen and began to grab all the ingredients she needed. After a Few minutes of chopping up the vegetables and other ingredients she put them into a pot and put it over the fireplace. She was making a stew because she didn’t know what Rainbow Dash liked, it was nothing fancy but she was sure she would like it. She was stirring to stew a bit and adding some spices and herbs when she turned and saw Rainbow Dash down in the living room. “Oh what are doing down here?" Fluttershy said as she flew over to where Rainbow Dash was. She looked exhausted, probably from the effort it took to come down the stairs. She looked like she was about to collapse from exhaustion "you’re walking!" Fluttershy said excitedly. "Yah well like i said I’m not going to be beaten by a storm" Rainbow Dash said as she stood there, she looked like she could fall over any minute which made Fluttershy worried. "Here why don’t you sit down on the couch?" Fluttershy said looking at Rainbow Dash who was barely standing "ok i guess, it sure beats being stuck up in a room by myself" she looked at the couch and went to sit down but before she could Fluttershy came up next to her and helped her sit down. "Umm thanks Fluttershy" Rainbow Dash said trying to smile "your welcome" Fluttershy said as she checked to make sure Rainbow Dashes wing was alright before flying in to the kitchen to check on the stew. Rainbow Dash watched her as she flew around the kitchen Rainbow Dash had always know Fluttershy wasn’t a good flyer, she must have stood up for her a hundred times during flight school for her bad flying and yet her she is flying around with such grace that Rainbow Dash was surprised to find herself watching her every move. Rainbow Dash was always about speed and tricks, the adrenaline rush she got when she did a dangerous trick, the excitement. Yet here she was enjoying watching Fluttershy fly around her kitchen preparing food for her. Rainbow Dash quickly turned away wondering why she had been so captivated by Fluttershys flying. He has seen her fly all the time and never thought this before and now she was. "What’s wrong with me?" Rainbow Dash said to herself quietly.___
Fluttershy came into the living room smiling "foods done" she said before walking over to Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash went to try and get up but Fluttershy stopped her "no don’t move I don’t want you to hurt yourself, just sit here and stay comfortable ill bring you your food" Rainbow Dash was about to protest again but before she could Fluttershy had already flew back in to the kitchen. She came back out carrying a try with a bowl of what looked like soup and a small glass of something. "I made you a vegetable stew with a glass of apple cider" Fluttershy said as she laid the tray down in front of Rainbow Dash" I didn’t know what you like to eat so I sort of just guessed, I hope you like it" She smiled and then walked back in to the kitchen to clean up the mess cooking Rainbow Dashes meal had caused. Rainbow Dash looked at the food in front of her; it looked great and smelled even greater. She took a sip of the stew and smiled "this is really good" she thought to herself as she started to eat the stew Fluttershy had made her. Fluttershy walked back in to the living room after cleaning up the mess in the kitchen and was surprised to see that Rainbow Dash had already eaten the stew. "I’m guessing you enjoyed it then?" Fluttershy said giggling "yah it was great I really liked it" Rainbow Dash said smiling. Fluttershy blushed and quickly hid behind her mane "oh...well thanks" Fluttershy said quietly she then grabbed the tray and took it back into the kitchen. Fluttershy finished cleaning and examined her work, the mess the meal has caused was now completely gone and everything was back to looking the way it did before. She smiled to herself and walked back into the living room to find Rainbow Dash had fallen asleep and was now slumped over the couch out cold. She smiled and walked over to the couch and put a small cover over her before lying down on the floor next to the couch and closing her eyes. She was glad that Rainbow Dash had enjoyed her meal and was happy to see that she was able to walk already; she looked up at Rainbow Dash and smiled. She could get used to having her friend around she thought before falling asleep for the first time since the storm hit.
Fluttershy opened her eyes and found herself in a dark forest. She looked around, dazed and confused as to where she was and how she got there. "Hello?" She called out hoping somepony would answer back so she would know she wasn’t alone in this scary place. All she heard however was the faint echo of her voice being carried off to the surrounding trees. "Ummmmm hello...?" she called out again starting to get nervous and scared. Yet again nopony answered, she was alone in this dark forest and she had no idea what to do. She walked around looking for a way out but only managed to get lost even more. She decided to keep walking hoping to escape the dark spooky forest. As she walked she heard a loud noise pierce the silence she had gotten used to making her fall down in fear. She opened her eyes and looked around for what caused the loud scream she had just heard, she slowly got back up and started to walk again. Fog began to appear all around Fluttershy as she got deeper into the forest, the fog was really creeping her out but she kept going determined to get to the end of this nightmare. The deeper into the forest she got the thicker the fog seemed to get, it wasn’t long before Fluttershy couldn’t see anything in front of her. She began to shiver, the air seeming to get colder the deeper she went. She stopped when she heard a loud terrifying scream that shook Fluttershy making her freeze unable to move, she looked around trying to see what made the noise but she couldn’t see anything in the thick fog and darkness that surrounded her. "Ummm is anypony there?" she tried to call out but only managed to make a inaudible squeak instead. She managed to get control over her limbs and continued walking even though every part of Fluttershy just wanted to crawl into a little ball and wait for this to end. She heard the loud scream again this time it was louder and seemed to be closer. Then all of a sudden a bright light appeared and illuminated the entire forest covering everything in a blanket of light. Fluttershy was knocked down by the blinding light, and was momentarily blinded by it, after she finally managed to get her vision back she saw Rainbow Dash, she was face down in the water surrounding her and wasn’t moving, Fluttershy quickly went to get up but she found that she couldn’t move. Her hooves had been swallowed up by the ground and she couldn’t get free. She tried flapping her wings to pull herself free but to her horror she saw that her wings were missing. She looked back at Rainbow Dash and saw that the she was starting to be sucked up by the ground which had turned into a pool of blackness and was pulling her in. Fluttershy tried to speak but when she opened her mouth nothing came out, she couldn’t speak. Fluttershy looked down at her hooves and noticed they weren’t trapped anymore she was free. Fluttershy galloped to where Rainbow Dash was but she was too late, she arrived just in time to watch as the darkness swallowed her up.___
"RAINBOW DASH!!!!!!" screamed Fluttershy as she awoke from her nightmare. Fluttershy screaming had startled Rainbow Dash who had woken up only moments before and caused her fall of the couch and land on top of Fluttershy. "Geez Fluttershy what was all that about?" groaned Rainbow Dash as she rubbed her good wing which had taken the blunt of the fall. Fluttershy opened her eyes again and saw that Rainbow Dash was directly on top of her and blushed before quickly helping her up. "Oh I’m so sorry Rainbow are you ok?" Fluttershy asked feeling bad for causing her to fall like that. Rainbow Dash who was still a little startled by Fluttershy screaming like that shook her head yes and slowly got back on to the couch. The was a slight pause before Fluttershy broke the silence "would you like some breakfast?" she asked realizing that it was morning. "Ummm yah sure Fluttershy" Rainbow Dash said sounding as bored as she looked "oh she must be so bored just sitting around doing nothing" thought Fluttershy as she went into the kitchen and started to grab the ingredients to make her breakfast. She decided to make oatmeal it was easy to make and she wasn’t sure what Rainbow Dash liked. Rainbow Dash was lying down on the couch staring at the floor; she was super bored and wanted to go do something. She had been at stuck inside Fluttershys cottage for two days now and was anxious to see her friends, but as much as it hurt to admit it, she knew her body wasn’t up for the task. Simply walking up and down the steps was agonizingly painful, and even her good wing wasn’t in very good condition. Her back left hoof was messed up and her back still killed her, Rainbow Dash sighed "this sucks" she looked around trying to find something even remotely interesting but gave up after she had looked at everything there was to look at. "Gosh Fluttershys house is sooo boring" Rainbow Dash said as she rolled on her back and stared up at the ceiling, she began to imagine that she never got hurt and that she was outside practicing her trick right now flying around in the cool morning air, feeling the wind through her mane, the adrenaline rush from doing high altitude tricks. She looked at her wing and felt a twinge of sadness knowing that as much as she could hope she would be better before the wonderbolts host their annual tournament, she wouldn’t. She then looked into the kitchen and for the second time since the accident found herself captivated by Fluttershy's grace. She had always found Fluttershy beautiful even back in flight school but she had never told anypony. She had always secretly preferred mares but she refused to acknowledge it. Besides Fluttershy her friend and that was good enough for her, wasn’t it? Her thoughts however where interrupted "ummm I’m sorry Rainbow Dash i hope I’m not interrupting" Fluttershy said startling Rainbow Dash. She looked up at Fluttershy her mane was a mess probably from cooking and she looked like she hadn’t gotten a lot of sleep, her eyes where glistening from the sunlight coming in through the window. She looked gorgeous and Rainbow Dash quickly found herself starting to blush at the thoughts racing through her head, she turned her head away from Fluttershy and got off the couch. She stretched then after making sure her blush was gone turned back to face Fluttershy "oh no you weren’t interrupting anything" Rainbow Dash said looking down at the floor “I was just thinking about some things". Fluttershy looked at Rainbow Dash, she looked like she was being bothered by something but Fluttershy wasn’t going to ask. It wasn’t any of her business and besides Rainbow Dash would tell her if it was important. "Oh....ok well breakfast is done" Fluttershy said with a smile "oh good Im starving" Rainbow Dash said as she began to walk into the kitchen.___
The meal was very good. Rainbow Dash was never big on oatmeal but Fluttershy was an amazing cook and she was sure she could make anything taste great. "Wow Fluttershy that was amazing!" Rainbow Dash said finishing her last bit of oatmeal. "Oh...well thanks I’m glad you liked it" Fluttershy said with a slight blush, she got up and grabbed the dishes and started to clean them. Rainbow Dash looked around; she had a really nice kitchen and was well stocked on food. Probably because of all the animals Fluttershy takes care of Rainbow Dash thought to herself. "So Fluttershy..." Rainbow Dash said getting Fluttershys attention "yes?" Fluttershy asked turning around momentarily to look at Rainbow Dash who was shifting around probably bored from just laying around all day. "Have you heard from our friends?" she asked with a sound of slight sadness in her voice. Fluttershy looked down, she hasn’t heard anything from any of her friends since before the storm hit. Rainbow Dashes question reminded Fluttershy this, she had admittedly forgotten about her friends being busy with taking care of Rainbow Dash. She did miss her friends and not knowing if they were ok was really upsetting to Fluttershy. "No I haven’t" Fluttershy said with sadness in her voice Rainbow Dash noticed the sad look on Fluttershys face and realized it was bothering her too. "Oh...well I’m sure they’re all ok" Rainbow Dash said trying to cheer up the depressed Pegasus. Fluttershy smiled faintly then finished up the dishes and helped Rainbow Dash back to the couch. They sat there for a while neither of them really talking; both where lost in their own thoughts. Fluttershy really wanted to see if her friends where ok but she knew Rainbow Dash were in no condition to make the walk to ponyville and she didn’t want to leave her alone in case Rainbow Dash needed her or worse something bad happened while she was gone. Rainbow Dash was mostly going over the past few days and the events that have happened in them. It has defiantly been an eventful one Rainbow Dash thought to herself sighing as she looked at her bandaged wing and back. She has gotten hurt before but never this bad, sure she’s pulled a wing or sprung a hoof. She’s been bruised up, cut, and well, being the daring flyer she was, was used to plenty of other things but she’s never had to rely on somepony else to help her. If it wasn’t for Fluttershy she thought to herself, she wouldn’t have survived. The thought made her shiver and she quickly got the thought out of her mind.___
It was now early in the afternoon and Rainbow Dash was so bored she thought she was going to go insane. She was walking around Fluttershys cottage trying to pass the time but it wasn’t working and she was tempted to start bashing her head against the nearest wall to make the boredom end. Fluttershy had gone to ponyville to see if there friends were ok. Fluttershy didn’t want to leave Rainbow Dash in case something happened while she was gone but Rainbow Dash was finally able to talk her into it. Though now she was starting to regret it. It was nice having Fluttershy always around and now she kind of missed her."Ughh hurry up Fluttershy..." she groaned looking out the window at Fluttershys garden. The animals where all out enjoying the beautiful weather while she was stuck inside bored. "This sucks!" Rainbow Dash screamed convinced she was being tortured by somepony as a cruel joke. She looked back outside and a thought crossed her mind "Why should I stay locked up in this boring house when I could be outside enjoying the fresh air?” She thought about it for a second and decided that it wouldn’t hurt to go outside for a little bit and besides she was never going to recover if she sat inside all the time. She walked over to the front door and opened it up. She stepped outside and took a deep breath; the air was cool and refreshing. Rainbow Dash stood there enjoying the fresh air, it had been what seemed like forever since she last enjoyed the outside. "Now that’s more like it" she says as she starts walking around enjoying the fresh air. It hurt to walk but it was worth it, she couldn’t take one more minute of being trapped inside. She looked over and saw where the Everfree forest started and a shiver ran up her back. It had been only a few days since her accident and she still couldn’t stand to look at that place. She turned away quickly trying to suppress the memories of what happened to her. She was the fastest, the coolest, and the awsomest pony in equestria yet she had almost lost it all to a simple storm. She sighed "I’m such a coward" She lowered her head and dropped to the ground. She felt like such a loser, she had never needed to rely on anypony and now here she was relying entirely on Fluttershy. As she sat there looking down at the ground a thought began to grow in her head. If she where to go to the spot where she was hurt so badly she could face her fears and make the nightmares that’s been plaguing her disappear. She smiled and stood back "Alright" she said with a slight bit of fear in her voice "let’s do this". At that she turned and began making her way to the Everfree forest.___
Fluttershy was on her way to ponyville to see her friends. The weather was really nice out and she was glad to be out enjoying it. She felt bad for leaving Rainbow Dash alone but she was very persistent on her leaving. She was glad to be seeing her friends after so long. She hoped everything was alright. She hadn’t see ponyville before the storm and she couldn’t help but worry about her friends. As she was walking she felt a small worry pop into her head. "Oh I hope Rainbow Dash is alright without me" Fluttershy said to herself worried what might be happening to her friend. Ever since what happened to her doing the storm she’s been worried sick about her and leaving her like this wasn’t easy. She stopped and looked up at the beautiful blue sky and took a deep breath. She was Rainbow Dash after all she should be fine by herself. After all she is the bravest and the toughest pony she knew. She sighed and looked down at the dirt path that led to ponyville. She has never seen Rainbow Dash so injured before and the memories of it brought a tear to her eye. She had almost lost one of her best friends and it was all her fault. Now she was leaving her alone just so she could see her other friends. She couldn’t bear the thought of something else happening to her friend. If something did she would never be able to forgive herself. She looked back and could just barely make out the outline of her small little cottage. "Your friends will have to wait Fluttershy." she said to herself as she turned around and started to walk back "You have to take care of Rainbow Dash". She started making her way back to the cottage. She was about a mile or so away from her cottage when she noticed something was different about her place. She stopped and focused her vision to see what was different. As she scanned the cottage her eyes lead her to the problem. The front door was left wide open. "Huh?" she thought to herself as she tried to remember if she accidentally left the door open. She made her way to the front of her house and noticed the door was in fact wide open and that there was something else different too, Rainbow Dash wasn’t there. “Rainbow you there?" she cried out as she walked around the living room. There was no response, just silence. She walked back outside to see if maybe she decided to get some fresh air and that’s when she noticed the hoof prints in the dirt. She walked over to them and examined the prints. As she began to follow the prints she noticed where they were leading to. "Oh no..." Fluttershy said out loud her fears confirmed. The hoof prints lead into the Everfree forest.___
It wasn’t hard to find the spot where it had all happened. When Fluttershy carried her out of the forest she was dropping in and out of reality. She recalled seeing a fallen tree on the path that lead through the forest as well as a small gap in the thick forest that opened up into the riverbed where she had been trapped. As she made her way to the place all the memories of what happened where flashing through her mind. She replayed every moment from the beginning to the end where she watched the water cover her head and felt her life drain away from existence. It was like she was watching some terrible play except she was the main actor. She pushed aside the bushes and brush and found herself in the very spot where it had all happened. The riverbed was mostly dried up and only had a few small spots of water here and there. Rainbow Dash looked over and saw the tree branch that had landed on her. It was bigger than she thought; she looked down and saw a small piece of land that was a little higher than the river bed. She walked over to it and her mind was instantly flooded with memories and flashbacks. She had felt herself blackout from the lack of air and the water flooding her lungs, her last thought was this is it taken out by a simple storm. The next thing she remembers is hearing somepony speaking; she couldn’t hear what was being said. It sounded distorted and muffled. Then she remembered hearing what sounded like crying, she felt something pressed up against her body and hear what seemed like muffled sobs of someone crying. Then she felt something slam down on her chest, and then it happened again and again. Then she opened her eyes and started coughing up water. She looked up and saw someone looking down on her, they had looked familiar and as her vision began to come back to her she saw that it was Fluttershy. She had tears streaming down her face and looked like she just wrestled a bear. Rainbow Dash remembered saying Fluttershy before passing back out and remembers passing in and out of reality. She sighed, "So this is where everything had happened" she said to herself. She was only minutes away from Fluttershys house the whole time and yet she almost didn’t make it. She had never seen Fluttershy so scared and upset before and it was all her fault. She knew better than to try and practice doing a storm but she let her own selfish desires cloud her judgment and she almost lost everything cause of it. Fluttershy had gotten hurt trying to save her and she hasn’t even really thanked her yet. She felt a small tear slide down her face and fell down onto the small piece of land and tried to hold in the emotions trying to escape. The last few days after the accident had been confusing to her. She had begun feeling things she hadn’t felt in years. Her pride was completely broken, her ego was gone and she felt truly broken, but that wasn’t all there was one other emotion she felt that she hasn’t felt in a very long time if not ever. Love, sure she might have liked somepony here or there but she never allowed herself to really ever love anyone. She didn’t have time for love, she needed to practice and get better so that one day she would be able to join the Wonderbolts. Love would have just slowed her down, got in the way of things. After the accident though, the drive to join the Wonderbolts had mostly died and there wasn’t anything keeping her from her emotions. She had always liked Fluttershy since she first met her, she was kind, caring, and in every way the exact opposite of Rainbow Dash. She had suppressed the feelings and tucked them away however so she could focus on training and getting better. She looked up at the sky peeking through the dense forest and sighed again. She felt her mind racing at the thought of Fluttershy and now she felt even more confused than when she had first met her. "Even if I did tell Fluttershy how I felt she would probably just say no anyways" She told herself trying to put a stop to the feelings that where racing through her mind. "You don’t know what she would say and if you keep telling yourself that then you never will" Rainbow Dash said to herself. She shook her head and looked down "great now im talking to myself I must be going crazy" she said out loud confused and annoyed at the same time. "You’re not crazy, you’re in love there’s a difference" Rainbow Dash groaned in response to herself "So what if I am?!" she shouted back at herself. Then she realized what she had just said, she had just admitted to loving Fluttershy out loud. She felt so confused and broken that she just didn’t know what to do anymore. She just sat there looking at the branch that had caused her all these problems. She felt another tear streak down her face leaving a small mark in her fur. She tried to hold back her emotions again but it was becoming increasingly difficult to and she couldn’t keep holding back all her feelings or she'll go crazy.
She looked back up at the sky and felt a cool breeze against her cheek. She was hopelessly confused and didn’t know what to do. She could tell Fluttershy how she felt but what if she didn’t feel the same or what if it ruined their friendship? She couldn’t bear to lose her as a friend. At the thought of losing her as a friend she started to feel another wave of sadness wash over her and she felt as if she was going to actually explode from all the emotions she was trying to hold in. She decided it would be best if she left. She stood up and looked at the branch and the river bed that caused all of this and took a deep breath. She had come here as a fake attempt to regain her ego and pride but deep down she knew that there was nothing she could do to get that back and to be honest she didn’t want it anymore. She went to turn around to leave but before she could she heard someone call her name. She turned around and saw Fluttershy standing there with tears in her eyes next to the path that lead to the river bed. "Oh thank goodness you’re ok!" Fluttershy said surprising Rainbow Dash by hugging her. "Yah I’m fine what are you doing here" She said looking down at Fluttershy who still hadn’t stopped hugging her. "I couldn’t leave you alone just to see our friends so I decided to come back home and when I got there I saw that you weren’t there and I got worried and then I saw your hoof prints in the dirt so I followed them and then I saw that you had went into the Everfree forest and I got even more worried so I followed them to a spot on the dirt path that i recognized and I saw the small path that lead to the old river bed and I found you and I was so worried about you and I just couldn’t..." Fluttershy didn’t get a chance to finish what she was saying. She had been interrupted by Rainbow Dash kissing her; Rainbow Dash wasn’t sure why she did that. Between the all the feelings that have been eating away at her since she first woke up after the accident to now was just too much and seeing Fluttershy like this was more then she could handle. Fluttershy looked at her with confusion in her eyes trying to make since of what had just happened. "I'm sorry it’s just that well..." Rainbow Dash began to say her mind and heart both racing at top speeds. "Ever since I met you I’ve well I uh...I..." she was trying to say it but it was proving to be really hard and she didn’t know what to say or do anymore and she finally allowed herself to let her emotions go. She collapsed onto the ground and began crying. She hasn’t cried in years not since back in flight school and now here she was crying. "I...I...I love you alright?" she said trying to speak in between all the tears that were streaming down her face. "I always have a...an...and I’ve never to...told you because I was...afraid it would ruin our friendship!" She was crying more than she ever had and she was still so confused about what to say. "I understand if you don’t want to be friends with me anymore" Rainbow Dash said managing to say it through all the tears. She was about to say something else but before she could Fluttershy did something that really confused her. She sat down next to Rainbow Dash and kissed her back. It was a deep romantic kiss that made Rainbow Dashes head spin. Time seemed to stop entirely as they kissed, it was the greatest feeling Rainbow Dash had ever felt and she never wanted it to end. When they finally broke up the kiss Rainbow Dash looked at her with confusion and Fluttershy smiled slightly. "I’d never stop being your friend for anything and well..." Fluttershy said with a small blush appearing on her face "I love you too". At hearing those words Rainbow Dash felt like she had just joined the Wonderbolts. All the worries and fears she had, all the emotions she had held in felt like they had just been washed away. "So what now?" Rainbow Dash said finally managing to speak. Fluttershy smiled and stood up, helping Rainbow Dash standup “I... uh guess were...umm together now" Fluttershy said. Rainbow Dash smiled and blushed slightly before walking back towards the main dirt trail. She looked back to Fluttershy "well you coming or what? She said with a tone of playful sarcasm. "Oh uh where are we umm going? Fluttershy said quietly still kind of confused at what all just happened. "Well we need to tell are friends the news don’t we?" Rainbow Dash said still looking at Fluttershy who was now standing next to her. At that they left the Everfree forest and made their way to ponyville.
