It was just one of those nothing days in Ponyville. Hardly any ponies were outside, with the exception of a few fillies running around. But apart from that, everything was quiet.
But in Fluttershy's cottage, it was a little different. Rainbow Dash had been called over to help Fluttershy with the animals. They were running and flying and crawling all over the place! And even with Rainbow Dash around, it still took a good hour or so before they finally calmed down. Gasping for air, the two ponies collapsed onto the sofa.
"Well, thank Celestia that's over!" Rainbow said. "I spent the last couple of minutes chasing after that bird! She's almost as fast as me!"
Fluttershy chuckled a little. "Yeah. Thanks for helping me out, Dashie. I just don't know what happened! One minute, they were eating their food, the next minute they're running around everywhere!"
"Yeah, what's up with that?" Rainbow sunk further into the sofa. "But it's over now. I guess I should head back." She yawned. "I need to get some sleep!"
Fluttershy looked at the ground, sighing. "Oh... Um, alright then. You get some rest."
Rainbow started walking towards the door, then looked at Fluttershy. "Look, how about I come back again later? Ya know, just to check if you're alright with the animals."
Fluttershy smiled. "Sure, okay! I'll be waiting!"
"Sweet! Well, I'll see you later!" Rainbow opened the door and zoomed out, flying towards her home in the sky.
Fluttershy looked up out of the window to see her friend fly off. She smiled a little. Rainbow was a very good friend to her, and she would always be there if Fluttershy needed help with anything. They got along really well together.
But as Fluttershy was about to turn around and carry on with her job of looking after her animal friends, something unusual caught her eye. She lifted her mane up so she could see it with both eyes. It was as clear as crystal. In the distance, just over the horizon, dark clouds were making their way towards them. And this is where the adventure begins.
Rainbow Dash, her mane flowing behind her, was flying towards her home in Cloudsdale. She weaved in and out of the clouds, and was doing all sorts of tricks. When she was in the air, she was free. She was who she wanted to be. And now... Well, she would be going to her bedroom.
When she eventually reached Cloudsdale, she soared up even further into the sky, ready to do her big finish. She plummeted down towards the floor of clouds at supersonic speed. Faster and faster she went, and as she started to come close to the clouds below, she soared up faster than before. A rainbow of colours spurted out in all directions, covering the city in the sky down below. But she had to head home quickly. The residents of Cloudsdale weren't a fan of her frequent Sonic Rainbooms, and if she got caught, she wouldn't be seen for quite a while. So she flew towards her home, ready for a long nap.
But her house was gone. Poof. Just like that. Rainbow just hovered there in stunned silence. Not even the cloud where the building stood on was there. She looked all around Cloudsdale for it. It was on a cloud. It had to have moved! But not a single trace of the house was there.
"No... No!" Rainbow sunk down onto a cloud and cried. She just couldn't believe it. All of that hard work had disappeared. "I worked so hard... Where is it? Where's my house?" She cried more and more, and it felt like the tears never stopped coming. And for a while, they didn't.
It was a loud rumbling in the distance that stopped her tears. She quickly stood up and saw the Weather Ponies flying as fast as they could away from something. She could tell by the looks on their faces. But what where they flying away from? Her question was answered instantly. The black clouds had started to cover Cloudsdale, the rain pouring and the wind howling. The sound was deafening, but she couldn't cover her ears. Her hooves were stuck in place. She couldn't move, and she had no idea why. But just one sight caused all of her nerves to burst alive again.
In all of the chaos that was happening just a few hundred yards or so away, she was able to catch a glimpse of her house fade into the wind and rain. "My house!" She cried, and her wings sprouted up, ready for action. Without a second thought, she leaped off of the cloud and dived headfirst into the storm. She disappeared from sight.
The inside of the storm was worse than the outside. All around her, wind and rain hammered against her, and the sight of the houses and other buildings being smashed to pieces was shocking. She couldn't believe that all of these houses were being crushed, like a little filly knocking a toy house down. They were being ripped apart, the debris flying off in all directions. She struggled to fly straight with the wind smashing against her. But she had to keep going. She had to find her house as soon as possible. And she did.
But her timing couldn't have been any worse. She managed to find it, but she only saw it being torn apart by the debris of another building. The windows shattered, the foundations got torn apart, and the walls and roof were wiped clean off. She was too late. She just stayed where she was, her wings flapping furiously in order to stop her spiralling out of control. But her wings had failed her this time. She found herself spinning around, unable to regain control. She couldn't stop herself spinning. She couldn't stop the debris from her house. The two collided heavily, and the last things Rainbow saw before losing consciousness was her house vanishing into the clouds, and a single trail of blood escape her mouth.
And in all of this chaos, Fluttershy watched in horror. But she still had no idea what had happened to her closest friend.
Fluttershy, terrified about what had just happened, paced around the room, with Angel tagging behind. She had just saw her best friend enter the storm, and she had no idea what had happened. She kept on staring out of the window each time she passed it, waiting for some sign of her being alright. But every time she passed, nothing would change. The storm would still be covering the ground below, and Rainbow Dash would still be nowhere to be seen.
After what seemed to be an eternity of pacing, she made her way to the window and continued to stare out of it. Tears were trickling down her face and cheeks, and fell to the floor. She didn't say anything for ages. All she did was watch and wait. Watching the storm, waiting for her friend. More eternities passed, and she couldn't tell whether it was day or night. But she didn't want to know that now. She just wanted to know if Dashie was alright.
All of a sudden, Fluttershy gasped. Apart from the ticking of the clock, it was the first sound that was heard throughout the cottage. Through the tearstained window, a fuzzy blue figure was falling out of the black clouds above. Rainbow was back, but she wasn't alright.
Fluttershy ran straight out of the door, and slammed it behind her. She didn't have to think. All she had to do was run. She ran straight towards her frie, and although she was just a small speck in the distance, she would still run for her. When she felt she was close enough so Dash could hear her, she yelled from the top of her lungs "DASHIE! DON'T WORRY! I'M COMING FOR YOU!"
Tears were still falling from her face as the speck of blue became bigger. Her wings had now rose, and she jumped from the ground, soaring at high speed to catch her best friend. Rainbow was falling faster with each flap of Fluttershy's wings, and as her wings started to become very painful, she slowed down just enough to catch Rainbow Dash at the last minute. She had saved her friend's life.
"Oh my gosh! Rainbow Dash, are you alright? Dashie? Dashie, wake up!" Fluttershy shook her friend hard,but still no response came. She checked her breathing and heart rate, but luckily, Rainbow was alive. Much to her delight. But she still wouldn't wake up. Her only other option was to take her to the hospital and get her checked up immediately.
When she reached the hospital, the room was littered with injured ponies, with various injuries. Some had a bad cut, others had broken wings. It looked terrible. But she still strolled up to the reception desk and told them what happened.
"Ah, another one, I see. Right then, come with me. I'm sure there's a bed for you."
The hospital was quite small, but beds were everywhere. But it took a couple of minutes to find an empty bed.
"Here we go. Just lay her here, that's it. So, do you know what happened to this mare?"
Fluttershy was on the verge of tears again. "Well, I don't know exactly. I just caught her and took her here."
The doctor nodded his head slowly. "I understand. For now, we must do some tests on her. You'll have to leave, I'm afraid. Come back next week. She's bound to be up by then!"
Fluttershy nodded, and left the room. But not before looking at her friend one last time. She had actually done something for Rainbow for once. She saved her life.
A week passed, and Fluttershy was sitting on the chair in her room. The sun was rising, the sky was a rich orange, and the storm had passed. She helped the other ponies pick up the debris from the ground, and felt that she had done something very, very good.
She had moved her chair next to the telephone, so as soon as it started ringing, she would be able to pick it up straight away. But several minutes came and went, and she had not received a single phone call. She was about to give up and walk there straight away, but as she got up, the phone rang. She picked it up quickly, so quick that she nearly dropped it.
"Hello? Fluttershy speaking?"
"Hello, Miss Fluttershy. This is the Ponyville hospital. We-"
Fluttershy, unable to contain her excitement, interrupted, saying "I'll be there as soon as possible!" She then hung up, and dashed outside. She ran as fast as she could to the hospital. Her mind was racing with so many emotions and thoughts. But one stood out from the rest: is Dashie alright?
She finally arrived at the hospital and slammed the doors open. She rushed up to the reception desk and said " FluttershyheretoseeRainbowDash!" She had no idea how, but the receptionist understood completely. He showed her the way, and she ran to the ward. But she had to wait. The doctor needed to catch up. Fluttershy completely broke the rule of No Running In The Hospital.
When the doctor finally showed up and gave her a strict talking to, she was able to pull back the curtain. As soon as she did so, she was met with a warm hug from RD. She was so happy that she was alright, and returned the hug.
"Dashie, you're alright!"
"Of course I am! I'm ready and rearing to go!"
Fluttershy broke the hug at that point. "Wait, you're ready to leave?"
"Yep!" Rainbow was smiling even more now.
"That's great!" Fluttershy hugged her again. But Rainbow pulled back. "Dashie, what's wrong?"
"Nothing. I just wanted to say thank you."
"For what?"
"For saving my life." A single tear fell down from Rainbow's eye.
Fluttershy started to tear up as well. " I was just doing it because I care for you. "
Rainbow started to cry more. "Me too, Flutters. Me too"
They then entered into a hug warmer than ever before. And for once, Rainbow didn't want to leave.
