Rainbow's Spark

It was a brilliant sunrise by all accounts. The roaring flames of Celestias sun embracing the land in an ethereal yet wholesome glow. As the warming rays touched the small town of Ponyville, the colourful buildings appeared alive with energy, like blooming flowers in the spring. A few early risers strolled the wide streets, quiet and content, their hooves emitting a gentle clop sound as they traversed the dirt road. In the distance, a lone bird tweeted and sang, completing the perfect early morning aura.

Rainbow Dash hated mornings.

To be specific, it wasn't the actual morning that she hated, it was the waking up that the morning implied. While she may be energetic and outgoing, she enjoyed sleeping almost as much as she did flying. Letting herself drift off into the embrace of her dreams, where she could live the life she wanted, where she could escape reality, that was her great passion. She felt so... free.

Rainbow sighed as she gazed out of her bedroom window, her brightly coloured hair hanging limp over her face. She had neglected to trim it for many months now, and her usually vibrant and stylistic mane now hung neglected and uncared for, framing her small cyan coloured face. Not that she was one for pampering her appearance,. Such things were best left to Rarity, she often said, but she did take a certain pride in her brilliant hair colours.

At least, she used to.

By now, the morning rays of sunlight were beaming brightly into the open window of Rainbow's cloud home. It illuminated the beautiful design of her home, every surface and pillar beaming joyfully.

But the young Pegasus shut the curtains, blocking out the glimmering light.

Now in darkness, Rainbow Dash slowly clambered back onto her bed, and hugged her own legs closer to her. Burying her face in the pillow, she remained silent, refraining from her usual morning routine of elaborately yawning and doing some basic exercises. She didn't feel up to it that day.

She didn't see much point in it anymore.

-

“Howdy, Miss Sparkle”

“Oh, good morning, Big Mac! Please, come on in.”

For the third time that week, the large red stallion entered the library entrance, following in the wake of the purple mare before him. Twilight Sparkle was known to be up bright and early every day, the library up and running by sunrise. Many ponies would call this a little bit obsessive, especially since not many ponies visited the library, but Twilight wasn't one to break her schedule.

She cheerfully regarded the strong farm-pony silently browsing the shelves. She was surprised when Big Macintosh first starting visiting the library, a few weeks after Applebuck Season. When Twilight had first met Mac, she had assumed he was somewhat of a simpleton. A strong, albeit slow pony. But she soon found out that the kindhearted stallion was one of the most well read ponies in all of Ponyville. He would have first place if it wasn't for Twilight.

“Oh, Hiya, Big guy.”

Twilight turned to see her assistant traipse lazily down the stairs, giving a small wave of his hand to the quiet farm-pony. Big Macintosh regarded Spike with a friendly nod, quickly turning back to the shelves he was browsing. Spike gave a large yawn, and walked over to Twilight, laying his head against her as if using her as a pillow.

“So what's on the schedule today, Twilight?” The young dragon said tiredly.

The purple unicorn jostled her body to shake her assistant awake, at the same time responding in a cheerful voice.

“Well, Spike, you'll be in charge of the Library for most of the day. I've got other plans.”

Spike looked straight at Twilight, giving her an incredulous look.

“Since when did you break schedule on weekdays?”

“Well, I promised Applejack I'd help her with something.”, Twilight responded hesitantly.

“What with?”

Big Macintosh glanced over at the conversation at that point, his ears drooping low.

Twilight sighed, magically picking up a quill to mark off a day on the calendar.

“I'm not sure actually. I haven't seen her in a few days, but the other might she left a letter for me saying she needs my help. So I'm going to Sweet Apple Acres today.”

Big Macintosh's ears drooped even lower, glancing back to the tomes before him. He didn't say it, but he knew why Applejack needed Twilight's help. To say the least, his younger sister hadn't been herself lately.

At that moment, Spike gave a great huff.

“Well, that's just weird. Why wouldn't she just come straight to you?”

“Who knows.”

“Well, in that case, can I get in a bit more nap-time before you leave?”

Twilight raised an eyebrow, while magically summoning a dusty broom and a long list of chores, dumping them unceremoniously on Spike's head. Freeing himself from the entanglement, Spike gave one glance at the long parchment before him.

“Aww, man...”

As Spike stomped off, dragging his items behind him, Twilight turned her attention back to Big Macintosh, who had stayed unsurprisingly quiet during the whole exchange. His head hung low, but he slowly gripped a book between his teeth and approached the checkout desk.

Twilight smiled.

“Sorry about that, Spike has to learn his responsibilities sooner or later.”

Big Mac placed the heavy tome onto the desk with a small thud, and looked into the young mare's eyes. He raised his eyebrows when he noticed something in her gaze. What was that? Pity?

“Ah understand, Miss Sparkle. Everypony’s gotta pull their weight.”

Twilight nodded and glanced down at the book the large stallion had chosen, levitating her ink stamp as she read the title. However, as she did so, her eyes went wide as the words processed through her mind, and the stamp fell to the floor.

She immediately cleared her throat and magically picked it back up.

“Oops, sorry.”

Flustered, she quickly stamped the book and pushed it back to Mac.

“All set!”

“Thanks, Miss Sparkle”

Big Macintosh gripped the book in his teeth, then turned back and placed it in one of his saddlebags. As he did so, he noticed there was another tome in there.

“Oh, right, ah almost forgot. Ah'm returning this here book, too.” he said apologetically as he plopped it down on the desk. His ears drooped low again as Twilight read the title.

“No problem, Big Mac.” She said with a kind smile, quickly putting 'A Self-help guide for the Struggling Stallion'' in the returned pile. Twilight silently made a note of Big Mac's choice in books. Something was up.

“Ah'd best be gettin' back to the farm. I'll be seein' you later, Miss Sparkle”

The purple mare looked into Mac's sad eyes.

“You know, you can just call me Twilight”

“That don't seem very proper, if you'll pardon me, Miss.”

Twilight smiled as she accompanied the large red pony to the door.

“You're very polite, Mac. You don't see that very often nowadays.”

Big Macintosh looked back at Twilight Sparkle as he exited the doorway. Something in his eyes shimmered sadly, and he spoke up in his long slow voice.

“Can you promise me one thing?”

“Sure, anything.” Said Twilight, quite taken aback.

Big Macintosh was silent for a moment, then slowly mumbled a quiet sentence.

“Please help ma' sister.”

Twilight didn't know what to say. What was going on up there at Sweet Apple Acres? Here's Big Macintosh, strongest pony in Ponyville, moping around like the world's about to end, not to mention he took out a book called Dealing with Depression, and now this. Applejack's problem was sounding worse by the minute. Twilight gave a small nod.

“I will.”

Big Mac slowly trudged off.

“Thanks, Twilight.”

At that moment, the beautiful morning seemed a little less bright.

-

Within an hour, Twilight Sparkle was trotting briskly up a dirt path, heading for Sweet Apple Acres. The sunlight, now higher in the sky, had lost it's orange tinge, and now glowed bright and pure, glimmering off of the dew from last night's rainstorm. Yet, even in such a peaceful environment, Twilight couldn't help but worry. As her hooves brought up clouds of dust behind her like trailing smoke from a fire, her mind raced.

What's the matter with Applejack? She thought to herself.  

It must be something important. She's a tough pony, she can usually deal with things by herself. But this must be something different... It's upsetting Big Macintosh too...

She lost track of her surroundings for a while, and suddenly realized that she was trekking through a grove of apple trees. Quickly veering back to the path, she could see the great red shape of the Barn-house Home of the Apple family.

Panting and sweating slightly from her brisk jog up the hill, the purple unicorn slowed her pace as she approached the front door. She glanced over at the apple tree fields, and caught a glimpse of Big Macintosh plodding along in the distance. As he looked her way, they each gave each other a courteous nod, and the red stallion returned to his labour. With a breath of air to steel herself against whatever might happen, Twilight knocked on the front door, her hoof resounding against the old wood with a surprising crash as the unlocked door swung open.

Carefully stepping inside the dimly lit room, she called out.

“Applejack? Are you here?”

After a moment, a husky voice called down from upstairs.

“Yeah, just come on up, Twilight.”

With a feeling of trepidation, Twilight slowly made her way up the narrow stairs. Applejack peeked out of a doorway at the top. When the orange earth-pony saw her friend making her way up, she went back into her bedroom to wait for her. Soon enough, Twilight was nudging her way into the room. For the first time, the shocked unicorn could see her friend fully.

“Hey, Twi.”

Applejack looked terrible. As if she hadn't slept for days. Her eyes were red and puffy, her mane tangled and unbrushed. Her hat lay on the ground, seemingly forgotten about. Even her vibrant orange hue seemed diminished.

“Applejack... I-...”

Applejack gave a grim smile as Twilight continued.

“You look terrible.” She said, shaking her head.

“Yeah, Ah know. But to tell you th' truth, Ah don't really give a buck what ah look like right now.”

The purple pony was stumped. What could have gotten her friend into such a state? A strong, tough, and happy-go-lucky pony like Applejack usually wasn't phased by anything. There was only one thing left to say.

“AJ, what's wrong?”

The dejected earth-pony sighed, slowly laying down on her unmade bed. She sniffled a little, obviously trying to hold back the tears that had evidently been falling for days. Twilight shuffled over and put a comforting hoof over her friend. Finally Applejack spoke, her voice hoarse.

“It's Rainbow Dash. Ever since she got rejected by those Wonderbolt fellers, she's been like a whole differen' pony.”

The purple unicorn was momentarily confused.

“But, wasn't that months ago?”

“Yeah, but haven't you noticed we ain't seen much of RD since then? And she's only been getting worse. Ah tried to cheer her up, ah really did, but she said she didn't need no help, at least not from no bucking apple farmer anyways.”

Twilight's eyes were wide.

“Appleja-...”

“Those were her words. She turned her back on our friendship, jus' like that!”

“Look, she was probably just too upset and she wasn't thinking straight.”

“That's what ah thought at first, Twi. Ah told maself that ah'd let her cool off for a few days at least, an' maybe she'd come 'round.”

Applejack gave another sniffle, burying her face in her hooves. Twilight, still in shock, just rubbed her friend's back comfortingly and waited for AJ to continue.

“Anyways, after a few days, Ah decided to go check up on her, ya know. I heard from th'other Pegasus ponies that she'd been missin' work. Ah knew it weren't like Rainbow to avoid flyin' around and showin' off like she does, so ah knew then and there that she probably wasn't feelin' any better. But ah just had to check up on her. She's mah best friend, Twilight. Me an' her have been through thick and thin.”

“Go on, what happened?”

“Well, when ah got to her fancy cloud house, ah called out her name as loud as ah could, for what must've been ages. Then ah heard a big crash, and there she was with a crazy look in her eye. The look she gave me, it was like we were mortal enemies or somethin'. Then she said the thing ah'll never forget...”

By this point, Applejack's tears were flowing, and she was starting to get hysterical. Twilight had cold shivers all the way down her spine... why did this happen? Finally, Applejack took a gasp of breath and finished her sentence.

“She said ah was nothin' but an ugly, useless earth-pony with no reason t'live.”

Finally, Applejack burst into sobs and became completely inconsolable. Twilight tried her best to comfort her friend, humming gently and hugging her. All the while, her mind raced with the implications of this revelation. Why would Rainbow Dash say those things? I mean, sure, she could be a bit cocky sometimes, and she was never exactly careful with her words, but deep down she always meant well.  But this... this was way too far.

There had to be more to the story than just being rejected by the Wonderbolts. It was Rainbow Dash's dream to be part of the dream team of fliers, but she wouldn't lash out like this after failing. No, the Rainbow Dash she knew would pick herself back up again and train harder than ever to win. There had to be more to the story.

The element of loyalty, turning her back on her best friend...

Twilight's ears drooped low.

This is bad...

It was a long time before Applejack stopped crying. The orange country-pony was completely exhausted, emotionally and physically. After many hours of talking and sobbing, AJ soon succumbed to the embrace of sleep, and her gentle snores resounded throughout the room.

Twilight regarded her sleeping friend as she carefully levitated AJ's blanket and draped it over the snoozing pony. Then, ever so quietly, she exited the bedroom, making her way downstairs, her mind still racing.

What do I do...?

She was surprised to see a tired and muddy stallion waiting for her at the bottom. Big Macintosh gave her a sad look, and, hearing his sisters snores upstairs, spoke in a low whisper.

“Now you know why thing's have been a might troubling up here for the last few days.”

Twilight gave a gradual nod.

“Yeah, I guess I do. I can't believe Rainbow Dash would do such a thing.”

Big Macintosh sighed and walked towards the kitchen.

“Ah can't say I know that mare very well maself, but ah do know that she and Applejack were inseparable, whenever the two of them were hanging around the farm.”

He turned back and looked straight at Twilight.

“Books don't help none in these situations, ah found out.”

Twilight met the gaze of the upset stallion. Shaking with the thought about how the whole situation could permanently effect her group of friends, she nevertheless tried to remain strong.

“I'm going to get to the bottom of this, Mac. I'm not going to let Applejack suffer anymore.”

A slow, sad smile made it's way across the large pony's face.

“Ah hope so, Twilight.”

-

Spike yawned and stretched, before slumping down on the checkout desk, propping up his tired head with one hand. He slowly drummed the claws of his other hand against the wood.

What a boring day... Spike thought to himself.

His days usually consisted of hanging around the library, but he usually had Twilight with him, too. Despite her bookish demeanor and endless lecturing, at least she was somepony he could talk to. The Library had been deserted for hours.

Spike sighed. He eyed the books lining the shelves in front of him, before quickly shaking his head.

No way, I'm not gonna READ to pass the time. Who am I, Twilight?

The bored dragon slumped down again, his tail lazily grazing the air. Suddenly, a soft voice called from the open doorway.

“Umm, Twilight?”

Spike's head shot up. A customer! At least it would give him something to do. A second later, Fluttershy quietly trotted inside, looking all around for a sign of her librarian friend. Her long pastel pink mane hung almost to the ground as the soft-spoken pegasus explored the library with her wide blue eyes.

“Hi Fluttershy. How are ya?”

Fluttershy jumped slightly, before turning around and approaching the waving dragon.

“Oh, hello Spike. I didn't see you there, I'm sorry.” She said in her usual quiet and whispery voice.

“Was that a short joke?”

“Ooh, no, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be mean.”

At that moment, another pony trotted inside, her purple mane dazzling to behold, accenting her white colouring beautifully. Spike stammered his next sentence.

“H-hey, Rarity! Can I get you anything? We have books and-... uh...” His head shot around trying to find something to give to the smiling mare.

“No, that's okay, Spikey. We're here to see Twilight.”

Spikes heart fell a little bit at that.

But she called me Spikey!

“Is she here?” Rarity asked as she took a look around. Spike's eyes followed her everywhere as he responded grumpily.

“No, she left a few hours ago. Something about helping Applejack with a problem. I haven't had a visitor all day.”

“Oh, but we need her bookish expertise!” exclaimed the white mare, her eyes wide.

Fluttershy chimed in.

“Umm, yeah, but I guess we could bring Spike along instead. He probably knows almost as much as Twilight does.”

“Are you saying I'm an egghead like her?”

The yellow pegasus hid behind her pale pink hair, afraid of hurting Spike's feelings. Rarity cleared her throat and fluttered her eyelashes innocently.

“Oh, Spikey-wikey, we really need your help. You're so smart and strong, and nopony could do it but you!” She leaned down and planted a quick kiss on Spike's cheek.

He was sold.

“No problem, Rarity! I'm your guy! I'll just shut down the Library for the day. Nopony comes here anyway.”

He lightly hopped down from the desk.

“Twilight's gonna hate me for it, though.”

Fluttershy and Rarity smiled.

As they exited the Library, Spike locked the door behind him, and turned to face the two excited mares.

“So, uh, What do you need me for, anyway?”

Rarity theatrically threw her head to the side, her beautifully styled mane bouncing.

“We're going to the Everfree Forest!”

Spike's eyes went wide.

“What?! B-but...”

Fluttershy patted him on the head to calm him down.

“It's okay, Spike, we're not going too far in. We just need to find a certain kind of flower that only grows in there. We need somepony who can help us out.”

Spike had to admit to himself that he knew a fair bit about Everfree Forest. More than the average Ponyville citizen, anyway. Twilight insisted on bringing him there to do studies on different plant-life and animals, and he'd seen a few maps, some of them drawn by Zecora, the mysterious zebra who lived deep in the forest. But every time he went there, he couldn't shake the feeling that it was an evil place.

But as Rarity started to pout, Spike couldn't say no.

“Alright, I'll do it.” he sighed.

As the trio made their way to the outskirts of Ponyville, Spike felt his trepidation burn away at him.

I have a bad feeling about this...

-

“RAINBOW DASH!!!”

Twilight called out as loud as she could as the large cloud-home hovered over her. After some consideration, she had decided to confront her friend directly about her feud with Applejack.

Maybe it's all just some big misunderstanding...

“RAINBOW DASH!!! I NEED TO SPEAK WITH YOU!”

Twilight tried and tried to get Rainbow's attention, but after a few minutes, she gave up.

I guess she's gone somewhere else... she thought as she turned to leave.

“What do you want?”

Twilight lifted her gaze upwards again as she heard the voice.

“Rainbow...” she said quietly, surprised.

About 20 feet above the ground, Rainbow Dash stood up straight on a small trailing cloud, slightly separate from the main house. Her head was held high as she regarded the unicorn below her, her brow furrowed. She stood there silently until Twilight answered her.

“I-... I need to speak with you, Dash.”

“What if I don't want to speak?” the pegasus shot back dismissively.

Twilight was starting to get frustrated.

“It's important. You've really hurt Applejack's feelings, and I want to know why.”

The rainbow-maned pony snorted grimly.

“She'll get over it.”

“Rainbow, stop being like this! You're hurting everypony you care about.”

Twilight gazed at her friend. Rainbow Dash seemed so angry and sad at the same time. Her usually vibrant mane was long and unkempt, and her eyes seemed dark and soulless. The cyan pegasus looked away from Twilight and closed her eyes.

“I don't care about you guys.”

Twilight backed up a step, her heart in her throat.

How could she say that!?

Dash opened her eyes again, and determinedly looked straight at the upset mare below her, and spoke harshly.

“I never cared about you guys. Now leave me alone.”

With a flick of a diminished rainbow tail, the pegasus was gone, her front door slamming shut behind her, leaving Twilight Sparkle on the ground, lost.

At that moment, a cold breeze stung against Twilight's body like a dagger of frost, piercing the facade of strength she had been trying to keep up. Her eyes watered, and the tears started to flow.

Twilight tried to call out again, to beg Rainbow to come back out and talk to her, but her voice broke and shattered, evaporating like the happiness inside her. A rush of emotions were rushing through the pony's system, her eyes frantically searching the ground as her head hung low, as if she could find the answers to everything amidst the blades of grass beneath her hooves.

But all that appeared before her where her own tears, dripping silently onto the field.

No matter how hard she tried to think, Twilight didn't know what to do.

Between the coming sobs, her diminished voice winded it's way through her gasping breaths.

“What am I supposed to do...?”

What am I supposed to do...

-

Rainbow Dash stood silently behind her closed door. Even from inside her cloud-home, she could still make out Twilight's devastated sobs. Lowering herself to the ground in the dark room, Rainbow's thoughts danced slowly through her torn mind.

She didn't enjoy saying those things to Twilight. The sound of her friend's quiet crying outside tugged at her heart. She felt awful.

But she had to do it.

I don't deserve my friends. They'll be better off without me.

Rainbow sighed.

I'm nothing but a useless jerk. It's about time the other ponies realised that. They won't miss me that way.

Finally, Twilight's cries became too quiet to hear. Rainbow closed her eyes, slowly raising herself back up again until she was sure that the emotional mare had left. She stood straight and gazed at her belongings scattered about her house. She sealed away her emotions, her expression stoic.

Every curtain was drawn, every lamp unlit. Some sunlight still streamed through the fabric, but it was only just enough to make things visible. The sombre pegasus was shutting herself away from the world.

It's better this way. I won't be remembered.

Rainbow didn't know how long she stood there for. She was losing herself in her thoughts. Her body felt dead and unresponsive. Her mind slack, her focus on one thing, and one thing only.

How to end it all.

But a shadow behind her curtain momentarily distracted her, and a familiar voice cried out.

“RAINBOW DASH!”

Shocked, Rainbow trotted towards the window, and drew back the curtain slightly. For a moment, she didn't know what she was looking at, but then realization hit her hard.

Of course... How could I have forgotten about that.

There, hovering outside her window, was a large hot-air balloon, manned by one haggard looking unicorn. Twilight gazed hard at the window from which Rainbow peeked out.

“I'm not leaving until we've spoken about this properly.”

Rainbow's expression hardened.

Damn unicorn magic... she must have had that thing prepped and ready in minutes...

Clearing her throat, Dash called out to the upset pony.

“I said, Leave me alone!”

With a rush of multicoloured hair flying wild, the pegasus hopped out of the window and flew level with the balloon, giving Twilight a fake look of pure hatred.

Rainbow knew she was convincing as the expression on Twilight's face blanched. With a snort, Rainbow took off with a flash, as fast as she could. She didn't know where she was going to go, but she knew she had to get away from Twilight.

Quickly scanning the horizon, one thing in particular stood out in her mind.

The Everfree Forest.

Nopony ever went in there. It was secluded, and in the deepest areas, the shadows of the trees were somehow more dark than the pitch black night. Evil reverberated from the deepest depths of that forest.

A dark place for a dark deed.

She altered her course slightly, heading straight for the heart of the distant foliage and plant-life. As the wind blew back her mane, she felt free again, losing herself in the pure being of it. She was one with the sky.

Turning to look back as she flew, the huge purple balloon behind her shrunk into the distance, before fading completely. Turning somberly to the forest again, she focused on the canopy of leaves ahead.

The fires in her eyes were but dismal sparks.

The flame in her heart had died out.

Goodbye, guys.

With a flash, and a rustle of leaves, the pegasus disappeared into the darkness.

-

“Okay, so what are they called again?”

Spike was busy scanning the foliage at his feet, keeping his eyes peeled, despite not knowing what he was supposed to be looking for.

Fluttershy responded quietly from a few feet away, searching the bushes.

“It's called a Sparkpetal. They're supposed to grow somewhere around here.”

Spike racked his brain, trying to figure out if he had heard of that kind of flower before. After a minute or so, he vaguely remembered a passage from a book.

“Wait a second, you mean a Dragonflower?”

“Yeah, that's another name for them.” said Fluttershy with a nod.

“What the heck do you guys need one of those for?”

Spike had seen one before. He had noticed it amongst the dreary plant-life on a past trip into the forest. It's petals were so vibrant, it was as if it was on fire, hence it's name.

When he had pointed it out to Twilight, she held him back and warned him not to approach it. She had told him that even though it may be beautiful, it was very dangerous, as it had a tendency to burst into flames if it's life was in danger. Many an unsuspecting pony had tried to pick one before, only to be badly burned.

“A single Sparkpetal root has a lot of healing magic if you put it in the right soup. It sort of lights a fire inside you! I need it for Angel, He's been so lazy and grumpy lately.”

“What does Rarity need it for, then?” asked Spike, looking around for a sign of the pampered pony. Right at that moment, Rarity called out from a short distance away.

“I found one!  Oooh, it's so heavenly!”

The duo quickly jogged in the direction of the voice, soon coming to a clearing where lay a single, bright flower, and an awestruck unicorn.

“Oh, it's so much more wonderful than I ever imagined! So vibrant, so full of life! Oh, it's perfect!” Rarity's eyes sparkled as she fawned over the beautiful flower.

Spike rolled his eyes. It was just a flower.

Fluttershy hunched down near Rarity, and gazed at the plant, quietly exclaiming her awe.

“Wooow...”

Spike tapped the infatuated unicorn on the shoulder.

“So, Fluttershy needs a root, but what do you need, Rarity?”

“Why, the rest of it, of course! I simply must have it. Think how wonderful it would look on my windowsill!”

“You ponies realize it's dangerous, right?”

Fluttershy nodded as Rarity responded reassuringly.

“Oh, we know. But if we carefully separate it from the ground, while casting an anti-incendiary charm, it will nullify the Dragonflower's harmful responses.”

Spikes eyes widened as Rarity smiled widely at him.

“It's lucky I'm a unicorn, isn't it?”

“Yeah. So I guess I'm the one picking it?”

“Why yes, why not let a Dragon pick a Dragonflower?”

Spike eyed the dangerous flower in front of them hesitantly. He turned to protest, but Rarity was fluttering her eyelashes at him again.

Well, now I can't say no.

The young dragon puffed up his chest and flexed his small arms.

“I'm your dragon!”

Fluttershy and Rarity grinned, then focused on the task at hand. The yellow pegasus slowly backed away to make room for the flower-picking task force. Spike knelt down beside the fiery coloured plant, while Rarity leaned forward, her horn tingling with magical power.

“Okay, Spikey...”she said carefully, scrutinizing the flower carefully. “Gently start digging at the soil, but be careful not to puncture a root.

Slowly and meticulously, the young dragon dug his claws into the soft dirt, digging little trenches around the flower with every swipe of his arm. He could feel the small roots brushing up against his fingers as he dug. Using his claws, he tediously removed the soil from around around the flimsy strands.

Meanwhile, Rarity was infusing the head of the flower with magical shields of warding, careful not to overdo it and set off a chain reaction. Beads of sweat started to appear on her forehead as she concentrated, weaving her magic in-between every curve and conduit of the dangerous plant.

Once we get this thing back to Ponyville, I can get Twilight to completely disable it's flaming properties...

A gentle voice called from behind them.

“Umm, there's more Sparkpetals back here...”

Spike and Rarity simultaneously shot Fluttershy a look, their brows furrowed. Letting out a little whimper, the shy pegasus whispered an apology and remained quiet.

Turning back to the task at hand, Rarity spoke softly.

“Okay, are the roots loose enough?”

Spike eyed the churned ground.

“Yeah, that should be enough.

“Very gently start to lift it from the soil, slowly and carefully!”

Being as gentle as he could, Spike curled his fingers around the fragile plant, applying a minute amount of force to raise it from the dirt. As the plant slowly rose, the magic aura that Rarity had been casting spread down to the previously hidden roots. With a small shine, the magic forces seemed to lock into place, and the unicorn let out a sigh of relief.

“Is it done?” Spike said tentatively, holding the flower out at arms length.

“Yes, it should be safe now. Come on over, Fluttershy.”

As the pegasus approached, Rarity gushed over Spike with pride.

“Oh thank you, Spikey-wikey, we really did need your nimble claws after all!”

As Fluttershy gently took the glowing flower from Spike's hands and slipped it into a pot in her saddlebag, the purple dragon smiled at the praise.

“All in a day's work! You did really great, Rarity!”

“Oh, pish posh, it was very simple magic.” She said with a chuckle.

At that moment, Fluttershy interrupted and repeated what she had said earlier, pointing with one hoof to a small bush off to the side, from which shone many, many more Dragonflowers, their orange petals shining brightly against the dreary leaves surrounding them.

Rarity's eyes gleamed.

“Oh wow, a whole Dragonflower Bush!”

“Isn't one flower enough?” said Fluttershy with a sigh.

“Oh, well, yes, I suppose. No need to be greedy.”

Spike looked at the dark canopy stretching over their heads. It was hard to see where the sun was, past all the dark trees, but he guessed that it was starting to get late.

“We'd better be going, you two. Besides, I'm hungry.”

Rarity smiled gracefully.

“Right you are, Spike. You two simply MUST join me for dinner to celebrate our triumph today!”

“That sounds wonderful!” exclaimed their usually quiet pegasus friend. “We should invite the others along, too!”

“Oh, well of course we mu-...”

All of a sudden, everything seemed to be happening at once.

A huge crash, a sudden spark, and flames were engulfing everything.

The trio screamed in panic as a literal explosion of heat and flames spread out from where, until a few moments ago, had been the Dragonflower bush. Now there was just a bright light, the crackle of flames, and an intense heat like nothing they had ever felt before.

“Something crashed into the bush!” screamed Rarity hysterically.

Crashed into the bush?!

“RUN!” Spike shouted, hopping onto Rarity's back, and the trio made a mad dash away from flames.

Fluttershy, her eyes wide and shocked, spread her wings and took to the skies.

“We have to tell the others! There's no telling how far that fire might spread!” She called out from the air.

Rarity nodded as she ran.

“Go, Fluttershy! We'll catch up!”

The pegasus nodded, and flew off as fast as she could, heading straight towards Ponyville.

Spike held on tight to the cantering unicorn. Freeing his face from Rarity's bouncing mane, he glanced back through the trees, watching the flames in the clearing roar higher and wider.

But he could have sworn he saw something else amidst the fire.

A dash of rainbow...

Spike shook his head.

Rainbow fires... It must be the shock.

So, the duo made their way through the trees, leaving the flames far behind.

-

Applejack slowly walked through the streets of Ponyville, gazing sadly at her surroundings. The sun was well on it's way to lowering over the horizon. In an hour or two, the sun would start setting, and Ponyville was becoming quieter as the afternoon grew old.

Applejack could tell that some ponies were watching her walk round-shouldered amongst the buildings, but she didn't care. She just needed to clear her head. She couldn't remain cooped up at Sweet Apple Acres forever.

After falling asleep during her talk with Twilight, she had woken up a couple of hours later, her emotions feeling dead inside her. Her brother had came up to check on her, and seeing she was awake, insisted that she ate something.

The country-pony reluctantly agreed, and stomached down about half of what Big Macintosh had placed down in front of her. Her body rejected the rest. Her usually big appetite had all but diminished into a shadow of it's former self. Mac had gently suggested that she get some fresh air outside, and that he would keep an eye on Granny Smith and the farm.

After a while, Applejack agreed, and took a slow stroll towards Ponyville.

Ah need to take mah mind off things...

Through blurry eyes, Applejack saw a familiar pony resting on a bench nearby. Twilight Sparkle sat staring at the ground, her expression one of defeat and sadness.

The orange mare momentarily felt something painfully pluck on her heartstrings. Her friend was in trouble.

Ah guess Twi' spoke to Rainbow Dash...

“What happened, Twilight?” she said as she approached the bench. The unicorns head shot up at the sound of Applejack's voice, and turned to see her friend give her a worried expression.

“Oh, Applejack... I tried to stop her, but she went flying off into the forest.”

Applejack sat on the bench next to her friend, putting a consoling hoof over Twilight's shoulders.

“Ah told you. Dash won't talk about it.”

Twilight's eyes looked red from crying. She nevertheless remained stoic as she further explained her situation.

“I tried to follow her in my balloon, but there's no way I could follow her into the trees... and she was way to fast...”

“Ah guess she'll come back in her own time...”

“Rainbow, she-... she seemed so... angry.”

Applejack nodded.

“Yeah, but what did we do t'her? She ain't got no right to say the things she did.”

“No, that's not what I meant...” Twilight said, shaking her head. “I meant, she seemed so angry... at herself.”

Applejack's eyes went wide with confusion.

“Well, when ah spoke to her, she seemed pretty mad at me, not herself.”

Twilight nodded sadly.

“Yeah, I saw it too. But there was something beneath that. There's something dark going on in her mind, Applejack... I could sense it.”

The orange mare sat there in thoughtful silence, her heart in her throat.

Either way... she's not the Dash I knew...

All of a sudden, an unusually loud and panicked voice called from up high, and with a flash of yellow and pink, Fluttershy was standing in front of them, her wings spread wide.

“Twilight, Applejack, FIRE!”

The two ponies sat there in stunned silence as the pegasus frantically bounced around.

“There's a fire in the Everfree forest! It's spreading everywhere!”

Twilight jumped to her hooves in shock, quickly shouting out orders.

“Fluttershy, go and tell everypony. We're going to need everyone brave enough to help battle the blaze. Tell any other Pegasus ponies to get some rainclouds over that fire!”

With a nod, Fluttershy took off again, heading for a group of ponies in the distance. Applejack stood up, her mind racing.

“Twilight, didn't y’all say Rainbow Dash was in there?”

Twilight nodded in panic.

Standing silent for a moment while her mind raced, Applejack stared hard in the direction of the distant forest. Just on the horizon, she could see a plume of smoke trailing into the sky, becoming one with the clouds.

Mah best friend is in danger...

Forgetting all about what Rainbow had said to her, Applejack had only one thing on her mind. With no warning, she took off at a full run, heading straight to the forest.

Twilight called out behind her, trying to keep up with the athletic pony ahead.

“Applejack, I'm sure she's alright! She has wings!”

But the strong mare wasn't listening. Only one thing was on her mind. Her toned muscles stretched and contracted with lightning speed, her heart raced powerfully, her hooves stomping on the dirt with every sure step. She was far ahead of Twilight, and the forest became gradually closer with every passing second.

Feeling the blood pumping through her system, hearing the rhythmic mantra of her hooves, she focused on the one thing, running over and over through her head.

Ah've gotta make sure Dash is safe.

-

Rainbow Dash awoke suddenly.

All she could feel was the searing heat all over her body. She felt paralyzed, unable to fully comprehend where she was.

Am I dead?

She shakily opened one eye, still unable to move her body. All she saw was bright lights. She felt unbearable heat, and the smell of burning wood and leaves invaded the air around her.

And all of a sudden, the pain came back.

“AAAAUUURGGH!!”

Rainbow writhed in agony as sharp pains shot up her legs, her back, her wings. Every cell in her body was screaming in agony, and Rainbow's eyes watered as she almost fainted again, unable to deal with the excruciating feeling coursing through her body.

All she wanted to do was die.

Suddenly, her hind legs were engulfed in searing heat, and Dash tried to turn her head to look towards her hooves. Her back legs were embraced by smoldering flames.

Kicking wildly, only to double up in pain again, the critically injured pegasus reached out her front hooves, trying to summon the strength to drag herself away from the flames.

Using every last ounce of her willpower, Dash dug her front hooves into the ground, and pulled herself forward, her muscles protesting in agony, every bone feeling like it had been sundered. She managed to pull herself a few feet away, her kicking legs rubbing in the dirt, temporarily putting out the flames on her fur, but leaving the searing pain. There was nothing left of her once vibrant tail, and her body was covered in red, smoking patches.

Every direction she turned her head in, she saw nothing but flames, cracking trees, endless smoke rising and permeating from the embers. She coughed, every involuntary spasm sending more pain through her system. Her eyes watering, she tried to shut down her senses.

It wasn't supposed to be like this.  It was supposed to be quick, painless...

When Rainbow had crashed through the trees at top speed, heading straight for the ground, she had hoped the forceful impact would end her life instantly. How was she supposed to know there was an exploding bush at that exact place?

Somehow, she had miraculously survived the crash landing, only to be trapped by the flames and her own broken limbs. She saw a single wing feather glide by her vision, quickly being eaten up by the hungry fires.

But at least it's ending now...

Rainbow Dash could slowly feel herself succumbing to the darkness. Her pain seemed to lessen slightly. The fires around her seemed to diminish, the sounds becoming muffled. Her eyes almost closed as she laid her head down on the burned blades of grass.

But as she felt the cold embrace of death loom over her, she was suddenly struck with a pang of regret as visions of her friends raced through her mind. Twilight, Spike, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, all of the wonderful ponies of Ponyville.

And Applejack...

The dying pony could only focus on one thing now.

How she had hurt Applejack in a way that should never happen.

I'm sorry, AJ... I'm so sorry...

The crackle of flames resounded about her motionless body, yet the darkness expanded quietly.

I wish I could have told you...

Opening her eyes one last time, all she could see was orange... but it seemed different. All of a sudden, her body was wracked with pain as it was dragged along the ground, and her eyes opened fully.

Through her blurred vision, she could make out a smoldering  pony trying to push her motionless body across the rugged ground. The flames licked higher, and then her vision was filled with a pair of green eyes, staring hard at her own.

“Ah'm here, Dashie. Ah'm not leavin' you behind.”

But the pain was too much for the pegasus, and her mind shut down with one final thought.

Applejack...

-

Enclosed midst raiment so cold

An ocean between sullen shores

This blackened shroud foretold

The silence behind closed doors

The black of the sky

Turns the mist into light

To tell tales of an ethereal glow

An intangible banner

Heralding deepest dreams

Locked away from life

But from this silence comes the dawn

A shining sunrise no longer forlorn

It is worth the pain

To cast aside the shame

To reach the clear skies of a bright morn

I’ll leave behind the dreary night

I’ll leave in dust the endless plight

I’ll cloud my vision in silver light

And purify all darkness in my sight

And live the dream

That hid itself away

Behind these walls of silence and stone

The love that I beheld

As a faded painting

Shall be renewed

Beyond this narrow path, beyond it all

Lying cast in flame, Life beckons

-

“The doctor said it's going to be a long time before she's fit to walk again. Or even take the bandages off. It's going to take even longer before she can start flying again...”

Twilight looked sadly at Rainbow Dash, sleeping in the hospital bed. Almost every inch of her body was covered in bandages, yet she slept fitfully, under the influence of many painkillers.

Applejack slowly nodded, her gaze also traveling over her friend's injured body. Her voice was hoarse as she spoke.

“Ah can't believe she tried to kill herself...”

Twilight looked sideways at AJ, her ears drooping low.

“I think it was a long time coming. She was obviously hiding a lot of things from us...”

Twilight approached the sleeping pegasus as she continued.

“I guess being rejected from the Wonderbolts was sort of a last straw... it must have pushed her over the edge.”

Applejack was silent for a long time.

As Twilight was about to say something else, the country-pony quietly cut in.

“We could a' helped her. Whatever is was she was goin' through, we could a' helped her... Didn't she know that?”

Twilight looked at both of her friends sadly.

“I think, sometimes... when somepony gets into that state of mind, they forget about the important things... logic dissipates, until there's nothing but that feeling. I guess Rainbow Dash just believed she had no reason to go on anymore...”

There was another long silence.

Twilight sighed sadly, and approached the window, looking out into the night air. It had been three days since the forest fire,  yet the skies where still overcast with wisps of dark smoke. Most of it had been cleared up by the weather-ponies, but there still hung remains of the fire, like ethereal memorials to a darker time.

Rainbow Dash had been in intensive care since Applejack had dragged her from the flames. For the past few days, all of them had been afraid of the worst, knowing that at any moment they could get the news that Dash had passed away. But somehow, the pegasus had held on. Barely conscious when she was awake, and sleeping most of the day, Rainbow Dash's condition had nevertheless stabilized.

It would be a long, long recovery, but at least it was a recovery.

And every night since the fire, Applejack had stayed by Rainbow's side. AJ's burns were minor compared to Rainbow's.

Turning back to the bedside, Twilight studied the bandages.

“She's not going to look the same. Those burns are going to  stay with her forever... She'll be forever scarred by that fire... and her mane is completely gone...”

Applejack smiled sadly.

“She's still Rainbow Dash, even without tha' Rainbow.”

Twilight walked to the door to leave the room, but not before turning to her silent friend. She already knew the answer, but she asked anyway.

“Do you want to stay at my place tonight, Applejack? You need some proper rest.”

Applejack shook her head, not taking her eyes off the injured pegasus.

“Ah'm gonna stay here with Dashie...”

Twilight gave her an understanding nod, and left the dimly lit room.

Applejack approached the bedside, watching the rhythmic rise and fall of Dash's body as she breathed deeply.

“Ah'm glad you're gonna be alright, Dash...”

-

All of a sudden, Applejack jerked awake from an uncomfortable sleep.

Her head had been resting on Rainbow Dash's hospital bed, her forelegs curled around her injured friend. Early morning light streamed in through the window, glaring off the multicoloured balloons that Pinkie Pie had strewn throughout the hospital ward. Applejack raised her head to look at Dash's face, and was surprised to see the pegasus awake.

“Rainbow...”

“Hey, Applejack...” Rainbow's voice came out whispered and painful.

Applejack smiled sadly at the bandaged mare.

“H-how are ya feelin'?”

“Not great... I think I need a refill on my meds.”

Applejack looked around worriedly.

“Ah'll call a doctor in, I-...” but Rainbow cut her short.

“AJ, it's not important... but I know something that is...”

Applejack turned back to her friend as Rainbow continued.

“I... I'm so sorry, AJ.  I hurt you, and I hurt my friends with my words and actions...”

“Dash...”

“None of you deserved that... I was just trying to distance myself from you guys, so it wouldn't hurt so much when I was gone...”

Applejack hung her head.

“When you said those things t'me, Ah was devastated...”

Rainbow nodded slowly, her whispered voice coming out a little stronger.

“I know. I should never have done what I did. I was selfish. I didn't know what else to do.”

Rainbow Dash reached out a bandaged hoof and laid it down on Applejack's.

“Can you forgive me...?”

Applejack stood up, and stared hard at her injured friend.

“You don't have to apologize to me. Ah understand. Ah wish ah could have helped you in some way with your feelings, Rainbow. Nopony should have to go through something like that alone, and ah'm gonna' make sure you don't have to ever again.”

Applejack's voice softened as she continued.

“Ah'm not gonna leave your side, Dash. We've always been there for each other, and ah ain't about to change that. Ah'm always gonna' be here to help you through whatever it is you need help with, cause-...”

Applejack seemed to struggle for a moment, then she burst out.

“Cause ah love you, Rainbow Dash, and ah always have.”

Rainbow's eyes went wide with shock as her heart leapt to her throat.

“And it don't matter whether you feel the same or not, 'cause ah'm still not gonna' let it affect our friendship. Ah'll be there for you, Dash. Through thick or thin.”

Rainbow closed her eyes, her heart racing.

The spark inside her grew.

What once was a dying ember inside, became a hopeful fire, spreading warmth to every limb and organ.

She had something to live for.

No matter what dark thoughts creeped their way into her head, she realised that she didn't have to face them alone. She had the best friends anypony could ever hope for, and love and companionship would win out over any internal darkness.

With tears falling, Rainbow looked straight into AJ's bright green eyes, and felt comfort in that fact.

Their spark would never die out.

Through thick or thin.

THE END.