*John*

"Holy shit, he's alive!" Alex gasps as he drops his shovel.

"Y-You... gotta help..." The man, now known as Trent, says as he gasps for air. His head falls, and his eyes close. I kneel down next to him, placing my hand on his chest.

"He's still alive, barely, but alive. Looks like he blacked out again."

"What the hell are we gonna do with him?" Alex asks as he looks up at me, fear present in his eyes.

"Help me get him inside, we'll discuss this later."

*Matt* *4 Hours Later*

"Fuck off..." I mumble as I squeeze my eyes shut.

"We need to get going Matt, come on!" Twilight whispers loudly into my ear.

"No, screw off."

"If you don't get up, Rainbow is just going to get even worse." She says in a monotone voice, reminding me just where I am and what I'm supposed to be doing. I shoot off the couch like a bullet, grabbing Twilight as I pass her by. She lets out a yelp, and I place her down at the table across the room where all of our supplies currently lay.

"Are the others awake yet?" I ask as I look over the supplies.

"Yeah, they're in the kitchen eating breakfast, do you want anything?"

"No thanks Twi, I'm just gonna get my stuff ready. You guys meet me at the forest when you're done."

"Y-You're going out there alone?"

"Don't flip out on me Twilight, I'm just gonna be by the entrance. Now go on, go eat or whatever." I say as I start packing up. Twilight leaves the room, and I start gathering my belongings which include the rifle, pistol, ammo, and a kitchen knife that I may or may not have stolen from Twilight's kitchen. It isn't much, but better than nothing.

I walk over to the door and push it open, and I'm welcomed by a fresh morning breeze. I take in a deep breath as I begin walking towards the edge of the forest.

As I walk, I keep letting my mind drift to Rainbow and all of the possible outcomes. Hell, for all I know she's already dead and I wasn't there to say goodbye, not that she'd remember me anyway.

I kick a rock in frustration at that very fact. I get it, she's sick and all, but how the hell do you just forget someone you love? It would take a hell of a lot more than some virus to make me ever forget her, or any of my family for that matter.

It gets to the point where I'm actually mad at Rainbow herself for forgetting me. I know it isn't her fault, but I can't help but blame her for this. Before my thoughts overtake me anymore, I reach the edge of the forest. The morning sun shines brightly through the branches and leaves, and it helps me to take my mind off of the current situation at hand.

I lean back against a tree, letting out a sigh as I close my eyes and cross my arms. I bob my head up and down, imagining a song in my head when I hear footsteps approaching. I open one eye to see Alice, followed by Twilight and Rarity, walking up towards me with determined looks on their faces. A smirk cross my face as they approach, and without even saying a word, we enter the hell known as the Everfree Forest.

*AppleJack* *4 Hours ago*

"How ya doin' Rainbow?" I ask as I sit next to her on the floor. I reach a hoof up and brush the hair out of her face while she continues to lay motionless on the couch.

"I'm... fine." She moans with her eyes closed. "Thanks for... taking care of me AJ, not that I need it."

"Ah'm just glad you're still with us." I mumble with a tear in my eye. Gosh darn it Matt, you better hurry up. I look out the window to see it is still the middle of the night, and John and Alex still haven't returned.

"Are those two guys back yet?" Rainbow asks weakly.

"Nah, they're still out there lookin' for Star."

"Who's Star again? You all keep mentioning her name, but I have no idea who it is that you're talking about.

"Star is your daughter Rainbow. C'mon, you HAVE to at least remember her!"

"Can't say I do AJ, I only know you, Rarity, and Alice. I don't know any of these other ponies or people."

"Not even Matt?" It hurts me to know he's out there, somewhere in Equestria doing who knows what to get that cure for her, and she doesn't even remember him.

"Especially him. Is that the guy who hugged me? You all keep mentioning him like every ten seconds, and I'm tired of hearing about him constantly."

"M-Matt is yer coltfriend Rainbow." I say as a single tears streams down the side of my face before dropping onto the wood floor below.

"Hah, like I'd ever date a human. I'm only into other colts AJ, you and I both know that."

"But that isn't true Rainbow! You fell in love with him, and I know that deep down, you still do, you just don't know it!"

"DAD!" A voice yells from the doorway. I turn around quickly to see John and Alex coming in through the door carrying... oh Celestia, is that...

"Oh stars John, what happened!?" I ask as I trot over to the two who are carrying what appears to be a body.

"J-Jack... shot him... needs help." Alex gasps between breaths. I put my head under the fellow to support his middle, and we carry him to the bedroom down the hall. We place him down on John's bed, and John leaves the room to go find his dad who last I saw was asleep upstairs.

"What the hay happened Alex?" I ask as I prop myself up on the side of the bed using my forehooves.

"We were walking down the trail when John pulled me down into this bush. I didn't see them at the time, but four of the gang members were heading right towards us. Thank God they didn't see us. Anyway, one of them was saying something about how he thought they should release Star and Emily, and then Jack said he was traitor and shot him in the stomach. I can't believe he isn't dead yet, he's lost so much blood you could fill another person with it twice over."

"That's pushin' it a little if ya ask me." I respond as I watch Alex take his jacket off and push it down on the man's stomach, probably trying to stop the bleeding.

"The bullet must have missed any major organs or arteries or whatever, because if it didn't, he would have been dead a long time ago." Alex explains to me. John re-enters the room with his dad, Flutteryshy, and Pinkie Pie, all of whom look worried.

"Let me see him." Mr. Brown says as he walk towards the bed. I walk back a few steps, and he places what looks like a first-aid kit next to the bed. "Ugh, this is one nasty wound here. Could you all please clear out for a little while?" He asks as he turns to look at us. We all nod and make our ways out of the room. We all split up again, John going upstairs with Pinkie and Fluttershy, and Alex following me back to where Rainbow is resting.

"How is she?" Alex asks, trying to change the subject as we sit down on the floor next to Rainbow.

"Hangin' in there, but her memory is still pretty messed up right now. I sure hope this cure thing that Twilight knows about will fix her up."

"Yeah, it kinda sucks that she doesn't remember most of us, especially Matt. The poor guy, that look on his face when she didn't remember him was just haunting. He looked like he'd been shot right in the chest."

"I know what ya mean. I guess the only silver lining is that she still remembers a couple of us."

We sit in silence, watching the sleeping Rainbow. Her breaths come out staggered, and her fur is matted down with sweat.

"Um, Applejack?" Alex whispers, his voice shaking a little.

"Yeah?" I respond as I look up from the floor to meet his eyes.

"Has Rainbow always been that... colorless?" I look back at Rainbow to see what he's talking about, and my jaw drops at what I see. Instead of her normal, colorful color scheme, she looks almost as if she is in black and white.

"N-No!" I say, worry rising in my voice.

"What... does it mean when a pony loses their color?"

"Well it could mean a couple of things... but only one really works in this situation."

"And that is?"

"A pony can lose their color when they're... about to die..."

*Matt*

"Fucking run!" I yell, my vocal cords burning from overuse. We all sprint across the large opening in the forest as three wolves chase us with bloodlust. Well, I say wolves, but they're more like living trees. I think Twilight called them timberwolves? Something like that.

"Matt!" Shoot them!" Alice cries out as one gets extremely close to us. I come to a sliding stop, letting the girls keep running past me. I really hope these things aren't immune to bullets. I quickly take my pistol out of my pocket, firing two shots at the closest wolf which drops like a log. Heh, log.

"Look out!" I hear Twilight scream from behind me. I turn around from reflex, only to be tackled to the ground. I look back up to see burning green eyes just inches from my face. I guess by instinct my arm shot up, and is the only thing holding it's mouth back from eating me alive.

I'm about to just give up when the wolf is surrounded by a purple aura, and it flies off of me. I spin around to see Twilight's horn lighting up the same color, and a smile of gratitude spreads across my face. That is, until I watch Rarity get tackled by the third wolf. Alice and I run towards her while Twilight takes out the second one.

"Hey, let her go!" Alice screams as she starts beating on the side of it. No! Alice you idiot, you don't have a weapon! Too late. I watch as a paw comes up and swipes at Alice, sending her back a good five or six feet. She hits the ground with a scream, causing my blood to boil.

"Big mistake motherfucker." I whisper to the wolf before firing three rounds into it's head, causing it to fall off of Rarity. Said pony gets up, wrapping herself around my leg and shaking violently, probably in shock. I turn to see Twilight finishing the last timberwolf off by smashing it's head with a rock. Damn Twilight, I didn't know you had it in you!

"Oh shit, Alice!" I say as I run over to Alice after forcing Rarity to let go of my leg. I stop next to her, seeing that she is now on her knees gripping her left arm with her right hand. I can see a little blood trickling through the cracks between her fingers.

"Let me see it." Twilight says as she walks up to us.

"N-No, I'm fine, really."

"C'mon, you're worse than Dash. Just let us see it." I say as I try to pull her hand away from the wound.

"Ugh, fine..." She lets her hand drop, and we all cringe at the sight.

"Well... it isn't as bad as I thought." I say as I pull off my jacket. I sigh as I place it on the ground, pulling out my knife. Damn, I loved this jacket. I cut off a sleeve, then tie it around Alice's arm, turning it into a tourniquet. I use the rest of the jacket to clean off any excess blood, then give it to her to keep it pressed against the wound.

"It isn't top notch medical treatment, but it is all we can really do right now." I explain as I help Alice up. "Do you want me to send you back to Earth?"

"N-No! I want to help Rainbow as much as you do, and I'm not turning back now."

"Okay... but if you start to feel worse, I'm sending you back, regardless of what you want." I respond as we begin walking again. I turn around after a minute, looking around for everyone, only to see them still in the clearing behind me.

"Guys? You coming?"

"Nope." Twilight says with a smile as she trots into a different direction.

"W-What? What the fuck Twilight?" I ask, my voice rising in pitch as I begin walking back towards them. "Why not!?"

"Because, we already found the Pneuma flower!" She points at a rock on the opposite side of the clearing, and BAM! There it is, a large white flower growing on top of it. Not gonna question how this is possible as it is on a rock, but y'know, magic, so... fuck logic.

*John* *1 Hour Later*

"C'mon, just drink it." I try to coax the rainbow maned mare to drink the water, but she just won't do it.

"Maybe Applejack should do it, y'know, since she's the only one she remembers." Alex suggests.

"I guess we could try th-" I'm interrupted by a loud crackling sound, followed by a bright flash of light. I look behind us to see Matt and the others standing there with tired, but confident looks on their faces. If I can read expressions, that tells me that they were successful and HOLY SHIT ALICE!

"We made it!" Matt says victoriously as I he takes a small bottle out of his pocket containing a bright pink liquid. I guess that's the cure? Nevermind that, Alice is hurt!

*Matt*

I can't believe it, we actually made the cure before it was too late, or I hope that it isn't anyway. Rainbow looks horrible, all of her color is gone, and she looks on the brink of passing out again. Her fur and mane are matted together with sweat, and her breaths are coming out extremely short and sharp. I'm about to go to her when something passes by me at an incredible speed, bumping into my shoulder. I turn around to see it was John.

"Dude, what happened to her!?" He asks loudly, losing his southern accent for a second.

"Wolf attack... don't ask." I say with a sheepish smile. "Don't worry, we fixed her up, just need to wash the wound so it doesn't get infected."

"You promised to protect her."

"I did what I could John, can you really ask for more than that?"

"Yes!"

"John! It was my fault! Stop blaming him." Alice says, sticking up for me.

"I hate to break up the reunion, but we got a dying pegasus over here!" Alex yells from behind the couch with an annoyed expression.

"Right!" I quickly throw down everything other than the cure, and run over to Rainbow on the couch. "I'm here now Rainbow, I got the cure." No response. "Rainbow? Rainbow!" I grab her hoof in my free hand, squeezing it hard. I pop the cork off of the bottle, and reach up and open her mouth. I pour the liquid in, and take a step back.

It starts at the bottoms of her back hooves. The grey-ish blue fur starts to glow, turning back to a bright cyan color. A ripple effect starts to spread up her body, slowly changing her colors back to normal.

"Oh my God... its working." I say as I fall to one knee, placing a hand on it, putting the other on on Rainbow's side. The ripple washes over my hand, completely ignoring it as if it wasn't even there.

Two minutes pass by before it finishes. I place my hand on Rainbow's chest, and it starts to rise and fall at a normal pace. "Oh thank God..." I say as tears start to stream down my face. I feel a hand on my shoulder, and look up to see Alex smiling at me. I look back down to see two magenta eyes looking back at me.

"M-Matt? Where... Wait, I remember... Matt I remember!" Rainbow sits up rather quickly, pulling me into a tight embrace. "I remember you all!"

Cheers fill the room, and I hear Twilight sigh in relief, then hitting the floor, probably passing out.

"Guys..." Nobody seemed to notice the yellow pegasus across the room.

"Guys..." Everyone was still cheering for us, and I was still crying into Rainbow's side.

"GUYS!" The room goes silent, and all eyes turn to Fluttershy.

"What's up?" Alex asks as he walks over to her, though I'm just shocked she can actually yell.

"Its Trent, he's awake."