//------------------------------//
// Chasing a rainbow 
// Story: I am getting short with you. 
// by Unicarny 
//------------------------------//

Faster.  Must fly faster.

My heart raced as I sped through the sky, narrowly dodging clouds, and eliciting sharp cries from random birds.  I had to fly faster, I just HAD to.  This was much too important.

Why had I let this happen?  No! I didn't let it happen.  Not if I could just go fast enough to fix it.  I beat my wings faster than ever before, trying to get every last ounce of speed out of them.  I silently pleaded with them to speed up, focusing my every thought on just going faster.

Panting for breath, I flapped harder and harder, my wings burning from the incredible task.  I stretched my hooves out further in front of me, as if that little act would somehow make me faster.

Fast enough to catch her.

A fun-filled day, a calm evening and then an argument.  Not a small one.  Enough to make her fly from the house, trailing tears.  I will never be able to look her in the eye again without seeing the look of dejection and misery she wore as she took one last look back at me.

I could see it now, the fading rainbow contrail, zipping this way and that.  It reminded me of a foal's drawing done in crayons.

Crayons..

That had been my pet nickname for her.  She didn't like it at first, but she warmed up to it.  Considering the pet name she had for me, it was... normal.  Our relationship certainly wasn't orthodox.

We had met three months ago, purely by chance.  A shout.  A crash.  A beautiful blue angel atop me.  A shrug as if to say "It's okay, this happens all the time."

Two months of fun and adventures later, we were in love.  A month after that, big changes.  A new cloud-house.  Applying for a job transfer to Ponyville's weather team.  Asking her to move in with me.  We were the happiest couple in town.  Then this.  How could I have been so stupid?

Closer now, the colors were brightening, the trail straightening as we flew into cloud-free skies.  I  figured i was close enough.

"DASH!  RAINBOW DASH!"

From a couple dozen feet in front of me came the response, weakened by the howling wind.  "LEAVE ME ALONE!            GO AWAY!"

My flaps slowed slightly, fatigue starting to creep over me.  "DASH!  PLEASE!  STOP!"  No answer.  I started to slowly lose altitude, growing increasingly tired.  I started to panic.  

"DASH! PLEASE!  WE'LL DO IT YOUR WAY!"  I cried.  My strength gave out and I dropped.  I could do little more than lock
my wings in place to gently glide, lower and lower along with my mood.  She was gone.  I had lost her, and along with her my heart.  It was a shock to me to suddenly hear wingbeats above me.

"Do it my way, huh?"  my cyan angel flew down alongside me, a hopeful look on her face.

"Yes Dash, we can do it your way," I replied, making a rather rough landing near town square.  She steadied me with a hoof.

"Mean it?"  She pressed.

"Yes Dash, we can have Istallion food tonight.  My stomach can take it."

"WOO HOO!"