Chapter XVIII
Morning came, and went, without so much of a twitch from the two fillies. Curled so tightly around each other, they clung together like beacons of life in a sea of pain. Nightmares plagued both girls, visions of fire and scales, of weeping and gnashing of teeth. Both ponies saw their mothers in peril, and both were unable to save her.
Without a princess of the night to guide their fears into a safe cove of slumber, nightmares ran rampant across Equestria, even for its smallest members. Fluttershy finally woke herself in the late afternoon, shivering and crying in her sleep, soaking her side of the hay with sweat. It took more than a few nudges to awaken her screaming companion. They both just sat there, looking upon the world with eyes far too old for fillies so young.
"Are you okay, Dashie?" Fluttershy ducked her head, hiding behind her mane.
"My wing hurts." Dash couldn't even move it. The pulled muscle had swelled up while she slept and Dash couldn't even open her wing without pain. "And I'm a little horse."
"You are." Ignoring the unintended joke, Fluttershy showed nothing but concern. "You were screaming in your sleep."
"I was having a nightmare." admitted Dash quietly. "I was dreaming of my mommy."
"It'll be okay." Fluttershy wrapped her in an embrace.
"What about you?" asked Dash, pushing her away. "You're drenched!"
"I had a nightmare too..." Fluttershy looked away sadly.
"Well we've got to get you cleaned up. Help me look around. Maybe we can find a raincloud for you to shower off with or something."
"I don't think they use clouds down here." Fluttershy stood, walking around the cottage, shivering all the while.
"Well why the hay not? It's sure to be more sanit--saniter-- cleaner than anything these ponies have lying around."
"I don't see anything but old crates."
"There's got to be something!" Dash called from the second floor.
For the first time Fluttershy got a good look at the inside of the former house. While still musty and dark, the high sun outside let in enough rays through the slats to see by. Obviously abandoned for some time, the cottage had once been a wonderful home, filled with love and family. Faded green and red paint began to peel from the walls, tacky to the touch. Several apple motifs matched the abandoned broken crates. A fireplace stood in one corner, hastily bricked up. Horrible scratching sounds came from behind the fabricated wall, no doubt equine eating creatures with claws and sharp teeth just waiting to gobble up a tasty pastel pony.
Fluttershy backed away quickly, tripping over another crate. She fell on her back, wings and legs sprawled. She was sweating again. She was cold, even in the close confines of the sealed home. She had to find Dashie and get out of here before even more trouble found them.
Scrambling to her feet, she bonked her head on a hat rack by the door, old moth eaten garments falling everywhere. Suddenly Fluttershy could see nothing but red and white. Scuttling backwards with all her might, Fluttershy ran into the fireplace again. Every terrible, unimaginable monstrosity living in the chimney scampered at once. Fluttershy let out a tiny, high-pitched scream.
"I didn't find anything, Fluttershy." Dash descended the stairs. "What did you--?"
Fluttershy plowed into her friend. "Get it off! Getitoffgetitoffgetitoff!"
"Okay, alright, I got it. OUCH! Get off my wing, feather brain!" Dash calmed her friend down, pulling the bonnet off her head. "What is it?"
"It's a hat. I think."
"Why would any pony wear a hat? They get in the way of flying." Dash sniffed the head garment cautiously.
"Oh they are very fashionable. All the ladies in Manehattan wear them."
"Yeah, but do they fly?"
"...No."
"See? Who cares?"
Rainbow Dash tossed the bonnet aside. Fluttershy examined it carefully. It had been well worn, smelling of dirt and sun and age. Some pony had ether loved it very much or used it every day. Perhaps both. It wasn't fashionable like the hats Fluttershy knew of, but rather a hard working garment designed only to keep the sun out of the eyes. Peeling back the lining Fluttershy found the initials embroidered there. G. S.
"I can't find anything, Shy." Dash pawed at the wood by the wall. "Let's take a look outside. Maybe we can wash up in that moat?"
"Okay."
Fluttershy set the bonnet down. She wasn't looking forward to getting stuck in the window again, but she trusted Dashie. Worming their way into the yard once more, the same thing happened. The two little girls, tired are sore, were much less agile on the exit than their unceremonious entrance had been. Fluttershy managed to get herself stuck twice, tangling her hind legs in the dusty green curtains. Dash slid out just fine but managed to bump her hurt wing on the way. Fluttershy had to hug her while her friend cried, just a little.
Outside they just stood around for a bit, watching. The sun was high but certainly on its way down. Had they really slept all day? Cloudsdale, so close that morning, was no where to be seen. Any hope of rescue they may have had left with the shifting winds.
Soon hunger got the better of them and they went out into the garden to see what was to be seen. It was a large garden, only half cultivated, with bushes as big as summer-houses, of Marshal Niel roses, lime and orange trees, clumps of bamboo, and thickets of delicious high grass.
Dash was hesitant at first, chewing lightly but keeping a firm eye out for danger. Her experiences last night would not soon be forgotten, and with the Everfree Forest so close, she was taking no chances. Besides, the grass down here tasted funny. Swampy, crunchy, too much chlorophyll.
Fluttershy couldn't disagree more. Or if she could she didn't care to. Head down, she was face first in the fresh green food, chewing it as fast as she could swallow the last bite. Pegasi needed more energy than Unicorns or Earth Ponies, and the fillies hadn't eaten in two days. On top of which, Fluttershy was a growing girl. Even her own body wouldn't leave her alone, mocking her with constant hunger as often as growing pains.
All too soon Dash forgot the troubles at her back, focusing her attention on her stomach. Between the two of them they'd managed to clear most of the shorter, sweeter grass around the run down cottage. That left only the tough, dead stalks and neither of them was that hungry. Not yet anyways.
"Are you full?" asked Dash, licking her teeth.
"No..." Fluttershy admitted slowly. She didn't like to eat in public, afraid other ponies might call her a pig. So she stayed hungry most of the time.
"Me neither. My mommy says I've got a hollow leg. Whatever that means."
"Me too." Fluttershy giggled, covering her mouth.
"How are you feeling? Are you still cold?"
"A little. I feel better though."
"Come on, let's check out the water." Dash headed for the small stream.
"I don't smell that bad, do I?"
"No. Well, maybe. You were pretty ripe when you were sweaty, but I was more concerned about you catching a cold. Or pneumonia..." Dash trailed off, remembering the past Hearth's Warming Eve at home with Firefly. "All I know is that I smell worse than the time I got into a fight in the trash. Mommy made me take two baths."
"I like baths." Fluttershy smiled.
"Well I hate them. I'd rather stand under a rain shower and get clean that way. Baths make my hooves pruney and get my feathers soaked. Then you have to preen. I hate preening. You have to sit there for hours as your mother preens your wings, getting them back in shape--"
Dash turned around. She'd stopped hearing the gentle clop clop back and to her right where Fluttershy usually stayed. That meant the yellow and pink pony had stopped again. This meant Dash had gone and stuck her hoof in her mouth. Again.
Sure enough, Fluttershy was just standing there, aqua eyes quivering with moisture. She was somewhere in the past. At least this time it didn't seem too painful. Dash approached slowly, looking up into her friend's face.
"Fluttershy?"
"It's okay." she sighed. "I was just remembering."
"About what?" Dash hated hurting her friend. She hated her own big mouth so much sometimes.
"My mother used to preen my wings. She'd comb my mane and we'd groom each other and just talk about anything and everything."
"I'm sorry." Dash shut her eyes tight, fighting her own feelings.
"It's okay, Dashie." Fluttershy leaned forward, placing her forehead on her friend's. "It's a happy sad memory. I'm so sad that she's gone, but I'm grateful for the time we had together."
"You wanna talk about it?"
"...No." the faint smile on her lips seemed to fade away.
"I liked it when you used to brush my mane." Dash started walking again.
"I still wish you hadn't thrown your mother's brush away." Fluttershy followed. Dash's ear twitched, unsaid words and emotions desperately trying to break through. Finally she gave up. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"No." Dash didn't even hesitate.
The moat, such as it was, had dried since the owners moved out. Left to ruin in its natural state, every heavy rain brought trash flowing down the little creek. Currently it was in a state of duress, mud thick enough to hold a pony tight, but nowhere near enough brown water to get clean in. The stink alone would have kept the two young mares out. This was a place for frogs, snakes, flies and mosquitoes; it was not a place to bathe in. The high reeds and pussywillows kept them hidden from the tiny dirt road. Not that any pony would be passing by so far from the edge of town.
"I am not washing in that." Dash trotted off.
"But its water." squeaked Fluttershy, unsure if she should stay and risk it or follow Dash's example and leave the putrid water behind.
"It's the color of manure!" Hollered Dash.
"Where are you going?" Fluttershy chased after her.
"I smell fresh water somewhere. There's got to be something else we can-- Hey, what's this?"
They'd found a stone wall, about two feet tall, circling around to meet itself. Just a round stone wall, set off by itself away from the house. Some wooden beams had stood beside it in the past, but those had rotted away or been removed a lot time ago. Now there were only slats across the top of the wall. Just like the house it had been boarded up.
"I don't know." Fluttershy wasn't as interested in the stones as Dash was.
"Who would build such a little wall in a circle and then just board it up?"
"Maybe they locked up when they moved out?" offered Fluttershy.
"Maybe." Dash agreed, hopping on top of the slats.
"Um, Dashie? I don't think that's a terribly good idea.
"Relax, will ya?" Dash began hopping up and down. "I'm a Pegasi; light as a feather. What's the worst that can happen?"
The boards were old. They were not made for bouncing upon, and Dash was heavier than she realized. They snapped, and without her wing Dash went tumbling down to the ground. Correction: further down than the ground. Much further down.
She landed in the water at the bottom of the well, sinking deep before she even realized she was wet. Panic began to tug at her before she remembered her swimming lessons. Pools were one thing, but this was dangerous. Dog paddling for her life, her head broke the surface with a gasp.
"You okay, Rainbow Dash?" Fluttershy called, peering over the edge. How had she gotten so high up?
"I found the water!" coughed Rainbow Dash.
"Now we know what the wall was for."
"Yeah, great. Get me out of here, will ya?"
"I'll go find a rope."
"Fluttershy, you're a Pegasus pony. Just fly down here and pick me up."
Fluttershy bit her lip. "I don't know if that's a good idea, Dash. I almost failed vertical flying, remember? How about I go get a rope?"
"Fluttershy!" snapped Dash. "I can't touch the bottom. You can fly; just come get me!"
"Okay..."
Fluttershy wasn't sure about this at all. Bravely she swallowed and began flap her wings, hovering above the entrance to the well, and her friend so very far below. With as much courage as she could muster, she gently let air from beneath her wings, slipping lower and lower into the vertical shaft. Pegasi were not meant to fly straight up and down, and Fluttershy was far from the strongest flyer. To fly straight up carrying passengers? Fluttershy doubted even Dash could do it, even if she were flying at supersonic, light spectrum-shattering speed.
Hovering just above the water line, Dash reached up, grabbing Fluttershy's tail. Fluttershy squealed. "Not the tail!"
"Sorry!" Dash strained, reaching for an extended hoof.
For a moment Fluttershy thought they might make it. She pulled Dash partly out of the water, holding her close. They started to fly up, water pouring off her friend. Then they started to go down. As her pink tail dipped further, becoming water logged, Fluttershy pumped harder, over working herself. Her wings began to give out while their wet weight pulled them down.
"Fluttershy!" whined Dash. She didn't want to get wet again.
"I'm trying!" sobbed Fluttershy.
She couldn't do it. In the end Fluttershy flapped till her wings started kicking up water. Then she gave up and started swimming. Stuck at the bottom of a hundred foot well, with their overhead daylight rapidly fading, they paddled just to keep their heads above the water. Fluttershy couldn't take all the blame for this one, she knew. It hasn't been her mistake to fall in or her feather brained idea to fly down. No, they were stuck and for once Dash was to blame. And she apparently knew it too.
"Well," Sulked Rainbow Dash, bobbing along. "Here we are."
"I told you I should have gotten a rope."