Rarity's eyes flared through the crowd as she backed away as fast as she could. But then she heard something, something that actually made things worse, despite being a relief. It was Pinkie! "No! Lemme go, you big meanies!" her friend cried out. Rarity turned to the scene, and watched helplessly as Pinkie was dragged to the fore of the crowd by two bulky guards. They tossed her in front of Luna, who was hovering to the ground.
The black mare landed, and closely inspected Pinkie, who was cowering close to the ground. Rarity didn't want to watch, but her eyes were glued, horror for her friend encompassing her. "Yes," Nightmare Moon hissed, her words stinging Rarity's core, "You are one of them. Tell me little pink one, where are the rest?" She lowered her head down to Pinkie.
"I-I don't understand," she whimpered, her hair deflating again.
Rarity watched her friend being harassed by the princess. "Where are you other little friends?!" The Princess stammered.
"I...I," she said, terrified. Rarity bit her lip, very uncomfortable letting this happened.
From behind her, she felt a hoof on her, and she jumped. "Oh my, I'm sorry Rarity," Fluttershy blushed.
She sighed in relief. "Ah, Fluttershy, I'm so glad to see you're alright," Rarity said sincerely.
"Rarity what's happening?" Fluttershy squeaked.
She opened her lips to suggest something, but was cut off by Luna demanding answers. "I don't know," she finally told her scared friend. "But I think we need to go, sweetie." The rocking motion she swayed showed how her nerves were breaking.
Fluttershy, nervous as well, looked back at Pinkie. "We can't just leave her..." she bit her lip.
"I don't want to either, but I really must implore you to just come along," Rarity pleaded as she broke into a scared sweat.
"But-"
Rarity harshly cut her off. "Fluttershy, we are leaving," she commanded. Fluttershy just squeaked and backed down. She took the lead, and Fluttershy, despite her fears for Pinkie, followed. They pushed their way through an unrelenting crowd of ever gathering ponies, bashing and apologizing over and over again.
"That was absolutely dreadful," Rarity remarked when she was finally spat from the crowd.
Fluttershy was flung out behind her onto her face. Rarity helped her up the best she could, and quickly she galloped off. "Come, quickly dear!" she said harshly behind her shoulder to the struggling Fluttershy. She could see a small cut on the yellow pony's face, but surely that wouldn't slow her. Rarity turned back to the street ahead, and quickly receded into Sugarcube Corner. She burst quickly through the doors, tripping and crashing into a row of tables.
Fluttershy swooped in behind her, and landed next to the wreck. "Oh my gosh!" she quietly exclaimed. She bent down and nuzzled Rarity, who gladly took the guesture.
"That hurt," she coughed. But, a lady does not lay down when she can not! She stood to her hooves, stumbling for a second, no more. Fluttershy helped her still, and she leaned on her friend for comfort more than anything. She was honestly terrified at the recent happenings, and now that Pinkie was arrested, the comfort of a good friend was a merciful blessing from Celestia herself.
"Are you alright?" Fluttershy gave her friend a serious look. Rarity returned a small, grim smile.
"Of course," She said in a rough voice. She nudged Fluttershy under her chin. "Thank you though."
"Oh, um, it's no problem," Fluttershy blushed, fear still on her face. Rarity looked away. "What do we do now?"
"I'm not sure," Rarity admitted. "But we surely can't do a thing until those guards leave, or we can get out of here without being seen."
Fluttershy winced. "What's happening? I'm...scared." She was whispering now.
Her bashful pony friend snuggled up to Rarity. "Let's just think for a second," She said, returning the much needed embrace. "But not here. Where are the cakes?" She asked nopony.
"We're right here dear," Mrs. Cake came out of the kitchen.
Rarity sighed in brief relief. "Ah Mrs. Cake, I know it would be such an imposition to ask, but would you mind if Fluttershy and I rested upstairs for a while?"
Mrs. Cake gave them a strange look. "Well of course you can, sweetie," she said. But she continued, to Rarity's annoyed uncomforted. "Um, If ya don't mind me askin, where's Pinkie? Wasn't she with ya?" The look on her face showed that she was growing nervous.
"Oh, she, uh, had to go do something with, um, somepony," Rarity gracefully lied. She put on a big smile, and awkwardly glanced around the room.
Fluttershy got next to her. "Rarity-" she was cut off when Rarity gave her a slight kick in the plot. Her face burned crimson, though she hushed and looked away.
Mrs. Cake pulled her bottom lip down in an odd facial expression. "Yes, thank you for the rooms, we really ought to get up there."
"Of course," the baker nodded. "It was just...well, I don't know what to make of the guards. And then you crashed in here I see... I'm nervous about that candybrain."
"I'm sure she's in... good hooves..." Rarity chocked.
Mrs. Cake sighed, and let her shoulders slump. "Well, if you think so..."
Rarity kicked Fluttershy again. The frustrated pegasus blushed and looked up. "Um, yep. She's good."
With a smile, Rarity wrapped a foreleg over her friends shoulder, and gave her a tug. "We really need to rest for a bit, sorry," she said.
"Oh, it's okay," Mrs. Cakes said. She seemed to know something was wrong. Rarity, to avoid any more awkward moments, smiled a huge, nervous smile, and darted up the stairs, Fluttershy forcefully following her. She kept up - probably because Rarity was using her magic to tug on her ear - and they both curved into Pinkie's room, the door slamming itself behind them.
More harshly than she had wanted to, Rarity slung Fluttershy onto Pinkie's bed. She tripped over herself, and the pegasus slammed into the wall. "Ow..." she muttered.
"I'm terribly sorry dear!" Rarity exclaimed, "I just...I'm so stressed!"
"It's..." she coughed. "Alright."
Rarity sighed, and sat on Pinkies bed, next to her fumbling friend. "It's just...Well actually, that's it. It's just us now."
"What do you mean?" Fluttershy asked, pushing herself to her hooves.
Rarity sighed. "That's obvious, dear. Rainbow and Applejack are in the hospital... Poor Pinkie was just arrested by Luna, and Twilight is being hunted by the law." Rarity's eyes shot open wide. "Fluttershy, do you think Applejack is being hunted as well? What if they get to her in the hospital?"
Fluttershy shuddered. "I-I don't know. But we can't do anything about them, c-can we?" she asked.
Rarity looked at her friend, a very serious look to reflect her tone. "I think that if we can move her, we should. Applejack, I mean," she gulped.
"What? Where?" Fluttershy demanded.
Rarity thought for a moment, her chin resting on her hoof. "We could bring her to... eck, Zecora's place," she said, gagging at the thought.
"That's pretty far away," Fluttershy commented.
Rarity shook her head. "Then... I don't know! But I do know that if we leave her there, she'll be found."
"Well, Rarity," Fluttershy said quietly, "How do we know that they're looking for her too?"
"Darling, didn't you hear Luna? She yelled 'one of them'," Rarity imitated the intimidating princess. "I have no doubt in my mind that she wants us all. This is undoubtedly Twilights fault. If that hermit pony would come out already!"
"Rarity, please," Fluttershy cooed, trying to calm her increasingly angry friend down.
Luckily, the coddling worked. Rarity took in a deep breath, and sank down. "You understand?" she sighed. Fluttershy nodded. "Good. We need to get going as soon as we can. Oh, but not now... the guards are looking for us, surely. Mmmm, but we can't wait for too long, or we might not get a chance..." She began shaking.
"Rarity, the guards just got here. Maybe they don't know," Fluttershy suggested in a sweet voice.
The element of generosity bit her lip. "But...even despite her situation, Pinkie is quite the blabbermouth..."
Fluttershy looked down; this was, unfortunately, true. "Then...We really do have to move Applejack." She got a nod from Rarity. "But when, and to where?" she asked, back to square one.
Rarity thought for a moment. "Aha!" she said, her face lightening form a moment. "We could, we should take her to your cottage!"
"M-My cottage?" Fluttershy repeated. "But Rarity, won't they be looking for me there?"
Rarity was smiling now. "Of course they will! But, when they leave, we can sneak in, and hide in your attic! It's not perfect, but I know how clean you keep your place, so it ought to be fine!" Rarity exclaimed, proud of her reasoning. "And it's next to the forest, so we can run if we absolutely have to."
"I don't think-"
"Fluttershy dear, we haven't much time, and I don't feel like getting arrested," She said flatly.
Fluttershy seemed to be finding any reason to protest. "But what about Rainbow Dash?" she asked. "We can't just leave her there. And my cottage is too far away."
"Listen dear, Rainbow will have to stay in the hospital. But, we can probably get Applejack out, and that'll have to do," she bitterly explained. There was a nervous air about her, and it was only growing.
"But-"
"We're leaving in an hour, and that's final!" she stunted Fluttershy. The pegasus blushed and looked away, scolded. "I'm sorry dear, but we both know that Applejack is in danger. You'd go to the Everfree forest to save one of your animal friends, but won't go to the hospital to save your close, pony friend?"
"I-I never said that," she said in her timid defense.
"I know darling, I'm just running on my last nerve. I don't mean to be so...brutish," she sighed.
Fluttershy mimicked her sigh. "It's okay. When are we leaving again?" she asked.
"In about an hour. We'll need to think up a plan. How are we getting her out?" she asked, progress stunted.
"W-Well Twilight taught you the teleporting spell, right?" Fluttershy asked.
Rarity nodded. "Yes, but I don't know if it'll work on three ponies. It hardly works for me," she explained.
"I can carry Applejack down, if there's a window, that is," the pegasus said shyly.
Rarity's face lit up. "That's a great idea!"
"Oh, really?" Fluttershy asked, delighted that Rarity thought as such.
"Of course! It's perfect. Well, almost, but it'll have to do," she said. Fluttershy just smiled and nodded, letting silence befall the room. Now that the plan was laid out, they had nothing to do but wait.
They could talk, but Rarity found that she just wasn't in the mood. From the looks of the blank Fluttershy, neither was she. So the unicorn sighed, and reclined on Pinkie's soft bed, wondering what fate she had left her friend to. She was ashamed of herself; how uncouth to let her friend be dragged away in such a barbaric manner. What was Luna doing, anyways? And what sort of trouble had Twilight gotten herself into now?
Fluttershy fell back beside her with a small thud. Rarity hardly paid any mind as she stared up at Pinkie's clock. The odd picture of the pink pony pointing the time sent a strange chill up her spine. But, then again, Pinkie tended to have that affect. Even still, she could see that thirty minutes was a minute amount of time, passing in what felt like seconds.
It helped, of course, that Rarity's thoughts were abuzz. She couldn't help but wonder if it had been right to leave Pinkie in the hopes of solving this. Perhaps she should've stayed. At least then Pinkie wouldn't be alone in whatever dungeon she was taken to. The troubled unicorn sighed, feeling almost like a monster. This was going to turn out to be a real test for her, she could tell.
"Fluttershy, dear," she said nervously. "Do you think we should have helped Pinkie?"
Fluttershy looked over to her. "I-I don't know what we should've done. Everything happened so fast."
"Yes, it did." She paused to let out a deep breath. "But I can't help but wonder if we did the right thing. I mean, when I think about it, we just traded one friend for another. Pinkie for Applejack." It was strange, now that she thought about it. At least Pinkie combed her mane every once and a while. She managed a small chuckle.
Fluttershy laid back again. "I...I don't want to think about it."
"Me either, dear," she agreed. "But, I have a new question for you. Why was Princess Luna there? And why was she Nightmare Moon? I'm simply saying that because it's midday. It makes no sense."
"Oh, you're right," Fluttershy insisted. "Strange. None of this makes any sense."
"Indeed. I cannot possibly see how any of this is related," she huffed.
Fluttershy just sighed in silent resolve, and the two ponies ended their conversation there. But, alas, the tension did not.
***
"I need to see her," Rarity insisted to the volunteer whom she had met earlier today.
"I'm sorry," the blue pony said, "But you can't, and that's that."
Rarity looked offended by the snarky attitude. "Don't you talk to me like that! I am a lady, and will be treated as such."
The volunteer shot an annoyed stare. "Well look lady, I don't care. You aren't getting in till tomorrow, and that's that."
"Um, Rarity," Fluttershy said quietly from behind.
She shooed her friend. "Not now dear. You," she said, turning back to the receptionist, "don't understand how important this is."
"Rarity, this is-"
"Fluttershy, please," she hushed her. "Now let us in.
"Rarity look!" the pegasus finally grabbed her attention with the harsh tone and a kick in the side.
Coughing, Rarity turned around, enraged. "Fluttershy, I am trying to- oh my," she silenced herself when she noticed the two guards that were approaching the door.
Quickly, she turned back to the receptionist, who was obviously still annoyed. Rarity didn't want to do this...but she didn't really have a choice. "I'll give you one-hundred bits from my good name to let us in." She cringed at losing her well earned money. Element of Generosity, yes, but she was still a savvy business pony, and had to make a living.
The look of the receptionist quickly changed, however. "Hmmm," she said, glinting a smile that Rarity had seen on many customers face's before.
She slumped and sighed. "Fine, one-hundred fifty, just please hurry," she said, hopping from one leg to another in nervousness. The receptionist still had that look in her eyes, though. "Ugh, fine, two-hundred, just please!" she pushed.
"Alright. I'll let you in," she smiled, pleased. She got from behind her desk, and led the two sweating ponies to the entrance of the main hospital. "Just be respectful of silence. A lot of ponies are trying to rest," she warned. "You're friend is in room four-G."
She stood by as they trotted past. "Oh," Rarity said, turning back around. She was about to make an important move that she could feel in the pit of her coin purse. "And eighty more bits to keep the guards busy."
The smile on the receptionist grew, and she eagerly nodded her head. With a very sincere, if not annoyed thank you, Rarity turned to face Fluttershy.
"That was a lot of money," the pegasus said.
"I know dear, but it's for the best of things," Rarity explained as she galloped past, her beautifully styled mane flowing free behind her.
Looking back, she saw that Fluttershy was using her wings to keep up. She turned up a flight of stairs, whirling past a few doctors. She could hear her follower apologizing, but she simply had no time for it. Left, up more stairs she galloped paste nurses and doctors alike, all of which harshly telling her to quit running.
Rarity, thanks to her ignorance of the doctors warnings, was on floor four in no time. She burst through a pair of metal swinging doors, and hooked left down a white, utilitarian hall. It was a bright, awful color, but Rarity pushed fashion to the back of her mind, and ran on.
"Four C, four D, four E, F, G! Aha!" she excalimed. At Applejack's door, she stopped and panted. Her mane was only messed up a bit, but she was sweating profoundly. She hadn't stopped for a breather though; she was simply waiting for Fluttershy, and the mob of angry doctors that were probably following her.
Around the same corner, the pegasus came out, and sprinted the last stretch. "Come on darling, we don't have a moment to spare!" she told her friend, who was panting.
"I... I'm coming," she huffed for air.
Hoof after hoof, the sweating pegasus neared Rarity. But she did not have the luxury of a break, as Rarity had, for right when she was at the door, the fashion pony threw it open with magic. Bucking was too... uncivil.
"Applejack, we're here to get you- ah! Ewww..." she sneered at the sight. Applejack was laying on a hospital bed, sleeping soundly, but her body had seen better days. All four of her legs were bandaged and casted, and her stomach held a very deep red bandage. Her mane was rainbow now, but her tail was gone completely, a small stitch mark on her plot. But the part that made Rarity heave was the obvious lack of bladder control the pony had.
"Ahem," she said, trying to regain her poise as best she could. "Applejack, er, sweetie, wake up."
Slowly, the pony came to. "Wha... what're..." her early morning ramblings were that of anypony who had just woken up. Quickly, she grew aware. "Oh, Rarity, Fluttershy..." she smiled, red as the apples she farmed. "I, uh, the mess..." she looked away, blushing deep and hard.
"Oh, no, it's okay Applejack," Fluttershy blushed harder, looking up from the display. Applejack's eyes were normal, thankfully, so that was where she and Rarity both were focusing their attention.
"She's right," Rarity assured the still cherry Applejack. "Besides, we have more to worry about than something small like this."
"Y'all look worn out," the country pony observed. "What's th' matter?"
"There are guards coming for you," Fluttershy said quietly.
Rarity batted her eye. "Fluttershy, we we're going to be more subtle about this, remember? We talked about it on the way here," she sighed. Fluttershy blushed timidly, but seemed to hold her ground. "But, yes, Fluttershy is right. We need to get you out of here."
Applejack looked around the ordinary hospital room, then back at her friends. "I ain't goin nowhere. I can't! Look at me, gals. I ain't magical," she said. "Now whatever them guards want, I'm sure it ain't too bad. Princess Celestia likes us."
"That's just it," Rarity barked, her rather regal tone fading. "These are Luna's guards. And there's something wrong with Twilight. Look, we can explain later, but right now, we just need to go." She got next to Applejack, between her and the window.
"I told ya, I ain't-"
"Well it's not like you're in any position to oppose. In simpler words, you thick skulled brute, deal with it." She turned to Fluttershy, and before there was any room for protest at all, said," Take her out the window please. I'll meet you two outside."
Fluttershy nodded, giving Rarity the okay to charge her horn. As she flashed out in a bright, brilliant light blue light, focusing deeply on her destination. Through a small, tunnel like channel of magic, she was thrust out onto the ground below.
She was spat out, and tumbled on the ground feebly. Dirt got onto her sweat soaked mane, annoying her to great lengths as she picked herself back up. There was nothing worse than that awful teleportation spell. Well...except for being hunted by royal guards who are trying to break into the public library. Maybe.
On her hooves, she looked up at the fourth story window, seeing that it had already been propped open. Rarity hoped Fluttershy could pull this off; she never was a strong flyer. A pang of unease rang up her spine as the wings of the yellow pegasus flapped out of the window. "Careful," she called up to them.
She wasn't sure if Fluttershy had heard as the pegasus slipped out from the window, and hovered in the air with Applejack. They were descending rather quickly - something Rarity had been afraid of - but were hopefully going at a slow enough pace to stop on time. As the two fell, she could hear Fluttershy muttering apologies and regrets. She sighed with a blunt look. There wasn't time for this!
Soon enough, they were on the ground. Fluttershy laid Applejack on the grass that had tripped Rarity, being especially careful not to jostle her. "Glad to see this went smoothly," she told them, half sincere, half sarcastic. "Now let's get moving-"
"Oh no Rarity, we can't move too fast. Applejack will-"
Fluttershy was cut off this time. "I want an explanation before I go anywhere, and if y'all start havin a hissy fit, things aren't gonna be pretty," the incapacitated pony arrogantly said. Well, it was arrogant to Rarity.
"Oh you just hush, you're going where we take you, when we take you there," she snapped. She was in no mood to put up with false threats. Still, Fluttershy was right.
"What do you suggest we do?" she asked the pegasus.
"Ah suggest y'all take me back," Applejack but in.
Rarity was through with her mouth. "Applejack, honey, I've used my magic to bind fabric together, and I won't hesitated to do it to your lips if you don't quit." The disgruntled pony snorted, but stayed silent. "Now," she addressed Fluttershy. "Your cottage is on the other side of town. We have to move her as fast as we can, so, since you've dealt with this before, what do you think we should do?"
"I, um oh dear," she blushed. "I've never handled a pony before. I usually work with small creatures."
"Then it's agreed," Rarity filled her mouth, "We'll just drag her."
"Hey!" Applejack protested loudly.
Rarity shot her an untamed look. "I'm in no mood," she snapped.
"We could get a wagon," Fluttershy suggested, hoping to break the tension.
Rarity nodded. "But from where? And besides, how would we get through the town?" she asked.
Fluttershy thought for a second. "We can go around. My cottage is on the outside of Ponyville, so we can get there with no problem," she smiled, proud.
"Brilliant," Rarity agreed. "But that still leaves the problem of a wagon."
"We could just carry her," Fluttershy said, shrugging.
Applejack chimed in frantically. "Hey gals, where's my tail?"
Rarity sighed. "Alright, fine, just...let's go. Load her up," she snorted, feeling like a mule.
It had taken hours - literally - to drag Applejack to Fluttershy's cottage, and another hour or so to shove her up to the attic. The outside of Ponyville was rather easy to get through; there was practically nopony around to question why they had a weak, tailless mare on their backs as they walked. They got strange glances from the rare pegasus, and Rarity blushed hard more than once, but now they were here, the load off their backs.
In Flutterhshy's attic, Rarity stared down, just as Applejack and Fluttershy, at the salad before them. It was fresh, and artisan made; yes, this timid pegasus was quite the cook. And, unlike the previous night, Rarity and Fluttershy were devouring it, leaving little left to stare at.
Applejack was taking her time, however, constantly looking out the attic window as the sun lowered between the mountains. "Ah just don't understand what was so important," she sighed, leaning to take another bite from her salad. She was resting on an old cot, the salad next to her, directly under the window.
"What is there not to understand?" Rarity asked, calming down now that there was food in her. She was sitting in an old chair of Fluttershy's, while Fluttershy herself took a pile of laid out blankets. "We told you everything."
"Yeah, but y'all didn't explain it. All I know is that there are guards comin after us, and that Luna is huntin Twi. Why?" the resting pony asked.
"Eww..." Rarity remarked. "I... think I'm done with my salad." She pushed the bowl back away from her.
"Why?" Fluttershy worriedly asked. "Was there something wrong with... oh my..."
"Wha's wrong?" Applejack asked, confusion on her face as the two ponies looked at her with the same, uncomfortable expression. They weren't looking in her eyes though. "Oh...Oh my goodness, Ah'm so sorry, I-I can't control it..."
"No, no, it's...alright," Fluttershy gave an uncomfortable smile. "I have a towel around here somewhere... ah, here." She pulled out a dusty looking towel, and shook it down to kick off any spiders or dusts.
She brought it over to Applejack and said," Rarity, could you, um, please come lift up Applejack."
Rarity shuddered and gagged, but came to Applejack nonetheless. Slipping her hooves under her lower back, she gently lifted her friend while managing to hold her salad down. Fluttershy slipped the towel under her carefully, and Rarity lowered her back down. Even in the light of the setting sun, Applejack's deep blush was visible. "Ah'm so sorry girls. I really didn't mean to," she said quietly.
"It's... quite alright, dear," Rarity said, inspecting her hooves. They seemed clean...
"So, uh," Applejack shifted the scene, "W-What about Twi? What's up with her?"
Fluttershy smiled weakly and went with the change. "We don't know. We went to see her today, and that's when Princess Luna showed up with the guards, and arrested Pinkie-"
"Whoa nelly, she arrested Pinkie?" She was taken aback. "I see why y'all came for me."
"Yes, and there were guards coming in for you and Rainbow Dash when we were at the hospital," Fluttershy added. Applejack turned and pondered this. "Rarity paid a total of two-hundred and eighty bits to get to you."
"Wow," Applejack said, rather shocked. "Rarity... I, uh, thank y'all very much. You're very kind."
"It was, ugh, no problem," she murmured as she continued to inspect her hooves. Applejack blushed again, and the trio sat in silence for a little while.
Soon, the sun was fading over the horizon. "So, erm," Applejack mustered up her voice, "I know things are gettin bad, but do y'all know just how bad they are?"
Both Rarity and Fluttershy opened their mouths to speak, but a flash of light from Fluttershy's attic window stole their voices. Each one of them, even Rarity, who was still looking over her hooves, stopped what they were doing to see what could possibly be happening now.
Outside the window was their answer.
"Oh sweet Celestia, what is this?" Rarity took in the sight.
Out the window, in the dead center of Ponyville, a huge, bright purple light shot up in a terribly awe-striking beam, the tip of it looking like the shattered crystals Rarity sometimes worked with. It slowly crept to the sky, inching closer and closer to the clouds. The three of them just stared speechless.
As the tip hit the cloud covers, it stopped, and began glowing a huge, glossy violet that grew intense within seconds. "You wanted to know just how bad things were?" Rarity asked the pony behind her as the light swelled. "This bad."
The light exploded, expelling all sunlight and darkness, clearing the skies of both clouds and color. A purple shockwave thundered through the area, whipping the trees and startling the animals, big and small. All color evaporated from the sky, fading to the violet that went out with the shock, and the air held that of the feeling of a very familiar time of day.
Twilight.