Interlude- The Night
That night they enjoyed a dinner of some canned goods they'd found in town and a few fresh apples they'd managed to find on sickly branches. They mutually agreed that noon would be the best time to head out on their venture. Rooms were chosen and good-nights were shared (save Ruby and Spark who decided to stay up and finish the last reserves of hard cider).
An hour or so of tossing and turning later, Icy Ink found herself at the door to Mac's bedroom. After some hesitation, she knocked.
“Come in.” came the gruff reply.
She pushed the door open and found her impromptu leader and most trusted friend sitting on his bed, gazing at a single flickering candle on the night stand. “Can't sleep?” she asked.
“Nope.”
“Me neither.” She crossed the room and sat next to him on the spacious mattress. “Nervous about tomorrow?”
“Eeyup.”
She laughed lightly at his responses. “I thought you and I were beyond those monosyllabic responses of yours.”
He said nothing.
Icy looked at her dangling hooves and tried to ignore the chill that seemed to infest her very being. “I'm nervous. But not for me. For the others.” Her wing stretched out unconsciously and wrapped around his great shoulders. “For you.”
He looked at her. “Icy, I...?”
“Please, let me finish.” She was still staring at the floor. She knew if she looked at him, she'd lose what little resolve she had left. “I thought the world had ended after my sister was taken. I couldn't face my parents... she was my responsibility!” She cracked a small smile. “But then I found you... or you found me, I don't know. Being with you... things just make sense again.” She turned and beamed at him. “It makes me believe we can actually win.”
“Uh... Icy?”
She realized where her wing was and quickly retracted it. “I'm sorry. I... I'll leave you alone now.” She stammered as she tried to run from the bed.
His strong grip stopped her. He turned her back and gazed into her purple eyes, trying to find the words he so desperately wanted to say. To tell her that they were going to win, that things were going to make sense again.
He found he couldn't say any of that.
So he kissed her instead.
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Back in the living room, Ruby and Thunder Spark chugged yet another mug of the hard cider reserves.
Ruby finished first and tossed her mug as hard as she could against the wall with a satisfied mock-roar. “I am all that is MARE!”
Spark finished his own drink a moment later and made to refill his mug instead of tossing it. “If I'd have known how good this stuff was, I would've come here ages ago.”He took another long gulp and let his cup simply drop to the ground. He grinned at Ruby, a prominent foam mustache above his upper lip.
This struck Ruby as hilarious and soon she was doubled over next to the couch, great gales of laughter erupting from inside her.
Spark quickly realized what the issue was and wiped the foam-stache clear. He looked back down at Ruby. “When you're quite finished...I wanted to apologize for Appleoosa.”
Her giggles finally faded and Ruby climbed back onto the couch, wiping tears from her eyes. “For what?”
“I didn't mean to offend you.” When she raised an eyebrow in confusion, he pointed at the jagged stump where her horn should have been.
She blew a drunken raspberry and waved a hoof. “I know how you are, Sparky. I know you didn't mean it.”
He glared at her. “Don't call me that.”
“Call you what?”
“Sparky.”
“Hattie calls you Sparky.”
“Hattie's off her rocker.”
“I'll drink to that.” She made to raise her mug but remembered it's location across the room.
This time they both laughed.
“Spark, why are you here?” She asked as she made to retrieve her cup.
“Figured I'd spend what might be my last night in Equestria getting drunk with a beautiful mare.”
She blushed and shook her head. “No, I mean why are you here? With us?”
He shrugged. “I had a friend I owed a favor to, simple as that.”
“Did she lose somepony?”
He shook his head. “Nah. She just wanted me to watch out for a big red friend of hers.” He refilled his mug. “Weird how he didn't mention her as one of his exploits...”
She rejoined him on the couch and let him refill her mug. “So you're coming with us tomorrow not for revenge or redemption... but just because a friend asked you to?”
He handed the mug back to her with a smile. “When somepony like Fluttershy asked you to do something, you did it.” His smile faltered. “Equestria seems a little darker without her.”
Ruby frowned as she sipped her cider. “You're a good stallion, Thunder Spark.”
He toasted her. “Cheers.”
They drank in silence a while longer before Spark stood and stretched. “That's enough for me, I suppose. Time to go to bed.”
Ruby finished her last drop and stood next to him. “Sounds like a great idea.”
He smiled at her. “Which room did you pick again?”
She shrugged. “I forgot. Damn cider.” She giggled. “Guess I'll just have to share yours.”
The normally stoic stallion found himself suddenly at a loss for words. “What was that?”
She laughed and kissed his cheek. “I'm going after the thing that murdered my entire family tomorrow with very little hope of coming back. Do you honestly think I'm going to spend what might be my last night in Equestria alone... Sparky?”
The two friends and allies wrapped their forelegs about each other for support and began the arduous task of drunkenly climbing the stairs.
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Mad Hattie heard the drunken pair come upstairs as sat in the room that had once belonged to Mac's youngest sister. The walls were papered with all manner of schematics and pictures. It seemed the smallest Apple had been hard at work trying to accomplish something when she'd been taken.
And what was with the moth-eaten cape hanging from the bedpost?
“And they call me crazy.” Hattie muttered, stretching out on the filly sized bed. She tugged the brim of her hat down over her eyes and was just settling in for a good night's rest when...
“Tomorrow's the day, eh Hattie?” A familiar voice made itself present.
Hattie groaned and stretched. “Indeed it is, Maddie.”
“Nervous?”
“A little.”
“D'you really think we'll find her? The little nutcase, that is.”
“You're not in any position to be calling anypony a nutcase, Maddie.”
“Neither are you, Hattie.”
Hattie snorted and rolled over. “It's our one chance. One doesn't lose the most precious child of the Lord of Chaos and not try to fix the mistake, do they?”
A pause. “S'pose you're right, Hattie.”
“'Course I am, Maddie.”
Another pause. “I get a sinking feeling that some ponies won't be coming out of the forest tomorrow.”
“Same here, Maddie.”
“...why d'you say it like that?”
“'Cause I hope you're one of the ones that don't come back.”
No response.
“Nothing personal, Maddie. I'd just like my head back, y'know?”
“...that hurt, Hattie.”
Hattie laughed. “You were thinkin' the same thing.”
In the ensuing silence, Hattie felt herself finally falling asleep.
The voice returned, one final time. “...I hope we all make it back, Hattie. You and me included.”
Hattie felt a pang of guilt and sadness in her heart. A single tear fell and she wiped it away. “Me too, Maddie. Me too.”
“G'night, Hattie.”
“G'night, Maddie.”
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
In the depths of the Everfree Forest, a drum-like beat began to pierce the silence of the woods. It grew louder and louder and louder...
It called to them.
Their time was running out.
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Geez, got my hopes up for finally getting this over with....
But yeah, this did merit its own bit. It's a good job illustrating the emotions and motivations of the characters and engendering sympathy, despite having only a vague idea of where they're coming from (Mac notwithstanding).
Also, FIRST
And now to sit eagerly for the final part.
What I hope is the final part. I thought this would be it but it was another chapter.
Don't get me wrong, this was a nice chapter that gave some great insight into the characters, I just want to read about the Slender one and see what the heck happens! *does an eager jig*
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I understand these characters just a little more...
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