Treasure Trove

by HeatWave

Chapter 4

Focus.

She struggled to remain motionless, her eyes closed in intense concentration.

Focus… you can do this!

She tried not to think about the empty air before her, tried not to think about what the history books said. After all, she'd already made history… twice.

She felt a grin begin to form on her face and attempted to suppress it, but failed. She'd made those ponies eat their words, she wasn't about to let what they said stop her anymore. She knew this was possible, and she knew if anyone could pull it off, it would be her.

Alright, let's do this!

With a final breath she let herself go, allowing gravity to take hold and pull her earthward. Her free fall lasted only a moment before she quickly regained control. Diving into the troposphere, her wings began to beat, slowly, almost leisurely at first, then faster and faster as she added her own power to gravity's pull. It wasn't long before the broke through the cloud cover and saw the lake stretch out below her.

But speed wasn't her ultimate goal here, though it certainly helped. Still, she concentrated on collecting the wind, using her wings to grip the very air around her and pull it down as she dropped. She would need it in a moment, need the current that would come with it.

Still she descended. Closer—closer to the smooth surface of the water below—as close as she could possibly manage. To some it might have already appeared too late, but she was not some. She was better than some. She was better than all!

She was the best.

She waited until she felt she could wait no more then promptly shifted her wings, angling them so that her rapid descent suddenly became a flight parallel to the lake's surface. She fanned her wings out, trying desperately to maintain her speed even with the increased drag and the weight of the current following in her wake.

Skimming the lake's surface she shifted her wings again, causing her long, straight flight path to become a circular course. Once she had the pattern down, she began to close that circle. This was the easy part. She'd had plenty of practice doing this and that practice was paying off. The circle became tighter and tighter, until a vortex began to form.

Once she felt the winds gain strength she urged them onward, closing up her wings just a bit so she could help push them along. The vortex grew until, with her help, it became a miniature tornado, which eagerly began to suck up water from the lake's surface. She let it; encouraging it to flow into the air until it became saturated with moisture.

She had to be careful here. If she didn't collect enough moisture she wouldn't be able to finish what she'd started. On the other hoof, if she gathered too much it would prove very dangerous. She tried not to think about what would happen then—willing herself through the process despite her fears.

As soon as she was satisfied that she had what she needed she launched herself skyward in a dizzying spiral, bringing her controlled typhoon with her. Now was the hard part. It was time to put her training to the test. A look of stalwart determination crossed her face.

This time… This time she would succeed!

***

Fluttershy's frustration was starting to mount… just a teeny bit. She had been standing here for nearly fifteen minutes now, without even a hint of an answer, and she was beginning to wonder if she should be more upset or worried. She decided to worry—she didn't like being upset. She'd try once more… or maybe twice. No, better make it three times at least, in case no one heard the first two.

Gingerly she tapped on the door of Ponyville's fashion center, the Carousel Boutique. "Um… Rarity?" she called softly. "It's me. Fluttershy. You… you wanted to see me?"

"Hi Fluttershy!"

With a startled squeal the pegasus whirled around, only to come face to face with one of the most precious ponies in Ponyville.

"Oh! Sweetie Belle!" she said, releasing a sigh of relief. "Please don't sneak up on me like that."

"I'm sorry, Fluttershy," the unicorn filly apologized quickly, "I was just coming over to visit my sister, but when I saw you I thought I'd say 'hi'."

Fluttershy smiled at the filly, even when embarrassed she was the cutest thing. "It's ok, Sweetie Belle," she assured the small pony, "You just surprised me, that's all." With a glance she indicated the establishment behind her, "And anyway, I don't know if your sister is home. I've been knocking on the door for fifteen minutes now, but she hasn't answered."

Sweetie Belle furrowed her brow in thought, "But… Rarity never leaves her store. Not unless it's really important."

"I know," Fluttershy agreed. "She came by to visit me this morning, but I don't think she stayed very long. I wonder if—"

"LOOK OUT BELOW!"

The call from the sky was the only warning they would receive. Both ponies looked up to see a large white object rapidly approaching their location. There was no time to do much else. A terrified squeak was all Fluttershy could utter before the object landed atop her with a heavy 'pomph'.

Sweetie Belle, who had only narrowly escaped a similar fate, released a startled yelp.

"Oh, hey there, squirt." From the sky descended a very familiar sky blue pegasus pony with a very unnatural rainbow colored mane and tail. Sweetie Belle, however, didn't seem to notice, but could only gape at the large pile of… white… that had enveloped her sister's friend.

Rainbow Dash stared at the filly, a puzzled look on her face. "Uh… you ok there, squeaker?"

The terrified cry of, "Fluttershy!" was her only response as Sweetie Belle made a mad dash for the pile and instantly began digging.

"Fluttershy?" Rainbow Dash asked quizzically, "What does she have to do with—"

"Fluttershy!" the unicorn filly cried again, sounding a bit more frantic.

"Oh!" The pegasus finally made the connection and promptly shoved Sweetie Belle aside, "Stand back, squeaker." She took a small leap to get airborne then began to beat her wings furiously. The pile of white slowly shifted and started to fall apart, sending whole chunks flying away with powerful gusts. Several startled cries filled the air as the substance found new homes amongst Ponyville's populace.

"Hey!" one voice rose above the others, demanding to be heard. Rainbow Dash stopped her vigorous wing beats and saw a pedestrian who had managed to get himself caught in the fiasco. "You mind knocking that off?" he said gruffly. "Winter ended three months ago!"

The pegasus could only offer him a cheeky grin with a nervous chuckle. "Oops, hehe… sorry about that."

The soaked earth pony walked off, grumbling under his breath as he did so, "Blasted pegasus… can't even get the seasons straight anymore…"

Once he had moved on, Rainbow Dash finally turned her attention back to her initial goal, only to discover a very wet Fluttershy had been hidden beneath the pile.

"Fluttershy!" Sweetie Belle cried again, rushing to her side. "Are you ok?"

Fluttershy was shivering, and the young filly couldn't help but notice that her normal yellow coat was beginning to look a little blue.

"S-s-sn-snow!" was all she could say between her chattering teeth.

Rainbow Dash looked a little crestfallen at the reminder. "I know, darn it," she said in frustration. "It keeps freezing too fast. I just can't seem to get it right!"

"Get what right?" Sweetie Belle asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"Oh, just a little something I've been working on, squeaker," Rainbow Dash said with a small smile. "I'm trying to make some clouds!"

"B-but we've b-been making c-clouds for c-centuries," Fluttershy chimed in as she desperately prayed for the sun to increase its warmth.

"Oh sure," her friend scoffed, "with those lousy evaporators." She rolled her eyes in disgust before bending low in a makeshift action stance, "But back before they had those things, we pegasi had to make the clouds ourselves!"

"Really?" Sweetie Belle asked with growing intrigue.

"Yup, and it was really hard too!" Rainbow Dash replied, intent on milking her captive audience for all it was worth. "That's why they switched to those machines! Most pegasus ponies couldn't do it, and even the ones who could didn't like doing it. They thought it was too dangerous!"

The mention of the word 'danger' was enough. The unicorn filly was completely enchanted now, "Do you think it's dangerous?" she asked.

"Of course it is!" the pegasus said, puffing out her chest, "But that's not gonna stop the best flier in Equestria! I love a good challenge!"

"B-but no one re-remembers how to d-do it," Fluttershy pointed out.

Rainbow Dash scoffed again, "Like I'm gonna let a little detail like that stop me?" She took to the air a second time, spinning a few shallow loops in a dizzying display, "I'm Rainbow Dash! I live for this stuff!" Finishing her spectacle she dropped to the ground once more. "Besides, I proved the Sonic Rainboom was possible, didn't I? And I can't rely on that forever. If I'm going to get the Wonderbolts' attention, I'm gonna need something else to show them! I'm not going to be just another one-trick pony!"

"Wow, Rainbow Dash! That's so cool!"

"Yeah, well, it's what I do."

"A-are you sh-sure you should be p-practicing this over the middle of P-Ponyville?"

Rainbow Dash released all her bluster with a frustrated sigh, "I wasn't over the town," she said in exasperation. "I was over the lake, but when the water froze it became too heavy and just got launched."

"O-oh. I s-see."

Rainbow Dash finally seemed to recognize the miserable state that her friend was in, "Oh, right… sorry about that, Fluttershy." In a wink she darted towards her friend, spinning several dizzying circles to create another vortex that forcibly removed all moisture in the area.

Finally dry again, Fluttershy felt the sun begin to warm her numb extremities and her shivering ceased. "Oh, thank you Rainbow Dash."

"No problem." The blue pegasus took a moment to look around, "So… what are you doing here, anyway?"

"Well, I was here to see Rarity," Fluttershy explained. "She left me a note saying she wanted to talk to me." A look of worry crossed her face as she remembered the contents of that note. "It sounded awfully urgent. I hope she's okay."

"Well, what are you standing around out here for, then?"

"I tried knocking, but she hasn't answered."

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, "Fluttershy, it's a store," she said in irritation as she moved towards the door. "You don't have to knock firs—" her attempt to push the door open failed when it refused to budge, which caused her a small amount of surprise. She looked at the door in annoyance and pushed again. When it remained stalwart in its stand she tried several more times before admitting that it was, indeed, locked. "Huh… that's weird."

"I thought it was strange as well," Fluttershy agreed. "And she was just so insistent that I come speak to her, too. What if something happened to her?"

Dash waved at her friend in dismissal. "Nah, we would have heard about something like that by now. I'm sure she's fine. She probably just got called off to make a dress or something." Despite her better judgment, however, Rainbow Dash was unable to eliminate a quiet nagging doubt. Maybe a little investigation wouldn't hurt after all.

"What did she want to talk to you about, anyway?" she asked.

Fluttershy gave a meek shrug, "I'm not sure. I remember her saying something about the Gala, but I was very tired at the time, and the entire conversation felt like a dream. I wasn't even sure it had been real until Angel showed me the note she left." A gasp escaped her lips as a terrible thought occurred to her. "You don't think she's still upset over what happened that night, do you?"

Rainbow Dash just laughed, "What? Rarity? Nah," she said with a wave of her hoof. "She was over that Blueblood jerk the moment the cake landed. She wouldn't let something like that bother her…" her argument seemed to lose steam even to herself as she recalled how their friend had reacted to the events of that night, "…would she?"

"Jerk?" a soft voice piped up. Sweetie Belle, who had remained silent while the other two spoke, finally broke that silence upon hearing Dash's most recent opinion. "But Rarity said that she had the best night ever at the Gala."

Both pegasi glanced down at the small unicorn who was beginning to look a little upset herself. Sharing a quick apprehensive glance, they came to a silent agreement that it was time to change the subject.

"It was the best night ever!" Rainbow Dash said quickly, believing some closure was necessary first. She didn't know what Rarity had told her little sister about that evening, but she was sure there was a reason for it. "We just had a bit of a rough start, that's all."

The young unicorn still seemed confused, "But… why would you call Prince Blueblood a jer—"

"By the way, Sweetie Belle," Fluttershy interrupted, "How are you and the Cutie Mark Crusaders holding up?"

At the mention of her little clique, Sweetie Belle's eyes simply lit up. "We're doing well!" she assured the older pony. "We've been meeting every day!" Her eager expression faded as she remembered something else, "In fact, I was supposed to meet them at the clubhouse after my visit with Rarity, so I should probably get over there."

Fluttershy nodded with a smile, "Yes, you shouldn't keep them waiting. You be safe now, and let me know if you need anything."

"Of course! Thanks Fluttershy!" without another word the filly took off towards the southwest and Sweet Apple acres. As soon as she was far enough away, both pegasi gave a sigh of relief.

"Whew, that was a close one," Rainbow Dash said. "What do you think Rarity told her?"

"I don't know, but it wasn't the truth," Fluttershy replied worriedly. "Are you sure she's not still bothered by it?"

The shrug Rainbow Dash offered the other pegasus matched her facial expression of complete bewilderment. "I wouldn't think so, but I guess you can never tell sometimes."

"What should we do?" Fluttershy asked, feeling on the verge of hysterics. "I want to go find her, but I don't know where to start looking," she looked over her shoulder, a concerned expression on her face, "and I just don't have any more time today."

"Tell ya what," Rainbow Dash offered, "I've finished my chores for today. I'll go look for Rarity, and let you know what I find out."

Fluttershy looked at her fellow pegasus hopefully, "Would you? I would feel so much better." Her eagerness gave way to sudden apprehension, "But… I can't ask you to do that. I don't want to interfere with your practice."

The blue pegasus waved her off, "Ah, don't worry about it. The lake will still be there tomorrow, and frankly, I kinda wanna know what's going on myself."

"Oh, thank you, Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy said gratefully. "Please tell Rarity that I'm so very sorry I missed her, and that I'll come by to see her later, but right now, I really have to go." Fluttershy didn't give Rainbow Dash the opportunity to respond, but trotted away without hesitation, satisfied now that she had the other pegasus's reassurance.

Rainbow Dash was a bit surprised at her sudden departure, it wasn't like Fluttershy to be so readily put at ease when worried for a friend. With a shrug she decided to let it go. If Fluttershy was learning to be less of a worrywart and basket case, who was Rainbow Dash to argue?

Instead she turned her thoughts to Rarity, and where she would begin to look for her. If the unicorn was not here, nor with Fluttershy, where else could she possibly be? At her parents? But then Sweetie Belle would have run into her. And she wasn't known to frequent the Sugarcube Corner with Pinkie. What about Sweet Apple Acres?

Rainbow Dash scoffed. Yeah, that'll be the day. Twilight's it is, then.

***

With a final flourish of the pen assaulting the page Pinkie Pie struck a dramatic pose. "Aaaaaaaand done!" she exclaimed. "Whew, I don't think I've ever written that much before!"

Applejack was inclined to agree as she stared in dismay at the hundreds of sheets of paper strewn about the room. "'Bout time," she said with a sigh. "Ah don' know why you do what y'do, Pinkie, but sometimes…"

Pinkie wasn't paying attention, already eagerly gathering up each of the individual pages and placing them within the saddlebags on her back. "So—" she asked, her speech constantly interrupted with each page she picked up, "Is Rarity—" shff, "awake—" shff, "yet?"

Applejack glanced over at the only piece of padded furniture in the room, where Rarity had been laying all afternoon. "Nope," she answered simply.

"I hope she didn't—" shff, "bump her head—" shff, "when she fainted."

"Ah don' think so," Applejack said, only marginally convinced she was telling the truth, "Y'done gave us quite the start there, though."

"I'm sorry—" shff, "I wasn't trying to—" shff, "start anything."

Applejack sighed again—she'd been doing that a lot today. "Look, y'sure I can't help you clean up here?"

"That's ok!" shff, "You've already—" shff, "helped me enough—" shff, "by letting me borrow—" shff, "these saddlebags!"

Applejack shrugged. "Suit yerself."

As she watched her pink friend collect the remainder of the pages she silently prayed this would be the end of it. She had just as much fun with Pinkie Pie as the next mare, but she had other things to do today besides keeping an eye on the energetic party pony to prevent any further disasters.

Just at that moment, the door to the study opened, and in walked a yellow earth pony filly with a red mane and a large red ribbon in her hair.

"Applejack, I'm home!" she called out.

"Hey Apple Bloom!"

The reply caught the filly by surprise, for it hadn't been Applejack who'd responded. She took another look around the room before realizing her sister was not its only occupant. "Oh, hey Pinkie Pah! What're you doin' here?"

"Oh, I was just—" shff, "writing down—" shff, "some ideas."

Apple Bloom was still a little confused, "Uh... okay. An' what's goin' on with Rarity?"

"It's a long story, little sister," Applejack said, not wanting to go into details at the moment. "How was yer day at school?"

Apple Bloom made a disgusted face, "Ugh, I can't wait 'til school's out fer the summer," she said. "Maybe I can go a whole day without hearin' 'Blank Flank' shouted 'cross the playground."

Applejack sighed, "They still botherin' you 'bout that?"

The young filly gave a little sniffle, a bitter look beginning to blossom on her face, "Uh-huh."

Applejack moved to stand beside her sister, "Now you listen to me, little filly," she said firmly, "Them other fillies ain't nothin' but bullies, an' you don't hafta let them walk over you if you don't wanna."

Apple Bloom sniffed again, "But, how'm ah s'posed ta make 'em stop? Teach' says to just ignore 'em but sometimes that don't always work, an' ah don't wanna git in trouble."

"Now listen here," Applejack said, "Your sister Applejack ain't gonna condone gettin' physical, but if you ever feel like you can't hold it in any longer," she locked eyes with her younger sibling, "then don't! Teach them girls a lesson if ya hafta, but don' let them think for one moment they can git away with teasin' you without consequence. Y'ain't wrong fer standin' up fer yerself, and if that ever happens, then you just let me worry 'bout Miss Cheerilee."

Little Apple Bloom was still far from comforted and she sniffled again, "Ohkay, big sis..."

Applejack bent low and rested her head across her sister's neck in comfort, "Now don't you fret none," she reassured the younger filly, "when the time comes fer you t' get yer cutie mark, it's gonna be so beautiful, and them other fillies is gonna be so jealous, they won't be able t' speak at'cha again."

Apple Bloom looked up hopefully, "Y'really think so?" she asked.

"Ah knows so," Applejack said, pressing her nose against her little sister's in a tender nuzzle.

Apple Bloom giggled at the gesture, then immediately perked up. "Oh hey, that reminds me. I was s'posed to meet up with th' other Crusaders after school today."

Applejack's gaze was stern, "How much homework've ya got fer t'morrah?"

"It's not much, I promise!"Apple Bloom said, willing her most innocent expression to appear on her face. "I can git it done real quick t'nite! Can I go out? Pleeeeeease?"

"Oh, alright." Applejack acquiesced. "But I wan' it done a'fore seven, y'hear?"

The young filly hadn't even waited to hear Applejack finish, but was already rushing to the barn's rearward exit, "Ah will, ah promise!" she called over her shoulder as she galloped out.

The slamming of the back door caused a shudder throughout the barn, and on a chair in the study, a white unicorn pony finally began to stir.

"Oooh, Applejack!" Pinkie said, noticing the soft groans emanating from the chair, "I think she's waking up!"

Both ponies moved to stand beside their friend, who was slowly opening her eyes. She tried to focus, but it took several moments. Eventually she was able to make out the rough outline of Applejack standing beside her with a worried look on her face.

"Applejack...?"

"You ohkay there, Sugarcube?" the earth pony asked.

"I... I believe so. What happ—" sudden remembrance flooded through her as the memories of her final vestiges of sensory input were pieced together, "—Aaah!" she cried, nearly falling off the couch in a mad scramble, "Where is it? Where is it! Don't let it get meeeeeee!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Applejack called, motioning for calm, "Calm down there, girl, ain't nothin' gonna getcha."

"But I saw it!" Rarity exclaimed, on the verge of hyperventillating, "It was staring into the very reaches of my soul! It wanted to devour me like a precious pony morsel!"

On her other side, Pinkie Pie giggled. "Oh, Rarity, you're such a drama queen!"

Hearing another voice seemed to snap the unicorn out of her crazed state, "What?" She turned, as if noticing Pinkie Pie for the first time. "Pinkie Pie? What are you doing here?"

"Just doing some writing!" the other pony said, moving back to finish picking up her remaining pages.

"It was her that ya seen," Applejack explained. "She got a mite overzealous with th' ink for a bit, is all."

"You mean, that monstrosity was merely Pinkie Pie, covered in ink?"

"Mmm-hmm," Applejack nodded.

"Oh good heavens," Rarity sank back onto the sofa in relief, "but you gave me such a fright, dear." She sat still, attempting to calm her frayed nerves when a second synapse made a connection.

"Wait!" Rarity jumped back off the sofa to face Applejack. "What time is it?"

Applejack had to think for a bit. "Uh... ah donno," Apple Bloom had just gotten home, so that would put it at about... "say maybe three... thirty?"

"Three-thirty!" Rarity cried, "Good gracious I've been here all afternoon!" She started pacing around the room frenetically, "I've got to get home, I've so much to do! And Fluttershy! Oh dear me I told her to come see me! What if I missed her? I hope I didn't miss her! I must know what's going on!" Seeming to realize she was panicking, she stopped and turned to Applejack, "I apologize Applejack, but I must leave at once!" She couldn't wait for a response, and immediately dashed from the room, leaving the two earth ponies alone again.

"Uh... ohkay, there... Rarity," Applejack said by means of a delayed response.

"Wow! She sure was upset!" Pinkie Pie observed. "What was all that about Fluttershy?"

"Aw, Rarity's a bit worried, seems to think she's still havin' issues with that Gala fiasco last week. That she's still upset 'bout the whole thing."

"Rrrreeeally?" Pinkie asked. So Fluttershy was having a problem, huh? Well this little pony knew just the cure, and a sly expression began to blossom on her face.

It did not escape Applejack's notice. "Ah don' like that look in yer eye there, sugah."

Just like that, it was gone, replaced by the pink pony's typical bubbly expression. "What look?"

Applejack just shook her head, "Nothin', never mind."

"Anyway, I'm all done now, Applejack!" the orange pony took a moment to look around and see that, indeed, all the pages has been collected, "and I've got something else to do, so I'll be going now, but thank you soooooooo much for your help today! I'll be back to return the saddlebags later!"

"No worries, take yer time," Applejack said with a chuckle. "I've a few things ah need to git done a'fore ah hit the hay t'nite as well."

"I didn't know there were any recipes that called for tenderized hay."

The look she shot her pink pony friend was of pure disbelief. "Pinkie Pah, one'a these days I'ma hafta sitcha down and have a very thorough discussion 'bout the figures'a speech."

"Oh don't be silly, Applejack!" Pinkie said, trotting past her friend towards the door, "I already know all about the alphabet! I memorized the whole thing years ago!" For the third time that day Applejack found herself unable to get the last word in as Pinkie left her standing in the study.

Pinkie, however, wasn't headed home, but turned northward. She still had a plan in mind, and that plan required some research.

...And there was no better time to do research like the present.