March 13th - The Other Side
Alleys
A My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Fan Fiction
Written by: Goober Trooper
With assistance from: Ozpakko & Icrus Team 402
March 13th - The Other Side
Voices stirred Pinkie Pie from her sleep. She opened her eyes and raised her head out of her sleeping bag, looking around the gloomy and spooky warehouse. It was still very dark, but the moonlight beamed through the gaps in the room. She guessed it was still a couple hours till sunrise.
"Moonlight? This planet has a moon too? Curiouser and curiouser!" Pinkie Pie thought.
She then heard the distant voices again, and looked over to her friends. They were all still dead to the world. Pinkie Pie shrugged. She wasn't fond of being a very light sleeper, but it worked in her favor occasionally.
"Wait the Voices! That means Humans! I get to meet a human! I get to meet a human! Yay!" Pinkie Pie thought, excited and singsongily.
Pinkie Pie ducked back into her sleeping bag, unzipped it with her teeth, and quietly sneaked out. It helped that she wasn't sleeping between any of her friends, and only next to Applejack. Who was deep in her dreams and snoring unsurprisingly loud. Pinkie Pie then tiphoofed over to the loosely hanging doors that were closest to the voices. She placed a hoof on one of doors and gently pushed it open, as she peered around for any humans. There were two coming this way. One was quite tall and thin, the other was shorter and stockier. Pinkie Pie took a deep breath, and quickly thought on how to greet these people. She glanced about looking for something in particular. Her eyes landed on a dumpster that was several yards (Or meters) away along side the Warehouse. It wasn't what she had in mind, but it'd suffice. She lowered herself to an exaggerated degree; Then half crawled and half crouched her way over to the dumpster. Fortunately, the humans did not notice the streak of pink as it darted out of the warehouse and leaped into the dumpster. Quietly closing the lid behind itself. Even more fortunately for Pinkie Pie the dumpster was empty.
"I still don't think it was a good idea coming all the way out here. It's gonna take a LONG time to get to the Market, never mind to an area where we can find any food." Said an usually light male voice
"Well it's what you get for being an Outcast. Let's just hope that nobody's came here for the same reason we have." Spoke a heavy female voice. She then sighed and continued speaking. "I'm going t' check out this building on the left, then we'll meet back at the gate."
The man nodded and turned towards the building on his right, which was the Warehouse. The woman already began turning to her left and walked into a small brick building.
Pinkie Pie slowly peered out of the dumpster, her head slowly lifting the lid slightly. The male voice seemed to have come from the stockier and shorter human, and of course, the heavier voice would have come from the taller human. It was very amusing to Pinkie Pie and she just barely managed to restrain a giggle. Pinkie noticed the shorter one was heading for the door of the Warehouse. She guessed at least one of them would head in this direction.
"Aaaanyy second now... Aaaannyyy- Now nownownownow!" Pinkie Pie thought, as she propelled herself towards the human. Her head lifted the lid while her front hooves placed on the dumpster's lip allowed her to lift and vault herself out of the dumpster right at the human. She had ecstatic and extremely goofy grin on her face.
"Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie! Party planner extraordinaire! Who are you!?" Pinkie Pie shouted very excited to be meeting a new person.
The man, of course, didn't share her enthusiasm. The man simply stood and stared at the pink creature before him with his mouth agape. Once he realized what actually occurred had occurred he jumped, gave a belatedly startled scream, and ran as far away as his short legs could take him. Now way in hell was he going to stick around with some talking mutant animal about to do god knows what to him.
Pinkie Pie watched the short man flee with a disconcerted look, then turned to look for the taller human. She had already vanished from sight. Pinkie released a disappointed sigh and turned back towards the Warehouse. She had a brief mental debate about pursuing him, but realized that she would end up lost and alone in a strange place, and chose not to chase him.
"Why do they ALWAYS have to take off in fright...? I mean seriously. How cliché is that? Alien shows up on planet. Alien tries to be friendly with inhabitants. Inhabitants freak out and run away. It'd be hilarious if it wasn't so sad and infuriating, or is it infuriatingly sad? Hmmm." Pinkie thought.
She walked back, and slipped through the sagging doors. She noticed a particularly perturbed purple unicorn was quietly walking her way towards Pinkie.
"What were you doing...? I heard shouting..." Twilight sleepily asked.
"Just saying 'Hi' to a human..." Pinkie Pie said cheerily.
Twilight let her mouth drop for a moment, then collected her expression into a more angrily flabbergasted appearance.
"Pinkie... We're SUPPOSED to remain hidden! Is he outside right now? How many are there!? Are they hostile? Aagh! Why did you have to do this without asking somepony else first!?" Twilight bent down and put her face between her hooves. She quickly removed it from it's brief hiding spot and shook her mane as her messy hair had fallen into her right eye. She groaned and sat up onto her rear, as she looked up at Pinkie. Twilight absent mindedly chewed on the inside of her cheek as she nervously pondered what they were to do now.
Pinkie Pie sat next to Twilight and hugged her with her right foreleg.
"Hey, don't get all saddy waddy Auntie Pinkie already has it taken care of!" Auntie Pinkie assured.
Twilight looked at Pinkie skeptically.
"How?" She asked simply.
Pinkie Pie giggled.
"The silly human ran away! I must have given him the spookies."
"What did you do?"
"I jumped out and said 'Hi!', that's all! He must've been really easy to spook."
"Heh. I guess so." Said Twilight in thought.
"I'd probably get scared too if Pinkie Pie jumped out of a dark corner at me... Hmm. I'd imagine he'd have a reaction of disbelief and shock... Maybe even terror. If some foreign creature jumped out at him. Twilight took another moment as she continued to deeply consider this issue.
In the meantime Pinkie withdrew her foreleg of comfort, and sat by her friend as she slowly started succumbing to slumber.
"I got it! We have nothing to worry about!" Twilight declared with a worry-free smile and raised hoof.
"Well, of course we don't." Pinkie Pie said, as she tilted her head in apparent confusion. "Wait. What dooo you have?"
"You see if one human sees us, but hardly believes what he's seen himself, then tries to tell another human about what he's seen do you think anypony... Er, body. Anybody in this case, I believe. Would believe him? Nope! None would. Because it's all absurd to them that a pony could speak!" Twilight explained.
"Wait wait wait wait. How do you know that he won't tell anybody, or if they won't believe him?"
"Celestia said that there were ponies here, but not intelligent ponies. So I believe that they are similar to the other animals back in Equestria. Let me put it this way, what if Gummy jumped out of your refrigerator and started- Actually, you probably wouldn't mind that. What if Applejack's dog, Winona, started talking to her? You think she'd take it mildly? You think she'd tell anyone? No, of course not, she'd be startled and nopony would believe her." Twilight concluded.
Pinkie Pie nodded several times rapidly.
"Yup yup yup! Makes plenty of sense! III'm gonna go back to sleep. Night, Twilight." Pinkie said, as she stood and bounced over to where her sleeping bag was.
Twilight nodded to her as she left, but stayed where she was at. She didn't feel tired at the moment. In fact she wanted to ponder their mission. They only had one week here and they were expected to save the planet or create a sanctuary of some sort in what little time they've been provided. Twilight had seen only a small part of the task before them, and it was already a daunting prospect...
Twilight released a breath that carried a tone of burden, as she stood and began walking towards the same doors Pinkie Pie had slipped through earlier. Once through them she turned right, and sat as she stared at the stars once she had found on open spot that contented her.
"We're going to have to talk to these humans eventually... There's no doubt about it. If we only have a week here it's impossible for us to accomplish our mission ourselves. The questions really are: Who do we talk to? Who will be willing to take up this goal after we leave? What can we teach them, and will they accept it? Assuming, we have anything to teach them... I guess we can start with observing them, and hopefully find one that is willing or would be most receptive to our presence, and willing to carry out our mission after we have gone." Twilight thought and concluded.
She continued to gaze at the evening sky. Her love for it distracted her from the topic she was brooding upon. She became curious for any familiar constellations, but the sight only depressed her. The evening sky was hazy, and a disappointing amount of stars could be seen. Twilight had read theories about air and light pollution, and what it could eventually cause if left unchecked, but it never occurred to her that she would see it firsthoof. She squinted as she scrutinized a particular set of stars. She thought she had spotted something familiar.
"Hah ha! So there are the same constellations! That's the Descending Alicorn right there! Twilight mentally exclaimed, as she spotted the well known constellation.
The alicorn's horn pointed downward and consisted of three stars seemingly close together. The alicorn's hooves were extended before and behind her, with the wings flared above her. While her tail streamed behind in a glorious gathering of several stars. She allowed her eyes to dart across the sky as she spotted several more familiar constellations.
This is extraordinarily intriguing... These constellations are the ones we can see in the Fall. So what would this mean? How is it possible that both planets are in the same line of orbit around the same sun and on the exact opposite sides of the sun, yet have the exact same seasons? If our planet is in Spring shouldn't this one be in Autumn?" Twilight theorized.
She continued to stare up at the stars pondering this new reality. Her eyes slowly drifted across the sky and beheld the planet's moon. It was white and cratered like the Moon she was familiar with, but this Moon was cratered differently. Twilight giggled as she noticed that the craters formed a face in the moon. Two wide eyes and a circular mouth. As if even the moon was shocked by their presence on it's planet. She wondered if the Moons had always been cratered or if they were smooth at one time. Maybe one day she'd revisit that time spell and find out...
Twilight yawned, her ears bended back as an expression of sleepiness took place on her face. She felt as if she had come close to discovering the reason for the same seasons, but had barely missed it. Perhaps another night. She was incredibly tired now so she rose and walked back to her sleeping bag and snuggled in. Dozing off the few hours that separated darkness from light.
Applejack awoke. Everything was dark around her. She felt constrained and contained. Was she awake? Or was she still in that Diamond Dog's sack? She squirmed trying to find a way out of whatever she was being contained it. It was definitely to comfortable to be a sack... There! Just above her was a small hole. She put her nose through it and instantly she was out. Out of her sleeping bag...
"Silly me, can't tell between dreams and reality anymore." Applejack thought, amused with herself.
Applejack glanced at her friends. They were all still asleep. None of them were accustomed to waking up in the wee hours of the morn'. AJ, turned her attention to their abode. It was dim in the Warehouse. Only a little morning light glowed through the cracked walls and shattered windows. It would be an hour or two before her friends woke, maybe later after what they'd been through yesterday. She took a moment to consider what she could possibly do to pass the time. Going back to sleep was out of the question, she was wide awake now, and it was still too far off to begin making breakfast.
"Thinkin' of breakfast. Could probablay get mahself a mornin' snack, while I wait for these girls t' get up." Applejack decided.
Applejack dove back into her sleeping bag, unzipped the bag, and crawled out as quietly as she could. She scooped up her hat and firmly placed it on her head. Pinkie Pie stirred slightly, but wasn't awoken by the movement. Once away from where her friends were sleeping she trotted over to the kitchen they had set up the previous evening. The Kitchen was simply a few foldable tables with stoves, the water jug, and small plastic tubs that served as sinks. Applejack grabbed a plastic mug with a hoof and brought it over to the water jug. She used her mouth to turn a nozzle starting and halting the flow of water. She took a step back and chugged down the cool and refreshing drink, quenching the thirst she had developed over night. Satisfied, she placed the mug back onto one of the tables and retrieved a banana from where they were being stored in the crate. They had a decent supply of fruits, along with fixing for sandwiches and soup. This morning, however, they were blessed with a couple boxes of pancake mix for today's breakfast.
AJ, held the banana with a hoof and used her teeth to tear the top, peeling the peel and consuming the fruit within. Bananas weren't common in Ponyville's markets, and Applejack was somewhat glad it wasn't an apple. Not that she didn't like apples, she loved them, but when you grow apples for your entire life it's pretty easy to get weary of them, and prefer other fruits when you have a choice. Once finished with her snack she tossed the peel into a garbage bag they had deployed after their last meal, and glanced around the Warehouse looking for something to pass the time. Her eyes settled on the doors.
"Shucks, if it's gonna be an hour before the rest of ya'll wake up I may as well 'ave a quick look 'round this Warehouse." Applejack thought to her friends. Who, of course, continued to snore.
She walked over to the doors and slipped through them as the two ponies before her also had and began exploring the area around the Warehouse.
Applejack entered the first of the two other buildings. It was the largest and had wood walls painted red which were now faded and peeling from their lack of maintenance, and a grey, rusted metal roof that had begun to collapse over the years. She quickly noticed large machinery, as if some metal trolls were placed into comas and had began rusting away. AJ couldn't know what purpose these machines had served, but the cracked and rusted metal made it obvious that they hadn't been touched for several decades. Her heart fell as she lowered her gaze and took in the mounds of garbage before herself. There was just so much... Junk, that it was hard to pick out what it consisted of mostly. There were plastic boxes with windows, (TVs and Monitors) shoes, toilet paper, shirts, black wheels, (Tires) pants, rotting wood and food, miscellaneous papers, moldy newspapers, books, and lots of metal parts and pieces were what she could see at a glance.
Applejack's features slackened and fell, her ears twitched backwards in an expression sad awe. She sniffed; the cold air made her nose run. Favorably the disgusting decomposing smell of disregarded property wasn't as horrible as it could be. Whether that was due to nasal drainage or the age of the trash was unknown to her. She moved forward and began picking her way through the piles of rubbish, some of which shared the same height as her.
"How does sumthin' like this happ'n? How did so much garbage get 'ere? Why was this discarded? There's still some left!" Applejack thought, as she nudged a three-quarters full water bottle.
She shook her head in sad wonder, and continued moving forward cautiously. After a few minutes she was roughly two-thirds of the way across the old factory when her attention was taken from her by a yellow sunflower painted onto a clay flowerpot. She turned her head to examine it closer. The painting wasn't crude, but neither was it professional. Applejack's guess was that some child had carefully, and with some skill, stained this flowerpot. Applejack found the flowerpot to be ironic, and pondered on how it obtained it's current location. However, she dismissed the thoughts as she had quickly reached the end of the long hall. There was a door lacking doorway that led to a stairwell and a couple rooms branched off from it. There was significantly less trash, but a few chip bags and a pair of what she guessed was underwear littered the short hallway. AJ began trotting down it, being careful to avoid the brown stained underwear, and glanced into the rooms. They held nothing in particular, besides various furniture, a handful of shelves and cabinets. When she reached the stairs she, of course, ascended them to the next level.
The second floor was fairly bare. The white walls were marked with holes, and the paint had begun to wrinkle. At the end of the slightly longer hallway was a doorway to walkway, to the right of the door was an entrance to a single office with a long since broken window that over looked the main room. AJ approached the room and glanced inside. There were a couple piles of discarded water bottles, cans and other common rubbish, but no furniture. Applejack entered the room, treading lightly to avoid the shattered glass. There wasn't much to see in the room. Although Applejack investigated the garbage anyways, more to pass the time then out of any real curiosity. Her interest spiked as she discovered several pencil written letters tucked under a large plastic bottle filled with a mysterious black liquid. The graphite had faded on most of the notes resulting in many places being illegible. Applejack slowly read those that she could, not that she couldn't read well. She just didn't have much time, or need, to enhance that skill.
"Malcom,
We had a good haul today! Bringing back lots of food for our now 36 man group. Yep! We found a couple looking for a home they had a Hostess delivery truck stuffed with the, well, stuff. Even with this load of a food we need to start thinking long term. Eventually we're gonna need to either try to produce our own food or find locations with plenty of it. Even now I'm noticing a slow decrease in what we're bringing in. It's your call man, we got several months perhaps a year before we start actually being affected by a lack of food. Anyways, we'll be dining on Twinkies and HoHos tonight!
Rob."
Once finished with the first note she pulled out another with a quick tug of her hoof, flipped it over with a push from her nose, and read.
"Malcom,
Resources are becoming scarce here in the North. A few of us would like to suggest that we send some others down South to see if conditions are any better there. Yes, we're aware that if we do we'll leave a nice gap in our defenses, but we've seen other gangs head in that direction too. The chances of an attack are slimming each day as food becomes more difficult to find. If not we're going to need to search the Northern River Bottoms for anything soon. Like I wrote before food, and water are getting harder to come by we're gonna need to look for or move to greener pastures soon. If such can exist.
Rob."
Completed with that note she repeated the process and began reading the next one.
"Malcom,
Alright, so I was wrong about the chances of an attack decreasing, okay? But we know for certain now that the South has more supplies and besides with the rations the way they are we could have afforded to lose a few people, but at least we didn't lose this compound. In fact, I'll argue that we needed an attack, we now know-"
At this part much of the message had faded. AJ, quickly skipped down to the next part she could read.
"...Looting parties. Hopefully we'll get a better turn out then what we have been getting up here. If so we may even be able to recruit more people, which in turn will increase our collection rates and defense. Etc. Etc. Of course, you know how this all works.
Rob."
Done with the third note she proceeded onto a fourth one. Noticing only another left. The next note was written in a barely legible scrawl. Applejack would have mistaken it for a filly or colt's mouthwritting, but no youngling would write such tidings for it seemed that much time and hardship had occurred since the last letter, and that another was sending notes to Malcom.
"Caroleen, Rob, Louis, and Clem died to starvation last night. Still having a hard time keeping the walls manned and finding food. I know you love this place too much, but It's go South or die at this point. Many of us will probably desert soon or mutiny, but we hardly have the strength to get up in the morning let alone fight. Scouts reported today that the Boars are going to be making another push soon. It's likely they'll succeed. I'm having a hard enough time writing as it is."
As she read the note her expression gradually became more grim. All that remained was a scrap of paper with ink. She dragged it out and read the brief message on it.
"Mac,
Boars coming. Get all the garbage in the compound. Pile it in the Factory. Be ready to light it. Escape to South. Meet at old super market on Saber Rd.
Malcom."
These notes gave Applejack a small, narrow peak into the past of this place. She wouldn't be surprised if this was a brief summary of the conditions that have settled into where ever they were now. She stood from where she had laid to read the notes with an expression of simply sincere sadness and walked out of the room to the narrow walkway that over viewed the factory. The pile of trash made sense to her now, but the factory was still standing... She shrugged and sighed, knowing she would never know what went wrong or the entire tale of these people. AJ, Turned and started for the stairs. She was content with what she had explored here, and decided to move onto the next building.
Applejack exited the red brick building. There wasn't anything of interest in it. She quickly determined after traveling through the first and second floors that it was the administration building for the old factory complex. Anything of value or use had already been stolen. She didn't regret entering though, it was best to know everything there was to know about where they were staying. Applejack turned a corner, and headed back to the Warehouse they were staying in. As she trotted down the two lane road between the Warehouse and the Factory she noticed the Sun was above the horizon now.
"Dag Nabbit. Hope I didn' explore too long. Kinda wanted t' treat 'em to pancakes as soon as they woke..." Applejack thought as she quickened her pace.
She arrived at the loose double doors shortly afterwards. The door on the right was rusted fairly tight, but not entirely. It required effort to open. The door on the left was hanging on the edge of it's hinges and could be pushed open only slightly which allowed one to slip through. AJ, chose the left door. She pushed it open with her left hoof quietly and gently. Allowing her to slip inside. She glanced over to where her friends laid. Fortunately they were still sleeping, but she guessed that wouldn't be the case for long. With exaggerated, but effective, care she tiphoofed over to the kitchen and quietly began taking out the materials she would need to begin cooking the breakfast. After some time and a few cooked pancakes AJ heard one of her friends stir, unzip their bag, and quietly walk over to the kitchen.
"Mornin'.'" Applejack said with a quick glance over her shoulder to see Rarity approaching, hair curlers and sleepy expression in place.
"Good Morning, Applejack." Rarity replied as she made a bee-line straight for a cup. She grabbed it with a hoof, and filled it with water as Applejack had done a few hours earlier.
She walked over and sat on one of the folding chairs that had arrived within the crate, and had been deployed the previous evening.
"Sleep well?" Applejack asked.
Rarity took a moment to respond as the question had been poised when she was taking a sip from her water. Rarity lifted her eyes while she finished her drink, then replied.
"I'll say that it was quite better then I thought it would be, but I'm already missing my comforter and sheets!"
Applejack nodded, and grabbed a spatula with her mouth, stooped and flipped another pancake. It was tossed high into the air, but landed accurately on the frying pan.
"I know what ya mean." She responded, as the spatula waggled in her mouth.
Rarity took a long breath through her nostrils and let out a very satisfied sigh.
"Mmmm. Those smell lovely, Applejack. You sure they'll still be warm when the others wake up?" Rarity complimented and inquired.
"Yea. I got a towel on 'em." She said, as she slid a few more pancakes onto the quickly filling plate, and placed a dark yellow hand towel to insulate them.
"Ooooooo! Pancakes!" Pinkie Pie said. Suddenly with them in the kitchen. "Can I have some?"
"Eh. Can ya wait for everypony else t' get up first?" AJ answered.
"Already done cowgirl!" Pinkie Pie said with typical enthusiasm. She walked over to the jug to obtain a mug of water also.
Rarity observed this enthusiasm with a subtly bemused expression.
"It escapes me how she manages to wake with such vigor, and her hair is already styled to! It's as if she jumps out of bed ready for the day! Rarity thought.
" 'Ey Pinkie, can ya get one of them tall speckled coffay pots out, fill it with water, an' bring it 'ere?" Applejack requested before Pinkie Pie was able to reach the chair she was headed for.
"Yep!"
Pinkie Pie turned about and reached into the crate with her right hoof. She withdrew a green coffee pot with white specks, and brought it over to the water jug to fill it.
"Here ya go, AJ!" Pinkie Pie said, as she brought the now full coffee pot to AJ.
" 'Ppreciated." Applejack gratefully replied.
She placed the spatula down on the edge of the table. Then turned and grasped the cushioned handle of the coffee pot with her mouth, and placed it on the stove's second burner. AJ then engaged the second burner which began warming the water.
"Well we got some coffay or cocoa packets in thar we'll all have hot drinks while we wait for 'em to wake up." Applejack told Pinkie and Rarity.
"Oh! Hot Coco! That stuff's delicious! It's like liquidy chocolaty goodie goodness!" Pinkie commented.
"I look forward to a good cup of Coffee... But how are we making it here?" Rarity replied and inquired.
"Well, I think we got some of them filters in there, but there was this weird..." Applejack paused to grab the spatula and flip another pancake. It flew high into the air again.
"Ooooh. Nice! Where'd you learn to do that?" Pinkie complimented and questioned.
"Thanks. I used t' make pancakes fer Applebloom all the time when she'd get up fer school in the morn'. So I practiced flippin' em as high as I could." AJ replied with a proud expression, then continued answering Rarity's question. "This weird 'lil, well... Press thing. I'll show ya."
She returned the spatula to where it was previously and walked over to the crate. She pulled out what appeared to be a tall thin insulated plastic mug only it included a small spout and a lid with a little plunger placed on the top.
"Oh! That's a Coffee Press. It'll need a coarser grind than most coffee machines, assuming we can grind our own coffee..." Rarity explained.
"Ah. I see. Well I ain't much of a coffay drinker mahself, but we got some bags of pre-ground coffay too. So you can help yerself once the water's done." Applejack said, as she brought the bags of coffee grounds out and placed them on a table.
"Good morning, Twilight!" Pinkie Pie cheerfully chirped to the recently awoken Twilight Sparkle.
"Good morning everypony." Twilight said groggily, as she picked at the corner of her eyes, as was her morning habit.
"Mornin' " Applejack replied. Looking over her shoulder to speak the words and then return her attention to the pancakes.
"Good morning to you too, Twilight." Rarity greeted while she fumbled for the curlers in her mane. "Uuggh! Why do they have to be so difficult... They were easy enough to put in." She complained.
"Just use your magic." Pinkie suggested.
"If only it was that easy still... I'll just brush my teeth." Rarity decided. She stepped from her chair and walked over to her sidesatchels to retrieve the needed items.
"Well... Nearin' the end of my batter here. Probably got enough for another batch. I hope those two are awake before we're out." AJ notified her friends, nodding in the direction of the two sleeping pegasi.
"Oh... I'm already awake Applejack... I don't always sleep this late, but..." Fluttershy spoke.
"Well good mornin' too you then, Sugarcube." Applejack said with a smile as she looked over her shoulder again, then returned her focus to the pancakes. She flipped them and placed finished ones onto the plate.
The others talked to each other briefly and began readying themselves for the day.
"Is Rainbow Dash STILL sleeping?" Rarity asked Fluttershy as she resorted to magic to comb her mane. She prevented her face from expressing the dull coldness around her soul.
Fluttershy looked over her shoulder to where Dash was still snoring, then continued squeezing Colgate approved Everfree Fresh toothpaste onto her brush.
"I guess so." She replied, as she grabbed her toothbrush and began using it.
"Hmph. I wonder who's going to wake her up."
Fluttershy looked to over to Rarity giving her an expression of doubt, then continued brushing.
After several minutes, Pinkie Pie, Twilight, Rarity, and Fluttershy returned to the kitchen with styled manes and brushed teeth. Twilight and Fluttershy began conversing about the possible wildlife on this planet, while Rarity busied herself with preparing a mug of coffee. Pinkie Pie waited behind Rarity and talked to her about coffee and hot coco. Whether she was listening or not. Applejack slid the last of the pancakes onto the now overflowing plate and placed the towel to cover it. Afterwards she turned to retrieve her tooth paste and brushes from her saddlebags which laid at the foot of her sleeping bag. Once collected she trotted back into the kitchen.
"I'm gonna go brush mah teeth and mane, can one of ya'll kindly wake up Rainbow Dash so we can eat?" Applejack requested as she moved on to the tub they were using as a bathroom sink.
Twilight and Fluttershy halted their conversation as AJ made her request.They each gave the other a doubtful eye and looked with a slanted mouth and a unsure frown, respectively, to Rarity and Pinkie. Rarity was standing idly waiting for her coffee to brew, she regarded Twilight and Flutterhshy in a similar manner, with a raised eyebrow. Pinkie Pie was about to begin pouring hot water for her hot coco when Applejack made her inquiry. She too looked up from the coffee pot she had grabbed and glanced to her friends. She noticed their expression of non-commitment and shrugged.
"I can go wake her up." Pinkie said to them.
"I agree. You would probably be the best pony for the task." Rarity replied.
Twilight nodded her agreement also, and tried to revive her conversation with the Fluttershy.
Pinkie Pie glanced over to Rarity.
"Can you make me some hot coco? That'd be great!" Pinkie Pie asked as she began trotting over to the snoozing Sky Blue Pegasus.
"I suppose so..." Rarity answered as she turned to the stove.
Rainbow Dash's head was exposed, her right ear occasionally twitched but the owner remained undisturbed as Pinkie Pie sat next to her and raised a right hoof to her chin as she contemplated the best way to wake her. She chose one of the few options that occurred to her and took a deep breath, then began hoping around Dash's sleeping bag singing a tune.
"Rise and shine and, embrace the daaay!
Rise and shine and, come out and plaaay!
Rise and shine and, bake a caaake!
Yippee aye ki yaaay!
As expected Rainbow jumped in her bag and rolled over to face Pinkie Pie when she began singing only to realize she was bouncing around her. She sat up, still wrapped in her sleeping bag, and endured the silly song with a sleepily amused expression.
"Good morning, my little Dashie!" Pinkie exclaimed.
"Ugh. You're so random Pinkie Pie." Rainbow Dash groaned as she scratched her scalp with a hoof. "And good morning to you too."
Pinkie Pie giggled.
"You ALWAYS say that, but hey! AJ made us a pancake breakfast so c'mon lets eat!
"Alright, just gimme a second to get out of this bag..." Rainbow Dash mumbled as she fumbled for the zipper.
Once the unkempt Rainbow Dash managed to extricate herself from the sleeping bag she groggily walked over to where her friends were preparing for the meal. Applejack was moving some tables over to make one larger one, while Fluttershy hovered over the others placing plates and utensils down at the six seats Twilight and Rarity were deploying. With the table set each pony collected their drinks while Applejack brought the pancakes and two bottles of syrup to the table, one maple the other flavored Raspberry. With everything in place the Six sat and began consuming their meal.
"Awh! Sweet Celestia! These are great! Your one good flapjack, Applejack." Rainbow Dash complimented, after she consumed several bites hastily.
Applejack finished chewing her Pancakes and tilted her head in confusion and looked across the table to Dash.
"I ain't sure whether to be confused about you usin' flapjack or you usin' it incorrectly." She stated.
"Hah! Coming from the cowgirl that tosses proper grammar out the window!" Rainbow Dash replied amused.
"It's called a... Uh, Dialo... Dalek? Dialek? Twi, what's that word you said that explained mah way of speakin'?"
Twilight nodded and quickly finished the flapjacks in her mouth. Then hastily levitated a napkin to wipe her mouth. A pained expression quickly assumed control of her features, but was swiftly hidden. Once satisfied that she had cleaned her already clean mouth. She answered AJ's question.
"It's called a Dialect. A local variation of a base language."
"See ain't nuthin' wrong with the way I talk." Applejack said smugly. If Twilight backed you up it would be difficult to contest it.
"Well it would depend on the person's perspective of what is acceptable speaking." Rarity brought up. "In my opinion, the way you speak is... Well it leaves some to be desired, but I haven't seen a sense in arguing over it. Every pony is different so there isn't a point to bicker over differences unless your trying to impose your will upon somepony else, which is just as ridiculous. In my opinion, of course."
"I'm with Rarity on this, but I don't see anything wrong with the way you speak Applejack!" Pinkie Pie said as she grabbed more pancakes. Nopony had kept track of how many she was eating. They trusted her to leave them some, for better or for worse.
"Well of course you don't Pinkie." Rainbow Dash said, but she shrugged. "To be honest..." She grabbed her fork and placed another large chunk of pancake into her mouth. She quickly chewed and swallowed, but almost knocked the table over as she scrambled for a drink to send the slowly descending pancake all the way to it's destination. This resulted in her chugging down most of her hot cocoa.
"I'd just like to say... That's why we take small bites Rainbow Dash... Well... For me at least." Fluttershy spoke.
The others chuckled at her words. Rainbow Dash shrugged and continued speaking.
"As I was saying... I'm not really much for grammar and stuff myself. In fact that's Twilight job-"
"Hey!" Twilight interjected. She quickly faced Rainbow Dash with an expression of minor offense.
Ooorrr Rarity's." Rainbow Dash added, as she noted Twilight's response. In return she was awarded with a "Hmph." from Rarity, but she continued to eloquently consume her pancakes.
"Whatever, so it ain't the matter that you used flapjack, but you used it wrong." AJ said.
Twilight glanced between Rainbow Dash and Applejack. Knowing they'd consult her for the appropriate usage of the word.
"What do you-"
Twilight sighed, she may as well tell them and get the issue settled.
"Flapjack is a synonym for pancake." Twilight told them flatly.
"Synawhat?" Rainbow Dash asked.
Twilight chuckled and slowly shook her head back and forth. Rainbow Dash's ignorance amused her much more than it should.
"A different word with the same or similar meaning as another." She explained.
"Oh. Yea. Right, I remember now." Rainbow Dash said with a tone that wasn't very convincing.
"Mmmhmm." Applejack hummed. "Mind if say, I t-"
"I don relay sey a ned for dat aphlejak." Pinkie Pie said through a mouthful of flapjacks.
"Erm. What did you say, dear?" Rarity inquired. She cringed and subtly scooted away from the pink pony placed next to her.
Pinkie Pie swallowed and spoke again.
"I saaaaid, 'I don't really see a need for that, Applejack.' "
"For what?" AJ, inquired.
"For what you were about to say, duuuh." Pinkie replied.
"What? You sayin' I'm speakin' for no reason?"
Pinkie Pie shook her head several times rapidly.
"Nuh uh. What you were going to say would only hurt feelings!"
"Hmmm. I guess yer right. Thanks." Applejack said simply.
"Not A problem." Pinkie Pie said, as she returned most of her focus to her meal.
Twilight decided to change the topic.
"Fluttershy, who did you get to take care of your animals?" She inquired, as she placed a morsel of her breakfast into her mouth.
"Oh. Well, I sent Ditzy Doo a letter. So she'll probably stop by and feed them on her way to and from work." Fluttershy replied.
Rainbow Dash gagged on her food upon hearing this, and quickly grabbed her plastic mug of hot cocoa and drank what was left. She coughed once more to clear her throat.
"Did you SERIOUSLY hire Derpy!?" Rainbow Dash asked incredulously.
"Well... Yes... Twilight recommend her, and she's a good friend of mine..." Fluttershy replied nervously.
"May Celestia have mercy on the citizens of Ponyville." Rainbow Dash said grimly.
Twilight shifted awkwardly in her seat. She was unsure if she should admit that she was kidding, and if it would cause offense.
"Oh don't be so dramatic Dashie! I think Derpy'll do a fantastical job!" Pinkie Pie commented, then took a sip from her coffee. She quickly placed the mug back onto the table and looked at the coffee skeptically, one eye larger than the other.
"This needs more cream, or sugar. Is there any?" Pinkie Pie said, as she glanced over to Applejack.
"Ya, there migh' be some in the crate. Go see for yerself." AJ replied.
Pinkie Pie shrugged and bounced out of her seat to investigate the crate for her desired ingredients.
"I- I'm sure everything will be fine Fluttershy. No need to worry yourself too much about it." Rarity consoled.
"Uhm. Yes, right." Twilight said attempting to change the subject once again. "Applejack, did you manage to hire somepony to help out at the farm?"
Applejack polished off what was left of her breakfast, and whipped her mouth with a napkin, then answered Twilight's query.
"Well... I don' know if I made a good call, but I ended up hirin' Philly Hays." Applejack replied uncertainly.
"The stallion that does those 'infomercials' for OxiClear?" Twilight asked a little doubtful.
"Yep. The same..." Applejack affirmed.
"Well... I hope that works. I've never considered him doing any manual labor." Twilight said.
"Yea. He was a lil' on the round side, but he was prettay eager to be workin' on the farm, and I'm confident Big Mac'll be able to handle 'im. Not like he'll intentionally cause problems, ya know?"
"Yea... Rarity is everything alright?" Twilight said as she noticed Rarity's vacant, distant expression.
Rarity shook her head, bringing her attention into the present.
"Uhm. Yes, quite. I was only wondering how Sweetie Bell would be getting along..." She answered, unassuringly.
Fluttershy grinned and spoke. "I'm sure everything will be fine Rarity. No need to worry yourself too much about it."
Rarity grinned and nodded, but she wasn't entirely assured. It wasn't something fretting or worrying about would solve, and she was certain that Sweetie Bell would manage... For better or for worse.
Pinkie Pie had returned and was laying back in her chair sipping her coffee. They continued to talk for several more minutes.
"Whatever, if I used flapjack right or not. Thanks for making them Applejack!" Rainbow Dash said appreciatively as the conversations were drawing to a close. Grabbing her plate, utensils, and cup and taking them to the kitchen.
The other four chorused thanks also.
"My pleasure." Applejack replied humbly. "Now lets get all this stuff clean and get on with our day!"
"Yes! We have much to do!" Twilight agreed as she gathered her used materials.
The rest followed suit and began swiftly washing their dishes.
Twilight was looking through a checklist she had put together.
"Wake up. Check. Brush teeth. Completed. Comb mane. Another check. Breakfast. Done. Hoof out today's assignments. In Progress."
Her friends were standing before her. Pinkie and Rainbow Dash leaned towards each other conversing quietly about some topic and giggled occasionally. Fluttershy, and Applejack waited patiently while Rarity had a distant look as she pondered an issue billions of miles away. Twilight cleared her throat and spoke.
"We have a few things we need to address before lunch today. Rainbow Dash no offense intended, but I need a better idea of what's actually around us... 'A bunch of buildings and stuff' isn't very descriptive."
"Well... There's JUST a bunch of buildings and roads. What more do you need to know? Maybe you should see for yourself?" Rainbow Dash replied and suggested.
"That might be best. If you can find a tall structure that'd be great. I could get a good view and maybe draw a map or something. You'll have to make sure we can get to it without getting seen." Twilight agreed, and ensured.
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. She was well aware of the stealth that Twilight required of them.
"Alright... Pinkie Pie. You're pretty sneaky and can accurately judge others. Think you could observe some of these humans? Perhaps give us a better idea about them?"
Pinkie darted off to her saddlebag's before Twilight could call out to stop her. After rummaging through her bags she trotted back sporting a bowler hat. The same one she had used when attempting to solve the mysteries on the Friendship Express.
"Pinkie Pie's got it hoofled!" She declared, then taking a moment to use her front hooves to adjust the hat. Her eyes glared up at where the hat resided, but unable to see it.
"Remember Pinkie, you're main objective is to observe the humans not befriend them." Twilight reminded her.
Pinkie swiftly nodded several times.
"Aaalright... Fluttershy you can tag along with Rainbow Dash. Once you two find a suitable building you can go investigate the wildlife a little more."
"Yay!" Fluttershy quietly yelled.
"Oh come on! You SERIOUSLY expect me to tag along with 'Shy while she gawks over animals!?" Dash complained.
Fluttershy's ears slid around and her eyes glinted with hurt at Dash's words.
"S-Sorry, W-we don't h-have to l-l-look at the c-critter's if th-that's a prob-problem..." Fluttershy stuttered, disheartened.
Rainbow exchanged an expression of defiance for one of guilt and regret. She quickly apologized.
"Sorry 'Shy. Yea, it's- It's not a problem."
Rainbow Dash brought her head up and sent Twilight annoyed look, then swiftly shifted to a neutral expression.
Twilight sighed and shook her head.
"If I get a chance, I'll explain my reasoning behind that choice. Surely she'll be more reasonable then..." Twilight resolved.
"Uh, what do ya got in store for me, Twi?" Applejack asked.
"You and Rarity will work on... Home Improvement." Twilight hesitantly replied.
Both Applejack and Rarity gave each other a doubtful glance, then directed the same expressions to Twilight.
"Uhm... Twilight, my dear, are you confident about that?" Rarity inquired, with a raised eyebrow.
"Well, you do have an eye for detail and AJ has the knowledge and experince. I know you two can work together to make this place, well..."
Twilight trailed off as she observed the broken walkway, sagging roof, shattered windows, and perforated walls once more.
"If you work together you can make this place more habitable than it is already." Twilight Sparkle resumed, as she gestured to the damage with her right hoof.
"Well... I guess it's needed." Applejack agreed. "I can't guarantee there won't be conflict, but I know I'll do mah best."
"I... Agree with Applejack." Rarity complied.
Twilight nodded and spoke.
"Just do your best, put your differences aside and work with the knowledge that what you'll be doing will benefit each other, and us."
"Oh! Twi! What will yooou be doing!?" Pinkie asked.
"I'll be testing the limits of my Inner Magic, and experimenting with other spells." Twilight Sparkle answered.
"Oh. Okay! Is that it? Can we go now?" Pinkie Pie inquired again. Her eagerness to preform her task was extremely obvious.
"I guess that is. Good luck everypony!" Twilight encouraged.
"See ya later girls!" Rainbow called as she galloped towards the largest hole in the roof. She powerfully pumped her plumage covered appendages to propelled her through the gap and into the sky. Being aware of her need for stealth she flew agonizingly slow to avoid displaying a multicolored contrail.
"Bye!" Fluttershy called as she trotted after Rainbow Dash flapping her wings several times before achieving flight and smoothly sailing through the ceiling's crevice.
Pinkie Pie was also skipping towards the doors. She turned her head and called to Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and the other three.
"Adios Amigos!"
"See you soon!" Twilight shouted after them.
"Farewell!" Rarity likewise called.
"Take care!" Applejack hollered.
Once they had left Rarity turned to Twilight with a curious expression, both of her eyebrows raised and the left corner of her mouth slightly lifted.
" 'Adios Amigos...?' What does that even mean? Is that even the same language?" Rarity inquired.
Twilight made a dismissive gesture with her right hoof.
"She just being Pinkie Pie. I'm just gonna accept it as goodbye in another language." She answered in a tone identical to her gesture.
Applejack briefly looked around the Warehouse then glanced leftwards to Rarity.
"May as well take a gander over what we gotta do and what we got to work with." She suggested, then turned towards the two large doors at the end of the Warehouse.
Rarity nodded and followed her.
Twilight raised her eyebrows and her mouth slid to a slant as she turned to retrieve a book or two from her sidebags.
Rainbow Dash was hovering at a fairly high altitude above the Factory twisting in the air to find where the sun had risen.
"So if behind me is East... Then to my right is North and that's South, West, etc." She thought.
Once orientated she began to study the city below her.
The Factory was at the south western part of a dead, derelict suburb. There were brown lawns and unkempt trees. Anypony that enjoyed a half decent garden back in ponyville would have fainted at the sight. A tall chain link fence cleaved through the suburb, crossing roads and weaving around houses. It continued for miles (Or kilometers) until it was out of sight. Directly west of their position was row upon uneven row of worn, bland structures. The majority of them were one or two storied buildings. What they were or used to be wasn't possible to discern from this height. There weren't any dominant or eye catching colors not that all the paint was the same, there were varied colors only aged and faded.
Rainbow Dash directed her analyzing gaze to her left raising it slowly as she continued to take in the city beneath her, and search for a building that would suit Twilight's needs.
It seemed the farther south the less commercial structures were seen and a substantial suburb began. In that transition a collection of makeshift buildings had been constructed in large parking lot which surrounded a massive Mall. Much movement could seen in that area, but it was too distant for any details to realized. The city must have stretched for scores of miles, only occasional multi-leveled buildings could be seen amongst the blend of houses and supermarkets that continued past the Mall. Rainbow Dash redirected her attention back northwards in search for a building that would satisfy the lavender unicorn somewhere below her.
"Find anything yet?" Flutterhsy asked from behind Rainbow.
"Nah. You see anything?" Dash responded, as she turned her head to speak the words to her friend.
"No."
Her eyes continued to dart from one bland and dull building to the next. Only slightly distracted by the feeling of loss that she was quickly becoming accustomed to. After several more minutes she settled on a building at the south western end of the northern business district. It was a long white four storied story building with red trim and located across the street from the river banks.
"There! You see that white building?" Rainbow Dash called, as she lifted her right hoof to point to the structure.
"Ummm... No. There's a lot of buildings and they all look the same..." Fluttershy replied.
"It's got a red trim." Rainbow said bluntly.
"Sorry, I still don't see it..." Fluttershy meekly spoke.
Dash sighed, as she turned her hooves skywards in a shrug.
"I guess we need to go down and check it out, anyways." Dash resolved.
She momentarily considered diving at high speed to the building, but quickly dismissed the thought; knowing it wasn't worth the momentary joy she would achieve. Instead she switched from the vertical position she was maintaining to a horizontal angle and swiftly glided to her destination at a speed Fluttershy could easily follow.
As they descended they saw very few humans going about their daily business. Two pushed and pulled a small wagon laden with various objects, while a couple others walked on by occasionally entering one of the dilapidated buildings. Rarely did one of them look up. Even if they did they noticed nothing out of the ordinary.
Rainbow Dash, of course, landed first followed immediately by Fluttershy. They quickly examined the roof top, there was a single door that served as an entrance to the roof along with two fire escape ladders leading into the alleyways on either side of the building. Along with themselves there were a few large air conditioner units with several rectangular pipes making pathways across the roof. Surprisingly they were not rusted in the slightest.
Fluttershy hopped over one of the rectangular tubes as she explored the roof top, while Rainbow flew on top of one of the air conditioners to assess the view she could obtain from this structure. They were two stories higher than the majority of the other buildings, the Mall could be seen a fair distance away, and the riverbank was very close many of the trees were budding and leaves were slowly returning. However, several willow trees seemingly retained most of their leaves through the winter. She directed her attention skyward as a slight interest to study the weather had over taken her. Rainbow Dash wondered if the human's devised a way of controlling the weather or if it managed itself. She'd have to ask a human if she got a chance.
Fluttershy peered over the edge of the building and gazed into the narrow, but long forest. It was strangely silent, compared to the forest she lived near at home. There was a steady stomping coming from her left. She glanced over, a human with a grey shirt, blue jeans with black stains, and a dark green pack on his shoulders swiftly trudged down the sidewalk careening around the garbage in it's path. Fluttershy involuntarily let out a small yelp as she ducked down from the edge.
"Eep!"
Dash instantly turned her attention from the sky to the fellow pegasus. She raised her ears in alarm, and lowered herself into a crouch, as she flared her wings. She was prepared to act in any way to any danger.
"You alright?" Rainbow Dash asked, her before defiant expression now changing to one of concern.
"Y-Yes." Fluttershy said, as she crawled with extreme and unnecessary care towards Rainbow.
"Well, what happened then?" Her concern becoming apparent in her voice.
"Nothing. Well, no. Not really. I mean, uh... Yes something. I um... I was watching a human, but I had to hide before it saw me." Fluttershy started uncertainly, but quickly explained.
"Uh huh." Dash replied in an articulate grunt.
Rainbow Dash straightened her bent legs, and relaxed at the lack of danger.
"I guess once it's gone we can go get a better look at the animals over in that forest." Fluttershy suggested.
"Yea. I guess so... It's not much of a forest if you ask me, though." Rainbow reluctantly agreed and commented.
Rainbow Dash peeked over the edge, as she searched for this human.
"There he is!" Dash mentally shouted, as she noticed the man jogging down the sidewalk.
He was already well past them. She then turned her head in the opposite direction, which was leftwards, and she brought her head over her right shoulder, and informed Fluttershy of the situation.
"He's well past us, and nopony is around. We can make it across if we go now."
Fluttershy nodded in response and raised her wings. Rainbow Dash lifted her's also and they quickly glided across into the river bottoms; casually flying north amongst the trees in search of any wildlife. Occasionally they would brush against branches or bushes causing the leaves of the plants to sway allowing the morning dew to fall and refract sunlight in the direction of the nearby road and sidewalk, which ran parallel to the river. After seeing absolutely nothing related to animals for several minutes a cacophony of high pitched wailing originated from a tree top somewhere behind them and to the left.
Fluttershy's eyes brightened with exceeding joy.
"Rainbow Dash! Do you know what that is!?" She exclaimed.
"No! And I wish it would shut up! It's annoying!" Dash replied, her tone matching her last word.
"They're baby birds! They must have hatched in the past few days!" Fluttershy said exceedingly excited, and swiftly beginning to ascend above the trees.
Rainbow Dash grumbled and crossed her forelegs across her chest as she changed to a vertical posture following Fluttershy as she sought for the source of the voices.
They quickly found the nest at the top of a large willow. Fluttershy precariously perched herself on the branches and was bending over the screaming infant birds. Rainbow Dash hovered above Fluttershy and studied the young birds in their nest.
They were fleshly pink and lacked any feathers, and their eyes appeared to large for their bodies. The wailing had taken a more desperate tone. They creeped Rainbow out, but she didn't let it show.
"There, there... Nothing to be afraid off... I won't harm you... Shhh... It's okay..." Fluttershy whispered attempting to console the hatchlings.
She brought her head down amongst the birds and began stroking them with her cheek and snout.
"Awww... Aren't they adorable Dashie?" Fluttershy said, as she raised her head briefly from the birds. Their cries still had a hint of desperation to them, but they seemed to have realized that they were not in immediate peril.
"Uhm... No. They're ugly." Rainbow Dash replied, as she floated over to a near by tree and landed on it, then crossed her forelegs while she waited for Fluttershy to be content.
"They're not ugly! They're so teeny tiny, and those big cutesie wootsie eyes..." Fluttershy replied, as she lifted one of them carefully out of it's nest and rubbed it against her cheek. The hatchling began screaming in absolute terror, certain that it's life was about to be extinguished.
Rainbow Dash gagged and responded.
"Yea... They're still ugly."
Fluttershy sighed, and placed the little bird back with it's siblings in it's temporary home. She Lowered her head until it was just above them, then cleared her throat and began to croon to the relentlessly squealing birds.
"Ahem, Ahem."
"Hush now, quiet now
It's time to lay your sleepy head
Hush now, quiet now
It's time to go to bed."
She continued to hum the tune, then proceed with the next set of lyrics. The birds paused, fascinated by the singing.
"Drifting, Drifting to sleep
The exciting day behind you
Drifting, Drifting to sleep
Let the joy of dream land find you."
She lulled in the lyrics and continued to hum the calming tune. The hatchlings stared up at the yellow beast before them, enthralled by the beautiful peace of song.
"Hush now, quiet now
It's time to lay your sleepy head
Hush now, quiet now
It's time to go to bed."
"Sleeping, Sleeping you are now
A land of dreams ahead of you
Sleeping, Sleeping you are now
Forget your fears and dream of paradise."
Again she hummed the tune once more. Fluttershy's heart filled with joy as the small birds fell into slumber.
"Hush now, quiet now
It's time to lay your sleepy head
Hush now, quiet now
It's time to go to bed..."
Fluttershy let her voice fade into silence as she finished the lullaby. She lifted her head from the position it was residing at and smiled kindly down at the sleeping birdies.
Rainbow Dash shook her head several times, as she ridded herself of the effects of Fluttershy's singing. She suddenly heard the sound of a fairly large animal blundering through the marshy river bottoms. The sound was hastily approaching.
"Hey! Fluttershy! Do you hear that?" Rainbow called.
Instantly the blundering stopped.
"No. What was it?" Fluttershy asked.
Rainbow Dash quietly leaped from her tree, flapped her wings twice, and landed on the Willow with Fluttershy.
She raised a right hoof to her mouth as a single for silence. Dash crouched and peered through the tangled limbs of the trees towards the source of the sound, and noticed the same human from earlier with a torn gray shirt. He too was frozen as he stared at the ground, occasionally looked slightly to the right or left, his brow furrowed in thought. He then abruptly raised his brown hair covered head, which revealed to them an acne plagued face and a large nose.
"Ah-!" His voice caught and he quickly halted his attempt at speech, then shook his head and called out again.
"Hello? I don't want anything. I just want to know who you are... Hello?"
Fluttershy looked over to Rainbow Dash with a scared expression, and whispered.
"Oh no! He's on to us! We need to get back to the Warehouse!"
Rainbow Dash rotated her head to face Fluttershy.
"I don't think so... Maybe we should talk to him?" Dash suggested.
"L-Let's at least talk to Twilight about it..." She responded.
Rainbow Dash nodded and pumped her wings which instantaneously lifted her into the air. Fluttershy quickly followed. Before they steered towards their own temporary home Rainbow looked over her left shoulder towards where she saw the human, who was blocked from view.
"See ya later!" Rainbow Dash shouted back towards him.
She turned, angling upwards and towards the Warehouse.
Applejack inspected the massive corroded sliding metal doors. There was a handle on the left door, and place for one on the right; it was obvious that it had long since fallen off. AJ stood on her rear legs and used her forehooves to tug on the handle. The door resisted the best of her efforts.
"Ain't no way we're gonna be able to use these." Applejack informed Rarity.
"Mmmhmmm" Rarity hummed in reply as she viewed the brown stained doors.
They continued investigating the Warehouse. They occasionally stopped their patrol when they encountered a hole in the roof, or walls. After several minutes they returned the crate, and looked through the supplies they had to work with.
They had eight planks of wood, a typical blue tarp, a small box of nails, a hammer, and the crowbar they used to open the crate.
"Well... We got enough wood and nails to fix a couple of them holes in the walls, and I'm thinkin' we can just put the tarp over one of them holes in the roof." AJ evaluated.
Rarity nodded and made a suggestion.
"Yes, I would prefer it if we sealed the hole above our sleeping area..."
"But that hole ain't big, and it's not like it'll rain." Applejack replied.
"Well let's look at it this way, if your considering throwing that tarp over the big hole Rainbow and Fluttershy like to use, then you'd have to deal with them about that, and further more it shouldn't be about how much we cover it should be what we cover. Besides, it'll be better if we take poor weather into account than regret not doing so later."
Applejack slowly nodded as she considered her points.
"Those are some good reasons, but it's not like we can cut up the tarp. I didn' see a knife or anythin' like one in thar, and I'd rather we cut it into smaller pieces instead of having most of go t' waste coverin' nothin' if we place it over a small hole." AJ pointed out.
"True... Perhaps we can look around and find something sharp that will suffice?" Rarity suggested.
"Yea, but let's get some of these holes in the walls patched up first." Applejack said, as she lowered her head into the box.
Rarity made a small nod, and approached the box to assist in carrying some of the items. Applejack nudged her nose under four of the planks, and vaulted them over her head and onto her back. She returned her head into the box and grabbed the hammer with her mouth. Once her head was removed from the box again she motioned for Rarity to take some items as well, then turned and began walking towards the first hole closest to them.
Rarity levitated the four other planks and nails. The cold surrounded her soul causing her to grimace and release a quiet whimper, but she focused on her task and hid her inner chills from displaying on her face while she carried the materials to where Applejack was heading.
Applejack shrugged the planks off her back; They clattered into a messy heap as AJ began inspecting the gap.
It was quite tall, a little over two yards tall, (or meters) and about four feet wide. At the top edge of the hole the wood appeared to have been forced apart. It left, a now rotted, but still jagged edge at the top of the gap. As Applejack began calculating how many planks she would need and in what direction to place them Rarity arrived with the other supplies.
She noticed the messy pile AJ had made, and shook her head briefly as she levitated the fallen planks with her own. She sorted them into a neat and tidy deck, then placed them onto the concrete floor along with the small box of nails. Applejack glanced over her shoulder to notice this. She looked at the ground as she shook her head. AJ opened her mouth to comment about this, but shortly closed it soon after.
"I gotta put up with 'er... Grrr! Why is it so temptin' to lash out?!" AJ mentally complained.
Applejack sighed and vigorously shook her head again as she attempted to physically shake off her peeves.
"I'm thinkin' we can use four planks to cover up this hole if we place 'em vertically. If you float 'em I'll nail 'em in." Applejack said around the hammer in her mouth, and as she gestured to the right side of the hole.
AJ moved to the small box of nails and flipped it open with her nose. She shook a few of them out onto her hoof and with her three unoccupied hooves she walked over to the right side of the gap and motioned with her head for Rarity to levitate a board over.
Rarity mentally cringed at the amount of " 'ems" Applejack used, but constrained her lips and made a simple nod. She hastily reached into herself and pushed her magic towards the first plank on the stack and brought it before Applejack.
"Ya Gottam move that plank up!" Applejack order as she tried to balance on her rear hooves to reach the top of the board.
"Is that suitable?" Rarity inquired as she centimetered (or inched) the plank higher.
"Nope! A 'lil more!" Applejack responded.
Rarity again moved the board slightly higher.
"Thar! Hold it right thar!" Applejack swayed slightly as she began to lose her balance from being on her hind legs for such a duration, but recovered.
Applejack stood on the tip of her hooves and craned her neck to reach the top of the plank. A few drops of sweat trickled from her mane across her face and down her neck as she continued to put effort into extending her neck as much as possible. Suddenly it was lost. Her left hind twitched from the effort. It caused her to sway ever so slightly backwards, and throw her balance completely off resulting in her thudding onto her back, the hammer to be thrown from her mouth, the nails to take flight out of her hoof and sprinkle onto the ground near her, and her cowcolt hat to fall over her eyes.
"Applejack!" Rarity exclaimed. "Are you harmed?"
She laid the board onto the ground and approached her fellow worker who's rear legs were sprawled out and forelegs curled above her chest.
"I'm fine... Kind of..." Applejack replied.
She grimaced briefly then rolled over, stood, and scooped up the hat with her head as she made sure it was perfectly placed with a push from her right hoof. She glanced at her back. There wasn't any sign of harm, but there might be a bruise or two tomorrow.
"I'm gonna need to stand on somethin' to help me reach the top of the boards." AJ informed Rarity.
Rarity nodded and looked about for anything that would aid Applejack. Of course, not much was left around the Warehouse after Pinkie Pie and Applejack's work yesterday. Due to this Rarity and AJ trotted over to the garbage that was tossed into the corner the previous afternoon, and withdrew an old rusted black wheel.
"This'll do. Kinda wish I had one of them stepladders right about now." Applejack said wistfully.
"Wouldn't a ladder suit your needs better?" Rarity asked as Applejack carried the wheel on her back to the gap they had yet to fix.
"Uhm... No it'd be to big and bulky t' work 'round." AJ replied slightly bemused.
"I think it would be just perfect. Not too high like the stepladders, but small enough to give you the height you need to reach the top of those boards." Rarity stated, also becoming confused as to Applejack's preference to ladders.
"I think yer talkin' about stepladders. Ya know? The small ones that you only have to STEP onto not climb 'em?"
"No. I know exactly what I'm talking about. You merely have to step on a ladder. Whereas, a stepladder requires many steps to reach the top."
"Yer confusin' the two. Ladders are the big ones. Step ladders are the small ones. I don' see how that's easy to confuse." Applejack said quickly becoming exasperated with her friend.
"I disagree. I believe you are confusing the two!" Rarity accused.
"Why... I work on a farm! I should know what this sort of equipment is properly called!" Applejack heatedly replied.
"Hah! With your..." Rarity paused for a moment trying to remember a word. "With your dialect as, Twilight so kindly put it, I'm surprised you can even pronounce your name correctly!" Rarity scoffed.
Applejack's eyes shook with hurt as a sudden memory pushed forward to the front of her mind.
A maroon mare with a beige mane looked down at Applejack with kind jade eyes. The type of eyes only a loving mother could possess.
"Now, try saying your name! Come on! Aaaa... Aaaa... Pa! Pa! Lll... Jah! Ck! Applejack!" She coaxed.
"Haphlejeck!" Foal Applejack excitedly replied.
Applejack's mother chuckled amused by her daughter's attempt at pronouncing her own name.
"You almost got it... Come on! One more try..." She encouraged.
As the cherished memory faded tears slipped from the corners of Applejack's eyes. She looked at the ground as she walked. She had fallen into a pit of melancholy that she would wallow in for a little while...
"What's the issue? It's not typical of you to abruptly end an argument." Rarity spoke as she turned her head to face Applejack.
AJ raised her head, and looked into Rarity's eyes. The pain, and sorrow was all to apparent in Applejack's flat ears and shuddering eyes. She stopped walking and stoically continued to bore into Rarity's deep blue eyes with her own. She knew raw emotion would prove more powerful than any words she could speak at the moment. Rarity's expression of curiosity and concern swiftly changed to one of guilt and sadness.
"What- What have I caused!? Faithful and strong Applejack in tears? How does a disagreement about stepladders cause this?" Rarity thought despairingly.
She quickly recalled the words she had spoken to her, and an intense feeling of guilt filled her being.
"I- I'm supremely sorry... I spoke thoughtlessly. Forgive me please..." Rarity asked sincerely apologetic.
"I- I fergive ya... Let's just get back t' work now..." Applejack quietly spoke. The tone of sorrow was clear.
They continued walking towards the hole. As they neared it Rarity mentally debated asking what caused the tears. She was decisive and chose to speak her thoughts.
"How does a misunderstanding about stepladders cause this reaction...?" She asked.
"I- I jus' had a memory 'bout my... My ma. That's all." Applejack spoke as her voice caught briefly a few times.
"I see..." Rarity replied.
She was aware of the fact that Applejack was orphaned at a very young age with Big Macintosh. She had yet to share the reasons for why she was orphaned... Perhaps someday she would recount that tale.
Applejack shook her mane. Attempting to push away the sorrow filled mindset she was wallowing in, and focus on the immediate task.
"Alrigh'..." Applejack said as she placed the tire at the base of the gap. "Get that board back in place, and I'll nail it in."
AJ quickly retrieved the hammer and nails and resumed the same posture she had on her first attempt as Rarity levitated the board over to the hole. Her eye for design ensured that the board was placed near perfectly with a minimal amount of gaps between the board and the existing wall.
Applejack raised a nail to the top right corner of the board and began tapping it with the hammer until it was in place firm enough for Applejack to take her hoof away and swing steadily and accurately at the nail's head. She and Rarity repeated this processes many times until they had used five boards to seal this hole.
"Pretty dandy work if I do say so mahself." Applejack commented as she stood back and gazed at their decent work.
"It's not bad." Rarity said neutrally.
She turned her gaze further down the wall to notice a breach in the walls near where they would rest at night.
"You might want to consider placing a board over that to prevent an awful draft at night." Rarity spoke as she pointed to the next project.
"Yep. Let's get that taken care of too." AJ agreed.
They trotted off to their next repair site. Applejack carried the hammer and a few planks. While Rarity followed with the nails and more boards. They continued to work and patch that hole and two others until the cyan and yellow pegasi returned.
Pinkie Pie peered out of a garbage can. On the sidewalk across the street were four small humans sat with a deck of cards. Pinkie assumed that they were children, and guessed their ages to be somewhere between ten and six. They sat facing each other around a pile of cards. Regularly one would play a card, then the others would reach over and knock on the wood building they were next to if they couldn't beat the card that was played. If the child that placed the card beat all of them he would take the pile and place it near himself.
"Awh! I don't want to be the critter anymore!" Cried out a blonde smooth haired boy in a striped purple and green shirt with blue overalls and glasses over his eyes.
"At least you look the part!" Said a girl with darker skin and black poofy hair done back in pig tails.
She and the other two boys giggled while the blonde child collected the cards and began shuffling them. He placed each card one at a time into six piles then combined them together and started dealing. As they played through the next round in their game Pinkie Pie noticed another human approaching them to her left. She switched her gaze to that direction.
The human approaching was obviously another kid, but he was larger than the others. He didn't appear strong or fat just generally taller and wider. Perhaps he was older, but from the angle Pinkie Pie had she couldn't tell. He casually carried a smooth wood stick over his shoulder, and wore a long sleeved yellow shirt with jeans that possessed holes at the knees.
As he approached, the blonde hair child glanced up from his card to view the black haired girl across from him. Behind her he saw the approaching person. Their attention being focused on their game had made it easy for the yellow clothed individual to approach them unawares.
"Uh, guys. We got someone comin'." The blonde kid spoke up as he dropped his cards face down and started standing.
His friends looked over to where he focused his eyes and noticed what he had already noted, and repeated what he had already done while turning to face the oncoming human who stopped and looked down at them with a suspicious smile.
"Nice cards you have there 'lil guys, what game ya playin'?" Yellow Shirt asked.
"We're not little and that's none of yer business!" The small blonde child shouted as he squeezed between his friends to stand before the guy who was intruding on their fun.
Yellow Shirt chuckled a chuckle that lacked any hint of mirth.
"I do believe your a tad bit smaller than everyone else here." Yellow Shirt pointed out.
He then directed his attention to the other kids and raised an eyebrow.
"I did ask you guys a question."
"W-We were... Playing Critter." Said one of the other boys with red hair and a tiny nose.
"Really? I'm afraid I don't know how to play that one, but anyways I need to get on with business. You see a friend of mine needs some cards and well it delights me to hear that your willing to let me borrow yours." Yellow Shirt replied.
Pinkie Pie put on a suspicious expression, letting one of her eyes become larger than the other and raising an eyebrow above the smaller one as her mouth jumped into a crooked line.
"What!? We didn't say anything like that!" The blonde kid shouted.
The lad in the yellow shirt regarded him with a look of disdain.
"You didn't have to son. The look in your eyes is enough words for me." Yellow Shirt replied with a strange calm that continued to infuriate the blonde child.
"Why you...! Nobody calls me son but my daddy! And you isn't my daddy!" Yelled the blonde child.
Yellow Shirt shrugged indifferently.
"Fair enough. Now I'll just go on and collect these cards and be off." Said the yellow clothed kid as he began to close the small gap between him and the children.
The light yellow haired stepped forward and angrily stared at Yellow Shirt.
"You ain't taking none of these cards! They're ours! You can't have them!" Denied Blonde Hair.
"That little tike shouldn't be so shellfish selfish, but that guy with the stick sure looks like a meany! They didn't say they would give him the cards. Why would he want the cards anyways? Oh right! He wanted them for his friend! Silly me how could I forget? But why does he want the cards from these kids? Are cards that rare here? Will they become best friends or stay forever at odds? Stay tuned and find out!" Pinkie mentally commentated, as she barely restrained her own giggles.
The yellow wearing individual lowered his stick from his shoulder and into his hands. He gently tossed it upwards with a twitch from his left hand.
"You sure about that, buddy?" He asked with an almost disappointed look on his face.
"RUN! Runrunrunrunrunrunrunrun!" Pinkie Pie mentally shouted.
"Yea! Get back or else!" Blonde Hair threatened.
Pinkie took a breath and tensed her muscles as she prepared herself to jump out of the trash can and shout the word she repeated in her mind.
"Alright." Yellow shirt said in response.
Before the blonde kid or Pinkie had a chance Yellow Shirt brought the smooth stick around in a quick and powerful stroke into the side of the Blonde Kid's head. His face flinched into a cry of pain, but no shout or words issued out from his mouth. He fell to his left into the gutter and street. His body convulsed with each sob as tears filled up his glasses. Yellow Shirt looked down at the kid without an expression, then back up to the other children. They each recovered from their shock and ran for their small lives. Leaving their young comrade to bleed in the gutter.
Pinkie Pie's mouth dropped. She stared in absolute disbelief that such a thing could happen.
Yellow Shirt picked up the cards and hastily stuffed them in his jean's pockets. When he had finished collecting his desired items he returned to the still twitching overall clad child.
"Thanks for the cards pal." He said as he shoved the kid all the way into the gutter with his foot.
The blonde child gave a pitiful cry of pain as he slid into the concrete channel.
Yellow Shirt grinned and chugged off as he began to whistle a tune. He quickly turned a corner and was gone.
Pinkie Pie glanced about. There was nobody else on this street. She didn't see anybody and figured there was nobody to see her. She quickly jumped out of the garbage can and dashed across the street straight for the blonde child until she was standing over him.
"Are you alright?" She inquired.
The amount of blood sliding down the side of his head made it clear he was not. He continued to keep his eyes clenched shut. He cried out pitifully quiet to the stranger.
"Help me... Please..."
"I- I... Uh..." Pinkie Pie stuttered.
She had no idea how to treat an injury like this. She occasionally dealt with a burn, but that was simply running cold water over it. She cast about her gaze around the street frantically for anything that she could deem useful.
"Just hold on, tike! You'll be okie dokie soon!" Pinkie encouraged, even though she didn't believe her own words.
"Please..." He pleaded again.
Pinkie Pie looked down at him with an expression of utter loss and pity.
"Hey... It'll be alright don't worry! Aunt Pinkie's got ya. Sssshhhh..." Pinkie soothed as she bent down towards him.
She cradled his head with her hooves as she ignored the sticky warmth of the blood that streamed across his face to the best of her ability. She nuzzled his face and smooth blonde hair. Trying to comfort him with sound and touch.
"Wh- What's your name...?" He stuttered as he shuddered and sniffed. He refused to open his eyes and his glasses were fogged with tears.
"I'm Pinkie Pie, what's yours?" Pinkie Pie replied and inquired.
"I- I... Silas... My name is Silas..." He whispered in response.
"What's your favorite color, Silas?"
"Yellow... L-L-Like a-" Silas suddenly halted and began to cough violently.
Pinkie quickly withdrew her comforting head until he had finished. Then continued in attempting to calm the blonde child.
"Like a sunflower... I've only saw a sunflower once... I wish I could see one again..." Silas spoke again, haltingly.
"I like sunflowers too! They're tasty!"
"You... Eat sunflowers?" Silas asked, as his pained features briefly shifted to one of amused confusion.
"Why, of course silly!" Pinkie said, as she rubbed the top of his hair with a hoof.
"Who are-" Silas was interrupted by another cough. "Who are... You?"
"I told you that, you silly filly! I'm Pinkie Pie! Party planner extraordinaire!" Pinkie said cheerfully. She hoped to raise the poor boy's spirits.
The boy laughed briefly, but his joy was quickly replaced with a pained expression.
There was a long pause. Tears began to form in Pinkie's eyes as she noticed the child's breaths become more swift and shallow.
"Pinkie...? Do you know... My mommy or daddy? Do you know... Where they are?" He barely inquired.
"I- I don't know..." Pinkie Pie said.
Silas took a breath and breathed out his gratitude for the comfort this stranger provided him.
"Thank you, friend..."
The life went out of Silas and Pinkie placed her head beneath his and wept for the loss of her most recent friend.
Pinkie Pie glumly walked the streets of the suddenly more grim and depressing city. Her mouth was in a sad frown and her eyes were cast down to the bland and boring concrete while her ears faced backwards and laid flat against her head.
"That was quiet a doosy... Why didn't my Pinkie Sense warn me...? He was so young... Dear Celestia, why did he have to die... Should I REALLY keep going? I don't know if I can bear to see something like that again! It was so awful, but there's still plenty of time left..." Pinkie Pie mentally mourned.
She debated whether or not to proceed with her assignment. In the end Pinkie didn't make a definite choice, and continued to aimlessly wander the streets and alleys of this desolate part of town. Eventually she found a muddy pool of water that had collected around a clogged gutter drain, and chose to stare at her reflection for a long time. Mentally repeating the scene she had witnessed and participated in several times. Tears formed and slid down around her nose and added to the tiny lake before her. After very small eternity of disconsolation she washed off the blood that she had collected by consoling Silas, stood, and walked back into the direction of the Warehouse. Her tummy informing her of her need for sustenance.
Twilight laid on her sleeping bag with her legs curled underneath herself, and the books A Review of Common and Rare Spells, and An Extensive Look at Theoretical and Non-Theoretical Physics sprawled out before her. She had glanced through the first book and experimented with the spells it contained on a pillow, which was now filled with water. Twilight had become accustomed to the loneliness that she felt, whenever she preformed magic, fairly quickly, and was jotting down notes in her cyan notepad concerning her discoveries and theories about inner magic.
"It is possible for the utilization of all spells tested on this new planet if:
A. The unicorn possess the ability to preform said spells.
B. The unicorn is capable of adapting to the lack of outer magic.
C. The unicorn has the reserves to maintain the spell.
It has also been discovered that one's inner magic reserves are much greater than one believes. Similar to how the lungs will alert the brain to the depletion of oxygen if oxygen is not replenished, yet the lungs may not necessarily be emptied of oxygen. It is also theorized that the more Inner Magic is used it can, over time, regenerate to greater amounts than what it was previously at. Also similar to how a muscle will become stronger if it is used repetitively. Along with this theory it can be concluded that anypony that used magic excessively in Equestria would have a larger reserve of Inner Magic by default."
Twilight halted her writing as she noticed Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash gliding in as they returned from their mission. She took this moment to glance around the Warehouse. Her awareness had only expanded to about a foot or two around herself as she was intensely focused on her studies.
Rarity and Applejack had finished repairing all that they could and were busing themselves with lunch. Applejack rummaged through the crate for some ingredient while Rarity eloquently placed grass, hay, and flowers between two slices of bread and levitated it all over to a plate. She switched her gaze back to the pegasi and noticed they were coming directly to her. They had an urgent look to them, and Fluttershy seemed a tad tired. It wasn't long at all before they were in front of herself.
"Twilight! We came back as fast as we could! We encountered a human and Fluttershy thinks he's onto us." Rainbow Dash reported hastily.
Twilight adopted a concerned look as she rotated her head to regard Fluttershy. She meekly nodded.
"Well... Did he say anything?" Twilight inquired. She preferred having all the information she could get before making an important decision.
"Uhm... He said hello and that he didn't want anything from us and he wanted to know who we are." Rainbow Dash answered.
"Do you think he saw you?" Twilight continued to prod.
"I... I don't think so, but I'm not certain." Rainbow replied without confidence.
"What's goin' on 'ere?" Applejack asked as she and Rarity approached the three other ponies.
"W-We believe a human may have seen us." Fluttershy answered.
Rarity bit her lip and looked to Twilight with an anxious expression. Applejack's mouth slid into an unsure slant, as she considered the possible implications of this.
"Well we need to find out for certain. Go ahead and grab some lunch, Rarity and AJ've put some sandwiches together, then go ahead and try to find him again and observe what he's doing. If he looks like he acting normally then he probably didn't see you.
"Okay." Fluttershy replied as she turned towards the kitchen to retrieve a sandwich.
Dash nodded and followed Fluttershy.
"I may as well join you girls." Twilight said as she stood and stretched her legs, then trotted over to the kitchen with AJ and Rarity.
Twilight quickly put together a simple sandwich and joined Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy who were chowing down and nibbling at their food, respectively of course. Twilight sat at the main table with them and levitated the sandwich to her mouth and was prepared to take a bite when Pinkie Pie entered the Warehouse appearing very sorrowful and dejected. This instantly became Twilight's primary concern as she placed the sandwich back onto her plate with a look of serious concern.
"Pinkie Pie's back..." She said, in a tone that drew everypony's attention to that fact, as she stood and leaped from her chair.
Twilight broke out into a trot once she landed and with an expression of pure concern approached Pinkie Pie.
"Pinkie, what's wrong?" Twilight asked with a worried tone.
Pinkie Pie's response was to sit on the floor and look up at Twilight, then peer around her to see if the other five were coming. Since they were she waited for them to arrive before speaking.
"I watched somepony... Or is it somebody? Someone? I don't know. I watched them die." Pinkie Pie said simply with misery in her voice.
Fluttershy gasped.
"Oh... My..." She exclaimed.
The others looked amongst themselves with worry and concern.
Rainbow Dash walked over to Pinkie Pie and slid her right foreleg around her in an attempt to comfort her as she sat beside her with a dispirited expression.
"If ya don't mind... Can ya tell us what exactly happened?" Applejack inquired.
Pinkie Pie nodded several times rapidly and shared her hardship. When she ended her tale there were many wet eyes, and heavy hearts.
Twilight and Rarity wiped at their eyes while Fluttershy cried openly. Applejack and Rainbow Dash maintained tearless eyes, but their dismal expressions showed that this weighed heavily on their souls. Most of them they were distraught more by Pinkie Pie's grief than a death of a stranger, but the manner and reason for this child's death was enough to cause tears to fall.
"Why did he have to die... He was so young..." Pinkie Pie said dejectedly as she sniffed and wiped away her own tears. As she stood she asked a question.
"All this saddy waddy has gotten my tummy hungry. What is there to eat?"
AJ shrugged and answered.
"We got some sandwich fixin's so you can put yer own meal together."
"Alrighty then." Pinkie replied as she stood and trotted off towards the tables. The others slowly followed her at a more sedate pace.
After a few minutes they were all seated around the table together. There was a minimal amount of conversation.
"Sooo... Fluttershy, did you find any creatures?" Twilight inquired.
"Oh yes!" Fluttershy replied. Her eyes suddenly brightened as she began to share her passion.
"We found a nest full of baby doves! They could only have hatched in the last few days. They were so adorable..."
Twilight grinned, but quickly asked another question.
"How did they react to you?"
Fluttershy briefly looked up to the ceiling as she remembered the moment, then lowered her eyes back to Twilight and answered her query.
"Well they did seem kind of terrified at first, but when I sang a lullaby they quieted and drifted off to sleep..."
"Yea it was pretty amazing..." Rainbow Dash began. "But it could have been-"
Rainbow Dash was interrupted, but a sudden groan and facehoof from Applejack.
"Oh please! Spare us Dash! We've heard that joke too many times!" Rarity pleaded.
"Hmph. Fine." Rainbow replied as she crossed her forelegs across her chest in a feigned expression of annoyance, but a faint smile curved her lips as her friends reactions amused her.
Applejack finished her sandwich then glanced over to Rarity.
"I'm gonna go look though the trash heap for anythin' sharp we can use to trim that tarp down. Join me when yer done." AJ informed Rarity as she stood and carried her plate into the kitchen.
Rarity nodded, and began polishing off what was left of her sandwich.
By the time Rarity had finished what was left of her meal and joined Applejack; Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy had left to conclude their assignment, and Pinkie had quietly finished her own food and walked over to sleeping bag. She laid on it with closed eyes. Whether she was sleeping or sorting through her grief wasn't known. Twilight Sparkle had retrieve her book on theoretical physics and was reading through it at the main table occasionally taking a sip of water as she turned a page.
Applejack and Rarity had some success. They found a long sharp piece of metal that Rarity could make incisions with, but held off on cutting the trap.
"I don' think it'll be a good idea to start cuttin' up the tarp now until we actually know how big that hole is. We can wait for RD and Fluttershy to get back and have them hold it up against the hole, measure it, and mark it."
Rarity nodded and spoke her agreement.
"Yes. Once a cut is done it can't be reversed."
Applejack poked through the garbage some more as she attempted to find heavy objects that would weigh down the corners of the tarp when it was placed over the hole. When AJ did locate one she would inform Rarity and have her levitate it out of the heap. Once satisfied with the amount of heavy metal and wood objects they had extracted. Rarity levitated them over to the tarp and neatly piled them next to it. Applejack didn't witness this, however, as she had trotted off to the crate to obtain a snack while they waited for the to Pegasi return.
When Rarity returned to the Kitchen Twilight eagerly took advantage of her opportunity to share her own theories and discoveries about Inner Magic with Rarity, whether she wanted to listen to them or not, but she was polite and slightly interested in topic herself so she played along with Twilight's eagerness.
After some time and, a little boredom, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy returned. They were quickly surrounded by their friends, except for Pinkie Pie who showed no interest in moving from her cozy nest of a sleeping bag. The other five looked to her with concern once they realized she was not joining them.
"Well...?" Twilight asked Rainbow Dash. "We can always tell her later."
Rainbow Dash nodded and proceeded to give her report.
"Amazingly enough we found the guy. He'd changed his shirt so he was difficult to spot, but Fluttershy recognized his stained jeans. So we followed him darting from rooftop to rooftop doing or best to remain hidden, and I think we did a pretty good job. I mean, nopony saw-"
"Nobody, and how do you know it's male?" Twilight corrected and inquired.
Rainbow Dash glared briefly at Twilight then proceeded.
"Body. Pony. Whatever! And I just call it a he. I don't have a clue! Anyways, we weren't seen so we followed this guy up and down the streets through alleyways, and eventually we started getting pretty far South and we started running into more humans so we couldn't follow the guy without risking getting seen ourselves."
Twilight nodded satisfied and relieved with the information.
"Good. Did you see at all what he did?" She queried.
"I saw him digging through the garbage. I think that's where he finds his food..." Fluttershy answered.
Rarity lifted her nose at that.
"How disgusting." She commented.
The four had minor expressions of disgust too, but Applejack shrugged it off and poised her own question
"That's good t' know, but if what Pinkie Pie told us is true, which I don't doubt that it is, then it'll be best if we start settin' up a watch or somthin' while we sleep... Just in case, ya know?"
The others saw the wisdom in this, and agreed.
"I don't think Pinkie should be on watch tonight though... She's had an emotionally traumatic day." Twilight said.
"Then whose gonna be on watch first?" Rainbow Dash asked, as she glanced to the others with an exception that one of them would volunteer.
"I don't mind going on watch. I didn't do much physically today and I usually stay up late studying or pondering." Twilight replied volunteering to the task.
"I can be the second on watch, unless somepony else wants it... I'm used to being woken up at night by my animals." Fluttershy spoke up.
"And I'll take the last one, I wake up close to that early anyways." Applejack offered.
"I guess I could take that third position then..." Rarity said reluctantly.
"Yes! A full night's sleep for me!" Rainbow Dash said, as she pumped a hoof.
The other four glared at her. Rainbow grinned sheepishly back, but held no regrets for what she said. Eventually the glares were dropped.
"Well that's settled then I guess. I'll work on dinner tonight. I think it's some type of soup." Rarity spoke, then turned and began walking towards the kitchen.
"I'll help out too." Fluttershy said in typical quietness as she followed Rarity.
"Hey Applejack." Twilight began. "Could you show what improvements you made around the Warehouse today?"
Applejack regarded Twilight when she spoke her name.
"Yea, sure. We'll start over thar." Applejack replied, nodding towards their first repair job.
As AJ and Twilight walked off, Rainbow Dash decided that with nothing to do and a close friend hurting she'd do her best to comfort her. She flapped her wings a few times to lift herself into the air, then steadily flew over to where Pinkie Pie laid.
"Hey Dashie..." Pinkie said, as she looked up to Rainbow Dash with sad eyes and a small frown.
" 'Ey Pinkie." Dashie replied as she laid down on AJ's sleeping bag next to her.
"What were you guys talkin' about over there?" She asked.
Rainbow Dash's right ear twitched as she shifted awkwardly. She hadn't dealt with a sedated Pinkie before, but like the majority of things Rainbow dealt with she winged it.
"Well... We figured that guy didn't see us, and that we're gonna set up a watch if people are as cut throat and stuff around here as you say they are... Rarity and Fluttershy are working on soup for dinner." Rainbow explained.
"Soup's sounds yummy. Who's up first for watch t'night?" Pinkie inquired.
"Twilight volunteered. She suggested that we give you the night off since you had a pretty rough day..." Dash said.
Pinkie shrugged, and a grave expression slowly passed across her face as she began to disclose her hardship with Rainbow.
"I've never seen anypony die before Dashie... Let alone right in my hooves. I guess I need to be happy that I made a friend, and be glad that he doesn't have to endure in this dismal place anymore, but how...? How can I be happy and joyful when my heart is full of grief?" Pinkie Pie sighed and shook her head, then a quick grin passed across her mouth.
"I just don't know what went wrong." Pinkie quoted.
Rainbow Dash chuckled, then chose to assure her.
"Don't worry too much Pinkie. You'll sort it out. You ARE the Element of Laughter after all."
They conversed for a while longer until Fluttershy gathered them for the meal.
They sat together around the table. There some conversation around the table this evening.
" 'Ey Rainbow Dash, ya think tomorrow you can help us out with pat-"
There was a sudden glow of warm glorious light near the crate. Those that faced it hastily looked away for fear of being blinded. After a moment the light faded and they allowed themselves to view what undoubtedly was another box from Princess Celestia. The crate that had been sent this time was identical to the previous in all but one factor. It was significantly smaller. Most likely due to the fact that the majority of what they needed was shipped already.
"We'll check it out after supper." Applejack resumed. She wanted to request the pegasi's help before they were distracted.
"As I was sayin'... Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Do ya think you can help us out with patchin' up a few holes in the ceilin' tomorrow?"
Rainbow Dash raised her forehooves in a shrug.
"I don't see why not. 'Shy you up for it?" Rainbow Dash replied.
"I can help." Fluttershy answered.
"Ah. Thanks a lot." Applejack said appreciatively
"This soup is souperb." Pinkie Pie said with a slight grin, as she sipped some of her meal off her spoon.
The others giggled and laughed at Pinkie's joke, and also complimented and thanked Fluttershy and Rarity for their cooking.
"Oh you flatter me, darlings, but I really didn't have much to do with it. It was all Fluttershy." Rarity humbly responded.
"Thanks." Fluttershy squeaked as she briefly blushed behind her fur.
"I wish we had some of that cider..." Rainbow Dash said wistfully as she changed the subject while she recalled the sweet delight from the previous night.
"You and your cravings for cider..." Twilight said as she briefly rolled her eyes.
"What! Can't a mare desire a good drink once in a while?" Dash replied defensively.
"Yes, dear, but you ALWAYS want cider." Rarity chided with a smile.
Rainbow rolled her eyeballs and continued slurping her soup from her spoon.
The conversation tapered off and they continued to consume their soups in silence.
"I guess we can check out that crate in the morn'." Applejack suggested, as she stood from the table. She had finished her soup.
The some of the other five nodded and followed her example.
Once all the dishes had been collected Twilight and Applejack volunteered to clean the dishes while the others prepared themselves for bed. Rarity inserted her curlers, while Fluttershy and Pinkie brushed their teeth. Rainbow Dash waited for them to finish, and watched Twilight and Applejack clean the last of the dishes. They didn't speak much yet worked so well together. It boggled Dash's mind that people so different could cooperate so well.
It wasn't long before they were snuggled into their sleeping bags sounding off the Z's until morning. Twilight was outside the Warehouse staring up at the stars again. This evening she searched for constellations she couldn't see, and attempted to create a formula that could calculate how much pollution would be needed to make constellations vanish She didn't formulate anything solid, but quickly became sated on the subject. She then chose to continue her previous wondering on the parallel seasons. She mulled the topic over several times until she finally reached an answer that began to sate her curiosity.
"Maybe it has to do with a planet's axis? What if this planet is tilted in the opposite direction as ours? That might explain these parallel seasons... This is truly a fascinating subject. I just wish I had my library to work with. Speaking, well, thinking of the library I wonder how Spike's getting along on his own...?" Twilight mentally theorized, and then mentally meandered through various thoughts about her home.
After a few hours of theorizing and brooding on various subjects she realized she had begun to slowly slip into slumber. She stretched as she stood and walked back to where the others slept, and nudged Fluttershy awake. She slowly opened her dark azure and nodded thanks to Twilight for waking her. Once Fluttershy had fluttered away to where she would keep her post Twilight wiggled into the warmth and security of her bag and closed her eyes. She didn't open them again until morning.
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'Eyo Everybody! (Or pony if that floats your cloud.)
Another FlutterYay for another chapter!
After several days of putting all my spare time into reviewing the three other chapters and making them a whole lot better. (
They were atrocious.) I have finally released the fourth one! This one does contain some darker stuff, but I don't think it'll get any darker then that. So go ahead, and give the previous chapters a re-read if you want. I didn't change much in them, what happens in the end is still the same, but I've made the writing style a bit more consistent across chapters. If you don't want to read them, fine with me, your reading this comment and that makes me happy. Infact if you came BACK to this story that makes me happier.
Oh, and I also redid that stupid Intro thing and condensed it into the first chapter if your curious as to where that went, or even cared.
Two last things, If you want to know the progress of the next chapter go ahead and become a stalker and follow me. (I won't mind, seriously, I won't.) I'll probably post blogs about it's progress, or just relentless blabbering. (Most likely the former.)
And please, catch my mistakes! I really want to make this the best I can possibly make it. So please get mad at me or politely inform me of errors. (Because I get lazy of re-reading the same text in search of errors.)
Oh, and have a happy looking AJ if you made it this far.
Because AJ really is best pony.