//------------------------------// // Chapter 8: Rainbow's Dilemma // Story: Feud Fight (#5) // by LightningStar626 //------------------------------// Chapter 8: Rainbow's Dilemma. ~The Rainbooms sans Fluttershy and Pinkie, strode along the path in exhaustion. They were just about reaching the top of the hill, and wanted to quickly jog up there, but their hearts were beating so hard, it forced them to walk slowly, or even stop on some occasions. Finally, Rainbow's hand smacked the dry dirt at the top and she pulled herself up and over. She then helped the others down below once she gained the tiniest bit of strength again.~ "I'm so tired…" Rarity groaned. "Me too…" Rainbow added. "Honestly, where is a fainting couch when you need one?!" "Come on girls, don't give up. We need to keep going." Twilight encouraged, despite groaning and panting as well. "For Jace and Fluttershy…" Sunset breathed. ~The girls scrambled to their feet and soon began to move again. However, Rarity's legs began to ache more and felt as if every bone in her body was being jarred out of joint. Applejack noticed her friend in pain, and frowned. She looked up as the sun setted through the trees, and realised the night was actually coming pretty soon.~ "Y'all, I think we should rest for a few hours...it's gettin' late and we're all pantin' like sheepdogs on a hot summer's day." Sunset darted her eyes up at the lowering sun. "Alright." She sighed. "I guess we need it." Rarity fainted to the ground. "Thank you…" She breathed in relief. ~Hastily, Applejack yanked Rarity from the ground and placed her up against a tree. Gingerly, she felt her throbbing head and closed her eyes to rest. The others sat around beside her, and for a long time no one moved or talked. Their breathing was still heavy and their legs were aching. Rainbow Dash leaned her head back to relax, but when doing so, she noticed a figure in the sky, and it was coming straight for them. Rainbow was at first ambivalence, but then she squinted and got a closer look, and saw that it was Lightning and Stitch and Spike the dogs.~ "Hey, check it out! Lightning, Stitch and Spike are back!" She exclaimed. "Oh, thank goodness!" Rarity sighed happily. "There they are! Lightning, Dive! Dive!" ~Lightning didn't hear Stitch. Her eyes were almost asleep and all she could hear was the calm beach sounds in her head. Suddenly, she was awoken by a nibble on her neck. She yelped in surprise and fumbled in her flight pattern. Stitch released his grip on Lightning's neck before digging his claws into her jacket. Spike yelped too as Lightning did begin to dive down, and because she was tired and in pain, her landing wasn't quite elegant. She thumped on the ground and crashed, face first, into a tree. Her ears and tail deactivated and she scrunched up her face.~ "Oww…" She groaned. "Lightnin'!" Applejack cried. The gang rushed to her. "Are you alright?" Rarity asked. "Did you find Jace?" Rainbow prompted. "Been...flying...for...many hours...need rest…" ~Lightning's head bowed and she collapsed quickly out of exhaustion. Her arms ached and her hands felt raw. The five Rainbooms were completely astonished by her sudden faint and decided to also prop her against the large tree too. They sighed, then focused their attention on Stitch and Spike, who staggered to their paws weakly.~ Applejack went to them. "Stitch, Spike...where's Jace?" Stitch whined, then barked up. "Oh! Umm...Jace...ih! Jace is over the trees, pass the lake and the mountain and is at a campsite with some boys not far from here. Right, Spike?" "Right." Spike nodded. Rainbow was pleased. "Oh Yeah! Good job! Come on, guys! Let's go! "Uhh...Rainbow Dash…" ~Rainbow's determination stopped when Applejack called her. The girls and dogs could hardly stand up and were still panting their lungs out. Rainbow looked at them with a rueful face.~ "Oh right…We'll have to leave tomorrow morning…" She said. "My thoughts exactly." Applejack smiled as she and RD sat by the tree. "I just hope Jace and Fluttershy will be ok. I seriously do not want them to stay there any longer." "Me neither. But, they have each other, and hopefully, if Jace knows a few thin's, they'll be fine." ~Fluttershy left the tree with a sense of fear too deep for words. She started to watch the sun fall and a few light, fluffy clouds break the fresh sky. She spied through the trees then bravely stepped into the circle of tents. She could see was a small glow coming from each of them and no one in sight. Until suddenly, she heard voices and looked over to see a larger tent, glowing brighter than the others.~ "Come on, Jace just do it!" came a voice from inside. "No!" She heard Jace shout. "You know it's inside you." Another voice spoke. "Never!" "Jace!" Fluttershy breathed to herself. "What are they doing to him...?!" ~Fluttershy whimpered before scrambling up to the tent and hiding outside it. She watched the shadows play in the tent. She had to think of a plan to help, fast.~ "Come on, Jace. Do it for us! For the boys." Rohas encouraged. Rube nodded. "And do it fast. Before Frad gets here-annnnnnd too late." ~Rube felt someone touch his shoulder, then push him aside. He knew it was Frad right away. He stepped into the tent, gazed down dully at Jace from his height. Jace got concerned.~ "Is it done?-Did he do it?-Is it over?-Are we finished?" Frad asked constantly. "Oh yeah, it was great." Rube answered sarcastically. "Let's go to sleep now." Frad sighed. "The real answer, Rohas." "We tried everything. The boy's locked up like a rusty gate." Frad facepalmed. "Honestly, Jace… Why is this so difficult for you?" "Hmm…" He growled. "You can make it stop at any time. All you have to do is...Say: 'Girls are gross.' Come on, Jace. Say it." "No!" Jace yelled in repulse. "Say it! Say it!" Both Rube and Rohas chanted. "No! It's cruel!" "Again with the 'No.'? Typical." Rube said. "Ugh, Frad, you are wrong about girls…" Jace tried to explain. "They are not like what you said." "Yes they are! They are terrible! My goodness, what have they done to you?-They've made you think like them! This is bad. Means we're gonna have to take desperate measures. Rohas, get the 'instruments'." ~At once, Rohas turned and left the tent, Fluttershy dodged his eyes and scurried behind the tent when he left. And of course, she could hear everything coming inside.~ "Instruments?" She questioned. "Wh-what are those for?" ~She gasped to the sudden footsteps coming back to the tent. She felt Rohas go back in and place something large on the floor.~ "What…?" "We had these buried in this very site for a long time. Never understood why." Rohas claimed, putting a shovel down and opening the box. "Until now." Frad grinned. "Rube. Hand me, the Game console." "Oh boy…" Rube sighed as he handed his brother a game console from the box. "Listen closely, Donar. Do exactly as I say." "Please, don't." Jace begged. "Play it. Go on, Jace." Frad smiled. "No!" "Play it. Play it! PLAY IT!" "Play Pokemon! Call of Duty! Fifa!" The boys chanted. "No! I'm not-I'm not going to do it!" Rube sighed. "Yep. Keeps refusing." Frad did too. "Ok, you are literally trying my patience, Jace. You are no longer with the girls, you are with us, boys. And BOYS, DON'T DO GIRLY THINGS! NOW, HAND ME...THE ACTION FIGURE!" "No!" "YES!" "Ok, Frad, just calm down, calm down, calm down." Rube sighed. "We'll get through this." "Hey, where is the action figure?" Rohas suddenly asked. ~Rohas stuck his head in the box in search of the figure, but couldn't see it. Until he looked up. Fluttershy was standing behind the box, action figure in hand.~ "Excuse me," She started. "But it's not nice to force someone to do something they don't want to do." "AHH! It's a GIRL!" Frad screamed. "What?" "Whoa! Who is she?" Rohas demanded belligerently. "What's she up to?" "Where did she come from?" Rube asked. "I don't care-Just get her!" ~With a snarl, Frad threw Fluttershy off like a ragdoll. She stumbled back and lost her footing. With a cry of alarm, she teetered and then fell to the polyester covered floor. Frad had not finished with her, however. Lying on her back, she faced his towering from high above her. His brows were the colour of thunder and with a cold sneer he grabbed and lifted the shovel off the ground and over his head, ready to bring it down upon her.~ "Jace! Help me!" Fluttershy cried. ~Jace knew he had to act. Rushing forward, before anyone could stop him, he dived down and struggled through the boys. He seized Fluttershy's hand and dragged her to her feet before bursting the tent flap open and running out with her. Frad swung the shovel, but it just about missed, and slammed into the floor.~ Frad turned to the flap in shock. "What the…?" "Jace just helped her!" Rube exclaimed. "Don't just stand there, get them!" screamed Frad. "Don't let them escape!" ~The three boys shove out of the tent and see Jace and Fluttershy race around the tents in attempt to lose them.~ "This way!" "O-Okay!" Fluttershy panted. "Fluttershy, See if you can try to get this bracelet off!" Jace exclaimed, showed her the brace around his leg. "I'll-I'll try!" Frad suddenly came up behind her. "Boo." "Ahh!" "Let's go!" ~Jace held Fluttershy's hand tightly as she trembled with fear and ran with him. They continued racing around the tents, and Frad, Rube and Rohas continued pursuing them. However, Rube started to get tired so he slowed to a walk and tripped on his baggy trousers upon doing so. Rohas ran around the tent Chip was camping in, so he called out to him for help.~ "Chip, there's a girl here trying to steal Jace. Come help!" "Eh, I'm too tired, man." He yawned from inside his tent. ~Frad began shrieking to the sky with anger as he bolted for Jace and his companion. He was hot on their tail and could almost about reach them, if something had not distracted him, like Topas and Luda coming out of their tent, half asleep.~ "What is going on out here?" Luda demanded, annoyed by all the shrieking. "Jace?" Topas inquired. "Fluttershy, hurry!" Jace panicked. "I'm trying!" ~Fluttershy dropped the action figure she was still holding onto and made Jace stop so she could use both hands to try and remove the bracelet. Frad knew this was his chance. He headed straight for the duo and was about to grab them, when suddenly he stepped on something hard and crooked. His ankle twisted all the way around and he shrieked again, this time in pain. He looked down and saw the figure below his foot. His left leg and ankle were now both twisted, and he could not stand on it. He instantly fell to the ground sharply. Fluttershy turned and saw play out badly.~ "Oh. My." She gasped. "We need to go." Jace urged. ~Fluttershy set the bracelet down, and together, she and Jace plunged into the forest and disappeared from the camp. Rube and Rohas panted as they reached Frad lying on the ground. They stared at his ankle.~ "Ouch, that has to hurt." Frad lifted his upper body. "I...have...HAD IT! NO MORE! THOSE GIRLS HAVE PUSHED ME TOO FAR! THE NEXT TIME I SEE ANOTHER GIRL COME OUT OF THE FOREST OR ANYWHERE ELSE, IF THEY DON'T HAVE THEIR PAPERS THEY ARE GETTING A FULL FRADDIE SMACKDOWN! THIS IS WAR!" ~With a final shriek, Frad groaned and fell to the ground again in pain, he could not move his leg at all. Topas, Luda and the rest of the boys in the camp crowded around him.~ "Oh Frad…" Chip gasped. "That is just horrible…" Stato sighed. "I can't believe it...Jace...ran away from us again…" Luda said unbelievably. Topas dropped to his knees. "No...We literally just found him only to leave us again! I...I don't understand, I just don't!" "Do you wanna go after him?" "No, I just want to go home. I'm too sad to continue with the days. Come on..." ~Topas got up and walked away sulkily. All the boys watched him and sighed deeply before staring into the forest.~ ~It was Lightning who woke up first. There was a strange sound nearby the tree the gang was under. She felt in the darkness for the closest person near her and gave them a shake. It took some moments to rouse them.~ "Lightnin'?" mumbled Applejack. "It ain't mornin' already, is it?" "No." hissed Lightning. "Listen. There's someone outside." "Think it could be Pinkie Pie?" she whispered excitedly. "I don't know." Lightning replied. "Let's take a look." ~She leant over and kneeled up. Both of them poked their heads around at once. It was still dark and the clear light of the stars shone coldly. All was quiet.~ "There's no one…" Applejack began. "Wait." Lightning whispered. "Look over there." ~The cowgirl followed her gaze with wonderment. There in the darkness sat what looked like a person, with messy like hair. It suddenly coughed, and the cough sounded pretty raspy. Applejack immediately knew who it was.~ "Rainbow Dash?" She gasped. "Huh? Oh. Hey guys." "What are you doing out here so late?" Lightning asked, taking a seat beside her. "I was just thinking about Pinkie." She threw a stone and it flew into the darkness. "Aw. Great. That was the best stone here. Now the only ones I've got are soggy and slippery." Lightning smugged. "Hmm, just like Pinkie's…" ~Applejack suddenly interjected Lightning by nudging her arm and glaring at her. She instantly shut up.~ "What was with Pinkie this morning anyway?" Rainbow asked in exasperation. Both Lightning and Applejack went blank. "Uhh...Well…" Applejack stuttered. "Hey! I wonder if there are any better stones over here!" ~Lightning stomped and flipped on her feet and went off to the trees to gather more stones, as well as some sticks. She piled them up in her arms and threw them down beside Rainbow and Applejack, they bounced a little when they made contact with the ground. The two picked one up a stone each and analysed it. Lightning sat back down and also picked up a stone and examined it.~ "Ah-ha! Nice and round and less slippery! Here you go, Rainbow." She tossed the stone over to Rainbow, she athletically caught it with one hand. "Here, let's see who can throw the stone the farthest!" Rainbow pulled a smile. "Alright. You're on!" ~Like a professional thrower, Lightning winded her arm up and over her head and lobbed another small stone into the darkness. They never heard it thud. Rainbow went next, and she lobbed the stone she had into the darkness as hard as she could. Once again, there was not a sound to be heard. Applejack went last, and she lobbed the stone as fast as a bullet. And this time, they heard it hit on something rough, like a tree stump. Lightning and Rainbow were shocked before they both began laughing. Later, the three girls had no more stones so they began chatting and watching the sun barely show itself from the horizon.~ "You know, I'm actually glad Pinkie's not here." said Rainbow. "Seriously?" Lightning inquired. "Yeah. I mean, she has been acting weird lately and I just don't want to be a part of it." "Ah, come on, you and her did exchange somethin' to each other back in the hideout." smiled Applejack. "Well, before all THIS happened." Lightning whispered. Rainbow sighed. "...You know, Pinkie hasn't actually ever apologized to me since then." "We did talk to her about you and how you felt, right before 'The Cake incident'." "The Cake Incident?" "Pinkie Pie wanted to make a giant cake for ya as an apology. However, it sorta...melted." Applejack explained. "Oh, so that's why Pinkie felt...weird. It wasn't about Jace at all. Why did she lie about it?" "Beats me." The raccoon girl shrugged. "Too stressed and sad, perhaps?" "Yeah. Probably. But, trust us, Rainbow Dash. Pinkie does care for you. She just...got mad and sad, just like when you did when you…" "Stepped into her goop collection." "Yeah…" Rainbow breathed and looked down. "Well, wherever Pinkie is now, I hope she will come to her senses independently, calm down and find us, so we can apologize and save Jace. Together." "Absolutely."