//------------------------------// // Around Every Corner: ...by a thread. // Story: The Mane 6 And Lee Everett // by Can-dees_Murder_Weapon //------------------------------// The past few hours had been nothing but uneventful. The ponies along with Clementine stayed back at the house, waiting for Twilight to bring Rarity back. The house was quite dark, as it was dusk. Rays of the moonlight seeped through the gaps in the boards that were nailed up against the windows, lightning up a small portion of the first floor room. Fluttershy was getting tired but she had forced herself to stay awake which didn't go unnoticed by Applejack. The country pony insisted that the pegasus should get some rest but she refused, saying "if anypony needed rest, it was you". The pegasus had been referring to her ribs. It wasn't much of a hassle dealing with it, it didn't ache as long as she didn't put too much pressure on her side. Shortly after, the pegasus had taken Clementine upstairs after the child complained about being tired. After Fluttershy had brought her into one of the rooms, the child asked her to stay by her side until she fell asleep. The child explained that she was afraid of the dark and didn't want to be left alone. The pegasus sat on the end of the bed and waited until the child fell asleep but ended up falling asleep herself. Rainbow Dash and Applejack were the only ones in the house who wasn't asleep. Both of them had to stay awake, in case someone or something tried to get in. Applejack's stubbornness foolishly outweighed her injury. She knew, she wouldn't have a good chance if something did break in but by natural instinct, she ignored it. Even Fluttershy had pointed that out but to her, she'd rather be the one protecting the place than Fluttershy. She highly doubted that the pegasus would actually... protect the place, at most she would probably scream. Rainbow Dash was the most reliable candidate in the mansion. Her wing was beginning to recover but it didn't render her from doing anything else. She'd do anything to protect her friends, even if that meant putting herself in danger to save them. It felt like hours had gone by, nothing but filler chat between the two ponies. They both eventually agreed that they were going to catch some sleep. The sound of a door opening caused Applejack to sprang from her layed position on the couch. She quickly caught a glance from Rainbow Dash, having the same alerted look on her face. Applejack quickly casted a glance over to the windows, seeing it was still dark out. She looked back at the pegasus who hid against the couch. "Rainbow!" "What?" She whispered back. "Who is that?" "How would I know!?" "Well, we gotta do somethin'!" They both heard a door closed and the footsteps grew louder and louder. "Girls?" An abrupt voice called out and relief fell upon the two cautious ponies. Applejack got up from her position with Rainbow following. They walked over to Twilight, standing outside the living room by the stairs. Her horn lit up and suddenly, a small area around them illuminated with a dull purple light. "Twilight! You're back!" "Did you find, Rarity?" Rainbow asked, walking up to the two with an expecting look on her face. "No." Twilight's head hanged slightly and she shook her head. A moment later, she looked up but not at them. As if she were lost in her thoughts. "I couldn't find her anywhere. I searched and searched and searched and still nothing came up. I couldn't even find David, Carley or even Lilly." "So, they're just... gone?" "They're not gone!" Rainbow quietly shouted, a stern look on her face. "They're probably just... in one of the buildings, or something." "I've checked through the buildings, Dash," Twilight said. "I've checked through buildings, I've checked the roofs, I've checked the sewers. I've checked everywhere and still nothing. Rarity's missing and I have no idea where she is," her voice cracked and she turned to look away from them. Staring hard at the floor to keep herself from breaking down. "Twilight?" Applejack went to rub the pony's shoulder but the unicorn flinched away, backing up closer to the stairs. A moment later, the unicorn spoke again in a fragile voice. "I think I'm just gonna... catch some rest, girls." Twilight turned away from them and began walking upstairs. "Do you have any suggestion of where she might be?" Rainbow asked, walking into the dining room. It few more hours had passed since Twilight arrived back from her search. The sun was rising once more, providing somewhat better lighting. The two ponies, Applejack and Rainbow both agreed on staying up for the rest of the night to keep a look out. During the time of waiting for Lee and the group to get back with medicine and other essential items, the two ponies grew more worried as time went by. Twilight had told them that she searched everywhere and still nothing came up of Rarity. Rainbow Dash had tried to convince herself that the unicorn hadn't looked hard enough. That she didn't look in the right place. Maybe she missed something, a place, a building and it completely flew past the unicorn's mind. She refused to accept that Rarity, her best friend, was lost in a city filled with mindless cannibal husks. On the other hoof, Applejack didn't know what to think. She took Twilight's word at face value. That she did look everywhere for the fashionista. If she still found nothing in that time of searching, not even a strip of lavender mane then what happened to Rarity? There was one answer that was at the back of her mind. An answer that would put an end to the search. Something that the country pony had been dreading and shoving it at the back of her mind ever since the neocortex conjured up the solution. If Rarity was nowhere to be found and Twilight did search everywhere for her; then was she... "Ah don't know, Rainbow. Can ya' please stop askin', ah said we'll talk about it when the others get back," Applejack replied, annoyed. The pegasus had been going on about what they should do with Rarity ever since dawn had begun to arrive. "Why don't we just go out there and look for her?" Rainbow jumped off the couch. "'Cause, like Twilight said: my ribs 're still recoverin'. Ah can't even run let alone, fight walkers." "Oh, right." The pegasus sat back down on the couch. "I just wish the others would get back so we could figure out what we're gonna do." "Yeah... ah know." "Speaking of which, how do think they're going?" "Honestly? Ah don't know. From what we've heard about that place, ah just hope they make it out okay." "Yeah, they're probably gonna have a few injured." "Ah hope not..." Applejack trailed off. The others coming back with injuries? That's the last thing they need right now. She and Rainbow were already recovering, but the possibility seemed inevitable to her. A place ran by selfish poni-people? Injuries were inevitable but she could hope. "And what are we gonna do about, Pinkie?" "What do you mean?" Applejack asked, confused. "What do I-" Rainbow scoffed. "-Did you see how she was acting towards us?" "Yeah but-y'know it's the next day. She's probably calm down since then." That argument they had with Pinkie was still at the back of her mind. The pony quite honestly, frightened her a bit and she hoped that she wouldn't have to deal with her attitude again. "Yeah, but what if she hasn't? What if she's still angry at Twilight? I'll tell you now, if she hurts her again I'll-" "Don't talk like that, Rainbow." "Why not? She seemed perfectly fine with pushing Twilight around, I don't care if she was mad." The pegasus had an angry look on her face. Applejack could understand why the pegasus was defensive around Twilight. She just didn't like how she was implying that if Pinkie were to hurt Twilight again, the pegasus would hurt her. Rainbow didn't need to say what she would do in order for her to get the memo. "She's still your friend, though." Rainbow blew a puff of air. "Yeah, she was veeeeery friendly with Twilight." Applejack sighed. Trailing off with a newfound sadness that clenched around her heart. Hating the situation they were in. "Are you okay, Omid?" Fluttershy asked, entering the room and closing the door behind her. The man layed on his back on the blanketless bed. It had a large dark brown wooden headboard with a plain mattress. There were two windows on the left side and the room was coated in a fading cobalt. The man looked up and instantly found Fluttershy. "Hey, uh-Fluttershy." "How's your leg?" The pegasus walked over to the left side of the bed, looking at the bandage wrapped around the man's leg. "I-well it's fine, I think. Still hurts, though." Omid flashed her a smile. "Hey, are the others back yet?" He looked at the windows, seeing the rising sun. "No, not yet." "Oh, hope they're back soon right?" "Yeah." "Hey-uh, I've been meaning to ask this but what's it like back in your world?" Omid asked, an eager-to-know look on his face. Fluttershy brightened at his question. "Oh, it's very beautiful! There's a town called, Ponyville. Where I'm from." She gestured to herself. "And it's where my animals and cottage is." "Wait, you live in a cottage?" "Oh, yes. I've been living there for a long time. Applejack owns a farm and Rari-" "Whoa-wait-what!?" Omid exclaimed, mind boggled. "Applejack, that-that orange pony, the one with the hat. She owns a farm!?" Fluttershy giggled at the man's bewilderment. "Yes, and Rarity runs a boutique." "A boutique? Wait so... Rarity that white pony, the one with purple hair, she designs... clothes?" "Yup!" "And...ponies wear clothes?" "Uh huh and, Rarity makes the best dresses." Fluttershy began telling Omid about the creatures they've battled against. She explained what Equestria was like, the places she had gone to with her friends. "Wait, so you guys go on quests? To save your world, just the six of you?" "Yeah. Sometimes it gets really difficult but in the end friendship always wins!" Omid was in a state of bewilderment. He couldn't believe what he was being told. The magic of friendship? Elements of harmony? Ponies wearing clothes? How!? But he couldn't argue with the fact that the world they lived in was better than the world he was living in. Corpses were up and eating the living. Some realities were far worse than others but where they came from? It was the complete opposite. "Equestria sounds... nice." "Yeah." The demeanor in Fluttershy changed and Omid could sense the sadness beginning to brew in the pegasus. "I just hope I can return soon." "Yeah. Well, all you can do is take one step at a time. You can't tell the future. I mean, hey maybe your princess Celestia will find a way to bring you guys back home, you never know," Omid said in hopeful at an attempt to prevent the pegasus from getting sad. "Hmm oh, and maybe you could come too!" The pegasus said, a huge smile on her face. "Yeah, hopefully 'cause I don't want to stay in this world." Lee and his group all walked into the mansion, into the kitchen though the back door. Rainbow Dash walked over, a look of relief on her face. "Oh gee, about time you guys got back!" Applejack came into the room. "Y'all alright?" "Yeah, we're fine but... we lost, Chuck though," Lee sadly said. "Oh... h-how did he-" "Dumbass gave his life for this-" Kenny harshly shoved Ben. "-Fucking shitbird! He was the fucker that was givin' supplies to the bandits!" The man was scowling daggers into the frightened teen. He finally found out. Applejack could only feel a weight lift off her shoulders, she no longer had to keep it a secret. Christa and Vernon both walked past the group and upstairs. Presumably, to help Omid. "What!?" Rainbow Dash said, feigning ignorance. "He was the one doing it?" Applejack glared, knowingly at the pegasus. She was actually acting like she didn't know. "Yeah, and we should've let his ass behind when we had the chance." Kenny side eyed Lee before he walked back out into the yard. After a moment, Lee dug into his pocket and pulled out a bottle of pills. "We found you guys some antibiotics but-uh I don't know if you take 'em." "Well, it's better than nothin'." "How are things going back here?" Lee asked, entering into the living room. "'S been quiet. Not much has gone on since y'all left." Applejack took a seat on the couch. "Rarity's not back yet?" Applejack shook her head, a slight frown on her face. "No. Twilight couldn't find her anywhere." The man sighed. "Okay. Well once Kenny's done fixing up the boat, we'll look for her on the way, okay?" "Alright." Lee glanced upstairs. "Listen, I gotta take care of something. You know where Clementine is?" "Oh, she's just upstairs in that, uh study room." "I appreciate you taking care of her, Applejack." He offered a smile. "Oh, it's nothin'. We take care of each other." Applejack returned his smile. She watched him walk back upstairs and she saw a disheveled Pinkie Pie pass him on the way down. The mare's mane was a mess filled with tangled knots and looked strangely pale. She made it at the bottom of the stairs and continued her way to the living room; Rainbow Dash and Applejack watching her with caution. "Hey, Applejack. Hey, Rainbow Dash," Pinkie Pie apathetically greeted, taking a seat on the couch next to a glaring Rainbow Dash. "Hey... Pinkie?" Applejack greeted back. A moment passed. "H-how'd you... sleep?" Rainbow Dash scoffed shortly after. "I slept well." The pink pony simply said. "That's... good?" Applejack replied feeling an awkward tension in the room. "Yeah, real good Pinkie. A real accomplishment," Rainbow sarcastically remarked. "Thanks," came the pony's apathetic reply. "Have you apologized to Twilight?" "No, why would I do that?" Pinkie simply said. Rainbow could feel her anger start to flare up again. The nerve of this pony, she was completely acting like she did nothing wrong. "Because she's your friend?" Applejack incredulously said. "No. not no more." The orange mare couldn't believe what she was hearing, was she being serious? Was this some sick joke? "You don't... y-you don't mean that... right?" She asked softly, losing the base in her voice. Pinkie Pie raised an eyebrow at her. "Of course I do." Applejack, one of the strongest ponies out of the six of them, could feel her heart start to break. Surely, she's still just mad... she don't mean it. "B-but after everythin' you've been through? You can't just... j-just end off your friendship like-like i-it's nothin'!" "I thought I made it clear yesterday." "That's... that's just ridiculous! Just like that!?" Applejack's voice raised. "Yes, Applejack. Just like that," Pinkie said, irritated. "You're gonna do that to her? Seriously?" Rainbow abruptly asked in a hushed tone as if she were holding herself back. "Yeah, yeah I am." Pinkie looked at the silently fuming pegasus. She saw the pegasus clench her jaw, she narrowed her eyes and smiled. "Good 'ole element of loyalty. You wanna do something, do you?" Applejack could practically see the burning inferno raging inside the pegasus and Pinkie was taunting her. She was actually taunting her best friend. "Element of loyalty? you wanna see loyalty!?" It all went by in a flash. Rainbow suddenly tackled Pinkie straight off the couch, her hoof making the first contact with her lip. The pegasus pinned her down against the floor but it didn't last long. The strength of the earth pony was quick to overpower the pegasus's grip and using her hind legs, kicked the pegasus off of her. Rainbow's back collided hard against the wall. Consumed by anger, she dived forward for the pony who was baiting her. She flew out of the room, into the entryway near the stairs at an amazing speed, taking Pinkie Pie with her. They rolled over and Rainbow Dash grimly found herself pinned against the floor. She struggled against the earth pony's iron grip as a hoof came into contact with the left side of her face, drawing blood from her lip. The two ponies struggled against each other until Pinkie was suddenly pulled off of her, allowing Rainbow the opportunity to strike back. She flew off the floor only to have her tail be yanked back down. She casted a quick glance over her left shoulder and saw Twilight halfway down the stairs and a purple aura locking around her tail. Rainbow grunted. "Let go of me, Twilight!" She began trying to break free of the grip on her tail, having no luck. "Not until the both of you calm down!" Twilight made her way downstairs and stood near the two ponies, keeping them both secured with her magic. "We don't need you butting into our business, Twilight," Pinkie belligerently interjected. The unicorn flinched at the hostility in her tone but kept the two ponies in place. "And we don't need you dragging all of us down!" Rainbow Dash yelled back at her. Pinkie scoffed and threw her a humorless smile. Something the old Pinkie would never do. "Please, I'm not dragging you down. I'm just being logical! Twilight-" she pointed at the unicorn. "-Doesn't deserve an apology!" "Since when were you so logical, Pinkie? Do you even know what that means!?" "Yeah, I do and through logic; Twilight is the cause of all this! If it wasn't for her, we wouldn't be here. If it wasn't for her, we wouldn't be fighting now!" Rainbow was at a loss for words. She didn't have anything that would rebuttal her. To her dismay, the pony in front of her still didn't understand. She thought she solved this dispute yesterday and now she's suddenly back on the wagon? No matter how right Pinkie was, she was never ever going to admit it. Twilight was her friend, she wasn't going to rub in her mistake. The unicorn knew it was her fault, she didn't need to be reminded of it. No matter how bad the situation was, she was stick by her no matter what. "Isn't that right, Twilight? Am i right?" Pinkie turned to the unicorn, to her right. A glare etched onto her face. "It is your fault, you know that right?" "Be quiet," Rainbow warned, gritting her teeth. A new flame lit up inside of her. "You brought us here, you brought all of us here and now we're all paying the price for your mistake," Pinkie continued, still being held in place by the unicorn's magic. "Pinkie!" She barked before her voice becamed laced with venom. "I'm telling you..." By this time, Fluttershy had heard the exchange and came out to see what was happening. She stood halfway down the stairs, watching two of her friends belittling each other with Twilight being the brunt of Pinkie's anger. All she could do was helplessly watch as both her friends went back n' forth for one another. Applejack threw an uneasy glance toward Twilight who seemed to be on the verge of snapping. Her eyes were closed and her chest expanded in and out in a slow rhythm. As if she were trying to keep herself together. "You just couldn't let things go could you?" Pinkie continued. "You just had to found out what that orb was. It didn't matter what was gonna happen, it didn't matter who you took with you, just as long as you found out what it was, right?" "Pinkie, please stop," came Twilight's weak voice. Pinkie ignored her and continued to heartlessly belittle her. "Well, I hope it was worth it Twi. Now, Rarity's missing." Twilight tensed. Her eyes now wide open and staring aimlessly at the floor. "Pinkie, enough!" Applejack snapped. The pink mare finally stopped, although her glare didn't let up. The room fell prey to a deafening silence. Rainbow and Pinkie still giving each other the stink eye. Fluttershy and Applejack threw uneasy glances. Twilight finally released her magical grip on the two ponies. Pinkie stared at Rainbow for a moment before she finally walked past Fluttershy upstairs. Fluttershy hesitantly began making her way to Twilight. She couldn't believe what was going on in front of her. Her friends fighting with one another, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie actually physically hurting each other. She really didn't want to believe that that was where they were at. Where they were now fighting amongst each other, they were supposed to be sticking together. They're supposed to be friends. What happened? She desperately thought. "T-Twilight-" "Don't." Fluttershy felt a shiver coarse through her body at the bitterness in Twilight's voice. "Just don't... Fluttershy." The timid pegasus watched as her friend walked over to the front door and used her magic to open it. "Where are you goin', sugarcube?" Applejack furrowed, walking over to the unicorn who was standing in the doorway. "I'm going to tear this city apart looking for, Rarity." The unicorn slightly turned, her menacing right eye locking onto Applejack's. "H-hold on now, you don't need to ware yourself out. As soon as Kenny's done with the boat, we can go out and look for her together. That's what Lee said." Twilight turned around to fully face her. "And the longer we wait, the less chance we'll have at finding Rarity." She began walking toward the mare. "She could be in trouble for all we know, she could be hurt for all we know." Applejack started backing up as the unicorn continued to stalk toward her, her heart increasing with every step. "And if she were to die-" the impact of the morbid concept caused Applejack to flinch. "-That would be on me. Her death would be on me because I was too foolish enough to wait around for a boat to be fixed." "Ah just want you to be safe, Twilight. Ah don't want you goin' out there on your own again and ah told you before nothin' that happened is your fault," Applejack pleaded. "Don't even try to convince me that it isn't, AJ. That's not gonna work! A simple talk isn't gonna make this all go away. Just because you forgive me, doesn't mean that I don't deserve to be punished!" "What!?" Rainbow exclaimed. "Twilight, t-that-that's ridiculous! Why would you even say something like that!?" Twilight's eyes snapped at the pegasus. "Why? You want know why!? Because I deserve it!" She finally cracked. "I deserve to be hated! I doomed you all-" She gestured to all three ponies. "-To a place of just-just... evil! Nothing good comes from this place." Tears began to trail down her face as her uncontrollable sobbing broke through her speech. "I-I d-don't deserve your k-kindness." Fluttershy who had been silent throughout the whole conversation, felt her heart break in half at the sight of her friend's meltdown and tears of her own began to trail down her face. "O-or y-your loyalty." Rainbow could feel a lump form in her throat, tears brimming on the edge of her eyelids. "I-I don't deserve anything! I-I deserve nothing, I deserve to be alone! You will never see your families again because of me. Rarity's gone and I don't where she is and it's all my fault!" The unicorn snapped around. Without saying another word, the unicorn vanished in a spark. "Twilight? Twilight!?" Rainbow ran outside, glancing in every direction and finding no sign of her. The pegasus ran back inside, back to Fluttershy and Applejack. "We need to find her!" Applejack layed a hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder, comforting the tearful pegasus. "No." "Whatdoyamean 'no'? Why not!?" "Because we can't split from the group!" "W-well... oh who cares!? We have to help Twilight! You saw what happened!" "And what if we need help? What happens if we come across a herd!?" "Then we'll take another direction then!" "If we do get into trouble, we ain't gonna be able to help Twilight. Now would we?" "So, your suggestion is that we leave her on her own?" "That's not what ah'm suggestin'!" Applejack frustratedly yelled. "It practically is!" Applejack let a humorless laugh. "Oh Rainbow, have you forgotten about my ribs!? They're broken, Dash! Ah can't run!" Rainbow groaned loudly. "Fine! I'll go!" "No, you're-" Applejack bit onto her friend's tail and yanked her back. "-Not!" Rainbow turned, shoving her face into Applejack's with a deadly glare. "Touch me again and I'll-" "OH PLEASE, SHUT UP!!!" Rainbow Dash and Applejack, the two strongest and most stubborn ponies of the group jumped at the bellowing cry of the usually timid pegasus standing beside them. When the two stubborn ponies kept silent, Fluttershy closed her eyes and took a deep breath in before opening them back up again. "Haven't we argued enough for one day?" She looked between the two ponies, scoldingly. "Rarity's gone. Pinkie Pie is mad at Twilight and now you two are arguing!?" A moment passed. Rainbow Dash and Applejack both silently looking apologetic. "Listen, sugarcube we ain't arguin'. We're just tryna' make the best out of a bad situation," Applejack said in a more gentle manner to which Fluttershy raised an eyebrow at her. She looked at Rainbow and calmly explained. "Dash ah know you wanna go help Twilight, but please," she pleaded. "You have to think rationally. If we get into danger or if we come across someone bad, ah won't be able to outrun 'em and your wing." She gestured toward Rainbow's recovering wing. "It's just startin' to heal up. What if you get hurt and it gets worse?" Rainbow sighed. "It's a risk I'm willing to take. You don't have to come with me, if you don't want to." "But Rainbow Dash, you have to stay here. What if you went missing?" Fluttershy practically begged, her head slightly hanging. "You don't need to worry, Flutters." The rainbow mare layed a hoof on her friend's shoulder. "I'll be flying the whole time." "But doesn't it still hurt?" She was right. For the majority of the time, her wing had been painless up until she began flying around the room, arguing with Pinkie. It wasn't too painful. she was able to bare it. What worried her was how long it would take to find Twilight before she'd eventually lose her energy. If she wasn't injured, she'd be able to blaze through the entire city without breaking a sweat. She'd be able to track down Twilight and Rarity in no time. "Look Rainbow, ah wanna help Twilight just as much as you do but we also need the others to help us too. One of us is already missin', ah don't wanna lose another." The orange mare walked up to her. A moment passed. Rainbow glanced between Applejack and Fluttershy before sighing in defeat. "Alright, alright, I'll stay-" she was cut off when Fluttershy suddenly wrapped both arms around her, constricting her in a tight hug. She let out a chuckle and returned the hug. "Just until Kenny finishes up with the boat." Over the yellow pegasus's shoulder, she could see Applejack's heartwarming smile.