//------------------------------// // 3. Swimming Lessons // Story: At Home on the Range // by chief maximus //------------------------------// Chapter 3-Swimming Lessons The sun cut an unmerciful path straight to Rainbow's eyes, triggering a delightful cacophony of hammers pounding away between her ears. Luckily, her headache was a lot less severe than her hangovers normally warranted. Probably because at least half the liquor was expelled the night before. Now she remembered why she didn't drink regularly. Her wing ached from sleeping on it all night. The stiffness stayed in her tired joints as she pulled it across her chest in an attempt to preen it, but not before shaking off the dirt. After a quick flutter, she tucked them by her sides and glanced at Mac through half open eyes. He was already awake and had breakfast waiting for her. Double the portion she remembered last night, though it was still the same bland fare as before. "How're you feelin' this mornin'?" he asked knowingly, a dim smile across his lips. Rainbow glared at him before answering, "Fine. You eat yet?" "Yeah, before you got up," he answered standing in front of the fire, kicking some dirt over it as smoke continued to rise and swirl from the pile into the morning air. A longing, yet subtle glance the red stallion gave her rations led Rainbow to believe that he wasn't being entirely truthful, though she was too hungry to probe further. "We're runnin' behind. I shouldn't a' let ya sleep so late," he added, "Be sure ta eat all that, Ah know you're probably pretty hungry, seein' as how your dinner is over there in them bushes," Mac smiled, not being able to resist a touch of humor, if only to see how she'd react. Rainbow feigned a sarcastic laugh and began eating. She certainly couldn't pretend she hadn't nearly starved last night, and was a lot more grateful for the extra food than she would ever let on. After her inhalation of breakfast, a quick flap of her wings lifted her into her usual hover. "Ready?" Mac nodded, picking up his bags as the cattle rumbled and mooed restlessly behind them. Once again, Rainbow found herself above the thundering herd, moving parallel to a range of mountains in the distance. The midday sun began to heat up as the grasslands began to disappear, replaced by parched, hard packed dirt. The stout bushes were less frequent, as scrawny, wiry desert plants took their place. By the afternoon their path crossed a raging river, much wider and more aggressive than the comparatively small stream they had rested near the day before. Rainbow fluttered down toward Macintosh while the cows drank timidly from the riverbank, appearing to be frightened by the rushing water. Most were heavy enough to withstand the current, but the slightest misstep into the deeper parts of the river would send a bovine into the murky deep rather quickly. "This is the last water source for a long while. Ah'll go refill th' canteens, then we'll get th' herd across." Rainbow took a careful drink from the river, not wanting a repeat of yesterday's incident. Beside her, Mac stocked up on water. They would certainly need it if they had to traverse the wasteland. Luckily, Big Mac figured if there were no unscheduled stops that ate up more than an hour or two, they could take the longer, yet safer route through a valley near Prairieville. Macintosh remembered the part of the river where the water was most shallow from his other cattle drives; six paces south of the old, petrified tree stump, he recalled. All that needed to be done now was make sure it was still a viable route. But if one crossed the river, the other had to herd the cattle across, a simple, yet smelly job considering you'd be behind the herd. Being the gentlecolt that he was, Mac decided to offer the lady a choice. "You want to check the river for the cattle to cross, or do you want to herd 'em over?" Rainbow considered her options. She had certainly had enough interactions with cattle to last her the rest of her life, and a little water never hurt anypony. Besides, she wagered the stiffness in her joints from sleeping on the ground last night might even loosen up a bit with some cold water over them. "I'll check the river." Mac pointed her in the right direction and Rainbow tested the water with her forelegs, ankle deep. A chill ran up her shins as she acclimated to the cold water. With a few more cautious steps, she entered the river. Soft, easy steps were the order of the day as she navigated the murky bottom. While the riverbank had been mostly sand and mud, the middle of the river seemed to be made up of a bed of rocks. Once she reached halfway across the river, she cast a slow look back at the opposite shore, Macintosh still standing with the cattle, awaiting the all clear. "Keep on movin'!" he shouted from the shore. "You're doin' fine!" The lithe pegasus was no thousand pound bovine, nor was she as sturdy as her stallion companion. The river's current was quick to remind her of this as she felt her hooves begin to slide on the rocks, downstream. Before she even had time to yell, her forelegs slipped off the underwater plateau. Without four points of stable contact, Rainbow was swiftly swept off her hooves and floating down river. Dash kicked her legs frantically in an effort to keep her head above water. Pegasi weren't known for their ability to swim, or do anything besides fly really, and Rainbow was no exception. Macintosh was already sprinting toward her when he lost sight of her vibrant mane beneath the whitewater. "Hang on Rainbow!" he shouted, digging into his saddlebag as he ran. Macintosh retrieved a lasso, twirling it expertly above his head while he held it between his teeth. Mac sprinted ahead of where he thought she would be, praying that he hadn't already missed her. For a moment, Big Mac had assumed she'd simply fly out of the water, only to realize that feathers don't work when water-logged. His worry intensified as he realized Applejack would probably mount his head on her wall if he let one of her friends drown, not to mention having to explain to the Princess why she would have to find a replacement element of harmony. C'mon Rainbow... come up for air! Seconds seemed to take hours to pass as he waited nervously on the river bank for a target for his lasso. Finally, Mac's attention drew towards a sopping wet multicolored mane bobbing up and down in the water a few yards ahead. With surgeon-like precision, he cast the lasso around Rainbow's foreleg, putting all his strength into fighting the river over the possibly drowned cyan mare. A few strong tugs as well as driving legs pulled Dash to shore as she began to sputter and cough, her wings hanging limply by her sides while her mane clung to her face and neck as though it had been painted on. After coughing up the water she had attempted to breathe, she looked toward Macintosh. Mac was resting on his haunches, panting just as heavily as the pony he just rescued. "You... okay?" he asked, between breaths. Rainbow's indignity was apparent on her face as the hope Mac held out for a simple 'thanks' quickly evaporated. "I didn't need your help back there," she breathed heavily, her pride shining through so vividly, the country stallion knew now why she and her sister were such good friends. "I would have made it out by myself." You've got ta be kiddin' me. Not even a 'thanks for saving my life?' "That's odd," he snapped back, "All th' drownin' you seemed ta be doin' suggested otherwise." No reason to be cordial if it was just going to be thrown back in his face. Rainbow got to her hooves and vigorously shook the water from her coat and wings, getting it all over Mac in the process, as she intended. "Let's just get those cattle across the river," she called over her shoulder as she walked back to where the herd waited, some wandering aimlessly while others began to cross the river on their own. "Sounds good to me." Mac got to his hooves, still with a touch of disbelief that one of Applejack's friends could be so ungrateful. "Try not to fall in this time." Dash responded with a glare as she picked up the pace back to the cattle. Once they'd both arrived, the midday sun had dried Rainbows wings enough to enable flight. She quickly hopped over the river and made sure the cattle that had already crossed didn't wander off, unlike a straggler in the distance Mac noticed on his side. He sighed. How in Celestia's mane this cow managed to get this far away in such a short time span he hadn't the slightest. But every bovine mattered, and each one was worth bits; bits Mac knew the farm sorely needed. "Where're you going?" he heard Rainbow shout. A pointing hoof gave her the answer as he continued to trot over to the lone cow, grazing on what little vegetation there was to be found. "Alright, come on now, feedin' times over," Mac said calmly as he approached the bovine, still grazing peacefully as if he wasn't there. "Go on now!" he said giving it a slap on the hindquarters. As it began to run back toward the heard, the rushing waters of the river seemed to get louder, though he wasn't any closer to the river. He knew rivers don't just increase their volume at whim, though Mac just couldn't place the noise. It was coming from somewhere, and oddly enough, the further away from the river he got, the louder the sound became! Somethin' about this noise seems mighty familiar... Macintosh was suddenly reminded of the significance of the noise, as a rattlesnake sank it's teeth into his right hind leg, near the hoof. A jerking of his back leg in response flung the snake off of his ankle and into the river, though not before confirming his worst fear. It was a rattler alright, and a diamondback at that. A burning sensation spread into his calf and thigh as the venom worked it's way through his veins. He sighed. He was actually entertaining the idea that the universe intended to kill him before they reached Prairieville. "Buck."