//------------------------------// // Ch. 13: Tiresome // Story: Sin // by MemoryLane //------------------------------// Well, needless to say, I am not in a very good mood. While Ennui was panting, and almost dying on the top of that mountain(Rainbow Dash and I actually had to PUSH her up the mountain), we went back to town to find something that could assist us. Luckily, there were carriages that we could rent for a while, unfortunately, it wasn't very cheap. But since there was nothing else that we could do, we purchased it anyway. The carriage needed two ponies to pull, so Rainbow and I had to haul it back across town and up the same mountain as before. Trust me, these things weren't light either. They weigh a ton. It shouldn't really be that big of an issue to some pony like me, considering I pull carts full of apples for a living. Anyways, we haul the cart up the large hill from before, hoping to see Ennui happily and thankfully smiling at us. Well, that's not what happened. At all. When we got back, Ennui was on the ground, sleeping. "Can you believe her!?" Rainbow shouted, hoping that while she did so that Ennui would actually wake up. "We go out and get this stupid thing! And she falls asleep!" I sighed, before doing what should have been done in the first place, as it has been proven that this works pretty well. I took a deep breathe and said in a slightly mocking tone. "Oh! Wow! I wonder if Ennui will mind if we borrow some of her foo-" "NO!" Ennui's head suddenly shot up, as did the rest of her body. She stood mere inches away from me, and glared at me eye to eye in an attempt to intimidate me and prove her point. I thought it was a little funny, considering that I was taller than her, and she was trying to stare ME down. "DON'T. TOUCH. FOOD." "Hey! Look who's finally awake!" Rainbow Dash announced, causing Ennui to turn her gaze, and finally notice the cart. She let out a happy sigh. "Nice ride." She muttered, giving me a playful grin. "Is this for little ol' me?" Rainbow was really on edge with Ennui recently, and after helping me haul the carriage up a hill, she wasn't in the greatest of moods either. "Shut up and let's get going." She deadpanned. Ennui sighed and jumped in. As Rainbow Dash and I started to pull the carriage(I was already beat by the time we started), Ennui poked her head through the little window. "Hey...I'm sorry if I'm annoying you. I don't mean to be rude." She confessed. I was going to accept her apology when Rainbow butted in. "Whatever. Just do what you do best and go back to sleep!" She yelled. Ennui looked like she was going to say something in a rebuttal, but decided not to. She closed the window and disappeared inside the back of the carriage. I was starting to get a little frustrated with Rainbow Dash now. "Rainbow knock it off!" I spoke to her, only getting an arrogant flip of her hair as a response. "Why should I?" She raised her voice to make sure that Ennui could hear her from the back of the carriage. "All she does is piss me off! If anything, she's making this journey more difficult for us!" She admitted. I was going to say otherwise, but that would have been lying. If Ennui was a little more...active, we would probably be half way to our destination by now. "Well, ya could still be nice to 'er." I yelled back in Ennui's defense. Usually, I hated laziness. And to be frank I still do. "Let's not forget how lazy ya are sometimes!" Rainbow Dash looked offended and glared at me as we kept walking up the chilly forest trail. "Me!? Lazy? Ha! I'm the opposite of lazy!" I couldn't help but roll my eyes. "Yer in denial, sugarcube." I drawled. "All ya do half the time is sleep on them darned clouds of yours. And if you're not doing that, yer just flying around aimlessly trying to do some kind of new trick!" Sometimes, I hated being so bluntly honest. But it's in my nature, just like how laziness is the Rainbow Dash's. What I had said sent Rainbow to a boiling point, and I could almost see her eyes turning a little red. "WHAT did you just say?" She hollered, very loudly. I heard Ennui stir in the back of the carriage. "Ya heard me! I never lie!" I countered. Rainbow looked like she wanted to physically fight me. "For your information I am not flying around aimlessly! I am practicing for when I get accepted into the Wonderbolts!" At that point, I could have said something very rude and hurtful, but I decided to keep my mouth shut to prevent it from accidentally slipping out. "Also! I'm not always sleeping! I'm resting! You should know about that! Flying is just as difficult as apple bucking is sometimes! And don't try to tell me that it's not! Because that would be a lie! And you don't lie now, do you Mrs. Honest!?" Rainbow Dash replied angrily, her words piercing the air like a bloody dagger. I didn't know what else to say. Rainbow seemed to be all bent out of shape due to this whole adventure. Luckily, Ennui opened the window and poked her head through once again. "Rainbow-" "WHAT?!" "I-I'm sorry. Okay?" She looked over at me, indicating that she was also talking to me as well. "I'm sorry about being like this. About tearing you two apart. I noticed that you two have a great friendship, and I really don't want to come in between you two. A lot of my friendships ended because of the stupid things I do...or couldn't do. And I don't want me to effect someone else's friendship either." I felt a tinge of sadness as I heard the words that Ennui spoke. She made a lot of sense, and I could notice that Rainbow Dash's angry attitude was beginning to break apart. She sighed and looked at the ground, pondering what to do. I spoke up first. "Don't ya worry Ennui. Nothing's ever gonna break up Dash and I!" I smiled, getting a sheepish grin in response from Rainbow Dash. "And we consider you our friend too!" "Really?" For once, Ennui gave us a sincere smile, and not one of her trademark playful ones. "Heck ya!" "Thanks." She whispered, before closing the window and disappearing once again into the back of the carriage. "I'm sorry too...I-" Rainbow Dash started, but I cut her off. I already knew what she was going to say. "It's fine sugarcube. It's fine." *** "Do you have any idea where we're going?" Aphrodite asked as she stared at the Medallion, trying to figure out the strange artifact. She had been staring at it the whole time so far, and I don't think she's having much luck. "Of course I do! We just follow the blinking and it should take us to whomever we're looking for!" I explained, but Aphrodite didn't seem to understand. "Oh..." Aphrodite's been acting really strange. Since yesterday she really hasn't been hitting on me as she did when we first met. It's like she's...changed. I know she still represents Lust by the way that she swings her hips, but still. As we were walking, Pinkie stopped dead in her tracks, her ears perked up like Winona's would and she began to furiously sniff the air. "Uh...Pinkie...?" I asked, but was interrupted when Pinkie shoved me aside, still sniffing the air. Aphrodite simply raised an eyebrow. Even though she was always horny, it seemed that she wasn't turned on at all by Pinkie. Only by me. What kind of sick joke is this? "STOP!" Pinkie suddenly shouted, causing me to fall back out of shock, and into Aphrodite's hooves. She gave me her trademark seductive smile. "Well...what do you know? It's raining angels..." Well. She's back. I couldn't help but groan at her crude pick up line. I wasn't in the mood, I looked over at Pinkie Pie once again, who had her nose to the ground know and was still sniffing like a dog. "I...smell...PIE." She announced, her head bolting upright. She suddenly took off, giggling and laughing down the town streets. I squirmed out of Aphrodite's hooves and chased the pink puffy pony down the street, with Aphrodite soon behind me. I wondered what Pinkie was up to now, and I was a little confused by her actions. But then again, I always am. This isn't anything new, really. Eventually, Pinkie Pie stopped running as she barged into some sort of banquet hall. Aphrodite and I bolted inside, only to run into a stallion that was at the end of the massive crowd that was huddling around some sort of stage. "Watch it!" He shouted, before turning his attention back to the stage. I apologized and followed his gaze. On the stage was an announcer, dressed in a nice suit, standing next to a very long table. The table seated four, but there were only three ponies there. All three ponies really stuck out to me. The first one near the announcer was a very skinny pony. He was a cyan blue, and I couldn't see much else of his face, as his black and darker shade of blue mane covered over half of his face. He seemed very nervous to be up there, and I could almost see him trembling. The second was some pony who I was already familiar with, Braeburn. He wore his cowpony vest as usual, along with his hat, which was very similar to AJ's. You could totally tell that they were related. The third was a pretty chunky stallion. His fur was like that of melted cheese, and his mane was very short, and almost a ruby red. He was sitting, and you could tell that he had a double chin. He grinned as he stood at his seat, waving to the crowd excitedly. He shouted something to some pony in the crowd, but I couldn't tell. I'm not the best lip reader, but I think he said "Hi mom!" The announcer walked up the the microphone and finally spoke up. "Hello every pony to Appleloosa's 23rd annual Pie Eating Contest! As you can see we are looking for one-" "PICK ME! PICK ME!" I heard a very familiar voice shout near the front of the stage. The announcer ignored her. "Ahem...for one more pony to participate-" "Come on Mr. Announcer pony! Pick MEEE!" The announcer was starting to get visibly irritated, and attempted once again to finish his announcement. "To PARTICIPATE in this here contest, do we have any-" "MEEEEEE!" "FINE! LADIES AND GENTLECOLTS WE HAVE A VOLUNTEER!" The announcer said through gritted teeth and he took a step to the side, letting Pinkie Pie onstage. Wait. Pinkie Pie!? Pinkie Pie bounced onstage, her usual smile on her face. She happily took a seat near the very chunky pony at the edge of the table. The red maned stallion looked at her and scoffed before nonchalantly talking to her. I have no idea what he said, but I assume it's something like "You don't stand a chance." Pinkie Pie shrugged at his words. A few helpers brought out a very large cart full of apple pies, it was almost stacked to the ceiling, actually. I stared in awe. They're going to eat ALL that!? That's not even physically possible! The helpers set a pie in front of each of the contestants. Braeburn looked more ready than ever, and the blue pony looked like he was going to pass out. I could guess that he had stage fright, either that or her really wasn't hungry. I wonder how he got roped into this. "Alright here are the rules!" The announcer spoke up once again, adjusting the microphone. "You have 10 minutes to eat as many pies as you can. You cannot touch any other opponents pie's other than your own and you may not use your hooves." As soon as the announcer said that, all four ponies put their hooves behind their backs. I couldn't help but look down as I saw a bright light under me. I looked in astonishment as I noticed that the Medallion was flashing brightly as I faced the stage. That could only mean one thing... One of the ponies on the stage is the one we're looking for. I turned to Aphrodite, who must figured it out as well, as she gave me a determined nod. "I bet it's the cyan one...he's kind of cute..." "Who isn't cute to you?" "Touche." "Aaaand! Begin!" The announcer said before taking a sidestep away from the contenders. Good thing he did, because not even two seconds after he said go, a few chunks of pie landed right where he was standing, as the contenders all buried their faces in their pies. "Go Pinkie!" I cheered, I looked over at Aphrodite, who watched on in awe. "Done!" The the chunky third stallion shouted a few mere moments after the contest had even started, his face covered in pie, and his pie plate spotless. Almost immediately, a helper brought out another pie and pushed it in front of him, and he dived into it. "Done" Pinkie shouted. She was rewarded with another pie as well. Eventually, Braeburn finished his pie as well, the cyan pony couldn't even finish one. It didn't take long for Braeburn to drop out of the contest either. I think he ate around 5 pies before his belly was bulging. It was doing to Pinkie and the other chunky pony. Both of their faces were completely COVERED in pie. And I think the Pinkie was having a little trouble. I think she had pie in her eye, but she wasn't aloud to remove her hooves from the back of her seat. So she just dealt with it. By Pinkie's 15th pie, even she had had enough. She looked very green, and looked like she wanted to vomit. Pinkie was one of the best eaters in Ponyville! This was unbelievable! I looked over a the other chunky pony to see that he was STILL eating, even though Pinkie Pie was through. Eventually, the helpers actually ran out of pies. "THE WINNER!" The announcer yelled through a microphone, holding up the cheese colored pony's hoof. Pinkie walked off the stage, her belly so full it was almost touching the floor. It was actually a little funny. "Ugh...I think...I'm going...to take a-" She stopped and put a hoof to her mouth, her cheeks comically bulging out. She muffled something to me before running out of the banquet hall, I head a loud "BLARGH" a second later. While Aphrodite went and reluctantly comforted Pinkie Pie, I walked over to the winning pony. He had flowers in one hoof, and a trophy in the other that had a large pie on it. No surprise there. It took me a while to get to him, since he was being showered by prizes, and other ponies wanting to take pictures with the winner. Eventually, the crowd thinned out, until it was only me and him. "Wow! You're pretty good. No one has been able to out eat Pinkie Pie before." I told him. He turned around to face me, staring at me with his light blue colored eyes. He grinned smugly. "Psh! It was nothing!" To my surprise, he had a very young sounding voice. Apparently he was only a teen, I couldn't really tell because his size made him look so much older. He still seemed like he was in high school. "And I'm still hungry!" With that, he randomly took out another slice of pie, and began to munch on it. Wow... "I've been doing this since I was a filly. It's my special talent after all!" He pointed to his flank. I saw that his cutie mark was a single slice of pizza. Seemed fitting, to say the least. I held out a hoof, and he put down his pie on a nearby table. "I'm Twilight Sparkle, and I need to talk to you about something important." "Name's Warble! What can I do for ya?" *** "Uhm, so where do we go now?" Cashmere asked, and I continued to look at the Medallion. It was very unresponsive now, probably because we just found the pony that we're looking for. I bet that now it must void me, or something. "I think it's about time we head back to Ponyville. We have who we need. Let's just hope the other's did as well." Rarity exclaimed, pointing down the street to where we entered the city. "I've never been there before..." Covette added in a monotonous tone. She seemed very unamused at the thought of going, and I knew that the only reason she was going was to help end strife around Equestria, but I couldn't help but feel there was some other reason. I decided to put it off for now. "Well, let's get going. I can't wait to finally be done walking around..." Cashmere sighed. With that, we all began walking down the street, side by side. It wasn't going to be easy getting back. At all. I had no idea how long it would take. But if I remember correctly, we have three days until it's been a full week from when we started. I think that she should get there by then, but I just worry about the others. What if they're having problems finding whomever their looking for? What if they don't make it on time? What if the Changeling's take over Equestria? I don't know. I also know that this whole trip back was going to be uneventful. I hope.