//------------------------------// // Chapter Five: Good Luck, Charley Horse // Story: Everypony's Looking // by lethalogica //------------------------------// Big Mac looked at Rainbow and Cornelius with a sigh. He slapped the knife out of the creature's weak hands with his tied hindlegs and bucked its face the best he could in the position he was in. "Really, Dash? Ahm not that helpless, he just caught me off guard then," the stallion said. He rolled off the bed and onto his hooves, pushing the limp, unconscious Cornelius away, and kicked the knife carefully towards the wall. He then forced two cherry cabinets together until the knife he got in between was upright and stable. "Oh, right... Sorry, Mackie," she said, looking away. The farmer was in the middle of cutting the rope binding his two hooves, instinctively replying, "It's alright, Poptart." The two both paused at that moment, a heat rushing across their faces. "So, we were, uh, married there, huh?" "Eeyup... Miss Dash," Big Mac added at the last minute, making the mare glance down disappointedly, as he saw in a glimpse when he looked at the heart-shaped mirror nailed to the wall. She skipped off the bed when he motioned for her to, letting him untie her own hooves. "What do you think that Cornelius thing is?" He gave a shrug, suggesting, "Ah dunno, but I think tying *him* up and pelting him with questions could be a good way to get things answered." "Big Mac, I did not know you were one for torture!" Ripping a long section off their bed sheets, he gave a mischievous smile. With Macintosh's mouth free and his hooves tying the creature all around a bedpost, he said, "This ain't gonna be torture, just some simple question asking. And not to be rude, but there're a lotta things you dunno about me, Miss Dash." A glimmer of excitement in her eyes and sultry in her tone, she teased, "Well, can't I found out?" They stared each other down, Rainbow Dash sporting flirty bedroom eyes and Big Mac wearing an air of smug coolness, trying to find a fault, waiting for the other to crack. Into a laugh? A fight? A kiss? Neither knew, nor did they find out because an accented voice spoke up in front of them and stole their attention. "I feel this is torture plenty, truthfully. One would think witnessing a real-life love-hate relationship would be amusing but no, not really. I much rather fancy the chemistry on My Little Monkey, with Syanne Lash and Max Cores. Do you know that program?" "Well, duh, of course I do! It's only one of the best cartoons out there, even if it's meant for kids! And I sooo ship them too!" Rainbow chirped, immediately shifting to their prisoner. Big Mac put one last knot, then interrogated, "Who are you, and whaddya' want?" "Now, we're being a pinch too hostile, aren't we? I believe you forgot the magic word." Hints of annoyance already appearing in the farmer's glare, Rainbow jumped in, "Okay, okay, he means, can you tell us why you're here and what you want, *please*?" "Thank you, my dear. I have a feeling we'll get along well, expect for that one incident back there. But as for him," Cornelius stabbed the stallion with his Parasprite-sized eyes in lieu of raising his boiling point, "I don't suspect any high regards for him from *me* any time soon." Clearing his throat, he began, "I am from but a long lineage of proud and powerful Mementos*. There is no doubt within me that you have indeed heard of us, so I will clarify. "We Mementos are, what you ponies would call, a villainous bunch. To us, it's just our way of surviving. Although, we do often add a little drama to spice up the taste. You see, our lives are of legendary length, yet we do everything and anything we can to go on. Our purpose in life is simple: thrive. We thrive by feeding. When we feed, we search for a victim, and upon occasion, victims, such is the case of yours. When a victim is chosen, we wait until nightfall to take him or her. I, unfortunately, am impatient, so instead of waiting hours for Macintosh here to have fallen asleep then, I just shoved chloroform into his snout. I then proceeded to tie you two up. "Now, the what. We Mementos feed by doing a quite peculiar thing- putting ponies to sleep. We insert new memories. They can be the worst, like being in jail for seventeen murders you can't remember, and they can also be the best like yours was, married and having your dream jobs-" Rainbow and Macintosh looked away from each other, a mixture of guilt and joy on their faces, but the part with joy was larger by a great amount. "- but it doesn't matter, as long as a good deal of emotion stress, be it good or bad, is be released. And we let them live a life in their memories until they die of exhaustion, or we are satisfied, although the former wins out almost every time. "Sometimes, however, rare as it is, we come upon victims who are... Curious. Like you two. They have curious minds, and they see when the tiniest of details are wrong, and with a strong enough consciousness, they can realize the facade they're under and wake up. When this happens, we try to nip it at the bud, so to say, and just kill them in the real life. We could just insert another set of new memories, yes, but they often turn out to just find things different all over again, thus making a finite and worthless chase. And for me to also wake up, since my sleeping state is necessary to influence your minds, I need to wake you then myself up. That was the position I was in upon your rises. Then this buffoonish oaf bucked me in the face! My beautiful, adorable face." "And Ah didn't regret it one bit," Macintosh sneered. The Memento's eyes squinted and he thrashed, "Limbs," expecting four sets of arms to coming spiraling out of his body, only to see them trying but not succeeding through Mac's tight wrappings. "Oh, you insignificant speck of dust!" "Look who's talking, you- you talkative little life-sucker!" Dash went between, saying, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, I'd hate to be the voice of reason here, but no need for fighting, alright? We can do that once we have all our questions answered." They nodded obediently, but Mac threw his head into his forelegs upon stopping and thinking. "Celestia, Ah almost beat up a damn cloud!" The creature scoffed, "You mean, again!" The farmer raised a hoof, threatening, "Oh, do you want me to again?" "I bet I could take you on when I'm out of these flimsy things, after all, I've knocked you out before haven't I?" "That was a fluke! You just surprised me, dangnabbit!" There was a giggling to the side, and they noticed that the cyan pony was laughing to herself. She saw their stares and said, "Oh, right, right, sorry." The three mares stared intently into the orb, and the silver alicorn nudged the ebony one. "Was this your work, Doom?" she inquired. She retracted her outstretched legs and held them up defensively, exclaiming, "No way, sister! This is all accredited that Cornelius thing. I had nothing to do with him!" The golden mare piped up, "Are you sure, sister? It kind of seems like the typa' thing you'd do." She gave an exasperated sigh, stressing, "No, I didn't, Fortune. It's like you guys don't trust me!" The two metallic ponies gave the middle one a hard stare, making her add, "Okay, I guess that incident yesterday wasn't the finest example of my trustworthiness, but come on!" The Memento had given the ponies information of how to find a map towards the nearest, actually populated city from Coltergeist. They were told of an old tourism center in the center of town, where there would be maps for anypony's taking, from places like Canterlot to Fillydelphia to Ponyville. At hearing the last location spill out of their hostage's mouth, anticipation filled them up and they smiled brightly at the aspect of getting home. They ran next to each other, hoping, hoping, oh, hoping it was true! Cornelius had protested their leaving of him still bound to the post until their return, but they forgot all about him as the rush of ecstasy kicked in, fantasies of seeing their loved ones soon again seeping in. The door was a flimsy thing, immediately going down with a thud when Rainbow gave a soft knock. "So, Corny said that the maps are over there, in the back," she said, pointing towards a room behind the counter, illuminated by the first soft tendrils of sunrise. Big Mac took his time in stepping in, taking the precautions to make sure the room wasn't booby trapped or hiding an unfortunate fate for them. Rainbow brushed by him, tested by his slow actions, and declared it, "Safe! It's alright, Big Mac, you don't need to keep walking around so slow. I mean, geez! You were starting to take as long as Tank does just to get to his food!" He gave a deadpan frown and went in after her, taking in the surroundings inch by inch. The dust flowed through the air freely, moving a beat to their breaths, near, far, near, far. Things of all sizes and shapes were cluttered about, from a miniature French dictionary to a guide to different greetings all around the world to a perfectly preserved Twinkie, resting in a corner of spider webs and dead cockroaches. "Ah-ha! The big iron box!" The pegasus spread her wings in anticipation, only to groan in pain and fold them back slowly. "Dammit, I thought it would be better by now..." Big Mac skipped over next to her, taking a long look at the shiny container. "You don't think there's something suspicious about this?" "As if! Why would Corny have something bad happen to us while he's still tied up?" As worried as he was, the stallion had to agree with her on that. He reached for the lock as Rainbow watched from the side, energy almost spilling out from her as she pulled of a face of impossible feat, enlarged eyes, a huge grin, and hoofs squeezing the sides of her face. The waiting was almost killing her! Without realizing it, her breath was steadily increasing while Macintosh opened it, it second feeling like an hour. Aaaaaaaaaaand, it was a pair of golden bracelets. The pegasus stared at it blankly. "What! No! No, no, no! Where's the maps, the- the- the maps!" she yelled, stomping a blue hoof on the ground repeatedly even after it began to hurt, her eyes starting to fill with a salty liquid. A teardrop broke the silence that was left when Rainbow stopped her bumbling, and the colt looked at her. The complete opposite of her appearance from only a few seconds ago. Her bright beam was replaced by a curve of the utmost down-trodden aching he'd seen. This mare, the one who was so absolutely like his own sister, inexperienced at the craft of hiding the outward signs of their raw emotion and ignoring them, was crying softly. Her mane became plastered around her sparkling, rose eyes as she stared on at the useless jewelry, not even lifting a hoof to wipe it out of her vision. She shook slightly, bursts of feeling sending waves throughout her body, now sagging as Dash let herself sit and her shoulder frame go down. Her colours faded; not enough to make her discorded, but just enough to make her polychromatic mane fall dead and dim, her suave, cyan coat becoming a muted grey-blue, and those eyes, those rebellious violets- they became a light pink that was dirty and thick, unbecoming on that natural beauty of hers. Rainbow noticed his observing. "What, Mac? I- I'm just sweating from my eyes," she fibbed in that horrible way. "You're not a very good liar, you know that Miss Dash?" "I find out once a month at the Pinkie Poker Party, so thanks for pointing out the obvious, Captain Hindsight." She expected him to go and leave her alone, something that every colt in her life seemed to do when pushed into a corner by her. The touch of a warm foreleg finding its way around her neck, firm but gentle, jolted her. Dash looked up with vexed eyes to find a welcoming smile full of comfort and care on Big Mac's face. She was about to say something, something witty or sarcastic or snappish, but she stopped herself. She let a grin crawl onto her mouth, her head of jumbled thoughts beginning to slow down and process the scene. Her vivid colours flowed back in as she took hold of one of the bracelets with her mouth. "Might as well try it, right?" If Fluttershy were an object, she would be this; simple yet amazing, the bracelets were glistening and polished, adorned with fragile leaves and swirls that fully encompassed every inch of its spotless surface. Every little detail hid another detail, pain-staking minute arches created by powerful magic, no less. Taking one end with the corner of her hoof and the other vice versa, she slipped one bracelet around Big Mac's foreleg and had him do the same for her. She then flailed it around aimlessly, trying to kick start some dormant powers somehow. "Come on! At least do something!" Dash gave a trembled pout as she gave up on the fruitless effort and walked out with the farmer at her steps. A, "So useless," escaped her disappointed expression as she trotted alongside him back to the inn. "Maybe you just gotta wait. Either way, that damned cloud tricked us!" Macintosh cursed as he bucked the side of a hardware store, whose wall collapsed immediately after contact with his hindlegs. "Whoa, there, big guy," the pegasus reminded, "we wouldn't wanna be attracting Slendermane, now, do we?" He gave a soft but apologetic smile as he'd underestimated the strength anger gave him. The farmer chuckled, "Heh, sorry. Ah just don't like it when somepony- any*thing*, for that matter- pulls wool over mah eyes." "Don't worry, Mac, I getcha'. And you know what? When we get back, I give you full permission to beat that cloud to a pulp!" "Thanks, Miss Dash." He gave a tiny salute as she grinned at him. A salute? Really? What a goof. But he had managed to get her back to normal. Which got her thinking to another earlier event. "Uh, Big Mac? Could I ask you something?" she inquired in a low volume. "Eeyup?" "Earlier, in the dream-alternate-world-universe thing, you... You called me 'Poptart'. Why?" He tensed, but quickly regained relaxation as he gave a shy, "You remind me of that Nyan Cat thing that Apple Bloom and her friends showed me once." A scowl hit him and he went on, "Not in the bad way, though. In the... Cute way. There something wrong with that?" "N-no," Rainbow answered, looking away with her violet eyes as a hue of red crept on her face. "But ya' know, if you wanna... You can keep calling me Poptart." The gears in the stallion's head stopped. He was blindsided, really, by the mare's uncharacteristic statement. But as soon as they began working again, he laughed, "Alright... Poptart." However, all the while that Macintosh thought, Dash panicked both mentally and emotionally. It wasn't her intention to say that, no, not at all. But, once the words found her mouth, they just rolled out like butter. She didn't know what to expect from her best friend's brother as he remained silent beside her, not noticing her eager ears and frantic heartbeat, which, to her own senses, felt like somepony put it on a speaker, and she didn’t understand how Big Mac, being so near to her, couldn’t hear it! All settled within her, though, once the farmer finally gave her the unintentional relief of knowing she didn't turn him off because of her comment. "Shut up... Mackie." The rest of the walk was made in silence, with the periodic outburst of a discovery in one of the buildings. Soon enough, they arrived at the motel, ready to kick a certain cloud's ass, with the pegasus yelling, "Prepare yourself, Cornelius!" But no one was there. Next to the bedpost was a piece of pink paper, which read: Dear Rainbow Dash and Big Macintosh, I thank you for your hospitality. "What?" are you asking yourself? "Why hospitality?" Well, the reason is simple: I played you two like a full Mozart piece adapted for the violin. A very easy full Mozart piece adapted for the violin, that is. You see, Mementos travel together in prides. Leaving is considered a taboo, perverse in just almost every single way, shape, or nature. And I left my pride. Being out by myself was fun and all, but I was getting lonely. So I decided to signal my pride to find. However, to do that, I would need to replenish myself. And there you two were, such decadent, low hanging fruit, almost taunting me with your potential. I thought that I could just use the excuse that I became lost and forgotten at a stop one day. So I took the bait and enjoyed it, until your conciousnesses (Is that correct? Oh, I don't know, does it matter? Blasted pens, can't erase anything!) revealed the fiction of it all. So what do I do? Pretend to try to murder you lot, of course! The perfect cover-up because you two would, no doubt, find a way to restrain me, leading me to give you false instructions under the pretense of running out of options so my pride could come and whisk me away while you were gone, believing that you were some vile, ignorant creatures who captured me for the sole purpose of torture! ... But I grew a soft spot for you two. A weakness, really, but better to exploit it myself than to let somepony else. You could officially call me a Macindash fan now, for my ship-- (pause for dramatic effect, eh?) has sailed. Thus, I also let you two find a little present I found a long time ago in one of my many explorations of Coltergeist. Maybe this could help you two with sticking together through any bad luck? Enjoy. Sincerely, Prince Cornelius Fitch Aristo Dormstand Bacchus the Eighth P.S. I fixed up your possessions for easy travel. No need to thank me. Dash and Mac stared the note. Then looked at each other. Then at the note again. "Holy, shit!" she cussed. They snapped their necks to each other and questioned at the same time, "Macindash?," and, "What now?". They paused and thought about the opposite's query. They were good ones, indeed. The two were hoping to find a way to get home, but were stranded once again. And Macindash? "I- how- we- no way! Macindash? Ha, that's... That's so dumb!" Rainbow prattled, stumbling over words as she went on. "I- I can't believe the nerve on that cloud! If I ever see him again, why I oughta- I just oughta pound his brains out!" Mac nodded in agreement, "Ah'll help you." The stallion went over the note again, studying every chosen word till the end, when he wondered, "But what did he mean 'bout the bracelets? They some kind of good luck charms?" He turned to the pegasus who was impatiently trying out her wings once more, and upon deciding they weren't suitable for use, slung a pair of their makeshift bags on her back and said over her shoulder, "What are ya' waiting for, pal? Come on, let's get a move on while the sun's still up. Maybe if we just keep heading north, we'll find another town or something. And while we're walking, we could try to figure out what the hay these stupid things do!" She dangled hers for effect. He shrugged and took up the other, which, as Cornelius had promised, was more organized and even in weight distribution than before. And so, they took on the long journey, only stopping when Dash complained of an empty stomach five times in ten minutes, or Macintosh needed a water break. The sun was setting when the duo finally found shelter. It was a mountain hidden by wild bushes, discovered by Rainbow as she looked for a suitable place to take care of business. The place was no cloud palace like the pegasus's; it was dark, damp, dirty, desolate. But it was a place to rest, and that won out over personal comfort to the both of them. They settled just as Luna was rising the moon up and Celestia was lowering the sun, a steady, reliable occurrence of each day. It was also what reminded both Ponyville residents of something crucial for the night- kindle. Rainbow Dash volunteered. She reasoned with the facts being that she was smaller, faster, and almost as strong as him, plus, Mac needed to prepare their rations for the night, because if she did, that food would be wasted. Out she went, running swiftly with the grace of a feather in the wind, but the speed of a tiger beetle. The farmer smiled at her multi-coloured trail, noting every little zigzag of it when she circled around a tree or cactus. She's still competitive even when there's no one to compete with. Upon reaching a mentally appointed half-mile point, she took and caught her breath. But as she counted ten seconds, she felt the familiar sensations of a storm a comin'. "What the-" she managed to grumble out before looking upwards and seeing why she felt that way. "Oh, Celestia." There was a dark grey cloud looming over her, portending a shower to water her down. "Oh, don't you-" And so it did, drizzling on the dead-eyed pegasus, who finished her empty threat with a dower, "-dare. At least I still have my dignity. And the wood should still be dry in my bag." Back at their temporary hideout, Macintosh took out the can opener that was in the same storage room they found the food, and selected a beans and daisy package. "E-ques-tri-a girls, we are so magical, fine, fresh, fierce, we got it on lock," the stallion hummed without noticing. "Dangnabbit, Ah hate that song! Darn Pinkie and her catchy tunes." Nonetheless, the stallion continued his humming as he opened the can, finding a practical use for the bracelet by hooking it around the curved knob and turning it that way. A rock fell on his head. "What the-" He looked up and moved right in time as a massive chunk fell out of the ceiling. The rocks around it also began to disintegrate into a thunder around him. "Bahhh!" he jumped in shock, his voice shaking slightly at the end as he stepped back with a face of confusion. At first, he stopped to think about what to do and ultimately decided upon grabbing the bags and running out as the cave collapsed from inside. Ah gotta find Dash and warn her before she goes back by herself! The water came down harder and harder, until the drops began to sting when they hit Rainbow. She was running at the top speed, but the cloud was following her! It was just one little black doing so much trouble, chasing after as if it had a mind of its own! If she could just fly, she would clear the hay out of that thing, but the pegasus was indefinitely grounded and reasoned with herself that escaping her inanimate assailant just long enough to seek shelter at their cave would be- Wait, our cave? Whoa, what am I thinking? Before she had the chance to answer her own question, Dash crashed into something, something big. And red. "Ah! You- oh, wait, Big Mac? What are you doing here? You're supposed to be at the cave," she spoke. "Ah was, but it suddenly started caving in on me! And when Ah finally got outta the wretched place, the earth beneath mah hooves began to crack apart!" he flailed loudly. She gave a haughty chuckle, countering, "Well, big guy, aren't you panicking a lot? I should be the one, after all, some stupid cloud like something outta Maretrix starts chasing me and- and- why aren't I wet anymore?" She glanced up and found that no longer was the cloud there; instead, it was just the clear night sky, gushing through. Big Mac gave a laugh in reply, snorting, "Ya’ sure 'bout that?" "Hey, what about you? It doesn't like there's a crack in the earth anymore!" He looked behind himself and found her statement to be true. Yes, there was a crack, but it stopped a long time before he reached the blue mare. "Why is this happening to us?" Rainbow Dash drew on like a scorned filly. The two plopped down on their flanks and asked aloud, "What would Twilight do?" They thought and thought and thought, eyes running from one thing to another until they both up and exclaimed, "The bracelets!" "Cornelius wrote something about, about, uh... Staying together so we won't have bad luck?" Dash trailed. Macintosh excitedly shouted, "Ah've got a theory!" "Great, what is it?" She smiled widely at the prospect of figuring out what those stupid things actually did. He ordered, "Stand up." "Uh, okay." "Stay there!" the stallion added, and he started run away from her, parallel to the mountainside. Rainbow stood there, tilting her head in puzzlement as she stared at his dust cloud. She made a half-effort for a frown, muttering, "That weirdo." Then, her coat felt damp all of a sudden, damp and frigid. She looked up, only to be blasted in the eyes with hard raindrops, making her hiss, "Ah, buck! Why is it back?" However, as quickly as it appeared, it disappeared, right as Big Mac returned. "Did you see that? It came back!" He nodded, slightly out of breath, but had a knowing smile as he panted, "Ah knew it!" "Uh, what?" "When we're too far apart, the elements start attacking us something fierce!" he explained. The pegasus stared in him in silence until she sang, "Oh my goodness, Celestia, you're right!" They jumped together in a tandem joy, bliss in solving a wicked, haunting curiosity that afflicts many in the same dilemma upon the solution. Soon enough, though, the reality of their new problem entered, bringing a downcast perspective on it. "Right... So that means we're gonna have to be near each other from now on, huh?" Rainbow asked for assurance. "Eeyup." "Well, the cave's out apparently, so I guess we'll have to sleep out here, huh?" "Eeyup." She gave a weak, closed smile and declared, "Let's get ready, then." Macintosh found the partially opened can from earlier and finished the job, letting his companion eat from the can until what she thought was plenty, then passed it to him. A bottle of water was drunk halfway, and the two, although, apprehensive, cuddled up to each other, for warmth, the knowledge of knowing someone was there, and perhaps, just perhaps, something else. The two alicorns gave a straight, furious glare to the black mare between them. She gave a frail eye roll, as if frightened to do so but still wishing to rebel at least the tiniest bit, and said, "Yeah, I guess I forgot about that one... Sorry, guys, all on me." The silver one gave a scoff in disbelief of her shameless sincerity. "Fortune, my dear, it is not upon my grounds to step onto these boundaries that are so usually within yours, so I ask that you may resolve this with your specialty in my absence?" The blonde nodded exaggeratedly with a sincere spark of life in her eyes, saying, "Oh, but of course! I haven't been out on the pony surface in the longest of times, not since that grumpy, old mule from Ponyville won the Equestrian lottery, no, no, no!" "Great, so I assume this will be an easy duty." "Yes, how could it not, Fate? Oh, I mean, sister!" Fate beamed proudly at her obedient little sister, but slipped a disappointed pursing of her lips at her always against-the-grain sibling as she turned to face her. "And, Doom, I trust that you shall take time to consider the consequences of your actions?" "Yeah, yeah, I know, butterfly effect. Geez, it's not my fault Macindash is just infinitely and stupendously superior to Braebow," she sighed, walking from the room into one of the many branches leading into other such areas. It was another morning, although what had just recently happened the past few days didn't allow them the benefit of that doubt. The rising sun burst forth its warm, bright arms to wash over the two, immediately heating them up from the, comparably, freezing temperatures of the previous night. Rainbow was the first to yawn and see the start of a new day, giving a sentimental breath for Ponyville and her friends. She messed with Mac's mane, leaving it a tangled bunch of messy, dirty blonde locks, and said softly, "Wake up, dude, we gotta get going!" When he didn't stir, she punched him in the gut and screamed, "Come on, Big Mac, daylight's burning!" He gave a sharp yell of pain and rolled over, and through clenched teeth, groaned, "Dammit, Rainbow Dash, alright, Ah'm getting up!" "Oh, say my name again, it makes me feel and warm and fuzzy inside," she replied with such a thick sarcasm, one could only cut through it with a powerful chainsaw. He looked on with a face of amusement and asked, "What's your problem?" "Well, I was being nice, but you weren't waking up, so I hit you! And it worked, didn't it?" the mare implored. "Yeah, it did, but why so angry?" Rainbow was about to hurl a wave of obscenities and derogates at the idly waiting stallion when she instead sighed and puckered her lips into a strange sort of frown, confessing, "I haven't flown in days!" Macintosh raised a brow and further inquired, "Yes?" An onslaught of pink and red shot onto her cheeks as Dash tried, "I- I'm getting, uh, fat." "Excuse me?" the farmer asked as she said the defining point of her sentence weakly and under her breath. "I am... I'm getting fat!" she repeated. He stared at her with a blank face until something inside of him switched on and Big Mac began to chortle wildly, dropping onto the ground from his evident amusement. "Stop laughing!" He continued. After a few minutes of stomach-wrenching laughter and a scowl on Rainbow's face, he got himself together and apologized. "Sorry, Poptart, Ah just didn't expect that! Ah thought you were all tomcoltish and didn't care about your looks!" She turned away shyly and explained, "I don't! But, you know, a- a Wonderbolt needs to be fit! And, I... I still like to look nice, ya' know?" Mac gave a compassionate smile and patted her, saying, "Yeah, Poptart." She glanced back at him and beamed as well. However, that began to retract as she was pulled into his green, forest eyes. Slowly, their lines of vision linked, and the two were nearing the other's face, as if by some invisible string. Their snouts were close enough for their respective breathes to mingle and feel the heat, fur beginning to touch. Then, something blinded the farmer square in the face. "Ack!" he let out unwillingly. Rainbow immediately stopped and backed off upon realizing the situation. "Ahem," she muttered, and pushed the paper onto the ground so they could read it. She flattened the creases and began to grow a huge smile as she read the top of it. "The Official Guide Map to Las Pegasus by the Stars."