//------------------------------// // Chapter 8: Of apples and filies // Story: The Great Equestrian Foam Sword Fight // by crimsongraph //------------------------------// -({Ponyville border} 1:20 P.M.)- "Hey Apple Bloom, isn't that your big sister?" Scootaloo said as the trio managed to get through the bushes. A fair distance away, an orange mare could be seen. "Well yeah, it is... wonder what she's doin around here," the younger sibling replied, still staring as Applejack continued to run. "Girls, what is she running from?" Sweetie Belle spoke up, drawing both Scootaloo and Apple bloom’s attention. As soon as she finished speaking, the trio resumed staring at Applejack. "Maybe it's a game?" Apple Bloom said, not moving her eyes away from her sister. "...she does see that there's a giant rock in front of her, right?" Scootaloo said, pointing to the grey obstruction that laid ahead. "Ah hope she does..." the trio continued to watch as the mare got closer to the boulder. Much to their surprise, she began moving faster towards the piece of rock. "Should we tell her about what she's going to run into?" the white filly asked her comrades, as confusion slowly etched itself onto their faces. "Maybe she'll figure it out on her own?" Scootaloo asked, only to be answered as Applejack crashed into the rock and fell to the ground with a thud. The trio sat there in silence, watching to see if the fallen mare would get back up. "Er..." Scootaloo began, "does that count as being disqualified?" "I don't know... the rules are really easy to exploit," Sweetie Belle answered. "Should we go an help her?" Apple Bloom's asked, as one of Applejack's legs began to twitch erratically in the air. Their small moment of indecision was interrupted by a loud gasp. "OHMYGOSHRAINBOWDASH!" Scootaloo shouted vigorously, before jumping onto the cloud with a small boost from her tiny wings. Before both Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle could blink, Scootaloo was snuggling with a sleeping Rainbow Dash. Both fillies continued to stare at the display in front of them before shrugging to the best of their abilities and looking back towards where Applejack laid. Wordlessly, they both trotted forward and began to slowly carry the grown mare back to the cloud where the two content pegasus lay. -({???} 1:40 P.M)- Applejack awoke with a start, jumping up from the position she was sprawled out in. Her eyes darted around the surrounding area, hoping to catch a glimpse of something. To her dismay, all that surrounded her was darkness. Fear soon gripped the farmpony, as various scenarios flashed before her mind. The most logical one at the moment was that she had been knocked out and captured; forced into hiding by her captors. One train of thought led to another, as she soon realized something else. If she had been captured, then so had Rainbow Dash. Panic once again began to take control of her mind, as she furiously darted her eyes across the dark room. As her eyes slowly adjusted to the lack of light, new features began to make themselves out in the room. To her left, a wooden nightstand stood. On the stand, her orange Stetson comfortably laid. Before she grabbed the hat, a few more interesting details appeared throughout the room. To her right, the outline of a door could be seen. Furthermore, a dresser stood against the furthest wall; a faintly visible mirror was secured to its top. Deciding to not dwell on the purpose of the room, she grabbed her Stetson and got off of the soft surface she occupied. With her trusty hat, she slowly made way for the nearly invisible door; careful to not alert her captors of her escape actions. She cautiously grabbed the handle and slowly pushed the door open. With a careful peek, she stuck her head out of the door and peered into the hallway; equally as dark as the room behind her. Applejack threw one past look at the room, before moving through the door and disappearing into the dark corridor. The corridor itself seemed to span infinitely in both directions, forcing Applejack to make a random decision that would, hopefully, end in her freedom. With the seemingly random choice set in her head, she ventured out into the dark unknown. -({Cutie Mark Crusaders's Clubhouse} 1:45 P.M.)- "Apple Bloom?" Sweetie Belle asked the pony next to her, as both of them continued to stare out the window. "Yeah?" the yellow pony responded. "Should we maybe stop Scoots from doing what she's doing?" "Why?" "Well," Sweetie Belle stopped speaking in order to look at the pair of pegasus, “she’s just been sitting there, watching Rainbow Dash sleep." "What's so bad about that?" Apple Bloom asked. "She hasn't blinked for fifteen minutes. She's just sorta sitting there, it's kinda creepy..." With that said, the duo continued to stare at the odd display laid before them. -({???} 1:50 P.M)- "Cosdarnit, where am ah even going?" Applejack asked the darkness, still continuing to trot at an eager pace. With all the walking she had done, there had been no reward for her actions; no doors, turns, signs of light, absolutely nothing. All that there was for her was long dark corridor. -({Cutie Mark Crusaders's Clubhouse} 1:53 P.M.)- "Hey Apple Bloom, do you think your sisters awake yet?" Sweetie Belle asked the yellow pony. "Ah dunno, maybe? She's really tough, but that bump looked painful..." Apple Bloom let her voice trail off. As soon as we finished her sentence, there was a small pause between both ponies. "Should we go check on her to make sure she's all right?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Why not? The only problem ah can see is who will watch over Rainbow Dash?" Apple Bloom retorted. They both shot a glance at the prismatic pegasus. With no surprise, the orange filly was still staring at her. It was almost as if Scootaloo had even gotten uncomfortably close; only a couple of inches separating them. "She'll be fine. Besides, doncha wanna see if you sister is awake?" "Fine, but if anythin bad happens to those two, it's your fault." Apple Bloom finished, turning away from the window and trotting over to one of the clubhouses’ corners. Sweetie Belle slowly followed behind the yellow filly. On the very corner of the room, a nearly invisible small slab of wood jutted out at an odd angle; almost looking like a lever. With a flick of a yellow hoof, the piece of wood lowered and a new entry way opened to their side. Wordlessly, the two fillies trotted down into the darkness that made up the underground portion of the tree house. -({???} 1:57 P.M)- Applejack peered down the corridor in curiosity as a block of light appeared at the end. No sooner had it appeared, two dark blobs entered and the portal of light behind them closed. Whatever they were, Applejack knew she was no longer alone in the dark corridor; she knew there would be nowhere to hide from them. "Where did we put her again?" a one of the voices ahead asked the other. "She should be at the end of the hall, it's not that far away." the other voice answered. After a faint pause, Applejack heard a soft patter of hoofsteps heading in her direction. Being forced into a confrontation, she did the one thing her desperate, panicking mind told her to do. -({Below CMC's Clubhouse} 2:00 P.M)- "Hey Apple Bloom?" "Yeah?" "Why is Applejack pretending to be a tree?"