Rainbow felt the most comfortable warmth she had ever felt before. It was like nestling yourself next to a crackling fireplace on the coldest and snowiest winter day. She adjusted herself to get closer to the heat source, wanting nothing more than to go back to a restful sleep. Sadly, she slowly, if reluctantly, started to stir from her slumber. Her eyes fluttered open, only to be filled with a mass of yellow and pink. Confused, she lifted her head, to see that that mass was Fluttershy, and they were curled up together in a quite... intimate position.
Her face flushed with color and sat up quickly, not noticing that Fluttershy woke up when in her rush. With Fluttershy's head off of her side, Rainbow got up, and took a few steps away from her now half-awake companion. While Fluttershy was still out of it, she was having a thousand thoughts a second rush through her head, 'How did that happen? Why did Fluttershy go along with it? Was it intentional? Was it an accident? What does this mean? Why-'
“Ra-Rainbow?”
The cyan pegasus stopped her thought processes, and looked at the yellow pegasus, watching as her face was slightly contorting. From the looks of it, Fluttershy was sick, or really really needed a bathroom. Rainbow looked around, and saw they were in some sort of bird cage like prison within a cavern, with no bathroom in sight. She looked back to Fluttershy, who had the same face, but there was a difference now. A single tear was falling from the mare's face.
“Fluttershy? I-” she was interrupted by a mass of yellow pony crashing itself into her, gripping her in a tight hug. She was stunned for a moment, and nearly lost her balance. Rainbow was just about to push her friend off of her and put on her 'gruff' face, but stopped when she heard the soft sobbing of the yellow mare that held her in her arms.
“Rainbow. I... I was so scared...” Fluttershy sobbed.
“Scared? Of what?” Rainbow softly, trying to calm down her friend.
Fluttershy continued to cry, “When... when I couldn't wake you... I was afraid that... that you...” she then buried her face into her, letting the tears soak her chromatic mane.
“Hey. I'm ok. See?” Rainbow pulled herself out of the hug slightly, flapping her wings for emphasis. “You did good. Besides, they're lucky that I decided to take a nap when I did. If I didn't, I think I would've scared off everypony that tried to give us the time of day trying to protect you girls.” Fluttershy stayed silent, so Rainbow continued, “Well, except for Pinkie. I don't think anything I could do could get rid of her, no matter how hard I try sometimes.”
Fluttershy giggled, tears still soaking her face, “Well... umm... you tend to have that effect on ponies.”
“Oh really now?” Rainbow softly spoke in a false hurt tone, placing a hoof over her heart like it was stabbed, “My best friend ever, the kindest and most gentle pegasus to ever grace the skies over Equestria, is making fun of me? I'm hurt! Woe is me!”
“Oh,” Fluttershy timidly mewed, “Umm... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings...”
Rainbow sighed to herself, shaking her head, “I'm just messing with you Fluttershy. But I have do a question,” she looked around the room, taking in many of the details that Fluttershy had previously analyzed, “Where the hay are we?”
“Umm... I'm not sure to honest. I know we are on some mountain not too far from that village we stayed in. I was hoping that we could ask that... ummm... Sarlaka guy. You know... if you want to...”
“Umm... who is Sarlaka?”
“Oh. He's a...” Fluttershy gulped, “a dragon.”
“Oh. Well that throws a bit and bridle in our plan now doesn't it? Well... think that we ne-” Rainbow's ears twitched, and she started to look around.
Fluttershy gave a concerned look at the mare, “Umm... are you ok, Rainbow?”
Rainbow Dash shushed the pegasus, closing her eyes, and continued to look around, her ears still trying to pinpoint at something. She finally whispered to Fluttershy, “I think I hear someone talking. Listen...” Fluttershy perked her ears up as well, releasing Rainbow from their deep embrace. After a second, the two finally made out something softly echoing in the cave.
They heard the voice speaking, “I think it would be safest for us both if we just forgot they ever happened.”
Fluttershy whispered to Rainbow, “I think that's Sarlaka... but I don't hear anyone else.” Rainbow nodded, and continued to listen. No matter how hard she tried, she could only hear the deep voice of their captor.
“Look, I'm just trying to look out after the both of us ok?..... Of course I trust you. There isn't anyone else in this world that I can trust anymore..... But I have been keeping this up for so long, waiting for the perfect moment... And what about those others? Their blood is on our hands..... NO! We could have! And we should have! Which is why caution is required..... That is true, I admit that, but you are wrong about some things..... And that mistake has been a disaster! If we had taken action before..... If! A very big if..... You mean us..... And you are sure that they are the ones that we've been looking for?..... Heh. We could always throw them off the cliff, and be rid of them forever, and save us the trouble of all of this..... Yeah, I know. You never did have a sense of humor. Alright. I'll do it. But if it turns out the same way as the last group did..... We hope. Anyways, thanks for the ear. Its always helpful. I just wish...”
Silence filled the air after the last line was spoken, causing Rainbow to listen even harder. Suddenly, there was a low rumble as the mares heard the dragon's steps pound their way closer and closer. The two moved themselves to the back of the cage, and laid back down next to each other, trying to act like they were still asleep. Rainbow felt Fluttershy curl herself up next to her, along with that warmth she felt earlier when she woke up. She felt a small blush coming over her face, but rid the thoughts from her head as she regained her composure. The steps stopped, then Rainbow felt the cage list wildly, sending the two sliding towards the other side. They were about to slam into the side of the cage when the tilt ended, and the two lightly hitting the side of the cage in a heap. Gathering their senses, Rainbow heard a deep chuckle.
“Aw, how sweet. You two look lovely together. I have to say, your colors sure complement each other. And here I thought that in a dismal place like this, love was impossible.” Sarlaka continued to laugh.
Rainbow shook her head, quickly righting herself back onto her hooves. Turning towards the dragon, she stood herself in front of Fluttershy, who was still dazed from the shifting. Rainbow glared at the scarred face of the dragon who was sitting upright, “What the buck was that for ya freak!” She growled, her wings instinctively flaring up, trying to make herself look bigger. Though considering she was smaller just one of Sarlaka's claws, pegasus' display didn't do anything but produce an amused smile.
“Now, now my little one. Do you kiss your mother with that mouth? Besides, while I think that one,” he pointed at the now standing, yet cowering yellow pegasus, “knows who I am, I believe you were a little... incapacitated at the time, so introductions are in order. My name is Lord Sarlaka the... well... lets forget the titles for now. Tends to make ponies a little nervous,” he said with a grin. “And you two are?”
“Why should we tell YOU who we are!? Huh?” Rainbow sternly stated, wings still flared. Fluttershy continued her trembling behind the cyan mare.
He shrugged, “I could call you two Shorty and Shrimpy, but I think that'd get old for you two quick.”
“... fine. I'm Rainbow Dash. And this,” she motioned her head towards the yellow pegasus, “is Fluttershy.”
Sarlaka's paused, his eyes widening just slightly, “Rainbow Dash... and Fluttershy?”
“Uh, yeah? That's what I just said. Are you deaf or just denser than a rock?”
Sarlaka brought a claw to his scaled chin, thinking. After a minute of inspecting the two, which Fluttershy was not comfortable with in the slightest, he finally spoke, “Curious names. Very few have names as exotic as that nowadays.”
“Our names... are exotic? What does that mean?”
Sarlaka slowly smiled, “Merely that you don't have typical names. Anyways, I hope your friends are going to be here soon. I've got a lot of questions to ask, and not a lot of time.” He lowered himself back down onto all four legs and turned to leave the two alone again.
“Hey! I'm not done with you!” Rainbow yelled at the dragon, who stopped, and turned with a slight scowl on his face. Rainbow gulped.
“I am,” he huffed, and walked through the doorway, leaving the two bewildered mares alone once more.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Left hoof... right hoof...
Rarity was slowly trudging through a blinding sleet-storm, her horn softly glowing with light which illuminated the area around her. The snow and ice around them came up to her knees, though the trail she walked was much easier, only coming to half that height. She could hear Applejack ahead of her, forging the trail ahead of the four. For how much the two were opposites to each other, Rarity had to admit that the strength Applejack was showing as she threw herself through the snow, which was one of the impressive sights she's seen recently. How the farm mare was able to continue after over an hour of this trail blazing was beyond her. While Rarity was exhausted from the long journey and the constant use of her magic, she looked at Applejack, and used her as inspiration to go 'just a little farther'.
Left hoof... right hoof...
Pinkie Pie was no longer telling one of her crazy stories or singing one of her silly songs, and had settled on simply humming a tune that Rarity simply couldn't place. With the volume of the howling winds, and the low hum of the tune, it was incredibly hard to hear, even with the pink pony still right behind her. At the time, Rarity was dying with how much talking and singing the party pony was doing, but now that there was nothing but the howling wind to invade her ears, Rarity couldn't help but wish she would start again. Now she could only think about the ground in front of her.
Left hoof... right hoof...
As for her purple counterpart, Twilight was the worst off physically. According to Twilight, she had not gotten any sleep the night before; the time of day unicorns regenerate their magic. Add in the fact that Twilight had activated the Elements of Harmony twice, teleported the group twice, and had been shielding the mares from the worst of the heat for the greater part of the day, she was nearly completely spent. Much to Twilight's objection, Rarity had taken the lead in magic usage several hours ago, leaving her to light the way for them, and allowing Twilight to rest.
Twilight's yelling voice cut through the wind, “How much longer until we get to the top!”
“Ah don' know!” Applejack yelled back. “Ah can't see farther than ten hooves ahead of me!”
“If I could get up there, I could cast a seeking spell that could-”
“Nice try sugarcube, but no can do.”
Twilight groaned, “This is stupid! Why not!?”
“Because dear,” Rarity finally found it was her place to pipe in, “you and I both know the consequences of using too much magic without a good night of beauty sleep, and I for one am not going to carry you.”
“But I know my limits!”
“Says the pony who passed out a few hours ago from that teleport spell. Besides Twilight, we haven't rested since then, and even I am feeling the strain, and I haven't done nearly as much as you.”
Twilight once again groaned, “Pinkie Pie, I never thought I'd ask this out of you, but could you please talk some sense into those two?”
“Hmmm,” Pinkie brought a hoof to her chin, walking on three hooves for a moment, “Nope!”
“Ugh. Why!?”
In a singing voice, Pinkie replied to the frustrated unicorn, “Because you asked me to talk some sense into somepony! And even I know that's something only a crazy silly filly would ask!”
Twilight didn't reply, only muttering something to herself. It sounded something involving Celestia and the moon, which Pinkie seemed to giggle at, though Rarity decided to act like she didn't hear it. Instead, she continued to walk along the path the earth pony was making in front of her. Rarity stumbled for a moment, but quickly caught herself, willing herself to continue.
Left hoof... right hoof...
It was what Rarity would suspect to be just about an hour of silence before she was fed up as well. Rarity sped up slightly so that she was closer to Applejack. “So... how much farther do you think it is Applejack darling?”
“Honestly Rarity, its jus' how ah told Twilight a little while ago. Ah don' rightly know. We should be gettin' close though.”
“Well I do have to say, that dragon fellow really doesn- EEP!” Rarity squeaked as she walked into Applejack, who had just halted. “Applejack! What was that for?”
Applejack pointed towards what seemed to be the entrance of a very large cave. The opening was absolutely massive. It could easily fit all four of the ponies walking side by side with enough room to spare for a few more. Rarity brought her light closer to the cave, which showed that while the walls of the cave were natural, there were a vast amount deep cuts and scratches into the stone, as if something wanted to make the cave wider. Deep into the cave, the two ponies saw a flickering reflection of light deeper into the cave, showing signs of candlelight. The two were just about to inspect the entrance some more when Pinkie Pie and Twilight came up besides the two.
“So I'm guessing this is it.” Twilight said to nopony in particular, looking at the cave. “And I thought that other dragon had a large lair. This one blows it out of the water.”
The four stood silently, looking at the entrance. All the sudden, Pinkie Pie jumped in the air, “Ooh ooh! Last one inside is a rotten dragon egg! Weeee!!!” With a blur, Pinkie dashed inside, with more of a bounce than a gallop to her step. The three other mares stood there wide-eye'd for a second before yelling at her as they ran. Rarity was thankful for the chaotic shouting at Pinkie, because the silent cursing she said to herself was quite uncivilized for a lady of her stature.
Rarity was doing her best to keep pace with Pinkie, but the boundless amounts of energy that she seemed to contain within her body served to widen the distance between herself and the pink blur. In the middle of her hushed cursing, she was able to take a little bit of pride in the knowledge that she was able to keep up with Applejack in their running. Her confident smile was on her face only a fleeting moment, for turning towards her, she saw the orange mare seemed completely drained, and Rarity realized it wasn't her getting stronger, but Applejack being a snow plow for several hours that allowed Rarity to keep pace.
Turning the corner, Rarity and Applejack had to make an abrupt stop to prevent herself from colliding into the fuzzy pink flank of the pony in front of her. “Pinkamena Diane Pie! What in Celestia's name was that... for...” Rarity's voice trailed off as she saw the dragon lair in front of her in all its glory. She especially noticed the giant mass of gemstones that was in the center of the room. Her eye twitching, she could have sworn she heard angels singing in the background. “... oh... my... EEP!”
Rarity was suddenly pushed forward by a very tired and unaware Twilight barreling down the corridor. Rarity in turn was pushed into Pinkie, who decided it was a fun idea to grab onto Applejack and have her join the pile. The four were sprawled out on the floor, with Pinkie giggling chanting “do it again” over and over.
“Girls?”
Rarity got enough of her senses back to look towards the whisper in front of the four. Looking around, she didn't notice anything: only the vast hoard, the various decorations, and the walls themselves seemed to greet her.
“Girls?” the voice called out again. This time, Rarity was able to make out that it came from above the group slightly. Looking up closer to the ceiling across the room, she noticed a birdcage-like contraption that was hanging from the ceiling. Inside that cage, came the voice, who's owner was a very familiar yellow pegasus.
“Fluttershy!” Rarity jumped out of the pile of ponies and dashed with renewed strength over to where the cage was hanging above. “Sweetie, are you ok? Are you hurt? Where's Rainbow Dash? Can you get out? Can you fly?”
Fluttershy quietly responded, “Umm... Rainbow Dash is here and asleep, and I'm ok, but-”
“Fluttershy! Yall ok!” Applejack interrupted, rushing over next to Rarity. “Yall hold tight. We gonna get yall outta tha' thing ya here? So sit tight!”
Fluttershy whispered again, “Umm... thank you, but I really think you should-”
“Rarity. Do ya think that ya can cut that chain right there?” Applejack pointed to the roof, where the chain holding up the cage.
“Maybe darling, but I don't think that would be a pleasant idea. The fall would be so dreadful!”
“Umm... girls... if you don't mind, you should-”
“Horseapples. Rarity. Ya think ya can levitate them all while ya do that?”
“Applejack, while I am flattered at your confidence in my abilities, I am simply a fashion designer, if a amazing one if I might be so bold. I am not Twilight. Besides, I've been using magic all day.”
“I could get them down,” Twilight readied her stance in the way she normally prepares her more powerful spells.
“Oh dear. Girls, that's... umm... nice, but-”
“No can do sugarcube. Ah lead ya all the way here wit' ya up an' runnin'. Ah ain't losin' ya now! We'll jus' have ta find out another way.”
“Ooh! Ooh! Pick me!” Pinkie bounced up and down, smile plastered over her face. “All we need is a megaphone!”
“Pinkie Pie,” Rarity looked at the party pony with an eyebrow raised, “How in the wide world of Equestria is THAT going to help Applejack get them out?
“Oh. Its not! Its for Fluttershy, silly! I think she's trying to tell us something!”
“She's probably trying to tell you that I'm right behind you foolish ponies,” a low rumbling tremor of a voice spoke, with a hint of amusement in his voice. The other four ponies stopped, and turned slowly towards the voice, which happened to belong to Sarlaka. Another chuckle emanated from his jaw, “What, do I have something on my face?”
Silence permeated the room as the booming voice continued to echo in the chamber. After a few more tense moments, a final soft voice came from the roof.
“That's what I was trying to tell everypony...”