The first thing that entered Dash's mind was the throbbing pain along her wing. It was no more than a slow pulse, but somehow it managed to worm its way into her brain, forcing a low groan out of her as she tried to get back to sleep. Dimly, she was aware of a voice calling her name, but with some mumbled words and a wave of her hoof, she brushed it away. A couple of seconds later, the voice returned and she rolled away from it, only for pain to shoot through her system.
Dash just managed bite back her yell as she sat bolt upright, only to smash her head into the low ceiling. Rubbing her forehead, Dash ducked down and looked around with bleary eyes. Where... was she? Some part of her brain ticked away, nagging at her in that irritable voice of her old commander, but all she could think of was how much she could use a nice hot, bitter cup of whatever the Tartarus it was Fluttershy got her every morning. One sip of that woke her right up.
A chill breeze ran through her fur, causing a violent shudder to run down her spine, immediately waking her up. And not for the first time in her life, Rainbow Dash wondered just how much she'd had to drink last night, and hoped Lightning Dust did not have new blackmail material on her. One set of photos was enough, she did not need that pegasus getting her hooves on another set.
Seriously, what the buck happened last night?
So Dash did the only thing that came to her sleep addled mind—she shoved her head into the snow. The chill was instant, biting into her brain and snapping everything into perspective. Immediately pulling out, she shook off the excess snow and began getting dressed, blinking at the sight of her splinted wing.
"Fluttershy!" Despite her jacket being unzipped, and the complete lack of weapons or anything protecting her face, Dash scrambled out the small opening in the wall. "Fluttershy!"
How long had she been out? Damn it! This wasn't supposed to happen. They were meant to get out, find somewhere safe to stay, and just live out the rest of their lives in safety without having to be pressured into anything. And now... now Fluttershy was probably lying somewhere, her cold, dead body feeding timberwolves or a manticore or-
No.
If she had survived somehow, then maybe Fluttershy had as well. Maybe she had found shelter, or simply been buried in the snow like Dash had, and somehow miraculously survived. It didn't matter how, but until Dash laid eyes on her friend's cold, dead body, she would continue to have hope. She would scour every single last inch of this area, digging a mile down if need be in order to find Fluttershy's body, and once it was found, Dash would give her the respect she deserved.
"Um... Rainb-" Whatever else Fluttershy was about to say was lost in an epic level squeak as she was glomped by an ecstatic blue pegasus. After a moment, Fluttershy returned the hug, completely ignoring how wet Dash's cheeks were. "Everything's fine, we're safe now. Now how about we get you properly dressed? You'll catch a cold if you stay like that."
"Heh... yeah..." Dash sniffled and cleared the dirt from her eyes. "Who else could have done the totally awesome splint on my wing?"
"Yeah."Fluttershy helped Dash's injured wing into her jacket before zipping it up. "Apparently, we almost didn't make it."
"Apparently?" Dash followed Fluttershy's gaze to the purple unicorn and drake on the hill, a low growl rumbling in the back of her throat. "What are they doing here?"
"Dash, be nice-"
"Be nice!? They're fucking horned freaks!" Dash's yell echoed, causing Twilight glance back.
"-they saved us," finished Fluttershy with a flat look.
"Probably so they could extract our memories and secrets while we slept, " whispered Dash. "Or maybe they're planning on selling us to the dirt ponies in order to get their grubby hooves on some books."
Fluttershy didn't say a single word and instead just gave Dash The Look.
"Or... um... they could be helping out of the kindness of their hearts...?" Dash smiled meekly and at Fluttershy's nod, she breathed a sigh of relief. Being on the wrong end of that look chilled her more than being flank naked in the middle of a snowstorm.
"Sorry to interrupt, but Twilight's getting pissy," said Spike, not even bothering to look at Dash. "You coming or not?"
"Hey! What the buck am I? Invisible ?" growled Dash as she took a step forward.
"So? You coming?" Spike kept on ignoring her.
"Why you little-"
"Dash."
For a brief second, Dash considered ignoring the warning and lunging at the slithery freak, but then she saw that glint in its eyes and backed down. If she wasn't injured, then sure, Dash could totally take it on and win. That's not to say she couldn't win right now, but she didn't want to fight. After all, that'd humiliate the dragon too much. Just because they were enemies didn't mean Dash had to do that to it, even freaks like them deserve something better. Not by much, but a little bit—like instead of being buried alive, they should be set on fire to provide some much-needed warmth even in death. Or how instead of being executed, they should be made into slaves to help provide food for everypegasus.
"Are.You. Coming?" asked Spike. "And don't look at her, this isn't about what she wants, it's about what you want. If you want to come with us, just say so. Sure, Twilight may be a tad snappy, but like I said, she's hungry."
"Well... um..." Fluttershy still looked back at Dash. "I think, that is, if you're alright with it, I think we should go with them."
"W-What?" Dash stared at her longtime friend, trying to figure out where the sudden confidence came from, and whether or not Fluttershy had hit her head . "Are you crazy!? They-"
"They saved us," replied Fluttershy, and for the briefest of moments, she actually matched Dash's heated gaze before she looked away again. "Plus, they're going to the abandoned mines like us."
"What." It was impossible to tell who said it, but the dragon and brash pegasus stared at each other with equal amounts of disgust.
"You're kidding me," said Dash.
"And here I thought things couldn't possibly get worse," muttered Spike under his breath. "Whatever, come if you want, but we're leaving now."
"Good riddance," spat Dash as she turned away. "Come on 'Shy, let's get out of this place. The entire area stinks now thanks to them."
"But Dash-"
"But nothing. We are not travelling with them and that's final. They could backstab us at any moment, sell us off to slavers, whatever! Only two types of ponies roam this wasteland – those who were thrown out and those who ran away—probably because if they didn't, they'd have been executed."
“But… um… I hope you don’t mind, that is, if it’s alright, but we’re kind of running away, and we wouldn’t have been executed,” said Fluttershy.
“Oh yeah, death or forced to marry some douche. Guess which one I’d pick,” muttered Dash.
“But they could have, er, they could have run away for the exact same…” Fluttershy trailed off under Dash’s intense glare.
“Come on, we need to get moving, we’re losing light.” Unconsciously, Dash flexed her wings and winced in pain. “What did I do to my wing anyways?”
“You fractured it. Nothing too bad, about six weeks should be enough if you don’t move it too much or strain it in any shape or form.”
“What! Damn it, that’s at least a month without flying, you’ve got to be bucking me. Argh, fine, whatever, as long as I can get back into the air without losing any speed ,” grumbled Dash. “And can we please walk and talk at the same time?”
Fluttershy simply smiled and rolled her eyes at Dash’s hopping from hoof to hoof. “Alright, alright, but where to?The mines?”
“Buck that. I’m not going near that place,” spat Dash. “We go ahead, there’s a cave just to the east of there that I used as shelter once. It’s not as comfortable, but it was more than enough for me and Dust to hide out. It’ll be a long flight, but it’s definitely doable if we push ourselves.”
“Um… Dash… you can’t fly,” whispered Fluttershy.
“What do you mean I can’t fl- Oh… right…” Dash sighed and pulled out her map, using some snow to hold it down as she scanned it. “Come on, there must be some other place we can stay then.”
But no matter how hard she tried, there was one, and only one, cave marked as safe on the map. A part of her wanted to ignore it and take a chance, to strike out on their own and head along the mountain ridge in an attempt to find some undiscovered place of shelter, but all it took was one look at Fluttershy to cure her of that stupid idea. If she wanted to get them killed, there were far easier ways of doing that and it’d probably take less time and effort as well. Dash had no idea how that unicorn managed to make shelter out of only snow, but it no doubt involved some blood and some weird voodoo chanting stuff.
Eventually, Dash sighed and rubbed her temples. “We’re going to the mines.”
“But what about the unicorn?”
“I thought you wanted to go with them!”
“Um…” Fluttershy disappeared behind a lock of her mane. “No…?”
With a groan, Dash facehoofed, only to wince in pain as her muzzle slammed into her gauntlets. Ignoring Fluttershy’s soft giggles, Dash began gathering everything up, making sure to double check their supplies in case that freak stole anythin g. Satisfied that nothing had been taken, she tossed the bag over her shoulder, making sure to keep it from knocking against her injured wing. A quick glance over at Fluttershy to make sure they were both ready, and the two began trekking through the snow. Though they were headed in the same direction as the unicorn, the hoofprints had long since vanished under the heavy snowfall. As they finally made it over the small hill, the unicorn and dragon came into view, causing Dash let out a scream of frustration.
“Hello to you too,” snapped Twilight. “And trust me, this wasn’t my idea. If it was, we’d be long gone by now.”
“So why are you here?” growled Dash, her wings automatically opening, making her wince and pull them back in. “Why don’t you just fuck off?”
“Dash!” said Fluttershy before smiling shyly at the duo before her. “Sorry…”
“We’re here because you two look as though you could use the help.” Spike leveled a flat look at Twilight the entire time. “And because we’re both headed in the same direction and there’s safety in numbers.”
“Thanks but no thanks. If you haven’t noticed, we’re in Pegasus Territory and that means being seen with you equals kill on sight.” Dash shoved past them and Fluttershy followed with an apologetic smile. “So get lost.”
“Okay.” The unicorn sounded far too happy about that one. “Come on Spike, we made the offer just like you wanted and they declined. Time to go, no point in wasting time on a pointless argument.”
They walked side by side in total silence, neither side talking to the other. Every so often Fluttershyand Spike would share a look, but every time they did, Dash would glare at Fluttershy or Twilight would shift her body, causing them to break eye contact. Every couple of minutes, Dash would speed up in an attempt to outpace the others, but every single time she was forced to slow down after an hour to let Fluttershy catch up or Twilight would suddenly appear behind them and quickly catch up.
After five hours of straight walking, her muscles ached and her clothes were soaked in sweat, but Dash kept pushing on. Beside her, Twilight trudged on, matching Dash step for step, and the two shared a glare before picking up the pace yet again. A weary smile touched her lips as she noticed the way the horned freak was panting and the way its legs trembled ever so slightly. It was to be expected really, considering all unicorns where fragile little things that could be beaten with one hoof tied behind her back and with no wings.
"Just for the record," panted Dash, "you're totally following me."
For her part, the unicorn merely rolled her eyes and kept walking on, picking up the pace yet again. A quick glance over her shoulder told Dash that both Fluttershy and Spike had dropped back yet again. Her head snapped back to the unicorn and Dash narrowed her eyes, immediately breaking out into a trot to catch up. A second later, Twilight brushed past smirking, but once more Dash caught up. Again and again the two tried to lose each other until it broke out into a full-fledged gallop as the two raced against each other.
Hooves slamming into the snow, Dash found herself forced to move slower than she was used to thanks to how soft and uneven the ground was. Worst of all, she could see the stupid unicorn out of the corner of her eye, easily keeping up with her despite everything. A growl of frustration escaped, and when she tried to push herself just that bit further, she felt a hoof slip out from under her causing her to stumble, letting the unicorn burst ahead. Scrambling back onto her hooves, Dash pushed forward, but no matter how hard she tried, she could not catch up. All she could do was watch helplessly at that annoying swaying purple tail and those mocking looks the unicorn kept tossing back.
Fuck that. Dash had never given up in the past and she wasn't about to start now.
And then Twilight suddenly skidded to a stop, letting Dash blast past before she too slowed down to a stop. Glancing back, Dash watched as the unicorn's ears swiveled around, her head swinging left and right as she tried to locate something. As much as Dash hated that monster, if it stopped, there must have been a good reason for it, and rushing off by herself was sheer stupidity.
"What is it?" asked Dash in a hoarse whisper.
"Magic. Somepony's casting a lot of magic, I can feel it from here." Her eyes swung back to Dash as Twilight began walking forward once more, panting heavily the entire time. "They're pretty far away though, so we should be fine, but let's wait for the others."
"Good idea," said Dash before her eyes widened as she realized just exactly what she had said. She hated it, but it was a good idea in that it wasn't downright suicidal; and considering it was a unicorn, any non-suicidal idea was practically genius. So yeah, it was a good idea and Dash totally hadn't misspoken at all. The mere thought made her giggle, to think a unicorn could actually have a good idea!
"Hm... there aren't any outposts that I know of in the direction of the magic though, so what is going on?" said Twilight.
"Which direction?" Twilight immediately pointed in a south-southeast direction. "Yeah, there's nothing there. You sure?"
"No... There's always a lot of magical interference, so it's never entirely accurate, but..." Her frown deepened as she looked over her shoulder. "I do not like this. The others need to catch up and we need to find shelter."
"Better safe than sorry."
"Exactly. Perhaps it's raiders? Maybe a convoy interception?" A groan slipped out as Twilight rubbed the base of her horn. "Whatever it is, it's bad news."
The two trudged on in silence, and it took all of Dash's willpower to keep one hoof moving before the other. Each leg felt numb and leaden, as though she was trudging through waist high snow rather than the hard, compact stuff she was currently walking on. How the unicorn walked on so easily was beyond her, but as long as that freak of nature was still standing, so would Rainbow Dash.
After another hour of mind numbingly boring walking, Spike and Fluttershy glided in overhead and landed beside them.
"See? What'd I tell you? Still alive," chuckled Spike as he rested on Twilight's shoulder. "Though I thought you two would be at the cave by now with the way you two were fighting."
"We weren't fighting," snapped Twilight. "Also, there's some sort of-"
"Magical disturbance in the middle of nowhere? I know, I am a dragon after all," chuckled Spike. "Stop thinking I'm so useless, I have saved your flank on more than one occasion you know."
Twilight merely grunted in response and kept walking.
"Talkative, isn't she?" said Spike, earning him an ear flick from the unicorn.
"He didn't do anything to you, right?" whispered Dash. "Did he say anything? If he did I'll-"
"Rainbow, it's fine." Fluttershy peered at my injured wing. "And he was a perfect gentle-drake. Apparently they've been travelling together for ten years now, and they've been almost everywhere apart from the capitals and to the north." Unconsciously, both their eyes flicked over to the massive tornado that loomed over everything. "And there's this place where they think they saw bunnies. Bunnies! Oh Dash, can you imagine it? Little white fluffy things with bushy tails and long ears." Fluttershy giggled. "They sound so cuuuuuute."
"Yeah. Cute," said Dash.
As much as she wanted to burst Fluttershy's bubble and tell her that they were lying, Dash just couldn't bring herself to do that. For the first time, Fluttershy looked genuinely happy. She was bubbly, bouncing, and rambling on without a care in the world. Add on the spark in her eye and that dreamy sigh? Dash would do anything to keep that.
"Maybe we can find out where they saw the... bunnies... and we can go check them out for ourselves," said Dash.
"Really!?" Fluttershy practically tackled Dash in her excitement. "You really mean it?"
"Sure! I mean, it's not like we've got anywhere to go or anything to do, so we might as well go out and explore right? I mean, this Tartarian pit can't be the only place in the world." A small smile tugged at Dash's lips. "Personally? I want to the see the ocean and what lies beyond. After all, there must be something past all that water. Right?"
"Yeah, we can do that." Fluttershy leaned against her longtime friend. "I want to see it as well. I want to see all those animals and plants and cute critters. Maybe we'll find somewhere green and alive."
Dash chuckled. "There's dreaming and then there's that. I wonder if someplace warm exists..."
"If you're looking for green, we know a place," said the dragon.
"Spike!"
"What? She's nice," he replied with a shrug. "I think she'd fit right in."
"No." Twilight glared at the two pegasi. "Forget what he said, and if you tell anypony, I will personally hunt you down."
"Twi-"
"No. " Her glare swung back to the dragon. "You do not make that call, you have never made that call. It is a joint decision, and I would prefer it if you stopped trying to bring every stray we find back to base."
"Come on! If it wasn't for me, you'd never bring anypony back and you know it."
"The more ponies know about a secret, the less of a secret it is !"growled Twilight.
"Um... could we get somewhere safe first?" asked Fluttershy in a whisper.
For a second, it looked as though they would continue arguing, but in the end, they both huffed and looked away.
"Looks like there's trouble in paradise," whispered Dash.
"Dash, that is not funny," replied Fluttershy, though the barely contained laughter was obvious.
"If you say so," laughed Dash as she skipped along. "Now come on, I can see the mine entrance!"
Scrambling up the hill, Dash slipped between the rocks and felt a weight lift off her body as she slumped to the ground. Sure the walls were too close for comfort and the ceiling was far too low, but it was better than being outside where a sudden snow storm could mean instant death. If it wasn't for Fluttershy, Dash probably would have already been died in that last snow storm.
"Hey Twi, is it alright if I go hunting?" asked Spike. "I'm staaaaaarving."
"Sure. I need to check my traps anyways," replied the unicorn as it slipped off its bag.
"Traps?" Dash glared at Twilight. "Are you saying we could have gotten killed?"
"Only if you're blind and enjoy eating meat," said the unicorn with a shrug. "It's for trapping timberwolves, their sap is nutritious, full of energy and requires no preparation time. Most importantly, it's not meat, though you'd be pretty hard-pressed to find anything that can be easily hunted."
“For you maybe,” snorted Spike as he left.
“Snobby dragon,” said Twilight with a roll of her eyes. “I swear he gets arrogant the longer I know him.”
“Snobby unicorn,” muttered Dash under her breath before saying aloud, “Hey Fluttershy, mind passing over some food?”
“Um… sure…” she bought out a large apple, about the size of her eye and a pale pinkish red. “Er… would you like one too Twilight?”
As soon as that question left Fluttershy’s mouth, Dash tensed up, her entire mind screaming at her to jump the unicorn. For her part, Twilight merely stood there at the cave entrance, letting the question linger in the air. With her back to the pegasi, it was impossible to make out what she was thinking, but after a couple of seconds, Twilight simply walked out without even a backward look.
“Was… was it something I said?” whispered Fluttershy.
At that Dash, lost all control of her body and decided to greet the floor multiple times with her face while Fluttershy looked on in confusion. There were so many things that could be said, butnothing could express just how frustrated she was right then and there. As much as she wanted to yell at Fluttershy though, Dash just couldn’t bring herself to do it. After all, she was the one who dragged them away from the comfort of home, almost got them killed and now was probably screwed thanks to the unicorn.
“Look, Fluttershy, we don’t have a lot of food, so we need to ration it,” said Dash slowly even as her annoyance bubbled within her. “Handing out free food is not helping and she has her own food source so she’s fine.”
“But-“
“No buts. “
It almost looked like Fluttershy was going to argue further, but then her wings dropped and she nodded.
“Good.” Dash took a bite out of her apple and moaned in delight. Fruits were a rare thing, and this one actually had a bit of sweetness to it. It was mushy and a bit stale, but it was sweet and that was all that mattered. Better than the usual tasteless goop that they normally got at least.
“Wait.” Rainbow Dash looked at Fluttershy. “You stole these from the kitchen didn’t you? I don’t remember packing these.”
“Um…”
“Fluttershy! These were meant to be a treat for everypegasus for a job well done and a record haul. You don’t get to steal them just for ourselves. What the buck!”
“Well, you see, er… I figured that since we weren’t going to be there, and, well, the food was for everypony, that, maybe, it would be alright for us to take our share. You know?” She smiled that hopeful, innocent little smile of hers, making it impossible for Dash to actually be angry.
“Alright, alright, but I would have preferred it if you left it for them,” sighed Dash as she settled back down. “Not that I’m not glad for it, but they need it more. You know?”
They lapsed back into silence, eating the treat slowly in order to savor it for as long as possible. Every so often Dash would take a sip of her water in order to wash down the apple, but otherwise she happily snacked away without a worry in the world. With a hoof she began unzipping her jacket, letting some of that oppressive heat out even as sweat dripped down her brow.
It was only when everything began to darken that she realized just how stupid she was. Immediately on her hooves, she walked over to the entrance and looked out, scanning the sky and ground for any trace of living beings. Though she saw nothing, something itched at the back of her neck. A pressure, a chill, something that was impossible to explain, but it gripped her mind and kept her locked in place. The sky was clear and nothing could be seen except white as far as the eye could see.
“Dash?”
“How long have they been gone?” whispered Dash before she ran back to her backpack, tossing it on without a second thought.“An hour?Two? Damn it! Fluttershy, grab your stuff, we’re leaving now.”
“Wha-Why?”
“It’s a trap.”
“Please, if it was a trap you’d already be dead,” said Twilight as she came into view, a sticky yellow liquid coating her clothes and with a fresh scratch across her check that was still bleeding. “And moving out now is stupid, something that I thought you’d know Flight Commander.”
“Go fuck yourself,” snarled Dash.
“Biologically impossible,” said Twilight as she brushed past. “Spike still not back yet? I’m not surprised.”
“You don’t seem, that is, if it’s alright for me to say, but you don’t seem particularly concerned about his safety,” squeaked Fluttershy.
“He can take care of himself,” shrugged Twilight as she pulled out a bottle of yellow liquid, drinking it down messily as she grasped it in her mouth and simply tossed her head back. The disgust was written all over her face as she drank it down and threw it back into her bag. “Now, I’ll have first watch and you two can have third and fourth wi-“
“Hold up, who made you the leader?” growled Dash, taking an aggressive step forward. “We are not travelling together, we are not travelling as a group.”
“There is no point to double up on watch,” replied Twilight. “It is inefficient and a waste of energy.”
“Sorry, but I am not putting my life in the hooves of a monster,” said Dash.
“In that case you and your friend can watch all night long.” Twilight shrugged. “It’ll be nice to get a full night’s sleep for once.”
“Bu- I- Wha- That- Argh!” The worst part was, that unicorn had that annoying smirk plastered all over her face as she walked past with an arrogant sway of her hips.
This was reverse psychology, it had to be reverse psychology. Obviously the unicorn wanted to take a watch, therefore she was saying that to make Dash change her mind and give the freak what it wanted. But what if it was planning that? What if it knew that was what Dash would do, and instead wanted them to stay up all night so that they would be sleep deprived and allow the unicorn to do some sneaky backstabbing. But what if the unicorn knew that Dash would think that and wanted her to act that way so that she could do something sneaky at night? What if tha-
“Fine!” yelled Dash causing everypony to jump. “You get first watch, but I get second. Spike gets third and Fluttershy gets the last one.”
“Whatever you want,” said Twilight in that bored tone of hers. “Now if you’re done screaming, I’ve got some reading to do.”
A snort escaped as Dash curled up on the hard floor. “Whatever, I’m going to sleep.”
There was a moment of silence before Fluttershy said, “Y-Yeah, I should go to bed as well. Um… Night, Twilight…”
“Whatever, don’t care,” replied the unicorn as she flipped the page in the book.
“Stuck up unicorn,” muttered Dash under her breath as she closed her eyes. Sooner or later one of them was going to die even if it was from sheer anger and frustration. One night. That was all it took. One single night, and then Dash would never have to see that monster ever again, but even then, one night was far too long of a wait. For the first time in her life, Dash wished she was dealing with Thunderlane instead.
With one final sigh, Dash rolled over and prepared herself for one long night.
“Now remember darling, Sweetie Belle needs to be in bed in an hour, and make sure she does not eat anything other than dinner. Just between you and me, supporting both mother and Sweetie is putting a strain on the finances, but if everything goes well tonight, our troubles will be behind us.” Rarity tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Oh yes, please check on my mother before you sleep yourself. I know she dislikes being seen as a burden, but please make sure she has enough blankets, the doctors say that we need to ensure she’s warm at all times if she is to stay healthy, and that goes double for Sweetie. If there aren’t enough…”
And on and on and on she went. It was as though she didn’t have to breathe or something ! More than once Applejack found herself checking for a second set of lips that the unicorn could breathe through, but no matter where she looked, there was nothing. As far as Applejack was concerned, black magic was involved, as that was the only possible explanation.
“…nd do not let anypony in, especially Trixie. Actually, if Trixie shows up, you have permission to beat her senseless, and I will even feed you like royalty if you do.”
For her part, Applejack merely cocked an eyebrow at the unicorn. Sometimes, she just didn’t get how Rarity’s mind worked. Most of time she was a stupid airhead with no concept of reality, and then occasionally she’d say something brilliant like just then and Applejack found herself nodding along eagerly.It wasn't the first time she found herself agreeing with Rarity, but it didn't feel any less weird. There was just this feeling of disgust, as though she was going to throw up right there and then before crawling into some hole somewhere to curl up until morning.
"Got that?" finished Rarity.
Applejack merely rolled her eyes and began shoving the unicorn towards the exit.
"Alright, alright!" laughed Rarity as she swatted Applejack on the nose with her tail. "I'm going you pushy pony."
With one final shove, Rarity was pushed onto the teleport rune and the last thing Applejack saw was the unicorn tossing her mane to one side before she vanished in a flash of blue light. The earth pony let out a sigh of relief as she began walking back to the dining room, shaking out her mane and tail as she finally found herself relaxing for the first time in days. Standing around being a model didn't sound stressful, but when it involved standing in the middle of a cyclone of needles, it was a constant battle between fight and flight reflexes. It didn't help that she could be assaulted at any second of any day. Sure, she hadn't been dragged out of the bath yet, but it was only a matter of time. Having been woken up in the middle of the night more than once was more than enough to drill that into her mind.
As Applejack entered the kitchen, she immediately walked into a screen of smoke. Ducking down low, she began scrambling forward, shoving Sweetie and Pearl out of the way. When that didn't stop the cooking, she threw a bucket of water in Pearl's face, breaking the unicorn's concentration long enough for the pot to clatter to the ground and for the fire to go out. She immediately grabbed Sweetie and tossed her out before shoving Pearl out the kitchen and grabbing the leather fan in an attempt to disperse the smoke. Within seconds the entire place was back to normal thanks to whatever magic they used to keep the air flowing around here.
Without a second thought, she slammed the door in the unicorns' faces before turning back to the kitchen and the pile of black sludge on the ground.With a shrug, she stepped over it and began rifling through the cupboards for something that she could eat without dying. Sure, she probably should clean it up, but the mere thought of that uptight unicorn handling it brought a smile to her face.
Out came the dry grass, a pot of water, and some dandelions, followed by staring. A lot of staring.Maybe, just maybe, if she stared hard enough everything would start cooking itself and dinner would be done in a couple of seconds. When nothing happened, Applejack was forced to admit defeat so she opened the door, dragged Pearl in, then pointed at the pot. She seemed to understand because her horn began glowing and a minute later the pot was boiling along nice.
Now was it the dandelions first or the grass?
Pearl immediately reached for the grass, but Applejack slapped it out of her magic and tossed in the dandelions. Who cares if it was right or not, as long as it wasn't doing it by whatever sick method Rarity's mother thought up. Then in went the grass, off went the magic, and it was drained leaving behind a pile of mush.
"Are you sure that's edible?" asked Pearl causing Applejack to give her a flat look. "What? It looks as though it hasn't been cooked enough."
With a sigh of defeat, Applejack plated herself a helping before trotting out the door with her nose held high. If they wanted to burn the kitchen, they were welcome to—as long as she had some food in her belly, she wasn't about to complain about anything.Taking a bite out of her meal, the earth pony was forced to stop herself from gagging. It was bitter, had a slimy texture, and slid down her throat like a lump of dirt , and Applejack devoured it in seconds. It might not have been as good as Rarity's cooking, but it certainly beat anything she had ever been served while she was in the slave pens.
"This isn't bad you know, but it's not cooked enough," said Pearl as she began eating her own meal. "And it's not burnt enough. Charring it a little adds that smoky flavor ."
Applejack just rolled her eyes.
"Don't give me that look missy, I provide healthy, nutritious meals for my girls. Why, just look at Rarity! She grew up into a fine mare that anypony would have happy to have as a wife. Nice foal bearing hips, a good future, respected in her field, and very nicely toned as well."
Sweetie giggled as Applejack made a variety of gagging gestures and pretended to strangle herself.
"Now that's enough of that," said Pearl as she smacked the earth pony across the muzzle. "I'll clean up while you get Sweetie into bed."
"But mooooooom."
"No buts little mare, you have a long day ahead of you tomorrow so you need your sleep."
"B-But-"
"Now." Even though the look wasn't directed at her, Applejack still gulped and shrunk back.
"Yes mom..." The filly sulked away, her hooves dragging along the ground and just as she reached the steps, she tossed one final watery-eyed pout back at them and the sheer cute factor was enough to override the horrible aftertaste from dinner.
"Sweetie Belle." And just like that, the filly zipped off to her bedroom. "I swear, that filly is getting more manipulative each day."
All Applejack could do was nod slowly as her blood sugar tried to recover.
"And don't worry, I'll make sure she gets in bed. Sun knows how long you'd last once she decides to really crank up the water works. Why don't you get the dishes instead?"
With another nod, Applejack began walking back to the kitchen in a daze. She tossed the dishes into the sink, rubbed them with her hoof before just leaving them on the counter to dry off. Sure, it'd make a mess everywhere, but it's not like she had to be clean and prissy about everything like a certain white unicorn. Five seconds! Look, five seconds and the dishes were done. By the stars, look at how fast it was when there wasn't a prissy pony doing the job. Great, just thinking about the usual battle was giving her a headache. Making her way back into the living room, Applejack stretched herself out on the ground just in time for a familiar blue flash of light to come from down the corridor.
"Oh, Golden, have you eaten yet? Considering you're still alive I assume you haven't," said Rarity with a small chuckle.
Applejack pointed in at the plate of half eaten food on the counter that Pearl had left behind.
"Ah... um... did mother cook this?"
A shake of the head.
"Sweetie?"
Another shake.
"You cooked this?"
A nod.
"Well now, let's give it a try shall we? I don't believe you've ever cooked for me in the past." Sitting down next to the earth pony, she immediately took a cautious bite, chewing it slowly with her eyes closed before swallowing. "Well now, it's not bad, but it's definitely something you can improve on. I take it you added the dandelion first?"
Applejack blinked in surprise.
"How could I know that? The bitter taste. Either you added it first and allowed it to overcook, or you forgot to wash the pollen off first. Don't worry, next time I'll let you cook while I walk you through the steps. Who knows, maybe we can take turns cooking in the future, or when I'm particularly swamped with orders."
Either this mare was stupid, or she was the dumbest thing alive . Probably both now that Applejack thought about it. After all, only an idiot would let their slave cook a meal for them, let alone teach them how and then willingly eat everything that was cooked. Had she never heard of something called 'poison'?
"Regardless, that is not what I wanted to talk to you about," said Rarity as she took another bite, savoring the taste. "And this is really, really, really good for your first try."
All she got in response was a cocked eyebrow.
"Ah, right, yes." Out of her saddlepack came a leather bound box thing with brown sheets in between. "Since you cannot talk, I figured it'd be best if you could read and write."
This time, Applejack failed to resist the urge to facehoof. Turns out, not only was she not afraid of getting poisoned, she also wasn't afraid of getting blackmailed! Applejack wasn't certain if she should laugh hysterically from her obscene luck, or just lose all faith in the world for producing a mare this dumb.
Applejack immediately stood up to leave, but a light touch on her tail made her glance back. There was Rarity, a tentative hoof held out as she looked up at Applejack. “Look, I know reading and writing is useless, but please, just one night. One letter, that is all I ask for.”
Why though? Why did the unicorn want this so badly? There was a plot here, there had to be a plot here, but no matter how hard Applejack looked, she just couldn’t find it .
Rarity slowly opened the book to show two large symbols on the page. "This is the letter 'a' like 'Apple'."
Applejack's hoof immediately froze midstep, as a cold sweat broke out. It was a coincidence, it had to be a coincidence that she chose that particular example. She closed her eyes and slowly exhaled, but as she did so, an image of her mother writing her name in the mud flashed before her mind and the ghost of a whisper saying ‘That’s you!’ That was all Applejack had left, a name and a face hidden in some corner of her memories, buried beneath the dust of time. It was the last gift that had never been given, all because that stupid brat decided to...
Applejack shook her head. No, she needed to stop thinking about that, she promised herself she would stop thinking about that.
“So...?” asked Rarity as she looked up hopefully.
It felt wrong, dirty even, but Applejack found herself sitting back down. It had been her mother’s last gift, one that had never been finished and though she felt it was something sacred that belonged only to her, it’s not like the unicorn would know the real reason behind everything. It’s not like the unicorn would be teaching her how to write her name. Plus, it was her name, it was the one thing, the only thing she got from her mother, and it was a matter of respect to finish what had been started.
Reaching out slowly with a trembling hoof, Applejack began tracing the first symbol, following the arrows on the page.
Could it be so simple? So straightforward? Was it even the right thing to do? Applejack had no clue, but something urged her to learn, to at least give it a shot.
A slow nod as she began tracing the left one. It was sort of like an arrow and all the straight lines meant it was easy to draw, but the one of the right... The one on the right was so weird and different. All curvy and flowery. It just didn't feel right.
She knew this was pointless, that there was no point in learning how to write or read, but... This symbol, this arrow-like thing represented the first letter of her name. It was hers, a part of her, it felt special and it was all she had of her mother.
Applejack stared longingly at the page before slowly looking up at Rarity's beaming face. There was laughter in her eyes, nothing patronizing there, instead all Applejack could see was happiness. Was this some elaborate trick? Was this whole thing one massive fancy flim-flam to get her to drop her guard, or was this unicorn really that stupid?
"Shall we continue then?" asked Rarity softly.
Looking down, Applejack swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded, drawing her hoof back so that the page could be turned.
Whatever this was, it didn't matter. There was something here, something important, like a distant memory tugging on heartstrings.
"This is the letter 'b', please excuse the shakiness of the writing, I fear it wasn't my best attempt ever. I always found the capital so awkward to write," Rarity said.
Unconsciously, Applejack nodded and moved closer to the white mare, leaning in to get a better look at the symbol. Her first attempt at tracing the letter horrible, but Rarity gently placed her hoof over Applejack's and began guiding her along, letting her get a feel for the way her hoof was meant to move. Then Rarity let go and with a frown of deep concentration, Applejack began tracing it once more, trying to remember the way it moved just seconds earlier.
There was little doubt in her mind that tonight was going to be a long night. It meant spending time with the sec- no, third most hated unicorn in the world , but for once, Applejack didn't care. For once she found herself willingly close to the unicorn as she pored over each and every page, and once they got to the end of the book and Rarity made to put it away, Applejack reach out with a hoof to stop her. No words were said, no words were spoken, and with a small, almost quietsmile, the unicorn sat back down and turned back to the very first page.
Maybe tonight wouldn't be so long after all.