Twilight never remembered having fallen asleep while making the final touches on her shiny, metal body armor, so it was very unexpected to be woken up with the persistant shaking on the shoulders by Zecora. Her eyes opened enough to catch the distressed faces of her friends anxiously packing everything into their saddlebags at the speed of cheetahs.
"Zecora, what's going o-
"They are coming, Twilight. Now, hurry and pack. Get out of sight," Zecora was pushing Twilight onto her hooves with incredible force, "I have decided to stall them for as long as it takes. There is no time to argue about past mistakes."
Twilight closed her mouth as the situation was just starting to dawn on her. She furiously began to pack her finished armor into the closest saddlebag next to her, but a swat at her hoof stopped her. Twilight jumped at the sight of the pegasus standing before her, but was reminded of last night's incidents.
"Get the food and supplies, darling," came the somewhat recognizable voice of Rarity, "Rainbow and I have the armor. Move quickly though!"
Twilight was herded over to who she assumed was Fluttershy. Fluttershy zipped around the tunnel, opening trunks and fishing out what little food and water they had. She pointed over to other remaining trunks and barrels and debris whenever she came back for Twilight to go through as well. Twilight found it becoming harder and harder just to keep up with everything. It felt as though she had woken up from a thousand year nap and was being bustled in to war the very moment her eyes were open. In a way, that was exactly what was going on. Yet, she persevered and opened, and re-opened trunks left and right until Zecora came back with Pinkie by her side.
"It's time you left right now," she gave Pinkie a saddlebag, "Follow the tunnel and take the left passage no matter how foul it looks. It is the safest, I give you my vow."
"We've gotta hurry," Pinkie chimed in, "Start hightailing it as fast as you can. Don't look back. Move out!"
Rarity fastened two saddlebags onto her body before she sprinted away. Fluttershy and Dash took flight and passed overhead with the remaining saddlebags. Twilight, without really thinking, grabbed ahold of a random saddlebag on he table and took off with Pinkie nipping at her hindlegs.
"Fly, Twilight!" Pinkie screamed, her voice reverberating back at them, "Fly!"
"But I can't," Twilight protested, "I don't know how."
"Just start flapping your wings, okay?" echoed Rainbow Dash's voice from ahead "We've gotta move it. I mean, it's bad enough as it is that they can hear us."
Twilight clenched her eyes shut and let her new wings do as they wanted. When she opened them, she found that her hooves were floating a few meager feet away from the ground, but that was better than nothing. A loud shout and bang, made the five ponies' ears perk up anxiously.
"Keep going," Rainbow Dash commanded in her booming voice, "Don't stop. You heard what Zecora told us."
It went like this for the next two miles. They would hear a bang from farther and farther away as they flew out of sight. And Twilight began to wonder just what was going on back there and if she truly wanted to find out.
"We've got to keep going you two," Rainbow Dash flashed Fluttershy and Rarity, who were now lagging behind the others, a very cold glare for the fifteenth time.
"But we can't..." Rarity panted, apparently too tired to whine, "We've been flying and running for hours now."
"It's only been three, and we're still not at the passageway," Dash rolled her eyes at Rarity's melodramatic behavior, "You guys can make it. For all we know, the enemy could only be twenty minutes away from us. And what then when they catch us? Hm? We pretend that we're one of them? Say that the mane six got away and that we have the elements in Pinkie's bag?"
"What?" Pinkie frowned from alongside Twilight, "I don't have the elements."
"But that bag that Zecora gave you-
"-Was full of potions," Pinkie wiggled her eyebrows at Rainbow Dash arrogantly, "I don't have the elements."
"Wait," Rainbow stopped for the first time since that morning, "If Fluttershy and I have the food...and Rarity has the armor...then who has the elements?"
Everyone grew quiet. Twilight quickly looked into the bag hanging on her side. Relief flooded her face as she withdrew her head from the saddlebag.
"I've got it," Twilight let out a sigh, "It was in my saddlebag the whole time."
"Oh, then let's keep going," Dash shrugged after a second of comfortable silence.
A soft thud made everyone turn around however. Rarity was sprawled out on her stomach with the saddlebag weighing down on her. She let out a soft whimpering noise as Twilight rushed over to help her. Rainbow Dash's empathy level, however, was running low.
"She's fine, help her up and let's keep going," she sighed submissively.
"No."
Rainbow Dash's head swiveled around to see Fluttershy standing in front of her. no longer flying.
Dash's eyes narrowed as she came to rest on the ground, "Why not."
"We're not going any farther until we get a breather."
"Well, where are we supposed to go? There's no place to hide if the pegasi do pass by us."
"Actually, there are a bunch of rocks. If you still have so much strength in you, why don't you gather some into the corner of the tunnel, over there that way if the pegasi do pass by, they won't see us," Fluttershy pointed a hoof over at the wall of the tunnel.
Rainbow Dash gave Fluttershy a look, as if pondering whether or not to slap her good friend. She rolled her eyes again and zipped over to the wall, picking up large rocks left and right and dropping them into the same spot, to form some half-hazardous rock fort. When she was done, she made a point of carrying Rarity's saddlebag over to the fort and dropping it to the floor.
"There, do you want to make a fire while we're at it too?" Dash asked with sarcasm.
Twilight snapped her head to face Dash, "You know what? That is it, Dash. I know tensions are high right about now, but you're just as bad as Icy Rain. You may think you're some great and all-powerful leader, but get a raincheck. You're just a scared little filly. Take a page from Fluttershy's book and learn to help somepony out."
It was all out of Twilight's mouth before she even had time to evaluate it. Rainbow's eyes shrunk back suddenly. There was a silence so thick, not even a dagger could stab through it.
Twilight sighed, "I-I'm sorry Rainbow Dash...I-I don't know where that came from really. I think the potion is having its effect on all of us right now. Not just you. I-I didn't mean that-
"Yeah you did," Dash replied back calmly, still looking down at the ground, "It was true. You just had the guts to actually say what everypony was thinking. Kudos to you."
"Rainbow Dash-
"No, Twilight, listen. I'm not mad, okay. I was being an ass. You pointed it out. It happened," Rainbow Dash stated with that calm tone again.
Twilight blushed as Dash brushed past her. She really did regret saying those cruel words to Dash, even if they were a little bit true or not. The side effects of this potion was bringing everyone to their wits end. And of tensions were this stretched out, this journey really would be the longest they ever encountered...
An hour break was all they needed. It was all they could decide. After no signs of incoming pegasi approaching, Dash had everyone slowly make their way into the air in a single file line, with herself leading the way for them. They covered a good ten miles worth of land before they finally reached what looked like a break in the single passageway. Dash let out an eager hoot of triumph.
"Perfect, we should have the head start already," Dash did a small loop-de-loop in the air, "Now we take the right."
"Hold on a second," Fluttershy grabbed ahold of Dash by the shoulder as she peered around the corner toward the left side of the passageway, "I heard Zecora with my own ears. She told us to take the left side even if it didn't look all that great."
"Nu-uh" Rainbow Dash persisted, her stubborn behavior already getting the best of her, "You can see a light ahead from the one on the right."
Twilight racked her head as the arguing went on. What had Zecora told them? Go to the right side of the tunnel or to the left? Eventually, Twilight made up her mind.
"If you were the enemy, where would you think to go," Twilight spoke up loudly in order to be heard, "The thorn-encrusted passageway or the safest, harmless looking passageway? I'm with Fluttershy on this one."
"What a surprise," Dash spat out suddenly.
Twilight's mouth gaped a bit at this remark as Dash quickly apologized profusely, "I am so sorry. That was the potion, not me. I swear. I'm sorry, Twilight."
"I-It's fine," She quickly replied with a forced smile, "Let's just keep walking before the pegasi catch up to us."
"Uh, guys..." Pinkie Pie looked horrorstruck as she pointed a trembling hoof at the way they had just came from, "I think it's too late."
The fluttering of wings echoed from the turn behind them and the silhouetted figures of pegasi were following swiftly behind. Twilight gulped as the sounds of their laughter found their way toward them.
"To the left, hurry," Dash whispered feverishly.
All ponies lifted up their wings and took off at the speed of bullets. Dash followed behind them, waiting for their attackers to come after them. It took the five of them just under fifteen minutes of sprinted flying to realize that Twilight had been right. The enemy had taken the right passageway. But there had been more of them...it would make much more sense to have somepony take the left just in case. After all the pegasi weren't that stupid now, were they?
The morning began to turn into night as the ponies continued their hike and with much arguing, Rarity was able to convince Rainbow Dash to let them set up camp during the night.
"You are without a doubt, completely crazy if you honestly think that I am going to stand watch while you sleep," Rainbow Dash hollered in a hushed whisper at Rarity.
"I'll take the night watch next time," Rarity yawned feebly as she stretched herself on a rock, "After all, every pony needs their beauty sleep."
"Except me?"
"Well, you mustn't have to put it that way, but yes. You're the leader after all..."
This shut-up Rainbow Dash long enough. With her silence assumed as a yes, Rarity folded herself up next to a rock and let her eyes flutter shut. Fluttershy scooted in right next to her along with Pinkie Pie. Twilight glanced back at Rainbow Dash however. Rainbow Dash was sitting herself outside the entrance to their mare-made hut and was kicking up gravel softly.
"Are you okay, Dash?"
Rainbow Dash jumped slightly as Twilight sat down next to her, "I'm fine, Twilight. Worry about yourself, okay?"
Twilight sighed, "I will. But...do you know where they're keeping Apple Jack? I mean, is it really true that she's locked up somewhere in Canterlot with other ponies?"
Rainbow Dash leaned against the sharp edges of the rock wall, not even caring if it hurt, "Well...It's the only lead we have."
"So our plan is to risk everything we've accomplished, everything we've worked for so far, to just let it go on some half-assed guess on where Apple Jack is?"
"Yeah, I guess we are," Rainbow Dash took a snide tone as she glared at Twilight, "Look, if you have anything to say about it, then just leave. Go back to Manehatten and stay there for all I care."
Twilight groaned, "No, Rainbow Dash, I want to get Apple Jack-
"Then quit complaining-
"I will when we have a back-up plan. You know? A plan B," Twilight tried to keep her anger pent up enough to sound reasonable.
Rainbow Dash's eyebrow twitches as she spoke, "A plan B, huh? Well, on the off chance we get caught in the prison...I say that we split up into a team. There's five of us, right? So we can have Rarity and Pinkie Pie try to sneak into the castle while the rest of us get Apple Jack, give her some of the potion, and then get the elements of harmony ready so we can put an end to this whole war. Sound good?"
"Actually, it's not a bad idea," Twilight smirked, "But where should we even meet up?"
"I say...we meet up over at the wishing well. The one in Canterlot Gardens."
"Okay," Twilight stiffled a yawn as she nodded her head, "Well, I'll remember to tell the girls that when they wake up. Do you want me to stand guard with you too?"
"No, I've got it," Rainbow replied almost bitterly.
Twilight was about to retort, but thought better of it and instead murmured, "Goodnight."
"Oh, Twilight," Rainbow Dash tilted her head back to look at Twilight.
"What?"
"I'm sorry again...if I'm acting so bitter. I don't mean to be."
"Don't worry about it," Twilight yawned again, "It's the potion doing the work, not you."
"But I think I should. What if I'm turning into...her?"
Twilight wondered who Rainbow Dash was talking about, but her thoughts were answered as Rainbow looked down at her hooves with mild distate.
"You're not going to turn into Icy Rain," Twilight reassured Dash.
"How do you know?"
"I don't. I'm just relying on faith at this point...but I'm pretty certain these are just side effects. They'll wear off when the potion wears off."
"Thanks Twilight," Rainbow Dash grumbled under her breath, "I mean it."
Twilight gave a grim nod in Dash's direction before joining the others in a blissless sleep.