Dreams of Loyalty Chapter 9
In which Pinkie Pie traverses a nightmare, ships are mentioned, and doors don’t always lead were should.
Dreams are funny, Pinkie thought as she floated in a cool, and gentle, endless sea of white. She may not have had a body, at least none that she could see, and there may not have been any kind of ground, or again, at least none that she could see, but she was relatively certain she was floating. Of course, she was also relatively certain the emptiness around her was white, but then sometimes it looked blue, and sometimes it looked pink too. Either way, it was a very funny kind of experience.
She floated like that for what felt like hours, or perhaps it felt more like seconds. Either way, she seemed to float for some amount of time, and then she simply wasn’t floating at all. She didn’t know what she was doing, but it wasn’t floating. As she half-heartedly tried to work out what it was she was doing instead of floating, the large ocean of white in front of her began to form small patches of grey. The cool sensation that had surrounded her like a blanket of clouds disappeared, leaving a warm, coarse, and uncomfortable feeling. She quickly realized she had a body again, because she could feel the warm, scratchy something rubbing against it, like she was taking a shower in desert sand. The dark spots in her vision became pitch black, and started to spread out across the white sheet in front of her, like cigarette burns on a piece of clean paper. The burnt places fell away, revealing harsh streaks of fiery red and orange. A wet smell filled her nose. It was pungent, almost metallic, and horrifically familiar.
Her eyes widened as the recalled the source of that smell. When she had still worked on the farm, before the Sonic Rainboom, she and Inky Pie, or Inkesta as she had been called back then, had been breaking apart some of the smaller rocks in the field to be used as weights. The pick she had been using was very old, and when she swung it down to onto a particularly sturdy slab of granite the end had shattered. A sharp piece of the debris had hit Inky, and cut her badly across the side of her neck. Fortunately, her parents had taught all the girls first aid and what to do in case of emergency. Pinkie had stopped the bleeding quickly, holding her sister’s wound closed as tightly as she could without strangling the injured filly while she screamed for help. Her parents had come running, bringing with them the first aid kit and bandages. Inky had recovered, and their parents praised Pinkie for her quick actions, but the magenta filly had had nightmares for weeks about that horrible crimson liquid that had poured out from her sister’s neck. Every time she had closed her eyes, she remembered its nauseating, pungent, and almost metallic smell.
Pinkie shut her eyes and covered her nose and mouth as the terrible memories resurfaced and her stomach became sick. How had she forgotten something like that? And how could she forget it again? She began wishing she hadn’t drunk the potion. If these were the kind of horrors Luna had been talking about, then…
Her whirling mind slowed as she remembered the Alicorn’s speech, and then her own. Her pulse, for she realized it had been racing, slowed too as she remembered why she was here. She took her hoof away from her face and breathed in. The smell was faint, but still present. She took another breath, forcing herself to relive that memory completely. Inky had been hurt and scared, but she survived. Better than that, she had made a full recovery, and told Pinky how lucky she was to have such a brave and amazing big sister over and over again, even when that same big sister woke up sobbing from another crimson colored nightmare. She had saved her sister, and she would save Dash.
Pinkie breathed in again, and the smell was gone. Opening her eyes, she saw the same reds and oranges she had seen before. The same colors, she realized, that had been cast over her family’s world every morning and evening, only these colors weren’t quite so dull.
Blinking, she looked around to discover she was lying on her back in a grassy field near the edge of a heavily wooded forest. Turning over and getting to her feet, she slowly began to recognize the area as the edge of the Everfree forest not too far away from Sweet Apple Acres. Only… it wasn’t.
Everything was in its proper place according to her memory; she could even see the bright red farm house in the distance, though it was slightly muted from the fiery glow of the sky. Still, there was something… sinister about the world now. The trees looked taller and more threatening then she remembered, and the grass seemed to stab sharply into her hooves, as if she were standing on the ends of dried hay. Even the air seemed hot and oppressive. It was as if all of Equestria were radiating with a subtle hatred for her very existence.
“The world thou will enter will be nothing less than apocalypse.”
Luna’s words echoed in her mind as Pinkie continued to look around the foreboding landscape. Well, one thing could be said for the Princess, she certainly hadn’t exaggerated. There was also no sign of the cerulean speedster, or of anypony else for that matter. Still that wasn’t too surprising considering how close she was to the Everfree. She was just contemplating where to begin her search when the sound of snapping twigs from beyond the tree line made the choice for her. As she began briskly walking towards 'anywhere but here,' she silently agreed that, considering how dangerous the normal Everfree forest was, it would probably be best to avoid apocalypty, doom, and gloom Everfree as much as possible.
The world did not seem to share her opinion, because the sound of the next breaking twig was considerably closer. Pinkie picked up her pace slightly and casually glanced back over her shoulder. She did a double take when she realized she was only a few feet away from edge of the forest, even though she was certain she had been farther away when she had started leaving. The snapping grew louder, causing the earth pony to go into a full gallop. But no matter how fast she ran, every time she looked back she seemed closer to the forest’s edge, and closer to whatever was making that horrible crunching sound as it lumbered towards her though the dark underbrush. Her frantic pace made her think back to when she and her friends had raced a hydra though Froggy Bottom Bog, and to her horror the crunching noise was soon joined by the sound of huge, thundering feet and crashing timbers. Despite the hot air, a chilling cold shot up her spine, and without even looking back, Pinkie knew there was no escape.
She stopped, slamming her hooves into the ground and skidding on the dead earth, the prickling grass reaching up to stab into her feet like a bed of needles. The stiflingly dry air scorched her lungs as she tried to draw breath. Though she had only run for minute at most, she could feel the perspiration dripping down her body, as she heard a final, sickening snap from just behind her, and the sound of something huge, something enormous, breathing in a deep hiss some fifty feet or so above her head.
For another instant, she stood with her back to whatever horrible monstrosities waited behind her, her eyes hidden behind a pinstriped, magenta curtain. She clenched her teeth and swallowed. No, she would not run anymore, that wasn’t how she handled her problems anyway. She was going to take whatever aberrations had crawled out of those woods head on and force them to limp right back in, after she made them tell her where Dash was. A sound grew in her throat. It began as a deep growl, but quickly became a thunderous roar as she turned and leapt blindly at her pursuers. Her eyes filled with fire, her voice bellowing with courage, she flew in to the air, her forehoof pulled back and ready to strike down her foes with all the strength her rock farming heritage could grant her, and… slammed face first into a tree.
Pinkie hung in the air for a few seconds, her head well and truly lodged in the burly pine she had just thrown herself into. Then gravity began to take effect causing her body to fall limp against the tree, her embedded firmly in its bark. She remained like that for some time, silently hanging there like some giant, magenta stag beetle. Then she began to giggle. Muffled though tree though it was, the sporadic giggles of the limp maned mare were easy too discern in the otherwise silent forest. As her laughter grew louder, her color became lighter, and her hair and tail became curly and full. The now cotton candy tailed pony brought her hooves up to the tree and began pushing to dislodge herself from its bark. She came loose with a soft ‘pop,’ and fell onto her back amongst a pillow of crunching, fallen leaves. Her laughter faded a little as she looked around, and, to her surprise, found herself completely alone amongst the tall timbers and scattered leaves. Then she began laughing again. She laughed long and loud, both out of relief and at her own ridiculous antics.
Once she began to settle down, she sat up and began looking about for any sign of whatever had been stalking her, but there was no hint of it. She had been certain she had heard trees crashing to the ground as they were brushed way by the one or more of the things pursuing her, but every tree she saw was perfectly fine and vertical. There wasn’t so much as a footprint, or a disturbed blade of grass anywhere to be found in the dim forest that surrounded her. Pinkie blinked and looked around again. No, she had seen correctly. She had somehow ended up inside the forest. The edge was only a few yards away, but there were still a fair number of trees between her and the open field she had arrived in.
“Hmmmmm,” Pinkie said to herself, rubbing her chin and eyeing the forest suspiciously.
She stood up and began carefully walking toward the outer edge of the tree line. To her surprise, (or perhaps not to her surprise, it was hard to tell now,) she cleared it without incident and continued on into the open air. She stopped and looked back to check if the forest was following her again, but the Everfree remained where it was this time, completely silent and inert. After taking a few more steps and double checking that she wasn’t followed, she sighed gratefully and began making her way toward the first land mark she could see.
The rolling orchards of Sweet Apple Acres.
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“This can’t be good,” Twilight said, peering over Fluttershy’s shoulder as the pegasus wiped away another sheet of sweat from Pinkie’s brow. The earthy pony’s hair was limp, and her face showed nothing less than absolute terror. “That definitely can’t be good.”
“Hold on to yer hooves there, Twilight,” Applejack said, putting a hoof on the unicorn’s shoulder and gently pulling her back so Fluttershy could go back to her pony tending. “Fer all we know, that could be a sign the potions workin’ proper like. We don’ have a clue how Zecora’s fancy concoctions are suppose’ ta work.”
“But look at her face,” the librarian protested, “she’s obviously in pain! Or scared, or something!”
“Settle down, Twi,” the farm pony repeated. “Gettin’ all worked up in a tissy ain’t gonna help nopony. Though, ta be honest, Ah sure would like ta know what we could to ta help…” she added, looking meaningfully at the midnight blue Alicorn in the corner of the room.
Luna straitened up upon being addressed. After Pinkie Pie had taken the potion, the younger Princess had silently slunk away to a far corner of the room to organize her thoughts, as well as her feelings.
“What? I…” the Alicorn stammered briefly. Then she took quick breath and collected herself. “I apologies, fair Applejack. But to answer thy question, I believe that kind Fluttershy has the… “right idea,” as thou would say. We shouldst be calm, and make every attempt to refrain from causing strife or panic to permeate the room. I believe a lost ship will find a calm harbor easier to return to, if thou will forgive the metaphor.”
“Right, no panicking,” Twilight agreed quickly, though clearly not calming down at all. “We should make things as calm as possible for ships. Fluttershy, go get some of your birds and have them sing calming music; Rarity, you go to the spa and get some calming aroma therapy candles; Applejack-“
“Twilight!” Applejack and Rarity yelled in unison, snapping the purple unicorn out of her ‘team organizer’ mode. Twilight blinked at them in confusion before realizing what she was doing.
“Oh, right,” she said, blushing. “Maybe, I should work on calming myself down first…” She gave them a nervous smile before turning to the corner opposite Luna’s. She slowly crossed to it and sat down with her still armored back to the room, hunched over so her face was hidden from view.
Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy all looked at each other uncertainly. Luna watched them as well, once again seemingly forgotten about as she sat in her dark corner. She shook her head. Now was not the time for such self-pitying thoughts, there were more important things to worry about then her bruised ego, namely the lives of two ponies, and now the mental state of her best friend. Though, what was she to do?
After a minute's reflection, the Princess started to get to her feet. As a friend, the best thing she could do right now was speak with Twilight and see if she needed either space or comfort. If she needed space, Luna would let her be. If she needed comfort, then she would offer all she could. Before the Princess could rise fully however, she noticed Applejack had already taken a several steps towards the sulking pony. Luna quickly settled back down again, though nopony took any notice of her. Perhaps it would be best to let Twilight’s best friends comfort her, rather than somepony she knew mostly through letters. Sadly, the princess watched as the cowpony approached Twilight’s armored form.
“Listen Twi,” Applejack began, “I know ya usually cope with this kinda stuff by coming up with some clever plan an’ gettin’ everypony worken together an all, but right know we…”
The farmpony was cut short by the sound of crying. Surprised, she stepped closer and gently turned Twilight around to face her, and was met by two wet, amethyst orbs. Tears streamed down the unicorn’s face, even as she tried to wipe them away with the back of her hoof.
“I’m sorry,” Twilight said shakily, as she fought back the flow of tears. “I’m sorry girls, I just… I never had any friends until I met all of you and… and now we might lose Pinkie and Dash, and I… I just don’t…”
Twilight was saved the difficulty of continuing as the blond mare gathered her up in a strong hug. Everpony watched as Applejack let the unicorn sob quietly into her shoulder for a few minutes. Once Twilight had let her fears and anxieties out through her tears, the earth mare gently shushed her and began rubbing her back. At least she tried to before realizing she was trying to comfort her friend through a sheet of plated metal. The cowpony quickly switched to patting the unicorn on the back of the head instead.
“Listen ta me,” Applejack whispered, pulling the unicorn back so they could be face to face. “Do you remember what Ah told you the first night we all met, and you was dangling on the edge of that cliff?” Twilight nodded as she rubbed her eyes, still sniffling. “Ah said that if you let go you’d be safe, and that Ah was tellin’ you the honest truth, remember?” Twilight nodded again. “An’ you were safe, weren’t cha?”
Twilight nodded again, this time beginning to grow impatient. “Yes, but I don’t see what-”
“Ah’ve known those two fillies ever since they first came to Ponyville,” the apple farmer interrupted her. “Dash and Ah have been friends fer years, and Pinkie made certain everypony in town knew her soon as she rolled into town. In all the time Ah’ve known’em, Ah ain’t never seen neither of’em give up on anything, or anypony, even when it might'a been a better idea ta throw in the towel. Dash'll keep goin' long as she's still got breath in her, an' Ah sometime wonder if Pinkie even needs ta breath what with the way she carries on sometimes. Mah point is, ain't nothing in Equestria or where ever hay Pinkie goes is gonna keep those two apart. They're gonna come back to us just fine,” Applejack said, looking Twilight in the eye. “And what Ah’m saying ta you, is the honest truth.”
In friend's eyes, Twilight saw the same strength and certainty she had seen that night on the cliff; the same reassuring honesty that had made her trust her life to a perfect stranger. Twilight looked a bit longer, and then closed her own eyes and relaxed, breathing out the remaining tension and stress in a gentle sigh.
“Thanks, A.J.” Twilight said, opening her eyes to smile at the Stetson clad pony. “I know I shouldn’t have gone crazy like that, but-”
“Darling,” Rarity interjected, stepping up to the two. “I think we’ve all had a bit of a break down today. Some of us more so then others,” she added, with a quick glance at the still sleeping Pinkie Pie, “but it’s nothing to fret over.”
“Rarity’s righ’, Sugar Cube,” Applejack agreed. “We all understand how ya feel, and we’re all righ’ there with ya, so-”
She was interrupted by an excited gasp from the bed.
“She’s smiling!” Fluttershy exclaimed, almost dancing up and down next to the sleeping ponies. “Pinkie’s smiling!”
Everypony, including Luna, rushed over and nearly pinned the poor pegasus to the wall as they crowded around the bed to take a look. The pink party pony was smiling. A gentle, and almost amused smile, but a smile none the less.
“Ya see,” Applejack said quietly, “nothin’ to worry about. An’ Ah’ll bet mah farm she’ll have Dash smiling twice as wide in no time.”
The purple mare silently agreed. If anypony could turn a terrifying nightmare into something to smile about, it was Pinkie Pie. After looking down at the unconscious couple for a few seconds, the unicorn felt somepony's gaze lingering on her. Glancing up, she managed to catch the briefest glimpse of two beautiful, teal eyes before their owner turned away. Twilight smiled as she realized what she should be doing. She could trust Pinkie to deal with Dash's dreams. Right now, there seemed to be another nightmare that could use Twilight's attention, or rather an ex-Nightmare. There was also the small matter of those words that had been whispered in her ear back on the bed. Of course, it would probably be best if she got the Alicorn alone first for such a discussion. Fortunately, the view from the hospital room window presented just such an opportunity.
“Princess Luna, isn’t it almost time for you to raise the moon?” Twilight asked innocently, indicating her slowly fading namesake outside.
Her friend turned and noted the time with some surprise.
“It would appear as such, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna concurred, walking to the window and peering out at the setting sun. Was it really so late already? It seemed like they had just arrived.
“Why don’t we go up to the roof? It looks like thing’s are well in hoof here, and you’ll have a great view and plenty of room up there.”
“We?” Luna asked, looking at the purple unicorn uncertainly.
“Um, well you see, I… I'd like to get some fresh air! Yeah, hehe, after a good cry it’s always good to get some fresh air, you know?” Twilight giggled nervously. When the Princess continued to look unsure she added, “Plus I’d really like to see you raise the moon. …if you don’t mind of course.”
Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy looked back and forth between the dusk and midnight colored mares as the Alicorn weighed her options. If she was completely honest with herself, Luna wasn’t sure if she wanted to be alone with her thoughts or not right now. Pinkie’s words still laid heavily on her, among other things. Part of her longed for her tower, and some seclusion with which to analyze or perhaps even research the flurry of uncomfortable feelings that were dancing about in her chest and skull. But still another part of her, one with a voice that sounded uncomfortably similar to her sister, whispered that perhaps the answers she sought could only be found with the unicorn in front of her.
“...Very well, Twilight," Luna said finally. "I wouldst be most grateful for thy company.”
She could not sneak away to her tower while her responsibilities to her subjects, no, to her friends kept her here. She may as well give her inner voice of reason, or perhaps mischief, a chance. Either way, Twilight’s smile at her response seemed to confirm she had made the right decision. Luna felt the agitating butterflies in her stomach settle a bit as the unicorn opened the door for her.
Rarity watched them leave with a curious expression, and after the door shut, her eyes narrowed slightly.
“Hmmm.”
“Uh-ho,” Applejack muttered, watching the alabaster unicorn and drawing the mare's attention.
“What?” Rarity asked.
“Ah know that look,” the farm pony replied, her expression guarded. “It’s the same one ya gave me righ' before ya went after mah head with tha' brandin’ iron an’ a can of frilly perfoom.”
“For the last time, Darling, it was a curling iron and hair spray, not perfume, and I only wanted to see what you would look like with a more… stylized coiffure.”
“Ya nearly singed mah ears off, Rare,” the earth pony deadpanned.
“Well if you had just sat still instead of making me chase you halfway across the boutique, and stopped struggling so much I could have been more careful.”
“Mah point is,” Applejack continued, prodding her violet maned friend in the chest, “you’ve got ’cher eye on somethin’, an’ yer not gonna let it be till you’ve gone an’ fiddled with it.”
“Applejack, I’m sure I have no idea what you are talking about,” Rarity said, turning up her nose with a resentful flip of her mane.
“All the same,” the earth pony said, stealthily reaching out with her long straw colored tail and interweaving it with the unicorn’s own violet curls. “Ah think Ah’ll be keepin’ an eye on you.”
The fashionista’s face flashed scarlet at the contact, and she quickly looked over her shoulder towards the bed. Fluttershy had her back to the pair, once again busying herself with making Pinkie and Dash as comfortable as possible. Content that they hadn’t immediately been discovered, the unicorn turned back to the farmer with a slightly cross look.
“I think that’s a bit more then just an eye on me, Applejack,” the unicorn chided quietly, even as she wrapped her own tail around the farmer’s.
“Now, what did Ah say ‘bout frettin’ over them details?” Applejack replied, her voice also barely more than a whisper as she leaned a little closer to the mare.
Rarity was about to voice some sort of cleaver banter in return, but suddenly became far to interested with how captivatingly green the farmpony's eyes were in the fading light. As she began leaning forward as well, the moment was shattered by a panicked gasp from the bed behind them. The two broke apart and turned to see Fluttershy still standing with her back to them, though the pegasus's posture told them all they needed to know. They rushed over to her and immediately saw what had prompted the reaction; Pinkie’s face was once again wracked with pain. Her hair was still bright and springy, but her breathing was even heavier than before and sweat was pouring down her face and body.
“I’ll get Twilight and the Princess,” Rarity said almost immediately. She started for the door, but Applejack kept her hold on the unicorn's tail and pulled her back.
“Hold on there Missy!”
The fashionista came to a jarring stop as she felt the not-so-subtle tug on their connected tails. Rairty gave a yelp before glaring back at the farmer in resentment at being stopped in such an undignified a way.
“There ain’t nothing those two could do fer her now,” Applejack explained, ignoring the unicorn’s look of indignation. “’Sides,” she added, looking down at the panting pink pony, “It don’t look ta me like she’s in trouble, more like she just finished a marathon 'er somthin’. Also, her hair's still all springy, so Ah reccon that's a good sign, right?"
Rarity and Fluttershy looked at each other, and then back at the sleeping mares. Applejack was right, she did look more exhausted then frightened this time. Perhaps they should give her some time first. Hesitantly, they nodded.
"Righ', so let’s jus’ simmer down an’ give her a chance to catch her breath ‘fore we go panicin’ Twilight again, okay?”
The other two nodded again and Applejack stepped away to let Fluttershy resume her role as Florence Nightinpony; the pegasus still a bit too shaken to notice her two conscious friends were now connected at the back end. Rarity resumed her seat at her Applejack’s side and replaced her head on the farmpony’s shoulder; her worried gaze fixed on the unconscious ponies in the bed. The blond mare did the same, and soon silence fell over the room, punctuated only by the sounds of strained breathing and of Fluttershy occasionally wringing her damp cloth out over a nearby pan.
“What’s happening in there, Applejack?” Rarity asked, reaching around to hug her partner round the waist as she watched the pegasus care for their two friends.
“Ah don’t know,” the pony replied honestly, returning the embrace and putting a hoof around the unicorn’s shoulder. “But Ah sure hope she’s found Dash by now…”
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It took a surprisingly short time to make it to the farmstead, even by Pinkie Pie standards. One second she was walking toward the distant red farm house, and the next she was passing through the front gate. Just like at the edge of the Everfree, everything was almost exactly as she remembered it, apart from the red sky and the persistently unwelcome atmosphere. Unlike her memories however, the entire farm was deserted and silent.
“Hello?” she called, looking around the seemingly abandoned farm. “Applejack? Granny Smith? Is anypony here?”
The only answer she received was the whistling of the wind blowing through the trees. It could have been her imagination, but it sounded almost like the cry of somepony in pain. Somepony who sounded very familiar.
“Dashie?” she yelled after the fleeting wind. No answer came, and as she listened, the entire farm, and perhaps all of Equestria, fell into complete silence.
She swallowed nervously as she made her way towards the house. If nothing else, she might be able to get a better view of things from an upstairs window. As she walked, however, she could feel her chest begin to tighten and the air around her grow warmer and dry. The front patio of the house seemed to stretch away from her as she approached. Though it was only about ten yards to the patio from the gate, every inch seemed to stretch out into a mile for the pink pony. Becoming inpatient, Pinkie stepped up her pace to a light trot. The door continued to remain out of her reach however; in fact, it seemed to pull even farther away somehow.
“Okay, this is getting really old,” Pinkie said angrily to the house, slowing to a stop and reaching up and to wipe the beads sweat from her forehead.
Checking around, she saw she was about half way to the patio. Cautiously, she took a single step forward. The large red building remained where it was, though there was a defiant tension in the air. The house seemed to be giving her the same kind of defiant attitude she had come to associate with a certain white rabbit she knew. Actually, that gave her an idea.
Sitting down, Pinkie faced away from the farmhouse and looked up at rust colored horizon. Then she began to hum. She stayed like that for a while, humming her little song and occasionally swishing her tail back and forth in time with the beat. After a while she tilted her head to the side and sneaked a sidelong look at the building behind her. Smiling, Pinkie went back to her humming, throwing in a little whistling as well; completely ignoring that the large red barn had silently closed half the distance between them while she had her back turned.
It was just like Fluttershy had taught her when the excitable earth pony had meet Angel for the first time. Sometimes, you just have to let the more stubborn critters come to you. Of course, the demure pegasus probably hadn’t had two story buildings in mind when explaining why her pet rabbit had kicked dust in Pinkie’s face when she tried to introduce herself. Then again, Fluttershy did keep quite an exotic menagerie around her home...
After another minute of humming, Pinkie stole another quick glance and saw the house was almost right behind her.
“Gottcha!” she yelled, quickly turning and pouncing onto the front door. There was absolutely no reaction, but when she looked back she saw that she had finally cleared the ten yards to the house and everything was at its appropriate distances again.
“Sorry Mr. Applejack’s house,” Pinkie said, nonchalantly opening the door and stepping inside. “But you just can’t beat aunty Pinkie PiiiieeIIIIEEEE!”
Pinkie flailed as her front hooves stepped onto thin air. The doorway ended in a sheer drop into an impossibly deep pit. Blackness stretched out endlessly on all sides from the doorway as Pinkie tumbled forward into the abyss. Fortunately the door had opened inward, and she was just able to grab the handle with her tail and stop her descent. Upside down, the dangling mare thanked every star in Luna’s sky that earth pony tails were prehensile. Unfortunately, her tail wasn’t quite as developed as say, Applejack’s, and thus lacked the strength to actually pull herself up to safety. Mulling over her situation as the blood rushed to her head, Pinkie reasoned that the only way back up would be to swing back and forth until she could reach the edge, preferably without slamming the door shut on her tail in the process, and preferably before she became to dizzy to see straight.
When she began coaxing herself forward however she encountered a new problem. Tails, it seemed, weren’t meant to be hung from by the very tip, and any sort of movement made her tail ache in protest and slip off the knob a little. Okay, new plan. Reaching up with her back legs she grabbed the door between her back hooves and pulled herself up until she was also able to grab on with her forelegs as well. Hanging onto the bottom of the door like some bubble gum pink monorailpony, Pinkie tightened her grip on the door and attempted to readjust her tail for a better grip. She felt her stomach plummet as the door gave a sudden lurch forward. Looking up, she watched in slow motion as the screws holding the top most hinge in place began to strip out of their sockets.
She barely had time to react before the wood completely gave way and the door swung down and over, twisting the flimsily metal of its last hinge and swinging poor Pinkie Pie under the doorframe as she tried desperately to keep her grip on the slick wood and brass handle. The door swung around again, further twisting the whining tin and iron holding it to the world outside the abyss, and bringing its desperately clinging passenger back in sight of her only way to salvation. With a burst of adrenalin, Pinkie flexed her tail and scrambled up the wildly swinging door until she could grab the upper edge with the forehooves. Now right side up, she knew she had less than a second before the hinge completely gave way. Hoisting herself onto the narrow and slanted edge of the door, Pinkie kicked off to leap for the exit, only to feel the twisted and stretched tin break free from its anchors the instant she pushed down with her powerful legs.
Time almost stood still as the terrified mare felt the world drop out from beneath her. She felt the awful pull of gravity drag her down in the blackness, even as she slowly drifted towards the orange light of the world outside. Her eyes looked out at the white picked gate and red sky. Then they were level with the smooth edge of the floor. And then she fell beneath it.
This was it. After coming so far, she would fail here. Doomed to fall eternally in a dark void of nothingness, completely alone, never to see her friends, her family, or her Dashie ever again. No. It wasn’t right. Not after everything she had done. Not after everything she risked. Not with Dash waiting for her rescue. With one last, herculean effort, Pinkie kicked out her legs, stretched up her hoof… and felt it catch on the bottom of the doorway.
With a groan of effort, she pulled herself up and grabbed on with her other foreleg. Her feet dangled helplessly in mid air as she scrapped at the ground with her chin and elbows, trying desperately to gain enough friction to get the rest of her body to safety. Reaching around the side of the door and pulling her torso against the corner, she was able to gain the leverage needed to pull herself all the way up, and onto solid ground once more. She lay there, panting as every muscle in her body seemed strained or pulled after her sudden acrobatics.
“I've gotta remind... Applejack,” she gasped out, feeling her pulse pounding in her head, “... to redo her floors... when I get back.”
Then she fell limp, letting the exhaustion and stress wash over her aching body. She wanted to rest. Oh, Celestia, how she wanted to just lie there and rest, but she still had a job to do. As horrible as her stay in this bucked up world had been so far, she knew it was nothing compared to what Dash must have been going though inside this hellish nightmare.
Her limbs still trembling out of shock and exertion, Pinkie got to her feet, and continued her search.