//------------------------------// // Waking the Dreamer (Part 1) // Story: The Impossible Dream // by Merc the Jerk //------------------------------// Macintosh winced and opened his green eyes. He was greeted by an off white ceiling with a fan turning slowly to stir the air in the room. At the foot of the bed was his work yoke, and to the right was a window. His room. He gave a groan and turned his head to look out the window. The sun was high up, its rays shining down onto the vast fields of planted apple trees. His eyes widened in alarm. My clock never went off, I'm behind. AJ's gonna wring my neck! I- Before he could finish the thought, the memories of his earlier night came back to him in a torrent. The timberwolves, the Statue, and... "Zecora," Mac spoke aloud. He tried to rise, only to be met with crippling pain in his shoulder. He reached for it instinctively, putting a hoof on well padded bandages that covered most of his upper body. He fell back onto the bed, swearing loudly at the pain that shot over his ribs. "H-hey there big guy, take it easy, ok?" a panicked mare's voice spoke briskly. Her husky tone was instantly familiar to him, and he turned, almost coming face to face with a blue furred pegasus that leaned over the bed. She yelped and backed away, brushing her rainbow striped mane out of her eyes. "Dash?" Mac questioned. "The one and only!" she stated with a confident smirk, giving a slight flex of her foreleg, and rising a few inches off the ground with her well used wings. "What are you doin' here?" "AJ wanted me to make sure you were doing ok, so-" She landed back on the ground and gestured over to a wooden stool that was near his bed. On top of it was a book, Daring Do and the Fate of Trotlantis. "I've been watching you for a bit." The red stallion accepted the answer. Not that he needed to ask, really. She was over enough that the Apple family had adopted her as their own flock more or less; she came and went as she pleased, usually eating dinner with them and, during the cold season- due to her cloud home being terrible at retaining heat- she usually stayed with them in one of their guests rooms until the end of the holidays. At least, that was the explanation she offered on why she stayed over. Mac always figured she was more lonely than cold, what with her family not being around. The stallion knew the pain she felt, he still missed his ma and pa to this very day. Their passing had left a hole in his heart that he doubted would ever get filled. Because of this, he always tried to treat her with the same respect and kindness he showed his sisters. Noticing her staring, thanks to his thoughts going out to pasture, the colt spoke up. "Well, I'm much obliged, Dash," Mac replied to her, before frowning. "I need you to do somethin' for me though, rather than jus' keepin' an eye on me." "Shoot." The pegasus nodded. "I need to know if Zecora's alright. I took her to Redheart's last night an-" The pegasus tilted her head. "Last night? How about 'last week?'" Rainbow Dash retorted. The stallion paused, taken aback. "Uh, beg your pardon?" "Mac, you were messed up bad." Her easy going and confident speech faded quickly, and her voice lowered. "You have any idea how much blood you lost from that leg wound? On top of that, you broke a rib, dislocated your shoulder, pulled a back muscle, and fractured one of your forelegs. It's a miracle you didn't bleed out on your way to Ponyville." She frowned, and Mac could tell her violet eyes were watering. "Not cool, dude." She finished, biting her lower lip. She turned from him, staring intently at a framed photo of Mac's father the stallion kept on the nightstand. Macintosh took a breath, thinking of his words before speaking. "Nope. Not cool at all," he agreed. She paused, tilting her head to look at at him. "I had ta do it. Ponies were countin' on me. First Fluttershy, then Zecora." "You could have di-" She began to loudly argue, only to have the colt raise a hoof and interrupt her. He winced at the twinge of pain the movement caused him, but continued. "Eyup. But I didn't. And I saved a pony. That's worth a life, saving a friend," Mac gave a pointed look towards her, "or a family member." He let the words sink in. "Dash, I know you'd do the same for anypony else if you was in my horseshoes. I mean, you are the Element of Loyalty, ain't ya?" As his words finished, she sat sniffling for a few long seconds, avoiding Mac's gaze. Suddenly, she stopped and let out a groan. "Ok, ok. Enough with the sappy stuff, big guy." After wiping her eyes, she briskly changed the topic, and was finally able to look at the stallion again. "Zecora's at the hospital." "She alright?" "Oh yeah, she's fine. She's even been awake for a few days now." Rainbow Dash nodded. "How come I'm here and she ain't been released yet?" Mac quizzed, prodding the bandage on his foreleg with his good hoof. "Uh, well, I dunno." The blue pony shrugged. "They sent you packing because you have family to take care of you. I guess she doesn't have anypony around here to keep an eye on her." "That ain't true," Macintosh said, rising up slowly to a sitting position. "Dash, how fast do ya think you can get to the hospital?" "You kidding? I could be there in ten seconds flat!" She boasted. Mac smirked at the mare's arrogant attitude. "Well then, go on and find the doc in charge of her, tell 'em Miss Zecora has a place ta stay; right here. I'm a bit at fault for her injury, so I'm gonna make it up to her." "I can do that," the mare agreed, before lowering her voice. "Now, you sure that's the only reason you're inviting her over?" Dash asked, her mouth in a strange smirk. "Eyup." The red workhorse nodded, his passive face unreadable like usual. "I'm suuure it is," The athletic pegasus said. Mac's green eyes narrowed. "Just what are you implyin'?" "Oh, nothing, nothing." Dash shrugged, walking past the foot of Mac's bed and casually running a hoof over his yoke and footboard, before approaching the window. She opened it and climbed outside, flapping her wings to stay floating in the air. She paused, then turned suddenly back to Macintosh, and puckered her lips together with her hooves, making kissing noises. Before Mac could even try to retort, she shot off into the distance, her laughter fading along with the rainbow streak of energy she produced at high flying speeds. "That kid..." Mac sighed, shaking his head good naturedly. "She sure is somethin', alright," A familiar, twang filled voice agreed. Mac turned his head, and noted Applejack standing by the door frame. She gave a warm, approving look to her brother, and walked closer, taking off her well worn hat to wipe a bead of sweat from her orange brow. She donned it back on quickly, placing it gently over her golden mane. "Mornin', AJ," Mac drawled, before stealing a glance at the clock on his nightstand. "Well, I reckon I should be sayin, 'Afternoon.' Sorry I ain't been up yet." The orange farmpony gave a shrug. "Figured you earned a few days off, after that fiasco involvin' Zecora." Macintosh frowned. "I ain't sure we'll be alright with me down, sis. Zapapple season's gotta be soon now, long as I've been out. If I'm holed up in my room, who's gonna help ya buck 'em?" Applejack shook her head. "Naw, we got a replacement for the harvest. Not that he'll be better than you at the job, but I think we'll manage." A thought came to the mare, and she suddenly spoke up. "That reminds me, I gotta go pick him up at the station, shootfire!" "Should I ask who you got?" Macintosh asked, almost dreading the answer. "Ya know him, it's Braeburn. He agreed to take a few days off to help us down here." Mac smiled slightly. "I ain't seen him in forever. Hope he'll have enough time to jaw for a bit 'fore he heads back home." Applejack's face took on a mock serious expression. "When does that pony not have enough time to jaw?" The red stallion's smile grew. "'Bout the only time is when he's eatin', I reckon." "Guess we'll just have to feed him good if I want some peace and quiet 'round here the next couple days." AJ answered with a groan, arching backwards and putting the back of her hoof to her forehead. "Woe is me." She lamented, putting on a voice that was at least a reasonable attempt at Rarity, Applejack's fashion focused friend who tended to have a bit of a flare for the melodramatic. After her theatrics, AJ shared a quick laugh with Mac, then gave him a fake punch on his good shoulder. "Guess I'll be back with Braeburn. Don't wander too far while I'm gone, ya hear?" she quipped, leaving the room. "Wouldn't dream of it." Mac drawled to the empty room, slowly turning his head to stare out the window. 000 A cyan figure streaked across the cloudless sky, leaving a line of rainbow energy in her wake. The future Wonderbolt grinned, feeling the air pull back her face. She leaned forward, gaining even more momentum as she streamlined her body. Like a comet, she lived up to her name, and dashed across the sky, skirting about twenty feet above the treeline, just high enough to showboat to anypony that happened to be looking up. She gave a sigh, content in her element. For a brief moment, Dash shut her eyes, just concentrating on the feel of the air against her wings, and the sound of her mane whipping in the wind. When she opened them, a gray pegasus with a blond mane was rising upwards with a wedding cake, not even ten feet in front of her. Rainbow Dash tried to call out to her, but her speed was too great for the other to react in time, and Dash collided with the food, splattering it across the ground and covering herself in it. The cake blinded her, and she desperately tried to wipe her eyes and clean her wings free of the gooey mess, but it was to no avail. She landed fairly hard, skidding on her stomach for several feet across the well trimmed grass, before finally coming to rest at the footsteps of the Ponyville hospital doors. "My bad!" The blond haired pegasus called out, flying closer to the ground to inspect the damage. "You ok, Rainbow Dash?" she asked, her eyes going lopsided as she held her hoof vaguely out towards Rainbow's crashed body. "Super, Derpy. Never been better," Dash replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she tried to shake her body free of grass and cake with little luck, before accepting the hoof. "At least I'm at the right spot for this kinda thing." "I just bought that from Sugar Cube Corner. I guess I better go back to the Cake's, to get more...cake," the gray pony sheepishly replied, rising up into the air in a wide circle. "Sorry again!" she called, flying in a strange curving line toward the west. With a roll of her eyes, Rainbow Dash entered the hospital, frosting decorating her hoofsteps. As she entered, she was greeted by a carpeted room, with a few couches, a magazine rack, and a desk, which a green toned earth pony sat behind, stamping a few papers. "Be with you shortly," The receptionist said with a complete lack of interest, not even looking up from her work. The waiting room was one of Dash's least favorite places to be in a hospital. There was just too much sitting around for her liking. Well, at least sitting around on chairs that were far from comfortable, anyway. Give her a nice cloud, though... She sighed, defeated, and went over to the magazine rack, searching it to find something at least bearable. After shuffling through, dripping cake on more than one catalog, one actually caught her eye; an outdoors enthusiast magazine. She didn't really care one way or the other about nature, but they had an exclusive interview with Spitfire, the leader of the Wonderbolts, Equestra's premier stunt ponies. Rainbow Dash squealed and cracked open the publication. With shaking hooves she started to turn to the article. "Ok, I can see you now, dear," The receptionist called. The blue pegasus looked down at the magazine with a groan. She wasn't even on the page of the article yet. She gave a sad, dejected look at the picture of Spitfire on the cover, before putting it away. She quickly cantered over to the lime colored pony. The earth pony gave a glance up and down Dash's body. "You don't look that bad, aside from the cake- I hope you didn't touch anything expensive- I'll, I'll just give Nurse Redheart a call, and-" Rainbow Dash quickly put a hoof on the table, a few splotches of icing flying off and splattering the table. "Sweet Celestia, no. I'm fine. I'm actually here to see somepony." The lime colored mare frowned, noting the icing. "Oh. I see. What's her name?" "Zecora. Don't know her last name." "Don't worry. It's a... pretty unique first one." The receptionist nodded, taking a look at a clipboard. "Hmm, looks to be room 215; all you need to do is-" "Door on the right, up two flights of stairs, second door on the left," Dash said. She gave a brisk bow upon seeing the receptionist's confused reaction. "That was the room I was put in after I broke my wing." The rainbow maned pony smirked, answering the other mares question before it was even asked. With another bow, Dash zipped through the open door, splattering the rest of the cake on the carpeted floor. "Janitor's gonna kill me tonight," The receptionist stated to nopony but herself, turning back to her paperwork. 000 Zecora sat calmly on the hospital bed, doing her best to ignore the pain fresh bandages caused over her wounds. They had been swapped out merely ten minutes ago, and they still contained antibiotics that stung the zebra's body. She turned her head left, toward her roommate; a pony in a full body cast. She gave a wry smile his direction. "In the land where I come from, they would do something to your wound before treating it- make it numb." She awaited the others reply. After he said nothing for several long seconds, she sighed and gave up on conversation, reaching over and extending the curtain that separated the two. A brisk knock at the door caused her to snap to attention. "Enter please, if you would be so kind. A visitor would greatly ease my mind," the zebra spoke. The door opened, and a blue pegasus with a multicolored mane appeared. "Heya Zecora, how you doing?" Rainbow Dash inquired, walking to the foot of the bed. The equine in question shrugged. "Now that you are here, it is not so bad. A familiar face helps my spirits, even if it's just a tad." "Glad to hear it. I know how lame hospital rooms are." Dash sympathized, eying the place with a sigh. The medicine woman looked at her companion briefly, before speaking. "I appreciate the visit, that much is true. However, I have a feeling you're here for more than that, my friend of multicolored hue." "No. Well, sorta. Yeah, yeah. I guess I am. Mac's awake," Dash explained, scratching the back of her mane. Zecora's eyes widened. "Macintosh is awake? Dash, my friend, let us enjoy this date! As soon as I'm able to escape this place, we will celebrate that stallion's good grace!" She laughed, clapping her hooves together and ignoring the pain that sparked in her shoulder. Dash paused, before speaking again. "That's the other reason why I'm here. Mac's injury's were quite a bit worse than yours, but he's at his home. Don't you think you could be discharged by now?" Zecora's earlier excitement faded, to be replaced by a troubled frown. "Even if I were, where would I go? The timberwolves are a fearsome foe. I doubt injured I could make the walk, and if I did, I have a feeling they have ruined my medicine stock." "Oh, that's easy! Mac said to come to his place. There's plenty of room. Believe me." "Dear Dash, I'd would hate to impose-" "He wouldn't mind," Dash interrupted, a sly smile starting on her face. "He wouldn't mind at all." The zebra thought, resting a hoof on her chin. "Well, the hospital is a bit lonely, so I suppose..." Dash interrupted her once more, quickly walking toward the door. "Great! I'll let somepony here know I'm taking you out." Without so much as a pause, Rainbow Dash left the room. Zecora gave a shake of her head. "Why do I have the feeling I'm getting set up?" A rustling came from the bed to her left. "Doesn't matter, just get goin', ya schlup!" the nasally voice of her bandaged roommate grunted. Zecora gave a laugh under her breath, and rose from the bed, wincing as her hooves touched the linoleum flooring. She slowly walked to the door, and opened it with her teeth. After signing off the transfer papers, Dash trotted down the steps of the hospital, and sniffed the afternoon air. "Whew! Glad to be out of there. That medicine smell gets to you!" She turned behind her, and waited as Zecora carefully walked down the steps, favoring her left side. Her zebra companion nodded in agreement to Dash's comment "Guess we should get you over to Sweet Apple Acres," Dash said. She rose to the air out of habit, but froze right before shooting off, glancing down at her injured friend. "Oh. Right. We're taking the scenic route," she muttered under her breath, dropping to the ground and folding her wings close to her body. 000 Applejack stood by several other ponies on the stone platform of the station, waiting expectantly for the train her cousin was scheduled to be on. She was lucky she sent the letter to him when she did; he was planning on leaving Appleoosa for a few days with a group to explore the desert. Upon receiving her letter however, he canceled the trip promptly, and made a beeline for the station, getting tickets for the very next train to Ponyville. A long, mechanical whistle in the distance snapped her green eyes to attention, and she glanced westward, along the tracks. Barreling down the railways was a coal powered locomotive, carrying dozens of passenger carts. The ponies around Applejack began cheering, providing an almost deafening noise to the station. Applejack did the same, whooping loudly, before going towards the edge of the platform. She grabbed one of the poles, and leaned off of it, holding on with just one foreleg. She took off her hat, and raised it high, waving the train onwards. As it came closer, AJ moved back a ways, putting her hat on and speaking excitedly to the others waiting on the train. It finally slowed down, hissing steam as it approached the station. It gave one more shuddering lurch, then stopped. A colt wearing a conductor's hat and a button up shirt stepped out of the train, and moved to the first passenger cart, placing his hoof on the door handle. He was soon joined by other colts in the same attire, each one taking a different cart door. "Poooonyville!" he announced, opening the door as the rest of the staff opened theirs. A flood of ponies came out of the cart, nearly trampling the employes in their wake. Applejack was suddenly surrounded by even more ponies, all embracing and chatting loudly amongst one another after their exhausting trip. "Braeburn!" AJ called out to the crowd. Upon hearing no answer, she rose onto her two back legs and after a brief scare where she nearly tilted, she regained her balance. It was a little skill she learned from her sporadic friend Pinkie Pie, and it was helpful more often than somepony would think. She scanned the crowd with her new height advantage, before finally spotting an amber colored colt wearing a vest, and hat similar to hers. He appeared to be chatting with an elderly mare. Applejack lifted her hat up to the air once more, and put her hoof in front of her mouth, drawing a whistle out. He snapped his head towards the loud noise, and laughed loudly when he saw his cousin. He gave a friendly wave to the elderly pony, before trotting over. "Nice trick, cuz. Can't say I've ever learned how to stand like that." Braeburn grinned, blowing air from his mouth upwards to move his brown mane. Applejack lowered herself. "Pinkie Pie taught me," she said simply. "That's the one that tried to do that song and dance number over at Appleoosa, ain't it?" The work pony took a page from her brothers vocabulary. "Eyup." "Then that explains everything." He somberly nodded. "Anyways, 'bout that Zapapple harvest..." "The flowers have bloomed, so we got tonight free, maybe tomorrow too, at the most. You still remember how to work 'em?" "Do I ever. Damn things shocked me enough when I was a colt to learn me good," Braeburn replied. "But enough talk, let's get out of here, cuz. It's a mite crowded." "I was about to say the same," Applejack agreed, turning towards the stations entrance. She motioned for Braeburn to follow. "Come on, cowpoke, we'll head home, and discuss how we're gonna go about the job." So saying, they departed, oblivious to a familiar figure hiding in the crowd. The mare gave a smirk, and followed after the two earth ponies. 000 The two family members walked through Ponyville, and thanks to school being let out earlier in the day, the market square was nearly flooded with fillies and young colts. Dodging a young filly carrying a box on her back, Braeburn continued to listen to a few of his cousin's adventures as they wandered past dozens of ponies. When she finished her latest story, he spoke up. "...So, you mean to tell me you beat the Flim Flam brothers in a cider making contest?" the cowpony questioned, shock apparent on his face. "Darn tootin'." AJ nodded. "They were all hat, no cattle. Once I got Twilight and the rest of the girls helpin' us make the cider, I knew nothing could stop us. Even said so to Princess Celestia." Braeburn stopped. "The Princess Celestia?" he questioned, his eyebrows rising to dangerous levels of excitement. "How many of 'em you think there are? I jus' know the one," Applejack asked dryly. He accepted AJ's reply after mulling it over, and continued to walk. As they passed the schoolyard, both noticed a schoolteacher with a light purple coat standing outside and speaking to a young filly with glasses. Braeburn and Applejack both raised their hooves in greeting, and the mare raised one in reply. The cowpony spoke up again after they walked for a bit. "You gotta admit AJ, for a simple country gal, you sure rub elbows with the cream of the crop." The orange pony shook her mane as they walked past the Carousel Boutique, Rarity's clothing shop. They saw the white mare in the first floor window, her attention diverted to a marker board with several designs for clothing. The unicorn scratched her purple mane as she stared at the board, before shaking her head in a temporary defeat. The cousins raised their hooves in a quiet greeting as they walked by, but Rarity didn't notice. "Ya'll can thank my friends for that. I ain't never found much use for them 'high and mighty' types. All they do is sit and complain 'bout things that nopony who's ever done a honest day's work would even care 'bout," the farm pony responded. "Ain't that the truth!" Braeburn nodded empatheticly. He paused by a well stocked vendor, and eyed some carrots they had on display. A barrel to the left of the stand twitched slightly. The stallion tilted his head. "Any ya'll see that?" "See what, Braeburn?" AJ questioned. "Didn't see anything either," The green toned pegasus pony who was minding the stand said. "Well, nevermind then, I just coulda sworn I saw that barrel mo-" Before he could finish, a pink blur of a pony erupted from the barrel and dove forward, launching carrots in every direction and nearly pressing her muzzle against his face. Braeburn let out a startled shriek, and dove behind Applejack. The farm pony rolled her eyes. "Easy now, it's just my friend-" The pink ball of energy spoke, talking over Applejack. "Hey there, I'm Pinkie Pie! You remember me, don'tcha? I was the one who sang that song over at Appleoosa, you know, that one song that said you really needed to share?" The pink colored mare stopped for a few brief moments, looking expectantly at Braeburn with her sky blue eyes. The stallion swallowed, finally recovering. "Y-yeah. I remember you, y-" Pinkie interrupted yet again. "I KNEW YOU WOULD!" She shouted, giggling, before turning to Applejack. "But Applejack never told me you were visiting! I just happened to see you both at the station!" She turned to face Braeburn once more. "Ooh, I'm so behind on your 'welcome to Ponyville' party now! I won't have it done until tomorrow, is that all right?" "Pinkie, he's here fer work first, the party'll have to wait at least 'til after the Zapapple harvest." AJ stated. "Y-yeah." Braeburn nodded. "But, I'll be around for a few days after, so I suppose-" Pinkie Pie nodded, her puffy mane bobbing up and down. "Okie Dokie Lokie! I'll see you the day after the AppleZap thingy!" "It's 'ZapApple,' sugercube." Pinkie ignored the correction, already bouncing away towards Sugar Cube Corner. The family members stared in silence at the quickly vanishing earth pony. "Well, that went better than I expected," Applejack said. "How so?" Braeburn questioned. Applejack leaned forward, and rose a hoof, whispering to Braeburn. "Well, it's like this; just when you think Pinkie's all done and outta tricks, she comes back with one more shock. I coul-" A loud pop interrupted Applejack, and Pinkie Pie erupted from the barrel once more, launching more carrots to the side. The pegasus watching the stand glared at the interruption, before turning back to his own business. "I forgot something, Applejack!" Pinkie announced. "Guess we ain't home free," Braeburn whispered quietly to Applejack, a smile on his face despite the complaint. "What's goin' on, Pinkie?" the stetson wearing mare asked, trying to keep the exasperation from her voice. Pinkie pointed a hoof at the two ponies. "Saturday is Big Macintosh's 'I just woke up from a coma' party!" The orange pony recoiled as if shocked. "I- I ain't even told nopony he woke up. How?!" The party pony shrugged, as if it was the easiest answer in the world. "Pinkie Sense, silly." "You mean to tell me you have a sense for brothers waking... aw, horsefeathers, I'm sure you do," Applejack replied, rubbing her temple with a hoof. "I'll be sure to throw the bestest party ever for him! It'll be later at night, so you two can come, even with the AppleZap harvest! It works out GREAT!" She laughed. "Alright Pinkie. We'll be there," AJ agreed. "I'm glad to hear that! Welp, I gotta go! Gummy needs me!" Pinkie said, dropping down into the barrel once more. The pony watching the stall leaned towards the barrel. Wincing slightly, the pegasus gathered his courage, and looked inside. "It-it's just full of carrots, how in the-" "It's Pinkie Pie. I don't even ask 'how' anymore, pardner." Applejack sighed. 000 The walk through town was slow and uneventful for Rainbow Dash, and she took one more glance over to Zecora to try to start a conversation, but decided against it. As they reached the white picket fence that marked the outskirts of Sweet Apple Acres, the cyan mare decided to take this moment to speak. "Well, here we are," she stated the obvious, squinting through the sunset before smirking. "As late as it is, I hope Grannie's got dinner ready. I'm starved!" The striped equine tilted her head. "'Grannie,' Dash? Do you mean Grandma Smith, or am I being a bit too rash?" The pegasus winced, an embarrassed stammer entering her words. "Uh, y-yah. That's what I meant. Grannie Smith. Because, Smith is her, uh, last name. Which I call her by, like, all the time." The zebra was far from convinced, but let the lie slip by with a pleasant smile. "Far be it for me to cause you a hunger pang, let's get you home so you can hang with the rest of your 'gang.'" Dash gave a grunt of agreement. Before they could move, a mare's voice called out to her. The rainbow maned pony didn't even need to turn around to recognize the southern twang of one of her best friends. "Hey Applejack," Dash replied, turning around to see the orange filly in question, approaching with a casually dressed stallion. RD raised her hoof up in the air as they came close. "Braeburn! Long time no see, stud!" Applejack's face blanched at the 'stud' comment, and she shot daggers at the cackling offender. "Dashie!" she hissed. Braeburn ignored Applejack; instead approached the cyan equine, and bumped his own hoof against hers. "Howdy there, 'Bow! Been a bit, ain't it?" As he spoke this, he glanced over and noticed the stripped equine watching the group with a serene smile. The cowpony nudged Dash in the shoulder with a hoof and spoke quietly to her. "Ya'll finally found somepony, 'Bow? I'm proud 'a you. AJ didn't mention anything 'bout that in her last letter." He then moved forward, giving a brisk hug to the pegasus. She stopped, raising a brow. Realization dawned on her. "Oh. No, no, no, no. She and I aren't, uh, 'together.' I'm still looking," Rainbow said, muttering the last part. She then leaned forward to whisper in Braeburn's ear. "Though, her and Mac on the other hoof..." She trailed off, giving a wink to the stallion. He gave a sly smile, before adjusting his hat casually. The zebra finally spoke up toward the newcomer. "I normally do more than just observe, but it seems like until now, I hadn't the nerve. I am Zecora, potion extraordinaire. If you need assistance, I'm your mare." "Pleasure's all mine, Miss. Name's Braeburn, I'm from the great city of-" He reared back, tilting his head upward, "Apppppleoosia!" Zecora raised a brow, turning to AJ. "He really likes Appleoosa," Applejack said. The zebra gave an awkward nod of her head, still not quite understanding the stallion's actions. Rainbow Dash piped up. "Speaking of 'Appleoosa,' let's see what kinda grub as at the house!" Applejack stared at her friend. "Uh, sugercube, I don't see how that rel-" "Race ya!" Rainbow Dash cried out, already sprinting down the dirt road towards the family's home. "Braeburn," Applejack grunted, any trace of humor gone from her face. "Uh, yeah, cuz?" the cowpony asked, wary of his cousins sudden change in attitude. "Show Miss Zecora toward the house, ya hear? I'm gonna teach a certain somepony a lesson in humility." With that, Applejack launched forward on the dirt path, going at speeds that nearly made Braeburn dizzy. As Braeburn watched the dust plume upward, he smiled awkwardly towards the mohawked equine. She gave a laugh in return, before they both began the walk towards the house. 000 Rainbow Dash made it to the house first, tapping the wooden support beam on the porches fence as if it was an imaginary finish line. She raised her hooves triumphantly, offering a grin to Applejack, who had came storming behind her mere seconds afterward. "Headstart, wings...and I still nearly beat ya'll." AJ panted. "Gotta... do better than that, sugercube. 'Sides, we're just even now. I won this mornin's run." "I'm not the one panting right now, farm girl. And if you're so set on breaking this so-called 'tie,' then we'll do it after dinner. Winner takes all!" "It's a deal," The farmer replied, spitting onto her hoof. Dash mirrored the action, and they met their hooves together, sealing the agreement. Behind them, they could see the far distant images of Braeburn and Zecora, slowly walking side by side towards the house. Rainbow watched them for a moment, before growing bored and stomping her hoof in irritation. Applejack picked up on Dash's frustration, and spoke up. "Ya'll just wanna go inside? We can tell Grannie and Applebloom ta wait on 'em fer dinner." The orange pony offered. "I guess. Though I'm not waiting on a glass of water. I'm just about dying of thirst," Dash responded, grabbing the door handle. It was pitch black inside the home. Applejack glanced over at her friend. The pegasus gave a rise of her shoulders in response, just as confused as AJ about its state. Curious, the two entered. Applejack took a few steps forward, and tried to use the last fleeting rays of sunlight seeping through the front door to guide her to the lightswitch. It wasn't bright enough, and she resorted to feeling along the walls with her hooves as she walked forward. She finally found it, and was about to give it a flick up, when she was suddenly grabbed from behind. The unseen assailant instantly wrapped a foreleg around her mouth and torso. A nearly silent gasp in the darkness to her side informed Applejack that Rainbow Dash had met the same fate. Applejack struggled against her assailant, but was unable to break free, and the two ponies were quietly pulled deeper into their home, deeper into the inky darkness.