For Whom The Belle Tolls
Chapter 3
Rarity’s assumptions played out, both her and Rainbow talking with Sweetie until the sun began to rise in the sky. Many more cups of coffee were brewed as the two mares explained the situation to the young pony, who sat in a chair with her own little glass of hot cocoa, taking occasional sips. They left some things out of the story, of course. Things she didn’t need to know, things she wasn’t ready to hear. They would tell her one day. All in good time. Sweetie listened well, asking a couple questions, and sitting politely as they talked. Rarity kept a close eye on her sister’s expression making sure she was alright, that it wasn’t too much for her. She was obviously confused by what she was hearing, but she took it very well. Truthfully, most of the talking was done by Rainbow, with Rarity being there to fill in the blanks. She didn’t mind though, she doubted she could have relayed the tale half as well as the pegasus.
When she finished talking, Rainbow gave Sweetie a kiss on the top of her head and waited. Rarity waited as well, each staying quiet, letting the filly take in all the information. It was truly quite a lot to handle, and the white mare found herself a little anxious, worried her little sister’s reaction wouldn’t fare well. For nearly a minute, the only noise was the ticking of the clock in the kitchen, and the distant chirping of the birds outside, signaling to everypony the dawn of a new day.
The little filly looked from one mare to the other with slightly watery eyes. Rarity could feel her heart pounding, she held her breath. Finally Sweetie Belle wrapped her hooves around Rainbow, and she returned the hug. When they broke apart she ran up to Rarity, embracing her as well.
“How do you feel about all this Sweetie?” Rarity asked, combing the filly’s hair softly with her hoof. She didn’t doubt the strength of her little sister, but what she had been told, all of the things that had been hidden and kept from her, Rarity was surprised by her maturity to it all.
“A little confused,” the little unicorn admitted. “But I’m glad I know. I just can’t believe I didn’t figure it out before.”
“Dash and I have been trying to hide it, for reasons I’m sure are obvious. I’m glad you know now, and I’m glad you’re handling it so well, but you have to promise keep it a secret for us now too. Even from Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. Do you promise?”
Sweetie Belle looked up, and slowly lifted her hoof, using it to cover her eye with a kind smirk.
“That’s my filly.” Rarity said holding her in for one last hug. “Thank you. I love you.”
“I love you too.” She looked over to Dash opening her mouth to say something, then blushing. She left the kitchen and turned the corner. Rarity could hear the slow clacking of her hooves as she ascended the stairs back to her room.
With the little one out of the room, Rarity let out a long sigh, collapsing into a chair.
“Are you okay?” Rainbow asked, still kneeling in the spot where Sweetie Belle hugged her, hardly moving.
“That wasn’t a discussion I planned on having with her for a while yet. Oh I was so worried! Do you think she’s really alright?” She spoke in a hushed tone, paranoid about the filly eavesdropping again.
“Yeah, I do. And I’m glad she knows now, she deserved to know more than anypony.”
Rarity couldn’t argue with her there. She was glad to have yet another weight lifted off of her this morning.
“Thank you so much for taking charge back there. I don’t think I could have handled that on my own.”
“No problem.” She said, finally lifting herself back onto her hooves. Her stare was distant and a little concerned. Rarity realized nopony had asked her if she was ok.
“Are you alright darling?” She asked. Rainbow blinked a few times, as though she were trying to pull herself back from her thoughts.
“Hmm? Oh, right, yeah, I’m good thanks.”
Rarity chuckled at her stuttering.
“No you aren’t. What’s wrong?”
“I know what she was going to say,” She nodded her head towards the stairs. “I totally know what she wanted to say to me, and I think you know too. But she didn’t say it. It makes me a bit worried, about how she thinks of me.”
Rarity gave a slow nod, understanding what the blue pegasus was trying to convey.
“Rainbow, that was quite a conversation for her to wake up to. She’s confused, and I can’t blame her for that. It’s going to be difficult for her to adjust to you, and the role you’ll play in her life. Give her time, she’ll say it eventually.”
“I hope so. I just don’t want her to be afraid of me.”
“Oh heavens dear, I don’t think you’ll ever have to worry about that. She’s already quite fond of you, and I can’t really imagine that changing.” She got up from her chair and gave the pegasus a hug, which she returned. “Now, is there anything else you need? I was going to head upstairs to shower and sort out the mess I’ve made of my mane. Feel free to stay and have some breakfast, I keep the pantry stocked in case of company.”
“No, no,” she said. “It’s alright. I think I’d better head out now anyway, they’re calling for partly cloudy skies today, so I should get to it.”
“Alright.” Rarity said, knowing it would be fruitless to invite her to stay longer. Not even she could keep that pony in one place for too long. The two mares made their way to the foyer, one opening the door to leave, the other beginning to climb the first few stairs.
“Have a good day Dash. I love you.”
“Love you too.” She said, before heading outside. A few stray snowflakes made their way into the house as the door closed, making a little pattern on the mat. Rarity sighed as she climbed the steps to the top floor of her home.
What a morning.
Months began to pass quickly. Rainbow and Rarity still spent much of their free time together, and of course with their friends. Applejack remained skeptical but silent about the extent of their relationship. She talked and laughed with the two mares as though nothing bothered her, and in truth, sometimes, for just a few moments, she could forget about it, and believe that nothing had changed. They were just friends, the way it was before.
Sweetie Belle kept her promise well, never speaking a word of what she was told to anypony. Although, the words Rainbow wanted to hear, she was still unwilling to say, which she learned to live with. Out of fear, Rarity still kept it a secret as well, and though Rainbow didn’t see the point in hiding it, she would respect the unicorns choice and wait. The pegasus knew that Applejack still suspected that she and Rarity were together, and sometimes it got difficult. Rainbow wanted to tell her, but she was pulled between her want to speak, and her obligations to the unicorn. But, all that meant was the subject of Rarity was taboo, they could still hang out right?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The brash pegasus refused to blink, staring down her opponent. The ceaseless buzzing in her ear was ignored, she had to sit still, she had to focus. She faced a worthy adversary, one she knew had determination and resolve to stand a chance at besting her. Rainbow gazed into her opponents eyes, standing before the farm of one of her best friends. The day was bright and warm, the sun in her eyes threatening to break her concentration. She fought her every urge to blink.
“I’m not gonna move, you move.” Her words muffled as she hardly moved her lips. She couldn’t disturb the bees that covered her face and body. Or worse, let them in her mouth.
“There’s no way ah’m movin’.” Applejack retorted. Dash tried her best not to smile.
“This is the most daring dare anypony dared dare another pony to dare!” Pinkie blurted out, bringing her hoof down upon a desk that Rainbow never recalled being there before. After receiving a confused look by the two mares covered in bees, she explained further.
“It’s exciting!”
Rainbow locked eyes with Applejack once more, determined not to crack, when she heard another voice pipe up.
“Uh, what y’all doin’.” Asked a stallion in a bee keeper’s suit. Rainbow was a little annoyed at the interruption, but as she thought about it she began to wonder. Neither she nor Applejack ever asked the pink mare where exactly she got the bees from.
“Rainbow Dash and Applejack are competing for the title of most daring pony!” Pinkie shot over to them. “This is the final test… The Bee Stare! Last pony to blink wins!”
The stallion seemed rather unimpressed.
“I’m gonna need my bees back.”
“But then we’ll never find out who the most daring pony is.” Rainbow complained. She looked to Applejack once more. She had no intention of blinking. The bee keeper woudn’t have it though.
“Sorry ‘bout that” He said before turning away. He whistled, and every bee took flight off their bodies, both mares disappointed. Applejack slid the cover of her own bee keeping suit.
“Well, what do we do now?” She asked. Rainbow was happy they were able to distract each other like this. It felt like old times, before AJ got all fussy about Rarity.
“Don’t worry ladies, I’ve been keeping excellent score all day!” The pink pony trotted over to the note pad she’d been carrying through each event. She mumbled a bit as she hovered over the page. “Congratulations, you’re tied!”
Rainbow had suspected as much.
“Tied?” Applejack asked.
“You can’t be tied for the most daring pony!” Rainbow said.
I dunno, numbers don’t lie!” She held out her notebook for each pony to observe. The page was covered with sketches and doodles, and a completed tic-tac-toe game that honestly scared Rainbow a little. But Pinkie sounded confident in her math, and Dash had learned not to ask when it came to her pink friend’s logic.
“I’d love to stay and keep keeping score, but I promised to help test the new school bell!” Pinkie said. Rainbow winced a little at that last word.
“I get to ring it all week, non-stop! And I don’t even have to take turns, ‘cause nopony else volunteered!” She giggled as she bounced her way back to town, leaving Dash and AJ standing alone, without a winner. Dash wasn’t ready to call it though, not only because it would be a slight on her honour, but competing with Applejack had felt great. It wasn’t often they got to hang out like this anymore. So Rainbow kept pushing.
“Okay, no problem,” She said, kicking her own bee-proof suit of her body. “We just have to come up with another daring dare!”
“Right!” Her friend agreed. The two of them looked around the farm. There wasn’t much to do here that hadn’t been done. Nearly every time they faced off against one another was at the farm, so options of unique and daring challenges were running pretty slim. Then Applejacks ears perked up, and her lips pulled back into a wicked grin. That was a good sign.
“Ah think Ah might have an idea of what we can do.” She nodded her head towards the trail that lead into the Everfree
Rainbow displayed a grin of her own. Anything beyond the boundaries of the Everfree Forest had to be daring. The daylight had almost run out, but she had no doubt they could keep this contest going as long as it took. Hell, she hoped it lasted for a long while yet. She hardly saw any of the farm mare since the crisis with the forest a few weeks ago.
Before an hour had passed they stood in the foyer of the Castle of The Sisters. The sun was low in the hills, and any minute the night would begin. Long shadows crept up the walls, and over grown plants snaked their way through the ancient stones, shattering and breaking them. The once beautiful decorations that adorned the room had fared even worse than the building itself. Rainbow was immediately disappointed.
“What’s so daring about this place? This is where we found the Elements of Harmony.” Rainbow though fondly for a moment of her own Element of Loyalty, locked away in the tree. It was just an object, but she did miss it sometimes.
“When Ah was just a filly, Granny Smith told me of an ancient legend,” Applejack said. Rainbow tried not to smirk. “When Nightmare Moon was banished, not every last bit of her dark magic went with her. Granny used to say, when night falls on the castle, that magic takes the form of, The Pony of Shadows!”
Rainbow snorted. Applejack had never been as good as her at telling ghost stories, but Nightmare Moon was a presence foals were taught to fear from an early age. She was a tale told by parents and siblings to make foals behave. She was the centre of the most frightening holiday of the year. And Rainbow had faced her first hand. The notion that part of that evil still may lurk in Equestria, let alone in the very building in which she stood, made her a little uncomfortable. Her eyes lingered on the shadows that painted the castle. They could be hiding anything, a veil to whatever or whoever resided behind the black curtain. The cyan pegasus swallowed, but she couldn’t let Applejack see she was unsettled.
“You mean like a ghost?”
“Nopony knows.” The farm pony said dramatically. Rainbow made a face. Though the thought of such an apparition did scare her a bit, she didn’t believe in ghost stories anymore. Now she told them. If this was the best her friend could come up with, this competition was about to get a lot longer.
For a while, Rainbow’s disbelief seemed founded. The two mares wandered the halls silently. The shadows shortened, being cast in the light of the moon. But the shadows that remained were pitch black. Anything could be hiding in those corners, foul dark creature preparing to pounced as she walked past. But she held her position: there were no ghosts in this castle. Still the night dragged on, with each passing hour adding difficulty to the challenge placed before her. Sounds in the dark, objects seeming to move from one area to another when her back was turned. She wasn’t scared so much as she was unsettled. She knew it was all in her mind, maybe Applejack wasn’t half as bad at telling ghost stories as Rainbow gave her credit for. Truthfully, the thing that really kept her there was Applejack. Not just because she wanted to win, but because knowing she was there, if things did get dangerous, she knew she had somepony at her back who she could trust.
Or at least that how she thought she felt. Just as she was explaining for the twelfth time how she didn’t believe in ghosts, more for her own sake than anything, when the tapestry beside them began to move, and both mares lost it, taking off deeper into the surprisingly long corridors of the castle. Rainbow was so spooked, she even caught a bit of air time. It kept getting worse after that, though sometimes things could calm down enough for them to talk a bit. Rainbow wasn’t sure what it was, whether enough time had passed, or the fear had thrown Applejacks caution to the wind, but as the two made their way through another quiet, snaking corridor, the farm pony piped up suddenly, causing the pegasus to jump a bit.
“Rainbow, can I ask you something?”
“Yeah, sure.” She breathed.
“You and Rarity, is there anything there?” She sounded desperate, like she just had to know. For the first time in hours Rainbow allowed herself a little smile.
“Are you still going on about that?”
“What do you mean ‘still’?” She asked, obviously a bit put off.
“Rarity told me about your little spat on the way to her party."
“Oh she did?”
“Yeah. Don’t worry though, I won’t chew you out for that.”
“Will you give me an answer?”
She almost did. She opened her mouth to say it, then quickly closed much the way the little filly had done to her just a few weeks ago. She couldn’t tell her. She’d made a promise to Rarity, nopony was to find out until she was ready to talk.
“Why is this bugging you so much A.J.?” She asked, redirecting. Applejack groaned.
“You know, she asked me almost the exact same thing when Ah asked her about it. What’s the big deal, why can’t you just tell me?”
“You didn’t answer my question, and I’m guessing you didn’t answer Rarity when she asked either.”
“There’s no reason.”
“Oh come on, I see how you look at her sometimes, the way you act, how you stand a bit closer to her than the rest of us.”
“What are you sayin’ Dash?”
“I think you totally have a crush on her.”
“No.” Her answer was hesitant, and Rainbow knew she had her.
“Haha, she was right you are totally jealous.”
Applejack was silent. She lost the conversation, and no matter how much she denied it, Rainbow knew the farm pony hated losing just as much as she did.
“Alright fine, let’s just say I do have a bit of a crush on her. How do you feel about that?”
“I don’t care. Well maybe that’s a bit mean. I respect your feelings and all, but it’s not happening.”
“Why not?”
“Because she already has me to deal with.”
Applejack made a face, not sure how to handle that information, but before either of them could continue the conversation, the all too familiar sound of an old pipe organ echoed through the halls, carrying with it an eerie chill.
“Maybe we should continue this in a less creepy place.” Rainbow said. Applejack nodded and they made their way further in. Hours continued to pass, and the two mares remained mostly quiet unless to tease or scare each other. The orange mare seemed to have accepted she wouldn’t get a straight answer to her question. The shadows remained ever dark, and no matter how much time she was sure had passed, the sun refused to rise, heralding the end of the competition. The low echoes of the organ seemed to keep them moving, and every so often Rainbow could swear she heard a third set of hoofsteps following her. But oddly enough, Rainbow was having fun again, and she suspected Applejack was too, despite her frustration. Maybe we should do stuff like this more often. She thought.
But the fun feeling dissipated when they reached a hall full of old suits of pony amour. The hulking iron sets were lightly rusted, but still mostly intact and looked very formidable. Rainbow stared at the set closest to her.The eye slits seemed to give the helmet a scowling expression, as though it wanted her gone.
“What’s the big deal? It’s just old pony armor.” She said, trying to keep her voice steady.
“Yeah, it’s not like they’re going to come to life… Right?”
Applejack continued to walk ahead, while Rainbow kept her focus on the armour sets. She really hoped they wouldn’t come to life. As she stepped lightly through the hall, she heard the sliding of a hinge and a rush of wind. She looked to where her friend had been only moments before, her place taken by another set of empty armor. Rainbow let out a shriek. She stared at the iron set. It couldn’t have grabbed her right? What if the suits were the lifeless bodies of the Pony of Shadows’ victims, doomed to forever remain sentries to this wicked place? Rainbow shook her head. The air was starting to get to her. Up until now, the thought that Applejack was beside her had been helping her to not lose her cool. But now there was no Applejack.
“Applejack, if you went back to Ponyville, that means I win right?” She threatened the empty hallway, in hopes that the orange mare was just playing a dirty trick. But she knew Applejack was scared too, and wouldn’t put herself in a situation that left her separated. But then, where did she go? She continued to back down the hallway, looking left to right, making sure the armour stayed at ease. Old metal doesn’t come to life… but she didn’t feel like taking chances. She felt something cold touch her back, and she turned just in time to see one of the hulking iron figures tumble towards her. She ducked out of the way with yet nether shriek. Her wings shot out at her side and she took off in the opposite direction. It was difficult to fly with speed in the tight stone corridors, but her nerves were shot. The blue mare flew with the utmost accuracy, all the horrifying things whizzing past in a blur. Where was Applejack? Where was anything in this castle? Free of the scary sights, her terrified mind quickly became angry. She was done with this! Applejack had disappeared, the competition didn’t matter now. She had to find her friend and get away. Somehow, in her frantic flying, she found the main hall. She slowed down then made her way up.
“Haunted statues, creepy armour,” She muttered angrily. Her wings carried her out a window. She was out. She could go home. But at the same time she couldn’t. The farm pony was still in there, and she had to bring her out. She turned to face the crumbling towers of the building that had caused her such distress. “Come on castle, is that all you got?”
Lightning arced down from the clouds and she recoiled. She hated Everfree weather, it couldn’t be controlled or tamed. Her heart was pounding. She lowered herself back down. She wished Rarity was with her. Nothing was scary when she was there. She let herself fall further from freedom, the walls of the castle growing around her yet again. It had to morning soon right? This place wouldn’t be so scary in the light of day. And the Pony of Shadows had no power in the day, right? Wasn’t that what Applejack said.
She was pulled from thought as once again her rump brushed up against something unfamiliar. But it wasn’t cold and hard like the armor. It was soft and warm. She’d bumped into a pony. Rainbow lost it, she brought down her wings as hard as she could, just trying to get away. She was blinded by fear, she kept hitting the walls, but she couldn’t stop, she couldn’t look. The Pony of Shadows couldn’t get her if she just kept moving. She heard other screams, the tortured souls of other who’d wandered into the castle never to see the light of day again; she thought she could hear Applejacks scream among them. Her mind generated a never-ending flow of horrifying images as she cried out in terror with the rest of the chorus of the dead. She wanted out, she wanted Applejack, and she wanted Rarity. She wanted to go home.
Then all of the sudden it stopped. The other screams fell silent as did her own. Her wings stopped flapping, though she felt no rush of air as she fell to the ground. Am I Dead? She opened her eyes, her vision was directed towards the ground. Everything seemed to have a sort of purple haze. But through that she could still see the shy little pony sitting on the ground before her.
“Must… Save… Angel.” She said her voice concerned yet soft as ever.
“Fluttershy?” Rainbow asked in disbelief. “What are you doing here?”
“She’s with me!” She heard a voice that she loved so. What was Rarity doing there?
The haze around her dissipated and she felt gravity take her again. She flapped her wings. And lowered herself back down. As she looked around the room she saw all of her friends gathered there, Applejack and Rarity included. Her heart slowed a little at the sight of all of her friends. Twilight seemed the most confused of everypony, especialy at the mention of the Pony of Shadows.
But as the pipe organ blasted yet another tune from afar, Twilight decided to investigate, and all her friends followed. The pony at the keys turned out to be none other than Pinkie Pie, excited as ever and not even remotely scared of the creepy castle in which she resided. Rainbow remembered the song Pinkie sang out when they were in the Everfree, the night they found the Elements. Rainbow wished she could have remembered the pink ponies advice. With the horrors of the castle unmasked, and the first rays of the sun breaking through the overcast skies to shine in through the windows, all the friends ascended the steps to the entrance, following Twilights lead.
Applejack was more than pleased to have found Rainbow Dash again, and even more so to have her friends gathered with her. She didn’t even feel all that embarrassed about how she was acting earlier. She stayed further back from the others, recalling fondly the events of the night. She hardly thought of it at the time, but spending the night here with Rainbow had been some of the most fun she’d had in months. Even though most of it was scary, the time she spent with Rainbow was great. Which is why it kind of burned her up to see her walking so close to Rarity again. It was their day to spend together, and now Rarity had taken her away again. Rainbow Dash had been right, she did have feelings for the white unicorn, but that had never made the posh pony any less frustrating.
But at least today had proved that Rainbow still liked to hang out, so at least she wouldn’t lose that. Rainbow whispered something in Rarity’s ear and she giggled. Applejack picked up her pace, wanting to get home. Granny Smith would probably have some choice words to say when she got back to the farm, being out all night without warning. She caught up with the group, all chatting and laughing about how silly they had been. They reached the top of the steps, the echo of twenty-four hooves clattering against the stones. Suddenly there was a different clattering noise followed by a crack. Twilight’s step faltered and Applejack came to a stop.
“What was that?”
“Twilight,” Spike chirped in uncertainly. “What was that you said about this castle falling apart?”
Twilight looked around the room.
“Come on girls, double-time.” All six ponies began to speed their trot, Pinkie stopped bouncing. Applejack gave her hat a small tug the way she always did when she was nervous. Rarity and Dash walked so close their bodies touched, and Fluttershy kept her body low to the ground, her ears bent down. They made their way down a hall. Just ahead the light of day shone through an open doorway. Twilight lead them that way, taking them into the entrance hall, they could see the door. They slowed their pace again, with no roof above them to come down. Applejack touched the brim of her hat again.
“Ah really don’t like this castle.”
“Tell me about it.” Rarity breathed sympathetically. Applejack smiled when yet another loud crack resounded to her left. The wall beside them racked along the base, spitting out rocks. There was a loud moan as the wall began to collapse inward atop all of them.
“Go!” Twilight shouted. As she reared up and gave it her all towards the exit. The two pegasi spread their wings and shot off, with Pinkie and Rarity right behind them. But Applejack thought too long. She was the farthest back from the exit, she could only make it if she was fast. She could run to the other side of the room, but the wall was tall, and it might still be able to hit her there. By the time her hooves began to move and carry her to the other side of the room, she could hear the falling stones beside her. She closed her eyes and prepared for the impact. But the hit she felt didn’t come from behind her, but beside her. She heard a rush of wind and opened her eyes in time to see a flash of blue, before two hooves slammed into her chest. Applejack was tossed off her hooves flying sideways through the air. She hit the ground and rolled hard. Tears formed in her eyes, as she heard the wall come crashing down.
When Applejack came to a rest on the cold stone ground, the room had stopped shaking, but it was not void of sound as she heard her friends cry out in horror. She opened her eyes. Everything hurt, especially her chest where Rainbow’s hooves connected. She brought a shaky hoof up to her head, upon which somehow her hat remained. Still laying she turned her head to the side, seeing Rarity atop the pile of rubble left by the collapse. The rest of her friends stood for a second in awe before joining her. But it wasn’t the rest of her friends, somepony was missing. Where was Rainbow? She watched as blue and purple auras began to surround the large chunks of mortared stones, tossing them aside. Fluttershy and Pinkie used their hooves to lift alongside the unicorns. They were digging frantically for something.
Applejack trembled.
No.
“Rainbow!” Rarity cried.
No! The farm pony rose to her hooves with a scream of agony. She brought a foreleg to her chest. Some ribs were broken. Hearing her cry, Fluttershy looked up and flew to Applejack, obviously trying to help. But the orange mare waved her off.
“No! Dig! Get her outta there!” She screamed, gritting her teeth in pain. The yellow pegasus looped back around. Applejack moved towards the pile of stones as fast as her body would let her. Her chest felt like it would explode, but she refused to stop moving. The mess the wall had left in its wake spanned thirty feet in one direction, and about ten in the other, and was more than deep enough to completely cover a pony. Rarity began moving the pieces with magic and hooves grunting with each action she took.
“Rainbow Dash!” She cried frantically, almost begging. Soon her grunts turned to open, wailing sobs. But she didn’t stop digging, her vigor unending. Applejack joined the others, lifting large pieces with her hooves, rolling chunks as large as her down the pile. Her body was in agony, but she felt almost numb. Rainbow was buried because she’d been slow. Why had she been so stupid?
If she’s not okay…
She couldn’t finish the thought. Of course she was alright, she was Rainbow Dash! Ponies didn’t come tougher than her. She would be ok, scrapes and bruises, maybe something broken. They could take her back to the hospital, she’d be fine. Rainbow would be fine. Just scrapes and bruises. Her tears began to soak the rocks she was removing, when she heard the pale unicorn call out.
“I found her!” All the mares clambered to her across the shifting rubble. Rarity was still digging when they made their way to her. Her mascara was running wild down her face, her coat and mane tinged grey by the settling dust. Her teeth were gritted in a combination of pain and ceaseless resolve. Rarity wanted the pegasus out. She continued to sob and call Rainbows name, and whispering something in a voice to low to hear over their effort. But she did catch one word repeated over and over.
“Please.”
Applejacks heart was in her throat. She felt awful for Rainbow, she felt awful for the obvious suffering Rarity was under. She had to find her friend. A flurry of solid rock was tossed aside as Rarity cleared her way. Applejack saw what the unicorn was digging around and began to help her. Rainbow’s cyan hoof hung out limply and covered in cuts. The mares began to dig with renewed fury, slowly unearthing the rest of her cyan body.
Just scrapes and bruises.