After finally cheering Pinkie Pie up, and her hair ultimately regaining its unique poofy style, we both began to pack up our things. I still hadn't gotten to eat, but there was no way in Tartarus I was going back to that complimentary breakfast downstairs after what had just happened; I was not game to face everypony’s collective ire they would no doubt be holding for me. Instead, I reached for one of my small sandwiches.
“Ooooh!” Pinkie bounced up behind me having already donned her saddlebags. “What kind of bread is that?”
“Uh, wheat?” I replied.
“Oh, I love wheat! It's so great! I reminds me of a farm! Whenever I eat wheat bread I can just see myself milking cattle and collecting eggs!” Pinkie danced around clucking like a hen, forearms tucked into her armpits. “That reminds me, Twilight—I’ve asked all the others but none of them seem to know—which came first, the chicken or the egg?” She cocked her head as she thought about the answer herself.
I'm glad she asked that. If she hadn't stopped to wait for my response, she could have kept going forever.
“Well, based on various amounts of scientific research and studies, it is most likely that the egg comes first, due to a protein inside the chicken's ovaries called ovocledidin, which speeds up the development of… the shell…” I trailed off as I realized that Pinkie was giving me the most confused expression I had ever seen; I could almost hear the gears grinding in her head.
“My head hurts!”
I couldn't help but sigh, and laugh to myself. “You know what, Pinkie? Never mind. Nopony truly knows anyway.”
Not going to lie—sometimes it’s fun to confuse others. Ponies can make very funny expressions when they’re puzzled.
When we had both gathered up our things, double checking the room to make sure that we didn't forget anything, we made our way for the exit. I kept my head down the entire time, still wary of others who might try to accost me for ‘my’ actions at breakfast. It was a relieving breath of fresh air once we made it out of the hotel. The outside brightness struck immediately in the absence of the hotel’s tinted windows, and I had to raise my hoof over my eyes for a few moments before my eyes could adjust.
“So… where should we start?” I looked at Pinkie, her eyes narrowed as she observed the area.
“How about over there?” Pinkie pointed to a nearby bakery.
I looked at the Medallion as she turned toward the shop; it dulled ever so slightly. “Pinkie, I don’t think that’s the right way. She’s somewhere in the opposite direction.”
“Uh, duh, Twilight. I know that.” Pinkie giggled as she picked me up without warning and ran us into the bakery before I could process what happened. “I also know that you haven’t had breakfast yet, and you’re still hungry—” she plonked me down at a small table with two empty chairs “—So let’s grab some grub and then get that gallivanting gal afterwards!”
I stuttered uselessly for a second before I just stopped trying to talk. Instead, I rubbed my gurgling stomach, smiled at Pinkie and reached over for a hug.
She really is a true friend.
After we both finished downing a huge cheese and tomato bruschetta loaf—my stomach and tongue praising me to high Elysium—we left the bakery and stared out at the bustling city. We walked down the street, always with an eye on the Medallion. But ss we passed shop after shop, pony after pony, everything seemed to blend together into the same thing.
I thought this city would be fantastic to live in, but now I'm not so sure. Everything seems so monotonous. I guess that's how a life of luxury can be sometimes.
We walked to the very end of Main Street when we noticed that the Medallion's flashing had dimmed. I looked over at Pinkie; I could see the frustration on her face, could feel it mirrored on my own.
“Great,” I mumbled.
“I'm sorry, Twilight.”
I sighed and smiled back at Pinkie. “It’s not your fault. Maybe my separation spell didn’t work as well as I hoped. Something must be wrong with it. Let’s just keep trying—it’s all we can do.”
Pinkie nodded before we turned around once again, both sighing. We ended up walking until we got to the same alleyway I had seen the mare vanish into twice now. We were about to pass by it again when Pinkie Pie placed a hoof on my chest.
“What are you—” She put her other hoof over my mouth, her eyes looking to the side. When I stopped speaking, she took her hoof off my mouth and brought it to hers, slowly backing up. She pointed down the alleyway; we poked our heads around the corner, revealing a glimmer of hope.
There she is!
I grinned at Pinkie, also smiling at her discovery. We watched the bright pink mare slowly trot down the alley, a smile etched on all of our faces. Now that we were close enough, I was able to properly appreciate—study!—her mane and tail. They were curly and blonde, and her mane went down to her knees, almost as if it hadn't been trimmed or cut in a long time.
Unluckily for me, I couldn't see her complete face, as her mane blocked it from my angle. But I knew she'd be easy to find again with her looks.
I saw her stop and turn to look at the wall nearest the dumpster. She knocked on the wall, creating a loud and hollow sound.
Hollow? How the heck did we miss that before?
One of the bricks in the wall removed itself. A stallion’s rough and fairly gristly voice reached my ears.
“Password?”
“Magic,” she whispered in a very… seductive tone. Her voice seemed to have a drawl, almost like Rarity's, except definitely more foreign.
The stallion behind the wall covered up the eyehole with the brick. I heard various tumblings of gears before a door hidden in the wall opened up. Muffled party music filled the alleyway as the blonde mare stepped inside, but only for a moment; the blonde tail vanished from sight, the heavy brick door clicked shut, and silence again hung over the now-empty alley.
“So that's why!” I said out loud.
Pinkie and I ran over to where we saw the door, and I knocked on it softly. The brick removed itself and I saw a pair of narrowed, deep-green eyes.
“Password?”
“Um… ‘M-magic’?”
The stallion's eyes slid from me to Pinkie and back again for a moment, while we each gave bright smiles. He scoffed rudely before opening the door, and Pinkie and I dashed inside quickly, the loud party music blaring against our eardrums.
Finally… now we’ve got you, Miss Alluring.
***
“Well, you see, we thought you were dead,” Rainbow Dash said sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck.
As the sandy mare raised an eyebrow, not even sitting upright from her position on the floor, I glared at Rainbow. “Look, that don't matter, miss. We're here ’cause we need to talk to ya.”
The mare slowly stood up, only to plop herself down on her couch a few moments later. She waved her hoof, as if to tell us to sit down. I looked around and saw two nearby wooden chairs. After sweeping some empty food boxes off them, Rainbow and I pulled them up and sat.
“Who are you?” she asked. She spoke slowly, as if still in a half-asleep daze. Then again, we had just woken her up, so I let it go.
“I'm Applejack,” I said, raising a hoof to my chest before poking Rainbow’s. “This here's Rainbow Dash.”
Rainbow made a face and rubbed her ribs before turning to the mare again. “Yo.”
“Oh,” the mare said, not taking her half-closed eyes off of us.
"We’re here ’cause we think you're the one that we're lookin’ for.”
The mare sighed. “Look, I'm not interested in joining any gaming leagues. I’ve said so a thousand times.” She rolled her eyes.
Urgh! Doesn’t she get it?
“No! We're not here for that!” Rainbow butted in. “We're on a journey looking for seven different ponies that each depict some sort of attribute. At least that's what our friend, Twilight Sparkle, said. This Medallion right here—” Rainbow paused for a moment to hold it up “—brought us straight to you. You're one of them.”
Not bad, Dash.
“Well…” The mare chuckled. “Which ‘attribute’ am I then?”
“Uhh…”
Rainbow shared a glance with me, her head tilted and an eyebrow raised. I shrugged my shoulders. To be honest, I had no idea myself; I had plum forgotten. Judging by Rainbow’s face, she wasn't even paying attention at the time when Twilight explained it to us all.
“Exactly.” She rolled onto her side of the couch. As she did, a upturned can of cherry soda on the carpet caught my eye. So that was the ‘blood’...
“Look, it don't matter right now,” I said while she made to settle into the crook of the couch. “We can figure that out later. Right now we just really need ya to come with us.”
She didn't even seem fazed—just continued to give us that dreamy look of hers. “I don't think so. I'm not going anywhere. You two woke me up, so now I have to start my nap all over again.” She opened her mouth and let rip with one of the loudest yawns I’d ever heard. “Look, there's food in the fridge. Just keep quiet and you can help yourselves, okay? Oh, but don't touch my chips.”
“Awww, yeah!” Rainbow thrust a hoof into the air and dashed out of the living room. The squick of a seal separating came from around the corner. “You know, I kind of like her,” she called out. “We have the same interests. Hey, she has cider in here!”
“This ain't a joke, Dash!” I yelled. “Get yer rump back in here and help me out, would ya?”
“Yeah, yeah, hold your horses, cowpony.” Rainbow flew back in with a small bottle in her hooves. Cracking it open with her teeth, she spit the cap over her shoulder and took to downing it before the cap hit the floor behind the couch. “You know, I'm kinda beat, too,” she said after gulping half of it down. She yawned too and laid on her back against the other side of the couch. “We should really just… ah, chill for a bit.” She closed her eyes.
“Hey!”
My shout instantly startled the two awake, although the mare's eyes remained half-closed. “This is serious, y’all!”
Rainbow Dash jumped off the couch, fumbling with her cider bottle. “All right! Jeez, A.J., calm your farm.” She grumbled something to herself; I could have sworn I heard the word ‘mule’ in there somewhere.
With Rainbow up and alert again, I rounded on the third pony. “Ya know, I think it's time you introduced yerself.”
The mare sighed, before finally sitting up. “Fine. Name’s Ennui,” she stated simply, before letting out another whopping yawn. “Now will you leave me be?”
Where’s a cattle prod when I need one? This gal’s lazier than Rainbow Dash!
Hold on a sec… lazy. Can’t even keep her eyes open, much less hold a conversation.
“That’s it!” I cried. I laughed out loud. “You're the attribute of Sloth!” I slapped a hoof to my face. “Can’t believe I didn't figure it out earlier. You’ve gotta be Sloth, t’aint no bones about it.”
“I'm not lazy. I'm just tired,” Ennui said. She rubbed her eyes and let out a low groan. “You’re not going to let me rest, are you?”
“You know exactly what I meant!” I retorted. “And no, I’m not. We need ya, Ennui. Ya gotta come with us. Ya got no clue how big any o’ this is, do ya?” I looked over at Rainbow. “Well, ya got anythin’ to add, partner?”
“Huh?” Rainbow snorted and sat up, shaking her head. “What? Oh, uh, yeah, come with us. It’s, uh, important, or something.”
Real smooth, Rainbow.
“So what? I'm not moving.” Ennui grinned.
I just stared at her lopsided, dopey face. How could a mare be so darn lazy, she couldn't even string more than two sentences together at a time? Or even change her facial expression? It burned me up inside.
I put my hoof down. Into the floor. Hard. “Yes, ya are!”
“Make me.”
Rainbow Dash coughed, clutched her cider to her chest, and began to slowly back away.
***
Cashmere's lengthy rant finally came to an abrupt halt after Rarity politely cut him off. I thought she was going to explode at first, but she didn't, and broke it to him nicely.
“Look, Cashmere, you're very interesting and all, but we still have a dreadfully long way to go,” she said. “You don’t want to tell us everything all at once, do you?”
Cashmere took the hint, and stopped talking. “Oh, perhaps you’re right, Miss Rarity.”
Rarity took out our map and began to look it over. I shuffled over, noting the way her eyes roved all over it, and the way it tilted and moved in and out in her aura.
“Now, let’s see here…”
“Um, can I see the map?” I asked.
“Of course, darling.” Rarity smiled warmly before beckoning me over. I sidled up next to her and looked it over quickly; it didn't take long for me to figure out where we were.
I pointed at the map. “I think we're near these woods here, and beyond them is Manehattan. So we're not that far.”
“How long do you think it'll take?”
“Can I go back now?”
“No,” Rarity and I said together.
Cashmere groaned loudly. I could see his frustration, but there was no way it could be helped.
“Hey, it could be worse,” I said. “It won't be that bad! We just have a little further to go.”
Rarity lifted one of her hooves and caressed it with the other. “Well, yes I do know that. But, darling—” she held it in front of her and waved it side to side “—this walking takes a toll on one’s complexion after a while. Not to mention my sore hoovsie-woovsies.”
I chuckled. “Think about it this way, Rarity—there’s bound to be some nice places in Manehattan for us to stay at. They might even have a spaaa.” I winked at her.
That did the trick; Rarity's mood seemed to brighten instantly, if her eyes lighting up was any good indicator.
On we walked, the sun gleaming high in the sky, warm, but not unpleasantly so. It was a pretty scenic route if you ask me; every now and then we'd cross a winding, slow-flowing river, with different trees, foliage, and birds after every bend. Every few steps, a new species to look at, new perfumes to smell, different chatter of birds and critters alike. Minutes passed in silence, save for the occasional grumble from Rarity about her hooves chipping.
Oh, no.
A disquieting feeling came over me as I registered the absence of a particular type of white noise. I stopped.
“Rarity… does it seem a bit quiet to you?”
Ahead of me, Rarity also stopped and lifted her eyes. She turned and froze. “Oh dear.”
The chatter of a chartreuse pony was nowhere to be heard.