//------------------------------// // Except Maybe A Hoof to Hold // Story: Yaerfaerda // by Imploding Colon //------------------------------// “You're friggin' kidding me,” Rainbow Dash spoke clearly and distinctly. “You mean to say you've never had oats alfredo?!” Her hooves trotted over sand and gravel. “It's not simply an Equestrian delicacy! At least, I'm pretty sure it isn't!” Rainbow Dash smirked, tilting her head towards the south in order to protect her face from westward winds carrying dirt and grit. “All you need is the right ingredients and just the right amount of spices!” She stumbled once, bracing herself against a heated gust of air. Curtains of sediment flew over the dunes, pelting her. She had thrown a blanket over her flank, shoulder, and satchels—like a poncho. After the downdraft was over, she continued eastward, scaling a dune as she trotted lonesomely across the rolling, yellow landscape. “Well, no, I've never made it myself, Ebon. But I've seen it done! Can't you just... I dunno... hijack my head with your changeling powers and figure it out?” She slid momentarily, but caught her weight, allowing her body to shift smoothly down the east face of the dune. Once she reached an even plain of gravel, she caught her breath and shuffled on ahead. “Yeah. Sure. Another time. But don't you let me forget.” Her teeth showed beneath grinning lips. “Josho's starving, I'm sure.” Rainbow Dash traversed a winding ravine. Deep in the cleft of rocks, she was protected from the elements. Waves of sand and dust blew a dozen feet above her, sending a persistent ghostly howl through the echoing trench. “And the way she talks... that squeaky pitch in her voice. Y'know... melodic and not annoying? You've got the same tone.” Rainbow turned right and then left to follow the serpentine curvature of the stone walls. “Pffft! Yeah! Heheh...” Her lips curved. “About the only thing you don't do like her is bounce around every time you need to move from Point A to Point B.” Rainbow's ears twitched as she trotted forward. “I'm not kidding! You two could practically be twins! If... y'know... if you had a bit more pink in you.” Rainbow Dash stifled a giggle. “It's the strangest thing, cuz I never once thought Pinkie as... uhhh... I-I mean I never once looked at her and thought... th-thought...” The gulped, a few beads of sweat forming along her temple. “You know what? Let's talk about something else. How about you, Zaid? You got anything?” Dead silence. “Mrmmf...” Rainbow rolled his eyes. “Eagle Eye, you know what to do.” Grunting, Rainbow Dash pulled herself up over a jagged ridge of gravel-laden rocks. She almost slipped on the loose material. With the use of her wings, she was able to brace herself and roll onto an even cliff-face. She wheezed for breath, wincing from the stabbing press of her belongings into her flank. Staring up at the fading yellow sky, she waved a hoof and wheezed. “Just... just a moment, Pilate. Please... if you don't... kaff kaff... mind...” She winced, rolling over and lying on her blue tummy. “Frickin' zebra...” She remained still, allowing the blood to circulate through her worn body. The mare's eyes closed as she relished in the brief bout of comfortable coolness that segued the blistering day into chilling night. Eventually, a bitter wind blew at her ears. They folded back as a grimace stretched across her face. When she opened her eyes, they were pooled with tears. She winced... then winced harder. “Ahem...” Swallowing a lump down her throat, she blinked her eyes dry. “I... I-I'm sorry...” She slowly pushed herself up, one wobbly leg after another. “You... uh... you don't have to be quiet...” She sniffled, waving a hoof as she scooted awkwardly onto all fours. “Just... j-just tell me more about... uh... smart stuff...” She bit her lip. “No. No, on second thought, let... let me t-tell you about something smart I once did.” Rainbow froze in place, eyes twirling about. Her muzzle hung blankly. “...dang it... uhm...” Holding her breath, she shuffled forward at a sluggish pace, rounding the crest of jagged stone jutting out of the sandy desert. “...okay... uh... this one time... uhhh... I saved my friend Rarity and three Wonderbolts all in one fell swoop.” A nervous chuckle. “Okay, so maybe the only thing smart about it was how I chose not to let them go kersplat against the surface of Equestria while I was doing my super awesome air show...” “...and so I told her I was game. I mean... a race? Pffft... please...” Rainbow Dash laid out her blankets beneath the sand-stained tent and curled up next to a fire. Starlight bathed her as she curled up against the threadbare fabric. “I could outrun hawks and prairie falcons in my sleep. Still can. Just... y'know... need a good headwind.” She sighed out her nostrils, then closed her eyes. Seconds later, she blinked at the night-drenched desert. “Hmmm? Well, of course I won. Well... I'm pretty sure I won. I mean, I vaguely recall seeing my shoulder roll over the finishing line while I was... errrr... punching and kicking her at the end there... eheheh...” She slicked her mane back and rolled up to face the stars. “Yeah. Okay. I was a poor sport. But, y'know, she wasn't exactly a saint either. We wanted so... so badly to prove that we were the better, faster pony that we almost friggin' ruined the Running of the Leaves. But in the end, we realized it didn't matter. None of it mattered. None of the glares... none of the name-calling... none of the anger...” Her voice trailed off. She stared blankly into darkness until the barest hint of a smile trailed along her muzzle. “You could have outrun us both. Why? Because you're so hardcore, Roarke. You don't let silly stuff like feelings and ego faze you. Well... you used to be unfazed. Heheh... but... but I guess that all changed, huh?” She fluffed her mane and tilted her head about coyly. “Well... I like to think that the nasty parts went away, while only the good ones stayed. I mean... I-I can at least be proud of that, can't I?” Silence. Rainbow giggled, rolling over to her side as she curled up under the blanket. “Yeah... yeah, I know. Her too. Though she'd never admit it. I always found that stubbornness so silly. So... sexy. So...” Rainbow's smile hung precariously off a panting breath. Eventually, it bent, warped, ripping apart into a pained grimace. She clenched her eyes shut before the tears could flow freely. “I love you...” She sniffled, her voice squeaking inwardly. “I... love you...” She hugged herself, shivering under the blanket. “I love you... I love you... I l-love you...” She shook so hard that the only solution was covering her face with a pair of limbs. Only then could she collapse completely. Rainbow's sobs formed a tiny, echoing bubble in the middle of oblivion.