Silence.
This was all there was as two ponies lie unconscious in an unfamiliar place. The two mares laid side by side, though more specifically, one of the ponies was a white unicorn. She had flowing hair with a two-toned purple and magenta colour scheme, and her flank was adorned with three blue diamonds.
Roughly ten or so feet away from Rarity stirred an unconscious mare of a single colour, Pink. Her mane was a large curly mess, so tangled in on itself that it moved more as a single mass then as a multitude of separate strands. It's look was reminiscent of cotton candy, and her tail was much the same. Her coat, although still pink, was a much lighter shade then her hair. Finally, sitting on either side of her flank was three tied balloons, The outside two a light sky blue, while the centre balloon was a calm yellow colour.
The silence was interrupted as a small droplet of water fell from above and landed squarely on Rarity's forehead. This was followed in haste by a groan from Rarity herself as she awoke from her unconscious state.
"MMMMMmmmmmmm..." she mumbled as she moved her right foreleg to lightly swat at the air in front of her face. This stopped quickly though as Rarity realized how uncomfortable she was. This was punctuated by several details. the first was the lack of her warm red blanket, the second was the lack of sleeping mask over her eyes. The third, and perhaps most important, was that she seemed to find herself, not lying in her bed, but on that of the hard ground.
Rarity's eyes shot open, "AHHH-" she began to scream before a deafening migraine overtook her. The world was a confusing mess of dark greys and blacks all swirling around as her headache pounded away in her skull. Testing to see if anything was broken or damaged, she got to her hooves and made sure no sharp pains came to her. One pain did, but this was quickly remedied by holding a hoof to her head and closing her eyes.
"Oooohh... what happened?" She asked herself aloud as the world slowly began to spin less and less. She wasted no time looking around, and instead decided to focus on what lead to her being where she was.
"Well let's see here," Rarity thought to herself as she paced slightly, "I was assisting Time Turner with my precise eye for fashion. When Pinkie Pie surprised me to say hello."
"...and things became awkward." She said feeling the guilt of her earlier conversation wash back over her. She stopped pacing and looked over at Pinkie sleeping peacefully, remembering that she tried to remedy her behavior.
"I was in the middle of apologizing to her, but then I was in a different room." This confused Rarity greatly, as she didn't remember casting a teleportation spell.
"Not that I could," she thought as she recalled what happened, "I don't know much magic that isn't gem related."
But then realization hit her like a tonne of bricks, "Twilight," she whispered slowly.
"I saw her looking simply terrified just before I fainted. She must be the reason I'm here now." Rarity thought before looking around.
"Wherever 'here' is," But that didn't add up quite right.
"Why would Twilight teleport Pinkie and I away? Perhaps whatever was scaring the dear so badly was behind the two of us."
"Yes, there was something simply dreadful right behind Pinkie Pie and myself. And being that Twilight Sparkle is Twilight Sparkle, she felt that taking us away from the situation was best." Rarity felt content at her conclusion.
"So where am I?" She asked herself inwardly, though with much less haste knowing she was sent here safely.
Rarity decided that the best course of action here was to go on a hunt for her bearings. And so for the first time since waking up here she paid careful consideration to the walls and ceiling of this place. Engaging her ever watchful eye and focusing closely on the place she presently found herself.
"A cave?! She sent me to a CAVE?! Of all the places to send me it had to be a dark, dirty, disgusting cave?" Rarity huffed at the nerve Twilight Sparkle had for daring to send her to a cave instead of a salon, or perhaps somewhere for more realistic, like a grassy field. Yelling loudly like that disturbed her headache of course, but it had calmed down to a dull throbbing in the back of her skull, in the last few minutes.
Looking around the cave, Rarity noticed nothing spectacular, it was fairly small and it didn't go too far in any one direction aside from a slope leading to a light source maybe 50 feet away. An exit if ever she saw one, she trotted forward toward it to see where in Equestria she might be. This was before she heard a screech from Pinkie behind her.
This upset Rarity's migraine some, but not too terribly. Realizing that her pink friend was now awake and most likely as confused as she was, Rarity turned around to advise Pinkie.
"Darling, I'm going to need you to calm down, everything is-"
This was about when Rarity looked up to see Pinkie clinging to a stalactite...not unlike a cat.
"WRONG, Rarity, everything is WRONG!" Pinkie shouted, finishing Rarity's sentence, she looked frightened beyond belief. Rarity had never seen this sort of behavior from Pinkie before, she was scared almost to the point of parody, looking around frantically, shaking uncontrollably, fear was plain as day on her face. Rarity felt sympathetic for the Earth pony, knowing that she was afraid, but considered her actions to be ridiculous and over the top.
"Just Pinkie being Pinkie," Rarity thought to herself with a smile.
"Pinkie Pie, everything is absolutely fine, the two of us were in a dire situation, and our dear friend Twilight removed you and I from whatever crisis stood just behind us." Rarity consoled, and to her delight, Pinkie visibly calmed down.
"There's nothing to be upset about because we're safe here...wherever we are."
"But Rarity-" Pinkie started in before the stalactite she was practically glued to broke off from the cave ceiling and crashed to the ground. Pinkie in turn got up, looking unhurt, but still worried.
"Don't you feel it? The ground is all messed up!" She rushed over to put her hooves on the Unicorns shoulders. "It's all weird and broken and...cold."
Rarity lightly lifted Pinkies hooves off her shoulder and leaned against her as a form of reassurance. Pinkie in turn leaned into Rarity, quite forcefully seeking emotional support.
"Pinkie dear, the ground is always cold, it's why I prefer to wear boots for the colder months."
This didn't seem to have the effect that Rarity was looking for however. So, still a bit afraid of having a repeat of their earlier awkward exchange, Rarity quickly changed gears and tried to sound as sincere as possible.
"I'm sorry Pinkie, but the ground simply doesn't feel any different to me." She apologized as Pinkie lowered her head. But Rarity would have none of that and used her hoof to raise Pinkies chin upward so she could show Pinkie how sure she was that everything would be alright.
"I don't know why you're feeling the way you are. But know this," Pinkie focused on Rarity's words with rapt attention, "You're safe, and nothing is different. As long as I'm here by your side, nothing can hurt you."
She'd fed Sweetie Belle the same line the last time the filly was having trouble separating her nightmares from real life. She really did have an overactive imagination, but it worked. And Rarity deplored stretching the truth with her friends, but it seemed to work here too. Pinkie had given a smile, Rarity could tell it was forced, and that Pinkie was still upset, but she seemed to be assured that nothing was wrong.
Pinkie was unsure, the ground felt twisted and thorny instead of the usual warmth she felt from it, but what if Rarity was right? Maybe she was just imagining things were different. She'd rarely ever been teleported through unicorn magic before, and never through alicorn magic, maybe this is what it felt like? And Rarity didn't seem bothered, maybe she felt the same way but ignored it to help her out.
"What a good friend!" Pinkie thought, "I need to chin up and get back out there! It's only fair to Rarity, she is just as scared of this weird place as I am."
It was Pinkie that finally broke the silence as she looked ahead and spotted the way out of the cave.
"Hey look." She showed the white unicorn by her side, "A way out of here!"
Rarity just smiled knowingly and stood up, Pinkie was still upset of course, but she wanted to make sure Rarity was okay by remaining confident. This didn't stop her from darting her eyes in every direction to determine what exactly she felt was staring at her, but it was a start.
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Light, this was the first thing the mares noticed as they exited the cave. Light, and skyscrapers.
"MANEHATTEN!" Rarity cheered excitedly, "I take back everything I've ever said wrong about Twilight, a cave leading to the fabulous Manehatten is simply marvelous!" Rarity looked at the tall building, eyes filled with wonder.
But Pinkie looked at them differently. They were tall like Manehatten, but everything looked grey and faded, all the colours she remembered seeing weren't here. And they must have been in the outskirts of the city, because she couldn't see ponies anywhere. Pinkie looked up at the sun as well, to see what time of day it was, but had trouble finding it in the usually blue sky. Confused and uneased at not finding blue, but at the yellow haze she did see.
Looking at the closest building as well took her by surprise. She had expected to see the regular small bricks, reflective glass, and brightly coloured awnings. Instead the buildings looked like they were consistent, like rock, but seemed to look way stronger, made with better material then brick. And what little windows she saw looked too reflective, not just shiny, but like actual mirrors. And there were no awnings of any kind anywhere. It almost felt like someone sucked all the fun out of Manehatten and left a bunch of thin grey mountains.
And what's worse was that the weird feeling she got from the ground came from these buildings too. Something was definitely wrong around here, and Pinkie noted every last detail. She was always good at absorbing information about the ponies and things around her, and she was making great use of that skill now. Even if this weird part of Manehatten was making her feel even worse then she did in the cave.
She had to put on her strongest face for Rarity though.
"Not only are the two of us safe from whatever dangers Twilight saved us from, but she moved us to the glorious metropolis of Manehatten." Rarity beamed as she trotted forward.
"Perhaps we can visit Coco Pommel while we're here. Oh, I hope she isn't too busy!"
They wandered for about two minutes, Rarity rambling excitedly all the way, until all of a sudden the unicorn stopped. She looked back at the worried looking pink pony.
"Pinkie Pie," She asked in an unsure tone, "Do these streets seem a mite deserted to you?"
Pinkie, as if unaware that Rarity was even speaking, was having a heated mental dialogue.
"...And that means that, no, no it wouldn't. But then how do you explain the puddle over there? Sure it looks normal but what if it isn't, it could be hiding any number of secrets! But wait, Rarity is as upset as I am, I need to put on a big smile for her. Be the element of laughter she knows! But how did we get here? Was it really Twilight, HOW COULD SHE SEND US HERE! This place is broken! No I shouldn't be mad at..."
But of course all Rarity could see was the roller coaster of emotion rushing past Pinkie's face at almost Rainbow Dash levels of speed. In the span of several seconds Pinkie went from confused, to suspicious, to gleeful, to rage filled, and settling on something close to guilt before she noticed Rarity had stopped and was looking at her, a touch of concern and a bit of her own guilt on her face.
"What's up Rarity?" Pinkie asked trying to sound as together as possible.
"I'm just concerned is all," Rarity replied, taking a step closer to Pinkie.
"Oh no!" Pinkie quickly thought to herself, sweating bullets while Rarity took another step towards her. "Rarity isn't happy, we need to talk about something else quick before she starts crying!"
"You've been uneasy since we've woken up here. I'd feel just awful if I didn't help you in any-"
"It sure is grey around here!" Pinkie abruptly shouted, interrupting Rarity.
Rarity stood dumbfounded for a few seconds, confused by Pinkies outburst. Not just by the fact that it happened, but also by the words themselves. 'grey around here'? She repeated to herself. But upon looking around at the forest of skyscrapers, she couldn't help but notice that yeah, Pinkie was right. It seemed almost duller then the beautiful metropolis she knew and loved. Rarity would have responded to Pinkie, but she was captivated by looking around at everything around her. A slight sigh of relief could be heard from beside her, but Rarity was unconcerned with that and simply drank in her surroundings.
After a moment she looked back at a calm looking Pinkie.
"Yes, I don't think I've ever come to this part of Manehatten before. The word 'bleak' certainly comes to mind." Rarity noticed the less panicked looking Pinkie Pie and smiled.
"It's just terrible that I haven't done much to help Pinkie Pie. She's FAR too stressed for a day trip in Manehatten." Rarity thought to herself as an idea began to form. "Perhaps we can find a quiet cafe to sit and talk, it is almost brunch after all."
"What say we look for somewhere to talk over brunch, hmm?" Rarity stated while taking a slow stride forward.
Pinkie returned her look with a smile, "No thanks, I already ate breakfast, I'll talk though."
Rarity's expression fell a bit, after seeing that Pinkie's smile was indeed, still forced.
"This mare is impossible!" she lamented, "How do you even cheer up Pinkie Pie!"
It was then that Rarity noticed a stallion walking further down the street. He was a dark orange earth pony a bit older then Rarity with a large frame and looked to be physically strong. He had a faded night blue mane in a short style and seemed to have a focused looking scowl on his face. The oddest feature about him, Rarity noticed, was his cutie mark. It was some sort of device, but she had no earthly idea what it could be. Even getting closer didn't help, it seemed to be some mechanically fashioned holder for...packing tape? It was. The roll of tape was held in place by a triangular bit, with a part extending outward, which Rarity guessed was the handle. And underneath was a mish-mash of different parts intended for who knows what.
"Excuse me sir," She asked as she got with in earshot, "But my friend and I seem to be a bit lost, could you give us directions?"
Pinkie tentatively waved as he looked his way, she'd normally be more open and friendly, but he gave off the same cold weird feeling as everything else around here seemed to.
Now Pinkie was a mare of surprises, she enjoyed making ponies smile and often times that meant doing the unexpected. In her short 19 years of life, she'd learned a thing or two about what to expect and what not to expect. Now obviously you can't be prepared for everything, but you can learn to expect certain things at certain times. For example, the stallion Rarity got the attention from could do any number of things. He could be rude and tell them to go away. He could be kind and give directions. He could be shy and hide when he noticed he was being talked to. He could check the time and realize he was late for something.
However, no amount of experience with other ponies could have prepared anyone for what he actually did.
Slowly he looked in Rarity and Pinkies direction, slightly surprised by an interruption to whatever he was thinking about. He looked at Rarity standing about 20 feet away, or more specifically at her horn. He then raised his right hoof to point at her and let out an ear demolishing screech.
"RRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAHHHH!!!!!!!"
Both Pinkie and Rarity covered their ears to block out the invading sound. Rarity even closed her eyes as she tried to focus her senses on ignoring the sound as best she could. She thankfully didn't have to hold out for very long as the stallion became silent, only to charge head first towards her.
Pinkie was shocked. She felt pride that she was right about everything in this place being wrong, but quickly pushed that aside as she saw the stallion charging. Thinking back on her experience with rowdy party guests, and using her quick reflexes she pushed Rarity out of the way of a powerful blow from the attacker. Rarity didn't fall over, but instead ran to the side as Pinkie ducked below this stallions outburst.
"You Dirt ponies are always putting yourselves in danger for these damn Caners, makes me SICK!" He hissed as he stomped his right foreleg down. Fortunately for Pinkie, she was far quicker then him, and avoided this attack as well. Which became even more fortunate as the sidewalk beneath his hoof cracked in several directions.
Rarity almost fainted in fear at practically seeing one of her best friends be killed right in front of her. She kept strong however, not wanting to give this pony a free chance to take her out, since Rarity seemed to be the one that angered him in the first place.
"Hey You Big Bully!" Pinkie yelled in defiance, "I don't know what 'caner' means, but leave Rarity alone!" She moved out of the way of yet another blow while the guy continued to get angrier.
"RRRRAAAAAAAAHHHH, WOULD YOU STOP MOVING ALREADY?! YOU DAMNED CLOUD ROOTER!!!!!!"
"What's wrong with you? how could you say things like that?!" Pinkie asked, upset that anyone could be so mean.
Unfortunately he didn't seem to be the 'civil' type, and just kept going after Pinkie with a blood lust in his eyes. He no longer looked like a pony, but a savage animal seeking to kill and devour its prey
"I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOUR GOD DAMN SWAYING BACK AND FORTH, NOW SIT STILL SO I CAN TEAR. YOU. TO. PIECES!!!!!!!!!" Of course, Pinkie refused to listen, and kept dodging each swing from this stallions hooves, he eventually started stomping the ground in disgust, leaving cracks where he made contact. He charged, smashing the ground as he went, hoping the next thing he hit was the pink pony he despised so much
"GAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH, I SAID STOP MOVING SO I CAN SPREAD YOUR BLOOD ACROSS THE GLORIOUS CONCRETE!!!!!" Pinkie got caught by his final swing, while it only grazed her, the strength of the pony was enough to send her flying back, and the stallion moved in for the kill. This was the last straw for Rarity, she couldn't just stand idly by while her friend was inches away from ending up like the sidewalk. She ran in and readied her hoof for her tried and true right hook.
Pinkie was doing all she could, she got back up but was starting to get tired. She was starting to slow down, and her throbbing cheek was proof enough that Pinkie was quickly running out of time. She closed her eyes and attempted another dodge, but she never felt her legs move back. This was it, this was the end of Pinkamena Diane Pie.
But the final punch never came. She was sure she heard hoof connecting to muzzle, but didn't feel any pain.
Pinkie opened her frightened looking blue eyes to see her vision mostly filled with orange. The stallions hoof was so close she could smell the concrete from when he'd struck the sidewalk earlier. Looking past his hoof, Pinkie noticed his expression, he seemed less insane and blustered then moments earlier. Connecting to the left of his face was an extended white foreleg, stopped mid assault, and connected to a very confused looking fashionista.
Rarity was surprised, she'd expected to knock the attacker to the ground. Or at the very least do more then nothing. She lowered her leg slowly, realizing that he was far better built then she'd accounted for. He began to turn his head and Rarity could see his expression shift.
To say he was angry before would've been an understatement, but to have said it now? You'd be downright lying. Blood vessels started growing as he slowly tensed up. Both Pinkie and Rarity took a fearful step back as he took a vengeful step forward. The air around him began to darken as he slipped further into the realm of rage-induced madness.
Not wanting to find out if he was actually going to kill them, Pinkie fearfully looked to Rarity for advice. Rarity didn't say anything, but nodded as she returned the look. There was only one thing to do in a situation like this, and the mares knew it well.
They turned and ran.
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"There's...another one! To the left!" Rarity shouted beside her to Pinkie as they sprinted through the city streets. "Where...do they...keep...coming from?" she huffed, clearly out of breath as she shared her thoughts with Pinkie.
"Maybe they heard him scream!" Pinkie shouted back, looking spooked, but not out of breath like her friend.
They'd been running for several minutes and attracted quite the attention. Now not only was there a mad stallion on their tail, but a group of equally mad and enraged ponies chasing them block after block.
"What...do...we do?!" Rarity wheezed, she was spending all of her energy keeping her legs moving forward, and so she wasn't coming up with any ideas for their next course of action. Pinkie thought about Rarity's question and looked around for an escape.
Pinkie looked around desperately for something, anything, that would be their salvation. She looked to her left and saw a dead end leading to four different buildings. She looked straight ahead and saw another two of those insane ponies running towards them. She looked to her right and saw the street extending into the distance another two blocks.
Pinkie squinted slightly to see what there was at the end of the street, and a look of sudden realization spread across her face.
"That way!" Pinkie shouted to Rarity, who made no motion to disagree and followed the pink mare.
"Get back here you caner pus!" The stallion shouted before he noticed Pinkie Pie picking up the pace. Rarity was doing valiantly, but was very quickly running out of steam, running on fumes as it was.
"Just another block, Rarity, you can do this!" Pinkie thought her encouraging words as she ran closer and closer to her destination.
Pinkie could hear the sound of dozens of hooves closing in on her and Rarity. This couldn't continue, and she was well aware of it. Time was quickly running out and there was still too much street left. She looked to her left and saw that Rarity was about to collapse.
"You're almost there!" Pinkie shouted to her friend, realizing then that she was finally feeling the wear of running for so long.
Back, back,
Front, front,
Back, back,
Front, front,
Clup, clup,
Clup, thup,
Clup, clup,
Thup...
"'Thup'?" Pinkie Pie thought, "that doesn't sound-"
"HOLD FIRE" but she was quickly pulled from her attention by a booming voice ahead of her.
"It's a Unicorn and True Earth! I SAID HOLD YOUR FIRE!" the feminine voice sounded again.
Pinkie and Rarity didn't stop to focus on whoever this new pony was, and instead continued forward down a slope, and then back up another slope.
What they encountered was a line of ponies 20 across all wearing some description of military uniform. They stood behind a chest high wall of bags and all looked to be unicorns with spells prepared.
"Delta Squadron, hold position! Current, formation one one four! Horns, prepare Gallon-over-Quart!" Yelled once again the same voice. Pinkie guessed she was in charge.
Pinkie and Rarity made it to the bag wall and were met with who Pinkie would describe as the most serious looking expression she'd ever seen. The serious expression in question belonged to a mare no larger then herself, but somewhat older. The pegasus wore a green uniform that had alot of small crown pins. Her mane was a short two toned white and light grey colour, and not styled in any particular way. Her coat was a light navy blue colour. Pinkie also noted that her cutie mark was chess pieces.
The officer looked at Pinkie, seeming to study her, taking three seconds for her eyes to flicker over her entire pink form. She then looked over Rarity, noting the severe exhaustion she seemed to be suffering from.
She turned her head to the left slightly, her expression not changing once.
"Corporal Beat Feet!" she shouted.
Within several seconds a skinny looking unicorn about Pinkies age ran up to stand a short distance from the mare that shouted his name. He was wearing a uniform the same colour as the mare's, but it covered his entire body, hiding his cutie mark from Pinkies curious eyes. He raised his right front hoof and lowered it hastily, almost eerily so. He then stiffened up his body and stood at attention staring forward.
"Lieutenant-Colonel Grand Strategy!" He sounded, though less out of obligation it seemed, and more out of respect. Grand Strategy turned towards him and spoke with a commanding voice.
"Corporal, see to it that these two mares are taken to Tent 13 and given any healing needed."
Having given her mandate, the Pegasus in charge turned and started addressing the ranks, giving out more orders. Rarity took this moment to collapse from exhaustion, breathing heavily but quickly on the ground, and shortly thereafter passing out.
"Rarity!" Pinkie yelled in worry and got down to her level, "I'm so sorry, this is all my fault I shouldn't have-" Pinkie starting yelling, tears coming to her eyes.
She was swiftly interrupted and pushed aside by Beat Feet.
"Stand aside!" He barked at Pinkie.
Pinkie was shocked, she was entirely invested in crying and blaming herself for Rarity's entire experience since getting here, but she was forcefully pushed aside by whoever this stallion was. His horn illuminated a faded yellow colour and the same colour enveloped Rarity, lifting her up from the ground.
"This unicorn needs healing, follow along Earth." He curtly demanded of Pinkie. Tears were still flowing from her eyes, but she followed the rude stallion, after all, he was bringing Rarity to be taken care of.
Beat Feet lead Pinkie, rather briskly, past different tents that were a boring dark green colour. Pinkie took this time to observe her surroundings, most of the ponies seemed to be back at the bag wall, but a few were walking around the area back here as well. The biggest change Pinkie noticed was the lack of buildings everywhere. She was right in thinking she'd found an escape from the city. All those weird Earth ponies back there weren't still chasing them she'd realized as she looked back and saw the city behind her. Around her now, other then the small town of tents, was clearing. There was dirt under her hooves, and even though it felt sick and in need of help, it wasn't cold and broken. The Earth out here wasn't wrong! That made Pinkie feel relieved for the first time since waking up here. Pinkie angled her ears to try and hear as much as she could, all she could hear though was Mrs Serious yelling at everypony, and loud sparky-buzzy noises.
Pinkie almost looked back, but stopped herself before she saw something she probably didn't want to. She didn't recognize the sound, but ever since she got here things had been terrible and depressing, and she was trying to smile as best she could, but she absolutely wasn't feeling it. ,
"How can I stay happy when I keep getting yelled at and talked to badly. I've gotta figure out a way to-"
"EARTH!" Screamed Beat Feet, ripping Pinkie out of her thought process, "NOW!" She wasted no time in catching up to him. Just then though he whispered something that truly disheartened Pinkie .
"I swear, all these stupid dirt eaters would be long dead without our guidance, bucking morons." Beat Feet said to himself in a voice he probably assumed was too quiet for anyone to hear.
"What do I do?" Pinkie thought to herself while making sure to keep up with this meanie.
"I could stand up for myself, but he's helping Rarity, what if he decides he hates me more then he likes her?" Pinkie made sure to put on her patented Fake Smile™ the one she knew nopony could tell was fake, but required little effort to maintain while she contemplated things that concerned her.
"How bad is Rarity right now? All we did was run, she just needs to rest for a while."
As Pinkie followed along with the stallion bringing Rarity somewhere to rest, she couldn't help but overhear some whispers of the unicorns around this weird military place.
"What a stupid look."
"Aren't she the enemy?"
"Think she's a Concrete?"
"No, She's too disgustingly pink to be one of those freaks."
"Hope she trips and dies so they can take her body out of here."
"Just keep smi-smiling Pinkie." she desperately tried to reassure herself, "Don't, don't cr-cry where they can se-see you."
"We're here, Earth," Beat Feet affirmed once they reached a tent with a red cross sign outside.
"Stay outside the tent, and for Celestia's sake, don't, touch, a thing." He commanded, talking slowly and putting emphasis on the last few words.
Pinkie was beginning to hate him, but she'd never hated anything in her life; not working on the farm, not Cheese Sandwich, and none of the enemies she'd fought in the past at all. When Discord broke her brain she thought she might dislike her friends, but that was the closest she'd ever come to hating anything. Things were different now, she had no idea where she was, and nothing had made her feel even slightly better except Rarity. And right now Rarity wasn't there to help her stop from hating.
"No!" Pinkie inwardly yelled at herself, "He might be the worst, but hate is wrong, I can't 'hate' something, what would Granny Pie think?"
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"Just be sure to let me know when she wakes up." Beat Feet smiled as he talked to a nurse closing the curtain on a resting Rarity
"Of course Beat, she just needs to rest and breathe for a few minutes. She'll be right as rain in less than an hour," The magenta Pegasus returned the smile.
"Thanks," He said, quickly getting into saluting stance. "And sorry for bothering you with this." Beat Feet looked apologetic.
"Look," The nurse said knowingly, lowering his raised right hoof, "You're still a rookie, but when you've been in a war for as long as I have, you get thankful for ponies that are just exhausted."
"But didn't you hear, Tender? I got promoted to Corporal recently!" Beat Feet proudly boasted.
She flashed him a smirk, "Is that recently for you? Or for the rest of us?" and laughed lightly at her own joke.
Beat laughed as well, "It was last week."
"Well congratulations," the nurse said, walking towards the opening to the tent, "You've only been on the 3rd division for seven months, and you're already two ranks up from Basic, you'll make Master Corporal in no time."
Beat Feet followed her to the entrance flaps, "I should really get back to my post." He said once he realized that he'd been in Tent 13 for too long, "Thanks again Tender," he smiled.
"Mmhmm," She smiled back, lowering her eyes in a knowing look, "And that's nurse Tender Care to you, corporal,"
Corporal Beat Feet left Tent 13 feeling refreshed, talking with Tender always seemed to brighten his day. It immediately came crashing down however when he remembered the other mare he'd been instructed to bring to aid. The overly emotional pink one. He really hated these 'True' Earths, how weak they were. Always smiling, always willing to please, always doing whatever you told them. He truly abhorred them, the world was a dark place, and if they weren't willing to accept that then maybe he needed to wipe their disgusting smiles away himself. Sure they weren't his real enemy, but at least he respected his enemy. They were a group of treasonous heretics, but they knew where they sat, they didn't try hide their weakness.
"Is Rarity alright?" the pink one asked, getting right up into Beat Feet's face. He despised everything about her; her mane, her blatant disrespect, but especially her smile. But what could he do? He was ordered to make sure this disgrace of a pony was taken care of. And by the youngest military mastermind in over 300 years Grand Strategy no less. He wanted to lock up this stupid dirt eater and refuse her rations, but he couldn't. So instead he decided to be as quick about getting away from her as possible.
"Inside," he rudely stated before trotting off. Pinkie didn't once lower her Fake Smile, despite how much she wanted to punch him in his terrible face. He was gone though, and Pinkie breathed a sigh of relief. Noticing, as well, that she'd caught her breath from running by this point. She calmed her nerves a bit and entered the tent.
What Pinkie was met with was a Magenta coloured pegasus mare, with a short light pink mane. Her cutie mark was that of a bandage, and she seemed to be smiling lightly as she noticed Pinkie walk in.
"Ah, you must be Rarity's friend, I'm sorry, but I wasn't told your name." Nurse Tender Care sweetly said as Pinkie looked at her.
Pinkie didn't answer, but instead just looked hopeful at the nurse. She seemed to understand what this meant though.
"She just needs to rest, she'll be up on four hooves before you know it." The Nurse reassured Pinkie in a maternal voice.
Pinkie took this time to sigh happily. She'd done it, she'd gotten Rarity to safety. She could rest.