Lavender Ponyville

by Quadraginta

Chapter 6: An Explanation

Twilight slid down the slide in complete darkness. The darkness seemed to permeate every inch of where she was going.

"Applejack?" Twilight yelled.

"I'm here, Twi!" she assured Twilight.

Twilight breathed out a small sigh of relief as she continued sliding down the slide. They were both ok. For now.

As she slid down the slide, Twilight thought about the interior design of the tower. From where Applejack had shoved her through the wall, she had expected to fall out of the side of the tower and towards her death, but she had instead fallen onto a slide. Twilight thought the design of the tower unusual, but then again, she was dreaming, so real life physics and logic had nothing to do with where she was right now. But then again.....killer dreams just didn't sound feasible. But then again....

Eventually, they were shot out of an opening at the bottom of the slide, and they emerged into a room almost exactly like the one they were just in before they went down the slide.

"Ouch," said Twilight when she landed. It wasn't a soft landing. She and Applejack were literally shot out of the opening like bullets, and they skidded across the floor.

"Anyways...." said Twilight as she slowly got up, wincing slightly from the burn marks she had sustained from skidding on the floor.

"Twi, how'd you get here, anyways?" asked Applejack.

"I feel like I should be asking you the same question," Twilight said.

"Well, Rainbow Dash and I have been exploring this tower for about a month now. We were getting better at avoiding the risks and dangers this tower had, but this time we got careless, and....and..." she choked back tears. "Rainbow Dash is dead now."

A month? Twilight was honestly not expecting that.

"What about you, Twi? How long have you been exploring?" Applejack asked.

"Well, this is actually my second time here." Twilight admitted. "How have you been exploring for a month?"

"Everytime Rainbow Dash and I fall asleep, we're sent here. We've had to fight for our lives every night for over a month, now, Twi. Didn't you notice how we were acting different lately?"

"Well..." Twilight said. "I noticed, and I asked you two about it, but you both said it was nothing and that I shouldn't worry about it."

"Oh. Right. Sorry, Twi..." a single tear leaked out of Applejack's eye. "And now Rainbow Dash is dead." She was openly crying now. "I didn't tell anybody else about this, Twi, because I didn't want to put anybody else in danger. You understand, right, Twi?"

"I understand, Applejack. But now Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy are dead, and-"

"Fluttershy, too?!" Applejack exclaimed. "Why did I not hear about this?"

Twilight sighed. "Look, Applejack, right now, we're both in this together, and we have to do something about the tower, and-" Twilight remembered something.

"Wait," said Twilight. "It's daytime right now. Why are you, of all ponies, asleep during the day?"

"Wait? It's day now?" asked Applejack. "I guess I have been in here for a while, now. Has nopony tried to wake me up, yet?"

"I don't know," said Twilight. "But that doesn't matter now. We can't seem to wake up now, so I guess we might as well explore. It's either that, or die staying still."

"I guess you're right." said Applejack.

"Well, lead the way," said Twilight. "You've been exploring longer than I have. After all, it was you who saved us both earlier."

"Well, after falling through so many trap doors and....trap walls, I guess, I now expect to find a way out of any sticky situation. I doubt my luck will keep up like this, though." Applejack said. She had stopped crying by now. Her tears, like her blood from earlier, were absorbed into the floor.

Applejack turned towards a flight of stairs and ascended it, with Twilight following close behind.