Chapter 9: Running on Empty
Chapter 9: Running on Empty
The air left Wrangler’s lungs as her back slammed into the hard clay ground. Wheezing, she flipped head-over-hooves along the dry earth, the sky quickly becoming a spinning pinwheel of blue and brown blurs to her dazed eyes. With a few grunts, she slid along her side, picking up loose pebbles and dirt in her fur, before coming to a rest beside a fence post. A flash of pain briefly flickered across her face.
Across from her, a young bull finished its turnabout and snorted at Wrangler. It pawed at the ground with a cleft hoof, and its blood red eyes leered at her. One of its small horns was stained with red, matching a scratch on Wrangler’s shoulder.
Wincing, Wrangler stood up and shook the weakness out of her legs. Carefully walking around the edge of the fence, she kept her eyes locked on the bull as she made her way towards her lasso. The bovine watched her, angrily snorting and flicking its tail at the flies around its flanks. Spitting out a glob of blood, Wrangler calmly bent down and picked up the lasso with her teeth.
“So,” she said around the rope in her mouth. “A feisty one, eh? You might be young and full of energy, but I’ve got experience.” She reached a hoof up to her mouth and stretched the lasso. With a slight flick of her fetlock, she began to gently twirl the rope in anticipation of the bull’s next move. “Well, what are you waiting for? You already drew blood and made me bite my tongue. I’m right here; come and get me!”
With a wild snort, the bull reared its head and charged at Wrangler with reckless abandon. The mare widened her stance and began twirling the lasso high over her head. When the bull was barely a few feet away, Wrangler spun to the side and threw her lasso at it. The loop snagged on one of the bull’s horns, and with a violent swing of its head, the beast slammed Wrangler’s shoulder and sent her stumbling back, lasso in tow.
Rainbow Dash and Hawk Tail crested the nearby hilltop behind Wrangler’s homestead just in time to see the beige mare gallop around the edge of the fenced ring with the bull hot on her hooves. Rainbow gasped and made to rush towards Wrangler, but Hawk Tail steadied her with a hoof.
“Relax, Rainbow,” he said. “This is Wrangler’s home turf. Just watch.”
“But—!”
“Watch,” Hawk insisted, pointing with his wing at the spectacle.
Just then, Wrangler outmaneuvered the bull to stand on the opposite side of the ring. With a flick of her neck, she yanked the lasso off of the bull’s horn and pulled its attention towards herself. Choking back on the rope, she began to twirl the lasso to her side and advance on the beast.
Confused by the mare’s sudden offensive, the bull hesitated for just a moment. It was all Wrangler needed to launch the lasso at it and securely loop the rope around the young cattle’s neck. The bull roared and charged at her, but Wrangler was faster. With a powerful kick of her legs, she jumped over the charging bullock and threw her head down for momentum. The rope stretched taut and the bull sharply groaned as it was pulled by its neck until it landed on its back, panting. With a triumphant smirk, Wrangler quickly ran around the winded bull and tied its legs together with the remainder of the lasso, preventing it from getting away.
“Good job there, lil’ buddy,” Wrangler said to the struggling bull as it tried to break free of her lasso. “Been a while since I’ve got a good sweat in. We’ll take care of our ‘business’ later, if that’s any consolation to you.” Taking a deep breath, Wrangler wiped a hoof across her brow and readjusted her bandana.
“Nice moves, Wrangler,” Hawk Tail complimented as he strode over to the fence and rested his forehooves on a rail. Glancing at the bull on the ground, he nodded his head in its direction. “What’d he do to deserve that?”
“Nothing other than being a valuable working animal,” Wrangler answered him as she trotted up to the fence. The two ponies bumped hooves over the rail before Wrangler noticed Rainbow Dash in the background. Smiling, she moved to the side so she could lean across the fence towards the colorful pegasus. “So, you’re the mystery mare, eh?”
Rainbow Dash was too fixated on the struggling bull. “Is there any reason you’re holding him against his will?”
Wrangler glanced over her shoulder and shrugged. “He’ll be a draft animal soon enough. It’s just how it works.”
“But he’s sentient!” Dash protested. “He can talk and everything!”
Both Wrangler and Hawk Tail looked at each other in confusion. “Say what now?” Wrangler asked, scratching her head.
Rainbow cocked her head to the side. “What? They do! Just ask him!”
Hawk Tail left the fence and trotted over to Rainbow’s side. “Uh, Rainbow, I’m not sure how cows work where you come from, but they don’t talk here. They’re just animals.”
“But… but…” Rainbow weakly protested. “I’m so confused. You guys don’t… eat them, do you?”
“Why would we?” Wrangler asked. With a quick kick from her legs, she vaulted over the fence to stand by Rainbow’s side. “We earth ponies grow enough food for the town, along with plenty of surplus to send to the larger cities down south. A lot of the reason why we can do that is because of draft animals like this ox over here—well, he’s not an ox yet, but that’ll be taken care of later.”
Hawk Tail chuckled quietly at the blanched look on Rainbow’s face. “Well then, I do believe some introductions are necessary. Wrangler, this is Rainbow Dash. Rainbow, Wrangler.”
Wrangler smiled and extended her hoof for Rainbow to shake. “A pleasure to meet you, Rainbow Dash. Gods, you are the fruitiest looking pony I’ve ever seen. Do you all look like this?”
“Guh—I… uh…” She shook her head as she failed to come up with a response. “Nice to meet you too?”
“Hehe, sorry about that, Dasher. I thought you’d be faster with a response than that.” Moving around to Rainbow’s side, Wrangler slapped the mare on the back, causing Rainbow to break into a coughing fit from the powerful hit. “So where you from?” the earth pony continued unabated.
“We’re not entirely sure,” Hawk Tail filled in for Rainbow as she finished the last of her coughing. “She didn’t have any of her memories when she woke up. She didn’t even know her name. I took her to Dawn to see if she could help, but more or less the only thing useful she could uncover was her name. But we do know she’s been cursed, which is how she lost her memories.”
“Ack… standing right here, you know,” Rainbow grumbled as she returned to her full height.
“Well I’ll be,” Wrangler commented. She scratched at her chin with a hoof and glanced off to the sky in thought. “How is Dawn, anyway? Doing good?”
“She’s alright,” Hawk said. “I think bringing Rainbow over was good for her. It gave her a new project to work on, at the least. Gods know she needed it.”
Wrangler nodded. “You let that mare know next time you see her that she’s more than welcome to spend Jubilee Night here with the rest of the family. We’d all love to have her. It should be good for her condition.”
“So long as she doesn’t get called a psycho like what happened the last time she actually left her house for once,” Hawk Tail said sternly.
“Ugh…” Wrangler’s hoof met her forehead with an audible clack. “For the millionth time, Hawk, I told you we had no idea Uncle Redneck was going to be in town that day. I’m sorry for what happened, and I let Uncle have it the next day. Now can we please drop it?”
Rainbow Dash glanced back and forth between the perturbed Hawk Tail and the fuming Wrangler. “Uh… Dawn seemed like an awesome mare to me.”
“Oh I know she is,” Wrangler said. With a sigh, she rested her forelegs on the rail. “But Uncle Redneck most certainly is not. He’s a terrible racist, and he smells bad too. I really wish my family didn’t know him.”
Rainbow cocked an eyebrow. “Wait… huh? I thought he was your uncle?”
“I think I’d sooner lead a stampede off of a cliff than live knowing I was related to that bastard,” Wrangler spat. “His name’s Uncle Redneck. No relation. The codger’s got no family left, or at least none that would care to admit he’s related to them. He lives a good ways out to the east working odd jobs, and only comes to town when he needs supplies or to purchase cattle and draft animals from our ranch. If I saw him any more often than that I’d pack up my things and move south.” She threw a hoof into the sky, gesturing towards the southern horizon. “The nobles would stop an oaf like him at the city gates before even letting him step a hoof inside. If they were real kind, they’d stick the fool someplace where he wouldn’t be a bother to anypony else.”
“Isn’t that a little… uh… harsh?” Rainbow asked.
Wrangler rolled her eyes. “I ain’t speaking anything but the honest truth. There are some ponies that the world would be better off without.”
Awkwardly scratching his head, Hawk Tail cleared his throat and attempted to bring the conversation back on track. “So… the King’s going to be coming to Jubilee Day this year.”
Wrangler turned to Hawk Tail and merely blinked. “…Say what now?”
“While you were out wrestling bulls, Legislature gave a speech in town today,” Hawk Tail said. “King Regal II’s going to be coming to River’s Reach for Jubilee Day this year.”
The cowpony gasped. “No way! That’s… that’s incredible! Why, there’s so much to get done and not enough time to do it. Ohhhhh!” she moaned, tugging on her bandana with her hooves. “What am I gonna do? I wasn’t planning on doing anything other than taking some of the cattle to the farm show and trying to sell some of the animals, but that won’t cut it with the King around! Just what is a rancher like me supposed to do?”
Rainbow hopelessly shrugged her shoulders. “I uh… yeah. I wish I could help you with that, girl, but… yeah I’ve got nothing.”
Hawk Tail subtly shook his head. “I’m sure you’ll think of something, Wrangler. You always do.”
“Yeah yeah, easier said than done.” The three ponies were quiet for a brief pause, before Wrangler spoke up again. “So what else did you guys come all the way up here for?”
“Ooh!” Rainbow exclaimed as she leapt into the air. “That’s easy! I’m going to be giving the king an airshow when he shows up!”
Wrangler regarded Rainbow’s bandaged wing with a critical glance. “And I’m the queen of Roilla.”
Rainbow frowned at the earth pony. “Just you wait! I’ll be up in the air in no time! Flying’s what I do best; they don’t call me Rainbow Dash for nothing!”
“Let’s be honest here, Rainbow,” Wrangler chuckled. “I bet there are a total of three ponies in this town besides yourself that know your name.”
“Oh, they’ll know it when I’m done!” Rainbow proclaimed. Backing away, however, she tapped her forehooves against each other. “There’s just one teensy problem.”
“You can’t fly?” Wrangler suggested.
“No! I mean, yes, that’s annoying, but I’ll be better before then! The problem is I need to get back in shape!” Smiling, she flexed her forelegs and made a show of kissing one well-toned bicep. “I mean, this body’s pretty smoking as it is, but I’ve just let it get slow sitting in bed for three or four days. I need to run and get it back into shape.”
“Well what do you need me for?” Wrangler asked. With a flick of her tail, she leaned against the rail of the fence beside her. “I run with the cattle all the time. You want my job or something?”
Rainbow shook her head. “Nah, I wouldn’t dream of it! I just want somepony to run with. It’s just not fun unless you’ve got someone to beat!”
Wrangler waggled an eyebrow and looked at Hawk Tail. “What’s wrong with your guardian angel over there, hm?” she said to Rainbow.
“I’ve got to work now that she’s better,” Hawk Tail answered for her. “Besides, I suggested that she get to know more ponies around town, and I figured we’d start with you, because you can help her get conditioned for this airshow thing she’s so desperate to pull off.”
Wrangler smirked. “Heheh, alrighty. I can do that.” Turning to Rainbow, she reached a foreleg out and pulled the smaller mare to her side. “So you wanna run with me, hm? Should be fun. You may be fast, but I hope you’ve got the stamina to keep up. We go all day.”
Rainbow wormed her way out of Wrangler’s grip and returned the confident smirk. “Oh I’ve got more than enough to keep up with you. You haven’t seen nothing yet!”
“Good!” Wrangler exclaimed and bumped hooves with Rainbow. “I’ll see you at five tomorrow!”
“Really?” Rainbow asked. “Why so late?”
Hawk Tail chuckled in the background.
Wrangler blinked, amusement in her eyes. “Late? Oh, I’m sorry, you must not be used to getting up before the sun. I meant five o’clock in the morning. I trust that isn’t too early for you?”
Rainbow’s face fell flat. “Uh… yeah! I mean, of course not! You just wait, I’ll be here bright and early tomorrow morning! And then I’ll show you what the Iron Mare can do!”
-----
“Ungh…” Rainbow groaned as she hobbled to a halt next to a boulder planted in the earth. She clutched at her side with a foreleg, hissing in pain and gulping air. Sweat poured from her brow and sides, and it took all of her strength just to stand up straight. Behind her, the cattle milled about as they picked at the grass, and Wrangler could be seen walking around the edge of the herd. Her eyes spotted Rainbow by the boulder, however, and she soon began to walk that way.
“Hehe, had enough, Dasher?” Wrangler teased as she trotted over. Wiping the sweat from her forehead, she smiled at the panting pegasus. “I thought you’d at least have a little more energy than that!”
“I… did!” Rainbow sputtered between breaths. “For like… the first few hours… I didn’t think… we’d be running a… thousand miles at top speed!” With a groan, she sat and slammed her back against the rock, wincing. “Haven’t you heard of breaks, girl?”
Wrangler sat down next to Rainbow, and the pegasus noted she was breathing hard also. “I wanted to see if you could take life on the ranch, hence why I pushed you so hard.”
Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “Oh yeah? Whadda ya think?”
Chuckling, Wrangler gently punched Rainbow in the side. “Let me think… nah.” She smiled playfully at her companion, but that smile faded away when she saw Rainbow still clutching at where she had punched her. Worried, she placed a hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder. “Hey there, you alright? I didn’t hurt you or anything, did I?”
Fluttering her pained eyes open, Rainbow feebly shook her head. “Heh… it… wasn’t you,” she said through gritted teeth. “Hawk said that I fractured a rib during my fall… I guess it’s just acting up.”
Concern spread across Wrangler’s face. “A fractured rib? You tried to run for four hours with that?” She placed a hoof to her temple and shook her head. “Why… On the one hoof, I’m impressed that you held up for so long, but on the other, what they hay were you thinking, Rainbow? You’re only going to hurt yourself worse!”
Rainbow forced a shrug. “I need to push myself if I’m gonna perform for the king, Wrangler. I can’t sit around and let my feathers fall out. Besides, don’t they say something like ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger?’”
“That’s a saying alright, but you already cheated death once, girl,” Wrangler scolded. “Just why in the world are you trying to push yourself so hard for this airshow? Tartarus, why is Hawk even letting you try this? I thought you said he knew you had a fractured rib!”
Rainbow glanced towards the ground. “Well, I kinda convinced him that he was worrying too much and it was just bruised is all.”
Wrangler’s brow rose. “Anypony who feels a hoof along your chest is going to know that’s a lie.”
“I didn’t let him,” Rainbow said. Then, laughing quietly, she added, “I haven’t known him for very long, but he doesn’t seem like the kind of pony to try and feel a mare after she says ‘no’.”
Wrangler shook her head. “You really shouldn’t be doing this. You’re lucky I don’t send you home now to go get some rest.”
Rainbow cocked her head to the side. “Well why aren’t you?”
“Because you still haven’t told me why you want to pull off this airshow so bad,” Wrangler said with a smile.
“Heh. I suppose that’s fair.” Leaning back, Rainbow was finally able to take her hoof away from her ribs and look to the sky. “I just… I dunno. I feel like I want to belong. I want to belong, Wrangler. You… you…” her body shook as a dry sob caught in her throat. “You don’t know what it’s l-like to be me right now. I’ve got n-nothing other than my n-name. I d-don’t know any of you ponies, I don’t know where I’m from, and I have no clue what I’m supposed to be doing with my life. I know my name…” She turned to Wrangler, and the earth pony could see the desperation in her eyes. “I know my name, but I don’t know who I am.” Then, with a sigh, she dropped back against the rock. “I can feel it in my wings; I need to fly. And I want to fly fast. Fast and dangerously. Maybe then… then I’ll know who I am. But if not…” a small smile tugged on her lips, “hopefully I’ll make a few ponies smile along the way. And maybe then I’ll know I belong, even if I don’t know who I am.”
Wrangler tapped her hoof on the ground as she took all that in. “I… I see what you’re saying,” she said without looking at Rainbow. “And I can’t blame you. All a pony ever wants is to be loved and belong. They might not know how to make that happen, but it’s all the same deep down inside. And for that, I understand you. But…” she trailed off as she stood up, turning to face Rainbow.
The cerulean pegasus wiped away the ghost of a tear on her cheek as she looked up to the standing mare in front of her. “B-but what?”
Gently, Wrangler reached down with her hooves and pulled Rainbow up until she was standing. “But we aren’t done yet, Dasher. We gotta bring the cattle onto the next pasture, ya hear?”
Rainbow blinked. “Buh—wait, you’re not going to tell Hawk? You’re not going to make me go home and stop running?”
“Why would I ever do that?” Wrangler asked. “It’s clear that I wouldn’t stop you for long, and I’d rather have another pony with you when you’re doing stuff like this in case you get hurt. Besides, who am I to stop you from trying to belong? You do what you think is best for yourself, on one condition.”
Smiling, Rainbow began to walk alongside the mare as they went back to the cattle. “Oh yeah? What’s that?”
“That you get me front row seats to this airshow of yours,” Wrangler said with a wink.
Rainbow giggled. “You got it. It’ll be the best thing you’ve ever seen!”
“I’ll hold you to it. Now,” she said, tightening down her bandana as she broke into a careful gallop, “let’s drive these cattle to the next hill! Hyah!”
It was all Rainbow Dash could do to pace herself as she ran back to the herd and not take a joyous leap into the air.
Stats
Page generated in 0.019 seconds
Total duration
1,071 users online
1,556,671 hits today, 1,960,719 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Species of bovine not being able to talk? Well, if there were ever any sign she's definitely not in the world of Equestria anymore...
I grew up raising cattle; but the way she taunted the bull... wow; low blow even for a non-sentient. Then again, we usually cut them long before they got big enough to be a problem in that regard and I'd probably be saying worse if one made me draw blood.
Hmn, almost certainly on another planet if we're talking non-sapient cattle.
And now a candidate for an almost-AJ to go along with our almost-Twi. Interesting.
Heh. Uncle Redneck.
Nice one.
All these similarities... How has she NOT found her memories?
~Skeeter The Lurker
The similarities make me wonder how Dash hasn't realised.
Wrangler = AJ
Dawn = Twilight
Hawk Tail = Possibly Thunderlane
Awesome Chapter! Now give us some Hawk Tail x Rainbow romance
!
3402856
That is curious. Not sure if it means anything thoughor if they're just handy archetypes for story writing in this fandom.
Aw, you're making me want to ship alternate world Appledash. Alas, I'm guessing its HawkDash that'll be the romance that proves the tag in this one. Nothing wrong with that, of course - Appledash is just my weakness.
So, Wrangler's already unlocking some of Dash's memories (Iron Pony mention) and with Dawn (Twilight-ish) and Lanner (who seems slightly Pinkie Pie-ish but also a bit Scootaloo-y. Or maybe I'm trying way too hard to find parallels) around it seems that Rainbow should start remembering more and more the longer she's near them. And she'll probably find her Loyalty necklace at some point (which I'm guessing the glint of gold was at the beginning - Hawky wanted to show her the lakes, didn't he?). Plus a flying performance and a possible Sonic Rainboom should reawaken parts of her old self pretty quick.
All in all, this is shaping up to be quite the interesting ride. Who was messing with Dash's mind? Where/when exactly is she in regards to Equestria? Can she return? When all is said and done, will she want to? (although after recalling her old life it'd be hard to believe her not wanting to go back, plus she's part of a matched set with the Elements of Harmony, and breaking that up probably isn't a great idea) but I suppose a lot can happen before that issue comes up, so who knows.
Anywho, this is great so far, and I eagerly await to the next installment, whenever its ready.
3423896
Glad you've enjoyed it so far. I hope I can continue to keep you enthralled with the unraveling of this mystery
Don't worry, your questions will be answered in time. It's tricky spooling out just enough information to keep you all satisfied while withholding enough to keep you reading, but the slow pace of Slice of Life helps out in that regard. I will tease that you can start getting more concrete hints as to what's going on in the next chapter--although it will be up to you guys to figure out what to make of them
Now that I've finished my exams and projects, I'll be working to ensure that Chapter 10 is released on time next week. Look forward to it; I know I am.
24
How can dash not get at least two memories from dawn and wrangler
Wrangler = Apple Jack
Dawn= twighlight sparkle
Hawk tail = thunderlane
Awwww I love all the characters in this story and how u make them come alive think u for a great story
So generousity and, or kindness, honesty, magic and loyalty. Am i getting a connection?
With a few grunts, she slid along her side, picking up loose pebbles and dirt in her fur, before coming to a rest beside a fence post. A flash of pain briefly flickered across her face.
Sorry, this is just one of my pet peeves. Horses (ponies) have hair. Fur sheds. And has a down coat for extra warmth.
3399268 who said all did it could be an Equestrian thing. we know chickens don't talk
6841568 Ya! Although I'd forgotten how effective a tall mountain range and desert is at cutting off 2 countries.
Almost like Wrangler is Applejack is spirit..
She seemed like a bad caricature of "intelligent but socially awkward" to me, but what do I know.
The general consensus seems to be that hawk tail is like thunderlane, which i don't agree with, but hey, you do you. I really like seeing the way Rainbow interacts with Wrangler, looking forward to seeing her meet Flurry.
P.S. i noticed long ago that this story is incomplete, and i'm not sure if you're even active on fimfiction now, but i desperately wish you would keep it going.