Love . Sick

by KitsuneRisu

LOYALTY

L O Y A L T Y

It hadn't stopped raining the entire night. The wind picked up, bringing a slight fog over the town, and still, even in this early morning, the drizzle fell in patches, maintaining the puddles that mired the landscape.

Twilight was snoring to herself, nestled in a cocoon of hay. Applejack was already awake, leaning over her and staring at her through gentle eyes.

"Twilight, I just want to say, I love you," she said softly to her, as she lay resting. The previous night had been fun. They talked for hours, laughed, reminisced, and all that friends do. Applejack slowly came to terms, and had to face the inevitability.

As they drifted off to sleep, Applejack stayed up for a while longer looking at the stars through the rain and the clouds, and let her mind take her away for just one final night, but it had to end, and she knew it did.

"I just wanna say to ya... thanks for everything," she said. Twilight stirred a little, and her breathing lightened up considerably into a calm purring. "It's been a pleasure. It's been fun. You'll always be m' best friend forever, Twi."

Applejack nodded to herself.

"And ah know whatcha said last night 'bout there being other ponies an' all, but to me, y'all always be my one and only."

Twilight's eyes finally opened, just in time to see the blurry shape of Applejack heading out the door with saddlebags in place and lasso around her neck. She had her hat back on as well, and she was pulling her cart behind her.

"Goodbye, Twi! Thanks for being my friend!" she called, mostly to herself, as she left.

"No probwelm," Twilight mumbled, smiling to herself. That went well, she thought. That went really well. And she fell right back to sleep, the worries of the day left behind.

-- <3 --

By the time Twilight Sparkle had risen for good, it was mid-day. She surmised the time to be around 4, mainly because the big clock in the town square had just struck 4 times. She astounded herself with her analytical prowess, sometimes.

She threw on her own baggies, which she had left in a random pile the night before, and threw open the doors to a bright new day. Well, one down. Four to go, eh? Well this wouldn't be that bad. Hopefully it'll all be as easy as how it went with Applejack.

She glanced over into the fields of apple trees that peppered the distance, knowing that Applejack would be hard at work somewhere amongst the boughs, collecting the day's take. She'd see her later at the town square, and everything would be as it always was.

A whizzing sound came from high above; an object dropping at such speed that it made little rat-ta-tat noises where it intersected with a falling raindrop.

"Eeek!" screamed Twilight, jumping back. The pumpkin missed her by centimetres, but she still caught some of the fallout.

Seeds and wet pumpkin flesh dribbled down her side, and a piece of shell lay ingloriously on her head.

"Oh hey!" came a voice, just as fast, also from high above. It landed just short of Twilight, as those blue wings and rainbow hair came to a sudden complete stop. "Whoops, sorry!"

Rainbow dash reached up and pulled the hat off Twilight's head. The face behind it honestly made her want to put it back.

"Heh... heh heh... guess I didn't miss after all, huh," said Dash, tossing the fruity remnants off to the side. "But it's a good thing I flew into you! There's something we totally gotta talk about, but we gotta go somewhere first!"

"What?" said Twilight, rubbing goop off her nose. This was a little different than she had expected. In fact, Rainbow Dash didn't seem to be affected at all. Maybe Princess Celestia neglected to inform her that that whole magic deal she talked about didn't necessarily have to affect everypony.

Well, it could also just be that Rainbow Dash was far too stubborn to admit. That was also an option.

It was hard to tell with that one.

"Look, I got something to show ya, ok? It's really cool, and I know you're gonna love it!" Dash yanked on Twilight's leg. "Come on!"

"Alright, I'm coming!" said Twilight, breaking into a fast trot to keep up with the speedster. "Hey, mind if I ask you a question?"

"Shoot!"

"Well... what happened yesterday? I mean, everyone just bolted off suddenly, and you probably don't know about this but Applejack kinda... had an episode. I just spent the night with her, and she's in pretty bad shape."

"Oh, that's a shame," Rainbow Dash threw it aside as casual as that. "She'll get over it. Don't worry!"

Ah, this now. That was odd. Twilight's senses started to prick.

"Anyway, about yesterday? Sorry about that too! I just had to go... get some stuff ready, like the pumpkin. Well, so much for that though! Actually, I don't wanna spoil nothin' for ya, but it's got something to do with this super fun thing I just got to show ya!"

"What is it?"

"You'll see, come on!"

Rainbow Dash sped into a run, just to get there all the more faster. It seemed like she was just that eager to show Twilight this magnificent gift.

Twilight struggled to keep up. She had to dodge giant puddles, bushes, and other strange objects that lay in her path. This was a path that was obviously not well-travelled. In fact, you could barely call it a path at all. Rainbow Dash seemed pretty familiar with the route, though. Although she wasn't even flying at the moment, none of the obstacles even slowed her down for a second.

She had no idea where Rainbow Dash was leading her, but it was definitely not anywhere she'd ever been before, and it was certainly not somewhere that many ponies would go searching after unless they already knew it was there.

They finally came upon a small rock-face in the middle of the forest that they had been running through, and against the side of the natural wall was a crudely-built shack of some sort. It would actually be a shack if it didn't simply open to a set of stairs that led underground.

In fact, it was small enough to be called a shed, even.

But behind its red-painted door was nothing more than those stairs that didn't struggle to keep itself hidden. Twilight felt that the little building that was placed over the top was just some sort of afterthought, as if it was just added there to make things 'cooler'. She wouldn't put it past Rainbow Dash to do something like that.

"Well... here we are!" exclaimed Dash proudly. "Check it out. Isn't it sweet?"

"Where... are we, exactly?" Twilight nervously chuckled.

"Oh, just some place in the forest that I found one day. It's no biggie. Just head that way," she gestured with a wing. "And you'll be back in Ponyville."

"Alriiiight..." said Twilight, peering down the stairs. The stairs too, were crudely made. Simple planks propped up against what appeared to be a steep stone chute. "And this is...?"

"This is..." Rainbow Dash jumped up high and landed in front of Twilight, her forelegs spread open in presentation. "Rainbow Dash's super secret fun club house!"

"A... fun club... house?"

"Alright, it's a cave. But it's cool! Trust me! Go on, it's alright." She dragged Twilight again, pulling her toward those rickety-looking steps.

"Is... this safe?"

"Yeah! Sure it is! I made it myself! You can trust me, come on. Anyway, plenty of other ponies come down here all the time."

Twilight gingerly took that first step onto the first wooden plank. The support struts poked out at odd angles, and the nails weren't even beat all the way completely in. It didn't look like it actually attached to the rock in any way or form.

But, it was sturdy.

She put her weight onto the board, slowly, and in fact it did not shake, or shudder, or waver. She tried to look down further into the entrance to see how deep it went, but the darkness enveloped the chute past the 5th step.

Her horn blinked once; twice, and then burst into light as a glowing orb danced around it in a slow waltz.

It seemed like there wasn't any need to see beyond the 5th step, because right there was the bottom already; it didn't go that far, and the view beyond her was amazing. It was a natural cave, even larger than Applejack's barn. It seemed that the whole rock face was actually some sort of hollow mountain feature, and it seemed to have been there for a very, very long time.

Stalagmites and Stalactites grew in random locations, drops of water running off them every once in a while. The rest of the cave, however, was quite dry indeed and it did not feel clammy.

It even had a sort of natural air conditioning; the howlings of an underground wind channel somewhere far toward the back of the cave betrayed a few other openings, and gave a promise that the air inside would never be stale or still.

A large 'phhomp' sound echoed off the walls, and Twilight noticed Rainbow Dash lighting up some gas lanterns that had been placed strategically around the cave. Without the need for her own light, she cut hers off and started exploring around.

"Rainbow... this is amazing! How far does it go?" her voice sounded hollow and lonely in the vast expanse of the cave.

"Oh, I don't know. We never really explored past the river," Dash continued lighting lamps and a few torches that she stuck into brackets on the wall.

"There's a river?"

"Yeah, small one! No one wants to go down there, though. Not that we really need it yet!"

Twilight quirked an eyebrow to herself. Impressive, indeed. But it was just like Rainbow Dash to overlook the true beauty in things.

The cave was finally completely illuminated. The soft warm glow of the flickering lights caused shadows to dance in every corner, and even with all that Rainbow Dash had done, it was still not enough to brighten up the furthest reaches of the cave. What it did light up, however, was the dirty, stained center of the cave, where most of the activities obviously took place.

The dirt was disturbed in many places, and the stones were more worn. A lot of dancing... or something... took place there, surely. Also there was that huge pot.

It stood in a bed of firewood; precociously threatening to fall over and roll away. It was quite large indeed; Twilight felt that she could get in and hide if she rolled up enough.

I mean, if one would be inclined to get into a cauldron in the first place.

"So... what do you do here?" She circled the room and came back to Rainbow Dash.

"We have... fun. We play... games." she answered, avoidingly.

"Well... why here? Why couldn't you play outside? We play games outside all the time."

"Yeah but you know, some kinds of games you can only get here!" Rainbow Dash pointed to a table that was set up in the corner. "Like look! Air Hockey! Totally sweet!"

Twilight walked over.

"Um... Dash, this isn't an Air Hockey table. It's a regular table. And this isn't a puck. It's a stale cookie. And there are no paddles."

"Heh heh... alright, you got me. I can't get anything by you, can I?" Dash rubbed the back of her head. "Alright, I just want it to be a surprise, so just wait for the others to arrive, alright?"

"Others?"

"Well yeah, it's not a secret fun club without others, right?"

Well, obviously.

"Anyway, they'll be here soon, so don't you worry! Just relax."

Twilight relaxed. Or tried to. Something was still a bit off, but she couldn't put her hoof on it. And it wasn't a few minutes of silent regard that the first member of this super secret fun club arrived.

"Scoots! Glad you could make it!" Rainbow Dash called suddenly. Twilight turned and locked eyes with Scootaloo, who fluttered down carrying a large pack on her back.

Well, of course it was Scootaloo.

"Didja bring the stuff?"

"Yeah, of course I did, Rainbow Dash!" she said proudly, swinging the pack off and dumping it on the table. She upended it, and out poured a few large chunks of cheese, some strange bottles, and what looked like black cloths. "Just like you asked!"

"Yeah, totally sweet," Dash said, pushing the cheese into a corner, and looking at the bottles with intent. "'86, huh? Good year."

That was when Twilight cut in. "Dash, is that what I think it is?"

"Yeah, it's cider. We're gonna have a party, Rainbow Dash style."

"And what about..." She tilted her head toward the little filly, who was now busy pushing the oversized cauldron upright with her entire body and not having much progress.

"What, her? Oh, she's..."

"I'm 25!" Scootaloo shouted from the distance.

"That's right! Just like we practiced." Rainbow bumped the air with her fist.

"So don't worry! Anyway, it's a special occasion. We even got you this and everything!"

Twilight didn't like the idea, but well... it was a special occasion, right? But for what? She looked down to what Rainbow Dash was offering her. It was a black cloak.

It had a hood that covered the face nicely, and had a little lightning bolt sewn into the flank area.

By the time she looked back up, Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo were already getting into theirs.

"Ah..."

"It's part of the ceremony! Go on, just put it on!"

Twilight did as asked. You don't really want to question things like this.

She bit her lower lip, though. She wouldn't say that it wasn't beginning to get weirder and weirder by the minute.

Soon, another robed figure appeared at the top of the stairs and made her way down. She wafted over the floor, hit her head against a stalagmite and fell down upon her rump.

"Ditzy! Glad you could make it!" Rainbow Dash squealed. "Ditzy here is one of our best members. She's really fun!"

Scootaloo started to put the cheese and cider into the cauldron.

"Ok, Rainbow. I'm sorry. Surprise or no, I really have to ask. What is this 'fun' club about? What do you do here?"

Rainbow smirked. "Alright. I hear ya. Can't stand the wait, huh? Can't say I blame you. Just because you're you, I'll let you know."

She leaned toward Twilight slowly, and whispered in her ear.

"This is a love club."

For what must have been the eighth time in the past two days, Twilight jerked back.

"A what?!"

"A love club! You know, we get together, eat a little fondue... we have crackers AND bread... and we... have a little fun, you know? Fun!"

"Wh... what? What? What?" Twilight rattled off, backing up and hitting a rock formation for herself. "But... Scootaloo... and Ditzy?! Ditzy? Really? But her eyes, I mean how can she even... coordinate?"

"How do you think her eyes got like that in the first place?" shrugged Dash. "She's one of our more active members."

Twilight shook her head. "No... no, this isn't really what you do here, right?" she giggled with stress on her voice. "That was just a really bad, really tasteless joke..."

"Oh no, not at all. You're gonna love it!"

The fire beneath the cauldron burst, and grew in size as it was lit. Ditzy fluttered unevenly to the side where she sat, waiting for the cheese to melt.

"Wh...why have you brought me here...?" Twilight stuttered.

"Well, to tell ya the truth, Twilight, we really never intended to." Dash nodded, with her eyes closed, as if it were a bad thing. "But you see, when you gave that proclamation yesterday? Well, I was gobsmacked! I didn't know you were up for, you know, this kind of stuff!"

Twilight's jaw hung open.

"And I know, you're shocked, but it's cool! It's no problem honestly, and well," she leaned in closer again, "There's a few members who always ask me about you, you know? If you'll ever join. You're pretty popular here!"

Two more hooded figures clambered down the stairs and stopped momentarily to stare at Twilight before joining Scootaloo and Ditzy at the pot. The shadows made it hard to pick out their faces, and if they had any reaction whatsoever about Twilight's presence, it was hidden from view as well.

"Ponies... talk about me?" Twilight stammered. "That's... not... right..."

"I know!" exclaimed Dash. "They shoulda just asked you directly, right? But anyway. It's cool, It's cool," she kept repeating. "I had to rush off yesterday to prepare all this just for you! Well... minus one pumpkin."

The ponies had started to arrive in clusters now. In all, there seemed to be about ten members, all of whom lay in a circle around the bubbling, hot cauldron, all of whom were watching Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle having their little conversation a few steps away.

Twilight tried to find something to say but ended up gaping like a fish.

"Listen, Twilight, today's your first day, so you get to go through... initiation!"

Dash nodded proudly.

"And initiation is the best part."

No.

"What we do is cover you with cheese..."

No. No no.

"And then we eat it off you..."

No!

"And then we all have a turn initiatin' ya one by one!"

NO! NO! NO!

"It'll probably take about six hours, but you can last that long, can't you?"

Twilight screamed. No. No no no no no. This was insane. This was not happening. She turned suddenly, tripped up in her cloak, and landed, sprawling to the ground.

"Unf!" she called out, as a sharp rock scratched her chin. But she didn't wait to check it out. Scrambling to her hooves, she rushed as fast as she could to the exit, barging outside and taking in the evening air.

The rain had started again, washing off the scratch and stinging it in the process. Twilight winced.

From behind her she could hear Rainbow Dash rushing after her, calling out after her.

"Hey wait! Was it something I said?!"

Her voice was faint, but she was definitely getting closer.

Oh gosh, oh gosh, which way did she say it was again, back to Ponyville? The rain made it hard to see, and the darkness of the forest didn't help a bit either. Could she even trust Rainbow Dash with what she said earlier? She had no reason not to, but she didn't feel like she could trust Rainbow Dash ever again.

Never mind! Just run! Think later!

She took off, not casting the spell of light in case Rainbow Dash would use it to track her and drag her back to that pit of debauchery.

And deep into the forest she ran, dodging branches, trees, and so much more. And ran she did, ditching the cloak and her bags at her earliest convenience.

Running.

Away from something she knew but didn't know. The foreign in the familiar. The strange sense that she had missed so much, and this odd feeling when she thought back on all the times she had been with this... this pony who harboured such a secret.

She didn't know where she was running to, but she wasn't going to stop.

Not yet.

Not just yet.

Comments

[manzo1239]

Holy crap that was insane im loving this so far ... NEXT CHAPTER

[DarkwingSnark]

"I'm 25!" Scootaloo shouted from the distance.

"That's right! Just like we practiced."

You have no idea how much this whole chapter made me laugh. Just...by god! This is horrible. XD Horrible in a good way, of course. No matter what else happens in this story, something tells me this will forever be my favorite chapter.

[Papillon Rose]

You know what? The whole story could blow and I don't care because this bit of insanity was amazing. ALSO WHAT WAS THE PUMPKIN FOR

[Sypher]

Well, now I'm kind of terrified. That escalated quickly.

[Borg]

. . . And that was the front driveway.

I don't think it's very ethical to invite Scoots. If she's got a problem with that, she should get her cutie mark so she can stop being a minor.
. . . Do ponies around that age range tend to avoid certain activities out of fear of accidentally getting a cutie mark in something they don't want stamped on their flanks forever? I mean, I imagine that if Scoots came home from love club one day with a new cutie mark, it would probably cause a very awkward conversation with her parents.
. . . Imagine one of those adult blank-flank OCs living in an Equestria where that is the only criterion for whether you're a minor. "I'm sorry, sir, I can't sell you that cider unless you take off your pants." "Is that really necessary? Do I look young enough to be a blank flank?" "It's store policy, sir." And at this point there is probably no resolution left for the situation that isn't exceedingly embarrassing. Poor terrible OC.

[Pearple Prose]

...Huh.

Well, now I've gotta know what's gonna happen next.

[Harmony Pie]

I have no idea what sort of club that might be, and I don't think i want to

[Icy_blue_orchid]

I think I know where it’s going