Following a Rainbow

by malikvamp

FaR Chapter Seven

FaR Chapter Seven- The Final Clue

Appleoosa was surprisingly cool the next morning. Applejack had expected to be greeted with a wall of heat when she opened the window to the farmhouse, but instead was met by a relaxing, warm breeze. The usually hot, yellow sky that blanketed Appleoosa was a sickly shade of blue and somewhere in the distance Applejack swore she could see a cloud.

"Well, Good morning Applejack! You're looking smiley this morning." Pinkie was just beginning to rise from her bed, the bed that Rainbow had been on only that night prior. "Might I inquire as to your flamboyantly radiant array of happiness?"

"Wait..." Applejack turned; stunned by what she'd thought she'd just heard Pinkie say. "What did y'all just say, Pinkie?"

Pinkie smiled a wide, innocent smile befriend replying. "Why, I said they you seem happier than Gummy on his birthday, and I was wonderin' if it had to do with the bluesey woosey sky on this flippity dippity wonderful morning!"

Applejack fought hard to suppress a laugh, but decided that it was futile to even try. Bursting out in a happy bombardment of laughter the farm pony knew that today was going to be a good day. The sweet smell of Braeburn's apple pies still filled the room from the floor below.

"Hay, you fillies up yet!" Braeburn's voice called from the hallway, and after a quick, over enthusiastic reply from Pinkie the stallion entered into the guest room. "Up and at'em, fillies! We've got quite a day ahead of us!"

'Today is the day that I finally find, and confront Rainbow Dash.' Applejack thought to herself pride fully. 'Hopefully.'

The warm breeze sent a chill throughout Applejack's body. For almost four days straight she had been either freezing her haunch off, or overheating to no extreme. Finally having a comfortable balance of warmth embracing her was more relaxing than she could have imagined.

A sharp jab in her ribs pulled Applejack back to reality, revealing Pinkie Pie frantically jumping around the room excitedly. Braeburn stood beside Applejack, attempting to get his cousin's attention.

"What is it, Braeburn?"

"Well, I know you fillies tend to take forever to get ready in the morning..." He spoke, oblivious of Applejack's annoyed stare. "So I'm gunna start preparing the pies for delivery. Y'all come down where you're ready, a'right?"

Know that she thought of it... If today was to be her reunion with Rainbow Dash then Applejack wanted to look her best. "Allrighty Braeburn, sounds great. Pinkie and I will be down to help ya out soon."

With that Braeburn made his way back downstairs. Applejack happily sauntered over to the vanity mirror placed opposite the bed in the room. On the counter beside the mirror was all of Applejack's belongings or rather the ones the thought important enough to bring to Appleoosa in the short time she had to pack.

Applejack's favorite hairbrush was handcrafted by Great Granny Smith, and although AJ had used it time and time again it seemed as if the brush never became worse for wear. Beside the brush was a pouch with Applejack's remaining bits, courtesy of Gilda. There was a surprisingly large amount left, as Applejack had originally planned to be paying for a room for her duration I'm Appleoosa.

The remaining items included several mane pins, the original letter from Rainbow Dash, and photographs of the Sweet Apple Acres family. Reaching for the brush Applejack began brushing knots out of her mane. Out of the corner of the mirror Applejack could see Pinkie Pie, the pink fillies mane was flattened by her sleep.

'You know, Ah always wondered how Pinkie made her mane so-' Suddenly Pinkie shook her head violently, like a dog shaking of water. Her mane inflated, immediately returning to its usual curly state. 'Oh.'

As Applejack continued to brush knots from her messy mane Pinkie Pie spoke up." Alright, well I'm all ready to head out, so I'll meet you outside Applejack!" And with that she was gone, bounding out the door like a rabbit.

'Ah will never understand that filly.' Applejack thought to herself, returning her gaze to the mirror before her. Finally all of her mane was straight, no more knots or curls. Perfect. After adorning a few of her mane pins to ensure that her bangs kept away from her eyes, Applejack was almost ready to go. 'One last thing.'

Applejack adorned her signature Stetson hat, and turned to take her leave from the room. However, just before she passed through the door, a thought occurred to her. It was not every day that some pony got to see the Appleoosan desert in all its beauty, not its dread. Quickly the orange pony made her way to the window of the guest bedroom.

It was just as she thought. The Appleoosan desert was a beautiful sight when it wasn't scalding down on you, or chilling you to the bone. The sand that made up most of the desert was neither a sea of purple nor yellow, instead it was the beige color that sand was supposed to be. The wild life, although limited, seemed more vibrant than ever. Beautiful green cacti, and small flowers of every color poke-dotted the desert creating a beautiful scene. The sky itself, blue, was a sight almost never seen it Appleoosa.

Breathing in a hefty breath Applejack could taste fresh, almost humid air. Sure, it wasn't nearly as fresh as the air in Ponyvillle, but after living in the hot desert for several days the air was like a glass of ice cold water on a hot summer day. Far in the distance Applejack could see dust clouds forming, quickly growing closer. The buffalo tribe was on the move.

Pinkie's voice destroyed Applejack's surreal moment. "Applejack, you lazy loaf, are you coming or what?" Looking down Applejack could see the pink pony standing outside, below the window frame.

"Yeah, yeah, Ah'll be right there!" Regretfully Applejack pulled herself away from the window, but not before taking one more quick glance out the window. The house smelt strongly of baked apple goods as AJ moved through it.

The sun was warm, but not hot on Applejack's skin when she finally exited the farm house. Pinkie had already been saddled with a large cart of apple pies, and Braeburn was preparing two more carts.

"Bout time ya got out here, cous!" Braeburn smiled cheerfully as Applejack approached him. "Now scurry on over here and let me hook this cart to ya! I can't tell ya how much I appreciate all the help you gals are giving me."

Pinkie Pie responded swiftly, somehow managing to hop happily in spot despite the heavy cart strapped to her shoulders. "No problemo, Braeburn! After all the sweet apple pie you fed us last night it's the least we could do!"

"Not to mention givin' the two of us lodgin' while we've been in town!" Applejack turned herself away from Braeburn, allowing him to attach the heavy cart to her with a small 'click.' "Besides, feels good to be pullin' a cart again, it's been a mighty long time since Ah've done any good, hard farm work."

Braeburn smiled happily, a slight blush crossing his cheeks. He needn't respond, instead he slid his own cart into place, and began to lead the way. Applejack and Pinkie Pie quickly fell into place behind him, making their way through the Appleoosan apple orchard.

The orchard was young, and still had a long way to grow. It was strange seeing the apple trees growing out of the sand. However, Applejack knew that this had a strange effect on the apples themselves. Unlike the fresh apples of Sweet Apple Acres the desert apples had a crisp texture. Such apples were known as braeburns, and happened to be the origin of Braeburn's name.

"Are we there yet, Braeburn? My back is starting to ache!" Pinkie whined loudly as they walked through the trees. "Besides, once all the buffalo come through I'm hoping there will be an extra pie, just for me!"

Braeburn was still in a great mood, and his voice reflected such. "There just might be, Pinkie! And we're not far now."

After several more minutes of silent walking the trio reached a path that ran through the trees.

"Allrighty friends," Braeburn stopped in his track, releasing himself from his cart. "Here we are!"

Already Applejack could see the smoke cloud growing close on the horizon, and individual shapes were beginning to appear amidst the chaos. They were coming in fast, but there was not a rainbow to be seen.

"Alright, fillies, we gotta get the pies set up quickly! When the buffalo get here we'll have to hoof out the pies one by one."

Without another word they got to work, setting up several portable tables and dividing the pies between each table. Just as they finished setting up the first buffalo was already making his way down the path towards them.

"Applejack, listen up!" Braeburn spoke loudly, barely able to cast his voice over the sound of hundreds of hooves marching towards them. The ground itself was beginning to shake as the herd approached. "When the Buffalo get here you should jump into the stampede with them, and try to find the chief's daughter, Little Strongheart. If anypony knows where your friend is, then it will be her."

Pinkie Pie started giggling happily as she tossed the first pie out, landing it perfectly between a buffalo's horns. "Go, Applejack! What are you waiting for, you silly filly!" She happily tossed another perfect throw.

"Thank you Braeburn, and you too Pinkie!" Applejack steadied herself to jump in with the now steady stream of buffalo. "I couldn't have done this without you!"

Applejack advanced to the pathway, preparing to join in with the buffalo when Pinkie Pie grabbed her hoof. "Applejack, wait!"

Braeburn took over pie duty as Pinkie locked eyes with Applejack.

"What is it, Pinkie?"

"You have to promise me, Applejack." Pinkies eyes were beginning to swell with tears. "You have to bring Dashie back to us."

"Ah promise."

Suddenly Pinkie planted both of her front hooves on Applejack's side, and shoved the golden maned pony into the oncoming buffalo herd. "Good luck, Applejack."

Several minutes had passed since Applejack was forced into the buffalo onslaught, and now she found herself running side by side with several of the tribal animals. The earth below Applejack shook from the sheer power of the buffalo stampede. Applejack's muscles were beginning to wear out, but she did not stop running. She'd come too far.

Darting back and forth between the buffalo, Applejack's eyes searched from left to right. They all looked the same! Each buffalo was practical ya mirror image of the last. How could it be so hard to find the one buffalo that stood out?

'Where could Little Stongheart be?' Applejack tried to think, unable to remember where she'd already searched and which direction to look next. 'She has to be in here somewhere, right?'

And then she appeared. In the blink of an eye Little Strongheart was beside Applejack, running at a matched speed. However, she wasn't really so 'little' anymore. Little Strongheart stood, on all four, slightly taller than Applejack. Where her muscles had been lacking last time Applejack saw the female buffalo, now they were well defined and strong.

"So, Applejack! Long-time no see!" Little Strongheart spoke happily, her voice slightly miffed from the heavy breathing of her running. A coat of light brown colored the tribe leader's daughter, and adorned atop her head were two large, white and black feathers. "I hear that you've been looking for me."

"That Ah have, sugar cube! It's about time Ah found ya, too. Ah was starting to wonder if ya still existed." Applejack strayed to the edge of the stampede, followed by Little Strongheart. "Would ya mind cuttin' away from the herd momentarily, to discuss a matter of most importance?"

"Why certainly. I s'pose I could do that." with a nod of her head Little Strongheart jumped into the air, flipped several times, and landed a few hooves from the rest of the herd. Applejack quickly followed.

After a moment to carton their breaths, Applejack spoke. "Listen, Ah'm looking' for a friend of mine, Rainbow Dash! Maybe you remember her?"

They stood alone in the desert, the rest of the herd having already become specks on the horizon. The sun itself was waning towards the horizon as well, and the desert was growing cooler.

"Ah yes, Rainbow Dash."

"Have you heard anything about her! Please, if you know anything it would be of utmost importance to me!" Applejack stared into the eyes of Little Strongheart. They seemed puzzled, as if she was arguing with herself in her mind.

A deep sigh emitted itself from the buffalo opposite Aplejack. "Look, I'm not supposed to tell anypony where she is, but to be honest... Rainbow's not doing too good."

Applejack stood, silent. This was it. She was about to learn her next clue towards finding Rainbow Dash. However, the moment Little Strongheart spoke any relief the Applejack had was smoldered out, replaced with despair.

"I know where she is, but we will have to move fast if you wish to have any hope of saving your friend's life."

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They must have been walking for hours. At least, it felt like hours to Applejack. Beside her, walking across the Appleoosan desert was none other than Little Strongheart, one of the buffalo tribe that roamed said desert. Little Strongheart, although not so little anymore, knew almost everything there was to know about the desert.

Several times already the proud buffalo had split open a cactus for the duo to drink, and harvested a strange desert flower for them to eat. For an average pony survival in the desert was like scrounging at the bottom of the ocean; for the buffalo ponies it was more like a walk through Ponyvillle market.

The sun rested between the sky and the ever distant mountain peaks, casting an eerie orange glow across the land. On the opposite horizon Luna's moon had just made its first appearance, helping Applejack realize just how tired she was. Walking through the desert for hours on end was not Applejack's idea of a good afternoon, and shortly into the walk Applejack was beginning to wonder how the buffalo tribes could survive on a usual, scorching hot desert day.

'Thank Celestial that today was not as hot as the other days I've encountered here in Appleoosa.' Applejack thought to herself, focussing on putting one hoof in front of the other. In her tired, worn out state even walking had become a mental test for the orange earth-pony. 'And pray to Luna that the night is pleasant as well.'

"Beg your pardon, Ms. Strongheart," Applejack had grown to calling her new friend by this, instead of the contradictory 'Little Strongheart'. "But how much farther do you reckon it is to where you believe Rainbow Dash is hidin', exactly?"

Strongheart did not answer right away, but instead nodded her towards a rock formation not too far away. "That is where I believe your friend resides. I've seen her rainbow trail several times departing, and entering that place; usually several times a day." The buffalo paused for a moment. "However, I have seen no such activities since last night. That is why I am worried."

"Ah see." Although the news sounded grim on the surface, Applejack took relief in any hope at all. Looking towards the rock formation Applejack estimated it to be only another hour away, at the most.

Suddenly a flash of light shot through the sky above them. A rainbow, to be exact. The way it shun through the twilight sky was a beauty that Applejack could never have imagined. Something was wrong, though... The rainbow wasn't straight, it was crooked and chaotic. The moment of awe was replaced with horror.

The rainbow lurched through the sky like a lightning bolt, crashing into the rock formation with a loud explosion. Before the explosion had a chance to bombard Applejack's ears she was already running across the desert. She ran as fast as she could, ignoring the muscle spasm and aches that shot through her body. Behind Applejack Ms. Strongheart kept an even pace, never falling more than two hooves behind.

It was amazing how quickly a situation could change.

'Ah've found you, Rainbow!' Tears pooled in Applejacks eyes, but she refused to slow down to wipe them. 'Ah've finally found you, and Ah'll be dammed if Ah ever lose sight of you again!'

Comments

[Tyek]

Why, oh why do I start reading incomplete stories. I NEED to read the rest of this. Brilliant work.

[nevereveragain49]

I agree that you should have someone proof this before you submit chapters - lots of spelling errors - but I almost don't mind because it's just such a good, sweet story. Appledash is just....

Please update soon!