Cold Pit
Chapter 11
Rainbow Dash was always the first to join her friends at the near by water hole for a fun time splashing and cannonballing in the shallows, to an extent she credited herself at least a decent swimmer, even without a snorkel she could hold her breath underwater for a good while and almost touch the bottom if she pushed herself. But the cold facts prevailed, ponies weren’t built for aquatics, ponies could fly but they did not have gills, and Rainbow Dash never did reach the bottom of the local Ponyville water hole.
She was cold. It was so dark, it was a sensation she couldn’t explain, the silence is what she imagined death might be like, only broken by the warble of water passing over her with each stroke. It was nothing like the cheery atmosphere of Ponyville lake. This was a complete absence of joy, replaced with dread. The well’s opening had tricked her into believing the space was wide beneath her, but in truth, the walls pushed in; she felt her hooves scraping against slimy stone and her mane snagged on small particles stuck in the cracks.
‘Where is he?’ She had to have been going for a full thirty seconds by that point. ‘It’s so dark… it’s too dark...’ The world above was an afterthought, the seconds seemed as minutes. The well appeared to get thinner and she prayed that was just her imagination, or she wouldn’t be able to turn around.
‘Getting stuck… not here… I’ve gotta find him.’ Her lungs were on fire
As soon as those thoughts passed through her brain, she saw Dumbbell. A part of her couldn’t even believe he was still alive, but there he was with his back braced against the wall, straining back as far as he could possibly go, still trying to pull himself free of the last chain, air bubbles trailing from the side of his mouth. Rainbow Dash looked down at the chain and saw that it was nearly free, the bolt head screw was leaning practically horizontal with the hole, but it was being stubborn, determined to hold the prisoner down till the last. Rainbow Dash felt an angry panic rise in her; it was one thing to be scared for her own life, but nopony could stand the sight of one of their own struggling for life. Seeing the stallion fighting and twisting in the dark depths tore into Dash’s psyche.
‘He’s going to die, I need to get away before I die too.’ Darkness was clouding in.
No! She struck out and swam the last few feet down, grabbed the chain and pulled, pulled with all her might and felt her lungs constrict. Something gave under the combined effort, but time wasn’t on their side.
She let go of the chain, her body wasn’t going to comply with her desire to help. She caught Dumbbell’s eye, his emotion difficult to read. There was fear, but it faded and he nodded to her. He pointed his muzzle up towards the small circle of yellow light that was the surface. Dash looked back again to see his eyes were closed, his body lax against the dark wall.
Panicked, she scrambled to the surface and gasped ragged breaths, took the largest gulp of air possible and went down again. She kicked and used her wings, wishing desperately that she could swim as well as she could fly. This time it took twenty seconds. Dumbbell’s brown coat appeared again in the brume, his head tucked to his chest, the fight against the chain had lessened by a frightening amount.
Rainbow Dash wanted to scream at him, ‘Don’t give up, you idiot!’ She got close, hooked her foreleg under his chin and dragged his head up to her chest. Dumbbell’s eyes opened halfway, he didn’t seem to have expected Dash’s return, he also didn’t expect to find his lips mashed against hers. In those few moments they floated together in a hazy half oblivion, his questioning gaze staring back into her mad one, both bodies fighting against the weight of their impending watery grave.
She released him and pushed away, never breaking eye contact before kicking for the surface, her lungs burned again and she felt like her legs had no power behind them.
The world spun as Rainbow Dash clawed for the light. She nearly choked before her head broke the surface, and floundered desperately as her hooves scraped against the lip of the well. Inwardly and outward she trembled, she couldn’t do it again.
But how long could Dumbbell hold out? She didn’t know, but he was nearly free, she couldn’t give up.
‘One more time! I can do it just one more time!’ Rainbow Dash tried to breath evenly before mental images of the walls could turn her into a mass of shattered nerves.
“There’s the deceiver, get her!” shouted someone from behind. Rainbow Dash felt something stick onto her back and yank her out of the well, dropping her roughly to the floor.
“What’s the big deal?” Rainbow Dash quickly rolled up to her hooves, not quite prepared for what she saw. About three dozen of the toads stared at her from the water, and the floor, and more still, loomed overhead along the high crags.
A small toad, probably the puniest one Rainbow Dash had seen was only a few feet in front of her, her saddle bag at his feet, the lantern shattered, Pinkie Pie’s emergency travel cakes, all smashed to pieces, and her Daring Do book clutched in its slimy fingers.
“This pony has tricked us! Look, she is not the Daring one!” he yelled, jumping up and down with the book raised high. One of the taller ones impatiently snatched the book out of his hands with his tongue, letting it fall to the ground. In unison every eye locked on the item, and then at Dash, and then their faces stretched as realization dawned.
“This pony tricked us! She’s just another thief!”
“Look at the colors. All wrong!”
“She broke our idol, killed Corn!”
“Don’t even have hat!”
One of the largest, most monstrous looking ones yielded a lance and leveled it straight at Dash’s forehead. She in turn, stamped her hoof and snorted at him.
“I don’t have time for this-”
“Make fish food!” bellowed the lance carrier, as they rushed in. Rainbow Dash easily jumped clear but couldn’t clear the slimy pink tongue that shot out like a bullet, and wrapped around her middle. The Gully-Wug barely seemed to take effort to drag her toward the mob.
“Let go!” Though revolted by the touch, she dived straight into them, her hooves smacked straight into the face of the one who had her tied and he collapsed into the pool, unconscious. The massive lance wielder leveled his weapon at her and prepared to throw.
But instead it dropped from his grip when a rock the size of a bowling ball crashed into the back of his head.
“Yep, we’re in trouble.” Every head turned as Dumbbell flew over the toads with the chain and shackle still around his neck, Rainbow Dash could have cried in relief. He had gotten free.
“Come on, Dash, lets get outta here!”
“Right!” Dash shouted. But before she flew up to him, she swiped ‘Crypt of the Dark King,’ leaving the Gully-Wugs flabberghasted when both of them were out of reach in seconds. They protested in the wake of the lost opportunity and the lost treasure.
“Thieves, raiders! Shoot down!”
Another spear shaved a few inches off of Dumbbell’s mane as the two pegasi flew like mad for the exit of the moon chamber with over two hundred seething amphibians leaping after them.
They went the way they had come, over the ledge opposite the shattered statue and into the half flooded canal, spear tips and lances grazed and bounced off the rock as they ducked out of range. The canal was long and narrow, too small to fly and the rising water made running difficult, their hooves slipping on the sleek smooth stone. It was no good to the pegasi but it was the only way. Whatever strange magic the Gully-Wugs had used to revive their water talisman had at least partially worked, flooding out the tunnels made it a lot easier for the toads to travel.
“Which way?” Rainbow Dash hesitated in the way of two forks, each identical and lightless. She was carrying the book in her mouth and had to set it down to talk.
“Left!” Dumbbell bellowed as he ran ahead of her, nearly knocking her over in the process,
“Hurry up before they catch you!”
Rainbow Dash looked back, she couldn't help it, and she regretted it.
They were all trying to squeeze in at once, too stupid and angry to do otherwise. They crawled over the wall and ceiling, just a massive wall of chalk white marble eyes and wide fleshy, toothless mouths, hissing and gargling in their efforts to push through the small opening.
She caught up to Dumbbell further down, he’d slowed from his gallop and was eyeing the space in front of him, prodding the shallow water with deliberate steps.
“Woah, hang back a minute!” Dumbbell put his hoof out, stopping the mare from taking another step past him though she pushed impatiently.
“What are you stopping for?” Rainbow Dash asked. “I don’t know how you’ve already forgotten that we’re running for our lives right now!” she whispered.
“Listen, you’re not gonna make it too far if you don’t watch where you put your hooves.” Dumbbell cautioned and pointed down into the dirty water. “Look.”
Rainbow Dash wouldn’t have seen it until it was too late, a nasty looking coral snake lay half in the water, half out, with its head turned towards the two ponies, watching them warily.
“The water is drawing all kinds of nasties out.” he said. They could hear their pursuers clattering down the way. It was too late to go back.
“The end shouldn't be much further, just follow me and step where I step.” Dumbbell stated and went to the far left of the tunnel, pressing against the wall as he trotted past the agitated snake. Rainbow Dash repeated his actions and jumped a little in fright when the snake recoiled from her. They reached the end of the tunnel only to be greeted with a sheer wall. A ravine lay between them with water rolling and crashing against the rocks in a liquid stampede.
Rainbow Dash could see the light from the cramped space above. Somewhere up there was the way out.
“No time like the present.” Dumbbell spread his wings and jumped off the edge. There was nowhere left to lay a hoof and the only way to get to the surface now was by flying completely vertical, he turned around to see Rainbow Dash still standing in the tunnel. “ Stop daydreaming, we’re home free!”
Rainbow Dash clutched the book tightly beneath her foreleg and started her ascent. She still felt the pins and needles flooding her veins and the tips of her wings, though it had started to cool somewhat. They were almost out of the danger zone and boy would she have a crazy story to tell her friends. For a moment Dumbbell fell out of view, covered by a lopsided outcropping of rock that stretched the divide. Rainbow Dash was getting ready to maneuver around it when she heard Dumbbell yell out her name from the other side, not in surprise but warning.
She thought he was in trouble, and quickly flew over the horizontal rocks just in time to see the toad that had been carrying the lance leap down from a hole in the wall and catch her in mid air. She dropped the book as the extra weight threw her into a spin. Dash reared and twisted, and got the filthy green thing half-way off before it pulled out a dagger.
Rainbow Dash was fast, but she just wasn't fast enough to stop the toad from bringing the knife down, once, twice, he cackled gleefully as she dropped into the churning rapids.
Neither the pony or the toad were prepared for the tremendous force of the water coursing through the ravine, the pull alone was enough to pluck the toad away and leave Dash to ride in the rapids alone. There wasn't a bottom she could feel and no solid object to grab onto. Moment by moment the light they’d followed ebbed away. Suddenly there was a ceiling above her and the light was gone completely.
She gasped and paddled anyway, stubbornly against the influence of the current. There was no chance of doing anything except to let it take her wherever. It was too fast for her to travel upstream, but slow enough that she wasn't in danger as long as she could float.
From the corner of her eye, it was almost impossible to tell in the darkness, but she saw the shadow of something accompanying her in the water, just below the surface.
‘That frog again.’Dash flinched against a foreign pain radiating in her body as she turned herself as best she could. When it got close enough she would kick it so hard-!
Dumbbell’s white-blonde mane popped out of the water. He shook it off of his eyes and swam to Rainbow Dash in a few strong strokes.
“You okay?” he asked, the tunnel echoing with the sound of his low breathing.
“Well I haven't drowned yet but I could be better.” the blue pegasus joked with no mirth before a thought came to her.
“That frog. Did you see it?”
Dumbbell shook his head. “Nah, I didn’t. I hope it gave up, maybe think we’re too much of a hassle now.” But as the current ushered them along, Dumbbell’s words didn't fill Dash with any kind of confidence; they were neck deep in water, if anything those obnoxious creatures were more inside their element than ever. As they went through, eerie silence prevailed, nothing could be heard forwards or back except for the running water itself, and she noticed that that sound was getting louder.
“Hey, uh, you know where this tunnel goes?” asked Rainbow Dash. The pull on her body had just become stronger.
“I don’t know.” Dumbbell’s reply was soft, one of his ears were pressed back as he listened for something behind them, whatever it was. Then he cursed. “Something’s coming, get behind me.” As the words left his mouth, the warrior toad leapt from the water, brandishing the long dagger with rage. Dumbbell growled and readied himself for the enemy to spring. Just as he did, Rainbow Dash was sucked into a vacuum as the tunnel dipped. She was in the air for all of three seconds before she smacked back down, the speed had come back with a vengeance. Behind her the stallion also cried out in surprise and fell into the water like she did. The landing jolted her harshly and her leg bashed against the wall, a sharp spike of pain exploded within her and she wasn't sure how long she lost consciousness.
She could barely find the right way up but somehow she found the surface and spat up a fountain of water.
“It’s getting worse!” she shouted between violent fits of coughing. Her head was tilted so far back that her body was practically vertical in the water, the pull threatened to drive her under more and more.
“And it’s only going to get worse.” Dumbbell linked his foreleg with one of hers. “Keep your head up!”
The urgency in Dumbbell’s voice only made Rainbow’s insides twist and soon her eyes were wide with terror. The drone of open air was like a silent scream of hopeless drowned souls, as the ever constant rumble escalated.
“I can’t see! What’s happening?”
“It’s another drop, hold on!” Dumbbell tightened his grip as they were thrown out once again. When they came down, they went under, the undertow desired to pull Rainbow Dash away just as much as she wanted to cling on. The fierce ebb and flow vaulted them back to the surface, long enough for a breath before it covered them like a blanket.
It was a credit to his strength that Dumbbell was able to hold on to Dash at all as they were rolled in and out, and thrown against the wall of the narrow tunnel when they went around a bend, but even so, Dash’s head kept falling under the surface, trailing helplessly behind the stallion despite her efforts..
She heard him yell out for her to pull her head above the waves, but her strength was not enough, if there was any left. Then both his forelegs clutched her tighter and hoisted her up so that the top her head was pressed squarely under his chin. Rainbow Dash coughed a few times and got air in her lungs just in time. The current did not toss them up, it threw them down angrily, back hooves first. The sound pounding against their ears was like being trapped in one hundred thunderclouds and all the rain in the weather factory reserves crashing into their backs.
Despite their best effort, the force ripped the two ponies apart from each other, the torrent forced them up the side like a tidal wave as the tunnel bent. Before it all crashed down, Dash saw light again.
“Gah!”
Rainbow Dash shot out of the tube, spinning haphazardly across a void, but unlike the previous times, the fall was a lot longer, she was in an area large enough to fly in. Quickly she flapped her wings and ended her descent, yes, there was light again, enough to see the floor at the bottom of the pit. There wasn't even a lot of that, the water spilling forth had already begun to flood the place, leaving just a few islands of elevated earth sticking above the line, and soon they’d be completely under water too. Rainbow Dash saw Dumbbell flying away from the tube after pulling himself out of free fall, they glided down to one of the few places of solid ground that could hold the both of them, and took stock of their situation.
“Wow. Now this is lucky!” he said almost breathlessly. “Look where we are!”
It took a moment for Dash to recognize the area but when she did, her eyes lit up. They were back where all this had started, in front of the painted petrified face of the cave entrance, the face leered down at them, like it wanted to punish them for going inside of its sacred hollows and worse than that, escaping.
From the corner of her eye, Dash noticed something bobbing listlessly in the swaying pool. Dumbbell also saw it and went to investigate. “Hey check it out.” It was the toad that fell into the ravine with them, the top half of his body lay sprawled on the rocks, a small pool of blood spread from the side of his face.
Rainbow Dash sighed. “At least we don’t have to worry about that guy any more-” She paused, Dumbbell walked over and started to investigate the body. “What are you doing?”
It took a few moments for the stallion to pry the glistening ornate dagger out of the toad’s hand, which was clamped shut like a vice.
“Dude, awesome!” he said triumphantly. “I told you I wasn't going to leave empty hooved.” Just as he turned away, the battered body of the toad lunged out and grabbed his leg. Dumbbell stifled a scream and wrenched his hoof out of the slime covered grasp of the creature that started to crawl onto the rock on unsteady feet. He lifted his long shaky finger towards Rainbow Dash and smiled.
“You... pony,” the toad warrior rasped, “are an imposter, but you come close to real thing.” He nearly fell on his face when a coughing fit forced the already squat toad to double over in pain, one squinting eye stared at the wet stone while the near eye gazed at her piercingly.
“If you make it back to your home, you find Daring Do and give my regards.” Both pegasi could only share uneasy glances with each other before looking back at the unsteady toad.
“This is gonna be a shock to you, but Daring Do ain't real.” said Dumbbell. “It’s just a book.”
The Gully-Wug cackled. “You are a fool! Daring Do is force of nature, as real as the moon and sun!” He rasped wretchedly again and took several steps back into the water. “The path of destruction she leaves is... all strong. All Gully-Wug respect. Daring one is true demon.” He grinned menacingly. “You not demon, go now before captured!” Then he fell back with a lazy splash and sank below the surface.
“That was...weird.” Dumbbell muttered to himself and trotted towards Rainbow Dash. “Huh, toads, right?”
“Yeah, I guess their brains are more, uh, more mushed up than we thought.” Rainbow Dash muttered, her attempt to laugh came out rough, like a weak whimper. It was at that moment that Dumbbell noticed something wrong.
“Dash, when did that happen?”
Rainbow Dash sat back on her haunches and pressed her left leg against her chest. The blood had started to flow freely.
“I’m not feelin so good...” she said and cringed. A thick headiness side swiped her and the world spun. The next thing she knew, she was laying on her side in a thick patch of grass. All the smells, though unfamiliar, were welcome compared to the dank and damp stink of the underground. Her head felt heavy as she lifted it to try and see. She was in a clearing, still in the heart of the jungle no doubt. The canopy seemed miles above her, and while she sensed it was daytime, the thick branches choked out even the slightest hint of the sun.
“It’s like I’m still down there.” she said with a scowl.
“Well what do ya know.” Rainbow Dash heard hoofsteps and turned. Dumbbell walked around the clearing to where she lay in the shaded dimple covered by low hanging branches. “She lives.” The blue pony tried to pull herself up before the low humming pain in her leg threatened to spike. She winced and lay back down, though she managed to shift herself into a more comfortable position. She felt a heavy weariness pressing in at the base of her skull, yet the quietness of her surroundings brought with it a sense of calmness.
“So, we got away?”
“We gave em the slip.” Dumbbell said and knelt down in front of her and nudged her left hoof which was tucked against her chest. “Let me see that.”
With effort, Rainbow Dash stretched her foreleg out enough for him to examine, only then did she realize that almost half of it was wrapped in a big green leaf bound together with a cord.
“You are one lucky pony,” he said while inspecting the makeshift bandage, “what were the odds that blade wasn't poisoned?”
Rainbow Dash couldn't help but smile. “I don’t believe in luck. I am just that amazing.”
Dumbbell grunted and tapped her foreleg with the tip of his hoof, not even a moderately sharp tap, but to Dash, he might as well have dropped a brick on top of it.
“Ow!” she hissed. “What was that for?”
“You can move your leg but it can’t take any kind of outside force.” He paused for a moment to mentally delegate. “I don’t think the bone’s broken but you got one hell of a sprain…” He gently unwrapped the makeshift bandage and the injured foreleg was revealed to the cold midnight air, swollen and bright red but otherwise not discolored. The dagger wounds were two slivers of inflamed tissue, almost as bright as the red in Dash’s mane. It looked as bad as she felt, her stomach started to churn into an unsettling pit of nausea until she could not look at it anymore.
“Don’t worry, it’s not as bad as it looks,” Dumbbell said, trying to ease her discomfort. “We just need to get you to a doctor.” He stood and went over to a bush with light green leaves, the same kind that had been wrapped around Dash’s leg, and examined it closely.
“Yeah, no kidding, thanks for the astounding diagnosis!”
Dumbbell came back with a few of the largest leaves and dropped them near her injured leg. “You mean prognosis.”
She took a swipe at him that didn't quite reach. “Shut up…”
It only took a short while to redress the wound. “See these giant dock leaves make pretty good temporary bandages. Look, if you just scrape a little of the bottom part off you can see the aloe.” He scored the under side of the leaf with the tip of his hoof and a light yellow resinous gunk gently began to slide out of the thin skin.
“Huh, that’s gross,” Dash quipped.
“But it’ll keep infection out long enough for you to get stitches. There are a lot of plants like this around, you just have to know what to look for.” Dumbbell paused for a moment while he positioned the medicinal leaf under Dash’s leg and wrapped it around. “You know what sucks? There’s hardly anything about this stuff in the Cloudsdale library. I guess they don’t see much need in a place that doesn’t have trees, but it’s annoying because I had to order books from freakin’ Ponyville.”
“You had to do what?” Throughout all of Dumbbell’s talking, Rainbow Dash’s attention had some what dampened. She was more content to simply listen to his voice over what he was actually saying, his words seeping into the background nature. All around them was the cheerful pitter of bird song, the musical chirping of insects, and somewhere close by was the timid sound of gurgling water, all very relaxing, but the last sentence plucked the little pegasus straight out of her lethargy.
“You mean the Golden Oaks Library?” Rainbow Dash leaned in. “You, of all ponies, checked out a book, from the Golden Oaks Library?”
Dumbbell huffed and gritted his teeth. “It’s not-”
“Just how big of a nerd are you?” In the silence they sat nose to nose. Clouds drifted across the moon to leave them in a deep void of indigo shadows. In what little light remained, she thought she saw Dumbbell’s guarded expression shift from soreness to uncertainty, only for a moment.
“Nevermind.” she said.“ “It’s...it’s not that I wanted to give you the wrong impression or anything.” she smiled. “I actually think it’s pretty cool. That a guy like you would be into this sort of stuff.”
“Thanks.” Dumbbell replied lamely despite the smallest of smiles tugging the side of his mouth. “We need to leave quick, so I might as well teach you a few things while I bandage you up.”
A few minutes later, Rainbow Dash’s wound was bandaged tightly. Impressively well for lacking any convenient supplies. Though neither of them could definitely prove or disprove that the dagger had been tainted, and Rainbow Dash didn’t feel sick, she did have to admit that she didn’t feel entirely up to the flight back to civilization in a single stretch. Two stops, once under the shadowed overhang of a giant sandstone arch and at an oasis that was so small they had all but missed it the first time over. It was early dawn when they landed on one of the dusty roads of Appleloosa. Rainbow Dash noticed the town had grown since she’d last seen it, now it was big enough to have two roads.
“And this’ll be your last stop, ma’am.” said Dumbbell. Rainbow Dash leapt off of his back, making sure her left foreleg stayed safely tucked under her chest. “Please tell me that wasn’t your best attempt at an accent.” Dash teased, the stallion shrugged as he walked into the sleepy town. “Give me your take first, and then I’ll tell you.” Rainbow Dash smirked but didn’t take the bait. As they past the first few buildings, a grocery and hardware store, Dash wasn’t too surprised by the lack of activity. Nopony to be seen on the porches of the residences or shops, and if anyone were awake, they probably hadn’t even taken their first bite of breakfast.
“Have any idea where this place keeps their doctor?” asked Dumbbell as he tried to read some of the signposts in the twilight. Rainbow Dash took a moment to think, the last time she had visited, Applejack’s cousin Braeburn had given them a very brief tour of the very brief town, but he hadn’t mentioned a doctor’s office. There had to be one regardless. Before she could relay this to him, a lone figure stepped off of the shadowed veranda into the early sunlight.
“Well now. What brings you two trudging out to these parts? The train isn’t expected for another hour.” Rainbow Dash didn’t even realize Sheriff Silverstar was there until he was already next to them, looking them over curiously. He recognized Rainbow Dash immediately and a smile spread under his curled mustache. “Well I’ll be stung by a jewel cactus, Miss Rainbow Dash! Didn’t ever expect to see you coming in from the badland side.” He frowned. “By Starswirl’s beard! Did you really come from that way? What happened?”
“It’s good to see you too, sheriff.” When she turned towards him, her limp was clear.
Her mane was tatty and dirty, splayed across her face in complete disorder, her coat was covered in dirt and sand, and her makeshift bandage had begun to wilt in the desert heat. Dumbbell didn't look much better, covered in bruises, and still had the heavy iron shackle draped around his neck, it was safe to say their flight had been an arduous one.
“It’s a long story, Sheriff.”
The sheriff nodded and gestured for them to follow. “Our sawbones is a light sleeper, come with me and I’ll have her tend to you in a jiffy.”
Rainbow Dash grit her teeth and took the stitches. She was glad to hear that her leg hadn’t suffered any long lasting damage and wasn’t infected. After getting fitted with a proper bandage, she limped outside to a bright morning. She found Sheriff Silverstar again by the town hall and asked to speak with him privately.
“Have you had any ponies gone missing in the past year?” she asked. The sheriff took off his hat and ruffled his mane thoughtfully. “Well in my time here we have a good number of travelers come through this here town.”
“Did any of them go into the badlands?” asked Rainbow Dash.
“I’m sure at least a couple of ponies might have walked that direction, properly supplied, but most ponies are smart enough to take the train. There’s nothing out in those wastes for a pony anyway, at least not for a time. If you’re gonna ask about any residences next then I can say from memory that all of us are currently accounted for.” He winked. “It’s my job to keep count. At least for as long as this place is small enough for me to recognize everypony by site. And we've had no reports of missing family or individuals, I think we’re doing fairly well for ourselves.”
Inwardly Rainbow Dash breathed a sigh of relief, at least no one from the town had been...taken. But the photo of the two mares she found down in the crypt... Those two still could have been very unlucky travelers, and Rainbow Dash mourned the fact that she could not have rescued the picture from that dismal jungle temple.
“That’s good. Well, if you do get any ponies crazy enough to go out there, you should tell them to avoid a certain jungle.”
By the time Rainbow Dash left the Sheriff’s office, Appleloosa had woken up, businesses were open and many of the towns ponies were on their way to the cafe.
‘Hearth’s Warming Day Special!’ was tacked onto the front of the squat little establishment. Hearth’s Warming Day? Rainbow Dash gasped. The eve had already past? She had been gone for three days with not even a word to anypony on where she’d be. The implications of her irresponsibility began to creep in and she hoped she hadn’t set any of her friends to worry over her absence. There were plenty of times when she would go flying away somewhere for a day or two but she doubted Twilight and the others had expected she would miss Hearth’s Warming Eve, and she hadn’t intended to.
She groaned and continued towards the train station, Dumbbell was already there, talking to the ticket pony who seemed to have already concluded their conversation before she arrived. The stallion didn’t seem pleased as he walked away from the platform when Dash caught up with him.
“What’s up?” she asked.
“The trains already out.”
Dash shrugged. “We’ll just wait for the next one.”
“Won’t be till tomorrow morning.”
“What?”
Dumbbell sighed. “Yeah, in a town this small, I’m surprised a train runs at all.”
“Horseapples!” she shouted, and stomped down with her bandaged hoof before she could think.
“Ouch!” The pain surged through like lightning through a metal rod. Her hoof flew back in reflex as she fell back on her haunches.
“Geeze, Dash, do you even know how to treat a sprain?” asked Dumbbell while the little blue pegasus writhed on the platform. “You’re not...helping.” she managed through gritted teeth. She refused his help and stood on her own. It was a short while before the buzz of pain wore off. “For your information, I do. Just wasn’t paying much attention to it then.” Dumbbell rolled his eyes. “I’ll take your word for it… but anyway,” he paused and inhaled deeply, “so you’re probably starving, right?”
Dash grimaced, she hadn’t had a bite to eat in nearly two days. Blazing through adrenaline fueled excitement, fear, and exhaustion had kept her mind occupied on other things, but now her stomach was churning from neglect and her body felt hollow, like a strong breeze would be enough to knock her down again.
“You haven’t the slightest idea.” she wheezed, the smells drifting over from the cafe were enrapturing, she could practically taste the rich flavors on her tongue every time she opened her mouth.
“Well lets get over there before the place fills up.” said Dumbbell who stepped purposefully towards the eatery.
“Yeah, where are you hiding your bits? We can’t get anything without money.” she stated.
“We couldn’t buy a train ticket either.” said Dumbbell. “Lucky for you, while you were squirming in the doctor’s office, I was talking to the sheriff. He told me he always wanted to repay some favor you did for this town a couple of years ago, so for today, everything is on the house.”
“I didn’t squirm.” Dash murmured, but she didn’t say anything else to back up that statement, food became all important as they crossed the threshold. The smells were sweet and the decor inviting. The tables, covered with blue checkered table cloths, were already fully occupied but there were a couple of empty seats left at the counter. As they sat down, a stately mare emerged from the kitchen through a swinging door behind the counter. She was carrying a tray full of plates containing all sorts of delicious items, including such things as fried tomatoes, with mashed potatoes covered in gravy and other fixings.
Rainbow Dash could hardly stop herself from drooling as she focused on the chalkboard that was nailed to the wall behind the counter, which displayed the menu.
BREAKFAST 25¢ LUNCH 50¢ SUPPER 4 BITS.
Dumbbell couldn’t help but laugh but Rainbow Dash didn’t care. Judging from the aromas and the eager customers, the food was something to be happy about, despite the menus lack of variety.
After the white pony distributed all the plates of food, she walked back over to meet them.
“Well hello there, welcome to the Morning Glory Cafe!” she took a moment to move a lock of her pink mane out of her eyes. “My name is Truly and I’ll be servin you this morning. So what will you two fine ponies be havin?”
After a shared glance, Rainbow Dash turned back to their host.
“I guess we’ll be having lunch.”
Truly only scribbled a note or two onto her pad. “That’s an excellent choice, be back with you in just a few minutes!” When the waitress pony retreated to the kitchen, Dumbbell nudged Dash with his elbow.
“So what exactly did you do the last time you were here to be recognized by their sheriff?”
Rainbow Dash grinned, rubbing the back of her neck almost bashfully with her hoof. “It’s kind of a strange thing, actually. My friends and I rode the train here to Appleloosa just to visit. One thing lead to another and we found ourselves in the middle a huge fight between the townsfolk and the native buffalo tribe.”
Dumbbell leaned back, interested. “So what did you do?”
“Well that’s the funny thing. We just brought the two sides together and… after the tragic loss of at least several hundred apple pies, they solved the problem themselves.”
They talked more as they ate, enjoying the meal and following it down with a big glass of buttermilk. After that, the day went by remarkably fast, probably because there was a surprising amount of stuff to do. Appleloosa didn’t need snow to enjoy the holiday. There were dances, plays, songs. And a variety of sports such as horseshoes, relay racing, and to Dash’s surprise, jousting. Though their variation used wagons which she found a little confusing, it was still fun to watch.
Eventually, the midday sun gave way to the evening. The little town was slowly basked in the beautiful orange of sunset. Most ponies, tired from the day’s festivities, were heading to their humble residences to sleep and any guests, who made up a very large part of Appleloosa’s population at that time, went to their rooms at one of the two Inns. Rainbow Dash knew they would need to hit the hay early enough to catch the train the next morning. She didn’t want to miss it or they would just have to give up and fly back. Unfortunately they waited a little too long to request rooms, the town had been bustling with tourists who needed a place to sleep after all.
“Oh, well, unfortunately there is only one room left.” stammered the mare at the counter after she pulled her nose out of the reservation book. “You might have more luck over at the Desert Flower if you hurry.”
“We just came from there, no vacancy.” said Rainbow Dash with a small sinking feeling slinking through her gut. In the end they agreed to share the only room left in Appleloosa and soon found themselves staring at the single bed in the tiny room. Before she could think about what was best to be done, Dumbbell rushed in and flung himself onto the bed. He bounced once before laying still on the firm mattress. He stretched with a long contented sigh and stretched himself corner to corner. For a stallion of his size the bed was practically undersized. With his eyes closed he didn’t see Rainbow Dash coming and in the next moment he was off the bed faster than he had gotten to it.
“What the-” he grouched, rubbing his rear end. “You did not just do that.” he said once he looked up to see Rainbow Dash perched on the bed with a smug look on her face.
“I’m taking this.” Was all she said before beginning the process of making herself comfortable, but before she could pull over the sheets, Dumbbell’s large hoof smacked down on them, holding them to one spot.
“I think I mis heard you, but I’m sure you didn't just say you were hogging the bed to yourself.” Though not direct, the threatening tone in his voice set Rainbow Dash on the defensive. “That’s exactly what I’m saying!” she answered.
“But there’s nothing else in this room to sleep on!” argued Dumbbell. “Plus I deserve this way more than you do.”
Rainbow Dash let out a quick cutting laugh. “Are you serious?” she said. “After everything that’s happened did you forget that I’m the one who saved your life.”
The stallion snorted. “Would not have happened if you hadn’t pestered me into taking you to the temple. Not only that, I saved your life!” He pointed a hoof accusingly at Rainbow. “You wouldn't have lasted a second in the badlands on your own, little miss adventurer.” he slurred the words distastefully. “I had to carry you most of the way back, and your flank is heavier than it looks!”
“Hey!” Rainbow Dash brought up a hoof, thought better of it and lowered it back down. She wasn't going to be the cause of any more injuries. “I thought you said carrying me would be easy.” she said, feeling thoroughly incensed.
Dumbbell chuckled when Dash’s mood changed so suddenly. “If I couldn't carry you across a desert then I wouldn't be able to live up to my mark.” he said and shrugged. "What was I going to do if you suddenly passed out and dropped out the sky?". " Besides, I didn't actually say your weight was a problem.”
Rainbow Dash cringed. “Right...” she looked away, suddenly wishing she were underneath the bed. She hesitantly looked back to see Dumbbell with his head cocked to one side, a questioning look on his brow.
‘He doesn’t even get it.’ Rainbow Dash thought with trepidation and other dreadful stirrings. This was the only bed available.
“You knooow...” said the stallion. “There were beds back at the doctor’s office. I bet nopony is sleeping in those tonight.” he smiled slyly, as if he had discovered the perfect solution. “I’m sure if you just tip toe back down there, the doc would be fine with letting you spend the night.”
“No way in hell!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash. Her current feelings towards this stallion was something she could barely describe though the mental image of kicking a big rock off a bridge was a close match. “Did you even go near those things? I’d be better off sleeping on the floor.”
“Hey, suit yourself.” said Dumbbell as he shoved Rainbow Dash backwards. She didn’t fall back on her flank like he had and was pushing back with her good foreleg.
“You go sleep someplace else, you big dumb ox! I’m not giving up this bed without a fight!” she declared.
“If it’s a fight you want!” Dumbbell had the advantage of two functioning forelegs. While pushing back, he reached for a pillow and flung it into Dash’s face with enough force that she did topple. Not deterred, she rebounded with the pillow and launched it back. Dumbbell brought his hoof up to deflect the soft white projectile, it was just the distraction Rainbow Dash had counted on. She was upon him in seconds with the second pillow, flailing it at his head.
“Take that!” Over and over she brought it down mercilessly with more force than what would seem appropriate for a pillow fight. Her opponent stayed low and when she brought her pillow up for another swing, he lashed out with his foreleg, sweeping Rainbow Dash’s two good legs out from underneath her. She hit the bed with a shout just as Dumbbell reared up with a pillow and flung it forward. She ducked just in time and it flew past her head, hitting the nightstand. The water pitcher that sat on top of it rocked forward and fell over the side with a loud smash.
“Oops...” They both cringed when they heard the crash, it had been a loud one. Rainbow Dash rolled off the bed and limped over to inspect the damage. The porcelain container was now in about seven or eight smaller pieces, in truth it wasn’t as bad as it could have been.
“Geeze you really have a bad habit of breaking things, don’t you, Crash?” Dumbbell joked from the other side of the room. Rainbow Dash was about to tackle him again when she paused. There were hoofsteps coming from down the hall and moments later the meek face of the little bookkeeper pony peeked through the door.
“Excuse me. Is there a problem?” she asked. Before anyone answered, she looked down and saw the shattered pitcher and tutted. “Just a moment, I’ll be right back.” The bespectacled pony disappeared, returning a minute later with a broom and dust pan.
“I’m really sorry about that, miss.” said Rainbow Dash.”Let me help you.”
“No, no don’t worry about it.” said the older pony with a tittering voice. “The mess isn’t that bad, with a little glue it will be good as new. I’ll have myself a little project for tonight.” The large pieces of broken pitcher were easy to sweep into the pan and the floor was clean of its fragments. Unceremoniously she turned to leave but stopped just before and turned back. “Do try to be a bit quieter for the night. All of the rooms are occupied and these walls are quite thin.”
Rainbow Dash nodded stiffly. “Y-yeah, okay.”
The old pony nodded curtly. “Oh! Since I am here, you know during the winter our nights can get rather chilly. Perhaps you would like an extra blanket for the two of you?”
“Uh-” Rainbow Dash half turned to see what Dumbbell might say but stopped herself. “No don’t worry yourself about us. Trust me, we’ll be fine.” she answered, relieved when the stallion agreed through his silence.
With a curt nod the old pony left, closing the wooden door softly behind her. The silence was about as awkward as Dash could expect. She sighed and turned to see Dumbbell placing the pillows back, maybe to hide his own embarrassment.
“Look. Believe it or not I’m too tired to fight about this.” Rainbow Dash felt herself deflate somewhat as she spoke. “There’s just not enough room here and we both really need to sleep, so...” She went to the door and opened it slightly. “I’m going down to the-”
“Wait, wait...” he cut her off.
Despite that, the door continued to open, creaking ever so slightly into the silent hallway. Dash was about to walk out when another hoof raised above her head, slamming the door shut in her face.
“I said wait.”
Rainbow Dash whirled around, ears flat. “What!”
“We’re both adults, let’s not make this complicated.” he said as he went back and sat on the side near the door. He looked the space over as if trying to judge some type of invisible measurement before shrugging. “Let’s just share it.”
The pervading silence hung thickly between them. Of all the things he might have said, she would not have thought this one of them. Rainbow Dash stood staring at him.
“Are you being serious? The bed’s too small for the both of us anyway.” she retorted guardedly. She was already leaning out into the hallway again where she could see the stairwell that lead down to the foyer.
“It’ll work if we lay across it.”
She knew he was right, though her legs would probably hang off a little, and his would most definitely. Despite that it would still be more comfortable than a cot. “Still.” she countered frankly. “Seriously, us… in the same bed?” she laughed to defuse the apprehension building in her chest.
“You sleep under the covers. I sleep on top of them, back to back, no problems.”
Dash shook her head slightly. “You know I’m all kinds of suspicious, right?” To that Dumbbell shrugged, apparently content no matter her answer, and laid back on the mattress.
“In that case, have fun over at sawbones.”
“See, this isn’t too bad is it?”
It was a dark and silent and chilly, just like the book keeper had predicted. Winter winds from ponyville were probably blowing in. Dash still couldn’t believe the desert could actually get so cold. But wrapped in the thick sheets she felt content.
“Yeah, this is pretty nice.” she admitted, a slight yawn stifling her voice halfway through. “Wow, what a day this was.”
“You said it.” said Dumbbell. He shifted a little and Dash knew, due to her position on the bed, he was probably laying pretty awkwardly, but she was too afraid to say anything.
“So, you saw how big their idol was.” he continued. “You believe me now, right?”
“Yeah yeah. I believe you” she admitted while her mind flittered to the past events and a smile grew against the pillow. “It was fun.”
Dumbbell issued a snort of agreement.
“But you know, I’ve been thinking...” Dash mused.
“Woah, becareful.” Dumbbell’s laughter was rewarded with a soft kick in the back of his knees.
“As I was saying!” Dash continued. “All day I’ve been thinking about what that toad said to us. About Daring Do.”
“Yeah?” Dumbbell was speaking halfway into his pillow, muffling his voice. “What about it?”
She wasn’t sure how to phrase her question subtlely, knowing what she was about to say would sound insane. So she decided to be straightforward. “Do you think he was telling the truth?” Dash expected a quick rebuttal, and got one.
“Are you crazy?”
“Before they dragged me up to that big room where you were, their queen spoke to me.” Dash’s eyes widened as she relived the memory. “I actually recognized her. She was a character in one of Daring Do’s adventures!”
“What does that prove? Yearling probably… spoke to them at some point before she wrote her book. Or at least found em, so she could get the details right.”
“But Liverwort talked about Daring like she was real.” It was impossible for her to suppress her enthusiasm. In fact, the more she lingered on it, the more her brain refused to let go. “A. K. Yearling could be a pseudonym, ya know, a fake name, so no pony knows who the author really is.”
“Uh huh, and next you’ll say there really is a giant monkey-dog monster named Ahuizotl running around the world terrorising people, trying to take over the world, and open a theme park in his honor.”
“So you think that toad was lying?” she asked.
“I think they were all wild and insane.” he answered.
“Well,” She paused. Of course it sounded ridiculous but...”You never met Discord. Trust me if you see that guy, you’ll learn a lot of things are possible.” she said at last with a sense of triumph. It was then the idea occurred to her, that maybe she could ask Discord himself about all this, she bet he would know out of anyone. As long as she could wrangle cooperation out of him, which could be worth less than the hassle it took to get it.
“You...” Dumbbell muttered something under his breath and Rainbow Dash felt it when he turned over. “You know Discord?”
Rainbow Dash was still facing away so he couldn’t see her grin. “Yeah, I know the guy. He’s not a problem if you know how to handle him.” she said with the air of an expert animal tamer, as if she knew just how to make the ruler of chaos behave. “Maybe when we get back you’d like to meet him?”
She felt the stallion shift again, a little slower this time. “Eh, I’d rather not.” he said slowly.
“Mm, alright.”
Then minutes passed and Rainbow Dash felt her eyelids growing heavier. She could already tell it was going to be a good sleep, her body was losing its sense of heaviness, the covers and the pillow melded into her weary consciousness, wrapped lovingly about her form and taking her under.
“Hey, Rainbow...”
His voice was faint under the cloudiness of sleep but she recognized her name and struggled to respond.
“What is it..?” Her words were already slurring together.
There was another beat of silence, Rainbow Dash waited.
“I just wanted to say thankyou. For saving my life.” he said finally. “You could have left me. I expected you to. But you didn’t.”
Rainbow Dash felt her stomach turn with apprehension. Before she knew it, she was back in that dark tunnel struggling to see and fighting to breath as the walls closed in on her. She remembered how much she wanted to run away.
“Huh, what kind of mare do you think I am?" she asked. "I wouldn’t have left you behind.” She meant that, she never would have been able to forgive herself otherwise.
There was another silence. Rainbow Dash wasn’t certain if she should wait for a response or try and get back to sleep. Maybe that wasn’t the best question to ask.
“What you did was better than any Sonic Rainboom.” said Dumbbell. “I owe you. Big time.”
“Don’t mention it.” Dash muttered. She wasn’t able to hold back another yawn as she tried to speak.
“It’s just what I do...”
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3592434 I'm sitting her laughing at the two people who took this seriously.
3592434
seriously dude! You're a riot!
THEY DID IT!!!! THEY DID IT!!!! *insert cry happy face here since fimfiction cannot provide the face I wanted*
4649513
Indeed they did!
Though it really was the opposite of romance. I guess lips touching still counts as "kissing".
4649632 sorry, I know it was just a means to save Dumbbell, but still, Rainbow Dash just risked swimming back to SAVE him. I guess it was just the fact that this is my favorite pairing made me squee with delight. And the lack of stories between these two makes me glad you wrote this one. I want to see what happens next after this little adventure.
4649733 also, what happened to the backstory about RD and Dumbbell and friends with their little adventure?
4649750
Well I quickly found out that this story needs a lot of editing. So after I finish it, I actually decided to take those little blurbs out, and try to make them into an actual story about them as kids.
Dash sus?
What is this during before she met the real Daring Do
Whoa that was pretty Epic so it looks like rainbow and dumbbell escaping the temple while the frogs are still going after them and they almost got himself killed but after a while trying to get away from them they finally made it to the first entrance but the frog said something about daring do that they have no idea what he was talking about like he's talkin that she is real I guess this is before rainbow and her friends discovered that daring do is real but after that dumbbell treated Rainbow Dash's injury which that was pretty nice of him to do that and even fly to Appaloosa so they found a doctor and treated their injuries and they're trying to find a way to get back home but unfortunately everything is closed due to the holiday so they had to stay at the hotel but they have to share a bed after fighting who gets the bed they decided just to share the bed after a little talk and everything dumbbell thanks rainbow for saving his life that was pretty nice