Above All Else

by 8686

Waiting for the Salt

Witch Mountain. A rocky, grey, granite peak rising at first ponderously, then abruptly from the earth. There were far taller mountains in Equestria, and there were certainly trickier climbs. Witch Mountain was nothing special, though it could at least boast an unusual visual geometry.

On the north quarter of the mountain, from northeast through to north-northwest, the slope rose much more sharply than the graceful, almost forty-five degree angle of elsewhere, eventually becoming vertical. As the slope – or really the cliff – climbed about halfway to the summit it curved away very slightly into a shallow overhang, and then gave rise to a gigantic, flat, crescent-shaped plateau which hugged the rest of the peak. The plateau was about a quarter of a mile deep at its thickest point, with the interior curve joining the rest of the mountain as it rose at a steep angle to its final apex, and the crest of the mountain itself was slightly offset, bent over at a subtle but noticeably crooked angle. With roughly the right view from the north – and with a little imagination – the plateau could be made to form the wide brim, and the steep peak and lopsided tip the conical crown, of a classic witches hat. Hence, Witch Mountain.

Witch Cave was nestled somewhere up on that wide plateau where it met the steep mountain face as it rose again. The flat expanse also hosted a large, dense copse of pine trees, though there were slightly too few of them to call it a true wood. With the steep slope on the north face making ascent almost impossible, the easiest way up to the plateau was to follow the mountain around to the west, where it sloped more gradually, and then come back at it from that direction once one had climbed high enough.

That seemed to be the purpose of the path on which she was running, for it hadn't ended on the far side of the bridge. Instead it had continued around the west aspect, climbing the mountain, twisting and turning to follow the irregular contours of the slope. The soft dirt from the woods was gone, replaced now by a pale grey track of rock and dust and scree. Keeping her footing on the loose shingle was trickier up here, but the path was at least wide, so an unscheduled trip over the edge and down the mountainside was never on the cards.

Rainbow Dash was gone.

It had taken all of about fifty strides for Applejack's legs to remind her – quite insistently – that they had just climbed a one-hundred yard vertical cliff, and that by trying to sprint up a mountain too, she was asking just a little too much of them right now. Rainbow Dash had no such issues. Her legs were fresh, and about two minutes after Applejack had started running, Dash had easily passed her with a grin, a raspberry, and a, "See ya later, Apple-smack!"

And just to add insult to injury, Dash had been wearing her hat to boot! Like it was some sort of trophy. She must have spotted where it had landed, waited until Applejack's back was turned, and flown down to steal it.

"Dash! Gimme that back!" she'd yelled after her with heavy, laboured breaths.

"Finders keepers!" Rainbow had called over her shoulder.

No amount of teeth-gritting or fierce determination could force Applejack's weary limbs to keep pace, and she'd lost her rival from sight around the next bend in the path. She hadn't seen her since. Rainbow left no hoofprints on the rocky ground to follow. No sign of her passing. No indication that she was okay and still running the race. Applejack had to take it on faith that she was still up ahead somewhere.

She wasn't going to catch up now. She knew that. She wasn't going to win. Defeat was inevitable. Gloating was certain. For the next few hours, days, maybe even weeks or longer, it was going to be pretty unpleasant to be around Rainbow Dash. And that thought upset her most.

Perhaps she was listening to the complaints of her fatigued legs, or perhaps she subconsciously wanted to put the bragging off for as long as possible, but she had dropped her pace now to a slow canter. The certainty that she would lose – if she hadn't lost already – liberated her from any pretense at speed.

The path eventually curved into a tight left hairpin and doubled back on itself, leading back around the mountain to the north and the plateau, continuing to climb higher. It was only when Applejack made that turn that she happened to notice her own, lengthy shadow cast on the mountainside. Instinctively she glanced from it out over to the west, to see the sun hanging low in the sky.

Winter was only just past and the days were still short. The glowing, deep orange orb even now prepared to greet the horizon, and in a little over an hour it would be dark. The soft breeze on the air was chill, as it had been that morning, and a clear, cold night beckoned.

Applejack sighed a long sigh. She wouldn't be making it home before nightfall.

She continued to canter along the path, the steep slope of the mountain climbing upwards and away on her right, and receding now as the path widened and flattened to seamlessly join the plateau.

Then she was upon it. A great, flat expanse looking out over the north, decorated by a thick grove of green fir trees that thrived defiantly in the rocky ground. The band of trees covered most of the plateau's surface, except for a thirty-yard border closest to the mountain slope, and the outer edges to the north of the plateau. The clean, fresh scent of pine lingered on the cold breeze and the sunset conspired to cast long, dark shadows within the thicket.

Applejack slowed to a walk. She hugged the mountain wall, keeping it on her right and the treeline of pines on her left, searching for the cave where Rainbow Dash would no doubt be waiting to relentlessly celebrate her victory. It wasn't too long before the slope of the mountain obscured the sun from sight behind her, casting her surroundings into a gloom that would only get darker now.

There was the cave. A relatively nondescript, nearly circular entrance about twelve-feet high in the face of the north slope, the interior cast into shadow and the dim light making it too dark to really see into from outside. It was not big nor imposing nor remarkable in any way. Simply a hole in the side of the mountain, barely even worth a second glance.

But Rainbow Dash wasn't there.

Applejack approached the cave mouth and stopped. And sat. She looked inside but the cloying shadows obscured everything a few meters beyond the threshold. She looked uncertainly about her. Left. Right. Behind her into the trees. Searching for Rainbow Dash who was surely here somewhere. A few butterflies stirred in her stomach as she braced herself for a sudden movement and a loud "BOO!" from her prankster friend. Had it happened, Applejack, sat there alone in the fading gloom, would have jumped out of her skin... and been immensely relieved. She waited for it to happen. She willed it to happen.

Nothing happened.

Finally standing, Applejack approached the mouth of the cave.

"Hello?" she called, cautiously. "Rainbow?" Her voice echoed on the stone walls and faded into the darkness.

Then it was answered.

"Applejack?" It seemed to come from somewhere not so far inside, though the distortion and the echo made it difficult to judge. "Uh... lil' help?"

"Rainbow!" Before she could stop herself, Applejack was galloping into the cave in search of the voice. After only a few strides though she had to come to a dead stop because she could see nothing. Not even see her own hoof in front of her face. With a deep breath she closed her eyes and began to count to thirty. "Rainbow?" she called. "You okay?"

"I'm sorta stuck. What's taking you so long?"

Applejack reached thirty and opened her eyes. The effect on her night-vision was dramatic and even with the little light that there was she could now make out the walls of the cave and, just up ahead, no more than twenty paces in front of her, she caught a flash of colour in the gloom. A tail.

She quickened her step, brushing large, thick and surprisingly tough cobwebs aside as she did so. As she reached Dash, her friend's predicament became apparent.

Rainbow Dash had clearly pelted into the cave without any heed at all. She had plunged headlong into a whole series of the same thick, stringy cobwebs, cast all across the interior like a series of gossamer nets. The myriad threads had clung to her and entangled her before contracting like elastic, lifting her five or six inches from the ground. She had obviously tried to escape using her wings and they had become ensnared too, tangled and useless in the sticky silk. She wasn't immobile, but the fact that she could gain no purchase on the ground or any of the cave walls meant that she was limited to hanging and thrashing, neither of which improved her situation.

Had they been back in Ponyville... had this been a normal, fun day, this would have been the perfect time for a, 'Hey Rainbow, how's it hangin'?', remark, or any number of other quips. But as Applejack picked her way through the remains of the sticky mesh that Dash had plowed through in her haste, she simply found herself asking, "Dash? You ain't hurt, are ya?"

"Nah, I'm fine," replied Rainbow. "But this guy keeps bugging me, " she said, indicating a very large brown tarantula, with an abdomen the size of a side plate, slowly stalking its way along one of the silken strands from the cave ceiling above and to her right. "I think he thinks I'm his next snack or something." As the spider came too close, Dash swiped at it with a forehoof, giving the creepy-crawly a firm smack across the chops – "I said buzz off already!" – and sending it scuttling abashedly to the safety of the rocky ceiling to plan its next, identical excursion. "So, how's about getting me down?" she asked Applejack impatiently.

"I'm gettin' to that," said Applejack, finally clearing a path for herself and stepping in front of Rainbow. Dash was still wearing her Stetson and she considered retrieving it, but thanks to the web it was now rather glued to her friend's head as opposed to perched on it, and trying to get it off was likely going to be as painful as pulling off a plaster. The webbing around Dash herself wasn't that strong, it was just the sheer number of threads that she had blundered into that had overwhelmed her and picked her off the floor. A good stiff pull ought to be enough to...

Applejack stopped her survey of her tangled friend when she realised that Dash had stiffened slightly, and was holding her breath. Rainbow's eyes involuntarily flicked from Applejack to something behind her, and it was only after Applejack looked around that, with a rush of annoyance, she realised why.

She was standing in front of Rainbow, and behind her, no more than ten paces away and shrouded in thick black shadow, was the rear wall of the cave. The finish line. The title of Most Awesome Pony. Almost within touching distance. And every time Applejack looked like she might be about to move toward it, Dash subconsciously flinched very slightly.

"I don't believe it," said Applejack with a scowl, her temper suddenly simmering. "Yer still thinkin' about this dumb race, aintcha?!"

"Well, duh! Isn't that why we're here?" Then suddenly, a look of disappointment crossed Dash's face and she gazed at the ground. "Guess you win, huh?"

Applejack couldn't stop her anger from running away. Her teeth clenched and her blood boiled with an irrational rage that had come from nowhere. After everything they'd been through that day... after she'd been worried about her! No, all Dash cared about was winning. Beating her. Getting one over on her. She didn't care about anything else, did she? "You know what, Dash? Fine!"

Applejack stepped back behind Dash, and with no warning seized her tail in her teeth two-thirds of the way along and gave a hard, swift yank. The webbing around Rainbow Dash was torn from the cave walls, and the pegasus was unceremoniously pulled to the floor with a loud, dull thud.

"Go ahead, Dash! If this race is all you care about, then go on an' win! Call yourself the Most Awesome Pony, if that's what's important to ya!" Applejack spun and marched towards the cave entrance, leaving Rainbow to disentangle herself from the remains of the webbing.

And win. And beat her. Like she'd wanted from the start.

* * *

Dusk had crept silently over the world when Applejack left the cave. She walked a few paces into the clearing leaving the opening at her back and, facing the treeline, she sat.

She hung her head and closed her eyes. Her anger faded quickly, washed away by a stream of melancholy that seemed to bleed from whatever wound she had just opened. For long moments she concentrated on nothing except breathing in and out. She felt a pair of forlorn tears escape, but she paid them no heed. She was just waiting for the salt now, and Dash would relish rubbing it in.

It was gonna sting something fierce.

After a minute, quiet hoofsteps approached from behind. Applejack raised her head high and blinked away her tears. She sniffed sharply and braced herself for the coming ordeal.

"Go ahead, Dash. Just... just make it quick, would ya?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean," said Applejack, not looking round. "The braggin'. We both know it's gonna happen. Just... get it over with. Say what you're gonna say and then maybe we can go back to..." being friends? "...Ponyville."

"Sorry, I didn't quite catch that," Dash said with a smirk, raising a hoof theatrically to her ear. "Sounded like you wanna go double-or-quits back to Ponyville? Sure, I'm game!"

"Stop it, Dash!" snapped Applejack, her ears flicking with annoyance. "You said yourself, this was it! The final. The decider. Your be-all-and-end-all of races! Well, guess what? You won! I lost! So, congratulations. You're the best at everything, and me? I guess I don't even amount to a hill o' beans," she finished as her head hung once more. She was trying to get it over with. Why did Dash have to drag this out? New tears threatened.

"Sure. Until we come up with a new decider, that is!"

Applejack's anger rose further. She couldn't believe it. Rainbow wanted to repeat this? To put her through this and worse, just to prove again and again just how superior she was!? Her rage reached a fever pitch and then, in the next instant... it was gone. Replaced by a strange wave of calm and a sudden, tragic clarity.

Applejack spoke softly. "You know what, Rainbow? If all you really care about is showing how much better than me you are... reminding me that all I'm good for is plowin' dirt, then... fine. But me? Well... I don't reckon I need a friend like that." She stood and, without looking back, began to walk slowly into the pine trees.

"AJ?"

"Goodbye, Dash," she said as she wandered into the treeline. She'd almost said, 'See ya around,' but, in all honesty, she didn't think she'd be seeing Rainbow much at all anymore.

Comments

[Sea_Swirl]

Wows..

[shutaro]

Cue the 'Surely you saw that coming?'

[Jake The Army Guy]

[Godiswithus3]

Damn. What happened between AJ and RD really hurts. Very tragic.