(42) Chaotic Good
Rainbow Dash's POV
Outside Canterlot City
Monday, 6:45 PM
The road spanned on forever into darkness, with only the headlights shining down the path ahead of us. Trees fenced us in on either side, with the occasional gas station or semi-lit neighborhood road splitting off into another direction, but Rarity kept barreling forward. And with every minute down that road, the neighborhoods and gas stations became more spread out until it was nothing but occasional backroads.
Sunset was in the back seat, sitting back with her eyes forward and focused on nothing. She, like us, was locked in this tense quiet that no one bothered breaking. It only got cut in by Rarity’s phone updating us on where to go next. The only time Rarity slowed down was when it said there was a speed trap.
Behind us, Applejack’s truck and Story’s car tried to match our speed. We definitely had a lead on them after we were out of city limits, but we could still see their headlights in the distance. And none of them called to tell us to slow down. We figured they could follow us just fine.
Like when she drove us to Lotus’s house, Rarity cut the time it would take down by a few minutes. You’d never know it from hanging out with her, but Rarity was the fastest driver in our group. Maybe even in the school at this point. Even with everything probably running around in her mind about her friends, she didn’t look angry or manic or anything. Just hard focused on getting there as soon as possible.
Then, when we hit the thirteen-minute mark of our seventeen-minute drive, Rarity’s phone finally said the magical words we were all waiting for.
“In one mile, your destination will be on your right.”
At that moment, all of us sprung into action despite never planning what we would do the whole way there.
Sunset put one hand on the button of her seatbelt and the other on the door handle, with her eyes glued to the side of the road for any signs of a path. I white-knuckled the passenger seat handle I had been holding onto and rolled down the window to stick my head out for a better look. Rarity, for the first time this whole drive, began slowing down for good and put her car’s brights on to give us an edge.
Then, Rarity used the hands-free device on the car. It started to give out a prompt which Rarity cut off with another button press. The beep replied and she spoke.
“Call Applejack,” Rarity enunciated to the car.
There was a pause. Kind of an uncomfortable one. And after maybe five seconds, the car responded. “Unable to connect. Please try again later.”
Rarity blinked, glancing at her phone for a moment as ‘Call Failed’ flashed on it. “That’s odd. Sunset?”
“Already on it.” From the back, I heard Sunset take out her phone and try for us.
In the meantime, I saw something reflecting off of Rarity’s light up ahead and grinned. “Rarity! There!”
The car lurched a little when Rarity slowed it down again. She threw on the turn signal for AJ and Story, who were finally beginning to catch up to us. Except, when Rarity got close enough to see more than just a reflection, our excitement cracked.
There was a small turn-off onto a worn-down dirt road that went about thirty feet before stopping at a huge metal gate. A gate that was closed off. Then, on either side of it, there was a chain link fence that curved off deeper into the woods.
“Is that it?” Rarity asked. Not really towards anyone. “I thought it was a business too. Why would there be a gate?”
From the backseat, Sunset hummed. “Call failed. There must not be any cell service out here.”
Rarity went ahead and drove onto the dirt road, now driving at a crawl with the gate in the headlights. “Maybe Aloe connected to Cherry Wood’s internet to post the video. That or maybe the connection’s better uphill.”
Finally, once we were nearly up against the gate, we saw something else. At eye level with Rarity’s window was a little keypad panel thing. It had five bulbs at the top that were all inactive, with four of the lights lined up in a row and the fifth above all of them. Below that was the keypad itself, and then at the bottom was a large button with a phone icon and a speaker beside it.
“It’s an electronic gate,” Rarity determined. “And by the look of it, you can either use a code or get someone to open it from the cabin.”
It wasn’t that Rarity expected it to work, we assumed it wouldn’t, but she lowered her window and pressed the call button. The top light started blinking red as a phone ringing sound echoed from the speaker. It had some static to it and we all just stared at it.
As we did, the others turned onto the road behind us. Seeing the closed gate, Applejack drove off to the edge of the path to keep out of the way and Story tried doing the same in the other direction. There was barely enough space for Rarity to back out if she had to.
But Rarity didn’t go that far. She threw the car in reverse and backed up enough so the cars were in this tight triangle pattern before parking her car. Right away, everybody left their respective cars and gathered in the center. Story and Pinkie used their phones to illuminate the space around us.
“Ah’m guessin’ that business card doesn’t have the gate code?”
Story started to pull out the card, but Rarity shook her head. “Afraid not. Just his address and phone.”
“Do you think we might still be able to call Cherry?” Pinkie suggested.
Sunset was about to reply, but Fluttershy spoke up first. “Actually, I don’t think we can call anybody. I was talking to the police, but the call dropped.”
Story finally got the business card out of his pocket and kept it in his hand. “Which also means that nobody knows where we are.”
“That might be a problem.” Rarity frowned.
“Ya think?” AJ crossed her arms.
“No, no. I mean, I never informed the police about what we found out about Cherry Wood’s house. The last thing we reported about was the video. Mrs. Fruity Aroma and a small search party are in the area, but they don’t know which house to check.”
“Huh. That’s odd.” Pinkie tapped on her chin. “You’d think that somebody would come by here. It’s right off the road.”
“Well, it might not be completely out of place.” Sunset glanced back at the gate. “We still can’t say for sure if we can go against destiny here. But if it’s a question mark for us, it’s likely a matter of fact for anybody else.”
“Like I said,” Story reminded her. “One way or another.”
“Hey, let’s not talk like that,” Applejack scolded them. “Maybe everybody missed this place. Maybe they stopped at the gate like we did. That don’t matter. What matters is proven this place is Cherry Wood’s an’ savin’ the girls. Alright?”
“Well, are we positive that this place belongs to Cherry Wood?” Rarity asked them. “This might be where the GPS got us, but in the woods like this who knows if it’s correct or not.”
“I dunno,” Pinkie told her. “That sign seems pretty convincing.”
All of us turned and followed Pinkie’s phone light to this large green and white sign that would probably have been easy to spot from the road had it not been dark out. Towards the bottom of the sign, there was a symbol of a small pond with fish swimming around and a cherry blossom tree hanging over the water. Then, above the image, was the name and slogan:
Cherry’s Woodwork
Reeling in Quality
Crafting with Care
“Wow. Good eye Pinkie.”
“Thanks!”
“Are we sure nobody stopped by here?” I asked. “Even if people don’t know this road, they’d probably find the sign.”
“I don’t see any tire tracks except for ours,” Fluttershy noted.
“Okay. In that case.” Applejack glanced over at the keypad. It stopped ringing after maybe half a minute. “How can we even check? If Cherry Wood’s on that huntin’ trip, then there ain’t a way ta go past this gate.”
“Well..." I looked around, busting my phone out to glance at the fence. The chain link looked like it went on forever and the top of it was lined with barbed wire. Definitely not a good idea to climb. And the wire above the gate meant jumping off a car would probably be a bad idea too.
Unless we didn’t climb the fence, I thought to myself. I then looked at what was on our side of the fence. The sign wasn’t, but there were plenty of trees with some low-hanging branches. Especially one that looked pretty climbable.
“There.” I grinned, pointing at the perfect tree. Everyone followed my finger and quickly realized my idea.
“No,” AJ stressed. “Rainbow, yer not seriously plannin’ on breakin’ inta this fella’s house, are ya?”
“I’m not gonna break into his house!” I shouted back. “Just jump the fence. Besides, if Aloe and Lotus came here with Lotus’s mom in her car, then that means all I gotta do is look for the car! If I don’t find it, then we’ll know it’s the wrong place! Problem solved!”
“Yer still breakin’ into the man’s property,” AJ told me. “He’s got a fence fer a reason. Ah mean—urgh. Story, please back me up here.”
“Wha—me?” Story blinked. “Well...O-Okay, yeah, she’s right, Rainbow Dash. We can’t just break into someone’s property. Besides, any of us going in alone doesn’t sound like a good idea to begin with.”
“Well, we can’t just sit out here!”
“And we won’t,” Applejack told us. “Look, we gotta let the folks in charge of Aloe an’ Lotus’s case know what’s goin’ on. And the only way we’re doin’ that is by goin’ back towards the city ‘til we get service back.”
“She’s got a point.” And again, Story agreed. Then he looked at Sunset “Even if you wanna say that destiny’s gonna get in the way, there are still people out there looking in all the wrong places. They at least deserve to know they can stop driving around on dark, thin roads.”
Sunset took a second before nodding. “That, I agree with. Now, we don’t need everyone driving back, but I still don’t want any of us going out alone. Can someone tag along with Applejack?”
“How’s come?” I questioned. “The Nothic’s not a problem anymore. Twilight said she hasn’t seen it since and Story hasn’t had any headaches either.”
The others focused back on Story. “You haven’t...right?” Rarity asked him.
He shook his head. “No, nothing like that. I haven’t seen any visions either. Fluttershy, nothing else happened, yeah?”
Fluttershy shook her head. “Not that I saw, no. You seemed fine.”
“Better safe than sorry.” Sunset looked from me to Fluttershy. “Do you think you could go with Applejack? If your call dropped on the way, it might be better if you called again in case they’re worried about you.”
Fluttershy smiled. “I can do that.”
Applejack moved for her truck. “In that case, hop in Sugarcube. Ah might not drive like Rarity, but it shouldn’t take long ta get in range.” Once they loaded up, AJ shut her door and cranked the window down before looking back to Story. “Keep an eye on RD and Rarity, would ya? The last thing we need is fer the police ta show up while they're hoppin’ the man’s fence.”
“Uh, right. Sure.” Story glanced over at the two of us as Fluttershy got in and AJ started up the truck. “Question though, why am I suddenly the moral compass here?”
“Well, in the past, Applejack’s the moral compass followed by myself,” Rarity told him. “But, I’ll be the first to admit my judgement may be a tad clouded tonight.”
“Exactly,” Applejack confirmed. “Be right back. And Ah better see y’all still here when Ah do.”
I sighed. “Yeah, yeah, we’ll be here.”
On that, Applejack tossed the truck in reverse, backed out of the dirt road, and crossed over to the other side of the road as her truck vanished into the dark.
Once she was out of sight, Rarity gave me a look. “If you would, darling?”
“On it.”
“W-Wait, what?” Story went wide eyed as I walked up to the best looking tree. “Already?! Did you just wait until she—Rarity, you just said you were the backup compass!”
“I did, yes,” Rarity told him. “And I’m penning my resignation as of now. Congrats on the job.”
“You—I—but...Y-You can’t just do that!”
“Sure she can! She’s not the moral compass anymore,” Pinkie reminded him as I got about halfway towards a low sturdy branch that reached most of the way over the tree.
“Relax Story,” I called out to him. “All I gotta do is jog up the path, look for Cherry Blossom’s car, and run right back. In and out, three minutes tops.”
He tried to think up some sort of argument that would get me out of the tree but after a little bit of stammering, he held up his arms and backed up. “I want it on record that I do not like any of this.”
“Noted,” Sunset deadpanned. Then she looked over to Rarity and Pinkie. “Can one of you tag along with her? I’m on board with getting answers, but I don't want any of us going off alone. Nothic or no Nothic. And I’m not exactly the best climber.”
“Well, I can’t either,” Rarity declined. “It’s my and Story’s cars out here and if somebody does happen to show up, we should be here.”
From the tree branch, I watched Pinkie run up to the base of it and scamper up in half the time it took for me to get up here. And when she did reach my branch, she didn’t stop. Instead, she leapfrogged over me, found a vine and then cleared her throat.
“Story?” Pinkie called out. “Glemerr’s attack. Take two!”
“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Story muttered to himself. “I’m not doing it!”
“Aw, come on!” Pinkie giggled. “It’ll be fuuun~”
“You cannot and will not make me!”
“Hmmm..." Pinkie watched him and considered her next words with a playful grin. “Hey Rainbow Dash? Do you read movie blogs?”
“Oh, come on!” Story shouted dramatically. “How is it that the second Applejack leaves, all of you become a bunch of chaotic gremlins?!”
“Welcome to the Sonic Rainbooms,” Rarity joked.
“Pleeeease, Story!” Pinkie begged with a huge grin on her face and a flutter of her eyes.
“...” Story sighed, head hanging low as he kicked himself. Then, he gave in. He held his arms up, with his left arm horizontal and his right arm on the end of it pointed up.
“glemerr’s attack...take two...action…” His voice lacked any emotion as he let his right hand drop down and clapped his left elbow. Kinda like one of those black-and-white movie things.
Pinkie’s grin grew twice its size and she sucked up a huge thing of air and leapt off the branch.
“OOOOOOOOOOOOOOAHHHAHHHOOOOOOO~!"
She sailed into the dark to where the headlights from Rarity’s car weren’t looking. Just pure darkness. Pinkie’s voice kept on for another second before we heard a landing and tumble before nothing.
“...Pinkie?” Story looked over. Then tried shining his phone over. “Pinkie? Pinkie, say something.”
“Wooooo~! Wow, what a rush!” Pinkie shouted before she pulled her phone back out and shined the light back towards him. “Now I get why it was so fun for Glemerr! Rainbow Dash, you have to try that!”
“Yeah?” I asked, spotting the vine swaying back in my direction. “Alright! Give me a sec.”
“Okay, Rainbow, don’t,” Rarity told me with a little force behind it. “You’re going in for the well-being of Lotus and the others, not to practice ridiculous stunts.”
“Aw, come on,” I argued back. “Pinkie got to do it!”
“Rainbow,” Story warned. “Listen to Moral Compass #4.”
“Number Four?”
“Yes, four. As Compass #2, I’m demoting you,” Story told her. “Fluttershy’s the new #3.”
I rolled my eyes and shimmied as far forward as I could on the branch without it getting too thin. It still put me well past the fence and after a small hop and a rough three-point landing, which I nailed, I was on the other side.
Pinkie walked over, giving me enough light to find my bearings before I brought my phone back out. With both of us ready, we jogged with Rarity’s headlights showing us the start of the path.
“Do you think this is what the road to the hunting lodge is like?”
“I mean, maybe?” I shrugged. “I think the lodge is supposed to be on top of a hill and Thorn ran up and down a dirt road to get to it. It was kind of hard to understand with all the garbling though.”
“Gargling,” Pinkie corrected.
“Gargle, garble, whatever. I couldn’t understand it.” I hopped up and over a tree root and held my flashlight at it so Pinkie could see it coming before we kept jogging. “Hey, real quick. There’s something I wanted to ask.”
“Oh? Hit me!”
“Sunset keeps saying that it’s destiny or whatever that we can’t help Aloe and Lotus.” When I said that, Pinkie let her smile fall for a second. “You weren’t there, but back at the hunting store? Sunset looked ready to throw in the towel the whole time. You’re pretty good at guessing why people are hiding things. What do you think’s up?”
“Hmmmm..." Pinkie scrunched up her face, tapping at her chin in thought. Then she tripped over a root. But rather than splat, Pinkie fell into a roll, somehow stuck a landing, and kept running without any momentum lost. “...I dunno. I’ve been kinda wondering the same thing. At first, I thought she was upset that the games got all canceled when Story ran away and we started fighting. But I don’t think that’s it anymore.”
“You don’t? But, she and Story are butting heads every time one of them talks.”
“Yeah, but I don’t think that’s why she’s being all doomy or gloomy about what the magic’s doing,” Pinkie told me. “It feels like it’s something else.”
I hummed, then narrowly ducked under a branch that neither of our phone’s lights revealed. “You think she might be worried about whatever might happen to Principal Celestia?”
Pinkie frowned. “I’m not sure. I mean, if it was Principal Celestia, then why wouldn’t Sunset tell us about it? Everybody’s worried about what might happen to her. And even still, she would never give up on helping Principal Celestia. That sounds completely cuckoo for Sunset!”
“Yeah, you’re right about that.” I focused my eyes forward and kept my phone light steady. “Even before everything with the Fall Formal, Sunset never had an attitude with Principal Celestia. Not even behind her back.”
Back when she ‘ruled the school,’ she’d be above the other students, sure. Even the other Twilight figured that out in record time. But more than that, the teachers kept their distance from Sunset too. She always had the best grades and no one dared report her for anything.
But at the same time, whenever she was out of earshot of staff, Sunset would nag whenever they got on her bad side too. She wouldn’t do anything about it, but she’d have complaints. Gripes for all of them except the principal.
That’s when I realized something. With everyone distracted from the police, then Sunset and Story being depressed, and now Aloe and Lotus winding up missing, we completely forgot to check on her.
“Hey, Pinkie? By any chance, did Sunset try asking around about Principal Celestia at school?”
“Mmm, no? Come to think of it, none of us stopped by her office. We were too distracted to—Oh, look, a car!”
Pinkie’s light shined forward as the hill flattened out into a large area. The space ahead was clear of any trees. Even with the sun down, the moonlight kept the place illuminated. Enough for us to see a sizable log cabin, a barn off to the side, and then an out-of-place car parked in front of the cabin.
The barn was closed up and probably half the size of Applejack’s barn back on her farm. It was wooden too, and had some bigger pieces of lumber and chopped-up logs resting out front. Definitely what you’d expect a woodworker’s workshop to look like.
Then, the car in the center looked pretty clean for being out in the middle of the woods. It was a maroon color and only the tires had mud on them. Not only that but there were stickers along the bumper. One of them reading ‘The Blossoming Spa.’ The same name as the spa Cherry Blossom owned and where Aloe and Lotus worked.
Finally, there was the cabin. None of the lights were on, making it appear as this abandoned husk of wood out in the forest that loomed over the clearing. It was wrapped up in the shadows with the moon casting the cabin’s shadow from behind in a way that Pinkie and I were standing on the shadow’s roof. Finally, flanking the porch steps that led to the front entrance’s double doors which were left wide open. More noticeable than that, however, were the two wooden bear sculptures carved out of wide logs and standing on their hind legs.
During the day, they probably looked pretty cool. But when our phones cast their shadows against the front doors that were hanging open, the coolness factor tanked and was now replaced with this unwelcoming feeling. It was like the bears were unhinging the house’s jaw to eat us.
“Huh,” Pinkie sounded out after a second. “You know, seeing this, I think I’m ready for Howling Hunter. There is no way it could be creepier than seeing this in person.”
I gave Pinkie Pie a look before steeling myself. “We gotta go in there.”
“Heh. That’s exactly what the first victim would say! I didn’t know you liked horror movies too, Dashie!”
“I’m serious.” I glared at her. “That’s their car. And nobody would leave their doors open like that. We gotta see what’s up.”
“I know we do, but we can’t go without telling the others,” Pinkie reminded me. “The one rule with horror movies is that you never ever split up. And I think that’s also supposed the same with D&D. When movies and games agree with each other, you know they’re onto something!”
“Pinkie Pie.” I held onto her shoulder for a second. “This isn’t a game. And this isn’t a movie. This is—” “A fanfiction?” “Real. People that we know are in trouble and we just found a house that’s been left wide open probably since Saturday! Our friends downhill are fine. We don’t know about the ones inside. We gotta check.”
Pinkie bit her lip, looking between the house and the trail back down the hill. Neither of us wanted the other to go alone in either direction, so we were stuck with whoever made the first move.
Pinkie looked at her phone screen and then tried holding it up to look for some service. I frowned. “What makes you think we’re gonna get service clear out here? And even if we did, Rarity and the others definitely don’t have any down there.”
“Well, Aloe and Lotus sent out a video when they were at this cabin, yeah?” She asked me. “And Mr. Cherry Wood runs a business. That means there’s gotta be some kinda phone service up here. Maybe...Closer?”
Pinkie walked past me, walking right up to one of the bear sculptures and even going as far as to stand up on the edge of the log’s base of it to hold up her phone as high as she could. And, after waiting a couple of seconds, she let out this excited gasp.
“I have a bar! Way to go, phone!”
I let myself smile at that and walked over after her as she started typing away. “That’s great and all, but who are you gonna send it to? Sunset and Rarity still won’t get it.”
“Maybe not them, but AJ and Fluttershy will!”
“AJ and—” my face lit up. “They’re heading out until they get service again. Pinkie, that’s genius!”
“Yep! Although, Applejack did tell us not to come up here. She’s probably gonna be angry when she sees the message. And...send.” She finished typing and climbed up onto the bear’s head where she balanced herself and held her phone up as high as it would go before the little message sent sound went off.
“Awesome! Now when she gets back to the others, she can let them know for us. Ready to check it out?”
“Ready!” Pinkie hopped off the bear and landed beside me at the base of the stairs. From there, we readied our phones and moved inside the house.
Rarity's POV
Outside the Gate
A Few Minutes Later, 7:08 PM
The three of us left at the gate and waited for any sign of Rainbow or Pinkie to return. I leaned up against my car, holding my phone above my head to see if I could get even a twinge of service. Story went quiet after a bit of complaint and was now pacing between his car and the road. Then Sunset, who sat on the trunk of my car, had her read resting on her hands solemnly. Once Story went quiet, Sunset and I got to experience another bout of silence as the minutes dragged on.
However, when three minutes became five, the silence turned dreadful. I started to shine a light into the woods. Sunset would occasionally peek over her shoulder to look. And Story would change his pacing route to pass by us and glance over the fence himself.
Eventually, I couldn’t take it anymore. “Where are they?!”
“Outside a log cabin in the middle of the woods,” Story answered with sass and as though prepared for the question. “You know, where they shouldn’t have gone in the first place?”
I sighed. “Alright. Perhaps sending some of us in might have been a poor decision.”
“Oh, ya think?”
“Enough,” Sunset half-growled with her head pressed against her fist. “If we don’t hear from them by the time Applejack and Fluttershy get back, we all go in after them.”
Story groaned, but nodded. “Yeah. Not like we have a choice now. Dang it, if we just waited for the police or something—”
“No,” Sunset cut him off. “If they are in the cabin up there, then the police won’t be able to come here. They’re destined not to be saved. I’ll give you this, you made one good point. Their health shouldn’t be in the air. But the sooner you understand how magic works from people who have been around it more, the sooner you’ll understand that things are more complicated than your kid game.”
I rested my nose in my hand. “Darling, please not now.” However, Story took her words as a challenge.
He stopped pacing and glared at her. “You know, you could at least try to pretend like you think this could work instead of dragging everyone down to your level.”
Sunset finally looked up at him. I couldn’t see her expression, but Story had to hold firm against it. “I am trying. I’m not doing a very good job at it, but I’m trying. Which is more than I can say about you complaining and pacing around, making us anxious the whole time. I wish you’d just stay quiet.”
Story rolled his eyes. “Y’know, for somebody who says they come from such a magical place, you sure have a pretty depressing outlook on things.”
Sunset slowly started to slide off my car. “You don’t get to talk to me about that.”
Oh, not on my watch. I stormed forward and stood firm between the both of them before Sunset or Story could say or do anything that they’d make me regret responding to and stared at them both as the red brake lights of my car barely illuminated my presence.
“You two are done talking to each other for the day,” I told them. “I don’t want to hear either of you so much as respond to one another. It has devolved into baseless arguments and slander every time. Like children, we have put up with your needless prattle and I have had enough of it!”
Sunset let out this hummed chuckle. “Works for me.”
“Same.” Story threw his hands up. “I hate dealing with her.”
“No, you don’t,” I blurted out and glared at him. Then at Sunset. “Neither of you do! It’s like you two cannot help it. It’s like both of you are determined to prove that you can, and will, one-up the other on sadness! You two fought. The lengths of it all aside, friends fight all the time.”
“We’re not friends,” they shouted at me in perfect unison.
“Whatever the case,” I said pointedly. “You two want the same thing. I don’t even understand how you two can argue so much when you want the same thing! Story? You don’t know how the magic works. Your outside perspective has been helpful, do not get me wrong. But you don’t. Leave it to Sunset. She is the expert. We know you’re trying to make up for Sunday, but do not force it.”
He opened his mouth to answer, but when he saw the look I gave him, he backed down. He gave me a nod, muttered sorry, and walked over to stare out at the road.
“Thank you, Rarity,” Sunset breathed.
“And you.” Sunset flinched. “Sunset, we’ve known you longer. We know when you’re hiding things from us and today has been nothing but that. And you have certainly been in a rut since your spat with Story and you refuse to tell us why. We are here for you. Talk to us. But please do not get upset when no one can tell what you’re thinking and you close yourself off from us.”
Just like Story, Sunset looked like she wanted to respond, but my gaze made that look faded. She slinked back towards my car, mousily climbing back up on the trunk and letting her legs dangle off the side.
And like that, the silence returned. And while it was probably more tense for the both of them, the animosity was at last gone for the time being.
Another job on the list, I thought to myself sadly. They need to talk it out whenever nothing is going on. Preferably in a sound-proof room.
I considered the options and began to file them away for later before the three of us heard static from the gate’s keypad.
*krrrrrrckkk* —unset? Rarity? You guys there? *krrrrrrckkk*
All three of us looked around at each other before looking back at the gate. “Pinkie Pie?” Sunset called out. She was the closest to the gate. “Rainbow Dash?”
*krcckckck* Sunset? Rarity? Story? Yooohooo~! Can ya read us? Over!
Sunset looked between me and Story again before hopping off my car once more and looking around before her eyes settled on the panel set up beside the gate. “The light at the top. It’s green.”
I shared another look with Story before walking up. “There’s a call button towards the bottom. Press it.”
Sunset did exactly that, and we all watched the light go from blinking green to blinking red. “Uh, hello? Pinkie, Rainbow? Is that you?”
The light blinked two more times before it turned green again. This time, no longer blinking.
Sunset? You can hear us?!
“Uh, yeah? We all can. How did you find the other end of this thing?”
Krrrrrckk! We found this fancy walkie-talkie inside the cabin. Over! Krrrrrckk!
Story glared at the panel. “So you did break into his house!”
No, we didn’t! The front doors were hanging open when we got up here. And guess what? We found their car!
Over! Krrrrrckk!
“Was it a maroon color?” I asked.
And had a sticker of the spa. It was definitely hers!
Over! Krrrrrckk!
“And what about them?” Sunset asked. “Any sign of them? Or a basement or something that they would be in?”
Yeah, about that. We’re gonna need some help. Is Applejack back yet? We were able to send a text to her and she said she and Fluttershy made it far enough to get service again.
“You were able to text her?” Sunset blinked.
“There must be service up near the top of the hill,” I realized. “Story, could you go look? With it so dark, I don’t want them driving past us.”
“On it.” Story backed up and took a short jog for the side of the road to keep an eye out.
“What’s the problem in there?” Sunset asked her. “And what kind of help?”
Krrrrrckk! We’re looking at a big metal door that probably goes to another basement. Me and Dashie are trying our best, but it just won't budge! We’re gonna need some help. Over! Krrrrrckk!
“Big metal door? Another basement?” I repeated. I looked back towards Story. “Story, they say there’s a big metal door. Does that sound similar to Mirna and the twin's condition?”
“⏚⊑⎅☍, ⍙☍⎅⍙ ⟟⌰⍙⎐!” He shouted back, incomprehensibly.
“Gargled, darling,” I tossed back.
“Are you seri—urghh!” He thought about it for a second before holding up both arms like a ref announcing a goal.
Sunset blinked. “Uhh...Didn’t quite catch—” “Story says yes,” I told Rainbow immediately. “That’s on par with the game.”
Sunset gave me a look. “That’s what that meant?”
“Do you not watch football, Sunset?” I asked her.
“Only the soccer kind,” Sunset admitted.
You watch football, Rarity?
I smirked. “You say that as though it would be a taboo for me.”
I mean...
“My father adores football and I like to watch with him,” I explained quickly. “Never mind that for now. If the door’s stuck, that has to be where they are!”
That’s what we thought too! Here, give me a second. One of these buttons has to open the door.
After a brief pause, and one or two unsightly sounds from the panel, there was finally a loud buzz followed by the gate chugging open.
“Oh! Rainbow, it’s opening! Keep hitting that button every few seconds so it stays that way.” I whipped around to the others. “Sunset, get in. Story! Come on, the door’s open!”
“What?!” Story turned and looked incredulous. “Rarity, we can’t all just trespass on the man’s property!”
“Story, I understand this is a morally gray area, but you saw them yourself! They are starving down there. If you don’t want to come in, I won’t force you. It would still help to flag down AJ and Fluttershy. But we’re going in.”
At that, I rushed to the driver’s door right as Sunset slid into the passenger’s seat. Not even bothering with a seatbelt, I threw it in drive and got us at least past the gate before it began to close, stop, and then open again. Probably from Rainbow hitting the button.
In the rearview, I saw Story shuffle in place for a moment frantically before finally caving in. He took out his phone, propped it against a tree with the light facing the road, and then rushed for his own car. Then he drove forward before the gate could close again.
Still wants to help. I rammed my seatbelt into the slot and drove up the path for a minute until I spotted the log cabin. The lights were on and the front doors were wide open.
Then, off to the side, I spotted Cherry Blossom’s car. I did not doubt that it was hers. It was the same car I had seen parked in front of the spa every day when she was there. No one else drives it and there’s no way she would drive it clear up here unless she had a very good reason.
I parked my car right beside hers and stepped out just as Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie ran out to meet us. Story wasn’t far behind and parked off to the side as well.
When Rainbow reached us, she looked anxious. Ready to turn and sprint right back in at a moment’s notice. “Rarity, we need as many of us as we can get on this door! Pretty sure it’s stuck or something.”
I glanced over at Cherry Blossom’s car. I could tell that, inside the center console, was her phone. The keys weren’t in the ignition and I saw no sign of a purse. Cherry likely brought them inside.
When Story got out, I smirked. “Thank you.”
He groaned tiredly. “On record? Hate this. Reality? Don’t mention it.”
I chuckled and went back to Rainbow. “Lead the way.”
And she did. Sprinting back into the cabin, we followed behind and found the inside lit up like a beacon. No doubt the result of Pinkie and Rainbow Dash searching for signs of the others.
Along the way, we passed by the dining room where I saw it; the fish. I stopped for a second, nearing making Story and Sunset collide with me as I glanced around. The furniture and walls were exactly as they seemed in the video. And in the direction that the video wasn’t facing was a familiar purse and keys set on a countertop. It belonged to Cherry Blossom.
“Rarity, come on!” Rainbow shouted back to me as the others shimmied around me. I followed after and watched Rainbow turn the corner and slow down before hopping down a set of steps that descended.
“Wait, the basement’s unlocked?” Story asked before he started down as well. He was slower going, which allowed me to catch up and look down a flight of steps into a room with an exposed house frame and insulation fluff. There was a massive collection of random odds and ends as well.
Must be a junk room of sorts, I decided. But before either myself or Sunset could start down next, we heard a loud jingle from the next room. It was just seven or so notes that played like a long doorbell before they then played in reverse order. Like a swaying rhythm.
“What on earth is that?” I asked.
“Oh! I think that’s the gate bell,” Pinkie’s voice shouted from within the basement. “Maybe it’s Applejack and Fluttershy!”
“Oh, thank goodness,” Story said with a sigh of relief as he reached the stairs. “The Moral Compasses are back.”
“You say that, but you're trespassing with us now too, right?” Rainbow asked him. “No one told you to come inside.”
“...I'm going back up.” I watched him start to turn around.
“Too late. Come here, you.” Rainbow grabbed his arm and pulled him further in, much to his annoyance. “Sunset! Rarity! Can one of you buzz them in?!”
We looked at one another. “Sunset, would you mind?”
“Okay,” she said after a second, moving to the next room to track it down while I jogged down the steps.
Getting a look at the room in full, the rest of the space looked just as if not more cluttered. Toolboxes, scraps of wood, pieces of old or broken furniture, and many many boxes filled the space. There were what I would consider pathways that spread like veins across the entire basement. And along those veins were pockets of darkness where the lights couldn’t reach. The towers of junk blocked any of the fluorescent bulbs from doing their job efficiently.
However, one pathway was much wider than the others and it was what all the others stemmed from. It went forward, took a sharp right at a couple of lounge chairs skinned of their fabric, and then straight against the wall where the most daunting thing of the entire basement stood in defiance.
A bunker door. A bunker door loomed before us like a silent golem, making us reassess what kind of tone this basement gave off. It was crafted with thick, weathered steel that was a stark contrast to all the trinkets and furniture all almost entirely crafted out of wood.
Rust streaked across it along the edges while its rivets holding it together had spoiled in a unique color to make them stand out against the gray sheen of the door itself. The hinges also stood firm between the door and frame and were in such strong condition you would think the door could outlive the entire cabin and then some.
Out of the entire monstrosity, one thing looked the most for wear; the handle. It was this giant metallic latch that, according to the skid marks scarred against the door proper, was supposed to rotate to its side and turn outward before pulling the door open.
Rainbow had let go of Story at this point, leaving him to stare at it with his mouth agape while he took in the alien object in front of him. I was still at the turn of the basement’s path, just as unnerved. Meanwhile, Pinkie was trying to use a broken chair leg as leverage to pry the latch away from the door. We could all hear the leg cracking and breaking from the latch’s refusal to give.
Rainbow took the moment to pick up and move away some more junk that was on either side. She was creating more space for multiple people to pull on the door.
“Well, you guys gonna just stand there?” Rainbow asked after she tossed another box to a new pile. “Come on! This has to be where they are!”
“Right. Yes, you’re. You’re absolutely right.” I took a breath and carefully walked down the path closer to the door. But getting closer only made me notice that it was slightly taller and wider than your usual door. No doubt heavier as a result.
I closed in on the door, accidentally bumping into Story the second he came to his senses. Or, so I thought. In actuality, he flinched and focused on me and the others. It was as if a sudden clarity had hit him.
I turned to him just as the chair leg Pinkie was using finally snapped. She let out a yelp and sailed off into a pile of old newspapers. Thankfully, Pinkie bounced right back up, pulling off a few papers before glancing down at the picture. “Grand opening of the Golden Oaks Library! These papers are old.”
“Pinkie, focus,” Rainbow told her. “Help me find a crowbar or something.”
“Good idea!”
Story and I shuffled around the others and stayed by the door while I tried to figure out what could get it to open. “Was it another vision? Like back at the mall?”
He nodded. “Yeah. It wasn’t of the girls though. It’s the door this time.”
I frowned. “I don’t suppose the game’s equal would help us figure out how to get it open, would it?”
Story only cocked his head to the side. “That’s just it. The door that this one’s tied to ⌰⎐⍾'⍙ ⎐⍙⌖⎎⋏. It isn’t even ⍙⎍⎅⌇⌇⊑☌ ⍀⎍ ⍜⍀⎎⋏⊑☌. ⌰⍙'⎐ ⋔⌖⎐⍙ ⎅ ☌⍀⍀⎍.” I gave him a tired look which he returned with one of his own. “Gargled?”
“Gargled.”
“Okay, let me try that again.” Story cleared his throat. “This door shouldn't have anything stopping it from being opened. Not from the game. It’s just a big, heavy, bunker door.”
“Yeah, well, that’s not gonna stop us.” Rainbow returned to us, not with a crowbar like she hoped, but with a large red wrench. “We’re getting them outta there.”
“I hope they’re the only people we’re getting outta there,” Story replied hauntingly.
I frowned. “What is that supposed to mean?”
He gave me a pained look. “Gargle, gargle, gargle.”
“Right.” I felt my anxiety peak for a second. “Well, let’s hurry up. The sooner we get them out, the sooner we can get away from it.”
“Yeah.” Rainbow moved past us and jammed the wrench between the latch and door. Then, she got on one side of it. “Now which one of you are helping first? I don’t think we can all pull on this thing.”
“Oh! Oh! This’ll help!” Right as Rainbow Dash was about to jam the wrench between the door and latch, Pinkie bounded back with some rope. “If we use this with it, all of us can pull.”
Story considered the idea. “If we tie it to the wrench, won’t that just knock the wrench out of place?”
“Not if we tie it to the latch,” Pinkie countered. Then, she traded out with us and, as quite possibly the most focused I’ve ever seen her, made quick work tying the rope off. And when she pulled away, the rope looked like a permanent fixture.
Rainbow grinned. “Nice! Guess all those balloons were good practice.”
“Nah. This is from tying sails to the yardarms,” Pinkie corrected, confusing us all for a moment, before she moved back and grabbed the end of the rope. “Now let’s get this tug a’ war moving people!”
Story and I grabbed the rope while Rainbow wrapped her hands tight around the wrench. “Alright, everyone,” Rainbow told us. “Three! Two. One...PULL!”
All four of us leaned back, finding purchase on the cement of the basement floor, and started to pull. At first, we didn’t put our full strength or bodies into it. Maybe we all thought that our strengths combined would make the latch give and yank open. We were worried that we’d go flying into the debris around us.
Well, that certainly didn’t happen. Instead, we quickly devolved into what Pinkie called from the very beginning; a tug-of-war game. Story and Pinkie had become almost vertical with how much they were trying to put their backs into it. And because I was holding the rope too, I was slowly sliding to the ground along with them. But still, I kept my fingers tangled along the rope fibers.
At the front, Rainbow Dash planted her foot against the bunker and was trying as hard as she could. She was the loudest among us all too, only matched in volume by the wrench screeching against steel until it finally found purchase to start doing some real work.
It felt like an eternity and the whole time, my boots were sliding more and more against the floor. I was starting to think that the floor might have been coated with sawdust, so I righted my footing and kept pulling with the others.
After about fifteen or so seconds, and two more calls to PULL, there was a give. At the same time, we heard this deep glunk! sound from the door’s latch, all of us flew back only an inch before the rope yanked back in recoil. My shoulders screamed at me, but I didn’t have time to register that as Rainbow lost her balance, the wrench flew off behind her, and she was sent flying straight into me. We both splattered along the ground.
Pinkie and Story weren’t safe from harm either. Both of them lost their grip from further back on the rope and while Pinkie sailed down the path behind us, Story’s footing went bad and he flung down and slammed the back of his head against the cement floor.
After the literal and metaphorical dust settled around us, Rainbow pulled herself off me and made her first priority the rest of us. “You guys okay?”
“That depends...! Am I bleeding...?!” Story’s voice was high-pitched and he was rolling side-to-side in misery. He wouldn’t move his hands away from the back of his head when he finally tried, and failed, to sit up.
Rainbow sailed across to his side in a moment and got behind him to check his injury. After a few seconds, and shifting his hair a bit, she sucked in air with her lip between her teeth. “Oh, my gosh! O-Okay! It-It’s not that bad—” “Your first reaction was ‘Oh my gosh!’” “Yeah! Yeah, I said that! But, I just—! I just didn’t expect you to actually be bleeding! Uhh! You might need a bandage!”
“I think I saw some next to the rope over here!” Pinkie stood up with Rainbow’s red wrench halfway submerged in the part of her hair beside her head. “Lemme get it!”
“No, do not,” I shouted at her. “We shouldn’t trust anything from this basement! Check upstairs!”
“N-No—! I. I think I-I can manage.” Story muttered, trying to stand up only for myself to walk over and sit him back down.
“Not. Happening.” I held him in place. “Story, you’ve done enough. Rainbow Dash, I’ve got him.”
“Ya sure?” “Of course. Pinkie? Find that first aid kit. Get Sunset to help you.”
“You betcha!” Pinkie rushed back up the stairs while Rainbow checked on the door.
“There’s one in my car!” Story tried to shout after her, but it was strained.
Story pulled back his hands and...yes. He was bleeding. Both of us gasped at the sight of his palm and he went right back to holding the back of his head. “Okay. Yeah. Maybe I’m done for.”
“Not that kind of done,” I said after a deep breath. Then I glanced around for something to help him. Definitely can’t use a filthy bandage. Which only leaves...Right then.
I pulled down my sleeve as far as it would go and, with a sigh, shook my head. “Hopefully this is big enough.”
“What?” He blinked. Then, he saw what I was about to do. “Wait, you don’t have to—”
The sound of fabric ripping cut him off. It took a few tugs, and resorting to using my teeth to hold one side of the fabric. However, once I had a hole in it, the remaining work wasn’t a struggle. And the other sleeve was even easier than the first.
“You. You actually ripped your sleeves off.” He watched, bewildered as I made quick work of fashioning the fabric into a bandage around his head. One to wrap around tightly and the other to press against his wound. “Why would you do that?”
“What do you mean why?” I asked him with a smile. “Between a silly sleeve or my friend’s well-being, it’s not exactly a hard call. Besides.” I stood up and helped him to his feet. Red’s not the right color for you.”
“I...I’ll take your word for it,” he tried to joke while putting pressure on the makeshift bandage.
“Rarity! Story! I think we...loosened it!”
We turned to see Rainbow Dash putting all her weight into the latch. We heard the creaking of the handle along with her groans until, finally there was a resounding klung that proved Rainbow Dash right.
She almost went flying again, but barely caught herself on one of her feet before almost falling right back into the door. We all took a second to gaze at the thing before Rainbow Dash again pulled. But this time, the hinges were groaning instead of us.
I joined her, grabbing whatever part of the door I could and pulling more and more until the door was far enough open until the light from the basement peered in further.
When it was open all the way, we saw a plain hallway that traveled a bit further before coming to two doors facing each other. We stared at the open one, leaning against the door to keep it open. We were panting and haggard from the work and it seemed that the door was weighted for closing.
And then, as if waiting for us on the other side, someone poked their head out to look at us. Their head was closer to the ground, at about knee height or so. The light barely reached them and they didn’t look completely aware, but there she was.
Lotus. Lotus was looking at us. Lotus was right there.
“Lotus?” I called out, my lungs empty of all air.
“...rar...rarity...?” Her voice was scratchy and frail. But it was hers.
“Lotus.” I let go of the door and moved in, leaving Rainbow Dash and now Story to keep their weight on it. I reached for my phone and, after getting the light turned on, shined it straight at the ground. I didn’t want to blind her. But even with the reflection of light, I saw her chapped lips, dirty hair, and sunken, unfocused eyes as she looked behind her.
“mom. aloe...they’re here,” she called out to them. I could hear sounds in the room behind her. Sounds of splashing.
“Lotus!” I ran in, practically sliding to her side before Rainbow Dash moved in as well.
“Woah-woah-woah-woah, woooah!” Story struggled to hold the bunker door open, having to stomp his foot against the frame to practically act as a wedge for it. Once Rainbow thought he had it, she ran up beside me.
“Come on,” Rainbow Dash told her before holding out a hand. “We’re here to get you out. We got you.” Then, she looked at me. “We got them.”
We got them, I repeated. A tired but relieved smile formed on my face as I looked at the others. Cherry Blossom was unconscious, likely sleeping. Aloe was awake, smiling at me best she could.
They all looked terrible. They were covered in grime and dust, both their hair and their clothes, and they were shivering. It was only when I noticed that when I noticed how cold it was.
“Rainbow Dash, we need to get them some blankets,” I told her as she finally got Lotus onto her feet. I moved in and moved my phone light across the room. The place looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in months. What’s worse, the floor had a massive puddle in the center of the space. The girls were sitting on a couple of threadbare linens and towels, but they were soaking wet.
But the worst of it was the freezer in the corner of the room. It had water dripping against the side of it and things had been moved out of it and set on the ground beside it. Things that smelled like fish gone bad.
“Story. Get it open.” Rainbow told him when she finally got Lotus to the exit.
“Trying...Not. The strongest. Person.” After about five or so seconds of struggling, Story exhaled. “Uh...Rainbow Dash? It really wants to close.”
“Push harder!” Rainbow told him. Terrified of the thought of more of us stuck in here, I ran back to the doorway and saw Story trying to flip around and push the door open with a better grip. But instead, I realized the door was pinning him to the frame.
“Hold on, I’m coming.” I ran forward, but before I could reach the door, the thing flew open from the other side.
Standing on the other end was everybody else. Sunset, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and most importantly Applejack as she dragged the door open enough for Story and myself to help push it along with her.
“Girls. Ah told y’all ta—Oh.” Applejack was about to scold us, but upon seeing both Lotus hanging off of Rainbow, and then Story’s blood on both him and us, as well as printed on the door, the anger fell right out of her.
“The others need help,” I started to tell them, but everyone already obeyed. Fluttershy pulled Story away from the door to bring him back upstairs, Applejack and Pinkie acted as a proper wedge to keep the door open, and Sunset rushed in to take Lotus from Rainbow Dash so that she could get the poor thing upstairs. That left Rainbow able to help me collect Aloe and Cherry.
But Lotus didn’t make it up the stairs.
The moment, the first step Lotus took out of the bunker, something was wrong. She was conscious. Capable of moving her feet and at least a little responsive, she was far from her best but she was at least conscious.
And then when Lotus was out of the bunker, she wasn’t. Instead, she slumped down and nearly pulled Pinkie off her feet like a sack of flour. Sunset did her best to stay standing and dragged her until there was a wide enough space to set her down as we all looked on in absolute terror.
Fluttershy hurried over and put her first-aid training to use. She checked for a pulse, and for breathing, doing everything she could to check on Lotus’s condition while the rest of us just stared in shock.
After a few more seconds disguising themselves as hours, Fluttershy breathed a sigh of relief that made the rest of us copy her. None of us knew what had happened, but she at least confirmed that Lotus was very much alive. Just not awake.
Ultimately, Fluttershy and Sunset got Lotus upstairs. It was warmer, and dryer, and Pinkie found Story’s first aid kit after all. At the same time, Rainbow and Pinkie helped me get back inside the bunker to help Cherry and Aloe.
Regarding Cherry Blossom, she was unconscious. She looked to be in the worst condition of them all. But after we realized that we couldn’t carry her like this, we made a trade.
Story, who stayed down in the basement amidst the panic, and Pinkie worked to keep the door open while Applejack and Rainbow quickly got Cherry Blossom out of the bunker. Once they were out, I picked up Aloe who was barely awake enough to keep her legs under her to help me escort her.
On the way, she started to speak to me. “rarity. how’d...you know?”
“Your video,” I told her. “You posted a video, remember? We saw it and followed the clues.”
“oh yeah...fish,” she muttered. “lo. lotus fo...her phone..."
“She did. You didn’t,” I told her. Then I got to the doorway and stopped. Story and Sunset could keep the door open a little longer, but I saw them straining a bit. Still, I stopped.
Something’s not right, I thought. The way Lotus fell. Why did she pass out?
I looked at Aloe. Her eyes were adjusting to the light. “Aloe? Are you still with me?”
“Mmhmm.” She nodded a little with that too.
“Do me a favor, will you?” I asked her. “Keep talking. Just. Just please keep talking. And don’t fall asleep. Okay?”
She nodded. “O...okay. erm...so, lotus’s grandpa. he...he went on. on a trip..." She tried to keep going for me.
From what I saw in dramas and just general knowledge about people in critical health, you were supposed to keep them talking. That was half the reason why I asked. But my morbid curiosity had me curious. And one way or the other, she was leaving this bunker.
And when she sounded like she was going strong with a sentence, I stepped forward.
“miss blosso...she said she. she was going up to feed the ca—” Once again, it happened.
The instant we passed the threshold, Aloe stopped talking. Her body went limp in my arms and the weight of her made me land on my knees badly on the cement. Still, I did my best to keep her from falling herself.
Story and Pinkie lunged at us, scoping us and pulling us far enough away from the bunker door before—
BOOOOOOM-klunk!
The door slammed itself shut and the latch, while once pulled open, snapped back against the door just as we had found it. I had no idea how Aloe and the others got that door opened, or why they all went in together. I suppose it didn’t.
Story tried to kneel beside me, but the adrenaline that kept him moving was wearing off. It took everything to try holding Aloe’s wrist for a pulse. After a few attempts, I followed his example and held it as much the same way as him.
........................bu-bump........................bu-bump........................bu-bump........................
It was faint. Very faint, but there. And when I took a sigh, Story let himself sit against a wooden bookshelf while Pinkie just slid to the ground with a large exhale. Like a balloon losing air.
She was alive. Lotus Blossom was alive. Cherry Blossom had to be alive. They were safe. We saved them. Another night in there and who knew if we could.
“We. We,” Story stumbled. “We-We need. Ambulance...Probably hypothermia...think.”
Pinkie slowly climbed back up onto her feet; the usual energy from earlier gone from her before she nodded along. "I can use my phone again. I'll have Applejack come down to help you guys too. Be right back!“
Neither of us had a problem with it and we watched her take off down the basement's lane and the second she was out of sight we heard her clamber up the stairs like a dog. Story began lulling to the side as he lost consciousness and Aloe was already unconscious on the floor. That left me as the only one still awake. I was left alone down here. Just me and my now bleeding knees.
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Calling it now: the PC's just did the same thing, with everyone taking the same roles as they did here. Glemmer and Rava go in first, followed by Riven and Stostine, and Patrick takes up the rear.
Another great chapter, as usual.:D
Ok I really hope sunset and story make up soon, cause at this point I expect somebody (probably pinkie) to shout "just kiss already!"
Also calling a few things now: first story will probably get proof sunset is telling the truth
Second, it's not principal Celestia in danger, it's princess Celestia, that's what got sunset all acting like a jersey
3rd, and this is more of a hope: story brings in the character he made as a dmpc, yes I know most players hate dmpcs, but given the stakes (there magic has essentially turned this season into yami bakuras shadow game from the manga) I think it's appropriate
Anyway looking forward to more keep up the good work