Chapter Two
Chapter Two
Rarity awoke to a sheet of blazing light. She brought her hooves up to her face, clumsily thumping them against her horn and forehead before sliding them over her eyes. Her whole body was cooing at her to go back to sleep, but the brightness made sleep but a fleeting dream. It didn’t help that the rays of light were absolutely torrid. And then there was the shaking.
“Get up!” a voice said. It was harsh and grating and eerily familiar. Rarity felt something grab her foreleg and pull it away from her face, then a rather heavy push against her ribs. Rarity whimpered but held fast; she was going to get up when she felt like it, and now was most certainly not that time.
“Come on, Rarity!” The voice was louder this time. “I know you’re alive, so act like it.” More shakes followed, bordering on outright punches.
“Mmmf,” she mumbled, rolling onto her side. “No, mother... five more minutes, I implore you.”
“Get up, Rares!” The voice was close enough for Rarity to feel the heat of its breath. It also smelled of daisy sandwich and cupcake: a most unflattering combination of stenches.
She shook her head, holding back the urge to gag, and tried to curl herself into a ball. Unfortunately, her legs weren’t all fully awake just yet, and she guessed that her ball of protection was more like a question mark. “If you give me five more minutes, I’ll cut Grandpa Belle’s yard. I’ll even weed his garden. Just five more minutes,” she mumbled, shifting slightly. She winced as a brief pain shot up her side.
There was a loud sigh, then the voice muttered, “Fine.”
Before Rarity knew what was happening, she felt two forelegs wrap around her midsection—their grip much, much stronger than her mother’s—and begin to lift her to her hooves. Her ribs screamed out in a piercing agony, and she whimpered as the comforts of the ground seemed to grow further and further away. Put me down, she begged, though the only sounds to escape her lips were more grunts and whimpers.
And her pleas were answered, though not in the way she had hoped. A quick yelp emitted from behind her, and Rarity suddenly found herself with a faceful of grass and dirt, and a heavy weight pressing against her back. Her whole body wailed in protest, and she did the same.
“Off you ruffian!” Rarity rolled over, throwing the assailant off her back. Grumbling and groaning, she opened her eyes once more. The dreaded light returned with a vengeance, but this time she fought through it. The world came back to her in waves. First came the blurry outlines of clouds and the sky. Then the sun made itself apparent, glowing against the sky and beating down on her with a searing heat. Finally, the smaller things became clear: the endless plain stretching out in all directions, the cyan pegasus laying in a prone position beside her, the bugs crawling around—
Wait!
Rainbow Dash lay sprawled out in the grass, eyes set in a deathly glare that was aimed directly at Rarity. Groaning and grumbling, Dash rose to her hooves. “Finally,” she muttered as she stretched herself out, first her back, then her forelegs and hind legs. Rarity had been able to raise herself into a sitting position by the time Rainbow started to stretch out her wings—or at least, tried to. Her right wing flapped without a hitch, but her left one seemed to want nothing more than to stay put. It moved, but slower, and Rainbow’s face contorted with each movement.
“Drat,” Rainbow muttered, kicking the ground. She bit her lip and attempted to hover. Her hooves got a couple of centimeters off the ground before she fell back to earth with a dull thump. Rarity had trouble restraining the giggle that threatened to burst from her mouth. Dash groaned and jumped back to her hooves.
“Well, isn’t this just great!” she yelled, causing Rarity to fall backwards in surprise. Rainbow gave a loud and heavy sigh and started to pace around, stomping her hooves with each step. Rarity simply sat in place, trying to put the pieces together and wishing that the soreness that had seeped into every joint and muscle in her body would go away.
The events leading up to now were like a drunken stupor: hazy and half-remembered. She remembered that she had been giving Sweetie Belle a magic lesson when a spell had gone terribly wrong. She had been teleported here—well, kilometers above here—and had fallen and fallen. Then Rainbow Dash had swooped in and caught her, and she had...
Oh pony feathers.
Heat rose up Rarity’s face while a chill ran down her spine. She had kissed Rainbow Dash. Right on the lips, like a damsel snogging a knight after being rescued from a dark castle in a bleak, far-off land.
Rarity had hoped that it had been a dream—that she had simply been knocked out cold by a misfired spell—but her surroundings and injuries ripped her wishful thinking to shreds. She was most certainly not in her house. She doubted she was even in Equestria.
Not to mention the foreign taste in her mouth. Was that from the kiss? Why was it still there? Why was it kind of, sort of pleasant? Rarity growled and shoved her face in her hooves, partially to hide her red face and partially because of the throbbing headache that was banging away at her skull.
Why? WHY?! What is wrong with me?
Rarity was roused from her bout of self-pity by a shadow falling over her. She forced her wet and burning eyes away from the comforts of her hooves and looked up at Rainbow Dash, refusing to make eye contact, focusing on her mane instead. Her disheveled, flowing, lov—
No! Rarity felt the urge to slap herself across the face right then and there. Sure, she had always found Dash’s mane to be alluring, but in the “fashionable” sense—a dazzling object of limitless and untapped potential. But, at this moment, in this context... no. No, she wasn’t going to even think about it.
“You okay?” Rainbow asked, rubbing the back of her neck with her hoof. “That was a wicked spill.”
“No, not really,” Rarity said. “I cannot begin to list the parts of me that hurt.”
Rainbow chuckled, though it lacked the luster it usually held. “Same here.”
“How’s your wing?” Rarity lifted a hoof and pointed, as if Rainbow couldn’t tell that a part of her was hurting unless somepony told her. “Forgive me for assuming, but it looked like it was giving you some trouble a moment—”
“Pfft. Just a bruise, maybe a sprain. I’m not a doctor so I can’t tell. It’s not that bad—sore but, eh, I’ve had worse.” She paused and sighed. “Still, flying’s gonna be a pain in the flank.” She shook her head and began to pace around again, looking at the sky.
Rarity stared at the grass, a wave of guilt rushing through her. And why shouldn’t it? She was to blame. If only she had brushed off Sweetie Belle’s fervent—albeit, rather precious and admirable—begging. If only she had given her a more proper warning. If only she had not kissed Rainbow Dash smack dab on the lips mid-flight for... whatever reason. If only, if only.
The headache was making a comeback, and she brought her hooves up to her temples. It was then that she felt her mane. It was plastered against the side of her face and caked in what she hoped was mud.
And to top it off, I am absolutely filthy! Rarity felt faint. The worst part was that it was going to have to stay in its uncouth state. She was quite sure that there were no salons in the middle of... wherever she was.
She sighed, shook her head, stared at a nearby rock, and insulted herself for being so careless, so impertinent, so vile.
You kissed her. Rainbow Dash. Her.
“Rarity? Helllooo, Equestria to Rarity!”
A sudden, shrill noise pulled Rarity from her distressed thoughts.
“Anypony home?!” Rainbow yelled into Rarity’s ear, knocking her head with a hoof. Suddenly aware—and very much in pain—Rarity knocked Rainbow’s hoof away and glowered. Sometimes, Dash was as mature and controllable as Pinkie Pie on Hearth’s Warming morning.
“Rainbow Dash,” she said, making sure to lift her chin slightly; a lady always shows who’s in charge. “I would be ever so grateful if you would refrain from hitting my head!” All grace raced out of her near the end, being replaced by a most unladylike scowl.
Dash simply laughed. “Okay, Rares, okay. Sorry, you were just...” Rainbow lifted her forehooves and twirled them around her head, rolling her eyes and sticking out her tongue. When she finished and saw Rarity’s blank expression, she concluded, “You were totally out of it.”
Rarity sighed. “Sorry, Rainbow Dash. I’ve got a lot on my mind at the moment.”
Rainbow chuckled once again, however this time it sounded far less merry. She rubbed the back of her neck. “Heh heh. That makes two of us,” Rainbow said, shaking out her good wing. For a second, Rarity could have saw a hint of red on her cheeks. Was Rainbow Dash... flustered? No, it couldn’t be. That wasn’t a “Rainbow Dash” thing. Though, considering the situation, it made sense.
“Well,” Rainbow Dash said after a moment’s silence, “I’ve got good news and bad news.”
“What’s the good news?”
“I know exactly where we are. We’re just south of Ghastly Gorge.” Rainbow Dash laughed briefly. “Good thing you chose to try out skydiving in one of my practice fields, huh?”
“I was not skydiving!” Rarity said sternly. How dare Rainbow Dash accuse her of even considering such boorish pastimes. Preposterous!
“Okay. Chill, Rares.” Rainbow Dash lifted a hoof, backing away. “Jeez. Anyway, you totally lucked out. I don’t usually even use this field, but some pegasus circus from, like, Fillydelphia or Coltlombia or wherever had taken over my usual practice field.” Rainbow Dash’s nostrils flared and shook her head. “As expected, they were absolute crap. Horrible maneuvering, weak in the wings. Anyway, yeah. You’re lucky.”
Rarity forced a smile, but inside she was grimacing. I sincerely doubt that.
“So, Ponyville’s that way.” Rainbow Dash pointed toward a vacant horizon that looked exactly like the other three. “By flight, it’s about a two hour trip... and that’s where the bad news comes in.”
Rarity gulped. She knew where this was going.
“You wouldn’t happen to know a teleportation spell, would you?” Rainbow asked, a foal-like smile tugging at her lips.
“Sorry, Rainbow Dash, but no.”
Dash groaned and muttered, “Perfect.” She slammed a hoof into the ground and bit her lip. For a second, Rarity wondered if she should hide behind something. But the anger faded away almost as soon as it had appeared, replaced by a frown and a gentle gaze.
“It’s cool,” she said quietly, pawing at the disturbed earth. She sighed once more before continuing, the same sigh that a doctor gives before delivering tragic news.
“Unfortunately, that means we’re going to have to walk back.”
Rarity’s jaw dropped and her eyes shrunk to flea-sized dots. No. Oh sweet Celestia, no. She had just gotten this hooficure yesterday! Now it was to be ruined, taken from her like childhood innocence. She whimpered and looked at her hooves.
They were covered in mud. She rubbed them together and they felt rougher than sandpaper.
“Very well,” Rarity muttered to nopony in particular. “How long will we be walking? Five hours? Nine?” She gulped. “T-twelve?”
“Uh...” Dash’s smile was akin to Sweetie Belle’s when she had just destroyed half of Rarity’s stock of fabric while trying to make a dress for Opalescence. In short, Rarity knew the next words out of Dash’s mouth would make her sick to her stomach.
“Two days.”
Rarity squeaked. “T-t-t-two d-days?” she managed.
“Unfortunately.”
“But, Rainbow Dash, you said that where we are—right here—is a two hour flight for you. Now, I am no expert of mathematics by any stretch of the imagination, but that simply does not check out.”
“Two hours at top speed.”
Rarity frowned. “Oh.”
Rainbow Dash looked to her right—Rarity concluded that this was east, because of the rising sun.
“Well, we better get a move on,” Rainbow Dash said. “If we start now, and keep moving, we’ll reach the Ghastly Gorge by nightfall.” With that, Rainbow Dash started to canter away from Rarity. For a long moment, Rarity sat there in silence, expecting Rainbow Dash to stop and come back. It wasn’t until Dash turned around, glared at her, and gestured with her foreleg that Rarity realized that they were going. Right now.
“Come on, Rarity! We’re wasting daylight.”
Giving a nervous giggle, Rarity rose to her hooves and chased after Rainbow Dash. Her ribs weren’t nearly as sore as they had been, and the rest of her body was free of pain altogether. Compared to Rainbow, she considered herself lucky.
There was that feeling of guilt again. If it hadn’t been for her, they would be soaring back to Ponyville together. In only a few hours, Rarity would have been clean and safe and laying in her bed, treating herself to an extra-long siesta.
But you just had to kiss her, you silly, stupid mare.
Rarity shook her head—a pointless gesture, but she needed to do something to keep her mind away from those areas. She knew she shouldn’t have kissed Dash. In fact, she had no idea why she had kissed her in the first place. All thoughts about it simply led to headaches and frustration. There were no answers that she could think of.
So why bring it up? Rarity had no desire to delve into the topic, and Rainbow Dash had yet to even mention the kiss, so there was no reason to think about such things. Right now, all she should be worrying about was getting home. Nothing else.
And yet her mind kept slipping back, like an addict stumbling back to their demons. She just couldn't help but feel that she had to justify her actions—tell herself that it meant nothing.
It had been a reflex in the heat of the moment. She had thought for sure that she was dead, and then all of a sudden she was safe and sound. It was only natural; she was overjoyed to be alive, and she had done the first thing her mind said. Kiss her. Thank her. It was a very strange way to say “thank you” but Rarity took pride in the fact that she was quite a unique pony. In the end it was just a reaction: no feelings to speak of.
Or at least that’s what she hoped.
Special thanks to Cynewulf
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So... I was bitten with inspiration not long after the first chapter was released, and the plot of this has done a complete 180 from what I had originally planned.
I could go into detail, but... eh, I don't feel like trying to justify myself at the moment.
Anywho, I know this chapter is on the lean side, but it's really more of a second prologue: giving this story an actual plot and direction (something that people noted was lacking from the first chapter). The chapters after this one will be much meatier and much, much better, so please don't give up on me just yet.
Screw justification! This was fabulous!
A. The underlined bits, which shows the flight-time discrepancy.
B. Anyone who's a follower of The Cynical Brit will know why I found the bolded section so amusing.
1314133
Thanks for pointing those out.
How did I not notice that?!
We totally believe you Rarity! You are not swimming in that river in Egypt, you are doing the backstroke! You are the Queen of The 'nial!
RD and Rarity trapped in the wilderness for two days with nothing to do but get to know one another after RD's saved her life for at least the second time - where ever this story is going, save me a ticket, because I'm on board.
Hmm... Kind-of want. I'm at least intrigued enough to follow for a little while and see what happens.
Loving the story.
However, RD going merely 24 times walking speed sounds rather improbable.
Add to that rest time, having to go round things, uphills, downhills, bad terrain, etc...
Especially add that RD's top speed is, depending on peoples interpretation, somewhere between mach 2 and mach 10 (i tend to go with mach 10, there's just something about the idea of a pastel colored pony going mach 10 thats makes me smile, plus, makes her ability to created huge explosions more believable), it should be more like 2 hours in flight, 2 months on foot.
Everyone is IC! So much so that (minus the shipping) it reads like an episode would. Great immersion, and I envy your wide and varied descriptive abilities.
~YAY~
The setup you've added in this chapter is wonderful. There are untold dangers between their current location, Ghastly Gorge and Ponyville. This leaves so much room for amazing experiences, cliff-hangers (if you pardon the pun), and a healthy dose of romantic tension and realization. I'm definitely looking forward to more.
I must say, this is turning out quite nicely. Please update again soon.
Make a cliff-hanger with someone hanging off of a cliff, just because.
1314235
Has anyone calculated Dash's acceleration rate? That could change the estimates a lot.
1314348
Not canonically, but from the mach cone she has when doing Sonic Rainboom, she is going about mach 5 before, and mach 10 after Sonic Rainboom, she is also capable of reaching Sonic Rainboom speeds in 2 seconds.
Some fanfic writers have chosen to think of Sonic Rainboom as mach 1 instead, but i prefer the mach 5/10 approach.
Also, we know she can go around Cloudsdale in seconds while doing the Sonic Rainboom (no canonical size given for Cloudsdale, but i'd peg it as HUGE), flies faster than the expanding explosion, powerfull enough to crack solid rock, and from the blastwave that hit Pinkamena (at quite some distance too) is not slow, and took little enough time to go from to past Ponyville (no idea what the distance is, probably not that close) to leave a rainbow trail.
Give up? On RariDash this good? Fifty bucks up front, and I'll consider dropping out now. But only consider.
So, Adventure is not a direction I saw coming for this. That's not a complaint, though; it's been a while since I've read a "two ponies get stranded somewhere and (presumably) fall in love trying to get home" fic. Also, Ghastly Gorge. I think this'll be the first time I've seen that place make a fanfic appearance, so I'm very much looking forward to it.
So we know she has an insane top speed, but what about cruising? After all, an F-14 can hit mach 2.34 if it is so desired, but it can stay in the air a helluva lot longer if it stays to it's cruising speed of mach .72 (or so)
I like this concept of them walking through the field together. It reminds me of Snape and Harry with the Oclumency training (in the sense of them being shoved together even though they hate each other). Granted RD and Rarity don't hate each other, there is a romantic issue and that makes it just as awkward, Putting these two in this kind of possition is going to be really fun.
this looks like it's turning out eerily reminiscent of a fic idea I had brewing.
It's always entertaining when a character sticks to his or her mannerisms when their thoughts are all mashed up and they can barely perceive what's going on around them.
I can hardly wait til they reach Ghastly Gorge. If we're lucky (in my opinion), there's a good Jurassic Park-style action scene in store.
1315357
holly effing crap that is the part I am up to in that book, right now.
anyway that was a god one, I like the idea of two ponies traveling together to get back home. Also I mapped out on goggle earth how far this trip is and I must say, it is so long it blew my mind.... twice.
1315952
that's interesting, but not too surprising, since that part takes up a large part of the book.
And then they shrunk it down to two minutes in the movie. Facepalm.
Two days of no other pony then the one you just kissed? That's gonna get interesting real fast.
lol an adventure fic, finally
just make longer chapters
A RariDash ship is one of the more inexplicable ones to me, seeing how Dash and Rarity are such opposites; arguably even moreso than Rarity and Applejack. That said, I'm really interested in how this is going to develop. The writing so far is fantastic. It's wonderfully descriptive and paced at a perfect level for the kind of reading I like to do. I look forward to seeing more.
One tiny mistake: "it simply lead to headaches and frustration" -> should be "led".
1314235
I agree. It should be at least 48 times faster at least, that's assuming Dash goes mach 1 and I like the mach 5 much better. Hypersonic Dash is best Dash.
Hear that RazedRainbow, that would give you 2 extra days to mess with them in. Think of all the fun you could have with two extra days!
It probably would take them longer to get back to Ponyville on foot, but i'm just going to go with a little bit of Suspension of Disbelief and enjoy the story
.
Also, the whole adventure twist is looking quite promising
Interesting... I like it!
Very nice, I shall eagerly await the next chapter.
Make it longer, please?
Why would Rainbow Dash choose a practice field so far out from Ponyville, even as an alternate location? She is already known to have crashes bad enough to put her in hospital; if such a thing were to happen in this field, it could be days (or longer) before anyone even realised something was wrong, much less carried her to safety.
1316633
Cruising speed is the factor to keep in mind. "At top speed" can have many interpretations - it could mean her tippy-top speed (Rainbooming), or it could mean the top speed she can sustain. I imagine that going for two hours at sonic rainboom speed would probably put her in the hospital for a variety of conditions.
1316209
Personally i find the Rarity Rainbow Dash pairing completely believable.
Both have qualities the other can appreciate, Rarity is Kind, generous, strong willed, brave, hard worker, passionate, while Rainbow Dash is strong, brave, honest (bit too much), faithful, great stunt flyer (And we have seen Rarity enjoying her shows in canon).
Both have things that annoy the other, Rarity is fussy, very concerned of her image (as a lady), and way too into fashion, while Rainbow is dirty, rude, very concerned with her image (as a badass stunt pony) and way too uncaring about her looks.
Lady and the Tramp, Beauty and the Beast, there have been dozens, hundreds, hell, maybe thousands of romances written about their archetypes, only thing changing here is that both are females (and ponies).
1318042
Point, however, as we know that RD can crash into solid bedrock hard enough to make it shatter, and have no actual injuries from it, i doubt there are that many things that could harm her that much as long as there are no dangerous monsters in the area.
Makes you think just how badly she must have hit the ground on the Read it and Weep episode (how many buildings were destroyed).
1318801
2 hours of post Sonic Rainboom speeds might land RD in a hospital, or might not, but at Sonic Rainboom speeds the 2 day walk would be over in matter of minutes, not hours.
I think "top speed" could also mean "top sustained cruising speed with a passenger".
1319004 I can't realistically imagine those two getting together. But, I am perfectly willing to read a story where they do exactly that (I'm no hater!) which is why I'm following this one. Maybe my imagination will improve.
1318801
Yeah, I would imagine that Rainbooming would be the equivalent of going full AB. That does a number on both fuel economy and the engines themselves.
If Rainbooming is mach 5 then "top speed" could very well be around or over mach 1, yep, Rainbow can super-cruise.
Yay! So glad this updated! Loving the character-building, story setup, everything! Can't wait for more.
Please keep writing, I'll keep reading!
This is pretty intriguing, please hurry with the next chapter!! :)
I'm pretty sure we all know how a 2-day trip (complete with sexual tension and isolation) is going to turn out. I just hope the details of the trip don't disappoint. Good luck with wherever you take it from here.
Awkward 2 day trip with a mare you "accidentally" kissed, I'm so ready for the next chapter.
Still diggin' it
Can't wait for the meaty stuff to start spillin................and I agree with the second poster......no justification needed, It was going well..........and now it is that much better!....bravo!
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Well Sweetie Belle is very impressive, she teleported Rarity a two days walk away and several thousand feet into the air on accident after just having barely learned how to levitate a teacup.
Is this story gonna feature any narrative from Rainbow Dash or is it solely from Rarity?
Curious to know Rainbow Dash's inner thoughts on the whole kiss-ordeal.
1350888
It's all going to be from Rarity's point-of-view, however that doesn't mean that we won't hear some of Rainbow Dash's thoughts and feelings on the whole ordeal in the coming chapters.
Yes, an adventure and awkward and sexual tension. Some of the elements of a winning story!
aww, thank god. I just read chapter 2, man....I must've read chapter 1 a long time ago, cuz I do remember chapter 1, but I do not remember chapter 2, but youve already got chapter 5 out, what have i been doing?
1314148
The Egyptian river is called the N-I-L-E. Not Nial.
Just thought you might want to know.
From the angle of the cone formed just before she hits a sonic rainboom, it's been calculated that RD's non-amplified top speed is mach 5, or 3,806 miles per hour. The top speed for a horse I can find is 50 MPH. But that she can make it in flight in two hours what a pony can make on foot in two days suggests she's 24 times faster in the air than a pony on foot (at full gallop, by the way) giving her a top speed of 1,200mph. Since this is roughly a third of what's probably her actual speed, the statement would make more sense if she said she could normally make it in forty minutes if she could fly, rather than two hours. Of course that's only if you take stock in calculations performed on an animation detail that probably wasn't given a lot of scientific thought by the animators. Still, I like to think of it as being accurate that she can reach mach 5 (mach 10 during a sonic rainboom, but I'm assuming of course that she's talking about her normal top speed lol)
Sorry for the double post but I'm only allowed so much text capacity on a PS3. Anyway I hope you take it a good sign that my only nitpic is a detail like that :P At least so far. I immediatly went to comment when I came to that mathematical error. Gonna finish reading the chapter now :P
I love when I find an old fic that's really well written. When I look at the comments at the bottom and see that the last one was over a year ago, it makes me feel like I've found a treasure lost to time. No one bothers to stop by anymore, no one to leave their mark. A little secret, buried in time, and hidden from the roving eyes of the masses. So I like to leave a comment, as if to say, "Hello little secret. Do not worry, the rest of the world may forget, but I do not."
Impressive so far. While RariDash may not be on my top list, it is certainly both believable and enjoyable. Thanks for writing this.
Heehehehehe, Rarity methinks, is in for one hell of a bad time with this walk! 8D
AND LOL, Sweetie Belle, holy shite you have some power kid!
Damn
Nice job!