Call of the Mountain

by Krickis

2 – The Call

Chapter Two

The Call

⠀

⠀

If there was one thing Rainbow could count on, it was that dinner with the Pies would never be normal. That wasn’t to say it was bad by any means, just very different than anything she would experience in Griffonstone.

For starters, if Rainbow wanted to eat with the Pies, she was expected to work with the Pies. Griffons rarely worked together, while that was just part of everyday life out in the mountainside. Being lynx griffins and separate from others, the Pies had a certain freedom to do as they pleased without worrying about what others would think. Of course, that did come at the cost of the ability to casually coast through life as many griffons did.

But the Pies were built differently, both in body and spirit. They were lynx griffins, a tribe that predated Griffonstone and refused to even spell the word the same way as a result. She’d tried to ask about that once, and Pinkie’s dad told her. Only problem is he didn’t stop telling her, all about the time before Grover when everygriff spilled it ‘griffin’ and how they stuck to the old ways.

Which was fine, but it didn’t really need to be an hour-long lecture. How was anygriff supposed to remember that? Rainbow didn’t even know that much about her own tribe! For her part, she was a kestrel. And the only thing anyone needed to know about kestrels was that they were awesome.

Well… there were probably more differences than how a griff spelled a word or whether they were as awesome as kestrels were. Rainbow’s parents were a testament to that – they were nothing like the pigeons of Griffonstone.

But the kestrels were a nomadic tribe, so it wasn’t like Rainbow could find out much about them firstpaw. Isolation from other kestrels had always caused her parents to come across as simply eccentric. Maybe other kestrels behaved like them, maybe not. In the end, there was no way to know.

So it was the Pie family that became Rainbow’s first real experience of how things worked for other tribes. Like most lynx griffins, the Pies lived out in the mountains, forgoing society in favor of a simpler life. Somehow, that brought them closer together than any griffons Rainbow had known. In place of neighbors they didn’t care about, they had each other. Family was everything to them, it was all they had.

For all its simplicity, it also gave them a more orderly structure than Griffonstone had. Pinkie’s parents – Igneous Rock Pie and Cloudy Quartz – were in charge, but all of their daughters had a voice in family matters.

And somehow, Rainbow found herself included in this whole affair. It had started with the occasional invite, then lending a talon here and there, and now, she was expected to show up regularly and asked to participate in family activities. It had been years, and Rainbow still wasn’t used to it.

Well, used to it or not, it was time for another Pie family dinner. First that meant finding one of them and figuring out how she could help. Rainbow scouted the area below her as she flew out of town and over their territory. She could always go to their house if she couldn’t find anyone, but it was likely to be empty until dinner time. Besides, there was somewhere else more promising to check first.

It was hard to see through the tree canopy, but that was only a preliminary scan anyway. It was only when she got out farther that she really started looking. The Pies worked in a rock quarry, which was much easier to see through. No matter what else was going on, there was sure to be a Pie or two at the quarry.

It didn’t take long to find exactly what she was looking for. Even though they were far enough below her to look like ants, Rainbow’s excellent vision could still make out the form of three griffins below her.

The eldest Pie sister, Maud, was busy chiseling away at huge chunks of rock. Like most griffins, she had a muted coat of grey feathers and fur, with darker grey talons and beak. The only color on her was the light purple accents that dotted the ends of some of her feathers, but even those were covered in dust from the rock she was hacking away at.

Meanwhile, Limestone and Marble were hauling away the rocks Maud cut. Aside from Pinkie, Limestone was the most colorful of the Pie sisters, with a dark greyish-blue making up most of her coloration. It was brightest around her face, and extended to the tips of her ears – a trait most griffons didn’t even have, but which she had inherited from her father. Marble lived up to her name with her varied shades of grey in a marbled pattern, and she differed from most of her sisters by having her mom’s yellow beak and talons.

Knowing better than to interrupt Maud when she was chipping away at what had to be a solid ton of rock, Rainbow approached the other sisters instead.

“Hey, need a talon?” Rainbow asked.

Marble smiled at her and started to nod, but Limestone cut her off. “Nope. Go find someone else.”

Rainbow frowned. She had to remind herself that this was how Limestone always was, and that it was nothing personal. Still, she wasn’t ready to give up that easily. “Come on, you can’t want to haul all that rock by yourself! Just let me help! What do you say, Marble?”

Marble looked surprised to be put on the spot, and just turned to her sister. Limestone sighed. “Look, Mom’s up hunting over at Crescent Peak. Why not see if she could use some help instead?”

Hunting sounded better than hauling around rocks, anyway. “You got it! See you later!”

Limestone was already ignoring her to get back to work, but Marble waved her off. She opened her beak as if to say something, but as usual, she closed it without a word.

Even with Limestone’s rough directions, Cloudy Quartz wouldn’t be easy to find. Crescent Peak was a big place, and unlike the rock quarry, a griffin wouldn’t stand out in it. The mountainside was expansive and full of nooks and crannies a hunter could hide in, and that wasn’t even counting the trees and shrubberies. Even with her excellent eyesight, there was no way Rainbow would find her by flying up to get a bird’s eye view.

So Rainbow just had to find a griffin who didn’t want to be found somewhere in the endless expanse of wilderness without using her most reliable tracking skill.

No big deal or anything.

She’d always heard that kestrels were expert hunters, second to none. They were faster than other griffs and they had better eyesight. This was what she was born to do. How hard could finding one old lady be?

---

She searched for at least an hour, but there was no sign of Cloudy Quartz. She even began debating if Limestone had misled her as a prank; it wouldn’t be the first time, although it would be surprising that Marble went along with it.

But just when she was ready to call it quits and head for the Pie family house, she heard someone speak up from behind her. “Ah, Miss Dash. I had wondered after what could have made such a ruckus while I was hunting. Perhaps you could assist me in this?”

Rainbow smiled, although she wouldn’t soon live down the fact that Cloudy had been the one to find her. “Of course, Mrs. Quartz! Happy to be –”

Rainbow stopped in her tracks with her beak hanging open when she saw what she was helping with. She had expected a few small critters, maybe some foxes or marmots. Instead, she was dragging the bodies of two bighorn sheep.

She may have killed them, but she was having difficulty carrying them. “It is a shame that I had not come across thou sooner. There were three of the beasts, but I had not thought I would have the means to carry the third.”

Rainbow composed herself with a chuckle. “Yeah, too bad. That sheep wouldn’t know what hit it.”

“They never do.”

Cloudy Quartz carried one of the sheep, leaving the other to Rainbow. She was amazed that the older griffin had been able to carry both at once; Rainbow was struggling with just one.

Just another difference between lynx griffins and other griffs. Rainbow was built for speed, not power. And even though she was on the small side for her family, Cloudy Quartz was bigger than Rainbow was. Lynx griffins were the largest and strongest of all the girffs, and this was one area that Rainbow just couldn’t compete in.

Well, Rainbow may not have been built to endure the harshest of mountain conditions, but she was no slouch. And since there was no way she was going to allow herself to look weak in front of Pinkie’s mom, she bore the weight like a champ. She even made conversation as she did, albeit with less ease than Cloudy Quartz.

“So you wouldn’t believe the way I raced today!” Rainbow said, doing her best to ignore the strain from carrying the sheep.

“Truly?” Cloudy Quartz asked, looking as if she had no difficulties in the slightest. “Thou should know I have seen a fair amount of races in my day.”

“Not like this,” Rainbow said confidently. “I totally owned Gilda!”

“Thou… owned her? Pray tell, I thought slavery was outlawed in the city. Surely thou wouldst not partake in such barbarous fare?”

“No, in the race.” Rainbow would have faceclawed if she weren’t straining to carry her half of the meat. “Like, I beat her really bad.”

“Thou owned and beat her? Miss Dash, I have to confess that I do not like this side of thou of which I’m learning now. I fear thou must make amends for thine actions with haste!”

“No, I –” Rainbow shook her head and grinned. “You’re just messing with me, aren’t you?”

Cloudy Quartz came dangerously close to a giggle. “I admit I was. Thou ought to realize Pinkamena isn’t the only one with a sense of humor in this family.”

Rainbow laughed. She didn’t mind being the butt of Cloudy Quartz’s little joke. In fact, it was nice seeing this side of her. “I suppose Pinkie had to get it from somewhere.”

“Aye, she did indeed. Although I could not even begin to tell thee where all of her eccentricities came from. Of course, thou knowest as much of that as anyone though.”

“Yeah, that’s for sure.” There weren’t many griffs who knew Pinkie like Rainbow did. Certainly no one aside from her family was as close to her.

“There is something concerning Pinkamena I had wished to speak to thee about, in fact.”

“Oh yeah? What’s up?”

“Igneous and I have spoken, and we hath decided… well, that is to say…” Cloudy Quartz coughed to clear her throat. “If thou wert to come to us and ask for our blessing…”

Rainbow grimaced as she saw where this was going. “Oh wow, these sheep sure are heavy.” She made a show of stretching. “Geez, I don’t know how you do it. I better, uh, save my strength if I’m gonna make it all the way to the house!”

Cloudy Quartz gave her a surprised look. “I can understand, but all I’m trying to say is –”

Rainbow grunted with exaggerated effort as she resumed dragging the sheep behind her.

Cloudy Quartz dropped her own load and gently put her talon on Rainbow’s until she stopped. She still wouldn’t look at the older griffin, though.

“Miss Dash, I simply wish to say that if thou wert to ask for our blessing, thou needst not have fear of our disapproval. Although it is not traditional for a lynx griffin to wed out of the tribe, both of us would approve of the match.”

That was exactly what Rainbow was afraid of. She could deal with it if they didn’t approve, that would be easy. If they didn’t approve, then so what? Not like it would matter anyway.

But… they did approve, and that made it so much worse.

Unable to answer that, Rainbow focused instead on what she understood. “You know, we should get these to the house.”

Cloudy Quartz seemed to study Rainbow for a moment, but if she reached any conclusions, she kept them to herself. “As thou wishest.”

They managed to steer clear of any other awkward conversations as they made their way to the house. It was easy enough when they didn’t talk at all.

The uncomfortable silence carried them the rest of the way to the Pie family home. The house wasn’t really large enough for a family of six to live comfortably, despite the fact that they had built it themselves. Rainbow had never understood that – they had as much room as they wanted out here to expand the house and plenty of griffins that could help, but they kept their house so tiny that all four of their daughters shared one room.

But whether she understood it or not, it wasn’t really Rainbow’s place to say anything, so she just silently followed as Cloudy Quartz led them to the backyard. They left the sheep at a shed, where some of the meat would be prepared for dinner and the leftover would be readied for storage.

It seemed Rainbow was wrong about no one being at the house, because Igneous Rock Pie came out to the shed as they brought the sheep up to it. “Greetings. It seems you two have made quite the haul today.”

“Oh, I just helped carry them,” Rainbow said. “It was Mrs. Quartz that did all the real work.”

“I came upon Miss Dash on my way back,” Cloudy Quartz said. “But she made the return trek easier, and for that, I am grateful.”

Igneous nodded. “It is good to hear. Now, leave these to me.”

That suited Rainbow just fine. It wasn’t that she didn’t have the stomach to prepare meat, but she’d still gladly hand over that job.

The two of them walked into the house through the back, which led directly into the kitchen. “What can I do now?” Rainbow asked.

“Thou canst allow me to get things in here ready in peace,” Cloudy Quartz answered. “Forgive my forwardness, but I do believe we’ve all learned that thou hath no place in the kitchen, Miss Dash.”

That was true. “Sure thing, Mrs. Quartz.”

Free from having to work on anything, Rainbow made for the living room to wait for dinner. She was stopped along the way by Limestone, who must have returned home while she was looking for Cloudy Quartz.

“Rainbow, you know the rules. No slacking.”

Rainbow frowned. “I just got done helping your mom.”

Limestone matched her frown and then some. “And I just got done working in the quarry, but you don’t hear me complaining. Come on, give me a talon getting the dining room cleaned up.”

With a groan, Rainbow followed.

---

Dinner with the Pies was always fun. From Limestone’s squabbling with her sisters to Pinkie’s jokes and even to how delightfully out of touch their parents were, there was always something fun going on with them.

Things didn’t stop at dinner, not with the Pies. As always, they all gathered around in the living room, sprawling around the various furniture and on the floor. In the center, Igneous sat in the biggest chair and told them stories.

The stories were mostly of the family’s past, but it was a good way to pass some time. A big meal, and then a lazy evening lounging around with Pinkie and her family. And because all the Pies were big on physical affection, she didn’t have to worry about what anyone thought when she made use of Pinkie’s fluffy feathers as a pillow.

“Course there was only the one-room schoolhouse back then. And your Granny Pie, she never did get on with Missy Fritter. But of course the new teacher wasn’t to know that…”

As Igneous continued his story, Rainbow lounged on Pinkie with her eyes closed. She smiled as Pinkie started grooming her feathers for her.

“And let me tell you, crystal bats are not a pleasant surprise in your outhouse. He never tried that recipe again.”

Pinkie laughed, which in and of itself wasn’t strange. What was strange was that she managed to laugh without stopping her preening of Rainbow. And that her voice seemed to come from farther away than where her beak should be. And, come to think of it, that she even managed to reach Rainbow’s feathers from her position underneath her…

Rainbow’s head shot up, startling Marble into backing off of her. Rainbow met Marble’s eyes and realized it was never Pinkie who was preening her, and panicked as she tried to figure out what she was supposed to do in this situation.

It was one thing for the Pies to all be so touchy-feely with each other. They were a family, and that was just how their family dynamic was. But Rainbow? She usually only acted like that with Pinkie, and even then, only when she was sure no one around would care.

But Marble was… Marble. She was fragile, and Rainbow didn’t want to hurt her feelings. As much as she didn’t like for anygriff other than Pinkie to touch her wings, she didn’t have much of a choice.

She stretched as if that was why she sat up in the first place, then rolled over so Marble wouldn’t be able to see when she inevitably winced at her touch. Then, resigned to her fat, Rainbow extended a wing as an invitation for Marble to continue.

As predicted, she winced as Marble took the invitation, but she didn’t say anything. Pinkie looked down at her and smiled, no doubt knowing that something like this would make Rainbow uncomfortable but just as powerless to stop it without hurting her sister’s feelings as Rainbow was.

“…spent hours crying that she’d ruined her only dress, poor thing. Didn’t realize the pockets sew right back in. Still, she carried a purse for the rock samples ever after…”

Everyone continued as if nothing was amiss, so Rainbow buried her face in Pinkie’s neck and pretended she felt just as indifferent to the affection as the others were. If it had been anyone else, she wouldn’t have cared. Or well, she would have cared less. But of course, it wouldn’t have been anyone else. Maud, Limestone, and Cloudy Quartz would never have tried to preen Rainbow.

Rainbow’s thoughts trailed back years, to the day when she had found poor Marble lost in Griffonstone. She had come to the city with Maud to deliver some rocks to a customer, and they had gotten separated.

Of course, Rainbow would have helped her anyway, but she had only recently returned to Griffonstone with lessons of friendship and kindness, and she was eager to put them to use. She helped Marble find her way back to Maud, and then offered her talon in friendship to the shy griffin.

That was how Rainbow had met the Pie family, which had become a formative part of her life. She eventually became closer with Pinkie than any of the others, the two of them instantly falling together as quirky outsiders among the self-centered and fun-hating griffons of Griffonstone. But even so, Marble kept a soft spot in Rainbow’s heart.

“…well, turns out there was a Fell Spar Cat outside on the roof, with pads and all. Horace must have sensed it. Just goes to show, never argue with a cheese.”

The remainder of the storytime was much the same, with Rainbow only hearing bits of every story. Even when Marble finally finished preening Rainbow’s feathers, she decided to lounge against her, ensuring the Kestrel would remain vaguely uncomfortable the whole time.

It was a relief when the time grew late enough for most of the Pies to turn in for the night. They always did like going to bed early. Granted, after the hard day’s work they all had certainly put in, Rainbow could hardly blame them. The fact that they didn’t ever seem to sleep in after the same hard day’s work… that was another matter entirely.

At least Pinkie would be up for staying awake a little longer. So as not to disturb anyone else in the house, they left for the rock quarry. To some surprise, Marble followed along as well. To no surprise at all, she remained silent as she followed.

“And then Gilda says she wants to rule Griffonstone!” Rainbow said as she finished getting Pinkie caught up on her day.

“What!?” Pinkie said with an exaggerated look of shock. “Wow, Gilda leading Griffonstone? Never would have expected that one!”

“Yeah, I know, right? Because she’s gonna teach them to be nicer…” Rainbow tossed a stone and watched it bounce along the ground.

“You know…” Pinkie pounced on the stone and began swatting it between her talons. “I think Gilda might actually do a good job. She could probably get a lot done.”

“You can’t be serious…” Rainbow faceclawed. “She’s… she’s Gilda! Don’t get me wrong, she’s good at a lot of stuff, but leading?”

Pinkie shrugged as she sat up, apparently content that the rock had been vanquished. “Well, no one else is doing it. Even if she’s not perfect, she’s better than letting things keep getting worse, right?”

Marble nodded. “Mhm.”

Rainbow couldn’t believe even Marble was against her. She just… she just didn’t know Gilda like Rainbow did. “It doesn’t matter anyway. It’s just like I told her, there’s no way a bunch of griffons are gonna follow.”

“Well… you might have a point there…” Pinkie shrugged, which summed up how Rainbow felt on the matter as well.

Who cared what Gilda decided to do? Let her go humiliate herself if that’s what she wanted. The three griffs just walked along aimlessly, and Rainbow didn’t spend any more time thinking about Gilda.

She didn’t think of much at all until something caught her eye. Or… not her eye, really, but caught something. She pointed to a small cave. “What’s over there?”

“Oh, that?” Pinkie glanced at the cave, but was more interested in scratching the side of her head with a hindpaw. “That’s an area Maud and Limestone were excavating, but it’s not safe, so they gave up on it.”

“Oh…”

Pinkie nuzzled against Rainbow, causing her to swat her away and look around as if there would be anyone else out here at night. “You know, if you don’t think Gilda can lead, maybe there’s someone else who should.”

Rainbow frowned. She wasn’t thrilled to be back on the topic of Gilda’s leadership, but she was curious what Pinkie had in mind. “Who?”

“You.”

That got a laugh out of Rainbow. “Me? You’ve gotta be kidding, I can’t even get a clawful of griffons to listen to me when I bribe them with food.”

Pinkie stopped in place to consider that. “Hmm… maybe the two of you could work together? You’ve been friends for a really long time.”

“I’m not really sure if Gilda and me are friends, exactly…” Rainbow decided not to point out that Gilda had suggested exactly that. She shook her head; she was tired of talking about Gilda. “Seriously though, there’s something about that cave… I want a closer look.”

Rainbow flew over to the cave, with Pinkie and Marble right behind her. “Careful!” Pinkie said.

“I will be,” Rainbow assured her. She landed near the cave. There was definitely something about the place that pulled her in. “I just… I just want a closer look is all.”

Pinkie ran up beside her. “It’s just an abandoned cave, Dashie. There’s nothing special about it.”

“I know, I just…” Rainbow looked at the others. “Come on, let’s look around a little.”

“What? But it’s not safe.”

Rainbow took a step closer and felt Pinkie’s talon on her. She turned and smirked. “Come on, we won’t touch anything. Just a little look.”

Without waiting for any confirmation from the others, Rainbow entered the cave. It was dark, but there was a lamp near the entrance. A leftover from when Maud and Limestone were working on it, or left so they could go back and make the cave safe.

Either way, Rainbow took it and lit it. There was nothing visually special about the cave. Rainbow had explored a few with the Pies over the years, although that was usually in the day and with Maud’s expert guidance. Even so, she knew enough to know this one was nothing special.

At least, it was nothing special to look at. But there was something more here, Rainbow could feel it. She walked in farther.

“Rainbow, we really shouldn’t be in here,” Pinkie said quietly, as if talking too loudly might cause a rockslide.

Rainbow knew she was right, but the feeling only grew as she walked in further. She had to know what it was that was so special about this place. “Just a little bit more.”

A little more turned out to be more than a little. Even though they clearly didn’t want to be there, Pinkie and Marble both kept following Rainbow as she went deeper in.

‘Just a little farther,’ Rainbow kept telling herself. ‘Just a little more.’

It lasted until Pinkie flew in front of her. “Rainbow Dash. We’ve gone far enough. We need to turn back around!”

Rainbow was torn. She knew Pinkie was right, but the deeper she went, the stronger the pull got…

Then Marble nudged Rainbow, and she saw how scared the shy griffin was. This was stupid, Rainbow was risking more than just herself here. “You’re right. Let’s… let’s go back.”

Maybe she could come back with Maud sometime. She’d know how to explore safely. Or she’d insist Rainbow never came back… That was a distinct possibility too. Maybe Rainbow could just sneak back by herself, that way she wasn’t putting anyone else in danger? No, that was a terrible idea.

She contemplated her options as they walked back the way they came. Her mind raced for ways she could ensure she got the chance to explore the cave, and barely spent a thought on trying to figure out why she wanted to. Perhaps that was why she didn’t notice where she was walking as she crashed right into a low-hanging rock.

It shouldn’t have been a big deal. Rainbow hit her head all the time, and she was always fine. But as she stepped back rubbing her now sore head, she saw the rock she hit topple to the floor.

And then another.

And another.

Almost faster than she could react, the rocks started falling exactly where they were standing. She barely had time to grab Pinkie and dive out of the way before the rocks fell down on them.

They scampered away from the rocks, covering their heads as well as they could. The sound of rock falling was all Rainbow was aware of for a moment, then little by little the sound stopped and Rainbow realized why it was only the sound she noticed – it was almost impossible to see.

They did still have their light, which was a miracle in and of itself. But it only illuminated dust as far as Rainbow could see. She slowly realized she was coughing it out, and could hear Pinkie doing the same. It was impossible to see the griffin through the dust. “You okay, Pinks?”

She knew Pinkie was alive and didn’t seem to be any worse off than Rainbow was, but it was still a relief when she realized she could make out her friend’s silhouette in the dark. If she’d gotten hurt…

But Pinkie had other concerns, and with one word she chilled Rainbow to the bone. “Marble?” There was no sign of her anywhere. Rainbow began looking around frantically as Pinkie’s hoarse voice called for her twin sister. “Marble!? Marble, are you here!?”

“Marble?” Rainbow joined in the calls. No… No, nothing could have happened to Marble… Not when it would be Rainbow’s… Nothing could have happened to her!

She looked towards the rock slide, but she could barely even see the rocks through the dust. She did not see a griffin, however.

They both ignored the cloud of dust and raced to the cave in, but they found nothing but solid rock and more dirt than they could move. Excruciatingly slowly, the dust began to settle, and it seemed clear that there was no sign of Marble, no matter how much they called her name.

Eventually, Pinkie turned to address Rainbow. “She got out, right?” She asked desperately. “She’s just… she’s on the other side, right?”

“Of course,” Rainbow answered without hesitation, hoping it was true. It had to be true. “She must have just run the other way.”

Pinkie looked like she was going to cry. “Marble! If you can hear me, stay where you are! We’ll come find you!”

“Pinkie…”

Pinkie wheeled around to look at Rainbow, and her expression was one that Rainbow had never seen on her. One that didn’t look like it could ever belong on that happy-go-lucky face. Pinkie looked angry. Really angry. And she backed up that look by grabbing Rainbow and pinning her down. “You idiot!”

“Pinkie! I –”

“I told you not to come in here!” Pinkie looked like she might attack at any moment. “I told you it was dangerous!”

“I’m sorry!” Rainbow closed her eyes tight. They stung from all the dust that had gotten in them, but that was nothing compared to what Rainbow felt inside. “I… I didn’t mean for this to happen!”

“Well, it did happen, Rainbow! And now Marble, she… she…”

In an instant, Pinkie’s anger faded as she fell into Rainbow, crying. Rainbow wrapped her talons around Pinkie. “Hey, it’ll be okay. We’ll find her, and everything will be okay.”

“My baby sister…”

“I know.” Rainbow wished Pinkie would attack her. She’d never stop her if she tried to, not when she was right this was all Rainbow’s fault.

But if it was Rainbow’s fault, then she owed it to her friend to fix things. “Come on, we’re not doing any good sitting around here.”

Pinkie got up and wiped her eyes, then stopped to look at her talon. Rainbow saw it too. Pinkie’s talon was bleeding; it must have happened in the cave-in, but Pinkie hadn’t noticed it because of the adrenaline rush.

“Oh geez, let me see it…” Rainbow took a good look at Pinkie’s injury. It didn’t look broken, but Rainbow didn’t know anything about medical treatment. “We’ve gotta get you out of here quickly.”

“Not without Marble.” Pinkie’s look dared Rainbow to disagree with her, but she was not about to.

“Of course,” Rainbow said, meeting Pinkie’s eyes. She couldn’t leave Marble, but she did know getting Pinkie to safety also had to be a priority. She wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do, but she knew there weren’t a lot of options available to her. They couldn’t go the way they came, so they would have to look for another way. And if they found an exit, then Rainbow could look for Marble herself once she knew Pinkie was safe.

Rainbow’s mind raced some more, this time taking in details. They still had the light, and it didn’t look any worse for wear. That was good, except that it meant Marble was lost in the dark…

More details. Rainbow looked around for some sign of where they were, but she couldn’t tell. There was only one way to go, but was that the path out, or would they only be going deeper? She knew enough about cave safety to know that if they went in deeper, they were going to die.

Still, they didn’t have a choice. Sitting around wasn’t going to get them out, so she led and Pinkie followed. She had to walk on only three legs, but she managed well enough.

It wasn’t like Rainbow had to do much to lead them, of course – not when they only had one path before them. But it was all she could do, so Rainbow took the lead. Whether it was because Pinkie was angry with her, or because neither of them knew what to say, they walked in silence.

That gave Rainbow plenty of time to reflect on how this was all her fault. Not to mention what was at stake. If she hadn’t suggested they explore the cave, if she hadn’t listened to that stupid pull she felt…

The pull. She realized she still felt it, but it pulled her in a different direction. She walked over to where she felt it coming from, and she found a fork in the path that she almost hadn’t noticed.

“Pinkie, check this out.”

Pinkie hobbled over to look at the other path. “I don’t think we came down this way before.”

If the pull was coming from here, it had to be leading them in deeper. But then… “I think we’re going deeper no matter which way we go. But… but I think this way also leads out, eventually.”

Pinkie looked at her uncertainly. “What makes you say that?”

Rainbow hesitated, wondering how to explain. There was no real explanation, she knew that. She just felt it.

“Rainbow?”

“I… I don’t know. But we don’t have anything else to go on, so just trust me on this.”

Pinkie looked off to the side, breaking her eye contact with her friend. “I trusted you when we came in here…”

Rainbow winced. It wasn’t like Pinkie to be angry, it certainly wasn’t like her to stay angry. Not that Rainbow could fault her for it. But still, she knew they needed to go down that fork.

“I know, Pinkie… But what do we have to lose? We’re already lost in here, and I can’t explain it, but I know this is the way to go. Please, trust me.”

Pinkie didn’t move for a moment. When she did, she stepped towards the fork with her head hung low. Rainbow wanted to believe that meant Pinkie still trusted her decisions, but she knew it might just mean she was too beat to argue.

Rainbow kept leading them down their new path. It was smaller than the last one, although it opened up a little after a while. Whenever there was a choice to make, Rainbow would lead them. Each turn she grew both more and less sure – more sure that she was getting closer to whatever was calling to her, less sure that it was anything good.

“Seriously, you don’t feel anything?” Rainbow asked after a while.

“I feel like this was a bad idea…” Pinkie said. “Maybe we should’ve tried harder to get through the rockslide earlier…”

“Yeah, and cause another one? Not a good idea.”

Pinkie turned to face her. “Well, neither is walking through caves when we have no idea where we’re going!”

“I know that! I just…”

“You have a feeling.”

Rainbow wished Pinkie could just go along with it. Hearing her doubts almost made Rainbow doubt herself, and if she did that, then it was all over. Knowing that the only choice left to her was to dig her talons in, that was exactly what she did. “Yes, Pinkie! I know it’s not a lot to go on, but that’s what we have! It feels so strong, it’s like… it’s…”

Rainbow turned and looked at an alcove. “It’s right over there.”

“What!?” Pinkie flew over to the wall. “There’s nothing over here! It’s just –”

She stopped suddenly, so Rainbow walked over to her and cocked her head to the side. “Pinkie?”

“Shh. Listen.”

Rainbow and Pinkie both put their heads against the wall to listen closer. “Is that… is that wind?”

Pinkie threw her one good talon around Rainbow. “Rainbow, you did it! We just have to get through this wall, and we’re outside!”

Rainbow beamed, almost as happy to have Pinkie happy with her as she was to have a way out. “I told you! Come on, let’s get to digging.”

The wall didn’t seem to be solid, but that didn’t mean it was easy to get through. Pinkie was stronger, and if she had both of her talons, work would’ve been much easier. But there was no sense dwelling on that, they would just have to make do with what they had.

Rock by rock, they moved through the wall. Eventually, they could feel the wind. That caused them to redouble their efforts, motivated by the fact that they were almost through.

It was Pinkie who moved the rock that opened the way outside. It was a small hole, but the wind whipped right through it. Feeling the chill against her fur and feathers, Rainbow realized she’d never felt anything so comforting in her life.

They both turned to beam at each other. After a moment, Pinkie turned around so her hindlegs were facing the wall. “Hold on, Marble…”

Pinkie aimed one last kick to push out the rest of the thin layer of rock that kept them inside. Rainbow steadied her on her injured side so she could kick with both her hindlegs. The rock wall gave way, forming a big enough hole for them to get out of.

But it wasn’t just the wall. Pinkie was sucked through as well, pulled straight out of the wall. Her talons reached for something to grab, but found only loose stones, and Rainbow saw her disappear.

“Pinkie!” Without thinking twice, Rainbow lunged after her, grabbing hold of her outstretched talon in her own. She could feel the wind threatened to rip her away too. Using her free talon, she grabbed at anything that might save them, feeling her claws wrap around something solid.

“Pinkie, hold on!” Rainbow shouted, but the words whipped away in the wind. That was when Rainbow realized where they were. The cave had let out directly into the Abysmal Abyss, where no sane griffon would ever go.

She looked down and saw Pinkie was dangling, trying in vain to get a hold of the rock wall with her free paws and talon. That was the good talon; the wounded one was gripping desperately to Rainbow, but the blood was making it difficult to hold on.

Pinkie dug her talons into Rainbow, but she couldn’t even feel it. She was only aware of one thing: if she dropped Pinkie now, then she would die.

That was the simple truth of the situation. The winds were too strong to fly, and there was no hope of climbing on a wounded talon. One wrong move, and her best friend in the world was going to die.

Rainbow tried to pull them up, but she just wasn’t strong enough. With both her talons preoccupied, she tried to kick against the rock wall with her hindpaws, but it was useless. She couldn’t climb up any better than Pinkie could. It was all she could do to keep them from falling.

And so they did the only option left for them: they screamed. The sound never reached their own ears, as the intense winds of the Abyss whipped their screams away. All they could do was hope that the winds carried them to someone who could help.

There was no way to tell how long they dangled there. Minutes? Hours? Rainbow didn’t know. All she knew was that her grip on Pinkie’s talon was made slippery by blood, and there was no telling if she could hold out for long enough.

Then she felt everything shift. Just a little, but a little was too much. She looked up at what she had hold of, seeing it didn’t look like a rock at all. Some sort of cup wedged into the rocks? Rainbow wasn’t sure, but it was starting to come free.

“Pinkie, I’m so sorry!” Rainbow called, unsure if Pinkie could even hear her. It didn’t matter, she had to say something. “This is all my fault, but I promise you I’ll get you out somehow!”

They shifted a little more, and the wind whipped more than words away as tears escaped Rainbow’s eyes.

“I won’t let go of you!” she promised. It was true because it had to be. “I’ll save you somehow!”

There was no time to grab anything else. There was no time to do anything, as they suddenly jolted down farther. Whatever she was holding onto must have come free, although it seemed to have caught on something else again, because they stopped.

Then, somehow and against all odds, they started moving back up. Rainbow looked up in confusion, then saw a talon reach down and grab her own, then another one. Inch by inch, she rose as someone pulled her up.

She let go of the thing she was holding to get a better grip on the wall once she was securely in someone else’s talons. She helped pull herself as much as she could, and eventually, she saw Maud’s face as she pulled Rainbow inside.

As soon as she was back on solid ground, she stabilized herself and reached back out to help Maud pull Pinkie up. Between the two of them, she came up easily.

Once Pinkie was through, she threw herself around Maud and cried. For her part, Rainbow fell onto her back and breathed deeply. She looked over to where the thing she was holding onto was and saw it was more like a trophy than a regular cup.

Although she could hardly bring herself to care, Rainbow forced herself up to examine it, giving Pinkie and Maud a moment alone while examining the thing that had saved their life. It was a little hard to make it out clearly under the layers of dirt that clung to it, but the top part curled around a red stone with what looked like an ornate wing design, and the base seemed to be modeled after a talon.

She vaguely wondered what the heck it was, but even if Pinkie or Maud knew, this wasn’t the time to bring it up. Maybe someone back in Griffonstone would know, maybe not. Rainbow Dash was alive, and more importantly, so was Pinkie. That was what mattered.

At least, until Maud’s sharp voice cut through her thoughts. “What were you two thinking?” Well, her tone was sharp for her, at least.

“It’s my fault,” Rainbow said between deep breaths. She forced herself to stand and better look at Maud. Finally, all the other concerns raced through her head, of the Pie sisters, of the relationships she may have damaged, of Marble… “I was the one who wanted to come here. Pinkie tried to tell me how dangerous it was.”

“Why didn’t you listen to her?” It was usually hard to tell how Maud felt, but this time, Rainbow was positive that she was pissed.

“Because I’m an idiot!” Rainbow faceclawed, well aware that there could never be enough of an explanation for what had happened. “I’m so so sorry, I never should have led us down here! I’m just… I’m an idiot…”

Maud held her eyes on Rainbow for a moment, but she didn’t say anything. Instead, it was Pinkie who spoke next, her voice uncharacteristically small. “Did… did you find Marble on the way in?”

Maud sighed, but she lost the edge in her voice. “Marble’s the one who came and got me. She’s at home. Everyone else is here looking for you.”

Relief was instant. No matter what happened after, the worst hadn’t come to pass. She had no idea how she would make things better with the Pies, but at least she would have that chance with all of the sisters.

Rainbow gave a few sharp nods, aware that if she kept that train of thought going, she was going to start crying. “We better get back to the others then.” The last thing she needed was for someone else to get hurt because of her.

Maud looked at her as sharply as she ever looked at anyone, and Rainbow averted her eyes. She kept her eyes on Rainbow as she addressed her sister. “Are you ready to move, Pinkie?”

“Yeah, we should go,” Pinkie said.

Maud started walking, with the other two following behind. “Next time Rainbow tries to do something dangerous like this, don’t you dare go with her. If you can’t change her mind, don’t let her drag you down with her.”

That hurt to hear, but Rainbow knew it was good advice. Maud let Pinkie lean on her and led them out, so Rainbow followed. Almost as an afterthought, she grabbed the cup to take it with them, but whatever was calling to her before was no longer there. She walked along a good distance behind the sisters with her tail tucked between her legs.

---

Author's Note:

Gosh I loved working with the Pies in this. The wonderful Nailah was kind enough to do a dramatic reading of this story! Check it out here!

Oh, and in case anyone was wondering because I haven't mentioned anything, it'd be marginally better to wait until this fic ends (on the 30th) to move on to reading my other Noodleverse fic. But like, only marginally, and you won't get major spoilers in that fic or anything, so it's entirely your call. I do hope folks will hop over to Heart of the Forest after this fic, but yeah, I'd personally wait until the end of CotM first.

Anyway, check back for more on Sunday!

Comments

[Moproblems Moharmoney]

Bah gawd, Igneous is a BEAST

[Krickis]

11424859
Haha yeah he is, dude is not someone to mess with for sure!