The Pale Land

by OrphiusOlyandra

Chapter 3

With her back pressed against the wall, Rainbow Dash glanced down both sides of the corridor to make sure it was empty. Then, with slow, deliberate hoofsteps, she inched towards the door until it was just within reach. A quick look around the corner to make sure nopegasi were coming, and Dash slipped into the room, locking the door behind her. Apart from the small flickering candle, the room was pitch black and thick with the smell of mold.

Despite no pegasi being in the room and the walls being too thick to hear anything through them, Dash still moved as silently as possible. Each layer of clothing was stripped off, leaving her shivering and feeling all too exposed in the cold room. Breath misting before her, she quickly slipped into the scout armor that was no doubt ten years old or something. The cold leather sent a shiver down her spine, and the metal gauntlets burned to touch even with the fur lining. Both wingblades were slotted into place, but after a couple flexes, Dash took them off and began oiling the hinges. Once more they went on, and this time she nodded in satisfaction. Snapping the goggles over her eyes, Dash pulled up the hood before double-checking everything.

A soft click from behind was all the warning she needed. With a strong flap of her wings, she positioned herself above the door with her back against the roof, heart pounding away. The door slowly creaked open and a shadowy pegasus entered with cautious steps. After a couple seconds, the door clicked shut and with a flick of her wings, the wingblades popped out and were ready for use. It took a couple more seconds before the mare was in the light, but as soon as she was, Dash let out the breath she had been holding and dropped down onto the ground.

"Geez 'Shy, you scared me half to death." The sound of Dash's voice breaking the silence caused the yellow pegasus to fall over with a bleat. "Aaaaaand it looks like I just scared you to death."

"Oh, um, Rainbow Dash, you scared me," whispered Fluttershy as she scrambled onto her hooves. "What are we doing in this dark, enclosed, cave-in prone place?"

"Preparing." Dash picked up one of the bags and tossed it over to Fluttershy. "Get changed, we need to leave soon."

"Um..." Fluttershy glanced down at pile of clothes before she looked back up. "Could I, that is, if it's alright, could you leave the room please?" At Dash's flat look, the shy pegasus retreated behind her mane, cheeks completely red. "Um... could you turn around then?"

For a moment, Dash almost yelled at Fluttershy to just hurry the fuck up, but one look at that shy expression caused her to sigh. Sometimes, being friends with such a timid pegasus gave her a migraine so massive she wanted to bash her brains out. With a sigh, Dash turned around; and there on the wall before her was the shadow of Fluttershy undressing in all-too-graphic detail . Ripping her eyes from the sight, Dash began preening her wing, but every couple of seconds, she found her eyes drawn back to the sight before her. Sure, Fluttershy was no Soarin or Spitfire, heck, some of the pegasi around the outpost were hotter, but still, there was something alluring about the way Fluttershy moved.

A frustrated groan escaped as Dash slammed her head against the floor. Bloody fucking Tartarus, this was not the time to start having such thoughts. Dash closed her eyes and took a deep breath, and by the time she opened them again, Fluttershy was zipping up the front of her suit.

"Why are we wearing these anyways?" asked Fluttershy before quickly adding, "Not that you need to tell me or anything, it's just, um, kinda... oh dear, how should I put it?"

"It's a top secret mission," Dash said, "so we've got these cool outfits and we have to sneak out tonight."

"Oh." Fluttershy scuffed her hoof along the ground. "Um..."

"Why you?" Dash smirked and threw a hoof around her friend's shoulders. "Because you're awesome!"

"That's nice."

"Come on 'Shy, I wouldn't lie to you." Just for good measure, Dash nuzzled her. "Trust me when I say you're totally awesome. There's a reason why you're my third in command and in charge of all of the daily running of the place. Without you, I'd be totally lost."

A smile touched her lips, as she looked up at Dash with those innocent eyes of hers. "Really?"

"Yeah!" replied Dash and Fluttershy's mood immediately brightened. "Tough day?"

"Yeah..." Though her ears and wings drooped, the way her eyes shone told Dash that her cheering up routine had worked. "Those new recruits were a hoof-full, that's all."

"Don't worry, they'll come to respect you. Every pegasus does in the end. Plus, you're the best damn medic in the place."This time, Fluttershy's smile was neither strained nor small, and the slight fluttering in her wings told Dash just how happy she was. "So, you ready?"

"Um... I think so...?"

"Here, take this." Dash tossed a saddlepack to Fluttershy before grabbing one for herself. "It's got food and medicine and all that other important stuff, enough to last us a couple of days at least."

"Oh dear, you didn't put Lightning in charge did you? Not that she'd be a terrible leader or anything, but... she's rather impulsive." Sure, her face may have been hidden by the saddlepack as Fluttershy put it on, but Dash just knew that the yellow pegasus probably looked as though she had just tasted some of her own medicine.

"Don't sweat it, Dust knows what she's doing," replied Dash before silently adding, "hopefully."

"Oh... well... I suppose if you have confidence in her-"

"I do," snapped Dash. "Just like how I have faith in you and Thunderlane and every other pegasus in this place. Okay, maybe not Thunderlane , but you know what I mean!"

"That's nice." From any other pegasus, Dash would have bucked them in the face, but considering this was Fluttershy, the brash pegasus let it slide. "So, um, shall we go?"

"Of course, but not out that way." Dash walked over to one of the dark corners of the room and began sweeping the ground with her tail. Thanks to the goggles and mask, the dust didn't bother her and within seconds the ground had been cleared away leaving behind the clear markings of a trap door. Once more the wingblade was unsheathed as Dash slipped it into the crack. With a twist and flick, the door swung open revealing a dark tunnel that was far too narrow in Dash's opinion.

"There is a reason why I picked this room to meet in," smirked Dash.

"O-Oh... That does look really tight and small and dark," said Fluttershy. "Is this the only way?"

"Afraid so," said Dash before gulping. "Come on, the sooner we leave, the better. Got your saddlepack and medkit?"

"Yep. Should I bring the candle?"

"Yeah... It's meant to be straight line, but light would help."Dash began descending, each step creaking under her weight.With the walls pressing up against her on all sides, Dash could feel sweat dripping down her brow as she ruffled her wings uneasily. "And close the trap door behind you. There should be a piece of rope or something for you to pull."

"Um..."

"Oh, right." Dash turned around and took the candle from Fluttershy, their lips accidentally brushing against each other in the transfer.A second later, the door slammed shut, causing Dash to jump, her wings flaring open as her fight or flight response kicked into hyperdrive.

"Sorry... I'll try to close it softly next time," said Fluttershy.

"Startled me was all, it's not like I was afraid or anything."

"Of course not, I wouldn't dream of thinking that."

"G-Good."Satisfied that her awesomeness wasn't being questioned , Dash began walking down the dark, damp, all too narrow and enclosed corridor.

Did it have to be this narrow? If it was going to be used as an evacuation tunnel then it needed to be wider. At least two ponies wide so there was enough room to turn around without fear of getting stuck! Actually, five ponies wide—no, six. Six at a time meant faster evac after all. Make that ten. Also ten ponies high would be perfect so some could fly over the top. Why ten? Because ten was a nice round number, that's why. Ten was a large number, a big number, a number that'd give a bit more room to move in.

A shudder passed through Dash's body as her wings wrapped tighter around her. Stupid escape route, it wouldn't be this cold if it was larger.

"Dash, you okay?" In the silence of the darkness, even Fluttershy's whisper felt loud.

"Yeah, just wondering why they didn't bother making the place larger is all. It's kinda cramped in here, you know?"

"Oh I don't know, it's kinda cozy don't you think? With all these snug walls around me, I just feel so nice and safe, like I was wrapped in a blanket."

Pale and trembling ever so slightly, Dash tried to keep walking on as though nothing was the matter. "Fluttershy, I've said this a thousand times and I'm gonna keep saying it, but what is wrong with you? Timberwolves are not cute, baby dragons are not adorable, Fleetfoot is not hotter than Soarin or Spitfire, and this place is definitely not safe. It could collapse at any moment!"

"But Fleetfoot has that..." Whatever else she said trailed off into a squeak.

"Yeah, yeah, Fleetfoot has a kissable face and fine backside, I remember. Geez, 'Shy, there's a reason why Lightning and I don't let you drink you know ." A shudder passed through Dash's body. "Once was more than enough."

"Sorry..."

"Nah, don't apologize, it was amazing, even if it was terrifying."

The two lapsed into silence, and all too soon, Dash remembered exactly where she was, causing all that anxiety to come crashing back. Unconsciously, she began picking up the pace, turning the brisk trot into a gallop as she dashed through the underground corridor. It was no longer about getting to the destination or even getting Fluttershy to safety, instead all Dash cared about was seeing the cloud covered sky once more. Somewhere, in the back of her mind, there was a voice screaming at her to slow down, to pace herself and to stop wasting so much energy.

But she ignored it and kept running.

At first it was just a small dot off in the distance, no larger than a pinprick, but it was enough. With a burst of speed that surprised even Dash, she reached the exit within the minute. Sure she was panting hard, and sweat may have coated every inch of her body—causing her to shiver in the wind and squirm uncomfortably in her clothes, but it was totally worth it. Stepping back into the limited shelter of the cave, Dash began stretching out her legs and wings in order to prevent cramping. A couple minutes later, Fluttershy finally caught up and began following Dash's example.

"So... this is it then..." Dash gazed out over the frozen hills. "No turning back."

"Y-Yeah..." Fluttershy gulped and took half a step back. "You don't have to do this. I-I'm fine marrying and... you know... one of the ponies. It's fine, perfectly fine."

"No it's not. You know that and I know that, so you might as well stop pretending." After a deep breath, Dash took that first step out into the wide open world. "It's not as scary as it looks you know, it's just snow,and snow doesn't kill. It can't kill. Plus, you've got me, you know, the awesomest pegasus ever? Stick by me and you've got nothing to fear!"

A small giggle escaped, but Fluttershy was still hesitant, moving with trembling steps. "Your awesomeness will keep danger away?"

"Of course." Dash threw her long time friend her most cocky and self-assured grin she had. "And even if they didn't, one look at this and they better run or they'll get a face full of the Sublimely Magnificent Buccaneer Blaze Mark Three!"

"Is there... um... is there even a Mark One or Two?"

At that Dash merely smirked, her eyes never leaving the view before her. "Does it matter?It's not like I'll have to use it anyways, so quit your worrying. We'll be perfectly fine,nothing could touch this even if they tried."

"That's... that's nice..."

"Come on, gimme a bit of faith." Dash peered up at the sky. "There’s enough light for another hour or two of travel, and that should give us more than enough time to get to the abandoned mines."

"Alright." Fluttershy took a gulp of water before opening her wings. "I trust you, Dash."

"Glad to have you finally on board, Senior NCO Fluttershy," said Dash with a salute.

"Glad to be on board, Flight Captain Dash," she replied with an equally sharp salute.

Dash leapt into the sky and a glance behind told her that Fluttershy was easily keeping up and staying perfectly in Dash's slipstream. Winds buffeted them from all sides, but Dash wasn't concerned about that at all as she manipulated the airflow around her. As much as she wanted to do some tricks and just take off as fast as she could, Dash forced herself to keep that slow leisurely pace.

At first the snowfall was light and the wind no stronger than a stiff breeze, but with each second that passed it got worse and worse until it was impossible for Dash to see anything past her face. Raising a foreleg, Dash signaled for a landing and began plummeting straight down. With the storm though, it was impossible for her to make out what was ground and what was the sky until it was too late. Snow flew in all directions as she crashed into the ground at max speed, a sickening crack echoing through the air as her wing snapped. Biting back a scream of pain, Dash felt the chill permeate every last fiber of her being, dulling it until it was just an uncomfortable throb.

With careful movements, Dash pushed herself up onto all fours, ignoring the desire to look back over her shoulder. She didn't want to know what her wing looked like. She didn't want to see a bone sticking out or her wing bent at an awkward angle or—or...

Dash took a deep breath.

Exhaling slowly, she looked up at the sky, searching for a flash of yellow or pink. Seconds passed, then minutes, and Dash could feel panic building in her chest once more, but she squished it like how she'd squish a dirt pony. With a shake, Dash threw off all the snow and ignored the pain that coursed through her body. After another scan of the skies told her nothing, Dash looked down at the direction of her crash and began walking back the way she had come. Knowing Fluttershy, she probably bailed sooner, and staying out here in this weather was a death sentence. Thirty minutes? Forty? Dash doubted they even had that long before they were frozen solid.

With an eye to the sky and another to the ground, Dash began racing through the hilly landscape, looking for any sign of a living being. In the back of her mind, a voice kept telling her to give up and to just find shelter. That it was pure stupidity to even think she could find Fluttershy in this weather,especially since their outfits were blue and white, specifically designed to hide them from prying eyes. Then again, since when had she ever done the smart thing ?

"Fluttershy!" yelled Dash, only for her words to be swallowed by the storm.

She already couldn't feel her hooves and her wing tips were so cold they burned. She knew running was stupid, that it meant her body heat would be leeched away faster, but Dash didn't care about that. She didn't care about any of it. All she could see was an image of Fluttershy lying battered and bruised somewhere with a broken leg, or trapped under some rock crying for help. It was because of Dash that Fluttershy was out here, probably on the verge of death and most certainly scared out of her mind.

Though her muscles begged Dash to stop, she pushed on without a second thought and for once she found herself thanking the cold weather. She could not feel her limbs, she could not feel her wings, she could not feel a single thing. That also meant she could not feel just how sore her muscles were, allowing her to push on harder than ever, but all she could see was white. For all she knew, she could have already passed within inches of Fluttershy and not even know it.

A scream of frustration escaped as Dash collapsed, her legs finally giving out on her.

Hot tears threatened to spill over, but the pegasus gritted her teeth and forced herself back onto her hooves. Though they trembled, Dash took one step then another then another. All that mattered was keeping one hoof before the other. It didn't matter if it was a walk or a run or a crawl, as long as one hoof was being placed before the other, it was enough.

Just keep moving.

Always keep moving.

---

The first time Twilight heard it, she thought it was just the wind or a timberwolf. Even Spike shrugged it off and returned to cleaning his scales until they shined and could be used to refract light and illuminate an entire cave. Sometimes she really wondered about that dragon and his obsession with looking nice. Really, he should have been born a female or something the way he went on about it.

And then the sound came again and this time, Spike sat up, his head swiveling around trying to locate where it came from. It almost sounded like a scream, but Twilight merely shrugged and kept walking, casting a concerned look up to the sky as she did so. Everything had been perfectly normal a couple minutes ago, but now there was enough snow falling to bury her alive if she stopped for more than a few seconds and hypothermia would probably set in within the hour. With Spike resting on her back though, his heat was more than enough to keep her warm despite the frigid conditions.

"Um... Twilight, I think we should go check out-"

"No Spike, if we stay out here much longer we're going to freeze to death with or without you. We don't have time for wild chases, and remember what happened last time? We barely survived that encounter with the manticore."

"But Twi! That was a pony, she was screaming for help."

"Well if they're screaming for help, that probably means they're currently being slaughtered by something, and if I jump in, I'll die as well without saving anypony." Twilight pulled her cloak tighter around her body. "And if they're crying for help because they got caught out by the weather then they're idiots and deserve to die."

"Twilight!"

"What? Think about it logically. We've got zero visibility, we’re on a time limit. We need to get to shelter in about forty minutes or so otherwise we'll most probably die from hypothermia. With all those facts, the only logical conclusion is to continue on our current course of action, and any deviation will result in our death," replied Twilight with a shrug.

"Except I can hear her," said Spike.

"So instead of certain death, we have an extremely high probability of death," said Twilight. "And that's not even factoring in the probability of you being wrong, which is exceptionally high if we go from past experiences."

Spike sighed. "Fine."

"Good. Now-"

"Catch me if you can!" he yelled as he took off.

"Spike!"Lunging forward, Twilight's teeth just managed to brush along his smooth scales before closing on thin air. "Damn it, Spike!"

The unicorn immediately gave chase, racing after the wayward drake at full speed, easily skipping over stones and leaping over frozen logs. Without Spike on her back, the chill was suddenly everywhere at once, permeating through her entire body and she soon lost all feeling in her legs. Growling, Twilight forced herself to move just a bit faster, but no matter how fast she went, Spike was faster. That damn dragon was deliberately just staying out of reach, but within visibility by firing off bursts of green flame every couple of seconds.

"Spike! When I catch you, I'm gonna tan and wear you !" yelled Twilight, but her voice was muffled by the snowstorm.

And that's when she heard it. A cry for help that was barely above a whisper, but it was still a cry.Twilight still ignored it though and instead focused entirely on Spike as he circled in the air, sending off blast after blast of fire into the air. Making her way over the ledge, Twilight slid down the snowy bank and came to a rest beside a pony. No, wait, two ponies. There were two ponies there, one with a splint in her wing and the other collapsed underneath, barely breathing.

"Come on Twilight, we need to help them!" yelled Spike as he dropped down, slapping each of them across the face. "Wake up damn it. Wake. Up!"

"Leave them." Twilight turned away and began walking back the way she came. "We need shelter and we need it now. If we don't get it, then we're screwed and these two will only slow us down. Survival of the fittest, remember? Eat or be eaten. You taught me that!"

"Well maybe I was wrong!" he snapped back. "We need to help these two."

"Whatever. Help them if you want, but I'm leaving. Our mission is far more important than just two ponies and if we succeed, this pointless war will come to an end. That is what we're working for. If you want to simply toss it away, be my guest." With those parting words, Twilight stalked off.

Bloody Tartarus! If those two ponies were stupid enough to be caught out in the snowstorm, they deserved to die. Sure, it might have popped out of nowhere, but if there was one thing she had learned when travelling from place to place, it was to always to have a backup plan because things will go wrong.

There was little doubt she was doing the right thing, after all, the lives of many out weighted the lives of two and apparently she was the only one who cared about the mission they were on. Who cares about Spike and his stupid morals anyways? Good riddance! How many times had he said or done something to slow them down? One too many, that's how many! Always being forced to go out of her way to investigate some stupid sound made by some stupid thing that would stupidly think it could kill them.

A sigh escaped and Twilight turned around, beginning her trek back. Within seconds she found Spike again thanks to his purple and green scales, and to Twilight's eternal relief, he held off on saying anything snarky. Instead he fluttered off the two ponies and curled around her neck, nuzzling her cheek tenderly.

"Come on, let's get them somewhere safe then," grumbled Twilight as she began digging. "Think you can melt us a snow cave?"

"As long as you keep them warm with your body heat," replied Spike. "They're alive, but just."

"Fine, whatever." The unicorn laid herself over the two ponies, a shudder running through her body as she came in contact with their cold bodies. "Just hurry it up, I'd rather not die after surviving a manticore attack."

"Yeah, yeah, these things are hard to build you know," said Spike as he began blasting with his fire.

"Make it wider!"

"What? Wider? Did you gain weight again?"

"As soon as we're out of this mess, I am tanning your hide mister! Don't think I won't do it," yelled Twilight before muttering under her breath, "And I cannot believe I'm doing this. Damn it Spike, this will put us behind schedule."

A shudder ran through Twilight's body as she shifted the injured pony into the middle, so that she could get the body heat from two ponies. She immediately began rubbing the injured pony, trying desperately to work some heat into him or her. It'd give them a couple of minutes, no more than five if Twilight's mental calculations were correct, but considering over half the numbers were estimates at best, there was no guarantee of that either.

"Hurry it up back there!" yelled Twilight.

"I'm working on it, gimme a couple more secs!"

"Too late." Twilight grabbed the lighter one, shoving her down the hole head first before latching onto the injured one and dragging their fat flank over before kicking it down the hole. A second later, she followed and caved in the hole after her. The change in temperature was immediate, it was so hot it felt like she had been set on fire.

"Damn it Twilight! I said give me a second," said Spike as he finished enlarging the hole.

"Yeah well, I was freezing my tail off out there while you were nice and cozy in here." Ripping the hood off her face, Twilight began unzipping her heavy coat and shrugged off her cape. "I hate staying in these damn things."

"I remember. Also, we should strip them of weapons and tie them up in case they freak out when they wake up." Spike paused before adding, "And to, you know, stop them from dying of hyperthermia after we worked so hard to save them."

"Even better," muttered Twilight as began unzipping the first one, revealing bright yellow fur. "Mind helping here? Your claws would make things easier."

"Alright, alright."

He drifted over and began unclasping all the various weapons before moving onto the zippers so Twilight could tug them all off. With each layer of fabric that was removed, Twilight found the blush on her cheeks getting brighter until it was probably enough to keep them warm for a year . Averting her eyes, she focused solely on making sure they weren't hurt rather than what they looked like under all those clothes. It just felt wrong on every conceivable level.

"Hey, it's those two! You know, something-Dash and... er... the silent one," said Spike.

"Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy," replied Twilight as she shuffled back, eyeing the two mares. "I wonder what they're doing out here, I figured they were important pegasi."

"Whelp, saving their flanks probably means we get some extra karma next time we try to get into a pegasus outpost," said Spike. "So it looks like I was right after all."

"Spike, you're never right. Ever. Not on purpose anyways," replied Twilight as her stomach rumbled. "Great, I don't suppose we have some food on us?"

"Nope, we were meant to restock, but-"

"But our traps are at the abandoned mines and we didn't make it there in time because we just had to save these two."

"Heh... um... yes...?"

"One of these days I'm going to get so hungry that I'll be forced to eat you."

"Ponies are vegetarians, we both know that ."

"There's a first time for everything."

"Oh, oh dear, you wouldn't actually eat..." Whatever else was going to be said trailed off into mumbles as both Twilight and Spike looked at the yellow pegasus.

"You're awake." Twilight and Fluttershy stared at each other. "Whatever, I'm going to bed. Spike, you get first watch."

"Oh come on, you could at least say 'Hello' or something!" said Spike.

"Don’t care," replied Twilight as she curled up in a ball, using her cloak as a blanket. "Just don't let them kill me in my sleep."

"I think not." Spike grabbed her cloak and tugged it off her, making a quick escape to the other side of the room. "Up, up! It's not even dark yet."

"Spike, come back right this instant or you will regret it," growled Twilight as she stood up, only to bump her head against the ceiling. "And damn it, I thought I told you to make this place larger! I can barely stand up in here."

"Not my fault you're so fat ," he replied.

"F-Fat! Alright mister, that's it, I'm tanning your hide and making it into a hat." Twilight lunged forward only for the small dragon to dart over her head. "Get back here!"

"Rainbow Dash!" The duo stared at Fluttershy as though she had just grown a second head. "Um... sorry, I was just wondering, that is, if, you had- I mean... er..."

Twilight jerked her head at the still-unconscious pony and said, "She's there," before suddenly lunging forward, biting down on Spike's tail and dragging him towards her. "Gotcha you piece of vermin."

"Help! Fluttershy, help meeeeeeee," cried Spike. "Saaaaaaaaavemeeeeeeeeeeeeeee."

"Oh no you don't buster." With one leg wrapped around Spike's torso, Twilight began wrestling the dragon to the ground. "You're so dead for that fat joke."

"Save yourself! Don't worry about me, just spread my name so all can remember the Mighty Spike the Thi-" Laughter interrupted his words as Twilight began running her hooves over his stomach. "S-Stop that!"

"Sorry, no can do, this is your punishment," laughed Twilight.

"N-no... no... St-Sto-Hahahahaha!" As hard as he tried to escape, Twilight easily kept up, pinning him down by the tail as she continued her relentless assault. Eventually though, they both stopped and Twilight rolled over onto her back, shrugging off yet another layer as she unzipped her inner most layer down to her navel, revealing a completely flat stomach and very obvious ribs.

"O-Oh my." Bright blush on her cheek, Fluttershy averted her eyes, but after a second they went back. "You really should, um, eat more, you know?"

"Nah, really? Thank you for that brilliant piece of insight. Unlike you, I wasn't born with a silver spoon shoved up my flank with everything hoofed to me, so I'm sorry if I'm a bit too scrawny for your tastes." Twilight brushed a lock of mane out of her eyes.

"Twilight!" snapped Spike.

"What." The two stared at each other, for a long while before Twilight looked away. "Whatever. Here's the deal pegasus, I didn't want to save you, and as far as I'm concerned, you haven't done anything to change that opinion, so stay the bloody Tartarus out of my way. You've put me behind schedule as is and I will not tolerate you slowing us down even more, so stay in your corner of this Tartarian cesspool or I will personally make you regret it."

Silence.

"Good. Now I'm going to sleep, and if you so much as twitch, I will know," finished Twilight as she turned over.

After a couple of minutes, Spike whispered into the silence, "Just ignore her. Most ponies are cranky in the morning, but Twilight is rawr when her schedule gets messed up. By the sun, I've told her enough times t-"

"Spike! Stop fraternizing with the enemy," said Twilight over her shoulder.

"I'll fraternize with whoever I like," he snapped back before smiling sweetly at Fluttershy. "And she's hungry, so excuse her manners. She's usually not this bad." Pause. "Okay, maybe she is, but she doesn't really ever mean any of it."

Fluttershy squeaked.

"Please don't do that, you sound like a rat when you do that and I am starving. I just suggest you ignore Twilight, after all, she did come back for you in the end." Spike blew out a puff of green flame. "Look, you might as well get some sleep. The storm will last for a while and it's not like we'll be going anywhere. Probably should dig a small breathing hole later as well so we don't suffocate... Anyways, sleep. You should sleep. Sleep is good."

"Um... that's alright, really."

Twilight sat up and glared at the pegasus. "Look, either go to sleep or shut up. I'm tired, I'm hungry, I'm cranky, and I'd like a couple hours of undisturbed peace!"

Silence.

"Thank you." Twilight flopped back down.

A minute passed, then two, then three, then Spike opened his big mouth and whispered loudly, "I think it's that time of mo-" A jacket slammed into his face, sending him to the ground.

Once more silence reigned, but this time, it was broken by a soft, almost too cute giggle coming from Fluttershy.

---

For the tenth time that day, Applejack found herself wishing she was back in the slave pens with Nine Tails. Okay, maybe not back with Nine Tails, but definitely back in the slave pens, or even working the fields. Anything was better than this constant torture and abuse.

"Come now darling, you're just being silly now," said Rarity as she advanced slowly. "This is the last dress and then we can go out and stretch our legs a bit."

Eyes narrowed, Applejack feinted to the left before jumping over the table and skidding behind Sweetie Belle.

"Real mature, you're meant to be setting an example for Sweetie Belle. Honestly, it's like having another filly." The two slowly circled around Sweetie Belle, making it impossible for Rarity to use her magic for fear of collateral damage. "Now stop this uncouth behavior at once."

The earth pony merely shook her head while Sweetie giggled happily in the middle.

"Sweetie Belle, if you imitate this mare, I will ground you for a week."

"But sis~!" she whined.

"But if you help me catch her, I will ignore the next big thing you do," added Rarity.

Applejack's eyes widened as she quickly backed up, but it was already too late. The little filly lunged out of her seat, just managing to wrap both hooves around Applejack's neck, and as soon as Sweetie latched on, she was not letting go no matter how hard Applejack bucked. It didn't matter if she was swinging her head or shaking her body from side to side, that little filly was staying right where she was. And then a shadow fell over the earth pony and she looked up with horror in her eyes. Within seconds, Applejack found herself wrapped in the frilliest, laciest, pinkest thing she had ever seen in her life.

Yes, working in the fields flank-naked would be better than this. Anything would have been better than this. Except Nine Tails. A shudder passed through Applejack's frame. Though seeing him in this was second only to him being dead in terms of sheer joy she'd experience. Some ponies simply deserved to die.

After a long second, Rarity finally broke the silence with a, "Hm... not saucy enough."

S-Saucy !?

Choking on her own spit, Applejack's eyes bugged out as she began struggling out of the abomination she had on. She did not do saucy, she never did saucy, she did not even want to think about the 's' word if at all possible, and that horned freak threw her in one? Before it was just ugly, now it was a crime against nature.

"Out! Out! I will not have you tearing this masterpiece." Just as quickly as it had been forced on her, it was gone, but that did nothing to stop Applejack's death glare. "Oh stop acting so hurt, it was just some socks ."

That thing was not 'just some socks'. As far as Applejack was concerned, that thing was a monstrosity that should never have existed. Even now, she could still feel the horrible, horrible, clingy fabric all over her legs and rubbing against her in its disgusting manner. The mere thought sent shivers down her spine.

Wait, why was Rarity making them anyways? She said they were meant to be saucy, but as far as Applejack knew, Rarity wasn't seeing anyone. Unless she was seeing Bulwark now? Or perhaps some other pony. If she was, Applejack wasn't surprised considering how well groomed the unicorn always was, and despite the easy living, she did have a very toned body. A bit too lithe and curvy for the military or an honest day's work, but still pleasing to the eye.

Whatever. It's not like Applejack actually cared about what the unicorn was up to, as long as it didn't disrupt her plans to escape or anything. Sure, there was still the matter of actually getting out of the house, but with Sweetie Belle and her mother in the same house, it meant she could use a hostage. Not the best plan in the world, but it was still a plan and that was better than nothing.

"Now that we've finally finished that, we can finally go out." Rarity smiled over at her little sister. "I believe there was a little filly who wanted to come along and watch as well."

"Really!?" How anything could look that adorable was beyond Applejack. "You mean it?"

"Of course I do, now run along and tell mother while I put this away and grab my gear." After a flying tackle only fillies are capable of, Sweetie Belle ran off. Rarity immediately turned to face Applejack, "You'll also be coming along and looking after Sweetie. I know you dislike collars so I made you a high neck shirt and jacket that not only looks superb, but will also keep your neck out of sight."

Applejack merely rolled her eyes and jerked her head in the direction of the kitchen.

"Please, I hold no illusions about your view of unicorns and your distaste for us. You'll have to do a lot more before I will allow you to look after Sweetie by yourself or to prepare our meals," said Rarity as she made her way up to her workshop. "Now come along, you need to get into your new outfit, and don't worry, it's not pink. I went for a very tasteful vermilion with chestnut highlights. It's so rare for me to use such delightful reds, since all the military want is white and blue. I mean really, there's only so much white and blue a mare can handle before she bursts you realize. Ah ha! Here we are! Tell me what you think darling, and hold nothing back."

With an all too dramatic burst of light, Rarity revealed the outfit and some part of Applejack—just a small part, inconsequential over all if truth must be told—thought that it actually looked decent. Passable maybe if it had to be stretched. There were no frills, no extra bits or doodads, and it looked slick. Sleeves down to the hoof, zip along the underside with a flap of some kind to cover it up and a nice high collar up to the bottom of her muzzle. From the looks of things, the neck area was even padded to make it look like there was a collar underneath. The jacket slipped on snuggly, and even unzipped Applejack could already feel the heat building up.

"I've been trying to replicate that material they got from the pegasi and though I've had nothing but rumors to work from, I like to think I'm getting there. So...? What do you think?" she asked.

Applejack shrugged and trotted out the door with her new clothing.

"Well now, since you're not tossing it on the floor and... urinating..." A shudder ran through her body as she said that word, "on it, I suppose it has her seal of approval?"

All Rarity got in response was a flick of Applejack's tail. As far as she cared, anything was better than a collar and leash.

"Very well then, off we go," said Rarity as she brushed past with a large black bag on her back.

"She said yes!" yelled Sweetie as she jumped onto Rarity's back, hind hooves flailing as she struggled to get on.

"Sweetie Belle, I can't carry both you and my gear," said Rarity.

"Sorry!" The filly immediately dropped back onto the ground and fixed Applejack with the saddest eyes she had ever seen. At first she managed to resist the pull, but then Sweetie's bottom lip began to tremble and Applejack was forced onto her knees to let the filly climb on.

"Sweetie, what do we say?"

"Thank you, Golden!" said Sweetie as she hugged Applejack tight with her tiny hooves.

"Now come along, it's been far too long since I last stretched these hooves of mine," said Rarity as they made their way down the hall to the teleportation pad. "We'll be back in an hour or so mother!"

"Have fun and kick some flank!" came the reply.

"Mother! This is for exercise not some sort of brutish competition. This is a refined sport for mares, I'll have you know." With a stomp of her hoof, the familiar glow of teleportation sprung up around them. "Now mother, you're absolutely certain you'll be fine by yourself?"

"Just because I'm older than you doesn't mean I'm old! Now git, before I give you a good spanking for implying I'm old."

Applejack winced at that mental image. She would have rather gone hungry for a week than hear that one.

"M-Mother!" said Rarity while her little sister giggled.

With a sigh and shake of her head, Rarity finished the spell and the world blurred around them. A second later, they hit the ground hard and Applejack stumbled to the side, the entire world tilting around her. Finally collapsing on her knees, Applejack placed both hooves over her mouth in an attempt to stop herself from throwing up. A quick glance over her shoulder told her that Sweetie Belle wasn't doing much better and that even Rarity looked a bit green.

"Not my best teleport," she admitted weakly, "but a bit of practice will fix that right up."

There was a flash of green light and two unicorns popped up right beside them. One of them inclined her head to Rarity while the other gave her a polite wave and smile before they both trotted off.

"Well, shall we?" asked Rarity as she began trotting out the door, leading them to a large auditorium filled with ponies practicing archery to fencing to just straight up running tracks. Together they walked along the top to where stands were set up with a few boxes. "Now stay in the stands and out of the way, and don't antagonize anyone."

Unzipping her bag, Rarity drew out a piece of cloth that she wrapped around her forehead before tying her mane back and pulling out a rapier. A faint glow surrounded the blade and she poked herself with it a couple of times before nodding in satisfaction. All the while Applejack watched with a cocked eyebrow as she eyed the weapon. Sure, it looked as though she knew how to hold it, but it wasn't particularly hard to figure out. Pointy end goes into the enemy after all. No doubt Rarity was just some filly playing at some game, thinking she could protect her family if she so desired, but if she actually ever tried to use the weapon in a fight, it'd result in her own quick death. Probably by impaling herself by accident.

"Golden, please stay with Sweetie at all times, she's too young to be wandering around on her own."

"But sis," whined the filly.

"No Sweetie, stay with Golden. Also, if she tells you not to do something, please listen." Rarity glanced over at the earth pony. "As for you Golden, I expect you to exercise some common sense and stop Sweetie from doing anything cra-"

"Well, well, well, who do we have here?"

Rarity immediately stiffened and turned around with a glare. "Trixie."

"That's Great and Powerful Trixie to you," said the blue mare, bandages wrapped all around her body. "Trixie sees you've finally decided to get a pet, took you long enough."

"And what are you doing here?" growled Rarity. "Last I heard you were stationed out at Fort Ironwood."

"Somehow that Pinkamina found out about the escape route, bypassed our magical defenses and stormed us from the inside," said Trixie with a pointed look. "Trixie dueled the monster atop a flaming tower, but in the end that cur managed to escape . Sadly, our dear beloved captain was killed in the battle, and thus it falls to Trixie to bring the news to the king."

"Oh yes, another fortuitous death for you. This is, what? The third such death that just happened to happen? First it was the training accident, and then it was the escort mission, and now this. Why, next thing we know, General Shining Armor will magically disappear late one night securing your position," said Rarity all too pleasantly.

"Watch your mouth or Trixie will show you exactly why she has the title of Great and Powerful." Trixie took a step forward. "How dare you imply Trixie would deliberately put her fellow soldiers in harm's way just for a promotion! That is a filthy rumor an-"

"Is it?"

For the next ten seconds, all Trixie could do was stare in absolute shock as her mouth opened and closed. Then, with a growl, she turned around and limped away, but not before she said, "Better be careful, Rarity, karma will bite back."

Despite the noisy auditorium, everything suddenly felt muted.

"Well now," said Rarity brightly, "I believe a certain filly wanted me to watch me kick some flank."

"Yes!" screamed Sweetie as she scrambled onto Applejack's head. "Kick some flank sis!"

"You can count on it." Her face suddenly lit up. "Ah, I believe that's Fleur down there. Perfect."

Rarity made her way down and tapped another unicorn on the shoulder. Though it was too far away for Applejack to hear what was going on, it was clear the two knew each and they seemed to be gossiping. After a couple minutes of complete boredom, they moved onto the field, each wielding a glowing rapier.

There was no bowing, no slow circling, instead Rarity just suddenly lunged forward, narrowly missing the other mare. What followed was a blur of blue and gold as they traded a quick series of thrusts and parries before finally disengaging. Now they began circling, throwing in the occasional poke or prod, but each one was skillfully blocked.Rarity feinted to the left, but instead of falling for it, Fleur slipped into Rarity's guard. Reacting far faster than Applejack thought possible, Rarity brought her blade back, using the guard to deflect the thrust. Add on a quick lean to the right and the rapier split some fur, but not any skin.

Rarity's hoof snapped out, only to be blocked by Fleur as she counted with a punch of her own, causing Rarity to stumble back. The only thing was, Applejack had seen enough 'poor me' ploys to immediately realize the trap was set. Just as expected, Fleur lunged in for the kill only too meet a quick deflect followed by thrust, the blade stopping a mere hair's width from her throat.

"Go Rarity!" screamed Sweetie at the top of lungs, which amounted to a very cute squeak.

As much as Applejack hated to admit it, that prissy, stuck up unicorn really did know how to fight. While she didn't win every single time, she put up a decent defense, and more than a couple bouts were close matches where a single mistake cost her the match. Could Applejack win though? If Rarity tried to stop the earth pony from escaping, who would win, and perhaps more important, if Sweetie was held hostage, would the prissy mare still fight back?

No.

Applejack shook her head and glared at the white unicorn. There was little doubt in her mind that she would win. Sure, Rarity may be graceful and light on her hooves, and each move may have been calculated, but she had never been placed in an actual fight. She had never experienced that eat or be eaten life firsthoof and until she had, Applejack would always come out on top. As far as the earth pony was concerned, Rarity was too spineless and weak to fight back. All it'd take was a bit of threatening and that mare would bow meekly to every single last demand.

Still not the best plan ever, but it was definitely something that could work, and if Trixie was high ranking enough, it could delay the search if Rarity went missing. That is if they even cared about things like that, with horned freaks it was hard to tell.

Soon.

For the first time in years, Applejack let herself smile.

Soon...

Comments

[OrphiusOlyandra]

So here it is, Chapter 3 and we start off with Fluttershy and RD, and let's be honest, it's not that interesting. Okay, I lie, it kinda is, but I've really got nohting to say on it.

Aaaaaaanyways, we shift onto Twilight and Spike, and this part is interesting. At least for me it was. Just getting them interacting with each other and arguing let me show off their respective personalities really, really well. It also allowed me to say some stuff about how they think of each other, how Twilight thinks at all in this setting, so on and so forth both in obvious ways and in subtle ways.

And then we get Trixie. Who cares about AJ or Rarity or Sweetie, we got Trixie. That is all. 'cause, you know, Trixie.

[DoomManta]

Yeah I've got nothing. No insights, no snark, nothing.

[OrphiusOlyandra]

2374585
I'll take a leaf out of y1's book then "You suck"

[DoomManta]

2374605 Well I could ramble on about the little changes (and some of the not-so-little ones I suppose) in the world from canon and their likely causes, but does anyone that's not me really want an over-analysis of Winter!Equestria?

[OrphiusOlyandra]

2374657
Don't do eet! Leave some fun for me

[DoomManta]

2374690 I don't follow.

[OrphiusOlyandra]

2374719 You're spoil all the fun of self discovery and stuff

[Arzoo]

So strange for trixie to be antagonizing someone other than twilight...

[Kit Kage]

Im really loving this story so far, but I have to ask . Am I the only one who really wants to see the reality warping power of Pinkie Pie being used for guerilla warfare? For some reason everytime she's mentioned in the story I get the urge to giggle inanely.
Is that just me or what?

[Iron Nebula]

I really hope AJ realizes Rarity just wants to help her. And that she doesn't hurt Sweetie Belle.

[OrphiusOlyandra]

2375791 Thus why it's an AU! And yeah, I agree, but that's part of the fun
2376151 I'd love to see that too, but that'd be way too overpowered.
2377091 Who knows? (I do since I wrote it) But who knows?

[Meowy]

Wait, Shining Armor is still Twilight's brother in your universe right? So what is all these Twilight mentioned about not being born with a silver spoon? I would think she will live a decent enough life if her brother is the General.

Or did she abandon her family or something?

I WANNA KNOW!!!

[DoomManta]

2378059 I do since I'm your editor.
2379043 Who knows...certainly not me or Orphius or y1

[Meowy]

2379509

Where do you live?

[OrphiusOlyandra]

2379043
You'll find out eventually. Maybe. Deepnds if I remember to put it in or not.

[Meowy]

2388023

I'll remind you every chapter till you include it.

[OrphiusOlyandra]

2388095 Probably a good idea with my memory

[Y1]

2296357
See, I think that because everyone's predicting horrible things will happen to Twilight, so he's gonna psyche us out and make it seem like horrible things are about to happen to her, but then pull her out of the line of fire and shove someone else in. And then, when we think Twilight's finally in the clear and we've let our guard's down, that's when the horrible thing will happen to her.

Maybe. I'm his editor/co-conspirator and I can tell you that he hasn't really planned this out. He doesn't usually plan things out anyway, so that's fine I think, but I suspect in this case he's going to play on our expectations if nothing else. We're expecting horrible things for Twilight, so he's gonna hurt her in a way we're all probably not expecting.

[OrphiusOlyandra]

2405112
I'm not sure if I should delete this or not just to play with expectations even more...
This is also probably the reason I love not planning. Not even I know what I'm gonna do so I can change everything so easily just to mess with people.

[EverfreeSparkle]

If Rarity tried to stop the earth pony from escaping, who would win, and perhaps more important, if Sweetie was held hostage, would the prissy mare still fight back?

If she actually takes Sweetie hostage, Applejack will forever be known as 'worst pony'.

In related news... This Twilight is best pony.