My Little Pony: The Crusaders' Curse

Rarity | Applejack

Chapter II - Repelling Magnets

“Now, what was that about?”

Rarity snapped out of her daze.  “What was what about?”

Applejack raised an eyebrow.  “You and Spike.”

Rarity blushed, recalling what had happened moments before.  She didn’t know what had gone through her, be it the time of day or the direction of the wind.  It just… happened.  Rarity sat down on the bench, rapping her hoof around the pole to her side.  “I… don’t know…” she responded.

“You do realize he’s a baby dragon, right?”

Rarity bit her bottom lip as the blood in her cheeks boiled.  “Well… er… I…”

Applejack sat down on the springy bench next to Rarity, nudging her with an elbow.  “Welp, guess you can’t control yourself all the time.”  She chuckled.

Rarity lightly giggled.  “Like you and Spike that one time?”

Applejack narrowed her brows.  “You little sucker.  Who told you that?”

Rarity smiled evilly.

“Fine then, ya baby kisser.  Just don’t have a session in public.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

The two mares shared a laugh, the neighboring passengers wrinkling their noses at the inappropriate joke.  Rarity shoved her hooves between her hind legs, flushing.  Applejack pulled her fedora down, hiding her eyes behind the brim.  This is going to be a long ride, Rarity thought.

☼☼☼☼

Applejack was dreaming about talking apple pies before the obnoxious train horn awoke her.  She sat up and rubbed her eyes.  Three days on this darned train, she thought, retrieving her hat from beside the bunk bed.  We should be arriving.

She walked to the window, the low sun’s glare hitting the dust on the window.  Outside was a green landscape, full with trees changing to their autumn colors.  Behind these trees were shimmering buildings, a large pointed tower overshadowing the tallest skyscraper among them.

Well, we found the needle in the haystack.

A sudden yelp and a thunk divided her attention from the outside scenery.  “What in tarnation, Rarity?”  Applejack whipped her head around to Rarity, who was slowly standing.  She muttered under her breath about how she hated bunks and moved to the window.

“Oh, thank heavens!”  Rarity sighed for relief.  “One more day on this blasted train and I’d go crazy!”

“You don’t think you’re already there?” Applejack teased.

Rarity scowled at Applejack.  “I’m going to get washed up.  I shouldn’t be going to a luxury city looking like a hyena.”

“Suit yourself,” Applejack replied.  She really couldn’t care less.  So she waited, and waited, and waited.  The city grew in the window, becoming invisible over a sharp turn.  When the train had come to a full stop, Rarity showed herself, flipping her mane.

“How do I look?” Rarity asked, the question of no surprise to Applejack.

“You look fine, Rare, now c’mon!”  Applejack tugged Rarity by her mane before she could wander back into the bathroom again.

“Let me just -”  Rarity yelped as Applejack flicked her head to the side disapprovingly.

During the game of tug-of-war, Applejack managed to gather their saddlebags and pull Rarity out of the train.  When Applejack finally relieved her grip, Rarity rubbed her hoof across her mane-line, cursing under her breath.  “Remember your business here, Rarity,” Applejack hissed.

Rarity scowled.  “I thought you weren’t up to the task in the first place.”

“Neither were you!”  Applejack bit her tongue before she could add to her retort.  It’s not worth it, thought her proactive side.  She sighed.  “Just c’mon.”

The two mares traversed between the tall buildings, the dividing street giving room for the people as well as a strange machine to travel upon.  “What in the high heavens is that?” Applejack asked in wonder.  The machine had a steel frame, an odd pipe on the front of it spewing out steam.

“I don’t know,” Rarity replied, gaping at it as it spontaneously caught fire.  The pilot of said vehicle disembarked and dived for cover, the anticlimactic flicker of the flames making this action seem all the more silly.  “But it isn’t working right,  that’s for sure.”  The two briskly trotted away as pegusi carrying fire extinguishers moved in.

It took another couple of hours walking until they finally found the historical museum.  It was a relatively large building, almost cubic if a few meters weren’t shaved from the roof.  Columns were lined against the front wall, stone vinework encircling all of them.  “Well, this is the place.”  Applejack gulped.  She was not fond of doing anything illegal, even if it was for the greater good.

Rarity seemed taken by the architecture.  “Such a marvelous building,” she mused, studying the museum’s walls.  “So, how are we planning on doing this?”

“Well… in the dead of night, you and I grab some provisions, highjack one of those longboats…”

“Don’t tell me you’re quoting that stupid book…”

“Why not?”

“Okay, how about let’s stay on topic, shall we, darling?”

“Fine, fine… I’ve got a plan.”

☼☼☼☼

“Rarity, get your head down!” Applejack hissed.  Rarity ducked her head under a bush swiftly, gritting her teeth.  Were they honestly going to do this?  Rarity peeked over at the museum, their proximity only a couple meters away from it.  Past this point, they would need to run; there was no cover past their position.  She couldn’t blend in with anything.  She was horrible at stealth, prone to step on anything that made a small crackle or noise.  She was not cut out for this.

“You ready, Rare?”  Applejack gulped.  Her stomach tied in knots as she readied to sprint.

“No,” Rarity replied, the same feeling occurring on an exponentially larger scale, “But I’m just going to have to deal with it.”

Applejack took three breaths before running out into the open, Rarity a tag behind.  They both hugged the wall, panting softly.  The rough material scraped against their sides as they sidled across the wall.

Applejack studied the area around the corner.  There was no way she could see past the limestone columns to the door.  She would have to maneuver around the first one to get a peek at it.  She swiftly moved across the column, unseen by the guards ahead.  Even though Rarity was a little clumsier, she managed to gracefully land her chin behind the first column without being seen either.

Applejack licked her dry lips, and peeked around the second column a couple times.  The two guards by the door were serving their purpose, unmoving even by the nagging flies swirling around their heads.  She studied the length between her column and Rarity’s, testing the traction on each.  She extended her limbs between the two, and started hoisting herself up to the roof.  Rarity looked around toward Applejack as she briskly climbed the height.  Rarity’s jaw dropped.  How in the name of Celestia could she do that? Rarity thought.

Years of apple-bucking.  Of course.

Applejack set herself atop the roof, beckoning to Rarity to climb up.  Come on up, her eyes said.

Rarity gestured to the two columns.  How am I even supposed to do this?  Rarity’s wide eyes gave the implied message more urgently.

Applejack repeated the gesture more aggressively.

Rarity sighed, sliding across the first column slickly.  She extended her limbs to fit the gap and climbed slowly.  Her limbs shook under her weight as she forced them to propel herself upward.  Toward the top, she allowed the smallest grunt out, attracting the attention of the nearby security.  She jumped the rest of the way up, hoisting herself on the roof right before one of the guards came to inspect the source of the noise.  The two mares held their breaths until the guard returned to his post.

Rarity slowly let out a breath of relief, wanting to laugh out the stress.  Applejack gave Rarity an approving nod before gesturing to move on.  They crept across the roof, entering a trapdoor toward the center.  They army-crawled across the beams in the attic, searching for any exit.  It wasn’t long before they stumbled upon another trapdoor going into an exhibition hall.  Applejack cracked open the trapdoor, looking into the hall.  She gave a nod to Rarity and jumped down into the hall, performing a barrel roll upon impact.  Rarity followed, doing the same.

“You, stop right there!”  Rarity stopped in her tracks, eyes wide.  “What is your business here?” the stallion asked, closing in on her.

Since no good excuse came to mind, Rarity resorted to something she could do very well.

“Does it matter, darling?” Rarity asked in a soothing voice.

The guard raised an eyebrow.  “Yes, it does matter.”

Rarity walked toward the guard.  “Hm, well, it only seems normal for a gal like me to take a stroll in a museum at three in the morning.”  Rarity was now close enough to the guard that the heat of her breath fell on his chin.

“Uhm… ma’am, I will warn you to back off.”

“What, am I too close?”  Rarity rubbed the tip of her hoof across the guard’s jawline, clicking her back hoof twice.

“Uh… yes… um…”

Rarity moved her muzzle to his ear, rubbing it against the guard’s face slowly.  “This is going to hurt,” she whispered.  Applejack landed one on the guard’s temple, knocking him out instantaneously.

“Well, at least he went out with a boner,” Applejack remarked.  “Let’s go.”

They carefully scanned the exhibition hall.  The helmet was to be displayed here, being one of the underdog displays.  They were never that well secured, though technology was advancing, one could pop off the glass case with relative ease.  Of course, no one would do it, because there was a guard around every corner during active hours.  But since the guards were seemingly absent from the premises, they were free to remove any containers as they wish.

After some time searching the halls, they finally found their artifact.  The helmet was in fair condition, a few dings in the helmet and a splotch of rust the only noticeable flaws.  Applejack carefully lifted the glass case, careful not to make a sound.  It’s always convenient to have a loss in security, she thought with a half-smug smile.  She set the glass box down, focussing her gaze on the helmet.  She used the same procedure, this time hearing an odd click and a series of beeps.  Sirens blared and lights dimmed to a dark red.

“What in tarnation is this?!” Applejack yelped.

“What do you think?” Rarity responded, “we’ve got to get out of here!”  Applejack put on the helmet, feeling the warmth escape from her limbs.

The two galloped desperately around, finding the way they came was the only exit.  The trapdoor was too high to escape through.  Applejack surged ahead.  Rarity followed farther behind, wrapping a corner Applejack took.

“Rarity, get down!”

Wires flew and embedded themselves in Rarity’s breast.  She grew stiff and numb, falling to the floor.  Her vision blurred as Applejack was captured by the guards.