The Things We Do For Love
Author's Note
Maybe a bit rough, but I only had a short time to write it. We had to include three prompts: Fire, palpable, and brooch. So that shaped how the story flowed.
Plus it's my birthday, so I wanted to publish something.
Thanks for reading!
The Things We Do For Love
“…and thus my thesis was proven. That was my dissertation for my rocktorate,” concluded Maud.
“Great story! Great story!” cheered Pinkie Pie as she happily bounced along.
“Uh – yeah, real interestin’,” confirmed Applejack, trying and failing to mask her palpable boredom. She didn’t look Maud in the eyes, instead keeping her focus on the road ahead.
“Oh! And you haven’t heard the five hundred pages of appendices! Please Maud, tell us the rest of your dissertation,” begged Pinkie.
“Okay. Page Four Hundred Twenty. Appendix One: The Mechanics of Heat Transfer in the Upper Mantle That Create the Perfect Conditions for the Formation of Metamorphic Rocks. Paragraph One: Thermodynamics....”
All day long, Applejack found herself an unwilling audience to Maud’s discussion of everything geology-related: rocks, minerals, gems, plate tectonics, sediment buildup, erosion, and a whole heapin’ of topics that sailed right over her head. When she had invited Maud along as her guide, she expected a nice quiet walk... okay, a long trek with plenty of awkward silence broken only by even more awkward attempts at conversation. But since Pinkie had invited herself along, declaring it the perfect PSEQWAJ (Pie Sisters Epic Quest With AppleJack), the pink mare had urged her sister into a long, long, long, long discussion of rocks. Applejack struggled against her desire to go bang her own head on a few rocks to ease the pain.
“...And that is the end of Appendix Twenty.”
“More! More!” cheered Pinkie. “Read your book.”
“The Mathematical Analysis of Stress-Strain Diagrams of the Upper Mantle?”
“Yes!”
“Sorry Pinkie. I still have ten chapters to write. Besides, we’re here,” she said, motioning to the lava tube below a large, smoking volcano.
“Oh thank Celestia!” declared Applejack before biting her tongue. She looked over at the other two. Pinkie still wore here happy clueless smile, and Maud continued her emotionless stare.
Breaking out the helmets, flashlights and ropes, Pinkie declared, “Let’s get to it!”
“Sorry, but this is something Ah ’ave to do by mahself,” said Applejack.
“Oh,” whined Pinkie.
“It’ll mean more if Ah didn’t have any help.”
“Okay, Maud and I will have PSUPT.” After looks of confusion from the other two – well from Applejack and a blank stare from Maud – she explained, “Pie Sisters Unexpected Picnic Time!” From nowhere she pulled forth a large red-and-white checkered blanket and a large picnic basket.
“Ah’ll see y’all in a little while,” said Applejack, before she slowly made her way deep into the cave.
Very quickly it became dark, with only the flashlight piercing the unending blackness. Which wouldn’t have been so bad, except the floor was rocky and uneven, threatening to trip her with every step. She pressed onwards, descending deeper into the cave. After a while, she began to see a faint glow, the palest of pinks. Then it grew brighter, stronger. The cave became intensely hot, and Applejack paused to wipe the sweat from her brow. Still, she would not be deterred. Finally she emerged into a cavern, the likes of which she had never seen before.
The room stretched for hundreds of feet across and rose a dozen stories high. Fiery red lava flowed in long rivers, winding from one end of the cavern to the other, cracking and popping warnings of the lethal hazard. The room was hotter than a boiler room in the great ships of the Equestrian Navy and filled with suffocating, choking gases of sulphur that would soon overwhelm anypony.
Applejack needed to work quick, with her available time quickly running out. She climbed down to the floor and treaded carefully, lest she slip into the lava or have a leg wedged into a crevice. “Now, what did Maud tell me?” she absentmindedly said to herself. She approached a wall, carefully examining it. She removed a rock hammer she had purchased via her friend Red and with one mighty swing, pounded it into the rock face. Nothing. She moved down further, and with another swing hit the wall, dislodging a great big piece that fell onto the floor. Nothing. She moved down further, looking for the tell-tale signs. Finally, she stopped and with one great heave sank the hammer deep into the rock. She jumped back as a great chunk crashed down onto the floor, filling the air with blinding dust. When it finally dissipated, Applejack peered into the hole. Inside, glittering under the light of the flashlight, lay a diamond. Carefully Applejack peeled away the surrounding earth, exposing the gem in all its glory. It was not just any diamond, but a flawless diamond of at least a hundred carrots. It would put the Hope Diamond or any of the royal jewels in Canterlot to shame.
Smiling, Applejack wrapped the diamond in some cloth and stored it in her saddlebag. Now she just needed to get out of this Tartarus-hole. She retraced her steps, along the narrow ledge along a river of molten lava. Nearly at the end, the ground gave out beneath her and she tumbled, rolling down and down. Thud! She landed hard on her side, dazed and confused. But quickly she regained her senses when she saw the fiery lave mere inches away. Applejack stood up and backed away, coughing under the suffocating conditions. She gazed up to the ledge, a good twenty feet. Her time was almost running out. Quickly reaching for the rope, she tied a lasso and tossed it up. It came falling back down. Again she threw it. Again it fell back down. With one mighty hurl she threw it with all her might. She tugged on the rope, and it became taut. Strenuously she began pulling herself up the rock wall, taking labored breaths between hacking coughs. Suddenly the rock beneath her hooves gave way, leaving her dangling by just the rope. She swung herself until she once again found firm footing and continued climbing. Finally she reached the top, and fell hard onto the ground, resting for a moment.
Applejack slowly stood. She was so close! She stumbled onwards –
“Ooh! What does the pony have there?”
Applejack glanced to her right, to find three diamond dogs.
“I bet it’s a gem!” said one.
“It’ll be my precious!” declared the third.
“Give it to us and we’ll let you go!”
“Never,” said Applejack flatly.
“Wrong answer!”
Applejack turned her head and popped her neck. “Bring it.”
The three came charging towards her. But Applejack stood firm. At the last possible second, she dodged the first, letting him pass then thrusting her back legs squarely into his side. He flew through the air and crashed into a wall. Turning to the second, she landed a hard blow straight into his jaw. He fell backwards, letting out a deafening cry of pain. Before she could take on the third, he rammed right into her, sending her reeling. Dazed, she refused to give in. He leapt into the air, attempting to slam her into the ground. Applejack spun and bucked him right in the gut, sending him to a hard landing twenty feet away.
Applejack glared at the three diamond dogs. They were in no shape to challenge her any further. Slowly she returned to the lava tube, walking with a noticeable limp, though she refused to show any signs of pain. After an excruciating stretch of time, she began to breathe cool fresh air and the faint glow of golden sunshine reflected off the cave walls.
Eventually she stumbled from the lava tube.
“Applejack!” cried Pinkie Pie, rushing to her side. She helped the farm pony over to Maud. “Are you okay!”
“I’m fine.”
“Did you find what you were looking for?” asked Maud.
With a smile, Applejack drew forth a small object bundled in a cloth and handed it to Maud, who unwrapped it.
“Ooh. Shiny!” exclaimed Pinkie.
“Crystalline carbon,” confirmed Maud.
“Yeah – real fancy,” said an exhausted Applejack.
~~~
Applejack sat uncomfortably. It’s not like she had never had dinner with Rarity before. The two frequently shared meals or spent time at the spa or went on missions together. Except, this time was different. Not that Rarity knew it.
“...And so that’s how I’ll open my Las Pegasus boutique at Celestia’s Palace.” After a pause, she asked, “Applejack?”
“Oh – uh, yeah. Yer Canterlot boutique will be the talk of the town.”
“Las Pegasus.”
“Yeah.”
“Applejack, is everything alright?”
“What do ya mean?”
“You seem – distracted. Is something on your mind?”
Applejack hesitated. She gazed over into those gorgeous blue eyes of the white mare sitting across from her. Even in flickering candlelight, those eyes were hypnotizing. She gulped, “Well... ya see... it’s just that... Ah mean –”
Rarity placed her hoof onto Applejack’s. “It’s okay, you can tell me anything dear.”
Applejack took a heavy sigh. “Ah got ya this.” She produced a small box and passed it to Rarity.
With palpable curiosity, the unicorn removed the lid. “A brooch! And the diamond – it’s flawless! This – this is stunning. Where ever did you find it?”
“Ah ’ad to travel ta the ends of Equestria.”
“You did?”
“Eeyup.”
“But why did you go to all the trouble?”
“Ah’ve never been much good at putting mah feelings into words. Ah guess that’s an Apple family trait. I just wanted to show ya how much....” She stopped, the words coming hard. “How much Ah love ya.”
“You do?”
“Yes. Ah – Ah’ve known fer a long time. Ah just didn’t know how to tell ya.”
“Well, I know how to tell you.” Rarity leaned over and gave Applejack a long, passionate kiss.
The diamond brooch glistened in the fiery light of the candles....
***
Author’s Note: Thanks for judging this competition!
