The Mark of Doom
The sun had barely risen when the mare made her way to the bathroom. Still sleepy, her concentration slipped and her right wing brushed the wall. It instinctively followed the pattern only she could see with feather-light touch and split the wood along its weak points. The mare winced as she heard the crack, and turned to inspect the damage. Thankfully, it was only a few broken boards this time, nothing too expensive. Still, it was best to get her morning routine done as soon as possible.
The mare reached bathroom and carefully opened the door without incident, heroically resisting the urge to touch the tempting weak spots. She looked into a mirror, and two golden eyes stared back from a surface, along with a hundred imaginary cracks showing her where the glass would shatter. She focused, and one of her eyes slowly turned out of alignment with the other. The pattern of doom all around her dimmed and faded, and she nodded happily. Her special talent was safely sealed away once again, and the world ceased to feel like a soap bubble ready to pop at the lightest touch.
Derpy Hooves was ready to face the day.
******
And what a day it was. On top of the normal packages and parcels they had a full cartload of furniture and tools. The unpacked anvil was already bad enough, but the piano was simply impossible to secure well. Even worse was that the skycart was unbalanced, making it difficult to handle. It made agonizingly slow progress across the sky towed by two pegasi, while Derpy was assigned to help balance it from the side and to ensure nothing fell from the back of the dangerously swaying vehicle. She was helped by her friend Raindrops, a golden mare with a blue mane and a trio of her namesake water droplets for a cutie mark.
The cart leaned left and Derpy hurried to push it sideways. It straightened, then leaned right. Raindrops was ready and jammed herself against the right side; but just then the pegasi pulling the cart banked left, and her efforts combined with the turn unbalanced the cart. Derpy saw it beginning fall over, and in panic jammed against it hard. The distraction underped her eye, and the weaknesses of the world around her jumped back into sharp focus.
Even as she fought to keep the cart upright, her wings and hooves found the weak spots in the back door and broke it off its hinges. The door fell to the side, but the loud crack startled the pegasi already nervous to be tied to such load, and they pulled up. The cart leaned back, and the cargo began to move.
First to fall was a flower pot, then the anvil, and finally the piano slid out and crashed down. Horrified of what she'd done, Derpy disengaged, and the cart, free from most of its load and its pullers calming down righted itself, just in time for her boss to arrive.
Crafty Crate was a large, gruff pegasus stallion who somehow managed to have stubble despite being covered in fur. He wore a cap over his blond mane, which flowed over his brown coat. He'd been at the fore of the procession, ensuring that there were no fliers coming close to the dangerously unmaneuverable cart, when the startled shouts of his underlings and the noise of falling cargo had alerted him that something was wrong. Now he was faced with an all too familiar sight of two nervous smiles from the pair of pegasi. But much as he'd liked to, he couldn't blame this disaster on anything but his own greed.
"Great, there go our insurance premiums." The stallion took off his cap and scratched his blond mane while gazing down. "Well. I'm just glad we took the long route around Ponyville, somepony could have gotten hurt."
And that was when they heard the weak moans coming from under the wreckage.
******
The mare would recover fully. That, at least, brought some relief to Derpy. Crafty Crate had reassured her that it had been an accident, and Raindrops pointed out that it had been her mistake that unbalanced the cart, but the fact remained that if not for Derpy's special talent for destruction an innocent bystander would had stayed unhurt. She had lost control, and a pony - Twilight Sparkle, the town librarian, according to the doctors - had almost been killed for it.
The friends of the injured mare sat on the other side of the waiting room, quietly talking with each other. One of them, a blue pegasus Derpy recognized as the captain of the weather patrol, Rainbow Dash, kept shooting angry glares her way. Derpy could hardly blame her, considering the condition her friend had been brought in in.
"You can see her now." It was nurse Redheart.
Twilight's friends began moving towards her room, Derpy behind them, when Rainbow turned and angrily asked: "And what do you want? Haven't you caused enough damage already?"
"I-" Derpy began, but stopped herself. The blue mare was right, after all.
And she wasn't done either. "Just go away! You're the last pony she needs to see!"
Derpy's ears flattened and she turned to walk away. Behind her she could hear one of Rainbow's friends ask: "Ya think that was going a bit far, sugarcube? It's not like she meant it."
"But Twilight still almost died." was the merciless answer.
That was the last Derpy heard as she exited the hospital. Raindrops had opted to wait outside, and quietly extended her wing over her, drawing the gray mare into a gentle hug. Derpy drew strength from her friend's warmth, and the two were still standing silently when Crafty Crate exited the hospital where he had been filling paperwork for the accident. The gruff stallion's face softened as he took in the scene.
"Why don't you two take the rest of the day off?" Crate suggested in a gentle tone. "Weekend's coming, so rest and come back Monday."
Raindrops nodded, and began gently guiding the depressed gray mare towards home. The two walked through Ponyville in silence, until they reached Derpy's house. Once in, Raindrops poured the two drinks, which burned their throats on their way down. Derpy began to shake, so she draped her wing over her once again, and drew her close.
"I almost killed her." The words were barely audible.
"It wasn't your fault. It was me who made an error, and the cart was overfull anyway."
Derpy turned her golden eyes towards her friend. She let them stay straight, now that alcohol clouded her perceptions instead. "Horseapples. It was me, and you know it."
"Your talent got out of control again?"
Derpy nodded.
Raindrops sighed. "That's not really your fault either."
"But she still almost died."
"But she didn't, and will recover. And I don't think Crate will take this kind of risk again. Everything will be fine."
The gray pegasus leaned on her friend and took comfort from her words, and as the shadows lengthened and the bottle emptied, sleep found them both.
******
Morning came, and with it an incessant knocking on her door. It woke Derpy up, and made her disengage from beneath the sweet warmth of Raindrops's wing. The sleepy mare walked to the door and pushed her hoof right through the lock. The door swung open to reveal Carrot Top, an earth pony with yellow coat and a curly orange mane, who quickly shot a look towards the ruined lock before turning towards Derpy.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
Derpy closed her eyes. When she opened them, they were crossed again. "No." she answered.
Carrot moved forward and put her forelegs around her friend in a hug. "I heard what happened."
Derpy sat, her eyes downcast. "I almost killed somepony."
"She was released yesterday already. It was nothing worse than cuts and bruises." answered the carrot farmer. Derpy didn't answer but just sat there, still staring at the floor. Then her stomach grumbled.
"Have you eaten anything?" Carrot Top asked.
Derpy shook her head.
The earth pony sighed. She disengaged and shooed Derpy towards the kitchen. On the way Raindrops came across them.
"Hi, CT." the yawning pegasus said.
"Hello, Raindrops. Have you eaten?"
She looked embarrassed. "No, we had a lot to think about."
"Yes, I see that." Carrot shot a look at the empty bottle of applejack on the table. "You probably want to know that Twilight got released from the hospital yesterday. Derpy's a mess, but how are you holding up?"
Derpy shot Carrot a dirty look, which made Raindrops chuckle. She then turned serious and answered: "Okay, I guess. It was a horrible accident, but we couldn't really have prevented it." Her expression turned hard. "Crafty Crate got greedy again and this time somepony got hurt. The insurance company's going to have lots of words with him."
Carrot Top nodded and had her friends take seats. She then made some hay fries. The three ate in silence. Or at least two of them ate, while Derpy picked at her fries listlessly. Usually watching Carrot's namesake cutie mark as she cooked would had worked up an appetite, but not now.
"You have to eat, you know. Even if you don't really feel like it, you'll only feel worse otherwise." said Carrot Top.
Derpy forced herself to consume her food, and it did indeed make her feel better. Not good, just less bad. After finishing, she excused herself and headed for the door.
"Where're you going?" Asked Raindrops.
The gray mare looked at her over her shoulder. "I need to apologize to the librarian. I need to make this right."
Raindrops stood up. "I'll come with you. I owe her too."
Carrot Top sighed. "I'd better come see that you two don't get into any more trouble."
Derpy smiled at her friends, thankful of their support. The three left and headed to the library.
******
Derpy knocked on the library door, careful to keep her talent under control. It wouldn't do to break the house of a mare she was hoping to apologize to. Behind her, Raindrops shifted her weight nervously, only to be reassured by Carrot Top quickly brushing against her side.
Just as Derpy knocked again, the door opened, and her hoof connected with the forehead of the very unicorn she was looking for. Fortunately, she had used too little force to cause any real damage, but the mare still fell on her rump in surprise.
"Um, my bad?" said the pegasus, smiling uncertainly.
"It's fine." answered the violet librarian while rubbing her head. She lifted her gaze to Derpy. "So, what can I do for you?"
"Well", said the nervous mare, "I'm Derpy Hooves. I..."
"We." corrected Raindrops.
"...kinda dropped a bunch of stuff on you yesterday. So we came to tell you we're sorry." finished Derpy.
Twilight looked at the gray mare, who was about to have a nervous breakdown. "It's fine. It was your boss's fault." The librarian took her lecturing pose. "The cart was overloaded. Pegasi-pulled wagons filled at over half their theoretical maximum capacity rapidly lose maneuverability, which is why Equestrian traffic code requires a class C license for their operation, which your pullers lacked. As the foreman, Mr. Crafty Crate clearly bears responsibility for this oversight."
Derpy and Raindrops looked at each other. "Then we're... okay?" Derpy cautiously asked.
"Of course." Twilight answered and smiled.
"Oh, I'm so relieved!" Derpy exclaimed while lunging forward and taking the unicorn into a bear hug. "I thought that you'd hate us forever!"
"Can't... breath..." wheezed out Twilight.
Derpy released the distressed pony. "Ups, my bad."
"That's... okay..." the librarian got out between deep inhales.
The three said their goodbyes and headed out to the village.
"So, what do you want to do?" asked Raindrops.
"I need to see to my garden." said Carrot Top.
"And I need to practice. This was too close." said Derpy.
"Derpy, it wasn't your fault!" said the other two in unison.
The gray mare shook her head, looking uncharacteristically serious. "No, but... I still need to do better. I can't lose focus every time I'm surprised. Someone will get killed otherwise." She rose to the air. "And there's only one place I can safely practice in."
"The Everfree Forest." Carrot Top said. If this had been any other pony, she would had tried to talk her out of going alone into the monster-infested woods, but she'd seen what Derpy could do. "Be careful."
"I will." She waved her friends goodbye and headed up, up and away. But unnoticed by any of them, one other pony saw her depart and followed.
******
Derpy flew over the forest, looking for a suitable clearing to land on. Ponyville was far behind her when she finally found it. A small mountain - really, a large hill - rose from the forest floor. The rocky terrain extended for a distance from it, keeping the trees away. There was brownish moss, and some dry-looking bushes, but no larger vegetation and no animals in sight. Perfect.
She let her eyes align, and the familiar pattern of potential doom settled over everything. The mare concentrated and landed, and smiled happily as the rock stayed intact. She took a step, then another, and picked up a small stone. She sat and juggled it with her forehooves, then let them adjust so the stone broke in half against them. The juggling continued with the two smaller stones, one of which was soon split again, and still she maintained control. She was about to try for four, when she heard a shout from behind her.
"Derpy!"
The startled mare shot to her hoofs and spun around, the stones forgotten, only to be immediately reminded as they landed on her head one by one. "Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!"
"What... are you doing?" It was Rainbow Dash. She stood a few paces away, her approach unnoticed by the gray pegasus intent on her exercise.
"Practicing juggling?" Derpy smiled uncertainly, her head swimming a bit from the impacts. Idly she noticed that Celestia's star was far past its peak, and realized that she must have lost her sense of time again. A good thing that Rainbow had found her, she'd hate to fly over the dangerous forest at night.
"You should leave that to experts like me, amateurs can get hurt." said the blue mare smugly. "Especially if they juggle with rocks." she added under her breath, apparently not realizing that Derpy could hear her. She turned serious and sighed. "Look Derpy, I came to say sorry for yesterday. I talked to Twilight. She told me it wasn't your fault she was hurt, it was Crafty Crate's for overloading the wagon." Rainbow extended her hoof. "Friends?"
Derpy extended hers. "Friends."
The hoofs touched, and Rainbow Dash withdrew hers with a sharp exclamation of pain. "Ouch!" She fell on her rump, cradling her hurt appendage. "What did you do that for! How did you do that?" Dash glared at Derpy angrily, her wings extending in anger.
In her excitement Derpy had forgotten to focus her attention or unfocus her perceptions. It didn't seem like Rainbow's hoof had suffered any real damage, but the impact had obviously hurt. Derpy grinned nervously while backing away. "My bad?"
"Oh no." Rainbow was mad now. Her hoof was turning numb, bringing relief from the pain and giving room for rage. She rose to air, aggression radiating from her form. "It. Is. On!" She dived at Derpy, who barely dodged the attack. Before Dash could turn, she had bolted.
Derpy knew that she couldn't possibly outrun Rainbow Dash in the air, so she stuck to the ground. The treeline was too far away, but if she followed the mountainside, the combination of uneven outcroppings and unsteady currents would hopefully keep the speedster from fully using her advantage. She couldn't risk being caught and forced to fight, not now when she didn't have time to focus and bring her talent under control.
"I'm sorry Rainbow Dash, I just don't know what went wrong!" she called out without turning her head.
"Oh, you'll be sorry all right!" came the answer far closer than it should had. Horseapples! She had underestimated Dash. But as luck would have had it, she suddenly saw a cave entrance to her left, and dodged inside just as something whooshed past where she had been.
Derpy charged headlong into the dark, the sound of her rapid footsteps echoing in the closed space. Good, the cacophony would help hide her location, and Dash wasn't known for her patience. All she had to do was wait for the hot-tempered pegasus to get bored and leave. She could apologize and explain later.
Just as Derpy was silently thanking her luck for finally turning a rock came loose under her hoof and she planted herself face first on the cave door. Dazed, the gray pegasus rose to her feet. Nothing to do but continue onward. Better be careful of any other loose - oh, here was one, here was other, in fact there were whole piles under her feet now. And why were they all so smooth, almost like they were polished? And was that a faint smell of smoke in the air?
With a sinking feeling Derpy came to a realization. These were not rocks. These were gems. A pile - nay, a horde of gems. A horde worthy of a fire-breathing, smoke-belching dragon. One who's flame was even now passing under her as she jumped and illuminating the cave and the mighty beast before her.
"Oh, come on!" Derpy exclaimed as she turned to flee back towards her previous pursuer.
******
Rainbow Dash was furious. She had tried to make friends, and that bubblebutt had hurt her hoof (and she still didn't know how). Derpy was going to pay!
Something hit her in the dark at high speed and sent her to the cave floor. She rolled over once, wincing as her still-tender hoof made contact with the hard ground. "Rainbow Dash!" shouted the target of her righteous anger, invisible in the shadows. "We have to get out of here, now!"
"Oh, you'll go out alright, Derpy!" Rainbow snarled. "Try to ambush me, will you?"
"No, you don't understand, there's-" Dash lunged at the sound and hit something in the dark, but with only one forehoof and no sight her awesome karate skills were at less than one hundred percent, so her opponent was able to grab her and head back towards the cave entrance.
"Put me down!" Rainbow shouted while wriggling in Derpy's grasp, trying to get a good strike in.
"Rainbow Dash, there's a dragon in the cave!" the gray mare finally managed to wheeze out between flying blind and being pummeled ineffectually (but still painfully) by her passenger.
It was then that they cleared the cave entrance and Dash, who could finally see what she was doing, managed to land a solid strike. Derpy was thrown off her, and they crashed to ground, rolling and finally coming to a halt at the edge of vegetation.
"Dragon, huh? Likely story." Dash rose to her three good hoofs and locked her eyes on Derpy who was likewise standing up. "So where's this dragon of yours, Derpy? Or was that a trick too?"
"There." The gray mare gestured to the cave entrance, where a furious-looking green dragon was generating a mini-tornado with its inhale.
"Aaahhh!" Rainbow Dash shouted and dodged up just before a gout of dragonflame set the dry forest ablaze below her. The flames began growing at an alarming rate, and the experienced weathermare realized that they had a problem. Not even Derpy should have had any trouble outrunning a dragon in open air, but it seemed that this part of the forest had suffered from a drought lately. There was no way the smoke would be noticed against the darkening evening sky, and by the time they'd lost the dragon and came back with reinforcements the forest fire would be uncontrollable. And that could potentially put all of Ponyville in danger.
Fighting was flat out. Rainbow was rash, not stupid. She remembered all too well the last time she had faced an enraged dragon. With just Derpy's cross-eyed gaze rather than Fluttershy's stare at her side there was no way she could win. That left only one option: negotiation.
The two other rivers of fire she and Derpy had dodged while she was going through all of this had made the situation only worse. She would have to grab whatever clouds floated nearby and get to work as soon as possible, and stop this overgrown lizard from igniting anything else. "Hey, dragon!" she shouted. "Stop!" Dodge. "You'll burn down the whole forest!"
"FIRE WILL NOT HURT ME, ONLY YOU, LITTLE THIEVES!" came the thundering reply.
"We're not thieves! We went to your cave by accident!"
"LIKELY STORY."
The words were accompanied by another gout of flame. Unprepared for the dragon being able to talk and expel fire at the same time, Rainbow desperately scampered backwards in air, clearing the flames but hitting a tree. Her attempts to regain control only served to entangle her wings and hoofs with the vines, and she realized that she was stuck. She lifted her gaze to the dragon before her.
An unreal feeling settled over Dash as she watched air rush into the giant maw in preparation of a gout of flame that would end her life. Here she was, strung up on a tree like some kind of sacrificial victim, straining in vain to break free. All around her the flames grew higher and higher. The whole scene was straight from a Daring Do novel, but there would be no miracle rescues here. She'd die here and fail her friends and all of Ponyville while at it.
As the wind stopped and a bright spark ignited somewhere deep inside the beast's throat, Dash closed her eyes.
The dragon bellowed in pain and the flame passed by her right. Rainbow's eyes shot open in surprise. The monster's head was turned left. It swayed drunkenly, took a step right then left, and finally fell down unconscious. A figure landed on the beast's head, a figure of a pegasus pony. Derpy Hooves.
Dash couldn't believe her eyes. What had just happened? Then she felt the heat of the forest fire and snapped back to reality. "Derpy!" The gray mare turned her golden eyes towards her. They were straight. "Let me loose! We have to put this fire out!"
Derpy closed her eyes for a moment, and when she opened them again they were once again crossed. The gray mare flew to Dash and began tearing at the vines, and in ten seconds flat was tangled up facing her. "Oh, come on!" Dash exclaimed.
******
Derpy strained, but the vines were wrapped around her hooves too tight. She couldn't reach their weak points, and thus couldn't break them. So it seemed that she'd failed to save Rainbow Dash from roasting after all. Not to mention herself, of course. What a day this was turning out to be.
Rainbow suddenly laughed. Derpy looked at her, surprised. "I don't believe this! You beat up a dragon but then we get killed by a bunch of vines!"
"I just don't know what went wrong." The gray mare looked aside. She'd never been good with knots, that's why Raindrops usually handled securing the cargo. And now she'd never see her friend again. Or, Derpy suddenly realized, perhaps she would all too soon, if this blaze spread fast enough and caught Ponyville by surprise. Firefighting was a dangerous job: the smoke could easily overcome a pegasus who pushed rainclouds over a large fire, and an emergency would require every able-bodied pony rather than just the professional weather patrol.
"Nah, it's not your fault. I mean, if I was caught, what chance did you have?"
Derpy didn't answer. The heat was yet to become uncomfortable. The blue mare struggled against the vines, her body rubbing on Derpy's. It was sleek, built for speed rather than her own raw strength born from hauling cargo, and slick with sweat. In other circumstances she might have rather enjoyed the situation. Oh yes, she could just see them sitting in front of a lit fireplace on a cold winter's night, pushing together, leaning in for a-
"Derpy, a little help here?" Dash asked irritatedly, shaking her from her little daydream. Blushing, the gray mare put her muscles to use, but it soon became clear that even their combined strength couldn't break the vines in time. Rainbow finally gave up and hung still against her. This was it, then. Her last muffin had been eaten.
"Derpy?" Dash said.
"Yes?"
"How did you beat the dragon?"
Rainbow was very deliberately focusing on her face and not on the creeping flames beneath. Derpy figured she could as well distract herself as well. "Well, you know my cutie mark is bubbles?" Rainbow nodded. "That's what the world is for me. Like a soap bubble about to pop. I see the weak points in everything, even in a dragon's jaw." She smiled embarrassedly. "It's so hard not to touch them. They're like buttons. And everyone knows buttons have to be pushed. That's why I need to keep my eyes unfocused, so I can't see them."
"So why can't you break these vines?"
"I can't move my hooves or wings enough." Derpy struggled to demonstrate. "Nor my butt."
"Your... butt?" Rainbow asked.
Derpy looked away. "I hit the dragon with it. It's what I use when I need raw force. Carrot Top says it's because of all the muffins I eat, but they're so good. Even if they make my butt big." Her face turned sad.
"Your butt's fine." Dash consoled the mare while rolling her eyes.
Oh hay, there was no future so no consequences. She could as well have some fun. Derpy turned back towards Rainbow, her eyes half-lidded. "Oh, you think my butt's fine?" She asked huskily.
The blue mare blushed. "H-hey, I didn't mean it like-"
Whatever else she was about to say was drowned out by the sudden deluge of water from above. It put down the fire immediately below them and covered Derpy's eyes with her drenched blond mane. Then she heard a familiar voice.
"Derpy, are you okay?"
******
Rainbow Dash could still feel her cheeks burning despite the cold shower. The heat of Derpy's very fit body pushing against her didn't help either. As she felt the vines coming loose around her limps she fought to regain her equilibrium.
"Raindrops! What are you doing here?" Derpy asked.
Raindrops? Oh yes, the other pegasus from Crafty Crate's crew.
"Well, it was getting dark and I thought you'd forgotten about the time again, so I went looking for you." the new voice said. "Then I saw the fire, and - how in Equestria did you get yourself into this?" The voice sounded incredulous. Dash couldn't really blame her. Still, first things first.
"No time to explain!" she exclaimed before Derpy could answer. "We have to put out this fire now, or it could threaten all of Ponyville!" The last of the vines fell off and Rainbow took flight, flicked her mane from her eyes with her hoof (all of which thankfully worked again) and took stock of the situation.
The dragon was still out and didn't look like it was going to wake any time soon. Despite the beast almost killing her Dash couldn't help but wince in sympathy when she saw the bruise from Derpy's butt bomb. The forest fire had slowed down as it got into the more deeply-rooted, less dry plants further from the cliff. It was confined to a relatively thin strip that followed the edge of the forest, keeping it from forming a proper firestorm - yet. But it was only a matter of time if they failed to act. There were a few clouds further out above the forest, and the one Raindrops had used to bring her namesakes for their rescue. Rainbow quickly split it in half.
"Raindrops, take this half to the southern edge of the fire and stop it from spreading there. Derpy, you take the other half to north. Work towards the center, and I'll get more clouds for you."
The two pegasi saluted and flew to action, while Rainbow dashed towards the nearest formation. Pushing her skill and speed she grabbed two clouds and zoomed at Raindrops, dropping one off and performing a sixty-degree turn without slowing. The other cloud she pushed under Derpy's hooves just as the cloud the gray mare was eagerly pounding ran dry and dissolved, and then it was off to get the next pair. The two rain-makers slowly neared each other loop by loop, until finally they met at the middle, the last flames dying under the combined efforts of three pegasi.
Rainbow and Raindrops collapsed on the cloud the latter had been working on, leaning on each other for support. Derpy continued jumping on hers, the tired pegasus soldiering on blindly.
"You can quite now, you know." Raindrops got out between pants.
Derpy opened her eyes and saw the now-dark forest. "Oh, okay." she replied, locking her legs straight mid-bounce. The impact shot a bolt of lightning from the cloud to the wet ashes below, re-igniting a small flame.
"Oh, for-" Rainbow began angrily, but the fire sputtered and died, the now-damp forest no longer easily combustible.
"My bad!" Derpy grinned nervously. This day was getting to be a personal record.
Rainbow didn't bother answering, but just took flight on tired wings and headed for Ponyville. "You coming?" she called over her shoulder. The two other pegasi rose to air and followed her.
******
It was dark outside. Carrot Top was getting quite worried waiting in the kitchen when she heard the front door open. She hurried there and was met by three exhausted pegasi. Derpy and Raindrops supported Rainbow Dash, the leader of the town weather patrol, between them.
"Carrot Top? What're you doing here?" the gray mare asked.
"Well, you didn't take any food with you so you've probably not eaten anything since morning, and would gorge on muffins before bed." The earth pony smiled. "Somepony needs to look after your diet, otherwise your butt will get too large for you to fly and you'll lose your job and house and just lie on my couch all day."
"Hey, my butt is fine! Rainbow Dash said so!" Derpy answered indignantly. The blue pegasus blushed at that, and Carrot Top glanced at her.
"Oh?" the earth pony asked with a raised eyebrow.
Rainbow opened her mouth, but Derpy was faster. "Yeah, and it beat a dragon!"
"A dragon." Carrot's voice was flat.
"Yeah, a dragon, and there was a forest fire and - it's been a busy day." Derpy said.
"We had to go back to show the weather team where the fire was so they could set a watch in case there was any smoldering left." Raindrops explained. "So Derpy offered to let Rainbow Dash crash here since her place is at the other side of Ponyville."
"Oh." Carrot Top turned back towards the kitchen. "It's a good thing I made a lot of food, then."
"Oh, there's no need." Derpy happily answered. "We went by your place on our way." Carrot's eye twitched at this. "You may want to stay and eat breakfast here, though."
"My fridge's empty again, isn't it?" She asked.
"Well... yeah." Raindrops rubbed the back of her head nervously.
Carrot Top sighed. There was no getting around some truths in life, it seemed. "Oh well, I'll just put this away then."
******
Supported by the two other pegasi Rainbow Dash stumbled into Derpy's bedroom. After a training exercise to work out her anger in the morning, the chat with Twilight, following Derpy for over an hour, the fight, the near-deaths from dragon and forest fire, putting it out, and finally flying back to Ponyville, back to forest and back yet again, she was spent. She vaguely felt being helped into bed, then warmth on both sides. With a start she realized that she was sandwiched between Derpy and Raindrops. Then Carrot Top followed the trio, grabbed a pillow and laid down sideways at the head of the bed.
For a moment Rainbow thought to complain being swamped by the three mares, then decided that she was too exhausted to. As she drifted to sleep, her last thought was: "Darn, I forgot to turn off my swag this morning."
It wasn't until a few days later that it occurred to her to wonder why Derpy had a bed big enough for four.
