Pillow thoughts

Chapter 4
Stuck In More Ways Than One

"Calm down, stripey!", getting up on all fours. "Twilight made that spell o' hers and asked me to go in and wake you up. We shouted, but ya didn't answer."

"I was asleep!", protested Rainbow.

"You're always asleep!", replied Applejack moving aside to reveal Twilight who was standing behind her.

"Sorry for the intrusion, Rainbow. I need this plant for my experiments and there's this cave in which I can easily find it... Applejack insisted that we bring along another pony to make sure we get there and back safely", explained the purple unicorn.

Rainbow landed softly on her bed, scratching her head. "So why didn't you get somepony else?"

"Everypony else is busy."

The pegasus let out an audible sigh and shook her head. "I can't even remember last time I had a good night sleep". Wait, actually...she could remember. She looked up at her friends and just nodded. "Alright, let's get this over with."

The blue pegasus climbed out of her bed and walked towards the door. Suddenly, she realized something. She turned towards the orange pony and blinked a few times, remembering the moment before. "Uh...wait... why were you in my bed?"

Applejack frowned. "Ah was not in yer bed. I tripped and fell over your bed, waking you up". She cleared her voice. "It's not like ah'm walking on clouds everyday."

"Tripped and fell?", Rainbow snickered. She looked at the orange pony, not knowing if that was a joke or not. Applejack started blushing a bit and turned her gaze towards the window as if something much more interesting was going on outside. Rainbow looked at Twilight for some clarification, but the unicorn just shrugged.

The pegasus thought it would be wiser to just go outside and get this done as quickly as possible so she can return to her warm, yet not-so-orange, bed. She shook that thought away, focusing on the task at hand.

It was freezing outside. The weather pegasi might have overdid it a bit today. She looked around but she didn't see anypony. Figures... who would go out on a stroll in the middle of this weather?

She stretched her wings and took in a few deep breaths. Suddenly, a blinding light engulfed her. She gasped and looked around nervously, when she found herself on the ground below.

"Twilight! I have wings, you know!", she shouted to the purple pony.

"Oops, sorry... I just wanted to make sure Applejack and I got on the ground safely", she replied, smiling.

Rainbow rolled her eyes and mumbled: "Lead the way..."

***

As the three ponies made their way across the fields, the weather didn't show any signs of changing. The rain was less... rainy... but it was still pouring. Twilight was wearing some sort of yellow raincoat and she was happily talking with Applejack about her latest experiments. The orange pony was satisfied with wearing only her hat and a rope around her neck ("just in case"). They were trotting along, with Rainbow following them from behind.

The pegasus was not in the mood for idle chit-chat, nor was she in the mood for anything else. She was feeling a bit dragged into all of this... or maybe she just wasn't really feeling ok lately. Also, waking up and seeing Applejack in her bed, was not helping. First of all, it's her bed. Nopony else allowed. Second, it's Applejack.... and it was just weird.

"... What was I thinking?", she asked herself. Rainbow looked at the two mares in front of her. She felt a bit grateful that Twilight didn't tell anypony about... what she saw. As for Applejack, well, maybe she'll just drop the subject. After all, stranger things have happened to the mane six. This was surely irrelevant to her. Hopefully. Hopefully irrelevant to her.

The rain was still pouring, making everything muddy. Their hooves were covered in mud, but Rainbow didn't mind. Neither did Applejack... that's something she liked about her. She had none of that frou-frou stuff Rarity was babbling about all the time. Come to think of it, Applejack was the pony that Rainbow could relate to the easiest.

"She's a good friend... and good friends should remain... good friends", Rainbow thought to herself, looking up at the gray, cloudy sky. The wind rumpled her mane, and brightened her mood a bit. "We were best friend even before we knew each other... my Sonic Rainboom guided her home... she got her cutie mark that way". Dash smiled, remembering how amazed and thrilled she was when she first found that out. That was one of those good stories that you have to live through to believe.

They could see the cave somewhere in the distance. At least they didn't have to climb any mountain to reach it. Dash knew about it but she never went in there... she just hoped Twilight would quickly find that silly plant of hers so they can all go home.

"Where was I... cutie mark, right", the pegasus continued her thoughts, ignoring the conversation her friends were having. "Yeah, few cutie-mark stories are that impressive. Hay, it even impressed me. That's something". She lifted her gaze to look at her orange friend.

Despite wearing a hat, her golden mane was wet, sliding down the side of her neck. She was carrying that rope just like she'd done hundreds of times before. Her walk was unmistakably... hers. Firm, yet there was something harmonious in the way she was placing one leg in front of the other. Dash never really noticed this before... well, she knew that's how the cowpony walked... but she never stood to look at her this way.

Also, there's the orange coat. It was wet but, even so, it was the nicest wet-orange Dash has ever seen. The pegasus' daydreaming took the best of her as she set her eyes on Applejack's cutie mark. Three red apples, so... nice. So fitting. If she would've chosen a cutie mark for her, she couldn't find a better one. And that cutie mark was there because of Dash. She smiled again, letting memories gently invade her thoughts. Like... shiny drops of rain that fall from the silvery sky. Like...

"Like, why are y'all lookin' at mah flank?", Applejack rightly asked.

"Wha--?", jumped Rainbow. "No, I wasn't... I'm not... Nonono, I was looking beyond your flank. I mean, I wasn't even looking in that direction", she started pointing towards a tree, somewhere in the distance.

"All...right", continued the orange mare. "We're... here. At the cave. Are ya sure you're awake?"

"Huh? Yeah, of course I'm awake! Never been more...awake—y---er in my life!", replied the pegasus, holding her ground.

Twilight was just watching, with one of her typical perplexed looks on her face. She was about to ask what was going on... but she found it wiser to just shut up and enter the cave.

"Be sure to light up the way, Twilight", Applejack shouted, "otherwise Rainbow won't be able to see my flank in the dark."

"I was not looking at your flank!", replied Rainbow, through her teeth.

It was eerie to walk into this cave and see nothing else around you. It was pitch black. Twilight shook her head once and a lightsource made from a thousand tiny-tiny stars started forming from her horn and lifted itself above her head. The cave walls reflected the blue light, making the path a lot more accessible now.

They all walked through a narrow passage which led into a massive chamber, filled with blue crystals and gems. Everywhere you looked... on the ground, on the walls, embedded on the ceiling, tiny blue sparkles lit up the room. The ponies' lightsource glittered throughout the hundreds of shiny precious stones, revealing even more of the depth and immensity of the cave.

"Wooow", exclaimed Rainbow. "I've never been here before... so this is where Rarity gets all her gems from."

"The blue ones, yes", replied Twilight. "She told me about this place a long time ago. We explored it together and here, I noticed, a lot of Tristle-Tosser grows. We just need to find some and we're off", she added, looking around.

The ponies kept walking through the silver-blue diamonds. It seemed like this cave was bigger than they expected. It was very quiet, except for the sound of their hooves on the rocky ground which echoed in the distance. Applejack was walking in front of Rainbow, who was still looking around with her jaw dropped.

"Enjoying the view, sugarcube?", the orange pony asked.

"Oh, yeah...", replied Rainbow. "It's awesome!"

Applejack couldn't help letting out a giggle as she kept following Twilight. Rainbow stopped, confused, then snapped at her: "I meant the crystals!"

"Ah didn't say you meant anything else", replied the mare, smirking at the blue pegasus.

"Well, at least I don't pretend to fall into ponies' beds!", continued Rainbow, returning the smirk.

"Ah said ah tripped and fell!"

"Who trips on clouds?!"

"Girls!", whispered Twilight. "This is not really the best place to shout. Also, Rainbow, I think tripping on clouds is a lot more plausible than... other unexpected things. Don't you agree?"

It's a good thing the surrounding light was blue, otherwise the blush on Rainbow's face would've been more than obvious. She just smiled nervously as Twilight went further on, looking for her plant.

"What does she mean?", asked Applejack, with suspicion in her eyes.

"Oh, heh, long story... I'll tell you some other time", replied Rainbow, while trotting towards Twilight. "So, ah, Twi... what does this plant look like? Let's find it, grab it and ...you know, leave!"

"It's... hm... complicated. I'll just let you know when I've found it", the purple unicorn replied, while moving some rocks with her magic.

"Complicated?", Rainbow repeated in her mind. "What's so complicated about a plant... and for that matter, why do I get the feeling that Applejack was dragged into this as well? Something is not right here..."

They kept walking, silently, as Twilight kept looking for her Tristle-Tosser. She left no stone unturned, literally. She took the time to explain that this type of plant likes moist places and that, usually, it could be found under rocks. The other two followed her around. They started feeling like ponyguards as the cave took them deeper underground, through wide rooms and narrow passages. Very narrow passages.

"I... don't... believe it", mumbled Twilight looking at the pair of ponies who, unavoidably, got themselves stuck in a tight entrance.

"Rainbow! Move!!"

"I'm trying, AJ! If you would've let me through, we wouldn't be in this situation"

"Ah'm in front, Ah stay in front", replied the stubborn mare, crossing her front legs.

"Well now we're both in front!", concluded Rainbow, crossing her front legs as well. Sort of... since one of them was caught in her friend's rope.

"It's not mah fault that y'all have a big flank", protested Applejack, giving Rainbow a small kick with one of her hind legs.

"Ack! Excuuuse me, but your flank is clearly bigger than mine", the pegasus snapped.

"Stop lookin' at mah flank!", shouted Applejack, annoyed.

Twilight was just sitting there.
Yup. No point in doing something about it.
She just continued walking deeper into the cave. They would probably get tired of arguing at some point.

"Horseapples", mumbled Rainbow.

"What did you say? Apples... again!?", asked Applejack, honestly concerned that Rainbow might have a super-sensitive nose that can pick up her "secret" fragrance.

"I said !"

"Oh, alright...", the orange pony replied, turning her head away.

"What? What did you think I said?"

"Nothing! Absolutely nothing... nothing at all."

Rainbow blinked. That was... unusual. "You're lying."

"Ah'm not lying! Ah'm--"

CRASH!!

The stuck ponies lifted their heads.

"Twilight?? Twilight are you okay??", shouted Applejack.

No answer.

Rainbow backed up a bit to let Applejack cross through the opening. "Ok, we're free, go!". The ponies hurried into the next room, looking around for their friend. The dust was settling and the lightsource was still working... that meant she was okay.

"Twilight!!", shouted Dash, trying to make her way through the rubble.

"I'm here, I'm okay!", said Twilight, getting up from the ground, a bit dizzy from all the commotion. "I think a rock knocked me out a bit."

The ponies checked her... she was okay.

"A rock?", asked Applejack. "More like a boulder, look at that!", she pointed towards the big pile of rubble that fell from the ceiling, covering the passage towards the deeper parts of the cave.

"It's that storm outside, the wind can make entire boulders shift. A tiny one is all it takes to make a mess down here", said Dash, slightly annoyed by the fact that, out of all the days, Twilight chose this one to go hunting for fake plants.

"Yes, yes, I know... rumbled-vibrations... through the ground...", the unicorn mumbled, holding her head.

"Does this plant even exist?", Dash asked her purple friend.

"What? Of course it does", replied Twilight, enhancing the lightsource a little more. "Why would you think we came here in the first place?"

Rainbow looked at her, then at Applejack, then back at Twi. A thought did cross her mind, but that's just silly. Even so, before she could say anything, Applejack intervened: "Ah don't know about that plant of yours, but all three of us are going home right now."

Twilight wanted to protest but an even louder rumble, complete with the sound of crashing rocks, made the ceiling collapse right in front of their eyes, blocking their exit path. Applejack blinked, confused. Rainbow just smirked: "Well, at least this didn't happen because we shouted or anything."

Suddenly, the entire ground started shaking. This was either a small earthquake or a mighty big boulder tumbling down a hill. The three ponies instantly grabbed each other in fear and backed up to the nearest wall.

Applejack looked worried. The rumble was getting louder and louder.

"Well, in case we don't get out of here alive... Ah'm just glad ah'm with friends. Good friends. And that we managed to get over the whole biting-thing, Rainbow. Wouldn't wanna die upset with friends", she laughed, nervously.

"Applejack, we're not gonna die", replied Dash, raising her voice.

Twilight pricked up her ears, forgetting for half a second about the entire stuck-in-a-cave situation.

"Wait", she started shouting to Rainbow, to cover up the rumble noise. "You TOLD her?? Are you crazy?!"

Despite the increasing noise and Rainbow's desperate hoof-waving, Twilight continued: "Who, in their right mind, would just tell somepony , really, who does that?!"

She wasn't able to add anything else... or if she did, nopony heard her because the cave started to shake pretty badly. The ponies just sat there, looking for a way out. Well, one of them was.

Applejack was just staring at Rainbow, as bits and pieces of the ceiling started falling around them. Rainbow just stared back with a stupid, awkward grin on her face. You couldn't hear a thing, but you needed no expert to understand the words that were coming out of Applejack's mouth.

"YOU bit me??! ....You... BIT me?!?!"

A loud crash shook the place and the wall behind the ponies gave in, making them fall into the darkness below.