The Derpy I Know And Love 3 or How Pinkie Got Her Groove Back

CHAPTER FOUR

A Dark Journey

It took a lot of persuasion to get Rainbow to leave the hut with Pinkie unconscious.  But Zecora told her that she needed assistance and there was only one pony to do this.  And Rainbow Dash was the only pony who could go and get them and come back quickly.  To all’s surprise, the pony she wanted was Apple Bloom.

It was a bigger surprise when Rainbow Dash barged in on Miss Cheerilee’s spelling test and insisted that there was a medical emergency and Apple Bloom was needed for it.

Dinky, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon (who both had become better friends with the CMC’s after Twilight saved Diamond from expulsion from school), were worried for their friend.  They thought something was wrong with Granny Smith, Big Mac or Applejack.

Rainbow told Apple Bloom on the way that Zecora had requested her assistance.  This was no surprise to Apple Bloom.  But Apple Bloom did thoroughly enjoy the ride on Rainbow’s back.  She could see why Scootaloo was so stoked about the flying lessons that Rainbow was giving her.

They arrived at Zecora’s hut.  Apple Bloom got off Rainbow’s back but was courteous enough to thank her for the ride.

On entering, Apple Bloom and Zecora greeted each other in words the rest of the ponies did not understand, then gave formal kisses to each others cheeks.

Rainbow stood by the bed so she could be by Pinkie, she was being reminded of a similar time with Pinkie laying on a bed comatose, not that very long ago.  Rainbow did not know if even her daredevil nerves could take much of that again.  Rainbow was stroking Pinkie’s mane and speaking quietly.

“Hold on Pink,” said Rainbow, “I won’t let anything happen to you, I swear.  I love you too much to lose you.”

Then Rainbow leaned in and kissed Pinkie lightly on the lips.

Zecora was consulting some scrolls and then turned to Apple Bloom and spoke;

“Empty the caldron and fill it anew;

Fresh water must be had for the next brew.”

Apple Bloom walked over the cauldron as if to size it up.  Twilight knew that the filly could not move such a large vessel full of liquid by herself, at least the Earth Pony way.  Twilight started to go over to help her, when Zecora put a hoof out to stop her.

“I thank you for your offer, but I must insist;

The apprentice is able to handle this.”

Apple Bloom stood in front of the cauldron, she lowered her head and closed her eyes.  She started chanting something in a quiet voice.  Nopony could quite hear it or at least, understand it.

Twilight looked at Zecora who was smiling proudly, then Twilight looked back at Apple Bloom.

“Now you will heed;

Why your help she did not need.”

Twilight was use to the working of magic, but this was new to her.  There was no magic aura around the cauldron, at least what she was accustom to.  She thought she could detect the air around it shimmer.  Then to the surprise of all but Zecora, the cauldron rose about a foot off the fire and proceeded Apple Bloom out the door.

“Would you look at that!” said Rainbow.

“I did not realize that Apple Bloom was studying under you, Zecora,”  said Twilight.  “If I can be any help in the future, please let me know.”

Zecora smiled and nodded.

Apple Bloom came back with the caldron.  She maneuvered it on the fire.  She then went out and quickly came back with more firewood.  It was stacked around the caldron neatly.  Then again to everyone’s surprise (except Zecora) the filly said a word of command which caused the fire to intensify.

“I did not realize that Apple Bloom had such abilities.” Said Bubbles.

“I am not allowed to use anything I have learned without Zecora’s supervision,” said Apple Bloom.

“A wise policy,” said Twilight,” I have seen the reason why, when I was in school.”

Zecora started to gather some herbs from a chest against the wall.  Twilight recognized what she was using.

“I beg your pardon, Zecora, but aren’t they poisonous?” asked Twilight.

“If eaten without care, poison they would be;

But used the right way, the results you will see.

I will not lie, the risks are high;

But to go where you must, you must all but die.

But to save Pinkie’s soul, then it is a must;

My words you must head and my skills you must trust”

“Are you saying that we must come close to death, and that there is a possibility that we may not come back?”  asked Twilight.

Zecora gravely nodded her head.  She informed them that it must be Twilight and Rainbow that would have do this.

Twilight looked at Bubbles.  There was fear in her eyes.  Twilight knew from memories shared at Dawn’s birth, that she had watched her husband die.  The same look was now on her face.

Rainbow was struggling with thoughts she had before.  Could she willingly give up her life, the life that she loved so much for a friend, or even for her beloved Pink.

She looked over at Twilight and Bubbles, they were embracing.  Bubbles had just told Twilight that she knew that Twilight was ready to die for Pinkie and Rainbow once before, and even if she could talk Twilight out of it, Twilight would regret not taking the chance for the rest of her life.

Rainbow felt shame, Twilight had nothing at risk with this but she was going to do this for Pinkie and for herself.  For a pony who had not known anything about friendship just a hoof-full of years ago, Twilight was willing to practice the highest level of friendship, that of love.  The words returned to Rainbow;

‘No greater love has anypony than that they lay down their life for another pony’

Did Twilight love Pinkie more than herself.  She had denied Pinkie for so long, and now she had accepted her as the love of her life.  Why did Twilight love Pinkie so much, but Dash also realized that Twilight also loved herself.

The most random of thoughts hit her at that time, perhaps being around Pinkie so much was having an effect on her.  She remembered Twilight’s love crisis after Bon-Bon and Lyra’s wedding.  When Twilight mistakenly thought that she was wanting to have sex with Twilight.  Now, just out of a newly perceived understanding, and yes, love for this friend, she wished she had at least once.

Then Rainbow heard her name;

“Rainbow, are you in?” asked Twilight.

Not wanting to appear reluctant she chimed in;

“Of course, what are we waiting for?”

They placed the unconscious Pinkie on the floor.  Zecora had drawn with chalk many strange glyphs around her unmoving form.  Zecora then mixed up her brew, it smelled nasty.  She instructed Rainbow and Twilight to lay on either side of Pinkie and hold her hoof.

Bubbles stood off to the side, not sure if she wanted to watch this or not.  But love made her strong.

“After you drink the brew,

I can not assist you.

You will know what you will have to do;

You will come back only when your task is through.

If Pinkie can not be spared;

Then her fate you will share.”

Then Zecora did something that Twilight had never witnessed before, she spoke plainly.  Repeating her warning so to give weight and understanding to her words.

“You understand that you do not have to do this.  But once started it can not be undone until you have accomplished your task,” Zecora paused, “or you will expire.  All of Pinkie is not here, nor has all of Shooting Star gone away.  This is the task you must accomplish, you must go and get the rest of her from the underworld!”

Bubbles was trying not to cry.  She walked to Rainbow bent down and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

“Good luck, bring back Pinkie,” said Bubbles.

Then she went to Twilight and gave her what she hoped was not the final passionate kiss.

“Bring them both back, my love,” she said.

“Don’t worry,” said Twilight trying to be brave, “I will.”

“Hey!” said Rainbow trying to lighten things up for herself, “Twilight gets an awesome kiss and I get one that I would have been disappointed with if my mother had kissed me that way!”

Despite the grave situation all got a chuckle.

“I will let Pinkie fix that for you,” said Bubbles, “when you get back.”

“When you are done and a path you do lack;

Follow the chant and drum, to find your way back.”

Zecora then levitated two drinking bowls and dipped them in the brew.

“You must drink these dry;

Or else all you will do is die.”

The bowls floated to Rainbow and Twilight, they opened their mouths and the foul liquid poured in.  It was the worst thing they had ever tasted.

Zecora started to chant and Apple Bloom started to beat a steady beat on a drum.

It did not take long.  Twilight felt her stomach on fire, it spread through her quickly.  As it hit her brain, everything grew dim.  She felt colder than when she was in the arctic on the way to the Crystal Empire.  Soon she could not feel her limbs, her sight was going, the last thing she saw was Bubbles crying.  There was a ringing in her ears which was growing softer and softer until the only thing she heard was the chant and the drum.  It felt as if she was holding her breath but try as she might, she could not take a breath.  Then all was black, there was no longer the feeling of breathlessness, no numb feeling in her limbs, no feeling at all, not even the cold.  There was only the chant and the drum.

Then the black gave way to a misty, half dark world.  The mist started to lighten up, she saw Rainbow laying on the ground, if ground it was.  Twilight stood up and walked to her friend and shook her.

“Rainbow!” she said loudly, “are you with me?”

The pegasus moaned then slowly opened her eyes, looked around then focused on Twilight.

“So this is the place Pink tells me about, when she feels like talking about her crash.”

Rainbow got up, helped by Twilight.  Somehow Twilight’s touch gave her strength and reassurance.

“Let’s get going and find Pinkie," said Twilight concerned, “I don’t think we can spend too much time in doing this.”

“Nor do I want to,” answered Rainbow.  “I don’t think ponies were meant to spend too much time here.”

They looked around and saw ghostly shapes of ponies all going in one direction, just on the edge of sight.  There was also the sound of the chant and the drum.

“I guess we go this way,” said Twilight, pointing in the direction of the way the specters were headed.

Rainbow and Twilight walked together so close that they were touching.  The feel of the warmth of Rainbow was the only physical sensation she was having.  It was comforting.  Rainbow was feeling the same.

The touch awakened something in Twilight.  She could remember, or was it a premonition?  In here time was not certain.  She and Rainbow were grieving together, finding comfort in the forelegs of the other.  Passion was the only solace for the pain that they had been feeling for years.  Twilight could feel that they were in love.  There was the memory of making love with Rainbow.  It was not better or worse than with Bubbles.  It was different, and that made it special.  But this was another time, to come or gone by, she could not tell.

Twilight looked at Rainbow, Rainbow was looking back at her.

Rainbow lowered her head as if embarrassed and said;

“I am sorry I may have hurt your feelings in the past, your flanks are actually hot, they were never too scrawny.”

“I have always admired your physical prowess, the way all that activity has sculpted your body,  I only called you a show-off to hide my feelings.” Said Twilight, “I just wanted you to know just in case we never make it back.”

There was a sudden urge to embrace each other, but they fought it as neither the place or the time.

As they went along, they saw a glow, they were not sure if it was coming toward them or they it.  Then the mist around it cleared.

“Princess Celestia!” cried both ponies at once.

Bubbles looked at her love and her two friends.  Twilight and Rainbow were pale, deathly pale.  She could hardly see them breathing.  She was frightened beyond words.   She had so many things she wanted to ask Zecora, but she was told not to say anything while the chant and drum were going.  It had been hours and she wanted to cry, but was afraid that she would distract Zecora or Apple Bloom, and then there would be no way back for any of them.

“Yes it is I,” said the princess.  “You were going to learn about this quality of my position soon anyway Twilight.  I am indeed the guardian and guide of Equestria’s dead.  I exist here and in the world of the living at the same time.  You will learn this one day, but now is not the time to talk about that.”

“We are so glad you are here, will you help us with getting Pinkie back!” asked Rainbow.

“I am sorry my dear Rainbow Dash, here I can not interfere with the natural course of things.  I am only a guide.” Said the princess, “but as guardian I could not allow even you Twilight to hinder those who have already gone.  There is time for Pinkie, but not much.”

“Then as guide can you tell us where to go to find Pinkie?” asked Twilight.

Celestia smiled and pointed in  the direction they had been going.

“There is only one way here, normally.  Just follow the other ponies,” said Celestia.  “But beware, I sense great magic, there could be obstacles!”

With that Celestia faded and no other questions could be asked.

The two friends walked on, this time afraid to touch.  But they would glance at each other from time to time.  They walked on for what seemed like forever.  Twilight could not take the awkward silence any longer.  She stopped and turned to Rainbow, who stopped at the same time.

“Listen Rainbow,” said Twilight, “we can’t go on like this.  I am sure that you had the same thing happen to you as I did.  I don’t know if it was a premonition, a memory from a past life (if there is such a thing), or just a fantasy.  But we have to work together on this to save Pinkie, we have loving wives to go back to and we can not become afraid to interact with each other because of amorous feelings that we might have or had or will have for each other.  So I want to clear the air, as it were, and then we have to go on with what we have to do.”

Rainbow looked intensely, Twilight swallowed hard.

“Before Bubbles, I was never really drawn to anypony, and you know that.  But even before that thing after Bon-Bon and Lyra’s wedding, I had always thought that you would be a pony, that if I was to give into feelings, I would have wanted to be with.  You are outgoing, athletic and not afraid to say and do what you wanted.  Everything I am not.  But I never followed up on it because of my studies and my inexperience, but most of all, I was afraid of rejection.  You were and still are a very popular pony and I was sure that you had enough ‘relationships’ that I would not have been of any interest to you being the ‘Egg-Head’ you always accused me of being.”

Rainbow looked into Twilight’s eyes, she was trying to figure the right way to say what she was thinking.

“That first day we met, when I plowed into you, knocking you in the mud.  I did that on purpose, I had seen you from a distance, and what I saw was a very cute pony.  You know my ‘proclivities’, so seeing a cute mare that I had not met, I wanted to get to meet you somehow.  So I did the ‘Rainbow Dash’ thing and tackled you.  Even though we were laying in the mud, the feeling of being on top of you, you being warm and soft, it was all I could do not to ‘take you’ right then and there.  After that I tried to do my best not to think about it.  To just be friends was, and still is a very hard thing.  I said the scrawny flanks things to mask my true feelings.”

“True feelings?” asked Twilight.

“There were and to a point, still are times, when you are walking in front of me, your adorable flanks in plain sight, your marehood peeking out from under your tail occasionally.  I just want to stick my muzzle in between your flanks and, as Pinkie says, ‘eat you with a spoon’.”

“I never knew that any pony had any kind of feelings for me.  I had thought that Bubbles was an exception, that everypony just loved Twilight as a ‘friend’.”

“Twi,” said Rainbow with an odd gleam in her eyes, “there are friends and there are friends.  You know what I mean?  I could name several ponies who would trade their best set of horseshoes to be with you!”

“No way!” said Twilight.

“If you tell anypony that I told you this, I will deny it.  But that pony at the Quill and Sofa shop, I overheard him say after one of your visits that he would love to break in one of the new sofas with you.  That artist Claude Ponet, he told me once that he really wanted you to do some erotic poses for him, some he would even paint!

And not just the stallions.  That pony that works at the Children’s Home where Scootaloo lives, Candy Mane I believe.  I overheard heard her once when I was picking up Scoot, that she would love to make a romantic dinner for you.  And that one mare that looks kind of like Sparkler, but a little lighter in color and has a two dolphin cutie mark, Sea Swirl.  She told me that she would love to cover your marehood with honey and take a whole day to make sure that she had licked it clean.”

Twilight was shocked.

“Twi, you are loved and even lusted after.  Don’t sell yourself short.  Given the chance I would.....”

With that Rainbow kissed Twilight a fairly passionate kiss.  Twilight experienced a different kind of breathlessness.  Twilight wanted to break the kiss right away, she did not understand why she did not.  After, they both just stood there looking into each others eyes.

“I don’t know if it is this place or what we were talking about, I am not even sure that we will remember all this, if we get back.  But I will explain to Bubbles, if I have to, that I kissed you.  But I had to try once, just in case we don’t make it back.”

“I won’t lie to Bubbles,” said Twilight, “so if she ever asks, I will have to tell her the truth.”

“Fair enough,” said Rainbow with a wink, “let’s get moving before we both have some explaining that neither of us would want to do.”

They trotted off in the proper direction.  Still careful about touching, but no longer afraid to.  Wondering if this is one of the obstacles Celestia spoke of.