Chapters Chapter 1- Dusk Shine P.O.V.
“Hey Barb,” Dusk Shine called from the first floor.
“Have you seen my binoculars?”
“Uh… try the second drawer by the front door.” She replied from the second. Dusk Shine trotted across the library, leaping over backpacks overflowing with supplies. The door glowed a light purple as Twilight came through the door with a sleeping baby dragon riding on her back.
“Hello Dusk… Shine?” Her sentence trailed off as she noticed the severe packing going on in her library.
“Hey Twilight.” He greeted, levitating the binoculars out of the drawer.
“ Dusk Shine, what’s going on?” she asked
“The guys and I have decided to go on a-”
Ehm. He was interrupted by a loud, exasperated cough from a rainbow-manned colt lounging in the window.
“Yeah, were ARE we going, Dusk?” the pegasus asked. Dusk Shine smiled sheepishly as Rainbow Blitz eyed him for a response.
“Uh, we’re- uh, going…to…” Dusk stammered, prodding the ground.
“CAMPING TRIP!” Barbara cheered from the second floor. Dusk Shine’s pupils constricted as Blitz’s glare intensified.
“You told her?!”
“Blitz, I HAD to tell her,” Dusk Shine defended “ I’m leaving her here for a whole five days. I can’t just up and disappear…”
“YES, YES YOU CAN! Twilight will be here to watch her!” Blitz shouted. Dusk sighed.
There’s just no reasoning with that brony.
“Your going camping?” Twilight exclaimed “Can I come? I’ve read all about it in one of my books,” she explained, calling forth the book.
“You go fishing, make fires, tell stories,” she squealed joyfully as she skimmed the pages.
“ Go hiking, and-”
“No!” shouted Blitz. “This is exactly why we did tell you girls! Or why we SHOULDN’T have told you…” Blitz glared at Dusk Shine one last time, ears flatten in anger.
“It’s a GUYS ONLY trip,” he explained. “meaning ‘NO GIRLS ALLOWED’.”
“But WHY can’t we come?” Twilight asked
“Oh please,” Blitz replied, rolling his eyes. “Ever since we got here, you girls have managed to nuzzle your noses into all aspects of our lives!”
“That’s not true!” Twilight stomped in objection. “The only reason we ever help you idiots is when you’re flanks need saving!”
“Th-that’s beside the point!” Blitz fumed. While the pegasus and the unicorn continued to argue, Dusk Shine resumed packing. Levitating several books off the shelves, Dusk Shine filled the dark green backpack.
The last one… he though in relief. One by one, he set each bag in the corner by the door, making sure the dark green bag was hidden behind the others. Finally, he lifted the baby dragon off of Twilight’s back, who continued to sleep, despite the commotion, and carried him up the stairs.
Chapter 2- Rainbow Blitz P.O.V.
“Eris would have never broken free if you girls had just stayed home, LIKE WE TOLD YOU!’ Blitz shouted
“We would have never have had to come if-”
“Will you two be quiet?!” Spike demanded from the second floor.
“Oh, sorry Spike!” Twilight called back. The baby dragon’s muffled footsteps stomped across the ceiling.
“Look,” Blitz started. “It’s not that we don’t like you gals, but us guys need a chance to hang out, ok?” Twilight’s ears drooped in sadness. It was all true. The girls were pretty nice, with the exception of one, and they’ve been a real help ever since they got trapped in their dimension. But Blitz missed the good ol’ days, where it was just the five of them, without a bunch of pretty, prissy ponies killing their swag. Twilight began to trudge up the stairs until the door swung open. Two pink partying ponies bounced in the room, looking extra cheerful today. Both carried camping supplies. Blitz sighed.
“Hello everypony!” they sung in unison.
“Hey guys.” Twilight sighed
“Twilight, why so glum?” Bubble Berry asked ,cocking his head to the right.
“Yeah, Twilight, cheer up” Pinkie Pie said as she bounced up the steps.
“ ‘Cause we’re going camping!” the cheered. Twilight looked at Blitz with genuine confusion.
“ Pinkie Pie’s going with you? I thought you said it was a ‘guys only’ thing.”
“IT IS!” he shouted in anger. He turned and faced the Benedict Berry.
“Berry, I thought I told you NOT TO TELL HER?”
“Oh, I know Blitzy,” he said apologetically. “But then I thought if six friends would make this the absolutelybestcampingtripmadebysixfriendsever, ” Berry started.
“Then SEVEN friends would make this the absolutelybestcampingtripmadebysixfriendsthatEquestriahaseverseen!” Pinkie Pie finished.
“Exactly,” Twilight nodded
“No, not ‘exactly’. There are six ponies goin’, not seven,” he stated firmly to them.
“But-” the girls objected
“Not SEVEN,” he said, turning to Pinkie.
“not EIGHT,” he said, turning to Twilight.
“six ponies. No more, no less. That’s why there are six tents and six canteens. That’s why there is enough food to last six ponies 5 days in the wilderness. Because six ponies are going!” Berry sat quietly with a hoof to his chin as he watched the three ponies argue.
“So, who’s going, anyway?” Berry asked. Blitz facehoofed himself.
“A.J., Elusive, Butterscotch, Dusk Shine, You, and me,” he said flatly.
“ And Pinkie Pie,” Berry added
“No, she’s not. There are only six ponies going. Me, you-”
“You just said she couldn’t go,” Berry countered
“Yeah, I did,” Blitz said, unsure of where this was going.
“You just said I could go. So she can go.” Berry concluded.
“Wait…what?”
“Well, Blitz,” he said grabbing his doppelganger and pulling her by his side.
“Isn’t she ME?” The two smiled innocently.
“Well, yeah, but-” Blitz stammered
“Well if that’s true, and I AM him, I’m going.” Pinkie smiled
“No, you’re not going because if you were him you would BE him.” Blitz argued
“But, you just said that she was me.” Berry countered.
“Right, you just said that she was him,” Twilight replied, joining in.
“And if THAT’S true, I’m Dusk Shine which means I’m going.” They smiled mischievously at the rainbow manned colt as he hung his head in defeat.
To Be Continued….
Next time-
The door swung open with force. A.J.’s ear was held firmly in between the teeth of his female half. Right behind them, Elusive’s ear dragged him through the door, glowing a light blue. Rarity came trotting in after him. Both colts howled in pain as the two mares dropped them at the feet of their friends.
“Somepony better start explainin’ why these two,” Applejack pointed an accusing hoof at the colts on the floor, “were stealin’ mah apples!”
“And taking my good silverware,” Rarity added.
“I wasn’t taking the, dear,” the suit maker defended. “I was borrowing them…”
Dusk Shine's eyes darted between the checklist and the pile of backpacks, stopping every so often to check off numerous boxes. Twilight had handed the two dragons a list of instructions on how to care for the library. Owliwicious & Gwenivere watched from the window as several ponies trotted onto the yard, dropping several more bags onto the pile. Owliwicious hadn't been with Twilight long, but even he knew all the commotion met something was going to happen. Gwenivere turned to him.
"What's going on?" she hooted
"I haven't the slightest idea. But we should tell the others, anyway..."
The two flew down to the first floor. The animals all chatted amongst themselves as Owliwicious and Gwenivere landed on their stands, hardly noticing them.
"Everyone? May I have your attention," he hooted.
"Can someone please explain what we're all doing here," Winona barked in a southern drawl. William barked in agreement.
"Who can say?" Tank shrugged slowly.
"They sure are making a ruckus out there, though..." Gwenivere said thoughtfully.
"It's clear SOME of us haven't trained our owners properly." Alexanderite mewed, rolling his eyes to Angel & Lilitha. The two bunnies glared at the prissy pussycat.
"Listen , you Garfield reject. My pony is as trained as they come," Angel spoke, with a heavy Manehatten accent.
"Oh come now, Angel. Butterscotch and Fluttershy are practically LEADING them into rebellion ," Opalescence meowed. "Alexander and I would gladly take them off your paws, if they've become too much for you." The two cats shared a hearty chuckle, looking rather posh.
"You're ones to talk," Lilitha interjected. "If anything, it's you two who can't keep ya ponies in check."
"Yeah, just last week, when we brought our owners over by your house, we left the room for five minutes to get a snack from our owners, we come back, they was practically mating on our floor, they was humpin' so hard," Angel recalled.
"Ya shoulda gotten them neutered." Lilitha squeaked. Opalescence let out an irritated
meow. "Whether we decide to get them neutered or not is none of you business, Thumper!"
The two bunnies gasped in horror. Angel, beginning to get teary eyed, turned away.
"You take. That. Back." Lilitha warned, voice cracking. The cats let out a satisfied purr as the rabbits began to weep. The rest of the pets tried to console them with the exception of Gummy and Gummette, who continued to gnaw on the legs of Owliwicious' stand. Owliwicious had seen enough and let out a horrible screech.
"ENOUGH!" The animals had all froze, whether it was crying, comforting, purring, or gnawing.
"There is something going on with our owners, and all you pets can do is bicker and argue." He eyed them all as they looked down in shame. After taking a moment to recompose himself, he continued.
"We need to find out what's wrong. First, we-"
He was interrupted by the sound of a squeaking open, followed by the trotting of four dozen hooves.
"Owliwicious," Twilight came over to stand beside him. She nuzzled his tummy feathers, which he fluffed out graciously. Dusk Shine rubbed Gwenivere's chest with a hoof, inching up to her neck. Gwenivere let out a drawn out hoot in pleasure. The others received a simple pat on the head or shell.
"we're going to be gone for a couple of days. Barbara and Spike will be here to watch over you," she continued. She turned to the rest of the animals in the room.
They'll be here for all of you."
The pets stared blankly at Twilight, who only smiled, then at their owners, who shared Twilight's enthusiasm, then at each other. Dusk Shine trotted quickly to the door, cautious of the surplus of tails on the floor. He left for only a moment, and when he returned he carried multiple bags to the back room, a companied by two baby dragons. The bags carried the scent of doggie treats and birdseed. It made Owliwicious' mouth water. Dusk Shine returned alone.
"We're all set to go Twilight," he stated. "We should get going before it gets dark."
Twilight nodded in agreement. The dragons returned from the back room, each carrying a scroll.
"Like I said, they are going to be watching you all, so please don't give them too much trouble. Did I forget anything?" she asked, turning back to Dusk Shine. He shook his head.
"Good. Alright everypony, let's go!"
"Who put her in charge?" Rainbow Blitz whispered to A.J. who simply shrugged.
The lavender librarians were the first out the door. The others lagged behind, shouting their good-byes and farewells as they went out the door.
Owliwicious held his usual poker face as the ponies left the library, but the rest, including Gwenivere, headed straight for the window as soon as the door shut. Even from his stand, he could hear cheers of delight coming from outside, followed by the rustling of bags and the stomping of hooves fading away in the distance. What started out as an argument turned into a full-blown rant between the cats and bunnies.
"See what you've done!" Opalescence hissed at the rabbits as the ponies all disappear in the forest.
"All you bunnies ever do is run your mouths, caring not of the consequences that follow. Now look, all that talk about Neutering has scared them away! Who knows how long they'll be gone." Her tail flicked irritably side to side but her gaze softened as watch them head into the forest.
"Oh, my poor poor Rarity. She'll starve out there without my ability to tell what time it is to eat!" she wept . Alexanderite held her paw in one of his own, patting sympathetically with his other.
"Yeah, well we weren't the only ones talkin' out loud," Lilitha said with clear regret in her voice. Angel hung his head in shame. Will 'n Winona started to whimper at the thought of their owners being gone forever. The alligators snapped their jaws at one another, looking for an outlet for their anger. The tortoises made... sad...tortoise noises.
Barbara poked her head out of the back room. The room was soon filled with the smells of mouth-watering goodness. "Dinner!" Owliwicious was beginning to feel a bit peckish. He opened his wings and pushed off his stand, gliding to Barbara. He landed smoothly, perching on her tail. And in the past, she would find this annoying, his claws digging under her scales. But this time, she paid that no attention. Instead, she turned to him.
"Are they alright?"
Despite her calls, the animals continued to stare out the window with mixed looks of confusion, anger, and regret.
Next time...
*Snap
The girls all rushed to each other's side, trembling with fear. A multitude of eyes appeared out of the pitch-black forest, all watching them. Their eyes grew wide as a growl arose from the forest.
"I-I-I think it's time we'd go." Twilight stammered. The girls all nodded in agreement.
Another growl came from the forest.
It was closer.
The girls backed away quickly but before they could run, a horrifying roar shook the forest, and the ponies, to the core.
"ELUSIVE!/BUTTERSCOTCH!"
The white unicorn and the yellow pegasus shot off into the dark forest, where the boys had disappeared. There was a quick exchange of glances between the remaining ponies before they all took off after Rarity and Fluttershy.
Dusk Shine led the group of ponies up the wide dirt path. Close behind, Twilight read from the map Zecora had given them prior entering the Everfree Forest. According to the map, the forest worked like a storm; the closer to the center you became, the less danger you encountered. Behind them, the rest of the ponies had stricken up a light conversation amongst themselves, except for Rainbow Blitz, who was still pretty ticked that the girls had found a way to come along.
“And I said, “Oatmeal, are you crazy!?!” The ponies all chuckles weakly as Pinkie and Berry laughed hysterically at Pinkie’s joke.
“Ok ok, Ah got one,” Applejack said enthusically. “Derpy told me this one.” She derped her eyes for effect.
“Two muffins are-a sittin’ in an oven. The first muffin turns to the second and says, ‘Boy, it sure is hot in here’ then the second one screams ‘Oh mah gosh, a talkin’ muffin!’”
They all cracked up laughing. Dusk Shine wiped a tear from his eye as they continued up the path. The sun was barely visible behind the canopy but they could tell by the splotches of golden red sky in the canopy, the sun was beginning to set.
Dusk Shine quickened his pace. It was bad enough they had to travel in the forest during the day. He didn’t even want to know what went on out here at night.
The path twisted and turned deeper into the forest. The further they walked, the thicker the canopy above them grew, making it harder to navigate through the forest. The laughter amongst the ponies dissolved into an eerie silence as Dusk Shine led them off the path, into the trees.”
“Um, are y’all sure about this?” A.J. asked, hesitantly following the two librarians off the path. Dusk Shine looked back and saw that only Twilight and A.J. (somewhat) had actually came off the path. They all blinked blankly at him. Actually, in truth, they stared at the darkness behind Dusk Shine that only seemed to get darker.
“It’s a shortcut,” he explained. “If we go this way, we should be able to reach the campsite before sunset.” The ponies looked at him warily. After what seemed like an eternity somepony finally spoke.
“B-b-but, it’s dark in there…” Fluttershy whispered. The group let out a collective sigh of relief. Finally, somepony had said it. Given any OTHER circumstance, they would have marched in along side Dusk Shine. But in the Everfree forest, thing don’t work like there supposed to.
The animals take care of themselves.
The plants grow wildly.
And the clouds move ALL ON THEIR OWN! *(faints)
Dusk Shine rolled his eyes. “Come ON guys, this is a man trip!” he exclaimed, puffing out his chest and deepening his voice. “By Solaris’ beard, we gonna get some hair on our chest!”
The girls looked at him flatly, then at Twilight (that IS her double…) who gave them a sheepish grin. The colts, on the other hoof, gave a manly “Yarh!”
Suddenly, Dusk whirled around and charged into the darkness. In an instant, the boys all did the same, shouting “Yarh!” The girls all stared at the point where the boys had disappeared.
The stupidity was overwhelming.
“They really mean business on this here trip, huh?” Applejack chuckled.
“Silly boys!” Pinkie Pie cracked. The girls began laughing at the boys’ seriousness, falling over, clutching their sides.
“Sillier than a dog in a flea shop!” Applejack continued.
“Their such dweebs!” Dash cried.
“I reckon-”
*Snap
The girls all rushed to each other’s side, trembling with fear. A multitude of eyes appeared out of the pitch-black forest, watching them. Their eyes grew wider as a growl arose out of the forest, shaking the earth below them.
“I-I-I think it’s time we’d go.” Twilight stammered. The girls all nodded in agreement. Another deafening growl came out of the forest.
It was closer.
The girls backed away quickly but before they could turn and run, a horrible roar ripped through the forest.
“ELUSIVE/BUTTERSCOTCH!”
The white unicorn and the yellow pegasus shot off in the direction where the boys had disappeared. There was a quick exchange of glances amongst the remaining ponies before, they too, took off after Rarity and Fluttershy.
Rarity’s hooves pounded against the leafy forest floor as she tore pass thick brambles and low hanging branches.
“Elusive!”
Oh, how she regretted coming to this dreadful place. She should have refused Elusive when he first asked her. She and Elusive could have spent the day snuggling on her clean featherbed. Or played with Sweepy and Sweetie belle. Or snuggling in her clean featherbed. Or other things in her featherbed, that would leave it not so clean…
‘Rarity!’ she thought in shock. ‘A lady would never thing of such a dirty thing! This jungle has gotten you thinking like a savage. Have you no shame?!?’
But even as she scolded herself mentally, she couldn’t suppress the angry red blush that overtook her face. Only Elusive could make her think such a thought.
Or go on a camping trip in the middle of a dangerous forest and leave her behind in a area with vicious pony-eating creatures that would just love to find her in a place like this and, surprise surprise, one of those animals DID find her, causing her to flee for her life.
Only Elusive could.
The more she thought about it, the more heated she became.
‘How DARE he abandon me like this! In the middle of some Celestia forsaking forest, fleeing for MY LIFE!’ Fueled with pure rage, she ran faster. Not from the unknown beast, but to her so-called beloved. She’ll show him what for!
But after running at her top speed for a minute or so, she grew tired. She stopped at an old oak tree for a break. Fluttershy came running after her, gasping for air. She stopped a few feet from Rarity and collapsed.
“R-R-Rarity…” she wheezed. “Please…take…break…now?” She sighed with relief as Rarity nodded. To be perfectly honest, she had completely forgotten that Fluttershy was behind her. Their gasping went in and out of sync as they rested against the oak.
“So,” Fluttershy asked timidly. “what should we do now?”
Rarity did a quick scan of the area. It was almost completely dark. In the distance, she could here twigs snapping and bushes rustling, the chirping of several crickets filled the air. The thick canopy made it impossible to see anything, including the time of day. She was exhausted, so that ruled out the option of magic. She was dirty, lost…
She began to cry.
“I don’t know Fluttershy. I just don’t know…” Her tears flows freely down her cheeks and off her chin, picking up the loose packed dirt off her cheeks. She hated this place. She was dirty, exhausted, and alone. How she desperately wished for Twilight and the others were there. They could have kept them strong.
Or Elusive.
She began to sob at the thought of Elusive. She wanted to wrap herself in his hooves. To smell his cologne, sweet but subtle. For him to stroke her back and whisper kind things in her ear. Instead, she was here, sobbing uncontrollably in her hooves, rolling in self-pity.
Until a pair of hooves wrapped around her. She lifted her head, half expecting to see Elusive. But instead, she found herself looking back at Fluttershy, who was on the verge of tears herself.
“Please, don’t cry, Rarity,” she sniffed. “we’ll find a way out. Just please, don’t cry… because when I see other’s cry, I feel like crying too…”
Rarity blinked. Fluttershy pulled her in for another hug, resting her head on Rarity’s shoulders. Slowly, she returned the hug, wrapping her own hooves around the shivering Fluttershy. With a smile slowly creeping on her face, she squeezed her friend lovingly.
At least, she had one good friend by her side.
“Thank you, Fluttershy. I’m alright now.” They pulled away from each other’s embrace.
“Oh good.” Fluttershy smiled. But her smile soon dropped, re-realizing their situation.
“So, what now?” Rarity though carefully. “I could try and use my magic,” she said enthusiastically. “Oh but all that light might draw unwanted attention… How long have we been out here?
“About seven minutes…”
“They’re bound to come looking for-” Rarity was interrupted by a inaudible yelling from the forest.
“Savages!” Rarity whispered fearfully. She grabbed Fluttershy and the both hid behind the oak tree. The yelling continued to grow louder and louder until there was a huge crash amongst the bushed.
“Rarity!”
She knew that voice!
“Elusive?” she called hopefully, poking her head out from behind the tree. He turned to her. Quickly realizing it was her, he galloped gleefully to her, stumbling a few times.
“Rarity!”
Rarity leapt out from behind the tree and ran toward him.
“Elusive!”
In a matter of seconds, they were entangled with one another, kissing and hugging their fears away.
“I’m so glad your alive!”
“I thought I would have never seen you again!”
“I’m so glad your Ok!”
“Me too!”
Rarity pulled back out of his hug, but not out of his embrace. Looking him over, she saw he was a mess. His hair, frizzed out, had twigs and leaves caught in it. His coat was covered in dirt, with a few mud accents. His eyes were a light shade of pink and dark bags hung below them.
She had only gone missing for 7 minutes…
“You have no idea how worried I was!” He pulled her in again. “If something were to have happened to you…” He squeezed her gently, refusing to finish. She felt safe in his arms. She nuzzled deep into his chest, cherishing every moment with him.
“I was really scared, Elusive…” she said softly, allowing a few tears to fall.
“Rarity, I was so distraught by your disappearance. When Twilight told us what happened, I felt nothing but guilt and disloyalty. If you were hurt, or WORSE, I would never forgive myself.” He rested his head atop her’s.
“Please forgive me…” he whimpered. “and my stupidity,” he spat out with disgust, cursing himself silently. She watched silently as he continued to beat himself up mentally, awaiting her answer.
She wrapped her hooves around his neck.
“Elusive, there is no need to apologize,” she cooed just before she pulled him in for a long and meaningful kiss. She had forgotten all of her anger. Her fear. She let herself get sucked into bliss as he lifted her shin and kiss the nape of her neck.
“Oh Elusive…” she moaned.
“As Solaris as my witness, I will never abandon you again,” he growled lowly.
Thing were becoming very… heated.
*Achoo!*
The two lovers found themselves looking at a red faced Fluttershy. Rarity and Elusive awkwardly untangled themselves.
“We should get going…” she said timidly.
“Y-y-yes,” Elusive coughed. “we should. Which reminds me,” he turned to the hole in the bush were he’d first entered. “Butterscotch!”
Just then, a yellow pegasus crashed through the bushes, looking quite frightened. He trembled with fear as his eyes darted around, looking for Elusive. But instead, his eyes landed on Fluttershy.
“You found her!” he exclaimed happily. He darted toward her, hugging her affectionately. “You’re ok!”
Fluttershy blushed once again. Butterscotch was…hugging her. Her wings flapped involuntarily. Butterscotch noticed her reaction, confused by it.
“What’s wrong Fluttershy?”
She looked up from his chest, blushing.
His wings began to beat as he slowly realized what he was doing. The pegasi remain motionless (except their wings), frozen by the wonderful feeling of unconditional love the hug had laid upon them.
Elusive and Rarity, the love EXPERTS, snickered from the sidelines.
“How adorable!” Rarity squealed.
“Oh young love, how I remember you so.” Elusive chuckled. He swept Rarity of her seat, dipping her slowly. “A knock at the door. How I foolishly thought it was another customer.” His face nearing her’s.
“Oh Elusive…”Rarity swooned.
“Opening that door, I saw… I saw…”
“’Saw’ what, my love?” Rarity begged, her breath quickening. Like a child to an adventure story, she waited with excitement. She knew the answer, but just to hear him say it would make her loose it. He leaned into her ear and whispered:
“I saw the most-“
“the UGLIEST MARE in Equestria!”
The two snapped out of their moment. With another rustling of the bushes, Rainbow Blitz emerged from the hole, smiling mischievously .
“Even when you’re missing, you two manage to find time to suck face…” he said disgust. “And what’s up with these two?!” he exclaimed, pointing at Fluttershy and Butterscotch.
Their wings continued to flap against their will.
“How DARE interrupt a moment between me and my beloved!” Elusive boomed, lifting Rarity out of swooning position.
“You finally found the girls and you figured a make out session out here would be ok?”
Blitz teased.
“We were just leaving.” Elusive scoffed. He pointed his horn toward the frozen pegasi and they began to glow a brilliant shade of blue, lifting off the ground.
“Let’s go Rarity.” he said, politely gesturing toward the hole in the bush. “I have a surprise for you at the camp.”
End of Day 0: part 1
“Wow!” A.J. exclaimed. They all stood on the edge of the waterfall, looking at the sparkling lake 20 or so feet below.
It was a very small waterfall, pony-sized if you will.
The fleeting water left the stone smooth, much of that of a waterslide. The current snaked down the stone and left room for a 10-foot drop into the crystal-clear lake.
“Dusk Shine, this is amazing!” A.J. said in awe.
“And it’s so close to the camp,” Twilight added. “How long DID it take you to plan this trip?” she nudged him playfully. He blushed at their praise.
“Come on guys, you’re embarrassing me…” he mumbled, sheepishly dragging a hoof along the smooth stone.
“Ah, for one think you did a great job. Ah’m all for modesty sugarcube, but you outta be pretty proud of yourself.” Applejack said as she scruffed up his hair. The ponies all voiced their approval in unison as Dusk smiled bashfully. Below, Rarity bathed in a secluded area in the lake, occluded by bushes and shrubs.
“Yes darling, this place marvelous!” she called over the uproar of the waterfall.
“Dusk Shine!” Elusive called from below. “To the right of you, there is a tree. It looks like it could fall at any moment.” At the head of the fall, a lean tree hung on the edge of the water, swaying at the mercy of the vicious current.
“I’m afraid one of you might be harmed,” Elusive called. “You must come down from there.”
“Elusive, it’ll be fine.” Blitz said, waving off the absurd notion. “It’s not going to fall anytime soon. Just so long nopony messes with it.”
“WHEEE!”
Just as soon Blitz finished his sentence, a bubbly cheer came in the direction of the plummeting tree. Bubble Berry hung upside down off a low hanging branch, bouncing with his usual enthusiasm as Pinkie shook the tree with her forelegs.
“What are you doing?!” Dusk exclaimed. The two froze with gravity defying positions with Berry in mid bounce and Pinkie leaning back for another push.
“What?” they asked in unison.
“Where you two NOT listening just now?” he scolded. “That tree is. Dangerous. Leave it alone!”
The two snorted with discontent as they hopped off the tree, shaking it closer the ground.
“We’ll be fine, Elusive.” Dusk Shine shouted back. Elusive gave a curt nod before rejoining with Rarity, having finishing her luxurious soak, and headed for the single path that led out of the lake.
“We’re going to head back to check on Butterscotch and Fluttershy.” Elusive called over his shoulder. “Hopefully, they’ve gotten over their little ordeal…” he muttered as they disappeared behind the thick growth around the lake.
“Well, enough with all the chit chat, let’s party!” Berry shouted. He popped underneath Pinkie, hoisting her up with a mischievous smile. And, head first, he dove for the start of the waterfall. Screams of fear and excitement rose above the roar of the ‘fall, ending in a *splash
They all peeked over the edge as Pinkie resurfaced, taking a gasp of air.
“Come on, guys! The water’s great!” she splashed around playfully, completely oblivious to the dark pink mane ominous rising out of the water.
“RAWWR!” Berry pounced on Pinkie’s back, dragging her back underwater. The two reemerged moments later, laughing. Pinkie started making her escape, slowly backing away for the shore. But Berry caught on quickly and chased after her. The ponies all backed away from the edge, listening to the laughter below.
“They must be crazy…” Twilight said with a wary smile. And like that, a double rainbow flashed in front of their eyes. Blitz and Dash stood at the lead of the ‘fall.
“And so am I!” they proclaimed in unison. They two blinked at each other.
“What are YOU doing?” Blitz challenged.
“Sliding down the slide FIRST!” Dash said quickly before leaping for the start of the slide. But her hind legs were caught in the air before she could hit the slide.
“No. Your. NOT!” Blitz shouted with effort as he pulled her away. He tried darting ahead of her, but she bit on his tail, anchoring herself on the ground.
“Yesh. Iah. AM!” she shouted into his tail. The two fought for the first ride, pulling manes and biting legs, until A.J. stopped them.
“Enough!” A.J. barked. The pegasi stopped.
“Now, ya’ll ain’t gonna be fightin’ like this all week!” he stomped.
“Rainbow Blitz, let Dash, here, go first.” Applejack asked kindly.
“And WHY should I do that?” Blitz snorted.
“It would be the gentlecoltly thing to do.”
Blitz opened his mouth in protest, but thought better of it.
At the same time, a spine-chilling smile crept on his face.
“OK, Applejack.” He backed away from the mouth of the waterfall. “Go ahead, Rainbow Dash.” He said with a gentlecoltly bow. His smile began to grow more sinister. Dash opened her wings in defiance as she pasted a still bowing Rainbow Blitz, nose in the air.
She stood tall at the highest point in the area, looking over everything and everyone.
It was her proudest moment. (Today anyway…)
But just as she was about to push off, Blitz pushed her. He smiled mischievously at she hung in the air for a moment. But that smile soon vanished as Dash grabbed onto his hoof, yanking him from the safety of the cliff.
The two plummeted down the slide, screaming in fear as they surpassed the 10 foot slide and just dropped down, apparently their ability to fly evaded them. They clung onto one another for dear life as they hit the water, resurfacing in each other’s arms.
Again, the ponies watched it all from the edge.
“Woah.” Twilight said in bewilderment.
“Twilight!” Dusk Shine stood at the start off the fall, looking enthusiastic.
“Wanna go down with me?”
Twilight blushed. “O-ok.” She left A.J. and Applejack and joined Dusk Shine at the mouth of the slide. Together, they sat at the start. Under the current, Dusk Shine found loose lodgments for his hind legs. He wrapped a hoof around her waist to keep her from starting prematurely, but Twilight couldn’t suppress the blush as his hoof pulled her closer.
“Ready?”
Twilight nodded reluctantly. Dusk Shine lifted his hind legs and, in an instant, they were swept away with the current. Their screams faded away into the distance, ending in a splash.
That just left A.J. and Applejack.
Below, Pinkie and Berry’s laughter could still be heard above the roar of the waterfall, along with Dusk & Twilight’s splashing and Blitz and Dash’s arguing.
A.J. gulped. “Hey, uh Applejack. ‘Suppose ya’ll want to ride down this here ‘fall, do you?” He scratched his mane awkwardly.
“With me?”
“You ready?” A.J. asked. Applejack squeezed her hooves around his waist and shoulders as she rode, piggyback style, on his back.
“Eeyup.” She smiled. He lifted his legs out of the water and they soon found themselves being swept away by the raging water.
The sun had fallen behind the horizon, decorating the sky with hues of red and gold. The roar of the waterfall could still be heard from the campsite. Crickets and beetles chirped their pretty song as the fire danced in the moonlight. The twigs cracked in protest as Twilight dropped them into the fire. She sputtered out the horrid taste the twigs left in her mouth as she took her seat by the fire. She rested her head behind her hooves, just barely peeking over them.
She watched Elusive and Rarity snuggle warmly by the fire. Their horns glowed brilliant shades of blue as the several apple slice skewers rotated slowly above the fire. One of the skewers grew dark than the rest as it levitated back to them. One slice twisted itself off the stick and dunked itself into the tub of caramel by Elusive. Elusive blew on the apple before it popped itself into Rarity’s mouth. Rarity moaned in delight as she rolled the treat in her mouth, savoring every bite.
A few feet away, Butterscotch and Fluttershy had finally worked up the courage to sit by one another. Fluttershy spook softly with a blush, still thanking him for finding her no doubt. She leaned onto his small frame, and after a pause of hesitation, she nuzzled him gently. His wings popped out of their resting positions, frozen in the air. His cheeks turned a dark shade of red as he looked at her with disbelief and blissfulness.
Twilight sighed as she watched them with envy.
‘I wish I had something like that…’
A large clash of metal and a fap of fabric pulled Twilight out of her thought and looked toward the rear of the camp. Dusk Shine sat in the middle of a heap of rods and fabric, smiling sheepishly at A.J. and Rainbow Blitz. Twilight could just make out A.J. and Blitz’s angered expressions inn the distant glow of the fire.
“What are you doing?” Blitz shouted. Dusk lifted himself out of the mess, shaking the dust off his lavender coat. “I was holding the center rod, like you told me,” he said with a hint of defiance.
“Clearly not. If you were holding it, the tent would be standing by now.” Blitz said angrily.
“But I WAS holding it!” The two colts argued amongst themselves, disrupting the peace.
“Alright you two, cool it,” A.J. said as he pushed between them. “We’ll just do it again.”
“We’ve been working on this tent for hours!” Blitz complained. “It’s obviously defective but you insist on using this one.”
“We only have five tents, Blitz. We need all of them to sleep in.” Dusk explained.
“Well, whoever sleeping in this one can sleep on the ground tonight.” Blitz scoffed as he tossed the fabric over his shoulder and headed for the warmth of the fire.
“Well, I guess you’ll be sleeping outside tonight.” A.J. said smugly. Blitz froze.
“WHAT?!”
“This is your tent, Blitz. You brought this tent from home, so you got to sleep in it.” Dusk said matter-of-fact-ly. Blitz groaned as he stalked his way back to the tent.
After several minutes of failed attempts, Blitz groaned aloud again.
“I’m done! I’d rather sleep on the ground.” Blitz crossed his hooves over his chest with a pout.
Twilight rolled her eyes and put her magic to good use. The rods all rose off the ground and into the air, aligning themselves in different positions. The fabric floated above the assembly, allowing the rods to slide into it’s slots before gently setting itself down. Four stakes levitated off the ground and shot for the holes in the tent, pinning it down.
“Woah, thanks Twi.” Blitz said with appreciation. The boys joined the others by the fire, which had already began eating. A.J. sat by Applejack and Dash, handing him an apple kabob. Blitz settled in beside Elusive and Rarity, who pay him no mined as they were lost in each other’s eyes once again, making him gag.
Dusk Shine sat by Twilight, making her heart flutter.
“Some day, huh?” Dusk said, turning to Twilight with a mouth half full of apple slices and caramel.
“Yeah, it was something.” She pulled her last slice off the skewer and dunked it into the tub of caramel next to her.
“The waterfall was the best part.”
“Aw yeah, that was the best. Maybe tomorrow we can go hang out by the lake tomorrow.” Dusk smiled. Twilight blushed. “We?”
“Yeah, A.J., Elusive, and I are going to hold a tournament of chicken fight and I sorta need a partner.”
“I would love to play,” Twilight started. “But I don’t even know what ‘chicken fight’ is.”
“It’s like wrestling. The first pony gets on the second pony’s shoulders. Then first pony wrestles with another team’s first player. The first team to knock over the other wins.” Dusk explained sticking more apple slices in his mouth.
“I guess I could…” Twilight said uneasily.
“Great! Thanks!” Dusk Shine smiled warmly. He yawned with a large stretch and rub of the eye.
“Guess it’s about time we hit the hay, huh?” With a grunt, he forced himself up off the ground. “It’s about time we go to bed guys.” The ponies mummered in agreement and began heading off to the six tents. Blitz trotted hastily to Dusk Shine’s side.
“Dusk, do I HAVE to share a tent with HER?” he asked, pointing at Rainbow Dash, who dumped a bucket of water over the fire.
Dusk looked at him in confusing. “What makes you think you’ll be sleeping with a girl?”
“Well, aren’t WE sharing a tent?” Twilight asked.
“What? NO!” Dusk shouted with a blush. “I already made the sleeping arrangements. No colt is sleeping in the same tent with a mare.”
“Well, you might want to tell them that…” Twilight said pointing at the ponies. Elusive held open the entrance to one tent for Rarity. Beside that tent, A.J. emerged into the tent with Applejack waiting patiently behind. The shadows of Pinkie and Berry bounced around the tent accompanied by giggles and snickers. Fluttershy and Butterscotch blushed madly at the foot of the tent, too embarrassed to make a move.
“STOP!”
The ponies all stopped and looked at a red faced Dusk Shine.
“You guys KNOW your not going to sleep like that.”
Elusive scoffed. “Dusk Shine, don’t be such a stick in the mud.” He nudged Rarity into their chosen tent as he continued. “It will be fine. No one will know so don’t worry about it.” Rarity giggled inside the tent as Elusive entered, chortling seductively. Dusk’s horn flashes a quick purple and Rarity and Elusive reappeared outside. Everyone stared wide-eyed as they saw the two unicorns’ current positions. Rarity laid on her back while Elusive kissed her stomach, trailing up to her neck. The two froze in shock when they realized they were, again outside.
“I think I should be worried.” Dusk Shine said flatly. The two scrambled off one another, blushing.
“I-I-I see you point.” Elusive stammered quietly.
A.J. stared up at the fabric ceiling, lost in thought. The fireflies hummed softly in the jar beside Elusive, dancing their nighttime waltz. Elusive pulled his sleeping mask over his eyes and stretched his hooves.
“Goodnight A.J.” the suit-maker yawned.
“Elusive, can Ah ask you somethin’?” A.J. asked with a distraught tone. Elusive lifted his mask.
“Is everything alright?” he asked. A.J. rolled away from him.
“I-I-I don’t know. All day I’ve had this funny feeling in mah stomach. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
“Are you sick?”
“Naw.”
Elusive rubbed a hoof on his chin, already accumulating a morning peach fuzz.
“Tell me…were you with anypony when this feeling?” He eyed A.J. with a mischievous gleam. A.J. turned back to him, leaning on his forelegs.
“What are you getting-,” Then it hit him. “No! It’s not even like that!” he shouted with a blush.
“Oh, come now A.J. You know, just as well as I, that the funny feeling you’re experiencing is love.” Elusive waved him off.
“If Ah were in love, I would know it.” A.J. said defiantly.
“Ok, suit yourself.” Elusive said, pulling his mask over his eyes. “Goodnight.”
The cicadas chirped fitfully outside along with the crickets and grasshoppers. A.J. listened to their empty music as he laid there in silence. Elusive snored softly beside him, muttering a few words here and there.
“Could Ah really be in love with her?” he said softly. “Ah mean, she’s ok, I guess. She’s easy on the eye, that’s for sure…” he chuckled. His smile soon dropped as he continued to talk out loud. “Aw, but she wouldn’t want anything to do with me. ‘Probably has some fancy-shmancy boyfriend back home that Ah don’t even know about.” A.J. sighed at his conclusion.
He rolled over in his sleeping bag and closed his eyes, welcoming a well-earned rest.
“Applejack probably didn’t even care about me…”
Soon, A.J. became to snore.
A smile crept on to Elusive’s face.
“Applejack, huh? A.J., you silly colt…”
Day 1
Dusk Shine reluctantly poked his head out of his tent, bracing himself from the blinding morning rays of sunlight. The sun hung just above horizon.
"6:30..." he muttered groggily as he gave a large stretch and a yawn. Being the student of the great Equestrian warlord, Solaris, he was taught how to use the sun to do many things. Finding the time was one of them.
"And here I thought he was just bragging about..." he chuckled as he rubbed an eye.
"AH-AAH-AAAHH-CHOO!"
Solaris rubbed a hoof to his stinging nose, looking as if he needed to catch his second wind. Horn still glowing, Celestia turned to him.
"Are you alright?" Shaking his head, he refocused on the task at hand. Raising the sun.
"I'm fine. But..."
"But what?"
"Have you ever gotten the feeling...someone talking about you?" Celestia raised a brow, then gave a chuckle.
"You're so strange, Solaris."
Solaris blushed as the princess laughed beside him at his silliness.
Dusk Shine made his way across the camp, trotting softly to keep the others asleep. Heading for the camp's edge, Dusk eyed the bags that dangled from the trees hungrily. Horn glowing brightly, one of the many bags untied itself from a tree limb and floated gently on one of the picnic tables. He seated
himself at the table and undid the knot on the top of the bag. Several apples rolled out, looking very appetizing for a snack.
Minutes later, Rainbow Blitz emerged from his tent, a dark green bag dangling from his teeth.
"Good morning, Blitz. Apple?" he asked, handing his one. Blitz made his way to the table and set the bag down beside him before he took the apple hungrily.
"So, I wanted to go over the plan one more time with before we start." Blitz slurped. "Now if we're going to find this thing in five days, we need to start tracking it now."
"Woah, woah, woah." Dusk interjected in shock. "You don't think we're STILL gonna find that thing, do you? The girls are here, we can't put them in that much danger."
"Which is exactly why I told you guys NOT to tell the girls about this trip, they're always butting in, but nopony seems to know how to keep a secret." Blitz ranted, crossing his hooves over his chest. "They're not coming anyway. They'd get in the way."
Blitz bent down underneath the table, returning once again with a bag in his mouth. He dumped the contents of the bag onto the tabletop: a sealed scroll, a compass, a few matches , and a torch. Blitz broke the seal with a flick of the wrist and rolled it out. They stared at a large map of the Everfree Forest that took up half of the table. Drawn beautifully in detail, with several outliers marking on the map: red paw prints.
"I managed to track it here," he said, pointing a hoof at a paw print on the map. "It's not that far from here, like a one and a half hour hike. But if we go up this way,-" Dusk Shine slammed a hoof down on the map in anger, making Blitz flinch.
"ARE YOU INSANE?!?" Dusk Shine roared. Blitz's eyes grew wider in frustration as he tried to shush Dusk Shine up, but the lavender unicorn could not be tamed as he continued to rant.
"What if we're no match for that-that THING and it comes here?!? The girls would be totally defenseless!"
"No fur off my back..." Blitz said flatly.
"ARE YOU LISTEN TO YOURSELF? I-"
Just then, Fluttershy poked her head out of her tent. "Is everything alright?" she asked drowsily. Dusk Shine and Blitz shared a glance and a moment of realization. Dusk Shine cleared his throat in embarrassment. "Yeah Fluttershy, everything's fine. We're just...setting the table for breakfast, that's all."
"Oh, would you like some help?" she asked slowly pushing herself outside.
"NO!" the two shouted in unison. The pegasus instinctively recoiled back into the tent in fright.
"Uh, sorry Fluttershy. It's good, we can set the table." Blitz replied apologetically. A soft smile returned to her face as she nodded and retreated back into her tent. Dusk's angry expression returned as he continued in a hushed tone.
"You see? Fluttershy will freak out if that thing comes romping and stomping into the camp. The girls wouldn't know how to handle it, let alone stop it. Somepony might get hurt and I'm not going to risk that because you wish to be reckless."
"So that's just all the more reason to find it. Better we find it than it find us." Blitz reasoned optimistically. " Saving the girls from the big scary monster is one of the best ways of earning your strips, think about it. We bring back the head of the beast to the girls, the girls tell their marefriends in Ponyville, they tell THEIR friends, next thing you know," Blitz said, wrapping a hoof around Dusk Shine's shoulder for the big finish. "We are neck DEEP in mares, my friend. Mares, mares everywhere." He whispered with determination. " And all we need to do is get that thing."
By now, a blush had worked its way onto Dusk Shine's face as he envisioned all of those mares doing things for him.
To him...
"That would be nice, but still... it's too dangerous." He said finally. Blitz drooped in disappointment , until he had gotten another idea, perking right up. "What if we sent the girls home a little early?"
Dusk Shine raised a brow in confusion. "Huh?"
"Yeah, we send the girls home early, then we go find the beast, that way the girls stay while we go find it."
"That would be a good idea," Dusk considered, rubbing a hoof on his chin. "Only, one problem..."
"What?"
"US! That thing will mangle us!" Dusk shouted. "And I would like to return home in one piece!"
"So you WEREN'T serious when we were planning this 'big hunt' at home?" Blitz asked accusingly.
"I was high on Testosterone and Adrenaline!" Dusk defended with a slightly cracked voice. "I bet the others were too. No one was serious about the hunt."
Blitz crossed his hooves over his chest and let out a snort of hot air. "Well, I'm still going. See you from the back of my MILK CARTON, 'so called' friend." He lifted his nose in disgust at Dusk Shine. Moments later, he peeked to see if his disposition had changed.
Dusk sighed. "Fine."
The ponies had all gathered 'round the picnic tables for breakfast, caught up in their own conversations. Bubble Berry squirted a mountain of ketup atop his home fries and omelet. He licked his lips hungrily as it oozed out of the bottle, spattering into every nook and cranny on his plate. Berry wasn't a very picky eater. He'd eat anything if it looked good, and for whatever reason, he never got fat. He hit the bottom of the bottle a few times as the flow of ketup started to slow, until the bottle was completely empty. Beside him, Pinkie did the same, hitting the bottle until empty. They tossed their forth bottle over their shoulders in unison.
"Ready?" Berry said with his usual enthusiasm. Pinkie gave a curt nod and like that, the two sunk their faces into the mounds of ketup.
Berry slurped with all his might, sucking up the red slime off of the plate. About 3/4 of his ketup gone when he heard Pinkie yell, "DONE!" Berry yanked his face off of his plate to see for himself. Her face was as red as a beet, but the plate was squeaky clean.
"Darn it!" Berry whined. He snorted out a puff of ketup as Pinkie bounced around the table gleefully.
"I win! I win!" she cheered.
"Alright Pinkie," Berry smiled, shaking the ketup off of his face. "What do you want to do today?" Pinkie stopped in mid bounce and fell to the ground. She reached into her tail and pulled out a scroll. Upon opening it, it rolled out onto the ground, extending to about five feet.
"Wow." Berry said in awe. "That's a lot."
"But it can be done by the end of the day." Pinkie said with determination. "First we're going on a hike with Butterscotch and Fluttershy this morning. Then, everypony is going to hang out at the lake. About 2 hours in we're going to have a chicken fight tournament. Come back to camp, and go looking for new fruits and veggies for dinner. Then finally, marshmallow roasting at the end of the day."
"That sounds great, Pinkie! But, uh, why is the list that long?" Berry asked, pointing at the list. Pinkie snapped the roll of paper back into its original state and tucked it away back into her tail. "The rest is, you know, Pinkie-Berry sense and randomness stuff." She said as she trotted passed him.
"Oh. Cool!" he beamed.
Pinkie and Berry led the way through the woods, with Fluttershy and Butterscotch trotting close behind. Pinkie had found these woods inside the forest (Weird, right?) long ago. The woods were in the very center of the forest, making it the safest place to hike. Here, the light shined brightly through the thin canopy, making the trees and plants grow wildly. It was teaming with rare and exotic creatures that roamed freely. They'd finally stopped, settling down for a rest.
"This is...amazing." Butterscotch breathed in awe.
"I know, right?" Pinkie agreed as she bounced passed. "And I've always have wanted to take Fluttershy here," she turned to Fluttershy. "But I knew she would never come into the Everfree Forest, even for an superbly amazing place like this."
Fluttershy opened her mouth to reply, but just then, a magnificent monarch landed on her nose. It beat its wings slowly as she looked upon it with awe.
"Hello." She smiled. The butterfly fluttered its wings faster in greeting.
"Oh my..." Then, another butterfly landed on her head, then another on her hoof. She giggled as the butterflies fluttered around her, taking a major liking to her.
A few feet away, Butterscotch had a large bird perched on his shoulder. He fed the bird a treat from his saddlebag. After consuming it, the bird gave a regal squawk of delight. Soon after, three more birds landed near Butterscotch.
"Oh, would you like one too?"
He reached into his bag and pulled out three more treats, giving one to each of them. With screeches of approval, they flew up and perched on his back. They removed his saddlebag, placing it on the ground. They, then, began preening his wings and mane, getting deep in between his feathers.
"Come on, guys! That tickles!" he giggled.
Pinkie and Berry watched lazily from afar as they lounged on a pair of bushes, being fed grapes by native monkeys.
"This place is great," Berry said sleepily, giving a large stretch. "I feel like taking a nap..." He scratched his belly as a monkey popped another grape in his mouth.
"Well, we do have a good 30 minutes until we have to leave, so a nap would be nice." Pinkie said drowsily. She waved a hoof at the monkeys and they took to the trees, hooting and hollering as they dispersed through the treetops. Berry's eyes began to grow heavy as he lay there, listening to the forest sweet serenade that lulled him into slumber.
That is, until he felt a light pressure on his chest. He peaked a look over his muzzle and found a large lump of pink rub into his chest, followed by a soft murmur and a snore. Berry's eyes popped open, the need to nap no longer a handicap.
Berry began to sweat bullets as he continued to stare at the peaceful mare; a red blush overtaking his already pink face.
"P-P-Pinkie?" he stammered softly. The sleepy pony snuggled deeper in response. Berry laid there, stiff and motionless. Berry always had hung out with Pinkie like this before. Ever since they've met, they've been inseparable. Heck, the Cakes even let them sleep in the same room.
But somehow, this was different...
And for the first time in Berry's life, he didn't know what to do.
Should he wake her? Laugh it off? Be random, as always? All of these solutions popped into his head, and one by one, he shot them down. These were all things he would normally do when...well, when ever.
But for some reason or another, he didn't move.
He didn't want to.
He watched her as she slept peacefully on his chest. Her sides rising and falling with every small breath she took, her soft murmuring in her sleep, her candy scented mane, the warmth of her body....
He felt his heart pounding heavily in his chest, slowly crawling up his throat. He felt his hooves growing sweaty after a time, as well as his brow as he waited. Waited for something, ANYTHING to stop the madness!
"Berry?" Berry snapped out of his panic, turning his attention to the two pegasi standing expectantly to his right.
"Huh?" he blurted. The yellow stallion's gaze dropped quickly, a hoof dragging on the ground.
"I said it was time to go, but you and Pinkie look busy so we'll wait..."
Fluttershy nodded shyly in agreement.
"No!" he exclaimed. The pegasi jumped back, quickly making themselves look as small as possible.
"I mean, no...we can...go..." Berry trailed off as his gaze rested on the mare on his chest. Butterscotch and Fluttershy shifted uneasily on their hind hooves as they waited for Berry to wake Pinkie up.
"Uh, Berry?" Fluttershy asked. But she received no answer. The two shared a quizzical look. Several more moments passed until one of them decided to do something.
"Pinkie?" Fluttershy called softly.
The mare lifted her head off his chest, yawning drowsily.
"Huh? Whatisit?" she slurred.
"It's about time for us to go, Pinkie." She explained. Pinkie then got up, gave a stretch and a yawn, and bounced off of the flattened bush. "Alrighty, let's go!" She bounced along side Fluttershy as the two made their way toward the exiting path. But even as they left, Berry remained motionless. Staring blankly off into space, he could have sworn he had heard somepony calling his name.
"Berry, we need to go..."
Berry, once again, snapped out of his thoughts as Butterscotch shook him gently with a hoof. "Huh? Uh, yeah...sure."
Berry lagged behind as Butterscotch moved hastily, meaning to catch up with the girls. He trudged through the leafy trail alone, head hanging low in exhaustion. Berry felt as if he had ran across Equestria. Or hit by a train. Or both. He could hear Pinkie's inaudible voice echoing over the buzzing of the forest.
'It was probably nothing.' Berry thought. 'Pinkie is my friend, after all. Maybe something bit me while we were in the forest or something... But
still, maybe I should tell the guys about it.'
Blitz hovered above the lake lazily as everyone below set up their beach umbrellas and laid down their beach towels. He focused on each one of the girls, measuring them up to be his partner.
'Defiantly not her. She would probably freeze up during the competition. And she's not all that strong, either.' He thought as he flew passed Fluttershy as she set up one of the beach umbrellas with Butterscotch.
Blitz rolled his eyes with uncertainty as he drifted by the partying ponies, splashing playfully in the water. 'She's... A LITTLE too crazy for me to handle.'
'She wouldn't even CONSIDER being my partner,' he rolled his eyes once again as Rarity trotted by. 'Even if she did, Elusive would kill me for even asking.' He concluded as she made her way to the white stallion, giving him an affectionate nuzzle.
'Maybe her... if I run outta options.' He thought, wincing at the notion of Twilight being his partner.
He skimmed over Rainbow Dash as she passed by on a cloud, getting a tan.
'Fast, strong, willing to do anything to win-'
"-But there's no way in the Chrysalis Kingdom that will EVER happen!" he exclaimed. Blitz broke into a fit of uncontainable laughter, unable to catch his breath.
Rainbow Dash looked up from her cloud nap to see Blitz laughing hysterically. She shook her head disapprovingly at the sight.
"What's so funny?" she asked lazily. Blitz looked at her, his laugh slowly dying into a chuckle until his smile had gone completely. He took a moment to recompose himself.
"I don't see how that's any of your business..." he replied flatly.
"It is, when you're laughing in my face." She came back sharply.
"Well, with a face like that, I'd feel insecure too." He said, casually checking his hooves for imperfections.
"What?!" she snapped.
"Oh, did I stutter? Or are you just slow? Need me to repeat myself?
W-wi-ith AH f-f-fa-ace-"
A.J. shook his head shamefully as he watched Dash and Blitz argued about nothing. Again. In fact, everyone had stopped to see where all the angered shouting had come from.
"Those two are like water and oil..." Applejack muttered as she came along side him.
"Yeah, they've been at each other's throats ever since we've gotten here."
"In the forest?"
"Naw, in this world. They've been a'itchin' to fight ever since we set hoof in Equestria."
Applejack shook her head in confusion. "But Ah don't get it. WHY don't they like each other? Everypony else seems to be doing fine with their opposites."
"Ah honestly don't know..." A.J. sighed. They both stood there in silence as the Rainbows' argument raged on.
A.J. started to notice that all around the lakeside, the ponies started pairing up, no doubt for the tournament. Dusk Shine and Twilight were already going over their strategy in the shade. Pinkie and Berry stretched their legs on the grass beside each other. Fluttershy and Butterscotch tested the water and Rarity and Elusive practiced their form.
That just left two other mares to partner up with.
And one of them was standing right next to him.
"Hey, uh Applejack?" A.J. asked turning to the earth pony.
"Applesauce has CALCIUM in it, stupid! Not IRON!" Rainbow Dash spat with a burning, red face.
"Oh yeah, well then-"
Blitz paused. He turned back to the shore of the lake with a look of horror .
Everypony was pairing up. His eyes scanned the shoreline, completely ignoring the shouting pegasus behind him, looking for a spare mare. But all of the girls were taken.
Except for Rainbow Dash.
"Hey, uh Applejack?" Blitz's ears swiveled toward the conversation, followed by his head.
"Ah was sort a wonderin', that is if y'all don't already have one..."
'He didn't ask HER yet!' Blitz thought hopefully. Blitz tore through the sky, wings beating wildly with a newfound purpose.
"Hey, I'm not done with you yet!"
"Ah was hopin'-"
A.J., cut off short by a large cloud of dust and dirt, started coughing and sputtering. His eyes watered, dust flew up his mouth and nose. It was only when the dust cleared, he could see exactly what happened.
Rainbow Blitz.
"Hey Applejack, how 'bout you and I partner up for this compo-tish?" he spoke confidently with a sly grin.
"Uh sure, I guess..."
"Cool." A.J. watched in horror as Blitz opened his wing, leading her off toward the other teams. He didn't even get to ask her.
Moments later, another cloud of dust appeared.
But just as soon as it came, it had cleared, revealing Dash flapping her wings.
"Sorry about that A.J. I might have touched down to hard. Have you seen Rainbow Blitz anywhere?" she asked with a hint of irritation. "The game is about to start and I want to get this thing over with."
"Wait, he asked you to be his partner?"
"Well, no. But I figured that everypony was gonna pair up with themselves, so ya' know..." she explained, circling a hoof in the air to put two and two together. A.J. shook his head. "He must have not known that."
"What do you mean?" she pressed, cocking her head.
"He just walked off with-" he sighed heavily. "-Applejack. He asked her to be his partner..."
She looked over his shoulder. Applejack laughed heartily as Blitz strained to get her off the ground.
"It's alright if y'all can't do it." She laughed.
"Its. Alright." He wheezed from under her, just barely getting her off the ground.
Dash turned away.
"Dash, you alright?"
"........."
"Dash..."
"You're my partner for the contest, ok?"
"What?"
"I said you're my partner, alright!" she snapped viscously at him. He flinched. She stalked off away from the lake, away from him, and flopped down into the grass.
A.J. could have sworn he had heard her crying.
Rainbow Dash waited on the sidelines for the second to last match to begin, her mane and tail drenched in water and sweat. Twilight had already managed to steady herself on Dusk Shine's shoulders. Across from them, Rarity and Elusive struggled to do the same.
"Sweetie, you must relax." He cooed as they swayed unevenly. He was surprisingly calm for one getting his hair pulled. It must have been the usual for him...
"I am Not getting my hair wet!" she barked angrily.
"I managed to keep it dry so far, haven't I?" Dash got a quick look at her mane: perfect as usual. Her own mane was a wet, frizzy mess like the rest of them and she knew Rarity would pin them down the moment the tournament ended and straightened their manes.
Rarity sighed. "Alright." She loosened her grip on Elusive's hair, which was as equally as dry, and did her best to balance herself. Slowly, Elusive made his way to the leaf rope, custom made by Butterscotch and Fluttershy, ringed Arena. Dusk Shine did the same, only quicker. A.J., sitting next to her, leaned over and whispered: "Who do you think is gonna win this one?" Dash rubbed a hoof on her chin as she considered her options. "Well, I know Twilight goes to the gym every week, so she's got that going for her."
A.J. nodded. "True. So Twilight then?"
"But," she said, stopping him with a hoof. "Rarity AND Elusive both work at the boutique."
"And..."\
"The truck that delivers the fabric comes in the morning, and Unicorns can't use strong magic in the morning."
"What are you saying?"
"How do you thing they get those large rolls inside? The company doesn't hire movers..."
"Ohhhh, ok then." A.J. nodded again. "So this match could go either way."
"Right."
They turned back to the fight.
Eveypony was silent.
Berry moved to the center of the ring with a blank expression. He turned to the crowd.
'Are you ready to RRUMBBLE?!"
The crowd cheered wildly.
"In this corner," Berry announced. "At a combined weight of 600 cupcakes, give it up for.... THE BOOKWORMS!"
The crowd snickered. Twilight and Dusk Shine blinked. "Berry, what's the big-"
"In THIS corner," Berry exclaimed, ignoring the two unicorns. "Weighing in at 440,987 dollops of whipped cream, it's... the FASION DIVAS!"
The crowd snickered again. Elusive turned an unflattering shade of red.
"Don't worry, my dear. You'll always be my little fastionista." Rarity said patting his head lovingly. The crowd laughed as Elusive's blush darkened.
"You're not help..."
"Are you ready?" Berry asked the teams. They nodded.
"In that case, on your mark, get set, wait for it...GO!" Berry threw up his hoof like a flag and the fight began.
"Woah..." A.J. watched as Twilight paraded around on Dusk Shine back as they made their way back to the shore.
"WOHOO!" She cheered, waving her hooves in the air wildly. Everyone greeted them as they arrived; giving them hugs and pats on the back.
"Well that was unexpected..." Dash laughed.
"Ah had no idea Dusk Shine could do that with his tail...."
A.J. pushed himself up. "You ready?"
She narrowed her eyes. "I was born ready." She said, flapping her wings eagerly. A.J. flashed her a warm smile and together, they made their way into the water. Applejack and Blitz did the same from the opposite end of the shore.
They waded near the center of the ring so that when they stood the water was at their waists. A.J. sunk between Dash's hind legs, lifting her out of the water with a strong neck and back. Dash steadied herself with ease. Across the lake, on the other hoof, Blitz and Applejack were having...complications. Blitz had submerged his head between Applejack's legs like A.J. had, but instead of lifting her out of the water, his back kept arching repeatedly.
And Applejack was blushing.
Dash felt movement beneath her. Looking down, she saw A.J. making his way toward the other team.
Which meant, she was making her way to the other team.
"What are you doing?" she whispered angrily.
"Ah'm gonna see what's wrong." He replied calmly, never taking his eyes off of his goal.
"Why? If he can't even get her on his shoulders, they have to forfeit and we win!"
"Now Rainbow Dash, Ah know you and Blitz aren't on talkin' terms right now, and would love to see the other lose at all cost, but Applejack and Ah are playin' too, so you're gonna play fair this once."
Dash put on a pout as A.J. made their way to toward the two, still struggling to get into form.
"Need any help?" A.J. smiled. Blitz reemerged from the water, taking a gasping breath. "We... Don't.... Any... Help..."
"Well, how 'bout instead of Applejack on you're shoulders, you get on her shoulders." He offered, ignoring Blitz's previous statement.
The cold lake water lapped at A.J.'s stomach as he stood tall with Dash on his shoulders. She kept squeezing his head with her thighs in anticipation.
They were really warm.
Applejack stood directly across from him, standing just as easily with Blitz on her shoulders. She smiled, "You ready?"
"As ready as Ah'll ever be." He said with a chuckle. But in the back of his mind, he was having second thoughts. He didn't want to go AGAINST Applejack, he wanted to be her partner. But he couldn't back out NOW! Rainbow Dash would be heartbroken.
"Go!"
Lost in his own thoughts, A.J. was easily caught off guard Applejack as she plowed right into his gut with a breathtaking "OOF!"
She set him back a few inches, which was more than he had anticipated. And the thrashing going on above him didn't help his balance either. He swayed awkwardly as Rainbow Dash pulled his top-half to and fro.
"Come on, A.J.! We got this!" A.J. quickly regained his balance,
"Alright then..." he said warily. With a hint of hesitation, he charged into Applejack with full force.
He had to admit, she was stronger than she looked. She caught his hooves within her own, holding him back.
"Now that's the spirit, sugarcube!" she grinned. He could feel his own grin spreading contagiously across his face. He and Applejack trembled with effort as they pushed with all their might against each other. But despite her efforts, A.J. started to slowly inch forward. She struggled to find her footing as she continued to get closer to the edge of the ring. Feet turned into inched as the ring grew closer. Applejack struggled harder as she grew more desperate. Above them, the fight raged on. A.J. could feel Dash shove and be shoved on his shoulders. As far as he could tell, they were at a stalemate; neither one losing nor winning.
"A.J.!" she cried. "Hurry up, down there!"
'Aw, shucks!' he thought in a panic. 'Ah can't do this, ah just can't! Especially not to her..."
"A.J. PLEASE!!"
A.J. knew what he had to do but....
He took a deep breath and took one final look at her. Sweaty, panting, tired, red in the face. The very picture of perfection. And with that, he did the deed. With a mighty push, he sent Applejack flying out of the ring, 4 feet away, and crashing into the water. He couldn't watch.
A moment of silence fell over the lake, everyone watching in shock.
"We... won." Dash panted heavily. Her panting grew into broken fits of laughter. "We won!" she cheered, grabbing A.J.'s face and tilting it up to her's. The crowd cheered wildly, the ref even threw up his penalty flags like confetti.
"Here's you're champions," Berry announced proudly, lifting A.J.'s hoof in the air. " THE...uh, what's your team name?"
"Oh, it doesn't matter Berry." Dash waved it off. She took off of his shoulders and hovered over a spot in the lake.
"All that matters is that we won! Hear that, doofus? WE WON-AH!" she teased loudly. Blitz resurfaced moments later, gasping.
"I want a rematch!"
"Rematch, my flank!" she scoffed. The two resumed arguing as usual.
Back on land, the excitement had died down and the others started taking part in their own activities, leaving A.J. alone in the water. His ears twitched at the slightest sound of coughing. Turning around, Applejack rose out of the water, coughing and sputtering. Her hat floated casually by his hoof. With a sigh, he grabbed it, twisted the water out, and made his way to her.
"Applejack, are you ok?" he asked nervously. She tilted her head to the right and tapped the left side lightly. "Yeah, Ah'm ok."
"Look, Applejack, Ah REALLY didn't mean to push you that hard. Ah-" She stopped him with a hoof. "No need to apologize. It was a game, after all."
She twisted her long ponytail tightly, releasing all the water trapped in her hair. "'Sides, it seems you've made Rainbow Dash really happy." She smiled. "Ah saw how unhappy she was before the matches and Ah'm really glad you were able to make her smile again, even if ah got soakin' wet in the process." She took her hat back gratefully.
A.J. laughed shyly. "So, no hard feelings?"
Applejack tapped a hoof on her chin for a second, then grinned evilly.. She shoved the unsuspecting farmer into the water. He resurfaced moments later, gasping for air.
"Now we're even."
The sun had set once again on another day of fun and adventure. Everyone was full on hay and apples as they sat around the campfire yet again, sharing light conversation.
"And I have to say, that was the largest cupcake I have ever seen. But this was way before the great cupcake famine of '08." Berry finished. Everypony blinked.
"Wow.." Pinkie said in awe.
"Berry, we were telling scary stories..." Twilight deadpanned. Berry gasped.
"That WAS a scary story! Imagine getting hit in the face with a cupcake the size of a watermelon!" Berry wrapped himself in his hooves, murmuring something in horror. Pinkie hugged him tight and glared at Twilight. "How could you be so insensitive?!"
"Yeah... so who's next?" Dusk Shine raised his hoof eagerly in the air.
"Ooh, I've got one!" He leaned in, letting the fire light his face in such a way that it was spooky.
"This is the legend of....Slendermane." The ponies all gasped collectively.
"-And with that, they were never seen again...." Dusk Shine finished. Most of the girls had found a stallion to squeeze for protection. The rest of the ponies had broken into a cold sweat, shaking. "So remember, if you think you're being followed by Slendermane, NEVER LOOK AT HIS FACE! For if you do, you will meet your doom..."
Everypony was silent.
"So, what did you guys think?" Dusk Shine smiled.
"Dusk Shine," Blitz spoke up from the other side of the circle.
"Hmm?"
"You're one twisted dude..." Everyone laughed out loud heartily. After the laughter had died down, Twilight rose up.
"Ok everyone, time to go to bed." The all let out a collective groan. One by one, they all got up, saying their goodnights as they made their way to the tents.
"Wait!" Dusk shouted. Everyone turned around. "I actually have to talk to the guys really quick, so you ladies can go ahead to bed.."
Twilight cocked her head. "Talk about what?"
"Uh, we're... just going to go over tomorrow's plans... and stuff." Dusk stammered, scratching his mane.
"Oh well, we could help you with that."
"Oh no, Twilight! We want... it to be a surprise." He smiled. Twilight smiled back, accepting his reasoning. Dusk let out a quick sigh of relief.
The boys sifted themselves out of the group, saying their goodnights to the girls. A dainty hoof stopped Elusive: Rarity.
"Goodnight Elusive." She said dreamily and left him with a goodnight kiss.
"Goodnight, sweetie." He called after her. She trotted passed Rainbow Dash. The scene must have reminded her of something because she smacked a hoof to her forehead. She trotted quickly to catch up with the large apple farmer.
"Hey A.J.?" The stallion turned around. "Hmm?"
"I never really thanked you for helping me win the contest, did I?"
'Well, Ah don't see why'd you have to do that. Ah had fun."
"Yeah, but still-" she pressed herself on the stallion's broad frame with a smile. "Thank you, A.J."
A.J. blinked. "You're...welcome."
She turned around and trotted back to her tent. She smiled at him one last time before turning in for the night.
As A.J. made his way back to the circle, the fire lit up his face, revealing a blush: red and obvious.
"What the hay was that about?" Blitz snorted angrily as A.J. sat down.
"She thanked me for being her partner in the chicken fight competition."
"So, you LIKE her now? What about your thing with Applejack?"
"What 'thing', Blitz? There is no thing. Even if there was, you certainly didn't help things today..."A.J. words were laced with irritation.
"And what is that supposed to mean?"
"Ah mean, what was all that fancy wing work about before the competition? You knew I was gonna ask Applejack to be my partner, but at the last second, you swooped in!"
"There was no way in HELL I was gonna pair up with Dash. Besides, I thought it was cool. Whatever happened to bros before hoes with you guys?!"
"And, who might Ah ask, are you callin' a hoe?"
"All of them!"
"Rarity is NOT a WHORE!" Elusive boomed angrily, quickly standing up at the statement.
"Neither is Fluttershy!" Butterscotch added angrily.
"And Applejack and Rainbow Dash!" A.J. finished.
"Yeah, Blitz! Take it back!" Berry growled.
"Shut the hell up, Berry!"
"BITCH, I will cut you in your sleep!!!" Berry shouted angrily, a do-rag appearing on top of his head and a box of cupcake mix in his hoof.
"STOP!"
The angered stallions all turned to Dusk Shine who held a hoof to his lips and pointed to the tents. They all slapped their hooves over their mouths. They listened in suspense, praying the girls hadn't heard them and charge out of the tents, hooves ablaze. They turned back to Dusk Shine after several minutes of snoring and silence.
"You guys are so stupid! What if the girls had heard you? You would all be dead!" he scolded in a hushed tone. He turned to Blitz. "Now I don't know what you're problem is with the girls, but it has to stop."
"I don't go no problem with the girls. Just Rainbow Dash..."
"And that problem ends NOW." Dusk said sternly. "Especially if you want to continue with the hunt."
Blitz sighed. "Sorry guys. I didn't mean all that stuff about the girls." He rubbed his hoof on the back of his head in embarrassment. "Things between me and Dash are... complicated, but I didn't mean to take it out on you guys."
Elusive sighed. "I forgive you, Rainbow Blitz."
One by one, the boys made up with each other. Berry sat up with his arms extended. "Aw, group hug everybody!" he said happily, clomping onto Blitz lovingly. The rest followed, patting each other in brotherly love. AS everyone finally let go, Berry pushed Blitz out of the hug, gripping his shoulders with a firm hoof.
"But seriously," he said in all seriousness. The box of cupcake mix reappeared just long enough for Blitz to get a good look at, then disappeared again. "Don't talk about Pinkie Pie..."
"Ok, ok!" Blitz agreed with worry.
"So, if we're all done with the apologies, let's get down to business." Dusk started. "Do you guys remember that meeting we had when actually we planned this trip?"
"Oh, Ya mean the one with all that apple cider?"
"Oh man, we got SO wasted..." Blitz said dreamily and slapped a high hoof with A.J.
"Yeah, and remember that plan we made for the end of the trip, on the last day?"
They all shook their heads in response. Blitz rolled his eyes. "We made plans for a hunt, you guys."
"I am NOT hunting an innocent creature." Butterscotch said firmly.
"Well luck for you, this creature is not-so innocent. Men, on that fateful day we had made plans to hunt the dreaded Ursa Major and become legends."
He said, flexing a muscle to signify power. They stared at him, thunderstruck.
"Is this a joke Rainbow Blitz, because it's not very funny!" Elusive spoke loudly at the absurdity.
"This is no joke, Elusive. He's serious." Dusk deadpanned.
"And why on earth would he even what to go through with this cockamamie scheme?"
Blitz jumped up. "The same reason YOU GUYS want to go along with this brilliant idea!" he declared. "Mares!"
"Huh?"
"Mares. Just like I told Dusk Shine, the mares in Ponyville will go crazy for us if we do this thing. They be all over us for months. Mares for breakfast, lunch and dinner." He said wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. They all let out little chuckles of delight, except for Elusive.
"Rarity is the only mare for me." He said flatly. Blitz facehoofed. "And what do you she's gonna do when we come back with the head of the beast? 'Oh Elusive,'" he said in a high voice, fluttering his eyelashes. " 'You're such a brave stallion! Oh Elusive, take me! Right here, right now! Let your inner beast ravage me for your pleasure!"
Elusive narrowed his eyes. "Oh yes.... That would be nice." Elusive growled.
Blitz snickered. "So we're really going to do this?"
Everyone nodded, except for Butterscotch.
"But it's still an innocent creature, Blitz. It's not right."
" 'Innocent'? That bear has roamed around Ponyville at night, causing ridiculous amounts of costly damage. And on top of that, it has taken a lot of ponies. That's why we don't get that many tourists. Mayor Mare and Mayor Mustang been planning to get rid of it anyway, but no pony is willing to step up. We're be doing everyone a huge favor." Blitz reasoned but Butterscotch still looked unconvinced. "Look, I was able to get some 'sleepy time' injection from Zecoro. He'll go peacefully."
Butterscotch nodded with a sad smile.
A.J. raised a hoof. "Blitz, that plan is fine and dandy and all, but what about the girls? There's no way they'll let us go through with this plan."
"Already thought of that. We just need to send the girls home a little early. They'll never know until we come back." Blitz shrugged. The guys murmured in agreement.
"Tomorrow, we can go over the details. But for now, let's go to bed." Dusk Shine yawned.
Next Time....
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Twilight asked warily. Dusk Shine trotted steadily beside her. "Why, Ya scared?" He asked, leaning in bulgy eyed. "N-n-no..." she lied. The night sky barely lit up the dirt path as they wove in and out of the trees. She had no idea what he was trying to find, but she was just happy spending some alone time with him. She did her best to make subtle contact with him like Rarity told her, fluttering her lashes when he spoke to her, brushing by his coat as they turned corners, flagging her tail when she took the lead, giving him a good look at her rump. But he didn't react to any of it. He may have been her male counter part, but he was really thick...
'Maybe it's a guy thing.' She thought.
‘Twilight, you’re so beautiful.’
Twilight blinked. “Huh?”
She and Dusk Shine had been sitting in a luscious field talking about their teachers and expectations for hours. They rambled about physics and fantasy books, lessons and gossip, anything and everything. They laid on their backs watching the sky, as it gradually grew from a brilliant blue to a regal gold. Their bellies filled with sweets and goodies they had brought
along when they had snuck away from the group.
Snuck away.
Ditching their friend to spend time with each other.
With her. The mere thought of it sent her heart a-flutter.
"W-what?" Twilight stuttered, turning red with blush. Dusk Shine smirked cheekily as he rolled his head to look at her. "Hehe, you
really didn't hear me?" he smiled.
Twilight's blush darkened. "I-I heard you, but… I-I didn’t think… I thought…” she stammered, avoiding his steadfast gaze. Dusk Shine chuckled at her timid demeanor.
“I’ve never known you to be so shy, Twilight.” He chortled. He rolled over to his sided and watched her calmly. She fidgeted uncomfortably under his calm gaze, finding his new cool demeanor unsettling. He smiled mischievously as he snaked a hoof around her waist, causing her to flinch violently.
"W-w-what are you doing?” she shrieked as she wiggled of his reach. A smirk worked its way across his face.
"It's starting to get cold and," he resumed pulling in the blushing librarian into his embrace. His mouth barley grazed passed her ear. "I wouldn't want you to get a chill."
“TWILIGHT, WAKE UP!”
Twilight jumped. She sat up, rubbing her head, feeling quite groggy. She was back in her tent, laying in her sleeping bag with her legs flailed out. There was no meadow. There was no sunset. There was no picnic. There was only a dream of something that was to good to be true.
She let out an exasperated sigh as she rubbed her temples. “What is it, Pinkie?”
Pinkie had been bouncing around the dark green tent, shouting Twilight’s name. She was enjoying the act itself so much, she hadn't noticed that Twilight had already awoken. She continued to bounce about, shouting wildly.
“IT’S RAINING! IT"S RAINING!”
Courtesy of Twilight’s magic, the girls trotted excitedly into their newly made three-tent fort. Together, they gathered their sleeping bags, opened them up, and made a floor. In the center of their fort, a tray of apple and orange slices. Outside, the rain poured on the roof to the tent, making it sag noticeably. The girls were so engrossed in their conversation; they had
hardly noticed Twilight’s absence as she snuggled deeper into her blanket, thinking about her recent dream.
“It’s such a shame you and Blitz couldn’t get rid of those rain clouds.” Rarity sighed, rolling over, belly up. “I was really looking forward to what the boys were planning…”
“Well, we already told you guys the weather here has a mind of it’s own. We couldn't even touch the clouds.” Rainbow Dash said with dismay, rubbing a hoof on her forehead. “It was like it was made out of some kind of… vapor.”
Applejack waved the notion off. “Aw, don’t you worry ‘bout it none. We know you tried.”
Pinkie snickered into her hooves. “Yeah and besides, it was pretty funny how you two kept crashing into each other.”
The girls shared a giggled as Dash propped her head on her forehoof and let out a snort of hot air.
Applejack wiped a tear from her eye. “Oh come on Dash, we were just teasin’.” She chuckled, resting a hoof on her shoulder. Dash immediately shrugged her off, leaving Applejack rather dumbfounded.
“Dash, Ah was just fooling around.” Applejack snorted. Dash shot her a dark look before turning away. Applejack shot a look of confusion to the others, who merely shrugged.
Rarity spoke up wearily. “Rainbow Dash, are you…alright?”
Dash remained silent.
“Dash…?” Rarity repeated.
The rainbow mare snorted hotly before picking herself up and heading for the exit.
“Dash, where are you goin’?!” Applejack exclaimed. “It’s raining outside!”
The rainbow daredevil remained silent as she exited the tent in a huff, leaving her friends genuinely confused.
“What’s her problem?” Pinkie asked, stuffing an orange slice in her mouth.
Applejack shook her head. “Ah have no idea.”
“But where is she going? It’s raining.” Fluttershy whispered. “Shouldn’t we go after her?”
Applejack scoffed. “Ah don’t know and honesty, ah don’t care. Ah’m gettin’ pretty sick and tired off Dash’s attitude. If she wants to act like a little filly, then that’s her problem.”
Rarity gave Applejack a concerned look. Pinkie and Fluttershy blinked.
Applejack sighed deeply, rubbing the back of her head “Ah’m sorry you guys. Ah’m just tired, is all.”
“Tired? Did you not get enough sleep last night?” Pinkie asked.
“Naw, Ah slept fine. It’s just…. Rainbow Dash just got to me. All 'mornin' Ah've had to deal with her stank attitude. Like Ah did something to her... ”
“Well hopefully, she will have cooled down by the time she gets back.” Rarity spoke, dusting herself off as she sat up in a more dignified position. “Besides,” she whispered behind her hoof. She pointed to the lavender alicorn in the back of the tent. She curled in a tight ball under her covers, appearing to be asleep. She hadn’t spoken to them all morning.
“I think Twilight might appreciate it if we kept quiet this morning.” Rarity whispered. “She seemed a bit out of it.”
To this, Pinkie let out a snort of laughter. “Aw, don’t worry about Twilight. She had a pretty rough night. She kept tossing and turning…”
“Really?” Fluttershy asked meekly. "Poor thing..."
Pinkie nodded sympathetically.
The cold, refreshing rain ran through Rainbow Dash’s mane and tail, sending a shiver down her spine. She paced in the middle of the empty, silent camp. Her tail swayed restlessly between her legs as she stared into the sky, silently cursing the rain under her breath. In an instant, her wings snapped open and she shot to the sky. She zipped through a cloud heavy with rain. But instead of ramming into a soft but durable object, she experienced a heavy damp vapor as she ripped through.
She targeted another cloud, dark and damp. She rear up onto it and landed a solid kick, feeling nothing but a rush of moister and air. She targeted another and another and another.
Finally after a time, she landed again. Panting, drenched in sweat and water, she shook her body to rid herself of the moister. She settled in the gravel, grateful for the cold shiver crawling up her sore hindquarters. But despite her best efforts, the rain still continued. And all the while, she felt a tinge of satisfaction. If she had failed, it was while knowing she gave it her all that made her failure that much more acceptable. That she wasn’t being held back by some jocked up airhead made it
completely acceptable. She let out a relieved sigh as she stretched out her wings. She always felt
better when she was exhausted. It made her feel as if she had accomplished something, even though that wasn’t true. She hadn’t cleared any of the clouds, she was still angry at Applejack for reason she couldn’t explain, and thoughts of A.J and Blitz still plagued her mind. She slid down to the ground and ran a hoof through her hair.
“What am I going to do?” she mumbled hopelessly.
“Well, how ‘bout you start getting out of the rain!”
Dash swiveled her head toward the voice that rang out over the rain. A.J.
appeared from inside an orange tent, covering his head with his hooves,
despite the fact he was wearing his hat.
"What on Earth are you doing out there?"
Twilight rolled over in her purple blanket lazily and curled into a little ball, shivering as the cold nipped at her coat. Her eyes were closed but she was still aware to her surroundings, to her friends, to the pouring rain. She hadn't interacted with her friends ever since she set up the over sized tent, doing her best to be ignored during their commotion. There was too much going on this morning, too much for her to get into. She pushed further and further away from reality as she tried to lose herself in her subconscious. She wasn't in the mood to deal with their drama. For once, she didn't want to be the responsible one. So in another attempt, she buried her face under her hooves and tried to get back to her picnic.
"Oww! Not so rough!" Dash grunted as another towel rubbed her mane dry vigorously.
"It's the only way you're gonna get dry fast enough that you don't get a cold, so quit complainin'." A.J. said sternly. A damp towel, covered by a blue aura, lifted itself off of her back and was replaced with a fresh, dry one.
"What I don't understand is why were you prancing around outside like a deranged lunatic?" Elusive asked flatly from a distance, sipping his tea. "I wasn't 'prancing', Elusive. I was just thinking about stuff."
Elusive raised an eyebrow. "In the pouring rain?"
"Don't even start with me, Elusive." she snorted. "I'm not in the mood today."
Elusive set his cup down on a waiting saucer. "My, someone is rather grumpy today, aren't they?"
"Alright, I'm outta here." Dash huffed, standing up and making her way for the door. "I'm not gonna deal with this."
But she felt a tugging at her tail and in one swift movement, her feet were lost from under her and she slid back on her stomach. She looked back to find her tail behind A.J.'s closed teeth. "Rour not gowing anywere!" He said sternly around a mouth full of tail. He spat out the clump with a wipe of the mouth. "You're soaking wet as it is. You're gonna stay here until ya dry properly."
Rainbow Dash sat up, snatched her tail, and smoothed out its hair angrily. "Don't do that!" she snapped, stroking and untangling her tail. A.J. pulled the damp towel from her head and handed her a dry one. Dash eyed it
skeptically before taking it and rubbing her own mane. A.J. eyed Dash skeptically, rubbing the back of his head. "So, uh, what WERE ya doin' outside?"
Dash let out a exasperated sighed. "I don't want to talk about it..." A.J. opened his mouth then closed it, reconsidering what he was going to say. "Whatever you say..."
He returned to his towel on her back and worked it into her coat. Dash worked on her mane as everypony sat there in silence. A.J. began to hum to fill the silence, throwing in a few lyrics when he knew
the words.
"Home on the range, hm hm hmm and the antelope play." he sung. Elusive wagged a hoof along with the tempo.
"Hm hm hmmm hm hmmm, by a forgivin' word and the sky-"
A.J. was cut short by a tightening around his waist. He found himself being hugged by a quaking cyan pegasus. She sobbed into his chest uncontrollably. A.J. and Elusive shared a confused look.
"Dash, what's wrong? Did ah hurt you?"
Rainbow Dash didn't answer, instead she nuzzled deeper into his chest. Elusive pulled back in disgust as A.J.'s chest was now wet and slightly goo-y. But A.J. remained undeterred as his hooves wrapped around the sobbing mare and pulled her closer.
When the rain had finally ceased falling, the sun had set. Everything was damp, soggy, dripping wet, or all three. The girls emerged from their tent, stiff from the cold. They snapped, cracked, and popped as they loosened
their bodies under the golden rays of the setting sun.
"Aww ponyfeathers, a whole day wasted." Applejack sighed. "Such a shame... Well, there isn't much we can do about it, now can we?" she shrugged as she make her way to the campfire pit. "Come on girls, lets get set up for dinner. Go and get the fellas. And Rainbow Dash if y’all can find her." she added flatly.
The girls set off for the separate tents for their stallion of choice. Twilight followed behind a bouncing pink mane to a dark purple tent, feeling a tad drowsy.
"I can't wait to see Berry again! It's been like, forever since I last saw him!" Pinkie fizzed.
"It's only been a day..." Twilight yawned.
"I know! I don't think we've ever spent that much time away from each other! I wonder what he's been doing all day. I know how much he hates sitting around all day." she giggled. Twilight merely rolled her eyes as they entered the green tent.
To their surprise, both colts were both soundly asleep in their tent, one sprawled out on his dark pink sleeping bag, snoring loudly. The other, from the opposite side of the tent, curled into his lavender blanket, mumbling theories softly. Pinkie boldly trotted up to the pink colt and stood over him, smiling widely. She leaned over him and gently nuzzled his nose. The colt began stirred, but to no avail.
"Berry," she sang playfully. "Berry, time to get up." The colt let out a small moan as he woke. "Umm...Oh, hey Pinkie. What's up?" he said drowsily.
"The rain stopped. We can go outside again!" Pinkie replied happily.
"Oh, cool." The colt sat up, making Pinkie step back. "It would have really stunk if we lost a day of camping."
"I know, right." Pinkie whirled around and trotted for the exit, but not before flicking her tail up slightly, grazing the bottom of his chin. Berry's chin dropped slightly.
"I'll be waiting outside. We've got a lot of stuff to do before dark!" she smiled as she pushed passed the tent flaps. But as soon as she disappeared, Berry scrambled to his hooves and shot out the door. Twilight smirked after watch the stallion race after the pink mare, wondering if Pinkie knew she had this kind of affect on Berry. But her smile soon faded as Twilight turned back to the snoozing stallion sleep on his side. She couldn't help but ask herself if she might ever get Dusk Shine to chase after her.
She thought of Rarity and Elusive. It was like something out of a fairy tale. Rarity had her handsome prince, chasing after her everywhere she went, catering to her every need. Elusive found his princess and whisked her off her hooves. She showered him with all the love and affection he could ever want, and acted with such poise and grace. Both turned heads everywhere they went and were the envy of all. Twilight sighed. She wasn't a princess and Dusk Shine sure wasn't a prince. In a figurative sense, anyway. She wasn't something to be admired, to be adored. And she doubted Dusk Shine even thought of these sort of things. Twilight walked over to the lavender alicorn settled down beside him,
careful not to wake him. She laid her head down and watched the fireflies in the jar beside her.
"Why are you so hard to read?" she asked. She received no answer.
"Are my signs to hard for you to read?" No answer.
"Are you just not interested?" No answer.
"I guess the real question is if I'll ever be able to tell you how I feel, huh?" Dusk Shine gave no answer. Of course he wouldn't give an answer, he was sleep. Twilight sighed again for the umpteenth time this morning. It hurt to keep this secret to herself and to be unable to do something about it. It made her want to cry.
"You know, I was planning on telling you during this camping trip, but even with 5 days to spend with you, I-" She couldn't finish. She buried her head behind her hooves and began to sob silently. She knew Dusk Shine wouldn't wake, he was a heavy sleeper. Not that it would make a difference, he probably wouldn't care.
"Twilight?"
Twilight raised her head to see Rarity standing in front of her.
Chapter 3- Twilight P.O.V.
The door flung open with a force. A.J’s ear, held firmly in the teeth of his female half, pulled him through the door against his will. Right behind him, Elusive’s ear dragged him through the door, glowing a light blue. Rarity came trotting after him. They both dropped the stallions at the feet of the ponies; both howled in pain.
“Somepony better start explainin’ why these two,” Applejack demanded with a hoof pointed accusingly at the two colts.
“Were stealin’ mah apples!”
“And my good silverware.”
“I wasn’t stealing them, darling,” the suit maker defended. “I was borrowing them.”
“ And I was just… borrowin’ the apples.” A.J. stated with complete confidence.
“How, in Equestria, were you gonna give em back?”
“Well, I- I was…I could…” the farmer stammered, fiddling with his hat. Twilight watched as the chaos erupted around her. Pinkie and Berry continued to argue with Rainbow Blitz while the two mares hounded the culprits for answers.
“Twilight,”
Dusk Shine trotted down the stairs, watching the chaos that seemed to appear out of thin air
after he had left. “What’s going on?” Twilight quickly filled him in on the current situation. After hearing what had happened, he sat quietly next to her, thinking. After several moments of silence, he finally spoke.
“Blitz,”
Blitz, whose argument between the partying ponies had heated to boiling point, stalked back to the librarian, but not before shouting “SIX PONIES!” back to them. Berry and Pinkie stuck their tongues out, mockingly. Blitz glared at Twilight as he passed, clearly blaming her for everything.
“Blitz, we have to tell the girls the truth.” Dusk Shine said firmly.
“What! No! They’re not going with us!” Blitz shouted.
“I never said they were going with us, I said we have to tell them the truth.” Dusk explained. Twilight fell heavy with sadness. She thought that, with all the commotion, she would be able to go with them.
“But you know they’ll find someway to go…” Blitz whined.
“Then, if that’s the case, we’ll all have fun together.” He reassured. Blitz sighed, knowing he had lost, and turned back to the arguing ponies. Looking back, eyes wide and pleading, he whined,
“But they’ll ruin it…” Dusk Shine simply raised an eyebrow and the argument was over. Personally, Twilight thought dominance was pretty sexy.
Elusive P.O.V.
“Aw, shucks,” Applejack said poking A.J. in the ribs. “All y’all had to do was ask!”
“Honestly, all that trouble for a couple of plates…” Rarity pouted, nuzzling the suit maker.
“Sorry Applejack…” he smiled. She punched him playfully on the arm and all was forgiven.
“Oh Rarity, you know how much I hate keeping secrets from you,” he said with a heavy heart of shame.
“I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me…” He looked down, refusing to look in her beautiful blue eye any longer.
“Oh Elusive,” Rarity cooed softly, pulling his face to hers. “Of course, I forgive you…” They found themselves looking deep into each others eyes once again, finding a new admiration for the other. She yanked him in for a passionate kiss, which had become pretty common for the couple. They kissed long and hard, confirming their love for one another. Until a loud cough interrupted them. All eyes, which had been watching the couple, darted to the steps, were the cough had come from.
“Hello Elusive,” Barbara said calmly, rocking on her feet. He bowed a silent greeting.
“Rarity.” Her name, which was scrapped against her teeth and spat out with disgust, shot through the air and fell in front of Rarity and finished of with a glare as cold as an arctic breeze. The white mare coughed awkwardly into her hoof and uttered a soft “Hello.”
“So are you guys coming?!?!” Berry fizzed with anticipation. Pinkie, Rarity, Applejack, and Twilight looked at each other. The girls nodded immediately afterward, except for Rarity, who shook her head disapprovingly.
“No? Why not, dear?” Elusive asked.
“It doesn’t sound very…clean…” she replied, waving off the idea.
“But , this way, you can take that vacation you’ve always wanted.” Elusive pressed
“Sweetie, do you realize what you’re asking me to do?” she asked appalled. “To sleep on a dirt floor, to live in the wilderness, miles away from civilization. To go days, without bathing!” she realized in horror and shivered with fear.
“It-it’s uncouth. If anything,” she said, turning on him. “you should be agreeing with me!” She stared at him in a way that only he could understand her true feelings. She was scared.
Elusive smiled warmly at her with understanding. He pulled her deep into his embrace. Her rapid breathing began to slow as he whispered,
“Butterscotch will be there, so if we run into trouble, we’ll be ok.” After moment in his arms, she exhale slowly before looking up at him.
“Oh Elusive, you always know just the thing to say in moments like this…” she said, clearly infatuated by his charm. He smiled lovingly at he before his smile slipped into a dirty grin.
“Besides,” he whispered in her ear. “This way, I’ll get to have you all for my own this weekend.”
He nibbled on her ear playfully, and she erupted in giggles.
“Oh Elusive…” she moaned. His nibbles trailed down from her ear to her neck. She moaned/giggled louder.
Twilight P.O.V.
The ponies watched as the two lovers continued to get carried away with one another, red with blush.
Barbara was the only one who was clearly enraged by this.
“I’m going too!” she shouted to Dusk Shine, but she never took her eyes of the two unicorns, who continued to nibble and giggle. But Dusk shine shook his head sadly.
“Sorry Barb. Somepony’s got to stay here and watch the library…”
“THEN MAKE SPIKE DO IT!” she shouted turning on him.
“It’s a two dragon job, Barbara.” Twilight added. She wasn’t going to leave Spike here all by himself.
“GGGAAAAAAHH!!!” Barbara stomped up the stairs and gave a final harrumph before disappearing into her bedroom.
Rainbow Blitz P.O.V.
Blitz watched from the side as his friends chattered happily, revising their entire camping trip.
“So Twilight & I will get more lighters, sleeping bags, and bigger tents.” Dusk reviewed.
He pointed to Berry & Pinkie. “ You and Pinkie will bring…” Dusk Shine paused.
“Berry, what WERE you supposed to bring?”
“Well, THE FUN, of course.” Berry cheered.
“Duh…” Pinkie said, rolling her eyes.
“Rrright. Applejack, A.J,”
“Apples.” The farmers said in unison. Dusk Shine nodded and turned to Rarity & Elusive, who had managed to stop conuddling for a brief moment to hear him, even though they refused to unlock lips.
“You guys will be in charge of bringing cooking material.” Elusive saluted him dutifully before continuing kissing his mare. Finally, Dusk Shine trotted to Blitz, who still could not believe the girls were coming.
“Blitz, I need you to go and tell Butterscotch about the changes and see if Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash would like to come.” Blitz’s eyes widened in fear.
“No! No! Dusk Shine please, don’t make her come with us!” the Pegasus pleaded, falling to Dusk’s hooves.
“Why not?” Twilight asked, looking to Dusk Shine for an answer. Dusk Shine shrugged
“Maybe it’s because SHE’S THE MOST ANNOYING MARE IN PONYVILLE!” he ranted.
“What do y’all mean?” Applejack asked, scratching at her hat.
“She’s rude, she gets in the way, she ALWAYS is in somepony’s business-”
“In other words, she’s just like him.” A.J. laughed. Applejack joined in.
“I’m sorry, Rainbow Blitz. But this is a group activity, and right now she’s a part of the group.”
Blitz opened his mouth to protest, but hen thought better of it. Rainbow Dash was coming and that was that. The daredevil sighed as he made his way to the door and looked back one more time, hoping that, somehow, they had changed their minds. The ponies went back to planning in a heartbeat.
Weighed down by the burden, Blitz’s body sagged as he made his way to Ponyville.
Fluttershy P.O.V.
“Here you go.” Fluttershy handed the little brown otter back to its mother. The Mother otter squeaked her thanks.
“Next time, make sure he doesn’t go and eat to many oysters again…”
The Mother nodded and waddled back to the pond, scolding the child. Fluttershy smiled warmly as they both dived into the water. With all her work done for the day, she made her way home.
Upon reacting her cottage, she could hear Butterscotch speaking to someone. She slowly pushed open the door and peaked inside. Butterscotch stood in front of Angel and Litihia, who clearly trying to leave through the door.
Come on, you two,” he pleaded softly, pushing two salad bowls to the rabbits. “I promised Fluttershy I would get you two to eat your lunches. You don’t want me to let her down, do you?”
The two bunnies looked at each other then back at Butterscotch flatly. The two looked at the contents of the bowls; lettuce, tomato, cucumbers, and cherries. The bunnies kicked the bowls onto Butterscotch, rasberried, then hopped off in a huff. Fluttershy trotted to him as he shook off the salad in his mane.
“Butterscotch, are you ok?” she worried. She began taking out the bits of lettuce stuck in his hair.
“I-I’m all right…” he murmured, avoiding her gaze. “Sorry, I couldn’t do it…” He got up and began to walk up the steps to his room, to hid his shame.
“Oh no, I’M sorry!” she said quickly. He stopped.
“. I thought that Angel would at least eat some of his food with you feeding him.”
“Oh…” he sighed glumly, continuing to the steps. Fluttershy thought fast. She didn’t mean to make him sad. Oh, Fluttershy, you’re such a big mouth… He began to climb up the steps and she began to panic.
“I-I think it was really brave of you to face bunnies like that!” she called. He paused at the first step.
“Yo-you think I’m brave?” he turned back to her, perked by the compliment.
“Well, you’re braver than me…” Fluttershy blushed. Butterscotch shuffled a hoof at the floor.
“I’m not that brave…” he said shyly. Fluttershy dipped her head, hiding behind her hair.
“Well, I think you are…” Both pegasi blushed.
Just then, the door swung open. Blitz flew through the door, looking quite annoyed.
"Hey 'Scotch, Fluttershy." The two looked at him with concern.
"Blitz, are you ok? You look a little down..." Butterscotch asked. Fluttershy nodded in agreement.
"Well..."Blitz sighed deeply. " 'Scotch, remember that camping trip we're were planning on going this morning?" Butterscotch nodded hesitantly.
"Camping trip?" Fluttershy asked, clearly confused. Butterscotch shifted uneasily on his hooves.
"The guys and I were planning on going on a camping trip today," he said flatly.
"Oh." Then Fluttershy realized something, turning back to Butterscotch.
"Weren't you going to tell me you were leaving?" she asked softly. Butterscotch looked at her sadly.
"Well, no..." Fluttershy blinked back tears.
"But it was only because I-I...wasn't planning on going." He said softly.
"Wait, what?" Blitz asked, stumped.
"Rainbow Blitz, I can't just leave Fluttershy here, all by herself," he pleaded. "There's too much to do around here. There's a new litter of bunnies about too be born, six birds broke their wings last Tuesday, so they need to be looked after. There's just too much too do..." he said.
A new litter of bunnies? Six birds with broken wings? When did this all happen? Fluttershy pondered.
"Well, actually, the girls found out where we were going, so they invited themselves too. I came over here to tell you the new plan and ask Fluttershy if she wanted to come." Blitz turned around and started toward the door.
"But since you're too busy, I guess-"
"WE WOULD LOVE TO COME!" Butterscotch exclaimed.
"Wait, I thought you were busy?"
"Oh, um, we can just get Derpy to look after the animals for us." He smiled nervously.
"Uh huh. Fluttershy do you want to come?" he asked flatly.
"Oh, I would love to come..." she smiled. The daredevil nodded at them before flying out the door.
The pegasi headed up the stairs and began to pack immediately. Fluttershy folded a few blankets into nice little squares on her bed while Butterscotch fumbled through the closet, retrieving the saddlebags.
"Butterscotch, mabye we should stay..." she said. He poked his head out of the closet.
"Why do you say that?"
"Well, I don't think we should leave Derpy in charge of a new litter of bunnies and six injured birds..."
Butterscotch blushed slightly, looking at her with in embarrassment.
"Well, actually, I lied about the baby bunnies and injured birds," he admitted. "I didn't want to go because..." he paused, his blush turning a darker shade of red.
"Because you weren't going."
Fluttershy couldn't help but blush.
Rainbow Blitz P.O.V.
--
Rainbow Blitz made his way to the park. He had wished he could have prolonged his stay at Fluttershy and & 'Scotch's, delaying him from this horrible task. He flapped heavily as he dragged himself to her favorite sleeping spot. He could hear the mare's snores echoing through the empty sky as he neared. Ever so gently, he landed on the cloud. The pegasus slept soundly as the colt tiptoed (tip hoofed?) closer. Slowly he bent down to her ear and whispered,
"Rainbow Dash, we're all going camping this afternoon," Suddenly, Rainbow Dash started to stir. Blitz jumped back, praying that she didn't hear him. But all she did was stretch and rolled over. After a suspense filled pause, he continued, from a distance.
" If you want to come, just say so." Blitz held a hoof to his ear and listened. Silence.
Blitz snickered softly into his hoof, which grew into silent cheering as he bounced happily on the cloud.
"I guess not," he sneered, opening his wings. He neared the edge of the cloud, preparing to take off. But before he could beat his wings, a voice called from behind.
"I would love to come, Rainbow Blitz." He groaned loudly as Rainbow Dash shot off into the sky, laughing hysterically.
"FAAACCCK!"
