Chapter Fourteen:
Equestria Today
The silence of the warehouse that night was particularly unnerving for Twilight. She so badly wanted to hear the calming voices of her friends, talking about something, anything, to take her mind off the events that had transpired in the past twenty four hours. Instead, they all just lay there on Rarity's extra thick sleeping pad in total silence, staring up at the dark ceiling, breathing softly and silently.
Twilight couldn't take this. She wanted desperately to get the ball rolling on a conversation. She just didn't know what the conversation should be about. What was a proper conversation to have after brutally torturing and killing somepony?
Nice weather we're having, she thought of saying as a joke. That just wouldn't do though; this was hardly the time for jokes.
She turned to her left, checking to see if anypony in that direction had drifted off yet. Applejack and Rainbow Dash lay there, and both were awake. Rainbow Dash was staring blankly up at the ceiling, her forelegs crossed behind her head. Applejack appeared to be infatuated with her own forehooves as she twiddled them, almost as if she were nervous about something.
Twilight then turned to her right. She immediately came face to face with Rarity, who was laying on her side, facing towards her. Her fellow unicorn gave her a small smile, which she barely managed to return. Lifting her head a bit to see what was on the other side of her, she saw that Pinkie Pie was beaming away at nothing in particular. She shifted constantly, as if she couldn't wait to get up again. Did she have even the slightest memory of what had happened not to long ago? Or did she just tend get over scenarios of extreme violence quicker than most? Either way, Twilight considered it both admirable and disturbing.
On the far side of the pad lay Fluttershy, who was the only one who had her eyes closed. Twilight doubted she was fully asleep, though. There was no way the sweet young pegasus would get to sleep so easily after going through everything she had been through recently. And indeed, she was shifting quite a bit. Nightmares were a sure thing for her tonight.
Twilight lowered her head again and rolled onto her back. She resumed her blank staring at the ceiling, hoping drowsiness would eventually take her over. It was a fools hope and she knew it; she would never be able to sleep tonight.
If that was going to be the case, then the unicorn didn't want to just lay there all night in silence. There was so much she wanted to get off her chest: how she was feeling about this whole thing, why she was acting the way she was, and most importantly of all, what her friends all thought of her. There was no hiding the fact that hr emotions had been all over the place the past few days; one moment she's berating them for suggesting they deal with the Black Market, then next she's taking point in brutally torturing and murdering anypony who stands in their way.
Talk about mood swings...
Twilight's mind tossed and turned as she tried to think of something to say to break this chilling silence. She worried for a second that maybe her friends didn't want to talk. After a day like the one they'd just had, any conversation, even a friendly one, seemed like a big no no. But... then again, was just lying there wide awake and saying nothing really the better option?
She had to try, she just had to; this silence was driving her insane... or at least more insane than she already felt. With a deep breath, Twilight said the first thing that popped into her head.
"So..."
It remained silent for a moment, and Twilight feared that either she hadn't been heard, or her friends were just unwilling to acknowledge her at that time. Then came the familiar raspy voice of her pegasus friend.
"So so."
Well, it was better than nothing. At least Rainbow Dash wasn't totally out of it. With a small smirk forming across her face, Twilight decided to try something.
"So so so." She said.
"So so so so," Dash continued.
"So so so so so."
"Twilight, I can do this all night if I have to," Dash said.
A brief moment of silence, followed by some mild snickering.
"You're on," Twilight giggled. Screw it; jokes were just fine right about now.
From her right came Rarity's soft, muffled groan.
"Please," she moaned, her voice muffled by her forehooves, which were pressed into her face.
Rainbow Dash just chuckled and shook her head. She had to admit, her mood had been just been slightly improved.
"Sup, Twi," she said casually.
"Hm, not much," Twilight replied lightly. "Can't sleep, ya know?"
"Pfft, what else is new?" Dash snorted. "I haven't had good night's sleep in days."
"I don't imagine any of us have," Twilight said.
"I've been sleeping alright!" The high-pitched, chipper voice of Pinkie Pie sounded off. "I haven't slept this super duper well in a long long long long looooooooong time!"
Rainbow Dash gave an almost indignant sounding snigger.
"You crazy, Pinks," she muttered.
"Well, duh! That's why you all love me, though!"
Twilight was surprised to find herself chuckling a bit at that. Maybe she was just so desperate for a laugh that anything, even Pinkie's occassionally annoying sense of humor, would've sufficed.
"That's true, Pinkie," she sighed. "We'd all just be so miserable without you."
"Hee hee, I know!" Pinkie giggled. "Ya know, I bet you could all use a good laugh right about now. Am I right?"
"Actually, Pinks, What I could really use right now is five hundred million bits in my saddle bag," Dash replied. "Buuuuut... I guess a laugh couldn't hurt much at this point. So, what the hay?"
"Goody!" Pinkie Pie chirped. She then began to search her mind for any good jokes or comedy routines she knew. As she thought, her friends all turned their attention to her. Rarity removed her forehooves from her face, Fluttershy's eyes flicked back open, and even Applejack seemed to snap out of her daze.
"Oh, I know a good one!" Pinkie cried suddenly, causing some of her friends to jump. "I heard this one not to long ago. This stallion was telling it to a friend of his when they came into Sugarcube corner one day, and I kinda sorta listened. I didn't quite get it at first so I had to look up some of what he was talking about but once I found out what it all meant I was lauging really really really really-"
"That's great, Pinkie!" Twilight interrupted quickly, a forced smile on her face. "Why don't you just tell us what it is. I'm actually pretty desperate to laugh right about now."
"Okie dokie lokie!" Pinkie said. She then cleared her throat and began. "Alright, there's these two stallions; a rich one and a poor one, and they both happen to have their anniversaries with their wives in the same day. So every year they both of them go to the store to pick out gifts for their wives, and they both always happen to bump into each other. One year the poor stallion asks the rich stallion, 'What did you get your wife this year?' The rich stallion says 'I got her this beautiful diamond necklace and a brand new luxury carriage I can pull her around in.'
"The poor stallion says, 'Wow, why did you get her two things?' And the rich stallion says, "If she doesn't like the necklace, she can take it back in the carriage and still be happy.'"
Rarity sighed dreamily at that part. She had been searching so long for a stallion that would treat her that way. Pinkie Pie continued her joke.
"So then, the rich stallion asks the poor stallion, 'So what did you get your wife this year?' And the poor stallion says, 'I got her a set of slippers and a dildo."
Rarity gasped, Fluttershy eeped, and Rainbow Dash laughed out loud. Twilight and Applejack just continued to listen quietly. Pinkie Pie could barely contain her own giggles now.
"So the rich stallions says to the poor stallion, 'Really? Why did you get her those two things?' And the poor stallion says, 'If she doesn't like the slippers, she can go fuck herself.'"
Rainbow Dash absolutely roared with laughter. Twilight chuckled lightly and shook her head. Rarity tried to appear shocked and offended at such a profane joke, but she was unable to contain a few light giggles as well. Applejack snorted a bit and let a few chuckles slide. And Fluttershy, though her face was hidden in her mane again, managed a small smile.
"Aw jeez, Pinkie," Applejack said after a while. "Ya really oughta think about taking that comedy act o' yers on the road. Ah reckon it'd make ya richer than any bank robbery would."
Pinkie Pie, instead of acknowledging AJ's words, gave a happy sounding gasp.
"Applejack, you sound happy again!" She cried.
The farm pony chuckled lightly.
"Yeah, Ah'm alright, just had ta let out all mah rage and frustrations in some way, so Ah just kinda wailed on that feller back there."
At the mention of the dead weapons dealer, everypony seemed to cringe internally. admittedly, they had all wanted to just let it go and move on with their mission. Already the memories of the punks they had slaughtered were beginning to subside. More and more they were starting believe that they really had done the right thing by removing their presence from this city. But that weapons proprietor? Was it entirely necessary to do what they had done to him? Were there other, significantly less violent options they could've taken to deal with him?
Twilight in particular was the one whom these questions were bothering the most. After all, she had been the one who had initiated all of this in the first place. She was the one who had rallied them up to attack those punks the first night, and she had been the one who had initiated the attack on Kill Shot. Most of what these mares had had to go through had been due to her ruthlessness. She imagined they were going to have a hard time looking at her the same way again.
Then, as if her mind had been read, Twilight heard the familiar voice of Rainbow Dash sound off.
"Look, Twi, you did what what you had to do with that guy," she said. "None of us thinks any differently of you... or at least I don't. I mean, I've seen plenty of horrible stuff in my time, living with the kind of parents I had. Believe me; I wanted to do to my dad what you did to that creep in the gun shop for so long. I just never had the guts to actually do it." Dash paused there a moment. Painful memories flooded back to her. "I still remember the day he was killed..."
There were a few gasps from her friends. Rainbow Dash had never brought up the fate of her parents before. They assumed it was painful enough for her just to talk about what life with them was like. Now, she was about to go into just what had happened to her father in the end.
"W-was he... murdered?" The soft, nervous voice of Fluttershy sounded.
"He got in deep with some tough crowd," Dash explained. "Borrowed some drinking money from them from time to time. I think they were the only ponies he even remotely liked, always made sure to pay 'em back with the crappy salary he made on the Weather Patrol... until he was fired for incompetence in the work space. Lost control of a storm system, let it get outta hoof. It ended up killing some poor foal who was outside at the time. I guess that kinda made my pop a murderer in some way." Pinkie Pie shifted uncomfortably. "Anyway, without any bits coming in, he had no way of paying back those thugs.
"I remember the day it happened; I was out with him while he was shopping with the few remaining bits he had. He didn't have much alcohol in him, so he was a bit mellower than usual. Then outta nowhere this pegasus stallion just comes up to him and shanks him right in the throat, right there in broad daylight! There were ponies everywhere around us! And this pegasus, he's gone before I can even get a good look at him. He muttered something like... well, I didn't quite hear him well, but I think he said something about some guy sending his regards or something, because, ya know, that line isn't the clichéd thing ever.
"So there I am; standing there watching that asshole I called my father bleed to death there on that cloud. Everypony around me seemed to be trying to help, but... deep down I think they were all pretty happy to see him go. He wasn't very popular with anypony.
"How horrible!" Rarity exclaimed suddenly. "I mean, even if a pony isn't particuarily the kindest of souls, he should still be given aid when his life is at stake!"
Rainbow Dash lifted her head a bit to look at the fashionista.
"Well, you didn't know the guy, Rare," she said. "Believe me, he would've disgusted you most of all."
"But still..." Rarity began, though she couldn't think of anything to back her claim up with.
"What if it was your parents, Rarity?" Dash asked almost nastily. "After what they had done to Sweetie Belle, would you have helped them if you had found them dying one day?"
"I... I..." Rarity couldn't have been more taken aback by the question. "What they did to her was sick and wrong, and I can assure you I have absolutely no love for them anymore. But... if I were to discover them in some kind of life threatening state, I suppose I would have to do something, wouldn't I? Is there not some kind of law about that sort of thing?"
Rainbow Dash scoffed.
"Yeah, I bet Sweetie Belle would be real happy to hear you say that about the ponies that nearly killed her," she said sarcastically.
"I'll have you know that Sweetie Belle harbors no ill will towards my mother and father," Rarity said confidently. "She merely wishes to live a happy, carefree life with her friends and myself. I truly believe she just want's the put the past behind her and enjoy what she has now." Rarity paused there for a moment. A faint sniffle could be heard emanating from her. "She's such a strong young filly, bless her heart. I love her so much. Even when she gets in my way... oh, but she try's so hard, she just... oh, sweet Celestia, how I love her!"
Rarity was now full on sobbing. Twilight reached over to her and patted her gently on the foreleg. For that moment she was able to forget the events of the past twenty-four hours and just focus on comforting her ever-generous friend.
"Man, it still just blows my mind that your parents would do something like that," Rainbow Dash said after a while. "I mean, I've never met them, but the way you've always acted, Rarity, I guessed they'd done a pretty good job raising you. Why do you think they would just totally flip and treat Sweetie Belle the way they did?"
"I honestly do not know, Rainbow Dash," Rarity replied tearfully. "Maybe I was just so perfect that they didn't think another daughter could live up to my standards, so they just decided to not even bother trying with her." She let another sniffle out. "Maybe it's all my fault..."
"Don't talk like that, Rarity," Pinkie Pie cooed gently to her. "Your the one who saved her, remember?"
"Hmph, took me long enough, though," Rarity scolded herself. "Why couldn't I have gotten to her sooner?"
More silence followed. There was little any of them could think to say that would soothe their unicorn friend. None of them would've believed that the fashionista was carrying such a heavy burden. They couldn't have believed it of any of them to be honest. Each of them had been so caught up in their own sadness and pain that they failed to notice the same thing was eating away at the others.
And they had always seemed so happy...
"I'll admit this though," Rainbow Dash said suddenly, pulling everyponies attention to her again. "For one brief moment, I actually did feel some sadness when I watched my dad die. Maybe it was because just a few days ago he had done the only decent thing he had ever done as my father: he took me to see the Wonderbolts for the first time. Pretty much set me in what I wanted to do with my life. I mean, it didn't change what I thought of him, but... at least it was something."
From the other side of the pad came the soft sniffling that could only belong to Fluttershy.
"Oh, Rainbow Dash, I'm so sorry I wasn't able to be there for you during those times," she cried softly.
"W-what do you mean, Shy?" Dash asked, confused.
"B-back in flight school, I... I was always too busy being such a coward that I d-didn't even have clue t-that you had such a miserable life. Y-you always stood up for me and protected me from those bullies, and... and I never managed to repay you for it." The pegasus continued to sob lightly. "If I had only known..."
"Hey, hey, don't beat yourself up over it, Shy," Rainbow Dash said. "I mean, sure life sucked for me, but I turned out alright in the end. I overcame it all, ya know? Besides, you had problems of your own, didn't you? Your parents never gave you any love or support either. If anything, I should've been there for you more often."
"Oh, Rainbow Dash..." Fluttershy whimpered. "You've always been so good to me. I wish I could repay you somehow."
"Shy, it's fine, really," Rainbow Dash insisted. "You've always been a really good friend to me. I mean, sure you could use a little help in the assertiveness department, but other than that I wouldn't have you any other way than you are now."
Fluttershy gave a small, sudden gasp. Rainbow Dash had the slightest feeling that her fellow pegasus hadn't heard a word she just said.
"I just realized, I didn't go to your most recent Wonderbolts tryout. None of us did," Fluttershy said. "Oh, Dash, I'm so sorry."
"Ah, that's right," Twilight came in. "We all said we'd be there, didn't we? Gosh, Dash, we're sorry." Everypony else nodded in agreement.
Aw, you guys, it's totally fine," Dash said reassuringly. "You all had your own problems to worry about. Besides, it's probably better that you guys weren't there. I didn't make it after all."
"Why didn't ya make it this time, Dash?" Applejack asked. "Did'ja choke 'r somethin'?
"Pfft, no," Dash scoffed. "I was as awesome as ever. They just... they're just way to picky, ya know? I guess saving their lives isn't good enough for them. Neither is performing the Sonic Rainboom, apparently."
"Gosh, what more could they want from you, Dashie?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"I dunno," Dash muttered. "A couple hundred million bits, I guess," she chuckled bitterly at that. "They'll have it soon enough, though."
"Dash, do you really feel right about doing this?" Twilight asked sincerely.
"What do you mean, Twi?" Dash replied.
"I mean, is this really how you wanted to get into the Wonderbolts; bribery? Wouldn't hard work and determination be a more satisfying way to get in?"
Dash shook her head.
"Twi, I already know I have what it takes to get into that group," she said confidently. "I know I have the skills, I just... I guess it's just not enough anymore. In Equestria today, ya gotta be loaded to get anything you want," the pegasus then let out a small sigh. "This country's goin' downhill fast."
It was quiet for a moment after that particularly heavy statement. None of them had really paid much attention to the seemingly poor state that certain areas of Equestria seemed to be in. They had been so used to the bright, cheery and peaceful Equestria that they couldn't even begin to imagine the darker, seedier side that seemed to underlie the peaceful land.
"Ah know what ya mean, Dash," Applejack mused. "Ah'm seein' a side of Equestria Ah was happier not knowin' existed."
"I think we all feel that way," Twilight added. "I mean, I always knew there was a dark side to this land. I knew there was crime and poverty, no society is perfect, after all. But... once you see it first hoof, it really... gets to you."
"Yeah, but you know what the messed up thing is?" Rainbow Dash asked. "It's starting to show more and more often in everyday life. Like, just a few weeks ago, I was flying over the school when I saw Scootaloo sitting by herself behind this bush. So I figure I'd drop in and say hi to her, give her a little thrill at getting to be with her hero, ya know? And also, I wanted to ask her what she's doing by herself.
"So I land next to her, ask her what's up, and I notice that she starts acting all nervous, like she wants me to leave or something. Now I'm like 'What the hay, Scoots? Why are ya acting all jumpy?' and she just keeps shrinking away from me. Then I notice she's hiding something under her hoof, and I ask her what it is she's hiding from me. She pretty much snaps at me and tells me to fuck off... okay, well, she didn't exactly say that, but she probably wanted to say it. So now I'm snapping back at her. I mean I tried to be patient, but the kids getting on my nerves, and somehow her hoof gets moved -I don't know how it happened- and I see that she was hiding a lit cigarette right there under her hoof."
Fluttershy and Rarity audibly gasped, while Twilight, Applejack and Pinkie Pie's eyes bulged in horror.
"Yeah, I know right?" Dash continued. "So anyway, I'm like 'Where did you get that, squirt?' And she starts giving me the whole 'I was just looking at it' spiel. Then right at that moment, this little white carton fall out of this hole in her saddlebag. It was a pack of Red Stallion Menthols!"
"Oh dear," Rarity and Fluttershy murmured at the same time.
"So, the kid starts freaking out and crying and trying to get away from me. But I don't wanna let her go just yet; I wanna know what the hay's going on! So I sit her down and calmly ask her where she got 'em. She manages to calm down after a while, and she tell me she got 'em from this strange stallion while she was on her way to school. It was like, right in front of the school house. He called her over and she just walked right up to him.
"I... I just about lost it right there! I didn't say this, but in my head I was like 'Are you kidding me, Scoots? You just trotted right up to a stranger?' I almost wanted to smack the kid right then and there! She could've been snatched up, for crying out loud!"
"Did Miss Cheerilee know about this?" Twilight asked. "I mean, she was right there, wasn't she?"
Dash shook her head.
"Nah, she was distracted by something, apparently. Another student, I think. I'm tellin' ya though, I almost wanted to go up to her and give her a piece of my mind about that whole thing! She had no idea how close she came to losing one of her students that day."
"Sake's alive," Applejack muttered, shaking her head and thinking of her little sister. What if it had been her? Rarity had similar thoughts about her own sister as well.
"But..." Dash continued. "I managed to keep my rage in check. I pulled her close to me and I just... tried to set her straight, ya know? Tried to tell her that cigarettes weren't good for her, that they didn't make her look cool at all. Because that's what the stallion told her; that they would make her seem cooler to her friends."
"That's a common advertising technique," Twilight chimed in. "Sadly, it seems to be working for some."
"Yeah," Dash mused. "Anyway, I tell her if she needs anypony to... I dunno, just hang out with or talk to, she could always come to me. If I had any free time, I'd be more than willing to hear her out. Just... ya know; giver some guidence and all that junk." She paused for a moment and gave a small, sad sigh. "That poor kid... I don't think she's having a very good go at home. I mentioned her parents once and she seemed kinda nervous about me bringing them up. I... man, I just don't know..."
From her left side, Dash felt the comforting forehoof of Applejack on her shoulder.
"That was awful nice o' you ta do that for her, Dash," she said with a small chuckle. "Didn't know you were such a softie at heart."
"Hey!" Dash snapped at her. "Caring about another doesn't make me a softie!"
"Do you really care about her though, Dash?" Twilight asked. "I mean, it's kinda hard to tell sometimes."
"I... I..." Rainbow Dash hadn't exactly been expecting to open herself up like this. She was almost starting to regret bringing her whole incident with her number one fan up. "I... I do, actually." She finally answered, and it was the truth. "I... care about her a lot to be honest. She kinda reminds me of myself at her age; desperate to impress everypony, to show the world what she can do.
"And on top of that, all the support she's given me, always being there to cheer me on when I needed it. Sure, she can be a little obsessive sometimes but... it really means a lot to me to have her admiration. The truth is, I... I love that kid."
"D'awwww," Pinkie Pie cooed.
"I want to be there for her more often," Dash seemed more like she was talking to herself now, rather than to her friends. "I want to protect her from all the bad stuff out there, because... well, it's starting to seem like she has nopony else who will look out for her. Might as well be me."
"I think you'd make a great older sister for her, Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy said softly. "You're really sweet sometimes."
"Heh, yeah well," Rainbow Dash pounded a hoof proudly against her chest. "Within beats a noble heart, I suppose."
"Still, I can't believe there could be a stallion like that wandering around Ponyville of all places," Rarity muttered. "You would think our own home town would be devoid of that kind of thing. It simply staggers the mind!"
"It don't surprise me, actually," Applejack stated. "Ah mean, it saddens me, but it don't surprise me. Ah mean, have ya seen what some o' these foals 'r into these days? This rap and death metal junk? Small wonder the death suicide rate's goin' up. And the fact that it's happen to them at such young ages. It honestly jus' about makes me sick. Big Mac an' Ah do what we can fer lil' Applebloom, an' ya can bet yer flank Granny Smith's been instillin' her values inta her. The values that our parents tried ta instill inta us. But, sometimes it just don't seem like enough. Ah've no idea how that filly's gonna turn out, but seein' what kinda state Equestria's fallin' into, Ah ain't particularly optimistic."
"Well, what are we supposed to do about it?" Dash asked bitterly. "I mean, I know we have the Elements of Harmony and all, but is that really gonna be enough? Will whipping them out for every little issue really solve everything? 'Cause it seems to me that if it were that simple, there wouldn't be problems like this."
"Well, they definitely wouldn't have solved our financial crisis," Twilight said bitterly. "And I know they wouldn't work for this whole robbery endeavor; not exactly a harmonous cause."
"Ya think anypony recognizes us on the streets?" Pinkie Pie asked sporadically. "I mean like, with all we've done, aren't we like, national celebrities or something?"
Rainbow Dash snorted loudly at that.
"Oh, please, Pinkie. If anypony thought of us like that, they'd be falling over themselves to help us, wouldn't they? We wouldn't be in this situation."
"But aren't we kinda like... Equestria's resident superheroes or something?" Pinkie said. "I mean, that's how I always think of us!"
A few soft chuckles filled the room at that statement
"It does kinda seem that way sometimes, don't it," Applejack said. "When the manure hits the fan, they usually call us in ta save the day."
"Yeah well, if they think I'm gonna be saving this craphole land anytime in the near future, they better think again," Dash muttered.
"What?" Twilight sounded more than a little taken aback. "You don't want to be hero anymore, Dash?"
"Why bother?" Dash asked. "Even with everything we've done, this place is crawling with scum. Murders and rapists and whatnot. Honestly, was Discord really that bad in comparison to what we've seen these past few days? I'm starting to think he would've been an improvement."
Twilight sighed, but not out of annoyance. In fact, she actually thought Dash had a good point.
"You know, aside from the whole turning us against each other thing, he really wasn't that horrible," she said.
"Kind of a funny guy, really," Pinkie Pie added.
"I do wonder what he would say if he could see us now," Rarity said airily.
"He'd probably want in on it," Dash said with a chuckle.
Twilight lifted her head and raised an eyebrow at her.
"Would you honestly consider letting him join us he wanted to?" She asked the pegasus.
"If he was good with a weapon... sure, why not?" Dash replied dryly. "Hay, with his abilities, this would be a snap." She suddenly got an excited look on her face. "You know what? We should totally break him out of his stone prison again and force him to work for us! He knows what we're capable of; if he tries anything funny, we threaten to lock him up again. How 'bout it, girls?"
Twilight stared at her slack-jawed. Her friends all wore similar expressions, with the exception being Fluttershy, who had finally managed to drift off to sleep.
"You're not serious, are you, Rainbow Dash?" Twilight cried.
At that, the rainbow-maned pegasus burst into laughter.
"No, I'm not serious!" She chortled. "I was just joking, alright? Chill out!"
Twilight groaned angrily and shook her head.
"Maybe you should leave the jokes to Pinkie Pie," she chided. "She's better with them."
"Ah, whatever," Dash groaned. Was she just not allowed to be funny or something? Jeez... "Anyway, as I was saying earlier; I'm done playing hero for this stupid country. From now on, I'm looking out for myself, you girls, and Scootaloo... and maybe Sweetie Belle and Applebloom, just as favors to you two." She gestured to Applejack and Rarity.
"Pfft, oh right, Dash, like Ah'd really trust ya with mah sisters life," Applejack said sarcastically.
Normally, Dash would've ripped into her for that, but in all honesty, she was starting to feel pretty tired. This whole day had really drained her out more that she had originally thought. On top of that, her sore wing was starting to feel a little better, so her mood was improving slightly.
"Well, I'll tell ya this much; I'd do a better job looking out for them than Celestia has looking out for this whole damn country," she said coldly. "I mean, is she like, even remotely aware of all bad things happening in this world. 'Cause it doesn't seem like it to me. Otherwise, I think she would've done something about it by now, or maybe even never have allowed it to get this way in the first place."
Twilight groaned.
"Dash, would you please drop the Celestia bashing?" She begged. "I'm really getting sick of it. I'm not happy with her right now either, but... c'mon, you really think she's totally oblivious to the issues of this land? I'm sure she does what she can."
"Yes, well, she certainly didn't hesitate to jump in and help us with our monetary issues now didn't she, darling?" Rarity said with bitter sarcasm.
"Yeah, exactly!" Dash agreed. "I know we've already been over this, but how could she up and abandon us like this? I mean, unless she's too 'busy' trying to bring Equestria out of it's misery."
"What did she even hafta say 'bout our whole crisis, Twi?" Applejack asked. "Ya sent her a letter 'bout it, didn't ya? Did she ever respond?"
Twilight took a moment to think about it. Yes, Celestia had in fact sent a reply, and it was not at all what Twilight had wanted to hear. No matter how much she had tried to make it seem like she didn't want the Sun Goddess' interference, deep down... that wasn't the case. She had badly wanted Celestia to offer some kind of aid, or at least some helpful suggestions on how to make things better. Instead, she and her friends had been left to fend for themselves, as if this were some kind of cruel test for them; an ultimate challenge of sorts, to see how well they could do on their own in a situation they had never before encoutered.
"No, AJ," Twilight lied. "She never responded." Even if it was a lie in the truest sense of the word, it still felt sorta like the truth. After all, what she had said in her letter pretty much equated to receiving no response at all.
"Ah... Ah don't believe it..." Applejack said quietly. "We really are on our own fer this one."
Twilight sighed heavily.
"Looks like it..." she muttered.
"Wait a minute!" Pinkie Pie suddenly chirped. "What if this is like a test or something?" Twilight's eyes widened at hearing that. Could that pink pony read minds or something? "What if she somehow, like, I dunno... dropped all icky bad stuff on us to see how we would react to it?"
Rainbow Dash snorted loudly. She placed a forehoof over her mouth to stifle the chuckles.
"Pinkie, even I think that's a ridiculous idea," she laughed.
"For once, I agree with Rainbow Dash," Twilight added. "I mean, Celestia can be a bit mysterious sometimes -not as much as Luna- but I honestly don't think she would go that far out of her way in making life hard for us just to prove a point."
At that moment, almost comical images of Celestia sneaking around Ponyville filled Twilights mind. She pictured Celestia pouring a gallon of alcohol down some poor stallions gullet and sending him and his cart crashing into the library. She pictured her spreading slanderous rumors about Rarity's boutique while wearing a trechcoat and sunglasses, convincing the Wonderbolts not to take Rainbow Dash on their team for another year, tampering with Pinkie Pie's wedding cake in some way, making Fluttershy's Angle Bunny sick by secretly over-feeding him while she was out, and quite possibly the most ludicrous of all; Celestia, wearing a fully black attire of some kind, sneaking through Sweet Apple Acres in the middle of the night with a canister of gasoline and a lighter. It was almost enough to make Twilight burst out laughing.
"Hmm, well, it was just a thought," Pinkie said after a while. "Anywho, I'm gettin' kind sleepy now. I think I'll just pass out now. Nighty Night! Don't let the parasprites bite!" And just like that, the pink pony's eyes snapped shut, and she was soon snoring lightly.
"You know what?" Rainbow Dash began. "I'm think I'm ready to hit the hay myself. All this Equestria hating is starting to wear me out. Besides, I didn't come on this trip just to bitch and whine about the problems of this land. I'm here to fix my own problems, and that's all."
Admittedly, Twilight was grateful to hear that. Not only was she starting to get tired herself, but she really wasn't liking where this whole conversation was going. She almost had this crazy thought in her head that Celestia could hear them... or that maybe she was watching them. That was an absurd notion, of course; if Celsetia had been watching them this whole time, she probably would've intervened by now... wouldn't she?
"What exactly do ya got planned fer us tamorrow, Twi?" Applejack asked with a yawn.
"Tomorrow," Twilight began. "We start practicing with those new toys of ours. We also need to go through the basics of crowd control and movement. We're pretty much going to be staying here for the whole day... if that's any comfort to you all."
Rarity gave a slightly contented sigh. It was more than okay for her to be staying put tomorrow.
"So, it's going to be something like a rehearsal tomorrow?" She asked.
"That's about right," Twilight replied.
"Mmh, lovely," Rarity moaned. Her eyes slowly slid closed, and her breathing became more relaxed.
"Well, g'night, ya'll," Applejack murmured as she snuggled into a comfortable position.
"Heh heh, sweet dreams," Rainbow Dash said in an almost sinister tone as she let herself slip into unconsciousness.
"Tch, yeah right," Twilight muttered bitterly, mostly to herself, as she closed her own eyes.
Her last thoughts before drifting into dreamland were of Pinkie's crazy theory of Celestia testing them. Maybe it was because she was a bit more disoriented by drowsiness, but for some reason it didn't seem as ridiculous a notion as it had earlier.
If in fact this was some kind of test, Twilight had a sinking feeling that she and her friends were so far failing it... badly.
Ya know, I think this may have been my favorite chapter to write so far. I dunno why, though. I particularly enjoyed writing Rainbow Dash's little monologue about Scootaloo (which is actually the plot of my other story, in case you haven't checked that one out). I want to write more about those two sometime in the near future. I have a few ideas, but I want to get this story done first. Anyway, as usual; thanks for reading and reviewing!