Friendship is the Key
Chapter 5: Treacherous Sands
by Appending_fic
It was hot. Almost unbearably so; Fluttershy tried to raise her wings over her head to shield herself from the sun, but they were numb. She shivered and curled up in a ball rather than think too hard on it, and her thoughts drifted to Cruella, and her last panicked expression-
"Hey, you all right, Fluttershy?"
Fluttershy glanced up at Applejack's question, meeting instead of Applejack's familiar freckled face, she saw...
Well, it was freckled. But it was also pink. Ish. The creature's face was flat and framed by blond hair pulled and tied back.
Fluttershy shrank back away from the intruder, yelping. "I..."
"What's the matter with you, Fluttershy? You look a little-" The creature yanked back. "Aigh!"
A chorus of screams suggested that some of the other fillies had made other unfortunate discoveries. Fluttershy scrambled to her feet, an endeavor made harder by the way the ground, gritty sand piled with little else underhoof, shifted under her hooves, which ached like a fresh burn. She squinted in the direction of the others, but the glare of the sun nearly blinded her.
"Is...everypony all right?"
"I think so," Twilight replied. "Under the circumstances, this is probably perfectly natural."
Fluttershy raised a hoof to get a more shaded look at the others. Her leg moved oddly, and it wasn't until she saw the other ponies that she realized what had happened.
They were shaped like Man, more like Cruella than Riku, at least in overall shape. Twilight's skin looked like it might have already been baked in the sun bearing down on them; she was slender but somewhat gangly as she bent her arms different ways to examine the strange limbs. Applejack's hair looked odd contrasting with the freckles on her pink cheeks, but the taut sturdiness of her limbs made it clearer she was, in fact, Applejack. Rarity, smaller than both of the others, had truly pale skin, and was shifting uncomfortably on the sand as she rummaged through her pack. Pinkie Pie was still pink, but the shade was much more subdued, and coupled with her rounded figure, made her look a little like a bunch of party balloons. Her hair retained its original shade and shape, which would have been evidence enough that it was really Pinkie, if she hadn't already started to absent-mindedly push sand together in an attempt to build something. Rainbow Dash had her arms folded, and was glaring at the world in general. Her limbs were limber, as a flightpony's were wont to be, and her skin dusky and slightly weathered. Her hair bore her mane's usual shock of color, and even her posture made it clear she was Rainbow Dash. Rainbow glared down at Spike, who had, against all odds, retained his own shape, and then let her gaze drift to Fluttershy.
"Can you give Riku a kick for me?" she asked. "I have a sneaking suspicion this is his fault."
Riku was sprawled at Fluttershy's feet; he looked peaceful, arms and legs akimbo while he breathed easily. Fluttershy looked at him, and then back up at Rainbow Dash.
"I don't think he'd like that," she said.
"Well wake him up, anyway," Twilight said. "We need to get out of the sun quickly. Climates of the Whole World says that you shouldn't be without shelter in a desert during the daytime."
Fluttershy glanced down at Riku again. She wasn't entirely certain she wanted to wake him; his casual sprawl suggested a deeper weariness than he'd let on. Still, if Twilight was right, it would be for his own good. She reached out and cautiously tapped Riku's foot with her front hoof. He didn't move.
"I think he's asleep," she offered.
"Of course he's - all right, out of the way, this looks like a job for a Rainbow Dash Special!"
"Or a Pinkie Pie Pounce!" Pinkie cried, launching herself at Riku. She landed in the center of his stomach, sending Riku's middle six inches deep into the sand. He awoke with a pained shout. He stared at the person crouched on him, eyes crossing as he tried to focus on her.
"Who the hell are you?"
"It's me, Pinkie Pie, silly!" Pinkie declared, throwing her...arms around Riku.
"Pinkie?" Riku pushed her off of him onto the sane and sat up, gaze drifting over the other women and Spike. He then carefully raised a hand over his eyes. "I'm really glad to see you girls, but could you put on some clothes?"
Rarity, who had located a parasol now clutched in both hands, frowned at Riku. "This really isn't the environment for high fashion, darling. Besides, I don't have anything that'd fit!"
"I think you could do it with a few alterations," Fluttershy said. "It wouldn't be quite up to your normal work, but it would look nice enough." She shrank away from the others when they all looked at her. "What's wrong?"
"Since when are you on Riku's side?" Rainbow demanded.
Fluttershy glanced between the glaring rainbow-haired woman and Riku, who was still sitting on the sand, eyes resolutely closed. She let her gaze drop downward, hair shielding her from Rainbow's challenging stare.
"I'm not...I just thought Riku might know more about being...looking like a Man," Fluttershy whispered.
"Everyone in that last world was wearing clothes," Twilight agreed.
"He said they eat meat, too. I bet some of them eat pony," Rainbow Dash said darkly. "So do you want to do that, too, miss 'let's do what Man does'?"
"N-no," Fluttershy whispered. "I'm sorry." That seemed to settle Down Rainbow Dash, who looked away from Fluttershy, face still wrinkled.
"It's not your fault." She glared at Riku before folding her arms, awkwardly, over her mammaries. "And I really hope I'm not expected to do any stunt flying with these things. The drag alone..."
Pinkie poked Riku's shoulder inquisitively. "Why are you covering your eyes?" she asked.
"Because you're naked," he said. "If Selphie knew I was looking at a bunch of naked girls, I'd never have an opportunity to appreciate it again."
Fluttershy yelped and scooted away from RIku, and Rainbow started laughing. Rarity shot her a disdainful glare, but Rainbow Dash didn't seem to notice or care, as she slipped back to earth and was rolling on her back, guffawing as she did so.
"Rainbow," Rarity chided.
"Oh, come on, Rarity," Rainbow replied, undaunted, "He thinks we're going to hit him for seeing us without any clothes on! I haven't worn a stitch of clothing since I met him!"
Rarity sighed. "I suppose it does have a certain...humor to it," she said. "But if it is the custom, it might be best to do our best to blend in." She glanced at Fluttershy, adding, "within reason, of course." Rarity looked at her pack, her shoulders drooping as she contemplated it. "Spike, I'm going to need your claws."
With Spike's help, Rarity quickly reduced a number of fancy outfits into serviceable loose dresses for the Equestrians. They weren't particularly attractive; Rarity gave Fluttershy an apologetic smile when she handed over a tan and grey shift that draped over Fluttershy awkwardly. Fluttershy just shrugged and smiled to show Rarity there weren't any hard feelings. Once everypony (every person? Fluttershy hoped Riku knew how to talk around Man, because the thought of speaking herself left her knees wobbly) was dressed, Rainbow Dash tapped his shoulder.
"You can open your eyes," she said. "No ponies without clothes on to be frightened of."
"I wasn't-" he started, but abruptly shook his head and dropped it. Fluttershy gave Rainbow a stern look; Rainbow shrugged, her flat Man face wrinkling after a moment of concentration. Her left ear wiggled, and she scowled.
"Geez, I can barely move my ears. How do you manage?" she demanded of Riku.
Riku gave her a blank look. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Hmph. Man," Rainbow scoffed. She took a step forward and launched herself off the ground, fell back onto the sand and rolled a few feet down a dune before coming to a stop. Everypony stared at her silence until Pinkie burst into laughter.
"Dashie, you don't have wings!" she giggled.
"Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up. It could have happened to anypony," Rainbow retorted.
Fluttershy didn't laugh, and she did reach down to help Rainbow Dash up, but she couldn't keep from smiling. Even if she was embarrassed, Rainbow Dash falling was a little funny. Fluttershy did pat Rainbow's shoulder to show she wasn't really making fun of her friend. Rainbow Dash was smiling, though, so it must be all right.
"If everypony is quite finished making fools of themselves," Rarity interjected, "we might want to take Twilight's advice and find shelter before we all die of heat exhaustion."
"How?" Rainbow demanded. "I don't see anything that looks like shelter. I mean, if I could fly, I could check out the lay of the land, find us some sweet digs."
"Um..."
Nopony gave Fluttershy any attention, so she tried again. "I might have an idea. It's not very good, and I'm sorry, Twilight, if it's troublesome for you, but if nopony has any other ideas, we might try it."
Nopony offered any suggestion. Twilight then smiled at Fluttershy. "We might as well hear what your idea is."
"i thought you might be able to make Rainbow Dash wings so she could find shelter."
Twilight grinned at Fluttershy. "That's a great idea!"
"Wait a minute," Rainbow said, sidling back to put Fluttershy between her and the others. "You aren't talking about that fairy wing spell, are you?"
"Of course we are," Twilight said. "It's the only flying spell I know."
Rainbow glowered at Twilight from around Fluttershy's shoulder. "Then get some other filly to do it. I'm not going to float around on wings made out of gossamer - it's embarrassing!"
"Well, have it your way," Rarity replied. "You might as well cast it on Fluttershy, Twilight. Rainbow Dash can walk until we figure out how to get back to normal."
"Wait, you don't know how to fix this?" Rainbow demanded.
"If I did, I already would have! Transformation magic is just very advanced."
Rainbow folded her arms and glared - whether at Twilight specifically, Fluttershy couldn't tell. She may very well have been glaring at the world. "Fine," Rainbow declared at last. "If we've only got one flyer, it ought to be me. But ladies? Nopony hears about this. Ever."
;;;:::::{-]
Rainbow drifted slowly above the sands, gossamer wings flapping behind her. She was beginning to wonder if she'd move faster walking, even though she knew her altitude was more important that her speed. Still, it was almost painful to move this slow. Even when she talked Fluttershy into a flight, Rainbow would speed ahead and wing her way back just to make sure the quieter filly hadn't gotten distracted by some cute animal.
In fact, Rainbow Dash couldn't remember ever flying this slowly before when unhurt.
She paused in her flight, scanning the horizon. Still nothing. She sighed, and briefly considered breaking out her new trick. She'd find shelter for the others in no time...
Catching sight of the edges of one of her wings, Rainbow abandoned that thought. Rarity's wings had fallen apart in sunlight; she didn't like too think about how delicate these appendages were. And that was Rainbow's other concerns about the wings. Sure they were embarrassing, but Rainbow would have put up with a lot worse if the wings were fast.
(She resolutely ignored the part of her that was amazed at the rainbows cast on the sand by her passing. Totally not worth it.)
Instead, she was practically a sitting duck; if something attacked her in the air, she'd be helpless.
Moreso because this stupid body didn't have proper hooves, or claws, or jaws strong enough to do any real damage. She only hoped it could take a hit, because that was all Rainbow would have to rely on.
Rainbow flapped a little harder, hoping her wings would survive getting a little closer to the sun. Her back started to heat up a little, but Rainbow took it as a good sign that she didn't immediately plummet to her death. Still, if she didn't find somewhere they could rest soon, falling would be the least of her worries.
At her new altitude, Rainbow thought she saw something; hovering, she considered whether it was wiser to get closer or higher to find it.
After a moment of thought, she scoffed. Nothing said she couldn't do both! So, climbing steadily, Rainbow flew in the dire toon of the setting sun, where she thought she'd seen something shelter-like. Rainbow almost crowed when a minute of flight, warming her back significantly as she climbed, brought into view the top of a rounded tower. Sure, it was further away than they'd like, but it was civilization. And maybe they'd have a library so Twilught could figure out how to get Rainbow back her real wings, instead of these sissy fairy-ma-jigs.
A scent like burning paper caught Rainbow's attention; she sniffed carefully, trying to find the direction it was coming from, but it seemed to be all around her. It couldn't be the desert itself; in the hour or so she'd been traveling, Rainbow had gotten used to the baked smell of the sand below. That left-
"Oh, cajones," Rainbow growled. Behind her, the wings evaporated, and Rainbow, held up by nothing but blind hope, plummeted.
She tucked in her arms and started rolling; when she hit the ground, the sand absorbed some of the impact, and Rainbow rolled for a few tense seconds, absorbing the rest of the force. She climbed to her feet, a little dizzy, but not too dazed to forget to pump her arms over her head in triumph. "That, fillies and gentle colts, is how Rainbow Dash rolls," she announced to the empty waste.
When nopony appeared to cheer her, Rainbow let her arms drop. She looked up at the sun, drifting entirely too slowly towards the horizon, and sighed. She knew it was going to be a long walk back to the other.
"This is not how Rainbow Dash rolls," she grumbled as she started trudging over the sand dune she'd rolled down.
Just behind that dune was another twice its height; Rainbow took ten minutes to climb over it. The problem, she realized, as she rolled down that dune to find yet another looming over her, was that the sand looked deceptively flat from the air. A walk she'd expected to take an hour at most looked like it would take all day. And she was parched. As noble as it had sounded at the time, Rainbow wished she hadn't told Twilight to save her magic to make water for the others. Now that she was trapped under the sun's punishing light, Rainbow could barely swallow, her throat felt so dry.
The urge to flop onto the sand until nightfall seemed overwhelming; when she rolled down the next dune, Rainbow just rested there for a moment, pretending it was just a warm summer's day and she was sprawled on a sunny tree branch. She could almost feel the gentle breeze that always ruffled the trees around Ponyville.
Rainbow yawned and stretched out further. Maybe later she'd go to the Sugar Cube Corner for some iced tea. Pinkie Pie was always willing to share on hot days like this.
A wrong note registered in those thoughts, but Rainbow found she was too comfortable to care. She rolled over and snuggled into the branch. Somewhere nearby, somepony was making a racket. Probably Scootaloo and her friends.
"-keep her cool! And Goofy, get the canteens!"
Something blocked out the sun, and the breeze intensified. "Hey, stop it," Rainbow muttered. "I just got warm..."
A splash of water hit Rainbow's right foreleg. That was it, she thought, and bolted up. She was going to give whoever was bothering her a piece of her mind! Sitting up, however, turned out to be a bad idea. Her head swam, and the tree suddenly felt much grittier under her flank, which felt like it was shaped weird. Somepony had dropped a coat (and one that hadn't been washed often) on her head. And she could feel a couple of ponies standing around her.
"All right, what's the big idea?" she demanded. Or tried to. Her words slurred and jumbled, and the effort to speak made her stomach roll. And then something cold dropped on her back legs.
Rainbow yelped and launched herself off the tree branch. Halfway through the jump, she panicked, realizing she couldn't feel her wings, which was embarrassing as it was dangerous; Rainbow's wings hadn't fallen asleep since she was a tiny filly!
Rainbow executed a Weather Patrol-standard recovery, rolling to lessen her momentum. Something, hover, was wrong. She didn't seem to be falling, just rolling around in...dirt?
It seemed the only thing that had gone right was that the jacket had fallen off of Rainbow's head. She could see the sun blazing high above and baking her skin, and much of the past few days came back to her. Of course her wings weren't working; she was shaped like a Man. But that didn't explain those people annoying her. She twisted and caught sight of a round, open Man face, one centered with bright blue eyes and framed with wild brown hair that wouldn't have looked out of place on a member of the Weathet Patrol returning from hurricane duty. His eyes were wide, and the way he was bent over Rainbow made h think of Fluttershy tending to a sick animal.
"Who are you?" she demanded.
The Man grinned. "I'm Sora! That's Goofy over there, and this is Donald!"
Rainbow looked around cautiously; she felt that moving her head too fast might end with her losing the last meal she'd had. Next to Sora was a tall creature that looked sort of like a dog that walked on two legs. It was wearing loose yellow trousers and a green shirt. She decided it was 'Goofy', because it certainly looked the part. Standing a ways off, next to a wide depression in the sand, was a duck. It wore a long blue shirt covered in buttons, and had a long rod topped with three interlocking spheres pointed at Rainbow.
Rainbow bared her teeth. So that's how it was. She might not be able to fly, but she was still Ponyville's best fighter.
"You'll never take me alive!" she shouted, trying to jump at the duck. As before, Rainbow had overestimated her capabilities, because a wave of dizziness sent her sprawling onto the sand. "All right. What did you do to me?"
"You've got heat stroke," Sora said. "You should get back under the coat and let Donald keep you cool. And Goofy?"
"Right here, Sora," the dog-thing said. Sora handed Ranbow a cloth pouch. She stared at it, trying to figure out exactly what Sora's angle was.
"Ma'am? You really ought to drink something," Sora said. "I don't know how long you've been out here, but you don't look well at all."
"Yeah," the duck agreed, "you look cooked!"
Rainbow found a spout on the pouch, and sipped carefully at it; the unfamiliar shape of her mouth causing her to spill more than half of what she drank. "Sorry," she muttered, handing the pouch back to Sora. He was watching her, eyes wide in something - concern or fascination, Rainbow didn't know. Donald handed Rainbow a cloth-wrapped bundle that was cold and just beginning to grow damp. She stared at it.
"You should stick that under your arms...or legs," Sora sad, "to keep cool."
Rainbow wished she had the energy to glare at Sora, because this was possibly the most ridiculous thing anypony other than Pinkie Pie had ever said to her. She instead stuck her tongue out at him. Sora's brow wrinkled. He sighed and turned to Donald.
"Can you give her a quick cure?" Sora asked. "It can't hurt, and she still seems a little dazed."
"All right," the duck agreed, and pointed its stick at Rainbow. She opened her mouth to protest, and then a cool, mint-scented light swept over her. The worst of her dizziness passed, and with it, Rainbow found herself able to think a little clearer. She remembered crashing and trying to make her way back to the others, and deciding to take a nap. She berated herself for letting her guard down; if Sora and his friends hadn't shown up, she could have died, and then what would have happened to her friends?
Rainbow set Donald's package on the sand and wrapped her legs around it. It did seem to cool her a little, so she looked to Sora, who seemed to be in charge of the outfit.
"Where'd you come from?" she asked. "Cause me and my friends got a little lost and we were trying to find shelter."
"Good luck," Donald snorted.
"We just got here," Sora said. "It's just chance we found we."
"Well, as grateful as I am," Rainbow said, pushing herself to her feet, "I gotta get back to my friends."
"You can't do that!" Sora said. "You nearly died out there!"
"So I'm not leaving them out in the sun to roast, too," Rainbow said. She wavered on her feet, but turned, slowly, away from the sun, and took a step forward. "You see?" She gave Sora a grin. "You patched me up fine."
Sora jumped and grabbed Rainbow's arm, tugging her back. "You're not going out there!" he insisted. "You're not supposed to exert yourself when you're suffering from heat stroke."
"I'll be fine."
"No you won't!"
"You want me to leave my friends out there?" Rainbow demanded. "Because I'll take all three of you if you're going to try to make me." She looked down at her front legs and, awkwardly, clenched her digits closed. That looked more like a weapon, she decided. Ready to fight, she looked back up at Sora, who was unarmed. "Come on!" she snapped. "Either fight me or let me go!"
Goofy bent down next to Sora, a hand on his shoulder. "I think we're going to have to go with her," he said.
"Ha!" Rainbow snapped. "Just try and keep up! And no more dawdling!"
;;;:::::{-]
An hour passed before anyone other than Fluttershy started worrying. Rarity had sacrificed more material for pavillions to keep the sun off of them, while Twilight had managed to conjure enough water to hold them for the day. So Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie, and Spike had taken the opportunity to rest. Fluttershy had likely had enough sleep in the last world, because she paced nervously under the tent's roof, glancing frequently at the sky.
Riku had slumped over almost immediately after taking refuge under the tent. Twilight watched him, remembering Aurora's words. The void between worlds was dangerous. He'd pulled them through it twice, now, and it seemed to be pulling something out of him.
Plus, he seemed to understand something about what was going on. The story of Nightmare Moon had told him something about what was going on, even while she was still confused. The pieces of the puzzle, though few, had a worrying shape. She vowed to take an opportunity to visit the first library they came to civilization, and see what she could discover about the void, and the creatures Cruella had nominally commanded.
It was at this point that a distant cry drew Twilight's attention skyward. A tiny figure hovered high in the air. Twilight scowled; she'd warned Rainbow Dash not to fly too high, and even without that warning, she knew Rainbow remembered what had happened to Rarity.
A moment of examination revealed that the figure wasn't Rainbow Dash, but rather a large bird circling the desert some distance away. Twilight stared at it for several moments. She didn't recognize the creature, so she turned to Fluttershy, whose eyes were riveted to the bird.
"Fluttershy, do you know what that bird is?"
"...Maybe," Fluttershy whispered.
Twilight glanced at Fluttershy, noticing that the other...young woman, had locked her hands together, twisting them absent-mindedly.
"Fluttershy, what's wrong?"
"It's just...Rainbow Dash has been gone a very long time. And that's a..." Fluttershy gulped. "Vulture."
"Oh." Twilight stared at the circling bird. "I'm sure Rainbow's all right."
Fluttershy looked briefly at Twilight, ducking her head behind her hair. "If you say so."
She didn't sound convinced, so Twilight wrapped an arm around Fluttershy's shoulder and pulled her close. "Fluttershy, don't worry. Rainbow Dash has faced things a lot worse than this, and she never gives up. She'll be fine. Frankly, I feel sorry for any vulture that tries to eat her."
A giggle escaped Fluttershy's mouth. "That's...not very nice, Twilight." She was silent for a moment. "Poor vulture," she added.
"She'll be fine, Fluttershy," Twilight repeated.
Fluttershy didn't reply, but pressed closer to Twilight, as if trying to shield herself from the rest of the world. Eyes pinned to the sky, Fluttershy stayed huddled next to Twilight as the sun drooped, each fraction of an inch marking another agonizing minute in which Rainbow Dash was still gone.
The sun was just touching the horizon when Pinkie Pie stirred. She clambered her way over the other sleeping people to drape her arms over Fluttershy and Twilight. "What's up, girls?"
Fluttershy sighed.
"Rainbow Dash is still gone," Twilight replied.
"Oh," Pinkie said, drooping momentarily. "But there hasn't been any bad news, has there?"
"I don't think there's any way we could get bad news out here," Twilight said.
"Well, there you go! She must be fine," Pinkie concluded.
"I hope so," Twilight murmured.
Pinkie didn't move; Twilight didn't move her, because she was sure the proximity was comforting to Fluttershy. The sun sank further, and the others were still sleeping. The daytime heat dissipated rapidly, and Twilight pressed slightly closer into the warm bodies next to her. They were going to have to plan for the night, or, if Rainbow Dash reappeared, get moving so they could find shelter by daybreak.
Something moved on the sand. Pinkie gasped.
"What is it?" Twilight demanded.
"Ducks!" Pinkie shouted. She pushed her way through Twilight and Fluttershy and ran, stumbling all the way, out beyond their camp. Twilight struggled after her, ready to shout a warning that would almost certainly go unheeded. The words tangled up when she saw what Pinkie was running to. A duck, or something like it, stood on the top of a nearby dune. It shouted something behind it a moment before Pinkie hit him with a full-power tackle. The duck yelped and full down the far side of the dune, taking it and Pinkie Pie from view.
"Calm down! That's not a Heartless! It's Pinkie Pie!"
Twilight was frozen for only a second at the sound of that voice. She heard a squeak behind her, and then she herself was climbing the dune, heart surging.
"It attacked me!"
"It looked more like a hug to me. I always like a hug as a greeting. Hello, miss."
Twilight crested the dune to see the duck-thing sitting up and glaring at Pinkie Pie, who was smiling cheerfully at it and its companions, a two-legged dog, another Man, and...Rainbow Dash, lacking wings but otherwise looking none the worse for wear. Scrambling from behind Twilight suggested Fluttershy, at least, was catching up.
"You're okay." The statement, lacking the sort of enthusiasm, say, Pinkie Pie would have put into it, nevertheless cut through the silence and earned a brilliant grin from Rainbow.
"Yeah, I'm great," she said. At a frown from the dog and Man, she flushed and ducked her head. "Sort of. Sora here kept me from dying of thirst out there and helped me back."
"Then we owe you our thanks, Sora," Twilight said. She bowed her head. "Rainbow Dash was supposed to be scouting. If we'd lost her, I don't know what we'd have done."
Sora reached up, scratching the back of his head as he grinned, cheeks reddening. "Don't worry about it. I couldn't let Dash get separated from her friends." He glanced at the duck, who while still glaring, made no apparent comment. "And speaking of that...I've been looking for some of my friends. We got separated when the Heartless attacked our island. Have you met either of them? Their names are Kairi and Riku."
"That pain's your friend?" Rainbow blurted out.
Twilight sighed and rubbed her forehead, a soothing gesture that gave the Man form at least one advantage over pony shapes. But Rainbow's thoughtless comment didn't seem to upset Sora particularly, or at least, the prospect of a reunion seemed to excite him more than the insult to his friend.
"Are you talking about Riku? Have you seen him?"
Rainbow shrugged. "Unless he was eaten by a giant sand worm in the past couple of hours, he's still at camp."
"Still asleep, actually." The remaining Equestrians, including Spike trailing Rarity, had appeared. Applejack met Sora's relieved smile with a brief grin of her own. "Plum tuckered out, I think. He really took what Aurora said to heart, and I think it wore him out more than he was willing to admit."
"But he's here? Riku's here?" Sora demanded.
Applejack nodded. "Course. But first things first...who're you?"
Introductions were quick, although Sora spent a long moment staring at Spike when introduced to the dragon, as if he'd never seen one before. It seemed weird, given Sora's traveling companions, although Twilight allowed that the duck and dog might be native to Sora's home. Still, as soon as introductions were finished, Sora sprinted over the dune and towards camp.
"Riku!"
Sora hit the tent at top speed, eliciting a pained cry from within. Twilight sighed and began trudging down the dune. She supposed traveling with adolescents had its complications, but somepony was going to get hurt before long, and who would be expected to clean up the mess?
"-you to stay off me, Pinkie!"
Twilight winced, but by the time she reached the tent, Sora was talking nearly as fast as Pinkie.
"-we fought a giant monster made out of cards or streamers or something, and then I met this guy who was raised by gorillas and we fought these evil chameleon things, plus I learned magic!"
"That's great," Riku said dully.
Sora shook him by the arm. "What about you?"
"I've been yelled at by a bossy pegasus, got to watch a bunch of ponies yell at the fashion industry elite, and nearly died three times trying to get out of dead-end worlds," Riku said. "But I'm glad you're having fun." He glanced up at Twilight, who'd paused just outside the tent. "Did Rainbow find a settlement anywhere?"
"I...haven't talked to her yet."
"Then let's figure out if she has and go," Riku said, standing and brushing excess sand from his shirt, apparently ignoring Sora's pained, wide-eyed look. Riku stalked off towards the dune and shouted towards the others while Twilight stared at Sora. She didn't know what to say; she barely knew how to comfort her own friends, much less complete strangers.
"He's...been under a lot of stress lately," Twilight said weakly.
"He was always pretty protective of us," Sora said. "I would've been really upset if I hadn't met Goofy and Donald to help look for him and Kairi."
Twilight glanced sidelong at Sora, bursting with questions. He sounded like he knew what was happening to the worlds, and information was the one thing they still lacked. Her questions, however, were forestalled by a flare of light from the south (or what Twilight had designated south; it was entirely possible directions worked differently here).
An enraged roar shook the air and earth; Twilight ducked her head and heard various shouts of alarm from the others.
"It came from that way!" she shouted. "Let's go!"
Sora, too, was calling to his friends. "Goofy! Donald! Come on!"
The two groups left the camp at about the same time, mingling easily as they moved.
"It occurs to me that while we have made a habit of endangering our lives in new and exciting ways, it might be considered wise to run away from a noise like that," Rarity commented dryly. "Among other things, I'm certain whatever made that noise will find us in due time."
"Noted!" Twilight gasped. "But somepony could be in trouble!"
"Yes, us!"
A less feral cry of anguish cut through the night, and Rainbow, Applejack, and Sora and his friends sped up, climbing another of the endless dunes and vanishing from view. When Twilight hit the top of the dune, she paused to take in the scene. A mound of sand was sinking rapidly from view. Next to it, a wild-looking Man in ragged clothes sat, shoulders slumped and staring at the sand. Rainbow had reached him and put a hand on his shoulder, causing him to look up, slowly. Then he let his gaze travel in a slow arc, taking in the others behind Rainbow, and Twilight and the rest on the top of the sand dune. Twilight met his piercing, dark eyes for a moment before they moved on.
"Come on," she said to the others.
It took a minute to clamber back down, and when they had managed it, the old Man had stood, leaning heavily on Sora.
"-a monster said to lurk in these sands," he was saying. "It would be wise to get back to Agrabah, and soon."
"Sounds like a good plan," Sora said. "But are you sure you'll be all right?"
The old man threw back his head and laughed. "Oh, I've had worse walks," he declared. "And with your help, young man, I'll be fine! I just had a bit of a shock, a little startled, was all. Now, who are all of you?"
Twilight introduced her friends, and Sora his. The man stared at Spike when Twilight introduced him, his expression unreadable. But when they were finished, he gave a gap-toothed smile.
"I'm Ahmed. I'll take you as far as the palace. Ladies like yourself will likely find welcome there."
"And what about you?"
"I'm not the type to be welcome there," the man said. "Don't worry about me. But come along, ladies, gentlemen."
Despite his apparent lameness, the man pushed them at a brutal pace, although he did allow them time to gather their things. He seemed to know the desert well, however, sending them along paths that were easy to walk along. Still, it was near dawn when they arrived at the gates to a sprawling city. High domes rose high above them, pale in the dim light, and Twilight could see half-constructed buildings scattered across the city, a testament to a growing settlement.
The heavy metal grates of the entrance were closed, but the old man stepped close and beat at them with one of a pair of crutches he carried. "Hey! Visitors to Agrabah!" he shouted.
It took a minute, but eventually a guard, dressed in loose white pants, a dark vest, and a high white hat with a gemstone embedded in it, appeared. He glared at the old man without apparently noticing the others.
"What do you want, old man?"
"I'm escorting these ladies to the Sultan," the man said. "These are emissaries of royalty, you know. The Lady Twilight Moon...and her attendants."
"Twilight Moon? Never heard of her."
"For a student of international politics, you hide your learnedness well," the old man retorted. The guard's face twisted in confusion. "I think it would be better to let Lord Jafar decide whether a royal emissary is worth admitting to the city. After all, if word got around to him that you kept out royalty..."
The guard's face paled. "Right away!" he cried, and vanished. A moment later, the gate began to slide open.
The old man grinned at the group. "Easy as anything!" he declared. "Now this is where I'll be leaving you. The guards will take you to the palace. Find the Lord Jafar there. He is the vizier to the Sultan, and he'll do everything in his power to help you."
"But we haven't had a chance to thank you yet," Twilight protested.
"Oh, don't worry about that," the old man replied. "You've been more than enough help...seeing me out of the desert. So I bid you adieu, and good luck."
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