Chapter 11:
A Shortcut/ Ice Slide
After the blizzard had passed, Rainbow Dash flew ahead since now she could scout much further to see where to travel next. But when she landed and looked around, she saw something that made her body froze. The humans are only a couple of yards away. The Mane 3 had finally caught up with them. While that might've been a good thing for Twilight, Pinkie, and most of all the baby, it was a bad thing for Rainbow.
She knew that if Twilight and Pinkie saw them, they'd definitely return the baby to it's father so soon and have no reason to go to Pegasus Peak, and Lightning Dust would not be happy to not have revenge or dessert. Rainbow Dash looked behind herself and saw the two mares coming with the baby riding on the alicorn's head.
Rainbow Dash looked around frantically for something that'll lead them away from the humans until she saw a passageway through the rocks. A lightbulb lit up over Rainbow's head as she got an idea, if she could lead them into the passageway, they could be far away from the humans and Rainbow Dash could continue to lead them to Pegasus Peak.
"Hey, Twi! Great news! I found us a shortcut!" Rainbow Dash declared as she half trudged and half ran to Twilight. She wasn't lying, as the passage would cut their time of getting to Pegasus Peak.
The baby slid off Twilight's head as Twilight quickly caught him by the shirt with her mouth.
"What do you mean by shortcut, Rainbow Dash?" Twilight asked, muffled by her clenched teeth onto the baby's shirt as she placed the baby on her back.
"I mean faster than the long way around, Twilight," Rainbow Dash replied sarcastically as the baby pulled on Twilight's mane, which made the Alicorn slightly irritated. She wasn't used to being a child's plaything.
"Ow! I know what a shortcut is, Rainbow Dash," Twilight retorted as she winced in pain.
"Look, Egghead. Either we slip through that crack in the wall and beat the humans to the Pass, or we take a long way around and miss them while we're up to our snouts in snow," Rainbow Dash said as she pointed to the passageway with her wing.
"Through there? What do you take me for, Rainbow Dash?" Twilight asked, looking at the passageway, clearly seeing it could be very dicey to travel through it.
"This time or tomorrow, you could finally be a free Alicorn. Or a nanny?" Rainbow asked as she smirked at Twilight trying to get the baby off her eyelid with her magic, but the infant refused to let go, "Personally I don't mind, I never got tired of playing peek-a-boo when I was a filly,".
"Hey, Girls. Check this out," Pinkie said, holding an icicle that was broken into two and putting them on her neck as she made choking sounds and acted like she was impaled.
After Twilight finally got the baby off her eyelid, she turned to the pink mare, "Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash has found us a shortcut," Twilight said, not being interested in Pinkie's act.
Pinkie stopped and looked at the top of the passageway and then gazed up at the large section of ice hanging over the cave that could drop on them at any moment. Dropping her icicles, Pinkie made the smartest decision, "No thanks, this earth pony values life," She said as she turned and marched away from death.
At least before Rainbow got in her face and stopped her in her tracks, "Then this Pegasus suggests that this pony should take the shortcut," She snarled.
"Are you threatening me, Rainbow Threater?" Pinkie asked, as she narrowed her eyes and pointed a suspicious hoof at Rainbow Dash.
"MOVE YOUR FLANK, EARTH PONY!" Rainbow Dash shouted in anger as her yell echoed throughout the area. She was so done with this mare's antics, she was so hoping Lightning Dust would eat her fir-
A rumbling was heard as the Mane 3 looked up and saw the ice above the passageway starting to crack and fall towards them.
"Way to go, Rainbow Avanlancher," Pinkie said casually, patting Rainbow's head as the pegasus's eye twitched, and they watched the ice falling apart and continue falling towards them.
"Quick! Inside!" Twilight ordered, quickly changing her tune about the passageway as she started running for the cave.
Having no choice, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie follow Twilight as the ice hits the ground near the entrance and the entrance of the cave collapses. Pinkie skids to a stop as she looks and sees that they have another problem. Hanging above them are thousands of sharp icicles shaking from the vibration of the avalanche. And if they fall, they'd be pony-shish kabobs!
The Mane 3 tried to head back for the entrance quickly but to their horror, it completely collapsed and trapped them inside. Twilight looked back up at the icicles as the shaking soon slowed down, and they stopped shaking. After the icicles had completely stopped shaking, the Mane 3 looked back at the entrance and saw that it was completely blocked by huge chunks of ice that go to the top where the light shines at the top through a small hole, which was way too small for them.
There was no way for them to get through that, even with Twilight's magic that could risk dropping even more snow on them. This means they only have one choice left since there is no point in going back the way they came.
"Okay, I vote for the shortcut," Twilight monotone as she walks down the passageway with Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie walking close behind her.
After they left, an ice chunk came down and blocked the light through the hole. Now they were completely trapped.
Sometime later, The Mane 3 were still heading down the passageway as they were mainly quiet as they weren't sure what could be in here with them. And they appeared to have been walking through the caverns for about ten and a half minutes.
"Come on, girls. Stick together, it's easy to get lost in a place like this, it's like a maze," Rainbow said, leading the way. She rather not explain to Lightning Dust that she lost her prize in an ice maze. It would not be pretty.
Pinkie Pie, who wasn't paying much attention because she was busy looking at the cave walls in awe, ended up colliding with a piece of low-hanging ice in front of her with a 'BAM!' and fell to the ground dizzily with her tongue sticking out. Pinkie was out for a few seconds until she woke up and tried to get up, but her tongue was stuck in ice. It took a while for her to pry it off, but Pinkie finally did it, even though her tongue was now sticking out.
"Uh, guurils?" Pinkie Pie babbled out, seeing she was alone with two tunnels.
The others had gone into the right tunnel, but Pinkie in her daze had gone into the left tunnel. As Pinkie entered the tunnel, she finally managed to roll up her tongue and pause to notice all the scenery in the cave. True, most of it was all ice, and yet just seeing a cave of this structure was a remarkable sight. Still, Pinkie had no idea what she might encounter in these caves. And they were a sight.
Pinkie slowly turned a corner until her travels led her to a clear block of ice. Walking by the clear wall of ice and looking into it, Pinkie yelped and jumped back in fright as she saw a Bite-acuda fish frozen in ice with a mouth opened at her. It looked ready to eat her.
Pinkie chuckled, realizing the fish was just frozen, "Heheh, a-a Fishie," She joked as she backed up from the frozen fish and turned around as she would ever be afraid of a puny, little, dead, frozen-
"Wwwwwwaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!" Pinkie screamed as in front of her was another frozen animal…a much larger animal. A frozen Dinosaur-Pony hybrid creature with its mouth open.
After realizing it is frozen and stuck in ice, Pinkie shuddered and walked off. Okay, that scared her, she hoped to never see a Dino-pony ever again.
(Ahem, wait until Dawn of the Dinoponies)
But since her friends were on the other side, Twilight and Rainbow Dash had no idea what Pinkie Pie was up to. Then again, the path they went on didn't show 'any' frozen animals… or much of anything.
Pinkie tried her best to stay calm as she then came across another wall of ice which looked peculiar. Not noticing that it contained creatures that evolved into ponies.
Pinkie lowered her head to get a closer look. First Pinkie passes a bacteria with two eyes, then an eel-like creature with a pony-like head, a stubby condylarth-like creature with webbed feet, and an earth pony that looks like a cave pony. Pinkie stopped for a minute, getting the feeling that she was part of something bigger. But then she shrugged it off and walked along.
Pinkie then finally made it through the passage and rejoined Rainbow Dash and Twilight at the other tunnel as she rushed over to them. She was relief to see them.
The Mane 3 walked past another wall of ice. Rainbow Dash and Twilight didn't bother to look, but Pinkie did. And her eyes widened as inside the ice was…a large alien saucer?
The baby, riding on Twilight's back, turned and looked at the ship and gave a Vulcan salute with a "Bah".
Twilight noticed Pinkie having a hard time staying with them, "Pinkie, will you keep up, please? It's already hard enough to keep track of one baby," She retorted. She didn't understand why Pinkie was so childish.
But while Twilight was chiding Pinkie, she wasn't entirely paying attention to where she was going. As Twilight walked under a frozen ledge about her height, the baby slid off her back and onto the ice slide above her. The Mane 3 watched as the baby slid past them, and they all turned with confused expressions as the baby then slid up a small bump in the ice and flew into the air. The baby waved at them and then dropped out of their sight.
The three were confused for a moment before they registered what just happened, "Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!" They screamed in shock as they raced up the hill, looked over the edge, and saw the baby loop-de-looping his way down the tunnel, giggling happily.
"After him!" Pinkie declared as she, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight dove right in after the baby. And soon, the race to retrieve the baby proceeded. It was definitely different.
Pinkie was sliding down the ice caverns on her back, screaming.
Following behind her, Rainbow Dash was sliding down the ice cavern on her stomach, also screaming.
And Twilight was sliding behind the two ponies on her flanks while screaming too.
The Mane 3 screamed all the way down the wildest ride of their lives. It didn't take long for them to lose control along the ice, which turned out to be bumpy, slippery… and very dangerous as they slipped and slid down the tunnel, all chasing after the baby.
The baby sped further along the path, but the Mane 3 were catching up.
Despite sliding very fast, the baby was having the best time of his life. He'd never guess he'd have as much fun as he's having now. The little infant raised his arms in the air, giggling with excitement.
But by the time the Mane 3 caught up to him, they were approaching three separate passageways, and they then got separated as their tunnels ended with ramps. Pinkie Pie and the baby went down one tunnel and slid on one ramp on the left, Rainbow Dash went down the other tunnel and slid from one ramp on the right, and Twilight went down the tunnel and slid from one ramp in the middle.
The Mane 3 found themselves flying through the air screaming as Scrabbit was doing the same, trying to grab his carrot but again missed it.
Then The Mane 3 each fell into three different tunnels. Pinkie and the baby went into one on the left, Rainbow Dash went into one on the right, and Twilight went into one in the center…
As the baby kept spinning around and giggling, Pinkie slid behind him, using her hooves to move faster. She was determined to catch the baby, but he was going so fast. And yet, despite their circumstance, Pinkie was actually having some fun despite the need to be careful of what lay ahead.
"Whahoo!" Pinkie Pie cheered as she chased the baby through the tunnel as the baby spun and waved hello at her as Pinkie managed to grab him, "I gotcha!" She declared, holding the baby up over her head.
But her victory was short-lived when suddenly a hole came in front of Pinkie, and she fell, dropping the baby back on the ice and sliding as she plunged into the crack, which allowed the baby to continue his own journey safely down the path.
Pinkie rode along the long slide so fast she was flung off the ground over giant icebergs, Pinkie found herself upside down, trying to run the other way as she ran across the ceiling, and landing on her noggin as she slid down another tunnel on her head, screaming the whole way.
Twilight was sliding down an ice tunnel on her stomach, screaming and yelling until Pinkie slid on the top of the tunnel, screaming, and spiraling out of control. Pinkie was flung off the top of the tunnel and landed right on top of Twilight's head the moment she emerged from the tunnel.
Rainbow Dash tried to grip onto the ice to slow down but since she had no claws, she couldn't stop herself from sliding down. Rainbow Dash yells as she then falls down a large ice cavern from above and lands on Twilight's hindquarters making her scream in shock and pain from the impact.
Pinkie looked ahead and saw a giant block of ice in front of them. "Captain! Iceberg Ahead!" Pinkie shouted into Twilight's horn like a microphone, with a Scottish accent.
Twilight looked ahead and screamed as they slid up the ice block and stopped. They breathed a sigh of relief. But then something happened. It seemed the ice block couldn't support all their weight, and it was starting to crack.
The Mane 3 spotted the baby on the move as they saw him sliding ahead of them. But the ice started cracking, and soon they found themselves tilted forward over the edge, "Oh no," Rainbow muttered before they fell.
The Mane 3 screamed as they fell their way down to the ground luckily they were riding on the ice chunk. Pinkie held onto Twilight's horn and Rainbow Dash grabbed onto Twilight's back while Twilight tried to maintain their balance along the iceberg.
But up ahead, they were heading straight for a bunch of sharp icicles on the ground.
"AHHHH!" The Mane 3 screamed.
All arms held on for dear life before the iceberg ran into the shards and shredded to bits from them. By the time the Mane 3 made it to the other side, they were safely on the other side and their flanks on the ice.
But this ride wasn't over yet. The Mane 3 then found themselves sliding down a series of ice slides with the baby still ahead of them. The baby took the closest to the right, Pinkie took the farther right, Twilight took the left close one, and Rainbow Dash took the far left.
Pinkie slid fast given her body was the same size as Rainbow Dash's. But Twilight fell behind due to her own size.
Rainbow Dash and Twilight were sliding on their bellies against each other like race cars. Rainbow lowered her body to build up speed as Twilight watched, starting to catch on and did the same. Rainbow Dash tried lowering her body further and took the lead at first but was stunned to see Twilight lean her frame hard, speed past her, and soon overtake her.
Pinkie slid on her flank and once she was close enough to the baby, she tried to grab the child, but the baby sped up. "Drat!" Pinkie grunted.
Suddenly the baby went up a ramp and was sent flying through the air. Twilight watched the baby flying in the air, laughing. But she realized the baby wouldn't be up there long and turned herself around to catch him.
Pinkie looks ahead and screams as at the end of the line, she and Rainbow are heading right for a solid wall of ice and snow!
Meanwhile, at said snow wall, Scrabbit had put his carrot into the wall and seemed content to finally have a place to store his food as he was about to leave. But when he looked ahead, he screamed and tried to pry his carrot out of the ice wall. But it was too late.
Pinkie Pie then flew and collided with the wall creating a hole shaped like her, looking like she was going to fall.
Then Rainbow Dash flew into the wall and left her own body-shaped hole doing what looked like a hoof stand in the wall.
Twilight reached out her hooves, as the baby fell fast, timing the moment, and caught the child.
"Gotcha!" She said before she realized she couldn't stop!
Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie poked their heads out of the Rainbow hole, still a little dazed from the impact, as they were recovering from their crash. Unfortunately, they weren't prepared for what was bound to happen next and screamed as they saw Twilight was sliding right for them.
And given her size, this was going to hurt.
The two tried to duck back in but were too late as Twilight collided with the wall and left a huge impression, causing a makeshift avalanche.
Luckily, no one was hurt apart from Twilight, Pinkie, and the baby sitting there with lumps of snow on their heads, looking like makeshift snow hats.
Twilight still had a hold of the baby, who was still giggling while the two mares looked annoyed.
Rainbow, on the other hand, leaps out of the pile of snow and with a big smile on her face, "Whoa! Whoo! Yeah!" She cheered, bumping her hoof on Twilight's shoulder. That was the most fun she had in ages, "Who's up for round two?!" She asked them holding up two wing feathers. She was actually beginning to enjoy herself.
Twilight and Pinkie looked at her with stern looks. Basically saying 'are you serious?' But the stern expressions on their faces said more than enough. Rainbow's excitement fled as she realized they were in a bad mood, and went back to her cool, normal self, seeing as though no one was in a hurry to do it again.
Rainbow Dash cleared her throat and muttered, "Oh, um…T-T-Tell the squirt to be more careful," She said.
Meanwhile, Scrabbit also pops out of the pile of snow and rubs his eyes. He then looked around the pile to find his carrot, but it was nowhere to be found in the pile. But when Scrabbit looked to his left, he beams with excitement. To his left, was a drawing of a carrot on a rock wall. Scrabbit at first thought it was real but when he ran towards it, he banged himself headfirst against the wall and landed on the ground on his back.
Realizing that it wasn't real, Scrabbit closed his eyes and went unconscious.
Author's Note:
Here's the eleventh chapter of EQUESTRIAN AGE.
In this chapter, it would appear that The Mane 3 and the baby have finally caught up to the humans. But unfortunately, Rainbow Dash intervene and basically convinced her 'friends' that they should take a shortcut through a passageway, which will save them the time to reach Pegasus Peak and Equestrian Glacier Pass. After a little avalanche and being trapped in an ice cavern, The Mane 3 make their way to find the exit, in the meantime, Pinkie was exploring the ice caverns like a it was a type a muesuem, from a frozen fish to a frozen Dinopony, and from a frozen evolution of ponies to a frozen flying saucer.
That's when The Mane 3 and the baby have gone on a wild icy ride. For they have become the first ponies to ride on the biggest, iciest, and craziest ice rollercoaster they have ever slid on. Especially with Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Scrabbit screaming, and such while the baby was giggling.
And most of all, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight have appeared to have crashed into a snow wall causing a makeshift avalanche.
After all that has happened, I have a feeling that Twilight and Pinkie are not up for a round two, much to Rainbow Dash's disappointment since to her it was the most fun she had in ages.
As for Scrabbit, well...
BANG!
Anyway, the next chapter is coming up next.