The Immortal Game

The Beginning

Night had fallen by the time Applejack and Pinkie Pie made their way into the trillium-filled clearing. Fluttershy had found them wandering far away from Ponyville, and had led them back to the glade where Rarity was now waiting. It was a beautiful place; moonlight filtered through ancient tree branches, patterning the tens of thousands of flowers with spots of luminescence.

Pinkie Pie had regained consciousness before Fluttershy had found them, and after insisting that she was alright, made most of the walk herself. She had been oddly silent on their way to the glade. Applejack hadn't pressed her about it.

Rarity was already in the clearing, as expected. What Applejack had not expected, however, was the alicorn princess who sat beside her. Luna appeared serene and immaculate sitting under the moonlight. Rarity, by contrast, was teary-eyed and covered in dirt. The unicorn ran to Applejack almost immediately.

Applejack knew why. "Mac's got her," she said before Rarity could get a word in.

Rarity's reaction was to bury her head in Applejack's mane and sob. "I just didn't know what to do! There was nopony at Sweet Apple Acres and I thought what if... what if..."

Applejack nuzzled the unicorn. "She's fine, Rarity. Mac'll take her out to Appleoosa and they'll hide with the Buffalo until everything is alright. Ah'm sure she'll miss ya, but she'll have her friends with her too."

"But-" Rarity sniffed. "What if she thinks I left her? I should go-"

"-Ah know you want to go find 'em," Applejack cut her off. "But Sweetie Belle is a smart filly. She'll understand."

Rarity pulled away and contemplated this for a moment before giving her a hug. "Oh thank you, Applejack!" she cried out, her voice returning to its usual silvery lilt. "You have no idea how much I've been worrying! I insisted on returning to Sweet Apple Acres, but you can just imagine my reaction when there was nopony there! I assumed she was okay, but, I just had to be sure. I haven't been able to think of anything else since we got here! I haven't even bathed!"

The unicorn looked down at herself as she spoke. "Augh! I haven't even bathed!" She began brushing the dirt off of herself with her hooves. "I'm dirty! filthy!" She ran past Applejack, no doubt heading for a stream they had crossed on their way to the clearing.

Applejack sighed and trotted over to Pinkie Pie, who was sitting by herself in the grass, absent-mindedly picking apart a flower. The pony had spoken much less than usual on their day-long journey to the glade. Applejack had initially just assumed that she was exhausted- she had been strangled half to death when Applejack had found her- but now Pinkie was sitting apart from everypony else, which was unusual behavior for Pinkie Pie. She noticed Pinkie's hair was losing some of its typical poof, a bad sign.

"All right, sugarcube," said Applejack, sitting beside the Pink Pony, "what's the matter?"

"Rainbow Dash," Pinkie Pie said simply. Spoken without her usual energy, her high voice lost its cheerful squeak and sounded melancholy.

Applejack laid what she hoped was a comforting hoof on Pinkie Pie's back. "That's it?" she said. "Don't worry about her, Pinkie. Dash can fly faster than any other pegasus in Equestria. Fluttershy could escape alright, Ah'm sure Dash is fine. She just doesn't know where to find us, is all."

"No, AJ, she isn't 'fine'. She tried to kill me," Pinkie Pie said simply, pulling a petal off of the flower she held.

Applejack was dumbfounded. "What?"

Pinkie Pie looked up her, "You didn't see her when you rescued me? She gave me this," the pink pony gesture to the puffy bruise that had formed around her neck. Rarity and Pinkie had both gotten them from being strangled. Applejack hadn't, but she supposed that she simply hadn't been choked for as long as they. Pinkie Pie had actually lost consciousness.