Fluttershy wasn't looking forward to a round two with the Gorgon.
When the Gorgon demanded the Key Shard, Twister had a simple reply. "Go buck yourself." The Gorgon screeched, and rock spires shot out of the ground; she was using magic to influence the room!
Twister narrowly avoided being impaled, and Rainbow Dash had shot into the air to escape an oncoming projectile. Applejack started galloping towards the Gorgon at top speed, and Twilight had to use magic of her own to defend herself from the spires. Fluttershy didn't have time to think, because she was too busy trying to escape the spears shooting out of the ground. Soon, the room had rock missiles firing from every direction.
Twister rolled away from another missile, and started his own gallop towards the Gorgon. Applejack got knocked away by a spire suddenly firing from the ground beneath her, and landed unceremoniously next to Twilight's force field. Rainbow Dash expertly evaded each of the spires as she flew towards the raging Gorgon. Twister was rolling, evading, and leaping over spear after spear on hoof, getting closer to the Gorgon with each movement. The magnifying glasses were falling off of the walls due to the sudden chaos, the broken glass making on-hoof movement dangerous.
Fluttershy stopped focusing on her friends when a spire shot out of the ground in front of her, nearly impaling her. Fluttershy panicked, and tried to run the other direction, only to be stopped again by another spire. She jumped into the air, using her wings to fly herself over the spires firing out of the earth. She was knocked out of the air by another earthy missile, knocking into Twilight's force field. Twilight lowered the shield briefly to let Fluttershy in.
When Fluttershy was secure, she saw that Applejack had continued her chase down of the Gorgon. Rainbow Dash was flying around more spires, finding it increasingly difficult to not get hit. Twister was narrowly avoiding each of the missiles, moving like....well, like a twister, to put it bluntly. He spun over, around, and away each spire in a strange, almost dance-like fashion, and his one wing was extended in an odd form, and it seemed to be messing with the air currents, manipulating the missiles movement. Is that why he's called Twister...? Fluttershy wondered. The form of evasion was foreign to her, but it was impressive, nonetheless.
The Gorgon suddenly screeched, and Fluttershy saw that Rainbow Dash finally reached her. She had the monster pinned down, and Rainbow Dash turned to look at Twister. "Got her!" Twister eyes suddenly widened, and he yelled. "GET BACK!" He attempted to run towards them, but another spire shot out and sent him flying into a wall. Twister's body disappeared behind the spires as he fell, and when Rainbow Dash attempted to kill the Gorgon, it's snake-heads hair bit her front legs. Rainbow released her, crying out in pain.
The Gorgon turned to escape, but Applejack blocked it's path. The cowfilly galloped towards the Gorgon, attempting to tackle her, but the fiend knocked her aside with another rock spire. Applejack flew into one of the still standing magnifying glasses, landing with a loud THUD with broken glass shattering and clattering around her.
"Can't...keep it up..." Twilight was sweating now as she struggled to hold up the force field. Fluttershy was frozen with fear, frustrated that she didn't know what to do. The Gorgon approached the pedestal that held the strange blue crystal that must have been "The Key Shard". She wrapped the diamond up with one of her snakelike appendages and slithered away, making that same terrible rasping noise of a laugh her dead sister had made in the attack.
Fluttershy's heart leaped when Twister suddenly jumped out of from behind a rock spire and tackled the Gorgon. He grabbed the spear lodged in her abdomen with his mouth and violently shook it while it was still in her. The Gorgon hissed, and tried to knock him away with one of her snakelike appendages, but Twister was able to avoid it by holding onto the very end of the spear, using it to keep distance between the two. He continued to violently shake it in her stomach, and the Gorgon was screeching in both pain and frustration at her predicament.
Suddenly, the fiend launched a fire spell at the pegasus, sending him flying into Twilight's force field. The Gorgon rasped in triumph, leaving the room and blocking the exit with three spires. Fluttershy could see the room was collapsing, the sudden chaos of the battle injuring it's ancient supports.
Fluttershy helped Twister pulled himself up, and saw that the exit was blocked. The pegasus began searching the area frantically for a way out, and he suddenly shouted "Fluttershy, help Twilight get out through there!" He pointed at the moon hole in the ceiling with his bad hoof, and he suddenly ran off, searching for Rainbow Dash and Applejack.
Fluttershy did as Twister said, pulling Twilight onto her back as the unicorn lowered her field. Fluttershy could see Twilight was visibly exhausted. The yellow pegasus focused on her objective, slowly floating towards the ceiling hole. The moon passed long ago, and the sky was slightly tinted blue as stars began to disappear.
Fluttershy was angry and frustrated with herself at not being able to move much faster. She was okay on her own, but with the weight of another pony LITERALLY on her shoulders, she found it extremely difficult to travel. She finally reached the hole, letting Twilight slide off her back as she landed, gasping for breath. She wasn't sure if she could do that again.
Twister's gruff voice suddenly called out Fluttershy's name from the abyss. The pink haired pegasus was reluctant to fly back into the cave, but she knew she had to. When Fluttershy moved to the hole in the earth, she could see Twister dragging Rainbow Dash and Applejack's limp bodies. He was waving his one wing to grab Fluttershy's attention, and she quickly flew down to the gray-maned pegasus. He looked..strangely familiar with his safari hat and grey mane like that, and with how the light was hitting him...Fluttershy swore she had seen something like that before.
"Y-yes?" Fluttershy shouted above the loud noise of crumbling stone. "Fluttershy, I need you to take Applejack and get her back out. I've got Rainbow Dash." Fluttershy was surprised. "B-but you c-can't fly!" She exclaimed, startled by his strange confidence. "Don't need to; just do what I said and get Applejack out!" The colt passed Applejack's limp body onto Fluttershy, and the timid pegasus was surprised by how much heavier she was than Twilight. Fluttershy knew the cowfilly had a larger build than Twi, but this was ridiculous!
Twister started off, stumbling as he held onto Rainbow Dash. He then started running up a leaning earthy pillar and jumping from spire to spire with ease, Rainbow's weight no longer seeming to be a burden to him. Fluttershy burst into the air, using all the strength she could muster to pull herself and Applejack out of the collapsing cavern. It was a slow and agonizing process; slow because Fluttershy hadn't gotten any new flying lessons between carrying out Twilight and Applejack, and agonizing because of the incredible weight on her shoulders and her own frustration at being unable to move any faster.
Fluttershy turned her head to look at Twister, and he was using some kind of earth-pony style parkour to jump from spire to spire, his pace not slowing as he moved. He wasn't having any more trouble holding onto Rainbow Dash, in spite of the fact that she was writhing in pain from the poison.
Fluttershy narrowly avoided a falling magnifying glass as she continued her flight. She was only a few feet away from the ceiling hole, and her muscles screamed for a rest. Applejack wasn't moving, but Fluttershy could feel her heart beating as she flew. Not much farther.... Fluttershy's heart leaped with joy when she finally flew out of the abyss, and landed in a heap. Fluttershy was too tired to push Applejack off of her, so she simply let her muscles rest and regain their energy before making any attempt.
Finally, Fluttershy pushed Applejack off when she had regained her energy. The yellow pegasus sat up, greedily inhaling air as she did so. Wait...where's Twister and Dash?! Fluttershy's heart skipped a beat when she realized neither of the pegasi had come out yet. She ran towards the hole in the earth, searching desperately for the pair.
As she did so, Twister suddenly leaped out of the hole, and he unceremoniously dropped the blue mare onto the ground and ran off into the trees. "WAIT! W-where are you going?!?!" Fluttershy was shocked at the crippled pegasus's sudden disappearance. Fluttershy looked back into the hole, and found that the cavern had finally completely collapsed. It was filled to the rim with stone and earth.
Fluttershy finally took the chance to observe her surroundings, and was surprised at her location. The group was in a strange area that was bordered by desert sands and the Everfree forest. Or, at least, Fluttershy THOUGHT it was the Everfree. She didn't remember it bordering a desert.
Fluttershy panicked when she remembered the state of her friends. Twilight had collapsed onto the ground in exhaustion, Applejack was still unconscious, and Rainbow Dash was rolling in the dirt, moaning and groaning from the pain of the Gorgon's poison. Suddenly, as if on cue, Rainbow's moaning went silent. Fluttershy panicked at this, thinking her friend might have died, but found that she was still rolling around in pain. The poison had simply killed her voice. AGAIN.
What is Twister doing?! Fluttershy's panic was escalating rapidly. Why would Twister just abandon them like this? She didn't know what to do, and her more competent friends are out cold. Why would he bring them this far, and just leave?
Suddenly, Twister reappeared from behind a couple of bushes, holding in his mouth... a bowl? Where did he get a bowl? On closer inspection, Fluttershy realized it was half of a coconut, being used as a bowl to hold what appeared to be plants from where she was. Where did Twister find all these things?
Fluttershy didn't have a chance to ask; Twister rushed past her, and sat down next to the cringing Rainbow Dash. He pulled out some of the supplements and mashed together what was still in the bowl with his hooves. When it was thoroughly mashed, he attempted to spread the concoction on Dash's bites, but she was moving too much for him to do it.
"Help me out!" Twister barked at Fluttershy. She was frightened by his sudden demand, and she approached Rainbow Dash. "W-what do I-I do?" Fluttershy didn't have a clue how to help. Twister looked at her, his stormy grey eyes showing genuine fear in them. "Hold her down!" He was panicking. Was Rainbow going to die? "A-alright." She grabbed onto Rainbow, using every ounce of strength left in her limbs to stop her flailing.
When Fluttershy finally had the suffering pegasus down, Twister quickly applied the concoction to her snake bites. Fluttershy realized, upon looking at the mixture, that it was a thicker form of the same medicine used on her a few days ago when SHE was bitten. As Twister cleaned his hooves, Fluttershy took the chance to ask. "W-where did you get those herbs?" She asked as Twister grabbed some of the herbs he pulled out of the bowl. He broke in half a stalk of some kind, and opened Rainbow's mouth and trickled some of the liquid pouring out of it into her throat. Rainbow Dash had finally stopped flailing; she was unconscious, but she was definitely more peaceful than earlier.
"These herbs can be found virtually anywhere, believe it or not." Twister cleaned off the broken stalk and placed it with his other herbs. "You just gotta know where to look." He grabbed a small, mint-like herb and crushed it with his hooves. He then rubbed it's remains into Rainbow's legs, around the snake bites.
"What are they supposed to do?" Fluttershy was surprised to find herself more comfortable in the colt's presence. Why? He murdered a doctor just a few hours ago, and yet... "The universal antidote is a mixture made to help with virtually ANY poison related injury. The ringstalks hold water in them, but the water gets certain chems from them that increase the voice's volume. It doesn't actually heal it, it just makes her louder. The mintlight is just supposed to lightly numb the pain of the actual bites. An optional choice." Twister spoke quickly and in one breath, similar to how Fluttershy's friend Pinkie Pie often spoke.
"Um..." Fluttershy was still anxiously awaiting an explanation as to what was going on. Why was that Gorgon chasing him, what were these 'Key Shards', and how....how was it that this strange colt seemed to know so much? Fluttershy decided to keep it simple. "W-why is that Gorgon after you?" Twister waved his hoof dismissively. "Don't worry about it." Fluttershy wanted to know more, but she gave up and conceded with "Oh...alright..."
"No, we WILL worry about it. WHY is she after you?" Twister and Fluttershy jumped. Fluttershy turned her head and saw that Twilight had gotten her bearings and was sitting up. She looked at Twister with the same kind of motherly scowl she gives Spike when he lies to her. "Ahm wonderin' that, too." Applejack suddenly seemed to have gotten her second wind. Rainbow Dash stirred, but she didn't get up.
Twister's eyes darted between each of the mares, and he sighed. "It probably doesn't matter now. The Gorgon got away, so my enemies likely already know your faces." Fluttershy's blood ran cold as he said enemies. Not only was she afraid again all at the fact that there were 'enemies' who knew her face, but the spite and hatred in Twister's voice was enough to give even Discord a shiver down his mismatched spine.
"W-what do you mean?" Fluttershy backed up a few inches, remembering what Twister had done at the hospital. Twister leaned back against one of the tree's, and he seemed to be in deep thought. "Umm..." Fluttershy wasn't sure what to do. Applejack suddenly let out an exasperated groan. "Jus' tell us already!" Twister held up a hoof. "I'm trying to figure out where to start." He pushed away from the tree and opened his mouth to speak
" Six months ago, my grandmother died." Fluttershy was thrown off guard by this. Applejack looked at him with a raised eyebrow, and said, with a slight edge of what sounded like pity; "And what exactly does that have t'do with this?" Twister scowled. "Gimme a sec, and I'll tell you!" Applejack backed up, realizing she had interrupted him.
"She left me with her home and inheritance, along with a letter. It explained her home's contents and where everything was. Except that I pretty much grew up in that home." Twilight nodded. "I see..." She looked up, and realized Twister was giving her an annoyed look. "I'm just rambling; please continue." she egged him on.
"My granny was smarter than most ponies would'v expected. I was one of the few who knew this. The letter had a code hidden within it, and..." "What kind of code?" Twilight suddenly interrupted. Twister tossed his hooves into the air, letting out a frustrated growl. "LET ME FINISH!!!" He snarled at Twilight, and she winced.
"ANYWAYS...after a few minutes of decoding, I found the message. It said 'FALSE PANEL'. When I finally found this 'false panel', behind it, Granny had left me a map and a note explaining everything."
Twister pulled his map out of his satchel, and Fluttershy realized the map was ancient; it was yellowed with age, and stains covered up several parts, and one corner was badly torn up. It was a map of all of Equestria, from Manehatten to the Mild West, from the Everfree forest to Cloudsdale.
"THIS mark here..." Twister pointed his hoof to a hastily drawn X that hovered over the Everfree forest. "Told me where to find the observatory, which would lead me to find the next of the Key Shards." "What're these Key Shards?" Twilight interrupted again. Fluttershy winced when Twister's face scrunched up, as if he was going to yell, but he suddenly seemed to think better of it and he looked up at Twilight with an apologetic stare. "Sorry...I'm getting ahead of myself."
He took a deep breath, and restarted his explanation. "My grandmother went on several adventures in her youth. She had one specific adventure in which she searched for an ancient artifact many paleontologists believed didn't exist. She called it 'The Artimus.'" He shuffled his hooves as he spoke, and Fluttershy realized he wasn't comfortable talking about his grandmother. "The Artimus was an artifact built and used by an ancient civilization of ponies that existed before even Princess Celestia."
"Before Celestia?" Rainbow Dash had finally gotten up, and her voice sounded like she was whispering into a microphone. Fluttershy cringed at the sudden volume, and Twilight and Applejack jumped back a few feet in surprise. Only Twister seemed unaffected, and he started chuckling when the mares looked to him for an explanation. "Must'v given her too much Ringstalk water." He continued his speech, as if that never happened.
"My granny; she said it was a weapon of some kind. Powerful. She spent a good few decades trying to figure out where it is. Instead, she got the next best thing; where to find the thing that would lead her to The Artimus. These were the Key Shards." His face darkened when he said Key Shards. "And I had one; before the gorgon got away with it." He scowled, but he didn't seem to be scowling at Fluttershy or her friends. His face didn't lose it's dark scowl when he continued.
"The Key Shards were built by the same civilization to locate The Artimus. By it's very nature, it was chaotic and scrambled. Every time somepony called onto it's power, it would disappear, waiting to be discovered again. The Key Shards were built to point out it's location, when it was needed. This civilization not only worshiped it's power; they feared it. They believed it was the core of chaos itself. So they also hid the Key Shards in places only their monarchy knew about."
Twister pointed back to the map. "My granny was only able to find one. But she left me with a lot to work with. To find the other Key Shards, you would have to take a Key Shard to an ancient observatory to get the location of the next Key Shard." "How many are there?" Twilight interrupted again. Twister took a deep breath, as if he was trying his hardest to control his frustration. "My grandmother believed there were six, just like there were six elements of harmony. But, it's not exactly confirmed."
"The old Castle the princess's used to live in was built over one of these observatories, so I had to take the Key Shard granny found there, and..." He shrugged. "You saw what happened there." Twilight had been nodding the whole time, processing the information she was given. Rainbow Dash had a look of disbelief on her face, and Applejack suddenly spoke up, clearing her throat to get Twister's attention.
"Who the hay was yer grandmama?" She looked at Twister with curiosity in her eye.
Fluttershy saw sadness briefly flash in Twister's eyes. He took off his safari hat and placed in his lap. Suddenly, Fluttershy realized where he looked familiar. Fluttershy couldn't quite believe it, but it made perfect sense; his grey mane, his dull yellow coat, the filthy safari hat...
Twister dusted off the old safari hat, looking at it like you would look at an old friend you'd hadn't seen in a long time. He put the hat back on, and the words that came out of Twister's mouth proved Fluttershy's suspicions.
"My grandmother was Daring Do."