Last Ditch

by MaxKodan

Awakening

Last Ditch
Chapter 7: Awakening
Max Kodan

The sun shone brightly in the clear, blue sky. The statue garden was sparsely populated, only a few ponies wandering around. Some were older, reminiscing about days gone by. Some were young, out for an early morning jog through familiar scenery. A family was stopped by a statue depicting a famous pony adventurer, reaching the summit of Mount Chillimat, triumphantly stabbing the ground with a waving flag. The parents were telling the story with animated detail.

Twilight’s target was further in. She walked past several statues with interesting history, but didn’t stop even once. Her eyes were trained, her mind focused. She wasn’t quite sure why, but this thinking needed to be done by that statue. As she approached, however, she saw that someone else was already there. “Pinkie?”

Pinkie Pie’s eyes were narrowed at the statue of Discord. Rather, at Discord himself. While most people thought that the statue was just as it appeared, the Mane 6 (and a few privileged others) knew that it was the entity of chaos itself in statue form. The party pony was glaring into the statue’s terrified eyes, trying to break it’s concentration. Trying to see past them, to see their owner’s real goal. When her name was called, she swiveled her gaze to the source of the voice. “Oh hi, Twilight! What brings you here on this beeeeeeeeautiful day?” She bounced on the elongated word, grinning ear to ear like nothing was wrong.

“I could ask you the same thing,” Twilight pointed out suspiciously, tilting her head. “What made you come out to see Discord? Doesn’t seem like something you would do. Not exactly a party around here.” She blinked, stepping closer. Maybe....

“Oh, I had a dream!” Pinkie exclaimed. She stood there and grinned for a few moments, and all the while Twilight stared. Her eyes slowly grew wider, her mouth began to gape. The realization began to creep into her mind, and shivers ran down her spine. She wasn’t the only one, and that meant that everyone else...

“I have to go, Pinkie...Don’t do it. Go find Applejack and Rarity, I’ll find Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. Meet back here as soon as you do, ok?” She turned on her hooves to run, but in her dizzying rush she forgot to pay attention to where she was going. She ran smack into someone, knocking them both to the ground. Her head reeled for a moment. She forced aside the dire urge to simply run off and took the time to apologize. “Oh, no! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-” Her voice dropped out of her throat when she saw who it was. If she wasn’t sure before, she was now.

Rarity stood tenderly, gently rubbing her head. “Ow...Oh, no, dear. It’s alright, it was my fault, I should have been paying more attention!” She groaned. “I was just so lost in thought, I-” She paused and looked at her company. “Twilight? Pinkie Pie? Whatever are you doing here?” She took a few steps backwards slowly, her eyes wary. Did they know, or...?

Twilight tried to take the lead, but Pinkie Pie jumped in front of her. “Probably the same reason as you! It was the dream, right?”

There was silence. Rarity’s jaw hung ajar, and she seemed to be trying to force words out of her mouth. Nothing came. The other unicorn took a deep breath. “Listen, Rarity, I think all of us had similar dreams. We need to get everyone here, immediately.” Though, thinking about it, if the three of them had shown up, who else might come next? The answer came, of course, soon enough.

“What are you guys doing here?” From above, Rainbow Dash fluttered down and landed next to the three. Two thirds of their party was here, and Twilight resisted the urge to explain again. Instead, she told the flying ace to wait. Sure enough, Applejack emerged from around the hedges only a moment later. Again giving the command to be patient, 5 of the Mane 6 waited for their final member. Nearly an hour later, Fluttershy had not appeared. All at once became worried, and the idea came up to head to her tree house.

Twilight’s mind raced as they galloped as a group towards the Everfree Forest.

I just hope nothing has happened to her...

-----

Fluttershy tiptoed nervously through the forest, her eyes shut tight, her feet moving basically on their own. She had gotten a little lost, but she knew basically where she was. That hadn’t helped the fact that the Everfree Forest was a terrifying place to be alone. But she had to, she just had to make it on her own. She couldn’t tell the others.

Daring to crack an eye open, the sight she took in was the single biggest relief the pegasus had ever known. Her pace quickened and she tried to call ahead to the hut, but her voice was too soft, and the fear gripping her throat softened it further. As she got near, an even greater relief appeared. A hooded zebra opened the door to the hut and stepped outside. She paused at the sight of the approaching pony, however, and shook down her hood.

“Fluttershy, my dearest friend! What is it that ails you, that I might mend?” Zecora spoke cheerfully, but her target barely heard her. Instead, she sped past her and into the cottage, curling up near the fireplace and shivering and breathing heavily.

A few minutes later, the pegasus had calmed down. Perhaps it was the incense that Zecora had lit, or the tea that had been brewed for her, or just the homey feeling of the room in general. Whatever the cause, she was now breathing deeply and quietly.

“Now, my friend, please do tell. What is it that makes you so unwell?” Zecora sipped her own tea. She kept the air of calm, but her friend’s activities bothered her. Not many would come so far into the forest on their own. Fluttershy was the last pony she expected to see unaccompanied. Something was truly awry here, but it would be best to remain as calm and warm as possible. No need to upset her further.

Fluttershy bit her lip, staring down at the table. “I-I just wanted to ask if you had ever heard of the...the Rot...”

Zecora was taken aback, and her head reflected this, her eyes widening a little and her entire body instinctively pulling away from the table. She calmed herself a little before she spoke. “The Rot you say, now that’s an old tale. One that makes many a doctor grow pale. Do you wish to know what the disease might entail?”

“No, no. I know how deadly it is, I just heard about it...somewhere...and I wanted to know if there was a cure for it, in case it ever...um...returned...” The yellow pegasus’s breath was shaky and her eyes seemed to want to leak tears. She somehow kept herself under control, but the alchemist knew better. Something else was amiss.

“Fluttershy, it pains me to say, but the cure that you seek is lost to this day. But tell me my dear, for I simply must know; Where did you hear of The Rot, and it’s woe?” She needed to press gently, but it was necessary that she figured out where this information came from. The Rot was supposedly only known to medical professionals, archaeologists, and the most extreme of history buffs. Where a nature loving caregiver might have picked this up was anypony’s guess, but it could be very dangerous information.

Fluttershy squeaked quietly, biting her lip rather hard and fixing her gaze on the table. “I-I-I read it. In one of the books at the Library.”

Zecora’s breath caught in her throat. Had Fluttershy just lied to her? Just what was going on? What could cause this reaction? What danger was lurking? The pegasus kept her gaze averted, never making eye contact with the zebra. She looked about ready to cry. However much she needed that information, Zecora just couldn’t bring herself to push any further. She stood and smiled warmly. “I see that this is is very hard. Allow me to bring you home, as a guard.” She walked over to her door and opened it. Fluttershy followed her lead, keeping her head low and her eyes on the road, or the trees. Never Zecora, and never the sky.

Near the edge of the forest, something seemed to catch Fluttershy’s eye. She galloped ahead, calling back softly and nervously. “I-I can make it from here! Thank you, Zecora!”

She couldn’t let everyone else know where she’d been. If they knew, they’d ask questions, and if she revealed the answer...it wouldn’t be good.

-----

The Mane 6 (Save for Fluttershy) slowed their approach as they came upon their missing member’s home. Just as they began to get close, Fluttershy burst out from around the back of her house, skidding to a stop in front of her door. “Hello, everyone.” She smiled shyly and batted her eyelashes at them. The entire group stopped abruptly. Twilight Sparkle, being the one in front, was the first to speak.

“Er...Hey, Fluttershy!” She called, trying to be as cheery as possible. Everyone else had spoken and knew of each others’ dreams, though none of them had shared details yet. Everyone except Fluttershy. “We were just, you know, wondering...have you, perchance, happened to, oh, I dunno...”

“You had any weird dreams lately?” Dash finished the sentence, impatiently landing in between the unicorn and the pegasus. She tilted her head. “A dream about Discord, maybe?”

Fluttershy’s heart nearly stopped. “H-how did you...how did you figure it out?” She let herself shiver as she asked the question. It felt good to stop hiding her distress a little bit. The weight of the dream had been pressing down on her mind, but as she gazed around at her friends she saw that she was not alone. They had had similar dreams. And they were troubled as well.

The whole group sat before the statue of Discord, each of them silent, none of them knowing quite what to say. It had been a long night for each of them individually. Nopony wanted to speak to the specific contents of their dreams.

Rainbow Dash broke the silence. “All right, guys, where do we go from here?” She stood and stomped her hoof. “He’s messing with us, all of us! Are we just going to let him get away with it?” She pointed wildly at the statue, raising her voice in agitation.

“Oh, indeed. Look at us...” Rarity sighed and shook her head. “He comes to us in our dreams, and we flock to his statue and sit around like...like...” She grimaced, trying to find the word she was looking for.

“Lemmings.” Twilight Sparkle finished the sentence. “We’re...lemmings.” The silence fell again. Shame washed over them all. They had been taunted, and here they sat, right in front of the guy. Probably just as he wanted. A dark chuckle that had persisted through their dreams reechoed through their heads, sending a shiver down their spines. “N-no.” Twilight continued, standing up and posing proudly. “We can’t let him do this. We won’t be provoked!” Her voice gradually grew in brevity.

“Ya know...yer right!” Applejack agreed triumphantly. “Ya know what we’ll do? Let’s ignore him!” A grin spread across her face as she stared up at the statue. “That’ll wipe the grin off the face ‘a that two-bit freeloader. Ya hear me? Git outta our heads!” She was trying hard to rally the others and, with a glance at them, she saw it was working. Their eyes got a little brighter. They stood up unshaken. As a group, they agreed. No matter what he said, no matter what he offered, no matter how he threatened, no pony would give Discord the time of day.

As they parted ways, Applejack smiled to herself. She trusted them all completely, and after having seen the way they looked after her speech, she knew they would come through. She turned back to give one last glance at the statue. She stopped in her tracks and turned forward again, biting her lip. For a second...no. She couldn’t have. Surely she hadn’t seen the statue’s face glaring at her in rage. Not even for an instant. She shivered a bit and looked again, sheepishly. The face was back to it’s fearful expression. That’s how it should be. No, that’s how it had always been. Right?

...Right.

Comments

[iloveportalz0r]

LEMMINGS! Hmm, do lemmings like lemons? Combustible lemons, perhaps?

[MaxKodan]

270397

Unfortunately, Lemmings like to jump off of cliffs. I don't know why. But they do.

[cruelfeline]

270490
They don't, actually.

http://www.snopes.com/disney/films/lemmings.asp

*The More you Know*

[MaxKodan]

271794

Psssh, bringing logic into this. Who do you think you are, one of them thar book learnin' smarty face science types?

[Thepple]

Wait so are the four horsemen of the apocalypse coming to ponyville or something similar, cause that seems to be the only way Discords predictions can come true all at the same time. Specifically Fluttershy's, Rainbow Dash's, Rarity's, and Applejack's. And it fits together quite nicely Fluttershy's=Plague Applejack's=famine Rainbow Dash=Death and Rarity's..... well fire is sometimes synonymous with War, though this is probably a wild mass guess.

[MaxKodan]

It's a parallel I kind of thought of, but that isn't really what's happening. All will be revealed, I promise. All will be revealed.