As soon as Fluttershy stepped in, it became apparent that walking would be very hard. Where there was rock, the dark igneous was almost scalding. Where there was not, there was simply pure lava, coursing in rivers. This was not a problem for Nova, whose scales were suited for such a terrain, but Fluttershy was not a strong enough flier to simply fly her way to the bottom. It wasn't impossible, though. The rock was still walkable, she could fly over lava if she had to, and if all else failed, Nova could carry her for a bit. The lava was far from the most dangerous thing here. Case in point, as Fluttershy and Nova turned the corner, a salamander perked its head up and looked in their direction.
"Fluttershy, stay back and get your wand out," Nova said hastily. Suddenly the salamander began sprinting towards them. It reached for Nova, who deftly pushed it back and let out a breath of flame. The creature kept lunging towards him, each time pushed away and hit with another blast of magic flame. Finally, it lunged once more, missing and falling over. Nova stomped its head and kicked it into the lava.
"Well that wasn't very hard," said Fluttershy gladly.
"I know how to handle myself," replied Nova cautiously, "but where there's one, there's more, and I don't know what else might be in here." They walked down the corridor for a bit longer before approaching another salamander. Nova fought it off with similar ease, but this time the salamander got a few scratches in. "Hit me with the magic."
Fluttershy grabbed the staff in her mouth, channeled the magic, and hit Nova with the staff. After initial confusion, he laughed. "That's not what I meant," he said. "You have to push your energy through the staff and the crystal. The wood is conductive."
"Oh, I'm sorry," said Fluttershy. She proceeded to aim the crystal towards his scratches and pushed her energy through. It did the trick, and before their eyes, the scratches healed.
Nova looked down with surprise. "Fluttershy, you're a natural! You healed everything and my magic feels repleted."
"Yay!" She beamed.
"But if you use up your reserves now, you might not have enough for the end. Be careful."
"Oh."
The pair walked on, facing similarly simple enemies from time to time, until they found a tunnel leading lower into the volcano. The ground was much the same, but they seemed to be in a more open room, and to their delight, there wasn't a monster in sight. There was, instead, a mental challenge- a door to the left and a door to the right.
"Which one should we try, Nova?" asked Fluttershy.
His eyes darted back and forth for a moment. "Left, I think, but let's peek in right. I'm not sure." The two headed towards the rightmost door and Nova turned the handle. It was only a smaller room, but in the center was a chest.
"Could there be treasure in there?" Fluttershy wondered.
"If there is, it belongs to whatever dragon used to live here, and is probably booby trapped."
"Oh, very well."
"That said, we're not exactly rolling in equipment. There could be something we need in there. Just stay back for now, keep the door open." Fluttershy nodded, and Nova began to walk up to the chest. As he got closer, something stirred in the shadows. Finally, he opened up the chest.
His jaw dropped. It was amazing. Incredibly useful, and even more incredibly valuable. He hadn't ever seen one this large and bright. It was like looking at a star-
"WUTCH UT!" yelled Fluttershy muffledly as she pointed and fired her staff directly at the shadowy specter that had, in the blink of an eye, come right behind Nova, ready to strike. The bony demon inside immediately dissipated in a flash of light, while the aged green cloaks and magic jewels it wore dropped to the ground, hitting Nova's tail as they fell.
Nova turned around, unentranced. "What the hell was that?"
"It was- it was- s-some kind of magic ghost!"
Nova picked up the cloth and furrowed his brow. "There must have been a mage protecting the crystal that died. It's not generally a good idea to hit enemies with a healing staff, but you picked the right time to do it for sure."
"A-are there any m-more?"
"No, in life this mage would have been enough to keep us away."
Fluttershy took a deep breath and smoothed her feathers. "Well, that's very good to hear. What sort of crystal did you find?"
Nova's face lit up. "Oh, it's amazing, come look, Fluttershy!" She trotted over. "It's just a charging crystal, but, see how big and bright it is? This thing could last a thousand full charges of the average gem."
"That's amazing! Do you think it could work on any of this jewelry that the mage left behind?"
Nova sifted through the gems. Finally, he picked one up. "The rest are too damaged, but, this garnet still works. It's good protection from heat and fire. You should take it." Nova picked up the charging crystal, brought it to the garnet, and took a deep breath. Softly, it began to glow. "You should let me charge the rest too."
Fluttershy took out her healing staff and loose aventurine, setting them down by Nova. He repeated the process two more times. "Where did you learn to do this?" she asked.
"Roho would have me charge his crystals back at the shop, it was practically my job as a kid."
"Oh, that's interesting."
"Here, let me put this around your leg." Nova held out the garnet armband, prompting Fluttershy to put out her leg. Then, he slipped it on.
Suddenly, the ground didn't feel so hard to walk on anymore. Fluttershy smiled.
"It works?"
"Mhm!"
They left the room and continued down the left door. Time stretched softly as they walked deeper into the volcano. It was strangely calm, and strangely barren. Nova figured that as there were no artifacts to defend, this place must have just been sectioned off as a hallway of sorts. They cherished the silence, with few words passing between them.
"W-w-what is that!?"
They had come to the end of the hall and scarcely touched the door before a deep rumble emanated from the other side of it. Nova shot Fluttershy an anxious look, but opened the door regardless. The pair was greeted with another roar before they could understand what lay in front of them.
It was massive, intimidating, with green bands up and down the length of it, and eyes full of black. Its mouth, a perfect circle, stretched wide enough to nearly swallow them whole, full of sharp, bright teeth that were ready to close over them.
Even Nova did not hesitate to bolt, though his and Fluttershy's efforts to retreat were to no avail. The monster simply snaked after them, nearly catching up in merely a few seconds, forcing them to the wall. They noticed then that it wasn't very bright. "I- I think we're safe on the sidelines," Fluttershy noted.
"Yeah," agreed Nova. "It has too much momentum and too little space to get us from here. We need a plan before it reaches the end of the room and turns around."
"Do you know what it is?"
"Some kind of volcanic worm, I think."
"So... m-my aventurine..."
"That would work. Give it to me, I can equip it faster." Nova took the staff and stone and switched out the gems. "Get it ready as soon as-" The worm had finally writhed its way into turning around. "Now!"
Fluttershy turned to face the charging worm, who had already set its sights back on them. As soon as it was in range, she fired into its gaping maw. The effect was immediate. It began writhing unnaturally and nauseatingly, still moving forward, and beginning to chomp down at the walls and on the ground. Their old plan wouldn't work again, and danger was much more imminent. As it slowly crashed its way down, the two couldn't keep from shaking as it seemed to break itself more trying to expel the damage.
"W-w-we have t-to s-stay calm," Fluttershy said.
"Yeah, but look at that thing! What are we gonna do? We have- we could fire again."
"W-we could f-f-f-fire again..."
"Let's do it together."
Fluttershy took the staff back into her mouth and stretched out her wings, cradling Nova on her left as he began to pour himself into her. The staff shared the urgency, growing from dull to blinding in the blink of an eye before surging ahead. And with a blast, the thing lay dead.
Nova was the first to move, walking ahead and laying a hand on it. "I- I think this was overkill. These worms are all bluster. We should save our energy next time."
"N-next time?"
He ran back to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Fluttershy, we're okay! And you were so brave! If we run into another one of these, we'll know what to do!"
Fluttershy took a breath, stretched her wings, and began to smile. "You're right. We did it. We can get to the end of this."
They continued into the room that had contained the volcanic worm, and noticed that the room was a dead end, much like the room of treasure before.
"Well, we got to the end of this!" Nova laughed. "That's all, let's go home."
"We must have missed something!"
"Right, of course. I was just kidding. Let's look around in here some more."
"Oh... heehee."
They patrolled the perimeter of the room for a little while before finally coming across a rather strange brick. The brick itself may have been completely normal- it seemed to be made of stone, like most bricks in the area, and was of average size. The only thing particularly strange about it, in fact, was that the walls were not made of brick. It was the only one.
"We should press it," said Fluttershy.
"Of course."
None of them pressed it.
"We should recharge first."
"Yeah, just in case." Nova took out the gems and recharged them. "Okay, now."
None of them pressed it.
"We should have a plan."
"What plan? We already have a few moves down from the salamander, dead thing and worm. I can't think of anything else."
"You're right..." Fluttershy finally reached a hoof out and grazed the surface of the brick before pressing down on it. With a satisfying click, nothing happened.
"No... no stones moving and opening up a room full of monsters?" asked Nova.
"Maybe we should look in the last room, or the room before that."
"Good thinking." They began to retrace their steps, noting little in the hallway before them, or in the entrance before that, though they went back and forth, at times feeling the walls or scrutinizing part of the ground. At last it occurred to them to check the room where the treasure lied, and there it was.
"The mage must have been really powerful before. There's no way it could be this easy to get down here so long ago," mused Fluttershy as they looked upon the spiraling pathways leading to the center of the volcano. Carved finely, yet dripping with lava in places, they made circles down to the base where the massive glittering egg lied.
"The mage might have just been there to turn away dragons that weren't supposed to be here. I think the real test is yet to come." They stared out at the pathways, noting holes in the walls with strange things slithering in and out. In the distance, another lava worm charged from one hole to another. "Let's be on guard. There's a lot ahead of us."
They had not been walking for long before confronted with a salamander. Nova swiped at it deftly, scaring it away from him with blasts of fire as needed. With little chance to charge, it gave up and retreated to lick its wounds. Another quickly took its place, charging at Fluttershy, but Nova simply knocked it to the side as it bounded towards her, causing it to fall down the cliffside. The next one was much smarter, skittering across the wall before jumping onto Nova, biting down on his shoulder and not letting go. Another began to charge from ahead as the pain distracted him. Fluttershy hastily equipped the aventurine-fitted staff and hit it with a blast of watery energy, causing it to keel over almost immediately. The one on Nova's shoulder continued to gnaw at him, too close to get a good angle with the staff. She had an idea. Switching to her rose quartz, she aimed the blast at Nova. The shot healed his shoulder, forcing the salamander loose and giving him a chance to kick it away, but by the time she had done so another salamander had come up behind her. In the nick of time, she spun around and whacked it with the staff, stunning it. Nova baited the other salamander to the ledge, then gave it a good kick and sent it plummeting. The stunned salamander began to regain its senses, swiping at Fluttershy, but she got a good whack in, stunning it again. Another salamander crawled into the scene from above, separating Fluttershy and Nova. Nova scratched the beast, urging it to lunge directly for his throat. Fluttershy turned to whack it, but missed. Nova let out a breath of magic fire at the right time, forcing it to stand down, and subsequently landing a critical hit on it. There was no time to rejoice- while Fluttershy was turned, the final salamander had regained its senses and leapt upon her, scratching her wing and drawing blood. Nova sprung over her, pinning the salamander down and pummeling it until it moved no more.
"These things are more powerful in packs. But look, we made it. Can you heal us up before we continue?" Fluttershy concentrated in on her magic, but the pain in her wing made her wince too much to concentrate. Her eyes widened as she dropped the staff.
"I- I can't!"
"You can."
"N-not anymore, it hurt my wing! I can't ch-channel it anymore, I can't heal us, it's all over-"
Nova nearly snapped, but in the nick of time he reconsidered. He took a deep breath. "Fluttershy, we've made it this far. I always see you smoothing your feathers when you need to calm down? Is that something you should do?" She nodded and began to do so on her unharmed wing. "I think you're just stressed because we had so many come at us at once. We're okay now, though. You just have to heal yourself, and I know you can."
Fluttershy took a breath, closed her eyes, and attempted to guide the magic through her as usual. It still wasn't working. Sure, there were alternate pathways, but she simply couldn't grasp them yet, worry still tossing and turning in her mind, mixing with inexperience. "Nova, I-I really can't, I'm sorry..."
He sighed and picked up the staff. "Fine, I'll do what I can this time. It's not gonna be as good, but whatever." Fluttershy lowered her head in shame. Focusing on the staff, he aimed a blast at her wing. The wound faded into just a scratch, though the wing was still rather sore. "How about now?" he asked, looking back at her. He noticed something off. "Wait, what's wrong?"
"I couldn't do it... I disappointed you."
Nova gave her a look of confusion. "What?" He thought back to his words. "Oh, Fluttershy, no, it's fine. I can't expect you to get everything perfect right away. You'll get it eventually. Here, try again, your wing is a bit better now."
Once again, she closed her eyes and felt the magic go through her. It was much easier to pull through the minor injuries now, though it took effort. She picked up the staff, stood next to Nova, and slowly pulled the healing power into herself and through him. In another thirty seconds, they felt good as new.
"See, you were able to do it with a little scratch, if it happens again you'll be able to do it with a bigger one. You're getting there."
Fluttershy beamed and the two continued walking. Not thirty paces later, a lava worm appeared ahead and throttled towards them. With the aventurine prepared, they switched the gems and aimed the staff into its mouth, firing together. It crashed and twitched before falling still. They heaved it off the ledge and continued. A distance later, another few salamanders came at them, easily dispatched. Eventually, they ran into something new. An ogre stood in front of them, tall and draconic in figure but with leathery and damp-looking skin, blocking the path with a club in hand. "WE BRING MORE!" he yelled in a language only Nova understood.
"I think he's saying there's more where he came from," said Nova. " They must have a camp in another part of the volcano. We better get him fast." The ogre lumbered closer and struck down with his club, nearly hitting Fluttershy who moved away in the nick of time. She aimed the staff at his feet, firing and tripping him. "Good one, Fluttershy!" Nova picked up the club and turned it against the ogre, hitting him until he fell off the ledge. "We're gonna run across a lot of bodies very soon," he remarked.
The two traversed down the pathway more hastily, fearing reinforcements. Nova took the club just in case. With only the occasional stop now for more of the same enemies as before, they made it down fairly quickly. At the end of the pathway was another ghoul, and knowing what to, Fluttershy quickly dispatched it.
"We should charge up before we approach that giant crystal egg," warned Fluttershy, as Nova was already stretching to approach it.
"I've been waiting so long..."
"Let's be responsible!"
"You're right." Nova took out the crystals and charged them again. "Okay, let's go!"
"Slowly, slowly! Who knows what's up ahead?"
"At worst, more ogres. We can take them. If there was still a dragon here defending this egg, we'd see it by now!"
"That's true... alright, let's just be careful."
"Of course." The pair continued ahead. Just in reach, the crystal egg shone luminously. The walls and ground around it shimmered and flickered with its brilliance. It was almost blinding as they drew closer. This was it. This was the moment Nova had dreamt of for all his life. Fluttershy too was excited, not just for her friend, but for the answers this would bring. Finally, Nova reached to touch it-
"Halt!!!"
A faint slither could be heard from the other side of the room, slowly increasing in volume as she came towards the pair. Beyond tall. Beyond intimidating. A thick, muscular tail marked with various shades of purple scales, tanned and leathery skin above that. "Who are you?" Six arms, with a sword in one, and a spell prepared in the other. "State your purpose."
Fluttershy went silent, but Nova spoke up. "We're here for the egg."
"Then prove you are worthy!"
Swiftly, she charged at the pair with her sword. It was clear she was merely warming up, the sword barely grazing Nova, but blood was immediately drawn. The sword, a strange cutlass of sorts, was deadly sharp, as quickly became apparent. A good hit could slice them in half. The being rose her sword again as Fluttershy switched out her gems once more. Nova took the moment to approach and scratch at her, but to no avail. Her scales were harder than his, and he was merely knocked back. Again, the sword fell upon them, but they were able to dodge as they had seen it ahead of time.
"That thing is going to get us eventually," said Nova.
"We have to do something!" replied Fluttershy.
The wheels began to turn in their minds, but not a moment later the being thrust the flames from her hand into the area where the pair planned away. Dodge they tried, but the radius of the blast was too far for them to avoid it effectively. Nova singed his scales; Fluttershy had been knocked over, with burns on her skin. He quickly ran to her, picked her up, and brought her close to the pathway. "Stay back. It's a good thing you had that garnet."
"Use it... to get closer to her... don't get hurt..."
"That's too risky! She could kill you with another hit like that!"
"Could I... cast it?"
It took a second for her words to click, but he quickly grabbed the staff and replaced the rose quartz with the garnet before casting a spell on himself. "This should buff me against her fire spells for a while. Now quickly, put it back on and heal yourself!" The being had already approached them, ready to strike again, so Nova jumped onto her and bit down on her softer flesh, causing her to wince and distracting her. She turned to him with intent to cut, distracting her from Fluttershy. He drew her out a few paces more before she did, but at last she brought the cutlass down again, and though he did his best to dodge, she stuck it deep into his shoulder before drawing it back out. Blood began pouring gratuitously from the wound. He had never been in this much searing pain. He looked to Fluttershy, who seemed good as new, but finally looked back at him with a horror-stricken expression. Staff in mouth, she rushed to him and hit him with a blast of the rose quartz. In her rush, it did little more slow the bleeding and ease the pain, but it was enough for Nova to get back up and stagger away for cover.
"We need to deal with that sword. I have an idea. Get out the aventurine."
Fluttershy switched out the gems once again, and in that time, the being hit them with another blast of fire. It had the effect of cauterizing Nova's wound, but once again, Fluttershy was brought to her knees. There was no time for her to heal herself. They had to do something before the sword came out again. "When she comes at us again, I'm going to hit the sword with fire, and you hit it with water." She nodded weakly. The being swung directly at Fluttershy. Before an impact was made, Nova let out a grand belch of flame, and Fluttershy followed it with a blast of water. The being, confused for a moment, erred in her strike and merely managed to cut the tip of Fluttershy's wing. She let out a scream. The pain was unbearable. She saw her own flesh on the ground next to her, her eyes welling up with tears. She couldn't keep going. All the times she had been worried before, all the times she thought she was in danger, it all paled in comparison to this. She could really die here. Her life could truly end. Why did she come here? Why was she such a fool to follow a dream to her doom? Was it time to give up?
"Don't give up! We have to move forward!" called Nova, heaving. Snapping back to her senses as best she could, she fought tears to hit the sword with another blast of water in the nick of time. She started to notice something. The sword had warped slightly. The being struck again in quick succession, hoping to catch them off guard, but Nova had another good belch in him, and Fluttershy found the strength to blast the sword again. The being roared. She saw what they were doing, and she was not happy. Hope began to fill Fluttershy's heart. Still, she sank to the ground. She had really given it her all. The being struck Nova's side. It was a hard blow that knocked him back, but the cut was very bearably deep. It was clear that the creature hadn't anticipated this. He ran to Fluttershy. "One more time! Please!"
"I have... to... heal..."
He quickly grabbed the staff, fumbled for the rose quartz, and aimed the staff at her. Having depleted most of his magic reserves with those great blasts of fire, and needing more very soon, he knew to aid her wings and shoulders first so that her magic would have better flow. Then he switched the gems back.
The sword came again, and with every ounce of his being, he let out such a great belch that had his brothers heard it, they would have been damn near impressed. Fluttershy mustered up the strength to hit it with another blast of water as it knocked her to the side. Such a shallow scratch. Moments earlier, she would have been cut in half, but the blade, though still effective, was now rather blunt.
"Now is a good time to heal!" said Nova. "We can get closer to that thing now!" Fluttershy healed herself to a much greater extent, scarring over her wing and lifting the major burns from her skin. She also devoted a blast to Nova. With most major damage undone, they were ready to go to her. They charged at the creature, deftly avoiding being knocked to the side, but not avoiding the subsequent blast of flame that scorched Nova's scales and forced a much more orange-looking Fluttershy down again. Weakened and distracted, the sword came again, making its mark and drawing every ounce of oxygen from their lungs. Fluttershy struggled to pick up her staff, realizing it was still equipped with the rose quartz and so could do no damage. Her magic reserves were nearly depleted anyways, and so were Nova's. Nova attempted to run back up to the being and bite her again like he did earlier. He managed to do a little damage to her abdomen, but he was to weak to keep it up. She knocked him back toward Fluttershy with her sword as he fell.
"W-w-we're going to die," Fluttershy mewled weakly.
"If I can reach to the egg and take a bite..."
"I- it's our only ch-ch-chance..."
Nova concentrated, then bolted towards the egg. The sword came at him again, and he deftly jumped over it, but fell as he landed. He quickly picked himself up and kept going, only to suffer a blast of flame slowing him down and finally seeping past his scales and into his soft flesh. He kept going. Fluttershy managed to recover the strength to heal herself just a little, and began trying to distract the creature, but to no success. She switched gears, rushing towards him. The room seemed to stretch the closer she got. In a seemingly last ditch effort, the being through her sword in front of him as he reached for the egg, crushing his hand.
He couldn't continue. Burnt and broken, he had really reached the end. He though back to his brother's words. "You trying to fucking kill her?" He turned his head back, eyes blurred and welling up with tears. She didn't stand a chance. Even if he unpinned himself, which he very well could, it would be too late. He slumped over. He had to try, but his morale had suffered a blow rivaling his hand. She was flying shakily, avoiding more concentrated blasts of flame. The being turned back around after finally scathing her enough to send her plummeting gently, and picked Nova up and flung him towards the pathway. He couldn't resist, weakly trying to scratch her face while in her grasp with his unbroken hand. Fluttershy flew to him, picked up the staff to try and heal him just enough, but it wasn't enough. None of it was enough. She was bigger. Stronger. Enduring. Any hit they had managed to land did so little. At best, they had saved themselves from being sliced in half. But there was nothing left to do.
"You are not worthy," she yelled. "Not yet. It would be so easy to end you. In the past, the mages would have certainly killed you with ease had you tried too hard to resist them. Few have ever had to face ME, Karyth the Terrible!" She crept closer to them. "But you must be worthy of something, for where I lay in wait, bodies dropped from above one after the other, and you reached me unscathed! I have been waiting for you. You may not be worthy of partaking in the egg, but you deserve to be spared! I have no need to snuff you out."
A form of relief washed over Fluttershy and Nova, but Nova was still within an inch of his life, and Fluttershy was not faring much better. Karyth did not seem capable of healing. Fluttershy stood up, balanced uncertainly, and shaking, but perhaps from anger as well as pain.
"THEN WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO HIM? WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO ME? A PIECE OF MY WING IS OVER THERE! HIS HAND IS TOO BROKEN FOR ME TO FIX!" She fell down sobbing.
Karyth grinned. "I had to test your mettle," she replied. "I was following the instructions of a being hotter and crueler than I. It told me, if someone comes this way, to test their bravery, and so I did. Not that I would mind your blood on my hands... but I don't need it." She slithered towards Nova and lifted his chin with a finger. "The color is strange with this one. If you survive, dragon, you may be worthy of the egg." She backed away. "For now I have something else for you."She reached into a small satchel and took out two vials. One she opened immediately to shake the contents from. A small bit of ash poured out. "Take this dragon. You cannot taste the egg, but this was once a shaving of its mother's scale." She put her hand in front of his mouth and spread it on him. "Some power may be left inside." Then she took the second vial, handing it to Fluttershy. "That thing gave this to me, and told me to give it to... presumably, you. Do not take it yet. Wait until nightfall." Fluttershy reached for the vial and put it in her satchel. The thing Karyth referred to, she figured, must have been what she saw in her dream. She thought perhaps to thank the creature, but still felt too indignant to do so, however necessary their battle was.
She turned back to Nova. He was hardly moving. In fact, he didn't seem to be breathing. Fluttershy collapsed next to him, fearing the worst. She looked at his scorched scales, smelling faintly of charred flesh. She looked at his hand, ready to see the extent of the damage. It looked... fine. She was puzzled, and looked up at Karyth.
"He is in a deep sleep," she said, "But his bones are growing stronger. Such is the effect of a crystalline dragon's scale on him." She paused. "It may be a while. Now, go, before I get bored! I may have to pummel some ogres again to satiate my taste for blood once you've left." Fluttershy, still weakened, started nudging Nova up the path. It was going to take a long time.
The sun was out now, and a gentle breeze wafted through the shrubbery outside the base of the mountain. A sleepy eye finally cracked open for a moment before fluttering shut. A squeal could be heard in the distance... a nudging... wait, perhaps the squeal was nearby...
It all came into focus. Nova shot up, immediately bonking noses with Fluttershy, who let out an eep and recoiled backwards before a grin spread throughout her face. "Yay! You're awake!"
"How long was I out?" Nova rubbed his head and looked at his hand. Then at his other hand. "Wait, my hand was broken. Was that a dream?"
"Nope!" said Fluttershy chipperly.
"Wait... DID I EAT THE EGG?" yelled Nova.
Fluttershy shushed him. "Keep it down! We're near the tourist center, and there are people out now. We need to get out of this area. How are you feeling?"
"Did... did I eat the egg?"
"Well... no."
"Aw. What happened?"
"Do you remember the snake lady?"
"Uhhh... yeah?"
"She gave you something, part of a crystal scale I think. Your bones started healing up right away, but you passed out."
"Oh yeah, I think I remember her shoving something bitter in my face. I thought I was gonna die."
"Me too..." Fluttershy sat down and sighed.
"But, uh, look! I didn't! Did you heal us up?"
Fluttershy looked back up and beamed. "Yep! After you passed out, I pushed you to the entrance, and took a nap so I could heal myself enough to bring you down here. It was a little bumpy, but it was fine, and then I healed you a bit more too."
Nova gave her a look of adoration. "That must have been really hard... you've come a long way." Fluttershy beamed. "Well, let's start heading back, then?"
"Mhm!"
Nova stretched up, immediate wincing. He could walk, but his flesh was still tender. Fluttershy had done a lot, though, as was apparent. The cool breeze brought relief, however, as they walked back to the portal.
"Halt!"
The pair jumped, remembering the first words spoken to them by Karyth. It was merely a guard. "You're not supposed to be here. And you look like you've been in a tousle. What have-" The dragon stopped for a moment. "-never mind. Damn teenagers," he muttered under his breath. Fluttershy would have been offended, as she was 20, but understood how young she looked. She and Nova exchanged confused glances. "Hey I'm not judging!" clarified the guard. "If you want to experiment with other species, that's fine! My daughter was dating a gazelle while she lived in Equestria. Charming lad, I met him once. The distance was too hard on them, though, shame." They blushed in embarrassment, unable to bring themselves to protest. "Just stay out of the restricted area is all I'm saying."
There was no point in explaining what had actually happened. They could have gotten in more trouble then, anyways. So they simply walked back with the rather friendly guard while he prattled on here and there about his daughter and that charming gazelle, until at last they were back at the tourist center.
"Stay out of trouble," he said, before turning back to his post.
"We will!" they said.
The pair headed back to the portal. Nova opened his satchel and fumbled for his bits, realizing he only had two left. "I can only send you back," he said.
"What? But..."
"I can walk back. It's a few days, but it won't be too hard. I feel fairly refreshed."
"But..." she though back to Gabby and the other griffons. "I have to leave when I'm back. I wanted you to come with me... I mean, if you could. I don't think I could do this without you!"
Nova put a hand on Fluttershy's shoulder. "You can. It's not like we won't see each other again. Besides, I really can't just up and leave. I have family here. School is starting up again in a few weeks. I couldn't come either way. But look, let me give you my address. You can write to me when you're ready to meet again." He turned to the dragon selling tickets. "Can I borrow a pen and paper?"
The dragon chuckled. "Kids, just take the two tickets. I'm not going to make one of you walk back all that way. Fifty percent off, just for you." Nova grinned and handed him the bits.
"Thank you sir!"
"No problem! Now go on, get over there." The two headed to the portal, stepped in, and warped back.
They walked back through the garden. Fluttershy looked in awe at all of the beautiful plants that she had nearly forgotten about. Nova walked forward steadily, but began to notice how Fluttershy slowed down to look every now and then. "Oh, right," he said, "I promised I'd tell you about them."
"I think I need to hurry back now..." Fluttershy looked disappointed.
Nova stopped. "Okay, just pick one. Come on." Fluttershy stopped and smiled, then turned to glance keenly from fern to flower to shrub. She finally pointed and the one with a long stalk that seemed to have a hardened rose at the end. "The asparagus rose," he said. "They're very nutritious. One raw bite can work as a pretty effective painkiller, but if you cook it you can eat the whole thing. I think they're pretty tasty with some rubies crushed on top."
"That's- that sounds wonderful!"
"Yeah, it's pretty great." They kept walking. "And those magenta ferns are mostly decorative, but when there's a blue moon they glow pretty brightly. Oh, and these wave peonies, the blue one right there..."
Finally, they had made it back to the hostel. They went inside, and Nova was able to give Fluttershy an address. Fluttershy also mentioned that she had promised to keep correspondence with a certain mule from Chevalin, and wrote up a letter for him to send her way. He promised to send back the response as soon as he could. Fluttershy hugged him tightly, burying her muzzle into his shoulder. "I'm going to miss you..."
"Me too. I... never mind. I'm just going to miss you." And away he went.
"FLUTTERSHY! YOU'RE BACK! WE WERE JUST ABOUT TO LEAVE!" Gaelle called from across the room. She bolted towards her, then paused. "Wait, your wing- oh sun, are you okay? Do you need to rest?"
Fluttershy looked to the side. She had forgotten about her wing. It didn't hurt anymore, but it still made her a little sick to look at. "Oh, I'm fine. It's all better now."
"Are you sure? That's a pretty serious chunk missing! And how did it heal so fast?"
"I..."
Gaelle shook her head. "Sorry. If you want to share, you will. Feel free to lie down though, we can wait! Just be sure to pack up whenever you're ready!"
Fluttershy smiled. "Thank you, Gaelle. You're very kind." The effect of these words were immediate. The griffon grinned and squealed as she hopped away. Fluttershy simply headed back to her room.
Once on her bed, she opened her satchel and shook out the contents. She realized her staff still had a gem in it, and thanked Celestia that she wasn't caught. The cut of it made it obvious that it was intended as contraband. She disarmed the staff, then took off her garnet charm as well and placed the gems in the satchel. The staff would still be visible, but it was fine. No law was against sticks or branches. She looked through the rest of what she had. She still had the maps, the rope, the small jug and bowl, and the matches from one side, and the sleeping bag in the other. She also had... the vial. There wouldn't be a chance to take it tonight. She'd be sleeping on the train, and that simply didn't seem wise. She started packing everything back up. Perhaps tomorrow night would be the right time.
An hour later, Gaelle, Gabby, Gerda, Giselle, Gregor, Greta and Fluttershy were ready to go. "We're not heading straight to the capital," Gabby explained. "We wanted to hit a few museums and parks on the way, so we bought tickets to the town of Hawkvale. I hope that's alright with you! I don't know how important it is that you get to the capital right away."
"Oh, I don't mind a little vacation," said Fluttershy.
"Alright!"
And the wheels on the train started turning.