“Nnnngh!” Lyra was hissing, straining. Sweat poured out from her helmet as she fought to channel more and more energy through the glowing horn. “Hcnkkkt—!”
“Now now, sugarcube,” Applejack looked back from where she was leading the pack. Kelly was leaning against her, hobbling on her good leg as the partners slowly traversed a narrow bridge between rusted platforms. “What did we tell y'all earlier about flexin' that noggin' of yours too much? T'ain't like Sisyphus is gonna let you teleport anywhere so long as yer sportin' that collar!”
“Hell, let her try,” I muttered, taking up the rear of the procession. “If I had a magical fucking horn on my head, I'd try teleporting out of here too. Then I'd send my sorry ass to the nearest Wal-Mart to buy myself some Aloe Vera gel. Jesus...” I hissed and rubbed my arms. “That damn Babellyon stings like a bitch.”
Kelly giggled.
I glared at her. “And just what's your deal?”
“Mmmm... Nothing,” she hummed. “Things suck here in Tartarus, but life never stops surprising me.”
A deep sigh escaped my lips. I heard Lyra straining and groaning again. I looked down at her. “For crying out loud! At least don't hurt yourself!”
“Just think...” Lyra panted and meditated a little bit more in mid-trot. “...how much easier it would be for you to fight off the bad guys while not having to worry about being far away from my collar!”
“What, you'd want me to wear the thing after you strip of it?”
“I'd say you could do with two leashes, Shawn,” Kelly said with a smirk.
“You could do with three corks,” I replied. “One for each of your mouths.”
Applejack groaned. Kelly laughed.
“I don't get it,” Lyra said with a puzzled face.
I walked past her and spoke towards the head of the group. “Just so we're clear, what exactly is the battle-plan in case Sisyphus' wall of angry meat decides to spring an ambush on us again?”
“What, am I still your captain?” Kelly asked.
“You've got one one shapely leg left, haven't you?”
“Well...” She thought aloud while hobbling beside Applejack. “I'd say it's pretty simple. If we're lucky enough to defend a high point, Lyra and I will stick together to provide long range support while Applejack and you take up the forward position. That is, of course, assuming your boo-boos don't sting that badly, Shawn.”
“If I can deal with your lip, I'm sure I can survive an orc or two slapping me on my red spots.”
“What if we simply tried outrunning them?” Applejack asked.
“I doubt I'd be of much help there,” Kelly grumbled. “And before you start, we've been through this before, Applejack.” She frowned. “I'm not riding you.”
“I reckon you ain't too heavy,” the mare said with a sly grin. “Besides, from what I can gander, most of y'all is milk and merriment! Nothin' I can't manage more than a barrel of apples!”
“Hahahaha!” I exclaimed, wincing from my burns. “I think she's gotten you figured out, Kelly! Fuck online matchmaking, let's let a farmhorse guide you through the classifieds from now on!”
“Heheheh,” Applejack guffawed.
Kelly briefly fumed. “Fine, Applejack. Maybe I'll ride you, once I've stripped of all this dayum armor. Shawn can carry it all down his throat, assuming his foot isn't already in the way.”
“Love you to, captain my captain.” I chuckled. Applejack was snickering too.
“I didn't get that one either.” Lyra sighed.
“You should watch more television once you get back to Equestria.”
“What's television?”
“Right.” I cleared my throat and spoke towards the other two. “So, are we actually headed anywhere? Or are we just gonna wander aimlessly across the abandoned set of Cube Zero?”
“Wait!” Lyra skidded to a stop, her eyes wide.
“What?” I looked back at her. “Did you finally get something?”
“No, I sense a body nearby!”
Kelly gasped.
Applejack grind her hooves against the metal surface of the bridge. “Where? Where is it?! If it's a messenger, we should squash him before it alerts all the other yahoos to our presence!”
“Just wait!” Lyra's eyes narrowed. An invisible wind magically wafted over her helmet as her horn glowed brighter and brighter. “It's... in front of us, somewhere. It's very weak. And... and...”
“Yes?” Kelly leaned forward.
Lyra blinked. She gazed up at us with twitching eyes. “It's on all fours!”
“It's Clay Aiken?” I remarked. Kelly smacked the back of my head with her bow. “Ow!”
“Idiot!” she fumed. “She means it's a pony.” She limped over and looked down at Lyra. “Don't you, girl?”
Lyra nodded furiously. “My spatial sense hasn't lied to me yet.”
“Well, where is the little stranger?” Applejack remarked.
Lyra's horn glowed as she scanned the abysmal surroundings. Finally, she looked past us and pointed towards the far end of the bridge. “Over there! See the fallen pillar? It's behind that!”
We all turned to look. Just as we did so, a bright shape darted out of sight, hiding behind the obstruction.
“Hey!” Kelly called out, shuffling around and cupping two hands over her face. “Hey you! We mean no harm! We just want to be friends!”
Only the slightest of squeaking sounds came from around the pillar.
“We're not one of them nasty critters!” Applejack added. “Please, come out so that we can see you!”
No sound was heard this time. The shadow remained hidden behind the debris.
Before Kelly could stop me, I shouted, “Hey! Fuckface!” I unsheathed my sword with a pronounced ringing noise. “Show your muzzle before we skin you and drag you out!”
This time, there was a noticeable whimper. Slowly, a yellow-coated figure shuffled out of hiding, giving us the loneliest of wilted stares.
Lyra gasped sharply, falling back on her haunches. “Oh sweet Celestia...”
“Fluttershy?!” Applejack's eyes nearly burst. Smiles and tears flowed out of her all at once. “Oh thank heavens, Fluttershy! It is you! It is you!” She galloped ahead in a blink. She was soon joined by a mint-green streak.
“Whoah—Hey!” I exclaimed as our two collared companions dashed ahead of us. “Friggin' prancing little buggers—Kelly, grab ahold.”
“Take it easy, Shawn,” she said with a calm smile as she leaned on me. Together we hobbled forward, staying within range of our equine friends. “Let them get a little bit ahead. Everything will be fine.”
“God. All you do is eat this shit up, I swear.”
“Shhh!” she hissed, just in time too.
Lyra and Applejack had skidded to a stop beside Fluttershy. They practically plowed her over with hugs and gentle nuzzles, their tears staining the frail pegasus' face.
“Oh Fluttershy! I'm so glad you're alive!”
“We thought you were a goner, sugarcube!”
“When I heard what that nasty Babellyon did... I-I didn't know what to think!”
“Look at you! Yer in one piece! Oh heavens to Betsy, it's so wonderful seein' ya!”
“Tell us what happened! How come you're here?!”
“Where did yer partner Sam go?”
“Girls... Girls...” Kelly exclaimed as we joined them on the rubble-strewn platform. “Give her some breathing room, why don't you?” I let her go, and she knelt down—wincing—beside Fluttershy. “Hey there, gorgeous. Long time no see.”
“Mmm... h-hello, Kelly,” Fluttershy managed the tiniest of smiles. She was in one piece, but that wasn't saying much. The mare had a bandage covering half of her face, and one of her wings was almost missing half of its feathers. Bruises covered most of her lower half, and the plates of armor covering her spine appeared to weigh her frail form down. “It's so very nice to see you and Applejack again. And you too Lyra. And... And...” She looked up at me and instantly backtrotted half-a-foot.
I muttered, “Pretend I'm called 'Sugar Lumpkin' and just leave it at that.”
Fluttershy simply said nothing.
“But really, girl.” Applejack didn't stop clinging to Fluttershy for one second. She sniffled and smiled in spite of her tears. “What happened to ya?”
Fluttershy shuddered. “The last time I saw you, we were fighting that horrible, horrible demon. I tried to help out the best I could. I really did. But... uhm... you know that I've never enjoyed conflict.” She whimpered, shaking the remaining bits of armor left on her limbs. “Even with what I was taught when I came here, I never wanted to hurt anyone or anything...”
“We know that, Fluttershy,” Lyra said, smiling painfully. “I've never wanted to do cruel things either. But I've done what I had to in order to survive, and to help others along with me.”
“But enough of that sort of talk,” Applejack emphasized. “Could you tell us how you got here?”
“Well...” Fluttershy looked at Applejack and Kelly specifically. “When we got separated from you girls, Sam and I figured that the best thing we could do was keep Babellyon occupied until you two had a chance to escape. Things looked pretty grim for us. I've... I've been in scary situations before, but not like this, not like in Tartarus.”
“But...” Kelly's eyes narrowed. “But you survived.”
“Mmmhmmm.” Fluttershy limply nodded. “I did. I never expected to. But I did. It was all because of Sam, really. It was because... because...” She bit her lip and her eyes began to water.
“Easy, Sugarcube,” Applejack stroked the pegasus' mane. “Just give it to us straight.”
Fluttershy whimpered. “He saved me. We were surrounded on all sides by monsters, and we were being forced to march st-straight into Babellyon's wrath. That's when Sam grabbed me. At f-first, I thought it was a hug. I felt it was sweet, but I knew it wasn't the best t-timing for that. All of the sudden, Same threw me with that super-strength he had been granted by Sisyphus. And... And the first thing I thought was that our collars were going to k-kill us, on account of how far he threw me. But then he...” She squeaked, shuddered, and finished with, “He ran straight into Babellyon. He... He gave his life so that both he and the collar would be destroyed. And once h-he was gone, I... I-I was able to fly away.” She buried her muzzle into her forelimbs. “And so I did,” she wept.
Lyra bit her lip, her eyes moist. Applejack leaned in and nuzzled the pegasus.
“He did it because he cared for you, darlin',” she said. “It was a heroic act for somethin' sweet and worth preservin'.”
“No...” Fluttershy cried, her voice muffled. “No it wasn't! I was a coward! I sh-should have fought harder! I shouldn't have b-been so scared to be strong, to be violent even. And now Sam's dead and I'm alive because of it. What good is there in that? I'm such a coward. I don't deserve to be alive.”
“Don't you say that!” Lyra's voice cracked as she dove in and held Fluttershy tight. “Don't you ever say that! We love you, Fluttershy. You're no coward. The fact that you're alive is a blessing to us all. We're all glad for what Sam did.”
“We'll always remember him,” Applejack said, smiling as she caressed her. “Thanks to you, we won't ever forget what he's done. He's given us hope. That means everythang in this nasty place, and it's gonna mean everythang once we get you back home safe and sound, along with Cheerilee and Rainbow Dash and the others.”
Fluttershy sniffled, then looked up with a painful smile. “You... You mean that Cheerilee and Rainbow made it safely?”
“Heeheehee... That they did!” Lyra said with a soft wink. “You think they're cowards too?”
“No. I...” Fluttershy heaved and shuddered. “I think that's absolutely wonderful...”
“It is so very wonderful,” Applejack said. She joined Lyra and Fluttershy in a group hug. “Yer wonderful, darlin'. And don't you ever think differently.”
The three ponies clung to each other, forming a bright spot of color and warmth in the middle of that decrepit place. I had always thought that I was the one lucky sap in my family not to become diabetic at my age. After witnessing what I witnessed, I figured things had just changed permanently. Before I could process how fucking horrible that analogy was, Kelly spoke to me.
“Warms your heart, doesn't it, Shawn?” she said smugly.
“You're making the erroneous assumption that I've got a heart.”
“So what if I am?” Kelly chuckled, leaning against my side. “Can you blame me?”
“Huh?”
“I saw you chatting earlier with Lyra. I'm pretty sure that just a day ago, you wouldn't even let the little horsie sniff your own farts.”
“That's because I've refused to eat anything since we got here.”
“Shawn...”
“The fuck do you want from me?”
Her face glowed. “You're still reeling from what Lyra said to you when we escaped Babellyon, huh?”
I sighed, gazing beyond the three hugging, crying ponies. “I'm just reeling from all this goddam estrogen. I mean, why ponies, huh? Why couldn't we have been paired up with giant, shape-shifting robots instead?”
“Shawn...”
“You think Tartarus would have modernized a bit. I mean, look at this shitty place, huh? It's like someone cleared house at an H. R. Giger exhibit. How do you equate horses with that?”
“Shawn,” Kelly murmured. “It must be terribly, terribly strange for you to know that someone loves you so dearly.”
I almost opened my fat mouth—as I always do in such a situation—but I suddenly had nothing to go with. So, I limped backwards, and my tongue led the way without me. “Each and every one of you seems convinced that this place was made to teach us pain.” I gulped as I stared painfully at the sweet, happy reunion in front of us. “I kind of wish it was all pain. Then maybe things would have been easier. Guess... th-that just wasn't the way it was meant to be.”
Kelly nodded. “Hell isn't so hellish if it's all one single thing, huh?”
I slowly nodded my head.
Kelly did something weird. She lifted her hand, but instead of slapping it upside the head, she rested it on my shoulder. “We're gonna get Lyra home, Shawn. I promise you that.”
I glanced at her hand, then gave her a weird look. “And what makes you think that's my only concern anymore?”
She smiled and hobbled away from me. “Because you stopped staring at my ass at least eight hours ago.”
I blinked, then frowned as she marched over to the group. “You know, that can be rearranged!”
“So can your balls!” she retorted.
I sighed and slugged forward. “Fuckin' Lifetime for jockeys, I swear to Bjork...”
As I joined the group, Kelly was already kneeling beside them. “Sorry to disturb such an angelic moment, girls,” she said. “But we really need to press on. We ran into Babellyon a second time, Fluttershy. Though he can't go through the same chamber doors that we do, undoubtedly he's going to sick another army on us anytime soon.”
“Eeep!” Fluttershy jolted, shivering in Applejack's and Lyra's embrace. “I really, really don't like that demon!”
“Neither do any of us, sweetie,” Kelly said. “So it's high time we hoofed it, if you pardon the pun.”
“How long you've been hidin' in these here parts, sugarcube?”
“Uhm...” Fluttershy twitched under her bandages. “I don't rightly know for sure. M-Maybe the last six hours?”
“Were you resting between flying?” Lyra asked.
“Somewhat,” Fluttershy said. “Truth be told, uhm...” She blushed deeply. “I got lost. I was looking for another door for a long time. I did find one, but it looked scary, so I decided to pass it by.”
“Scary?” Lyra asked. “Scary in what way?”
“Oh, it was all glowing and sparkling on the inside. I thought it might have been demon magic or something.”
Four of us jolted. Kelly and I exchanged wide-eyed glances.
“That sounds like...” I murmured.
“...an exit door.” Kelly finished.
“Huh?” Fluttershy squinted. “You mean that's what the way out of Tartarus looks like?”
“Yes!” Lyra practically bounced, breathless. “Michelle and Rainbow Dash took such a portal out of here!”
“So did Cheerilee and Brian!” Applejack said. She firmly clasped Fluttershy's shoulders. “Tell us, darlin'! Where did you see this crazy door?”
“Uhm...” Fluttershy looked nervously at all of us. She gulped. “Maybe it's best that I show you...”