The rest of the drive passed by without incident. Vanguard thought of me and Princess Luna as he went to sleep, resulting in a dream that got her attention. He told me that my friends had been searching for me, and that Luna immediately relayed the location of Ahuizotl's lair to them.
The "secret lair" was visible from nearly a mile away as we crested a hill. Through the trees, in the valley below, we could see an enormous stone carving of Ahuizotl's long head, scowling eyes on the end of it just above its open sharp-toothed maw that appeared to serve as an entrance. Upon seeing it, I felt a cold dread creep over me, and part of me wished I had fled when given the chance.
Vanguard had begun freely letting me play with Mona, who loved crawling around on me, and her presence in my mane helped comfort me. I idly ran a hoof softly over her head as we neared the lair, and switched to holding her in my forelegs when we were entering the mouth, driving into a wide tunnel surrounded by sharp stone teeth. The tunnel sloped down, and we rolled into a cavernous room decorated with fancy red carpets and tall candelabras next to large, fat pillars.
Machete opened my cage and tied my wings up. He and Vanguard escorted me out and into the center of the spacious chamber. Vanguard stood in front of me, and I had to bite my lip to keep from smiling when Mona flicked her tongue out at me from his brown mane. I couldn't let my captors know I was anything but terrified. A few seconds later, I didn't have to pretend anymore.
From the other end of the room, where large double doors stood closed, there was a loud sound of metal clanking against metal as a lock opened, then the doors slowly swung inward. For such a grand entrance, I expected something as big as a house. Instead, what was slowly revealed was a creature only a few times bigger than a pony, even smaller than Manny my manticore friend was. I recognized his face as that of Ahuizotl, having the same head as the entrance to the lair had depicted. He was an odd mix of monkey and dog, his front legs ending in hands while the rear ones had canine paws. His tail rose up behind him, ending in a third hand. He was mostly two shades of blue, dark and light, with some gold where he wore arm bands, a stud in his ear, and a golden gorget.
"Fluttershy!" he called. His accent was similar to that of Caballeron. "So good of you to... join me." He broke out into an evil laugh that even I found cliché. It still left me unsettled, however, as I was not sure what to expect next. "Come! Let us begin immediately!"
Machete shoved me from behind, and I nearly fell over as we began walking again, following Ahuizotl at a distance. We wound our way through several hallways and eventually came to a room full of odd beeping machines with lights and buttons and levers all over them. In the center of the room, there was another cage that had wires coiled around its bars in copper spirals. As expected, I was placed inside it, and Vanguard closed the door behind me. His expression was emotionless, and I wondered if he was struggling inside.
"So, Fluttershy," Ahuizotl said, circling my new cage, "I bet you're wondering why I had you brought to me."
He wasn't wrong, but I remained silent.
"Well," he continued, "it all started when I heard you had a certain unique... ability. I have eyes and ears all over Equestria, you see, and when I found out about your little... bat incident, I took an interest in learning more. And once I heard that your mind was completely lost and that you only cared for apples, I saw an opportunity! If the same transformation can happen to anypony, then perhaps I can induce it in Daring Do! Then defeating her will be as easy as pie... apple pie!"
He shook as he let out another decidedly evil laugh.
"You'll never get away with this!" I said. I facehoofed internally at my own response, but managed to keep a straight face.
"Oh, but I already have!" he replied, as if straight out of a Daring Do novel. Which, as I thought about it, made a lot of sense.
I kept my mouth tightly shut and scowled disapprovingly.
"Caballeron!" Ahuizotl called. "Bring me the apples!"
Caballeron nodded to Machete and Vanguard, and the two quickly trotted out of the room.
"Poindexter!" Ahuizotl continued. We waited in awkward silence for a moment before a short orange pony in a lab coat shuffled in from another room. He had a short, curly black mane and freckles dotting his face.
"Yes, boss?" he asked in a nasally voice.
"Prepare the machine. We have Fluttershy here."
Poindexter nodded and went to work, flipping switches and pressing buttons, and the odd machine soon hummed to life. The coils around my cage bars seemed to emit a quiet hum, and I wasn't sure if the uneasy feeling in my stomach was from that or just fear.
"Ready to go, boss," Poindexter said.
"Good. Now... throw the switch!" Ahuizotl ordered.
The pony, seeming like he wanted to say something, pressed a button.
Immediately, the hum grew to a buzz, and I felt some deep part of me being poked and prodded by an odd invisible force. The air in my lungs left in a gasp as I felt like I had the wind knocked out of me minus any kind of physical hit. I struggled to breathe, and quickly began to panic. My body seemed to adapt quickly, however, and my breath returned, ragged and... snarling? Sharp pains suddenly ran through my teeth, wings, and ears, and I wanted to scream and cry, but all that came was more snarling and bestial growls. Pain receded, replaced by soreness. I felt like I'd just flown several miles and crash-landed at the end.
My eyes darted around, causing a horribly odd feeling, because I was not moving them. It was somepony else.
I knew who it was.
It was... Flutterbat.
The last time I had transformed into Flutterbat, I had forgotten everything that happened after it was over. Had I been aware, but simply unable to control myself then, too? Was I going to forget all of this? These thoughts raced through my conscious mind as Flutterbat walked me back and forth along the cage, pacing and seeking an exit.
My nose twitched. Or her nose twitched? Our nose twitched. We smelled apples, and our sensitive ears picked up the faint squeak of wheels and soft hooffalls on rug. Our pupils widened and we turned our head toward the sounds and scents, watching intently. A cart full of apples rolled into view, in through a door, and two ponies that she didn't care about followed. I recognized Vanguard in our peripheral vision, but Flutterbat kept our eyes fixed solidly on the apples. Our mouth watered. Our tongue flicked out. We could taste them on the air. Big, red, juicy apples.
"Ahahaha, yes, throw an apple in the cage," Ahuizotl said. Flutterbat and I both heard it, but only I understood it, and I could tell she didn't because I felt no anticipation, no widening of eyes nor catching of breath.
Vanguard took an apple in hoof, and we watched it. He tossed it with a gentle underhoof throw, perfectly lined up between two bars. Our eyes grew to the size of the apple, and our pupils nearly as large. Just as it sailed inside, our mouth snapped open and caught it, impaled on our sharp upper fangs, and we drained it of its delicious juice. I thought I saw Vanguard wince, and he seemed uneasy, but our eyes pointed downward as we fed, and I couldn't see him anymore.
"Machete!" Ahuizotl called. "You see that box there? Set it near the cage, and open it."
The apple's desiccated core fell to the cage floor, and our eyes turned back to the cart. I noticed the box that had been mentioned, and when the lid lifted, I could see precious phoenix eggs resting inside.
"Now," Ahuizotl continued, "give her another apple, and if she eats it, smash one of the eggs."
I wanted to protest, and I tried. Sweet Celestia, I tried. Phoenixes cared for their eggs like parents cared for their foals. Smashing them was needlessly cruel. I struggled within my own mind, desperately trying to move our mouth, but Flutterbat had complete control. And she only cared about one thing.
Another apple sailed into the cage. I felt our mouth close on it, along with a disgusting mix of satisfaction and self-hatred. Machete was smirking as his steel blade came down onto an egg, breaking it open. I wanted to scream and cry and tell them to stop, but no matter how hard I internally struggled and begged and wept, Flutterbat acted as if I wasn't even there. It seemed as though she couldn't even hear me.
"Yes, good. Very good! Again!" Ahuizotl shouted.
The drained apple fell away. Another came. Another egg was smashed.
Stop... please... I thought.
They didn't stop. Seven eggs were in the box, and by the end of it, all of them had been destroyed. I had never felt so utterly helpless. And at the end, Ahuizotl laughed. It was long and loud, and it echoed endlessly through my thoughts.
"It seems the real Fluttershy is indeed lost. Poindexter! Drain the magic from her now!" he said.
There was a loud buzz that hurt our ears, and we hissed, as Flutterbat did not like it. Our entire body suddenly felt assaulted by pinpricks, and small bright flashes filled our vision. We quickly began to feel tired, and soon we lost consciousness.
We... no, I woke up. I had control of myself again, and the first thing I did was involuntarily whimper at the memory of the poor unhatched phoenixes.
The room was much the same, with Ahuizotl standing nearby, and Caballeron next to the apple cart with his crew. It felt like I had just slept for a full night, but it looked as though less than a minute had passed. The box of ruined eggs was still nearby, and I had to avert my eyes before sadness overwhelmed me.
I focused on the new pony, Poindexter, and he was busy fiddling with some dials. He opened a tall and thin compartment that rotated out, revealing a straight wooden staff that curved into a tight coil at the top, holding a glowing yellow gem, that looked to me like a smooth oval of amber, fitting perfectly in the wooden spiral. The pony examined it closely before taking it in his hooves.
"Mister Ahuizotl, sir, the staff is ready," he said, offering it to his boss.
"Ah, yes, very good," Ahuizotl said as he took it in one hand, examining it closely.
"It's storing the transformation magic, and you should be able to transform any pegasus into a bat form by touching them with the end of it. Then, if you touch them again, it'll take the magic back in, and they should return to their normal form. The staff only has one transformation stored, however, so you can only have one at a time– aaah!" he shrieked, cut off as Ahuizotl lowered the end of the staff down onto Poindexter's back.
"It didn't work," Ahuizotl said flatly.
The orange pony huffed. "Because I'm an earth pony. It only works on pegasi, as I said."
Ahuizotl looked at me. Then the staff. Then at me again. I gulped. He grinned. The staff arced down until it pointed at me, and he took a menacing step forward. I took a step back, and yelped quietly as I bumped into the cage bars. I cowered, and my automatic response was to simply cover my head with my forelegs. I couldn't see him anymore, with my eyes tightly held shut, and I waited for the staff to contact me.
I waited...
I whimpered out a small squeak of terror.
In my mind's eye, the staff was a hair's width from my face.
A voice called out from somewhere behind me, making me jump, thinking for a split second that the staff had touched me.
"Hold it right there, Ahuizotl!" the voice said, familiar and feminine, slightly raspy, like sandpaper on wood.
I perked my head up and turned to see Daring Do herself standing on the cart of apples!
"Daring Do!" Ahuizotl cried. He looked at the staff, which was halfway inside my cage, and his face twisted into a devilish smile. "Ah... I mean... oh no! It's Daring Do, here to defeat me again! I must protect this precious staff. I sure hope she doesn't take it from me!"
"Give the staff back to the ponies of Colthuacan!" Daring Do shouted before leaping up and flying directly at Ahuizotl.
My eyes widened. I knew I had to warn her, but with how suddenly it all happened, the words caught in my throat, and all I managed was a useless "Wait!" before she was already in range of the staff. Ahuizotl simply held the front out to her, and her unfortunate instinct to take the valuable object from his greedy hands was her undoing.
As soon as Daring Do made contact with the magical staff, she shrieked and fell to the floor like a stone, her explorer's hat landing on the floor next to her. She writhed, grunting and straining, and Ahuizotl stood over her helpless form, laughing. I watched in horror as her wings stretched out and thinned, the feathers melting together to form a fleshy membrane. Her ears became more pointed and grew little tufts of fuzz on them. Two of her top teeth elongated into sharp fangs. Panting and on the floor, she opened her eyes, pupils tall slits, and missing that confident adventurer's gleam that they normally had. She was lost. Her nose twitched, and she sniffed about, long tongue flicking out. I saw her pupils grow to big black pools of excitement as they locked on to the apple cart.
She screeched, and Caballeron and his crew cleared away from the cart as she launched herself at it. Her face was buried in the pile of apples, and the wet sucking sounds of her feeding filled the room. I felt equal parts horrified and sad for her, because I knew she was still in there, just as I had been.
Ahuizotl was laughing maniacally. "Yes, yes! Finally, Daring Do has been defeated! Now, we will move on to the next phase of my plan," he said before laughing again.
Capturing Daring Do was as simple as moving the cart of apples into a cage and locking it.
I silently hoped my friends would arrive before it was too late.
Several hours passed, waiting in silence. After being placed into a different, wheeled cage, I was brought to a spacious room that encircled a wide, seemingly bottomless pit. Daring Do was in a separate cage next to me, no longer a bat, as Ahuizotl had apparently taken the magic back into the staff. I didn't see him around yet.
"You look familiar," she said when she saw me. She seemed surprisingly calm given the circumstances, but I supposed that was just her nature.
"Um," I began ever so eloquently, "I have met you before. With Rainbow Dash."
"Oh! You're friends with Dash? Yeah, okay, I remember now."
"W-well... not 'friends' so much as, um... mare... friends? We're... you know..."
Her eyes widened in recognition. "Ohhh, that's... wow. Alright, cool. Hey, she's a keeper," she said with a wink.
I blushed, rubbing the back of my head with a hoof. "Heheh, yeah..."
"So, why are you here?"
"Oh. Well, that bat transformation spell they used on you? It kinda... came from me."
"You made a spell?" she asked with a tilt of her head.
"No, no, I transformed into a bat before. It's a whole other story, but um, apparently Ahuizotl found a way to take that out of me to transform other pegasi."
"Ah ha! And he stored it in the Staff of King Manetezuma! That's why when I touched it..."
I nodded as she trailed off in thought. "Yeah. Is that the staff you said was stolen from... um... Colt-something?"
"Colthuacan, and yeah, that's the one. I came here to get it back for them. But it looks like I can't touch it without turning into a bat again." She shuddered.
"Yeah..." I paused. I wanted to tell her about Vanguard, and how he had gotten a message out to my friends, but I couldn't be sure Ahuizotl wasn't listening. Her confidence radiated from her despite the seemingly hopeless situation, however, so I figured she had some kind of plan. Perhaps we'd be free before help arrived. I decided to skip to another topic. "So, do you know what Ahuizotl's plan is?"
"Yeah. He wants to free the giant double-headed serpent from its prison deep underground. Legends say it's been sealed away, sleeping for thousands of years, but it can be awoken and freed by the Jade Quetzal, a small statue of a quetzal bird made of gold and jade, representing freedom. That one went missing from the Manehattan Historical Museum weeks ago, and I have reason to think Ahuizotl has it. If the legends are true, then the serpent could destroy all of Equestria!"
I stared, jaw slightly open. The crazy mare was smiling. Smiling! Like it was just another fun day at the office. She clearly loved what she did, but I found little joy in the possibility of Equestria's demise.
I decided to risk a question I wasn't sure I wanted the answer to.
"So, you've got a plan, right?" I asked.
"Not yet," she said through a grin.
I knew I shouldn't have asked.
Ahuizotl strode into the cavernous room with a confident smile that oddly reminded me of Rainbow Dash. My heart ached at that memory. In his tail hand, I could see what looked like the statuette that Daring Do had mentioned, just a flash of gold and pale green.
"There it is!" Daring Do whispered excitedly.
"Now, Daring Do," Ahuizotl announced dramatically, "when I throw this statue into the bottomless pit, the mighty two-headed serpent will arise and conquer these lands! And there is no creature who can stop me!" He laughed a long, deep laugh.
"Hold it right there, Ahuizotl!" came a very familiar voice. Could it be...? I looked to the entrance and, sure enough, it was her! Rainbow Dash! "Put the statue down and gimme back my marefriend!"
If the situation were less terrifying, I might have rolled my eyes. Cheesy as she was, however, I still loved every bit of her, and my heart soared upon seeing her.
"Rainbow Dash!" I called.
"Don't worry, Fluttershy, I'll get you out of there. Right after I deal with this bonehead!"
Rainbow smirked confidently as she suddenly took off toward Ahuizotl with blinding speed. He didn't react in time, and her forehoof caught him square in the chin, knocking him back and dazing him. He shook his head and fled toward the apple cart, sitting in a dark corner. The staff was on top of it! He picked it up before Rainbow could come in for another hit. Daring Do and I both screamed out attempts to warn her, but it was too late.
Ahuizotl swung the staff down, and the tip of it found its mark, hitting Rainbow on her back between her wings just before she crashed into him. He fell over backward, but looked no worse for wear as he got up. My beloved marefriend was on the floor, writhing and groaning in pain as she slowly transformed. Ahuizotl sighed in relief, and a toothy smile split his face.
"Now, to see just how much you love apples!" he cried. He placed himself behind the cart and pushed it toward the pit. Rainbow Dash was still squirming when he reached the edge. He placed the statuette on top of the apples and simply waited, holding the staff in one hand.
Rainbow stopped moving.
She sniffed the air.
I could see her leathery wings and tufted ears, but the most striking difference was in her eyes. They were... different. Not only in that she had the slitted pupils, but they lacked... her. She was no longer there, and it was like she had just died. My heart felt like it was being pulled two ways at once, and my cry of despair came out as a weak whisper of a gasp.
She saw the cart.
Ahuizotl smiled, placing one hand on the cart.
The next moments seemed to happen slowly. Rainbow Dash took off toward the apples. Ahuizotl tipped the cart forward, and it teetered unsteadily before falling into the pit. Rainbow Dash was soon right behind them, and Ahuizotl turned to watch them all fall.
"Rainbow Dash!" I finally shouted, my aching heart poured into those two words. She was surely gone.
So focused on that scene I was, that I hadn't noticed another pony in the room, who had been charging toward the unaware Ahuizotl. Just as my desperate cry exited my mouth, Vanguard dove toward Ahuizotl! He didn't hit Ahuizotl from behind as expected, however. Instead, he sailed past, grabbing the staff as he did, and flew headlong into the pit.
"What?!" Ahuizotl shouted, confused and enraged.
I was just as confused, unsure whether I had just seen what I had.
There was commotion from the entrance, but I only turned to look when I heard my name called.
"Fluttershy!"
It was Twilight! And behind her, Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie!
"Give it up, Ahuizotl!" Twilight called. "There's no escape!"
Ahuizotl turned and glared at them. Then he smiled. "You're right. No escape... for you! Soon, the serpent will awaken, and destroy you all!"
He reached up and under his necklace, pulling down sharply. In his hand, there was a small red gem.
"No! The Ruby of Nehnemiliztli!" Daring Do shouted.
Ahuizotl threw his head back and swallowed the gem. I saw his throat convulse slightly as he had some difficulty, but then he sighed. Then he laughed once again. Twilight and my friends advanced on him, but he simply kept laughing.
"Hey, Ahuizotl, you're gonna have to do better than that to stop me!"
That sounded like...
She rose up behind him from the pit, flapping blue feathered pegasus wings, carrying Vanguard in her forelegs. Clutched between his teeth was the small statuette.
Rainbow Dash! Relief washed over me like splashes of cool water.
"What? No!" Ahuizotl cried. He swiped his tail at them, catching them off guard, and... it passed through them. "No! It's too late! Noooo!" He flung his arms up in defeat. "Curse you, Rainbow Daaaash!"
I realized, then, that I could see through him.
Twilight approached him, and her horn glowed with some kind of spell. Then she looked confused.
"Huh? What's going on?" she asked.
Ahuizotl, still shouting and lamenting his defeat, slowly continued to fade away, his voice getting quieter as he did.
Daring Do answered Twilight. "That was the Ruby of Nehnemiliztli. The moment he swallowed it, he started teleporting somewhere else. Somewhere far away from here, no doubt. It looks like he got away, but at least the statue is safe."
Rainbow Dash carefully set Vanguard on the floor, and he spit the small statuette out.
"Thank you," he said, facing Rainbow.
"Ha. I should be thanking you! You totally saved my butt down there. I was about to follow those apples all the way to the bottom if you didn't change me back," Rainbow said. Then she saw me, and her smile fell away, replaced by concern. "Fluttershy!"
She flew to my cage, and I stepped forward to the bars, and we shared an awkward hug through them, our eyes both wet with tears of relief and joy.
"Rainbow... I knew you'd come for me," I said.
"'Course I came for you," she replied, trying to nuzzle me through the metal separating us.
"Ahem... not to break this up, but..." Vanguard said. He was standing next to the open cage door, which he had apparently unlocked while we were distracted.
"Oh," Rainbow said simply, then flew inside the cage before I could even react, and we hugged in earnest while Daring Do was released as well.
Feeling her close to me again, after spending so long apart, after days of fear and forced courage, after certainty that I had lost her, I broke. I sobbed against her, and muttered an incoherent string of I-missed-yous and I-love-yous and other words that even I didn't understand, as emotion itself poured from me. And the whole time, she was there, stroking me comfortingly, and reminding me in many ways that she cared, that she was there for me.
When I finally calmed down enough to form coherent thoughts again, and my deep sobs became exhausted panting, I took a deep breath. I pulled my head back away from hers, and I pressed in for a kiss. She melted into it, and I held it for much longer than I ever had before. All of my relief, my love, my happiness, went into it. Then, I finally broke it and pulled back to smile at her. Realizing what I had just done in front of my friends, I blushed brightly.
"Um... what I mean is... it's good to see you again," I said.
"You're so mushy," she said.
Her smile widened. Then she started laughing. Then Pinkie laughed. Then Daring Do. Then everypony else.
I wanted to hide under a blanket or something, but despite the overwhelming embarrassment, I couldn't erase the enormous smile from my face.
All of us stood outside the lair entrance. Caballeron and the others had taken the Landstalker and escaped. Twilight's balloon was parked in a tree, where they had apparently had a little trouble landing. We talked while Twilight struggled to free the thing from the branches.
"Are you saying you dropped the Staff of King Manetezuma into the bottomless pit?" Daring Do asked, somewhat displeased.
"Well, yeah... Rainbow Dash kind of kicked me when I hit her with it," Vanguard said.
Rainbow looked pleased. "Yeah, well, I do have some pretty awesome reflexes. Like how I grabbed that statue and saved you at the same time!"
Daring Do sighed. "Well, the ponies of Colthuacan will be okay without the staff, but they won't be too happy. With the power it had stored in it, it might be for the best that it's gone for good."
I nodded. "Yeah, nopony should have that power. Being completely powerless is the worst feeling."
Daring Do nodded in agreement.
"Well," said Rainbow, "not completely powerless."
"What?" I asked.
"Yeah, when I heard you yell my name when I went after the apples, I kinda had control of myself for a second. I knew I couldn't let that statue fall down there, so I grabbed it right before this guy smacked me with that staff. And I kicked him. Uh, sorry about that by the way."
"You actually... you controlled it?" I asked, stunned.
"Well, yeah, when I heard the mare I love call my name, I just couldn't let you down."
I shook my head. "And you call me mushy."
Twilight called over to us. The balloon was ready to go again.
"Well, I'd love to go with you and chat and all, but I gotta go deliver the bad news to Colthuacan, then get this bad boy back to the museum," Daring Do said, holding up the Jade Quetzal statue before slipping it into a pouch. "This time, I'll be sure they have extra security."
We nodded, and she took off into the clear sky.
Vanguard looked uneasy.
"What's wrong?" I asked him.
"Are you sure you're okay bringing me with? After what I did to you? After shooting your manticore friend?"
I stepped forward and hugged him. "Yes," I said. "You saved us. You might have saved all of Equestria. You've earned it."
His eyes looked a little misty, but he held it in. "Thank you, Fluttershy. No more working for Caballeron and his kind. Mona and I will find honest work."
All the others had already gone over to the big purple and pink balloon.
"Sounds good," I said. "Now, how about we get out of here before Ahuizotl shows up or something?"
He smiled and nodded, and we joined the others.
Some animals can seem scary at first. And sometimes they really are. But sometimes, they just need to be shown a little love, and you find out that inside they are really sweethearts.
I guess, sometimes that's all ponies need, too.