🐍 Medusa

by Phantom-Dragon

Excelsior Medusa

"Sister......sister.......sister......sister....."

"Sister?"

"Monster! MONSTER!"

Once again, Medusa finds herself in the same place in the distant past she was before. She remembered it well. It is, of course, her greatest nightmare. One she can never escape and relieve herself from, whether she is asleep or awake.

The first thing Medusa saw in her vision were the angry eyes of a woman who stood over her, looking down on her, glaring intently with furious rage that pierced her soul, "NO! Please!" Medusa pleaded, holding her hands up in desperations. "Have mercy! I didn't–" But the woman wouldn't hear any of it. And with a wave of her hand, there was a flash of blinding white light that pierced air, temporarily blinding Medusa, "No! NO!! NOOOOO!!!!" And of course, Medusa knew what came next.

As her visions slowly returned to her, the poor woman felt a surge of what felt like searing metal blades that pierced her entire body. The pain was so intense that Medusa collapsed to the floor, and she looked up with dread at her once fair skin that turned green and scaly, followed by the nails on her fingers that grew long and sharp to the point.

"What?!" Medusa gasped frantically, looking at her own hands that have become claws, before looking down at her body, and she turned to the angry woman. "What issssss–" Medusa immediately covered her mouth with her claws, upon hearing the snake-lisp from her own tongue, which had grown long and ended with a fork. "No!" Finally, the most defining stage of the cursing process arrived.

A loud earsplitting ring echoed within Medusa's head. It was so irritating, it threatened to blow her head off, right then and there. But instead, the woman's hairs came to life, morphing into a plethora of living, multicolored, venomous snakes that all writhe their heads about, hissing and baring their fangs in all directions.

When she was finally relieved of the intensive pain she has had to endure within her head, Medusa got up on her legs, though she had trouble doing so with a few wobbles that nearly gave her away. She looked into a shield that was neatly polished like that of a mirror, and was further horrified to see what had become of her long, natural hair, and her eyes glowed its piercing emerald green aura, like those of a demon.

"No! NO! NOOOOO!!!!!" Medusa wailed, slashing her claws at the shield, hopelessly denying her own wretched reflection, before she collapsed to the floor, sobbing into her claws in utter despair.

Just then, a man came running into the room, "What is happening? What's going on?" He asked, and then he looked at Medusa, who looked up to see his utter shock at the sight of her cursed appearance, forever frozen onto his face, in stone. Medusa, of course, was just as shocked and horrified than the man was.

"No! No! THISSSSS CANNOT BE!!" She pleaded desperately, struggling to get up on her legs. But the more she stood on her legs, the weaker they felt, as if the bones had withered away, to the point where they can hardly support her weight upright. "AH!! My legsssss!" Medusa sobbed in immersive pain. "Why can't I ssssstand?!" When she finally went up to the frozen man, her legs finally gave way, and together, they rolled down the steps of the mighty temple, before hitting the ground.

Once they reached the bottom, Medusa looked down to see her first victim was reduced to nothing but rubbles, "Monster! MONSTER!!!!" A voice screamed, followed by another, and another, until at least, the entire city was screaming. And there was chaos in the streets, as frightened people all ran in every directions, out of blind fear of the horror they had witnessed.

Several have caught a glimpse of Medusa's eyes, and they were the last they ever saw of her before they were turned to stone.

"No, pleassssse!" Medusa hissed pleadingly to all the frightened people. "Don't look! No!" But when she tried to get up, she suddenly fell back down to the ground.

She tried to stand up again, only she couldn't feel her legs anymore. She turned her head to look behind her, to see her legs have been fused together, transfigured into a huge snake's tail. At that time, she had yet to master the ability to maneuver her long serpentine lower-half. Therefore, all Medusa could do to get around then, was to crawl on her own claws, dragging herself around the city, carrying her long, heavy tail, while the people around her were all running and screaming, turning a deaf ear to the sound of a traumatized victim.

"Pleasssssse! SSSSSSomeone! Help me! Pleasssssse! I'm not a monsssster! It issss me! Medussssssa!" It was no use. No matter where she went, no matter how hard she tried to call out for help, the people were too scared out of their wits to help the cursed gorgon.

Then, to further her trauma, Medusa found herself set upon by a troop of soldiers, equipped with shields, spears, and swords, attempting to drive her out of the city. They were driving her out of her own home. She was being banished for being cursed.

Medusa covered her face, while struggling to stand and holding a claw out in surrender, "No, don't–" but it was a futile gesture. One of the soldiers had slashed his blade at the gorgon, cutting into her skin, and tore a bit through her toga. "AH!" Medusa screamed, clutching to her wound, while her snakes all hissed angrily as they went on the defense. One of her snakes, a spitting cobra, shot a strand of venom at the attacking soldiers, hitting them directly in the eyes, blinding them, thus allowing the gorgon to escape.

Poor Medusa watched helplessly as her home was overrun with frightened people, both living and statues, buildings and great monuments crumbled amidst the chaos, and the sound of screams filled the air. From then on, her memories were forever plagued with screams of horror and the countless struggles she has had to endure over the centuries, from the years of isolations and several warriors who would dare to trouble her.

"Maddie! Maddie! MADDIE!" A voice from the present called out to her, snapping the gorgon out of her trance, returning her to reality.

"Maddie! Focus!" Applejack said to the cursed gorgon. "We need ya! Sunset Shimmer's in trouble! We've got to rescue her!"

"Huh?" Disoriented from her recent flashback, Maddie got over her shock and regained her composure. "Oh, of courssssse," She hissed. "Forgive me, I've losssssst my bearingssss."

"It's okay. But c'mon! Sunset's in trouble!" Applejack beckoned with a wave of her arm.

It was all coming back to Maddie. Piraeus was being invaded by monsters. One of her first friends, in centuries, has been taken captive by these monsters. For what purpose, and why, she does not know. Nor is she willing to find out.

As Maddie looked around her, to see the port city was in utter chaos, just as it was before in ancient times since her curse. Before she succumbs to another horrific flashback of her traumatic past, something else prevented that from happening. And that something was a feeling of positive emotions. The kind which she only felt from her times spent with the Rainbooms. The loving memories that she had grown to cherish. And in spite of her monstrosity, the Rainbooms and Spike continued to display their affections, their sympathy, and their friendship for her. It made her feel good inside. It was so good, in fact, that it compelled Maddie to move forward, to do whatever it takes in her powers to protect her friends, and to be their friend. And after everything they've been through together, Maddie was not willing to let them down. She's not willing to let Sunset Shimmer down. Her best friend needed her.

However, doubt continues to linger, "I don't know," Maddie hissed solemnly, as the Rainbooms and Spike turned to look at their gorgon friend. "What if I fail? How will I know I won't causssse more harmssss than goodssss? Thisssss power I've been cursssssed with....I've already lossssst control with it before.... I don't want it to happen again. I don't–"

"C'mon! Snap out of it already!" Rainbow Dash shouted, startling the gorgon. "Look, we get ya! You're cursed. You became a monster you're afraid of. But beating yourself up is never going to get you anywhere! Sunset Shimmer's in trouble and she needs us to save her from these monsters! And we can't do it without your help! So are you gonna get yourself out of this funk or what?"

"Funk?" Maddie asked, not understanding the meaning of the word.

"Y'know, sad! Bleak! Gloomy. Like what you are doing right now!" Pinkie Pie explained.

"Look Maddie," Applejack began. "We came this far, because of you. It was all for you. This is what friends are for. So are you our friend, or not?"

Maddie blinked her eyes in astonishment at her friends' pep talks. No one has ever said that strongly to her before. However, she cannot deny the truth they said to her. For the past few days since their first meeting on Sarpedon, the Rainbooms have done nothing but showed Medusa kindness, honesty, loyalty, laughter, generosity, and empathy. All which have formed the pillars and merged together to create their friendship. There's no denying, Maddie loved it. And she's not going to lose it. Not anymore.

With the remaining Rainbooms, Spike, and an owl as her witnesses, Maddie got up on her coils, clenching her claws in determination, "Lead the way, SSSSSpider–Pie."

"Ooh! I love that name!" Pinkie Pie giggled excitedly.

“.....She was so young when we last saw her......so young.....so beautiful......and so.....so.....she’s here!”

"It was this way!" Pinkie Pie pointed, as she once again dons up her Spider–Pie persona and swings through town, guiding her friends through the monster ridden city.

Suddenly, there was another loud bloodcurdling screech that pierced the air, and a blur of dark feathers streaked across the sky, cutting Pinkie's web, causing her to fall towards the ground. Luckily, Spider–Pie landed on the rooftop of a house, rolling forward to break her fall, before she leapt off the ledge and shot another web fluid and perched herself atop an umbrella stand, looking up to see she was surrounded by more of the harpies.

"Okay Vulture!" Spider–Pie began. "Let's have some fun!"

With that, the harpies let out several earsplitting screeches, before they dived towards Spider–Pie with their claws out. Spider–Pie quickly ducked her head to evade the claws of one harpy, before she did a somersault to dodge another, then she bounced off another harpy on the head and did a backflip. Then, with a flick of her hands, Spider–Pie shot a string of pink web fluids, catching one of the harpies by the tail, and pulled herself towards the wicked bird demon, landing a kick to the head, followed by a backflip as she proceeded to shoot several more webs that entangled the harpy's wings, rendering it flightless.

Spider–Pie quickly shot two more web fluids to ensnare the harpy, and with a twist of her body, she swung her opponent into the rest of the flock.

Enraged, the rest of the harpies all viciously flapped their wings at the pink costumed spider-themed heroine, slashing their claws at the girl.

"Missed me! Missed me! Now you gotta-" Spider-Pie stopped herself, realizing where she was going. "Y'know what, forget I said anything. There's already enough ships to go around."

"PINKIE!" The Rainbooms shouted, after they finally caught up to their friend.

"What?" before she knew it, the harpies were coated in a surge of electricities, with a dark cloud circling above the entire flock. "Oh my Faust!" Pinkie shrieked, jumping out of the way, just as a bolt of lighting was shot, narrowly scorching the pink girl, had she not jumped out of the way.

"Whoa! You're not kidding about harpies causing severe storms, Twilight!" Spike whimpered.

"I'll betcha ya, Spider–Man never had to deal with anything like that," Rainbow Dash commented. "Oh wait. He kinda did, with Electro, the Vulture, and that Mysterio."

"Not the time Rainbow Dash!" Applejack shouted. "I only know one thing, and it's that these buzzards know where Sunset is!"

"That is, if we could get one of them to speak first, darling," Rarity added.

"Then let's get them talking already!" with a crack of her knuckles, Rainbow Dash tapped her geode and became a fast multicolored blur, racing around the city, building up speed, before she runs back and leapt into the air, landing a kick and a few punches at the harpies, before she dropped to the ground.

"I gotcha Dashie!" Spider–Pie said, grabbing her friend by the hand, and they both spun themselves into the air, performing a few acrobatic flips at the harpies.

Suddenly, the harpies were once again coated with electricities, ready to perform another blast of lightning, "Yo, Spider–Pie!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "Remember that scene with Mysterio's drones? Y'know, the Elemental Fusion? In London?"

"Oh yeah!" getting the coded message, Spider–Pie quickly went to work, shooting several web fluids, entangling the entire flock, just as they were about to fire their lightning bolts, only to electrocute themselves out, courtesy of the electricities being redirected via the webs.

"Now that's what I call Kentucky Fried Chickens," Rainbow Dash joked.

Meanwhile, back on the ground, Rarity was projecting several of her crystal shields, protecting herself and most of her friends, while throwing several of the shields at the harpies, clipping their wings and knocking them out of the sky. At the same time, Twilight was waving her hands, which were coated in sparkling auras of magentas, firing bolts of magics at the harpies, while telekinetically holding most of them at bay.

"AAAAHH!!!! Help me!" Fluttershy screamed, clutching Spike in her arms as she ran for dear life, with a harpy following close behind.

Hearing the girl's frantic cry, Applejack quickly pulled out her lasso and caught the bird demon by the leg and thrashed her about with her amazing super-strength, "Watch yourselves, Fluttershy," Applejack cautioned the girl.

"Thanks Applejack!" Fluttershy shouted in gratitude.

Poking her head from behind the walls of an alley, Maddie watched in awe at most of her friends' display of strength and skills in battle. In spite of the harpies ferocities and their combined prowesses that rivaled to that of a hurricane, the Rainbooms refused to yield.

Suddenly, Maddie's snakes came to life as they hissed violently, signaling the gorgon of approaching dangers. She turned around, just in time to see some of the harpies had discovered her. The gorgon's eyes were concealed by her third transparent eyelids, so she didn't had time to stop the bird demons in their tracks. Before she even had the chance to react, in a blur of feathers, the harpies lunged toward Maddie. One of them slashed her claws across the gorgon's face, with another beating her wings, creating a powerful gust of wind that blew Maddie out of her hiding spot and out onto the street.

Disoriented, Maddie struggled to get up, only to feel a pair of claws pinning her, facedown, onto the ground, while her snakes all hissed violently, struggling to fend off the hot, fowl breath of the bird demons, who are more than eager to have a gorgon and snakes combo for dinner.

Of course, the Rainbooms and Spike said otherwise, "Get away from our friend you stinking bullies!" Spider–Pie shouted, shooting several strings of web from her hands to pull several of the harpies off. This success didn't last long, however, when more harpies piled themselves on the pink heroine.

"Pinkie!" The Rainbooms shouted, running to both Maddie and Pinkie's aid, only to be overrun by the overwhelming number of the harpies. There was just too many of them.

'So this is it?' Maddie thought. 'Is this how it ends?' Turning her head to the right, wincing a bit from the sharp talons of the harpies that dug into the cheek of her face, Maddie looked up, seeing all of her friends at the mercy of the harpies.

Fluttershy was cowering in fright, holding Spike close and tightly as the harpies were all set upon them in a flurry of feathers and claws. Pinkie Pie was shooting several webs at the harpies until she suddenly ran out. Before she had the chance to restock some more into her shooters, the harpies piled on top of her, pinning her down on the ground.

Upon seeing her friend in trouble, Rainbow Dash quickly beat feet to the rescue, "Hang on, Pinkie! I'm coming! WHOA!" unfortunately, Rainbow Dash accidentally stepped on a remnant of Spider–Pie's web fluid and got stuck. "Oh seriously?! What did you put in these, Pink–" Before she had the chance to finish, the harpies were already on her, scratching and holding the athletic girl down.

"Get back you ruffians!" Rarity spatted, conjuring up a shield, struggling to hold off the harpies. "Back!" the fashionista girl could barely hold up her defense as cracks began to form.

Lastly, Applejack, being as stubborn as a bull, if not a minotaur, furiously fought off the demons with all her might, not willing to be a prey to these feathery fiends. The strong girl threw a punch at one of the harpy, followed by a strong side kick which flowed smoothly and intensely into a powerful roundhouse and back kick. Then, with a spin of her rope, Applejack lassoed one of the harpies, snatching her out of the sky and pulled her down to the ground in a thunderous crash. Unfortunately, Applejack was losing steam, and the harpies caught her by chance, catching her breath, with a sharp slash that knocked the strong girl to the ground. With that, Applejack could hardly stand up against the overwhelming number of the flock.

Maddie watched helplessly at the sight of her friends overrun by the savage bird demons. Worst still, Sunset Shimmer's still a prisoner to these monsters. Once the harpies have finished both Maddie and the Rainbooms, Spike included, then there is no telling what sort of horror will befall on their fiery friend.

Having witnessed the downfall and destruction of her home, because of her curse, was traumatizing enough. But being forced to watch her loved ones suffer while she could do nothing was heart-wrenching. Tears flowed from her eyes, trickling down her cheeks at the thought of losing her friends and families, not once, but twice.

'Sunset!' Maddie thought tearfully of the flame haired girl.

She's not one to admit her thoughts out loud, but if she did, then she can't deny it. Out of all the Rainbooms, Spike included, Sunset Shimmer has been her favorite. No one understood the gorgon more than she did, mainly because she too had once been traumatized from her transformation into a demon sorceress. That and because Sunset had the power to look deep into Maddie's memories and effectively sympathize with her trauma. Furthermore, if it weren't for Sunset Shimmer, then the cursed girl would never have been convinced to leave her island.

With every passing seconds Maddie had of recalling all the fond memories she had of Sunset Shimmer, something was suddenly pounding intensely within her. It made her feel warm and confident. With every second of her beating heartbeat, the feeling grew stronger and stronger, banishing her fear and sorrow, tenfold, and the gorgon's eyes blinked open to reveal intense passion.

"Get away...." Medusa's snakes all hissed aggressively to match the ferocity displayed on her face, as she bared her fangs and hissed venomously. "Get away....from my.....FRIENDSSSSSSSSSS!!!!" With an earsplitting shriek, Maddie burst free from the harpies grasps, throwing the demons off of her.

The Rainbooms, Spike, and the harpies all looked at Maddie with newfound shocks as they witnessed the gorgon having a burst of offensive instinct. Nevertheless, the harpies were undeterred. With a loud shriek, the bird demons lunged toward the gorgon with claws outstretched for the kill.

In retaliation, the spitting cobras in Medusa's snakes shot out strands of venomous saliva that splashed upon impact with the harpies' faces, blinding most of the demons. Then, in a blur of black and yellow, Medusa swiped her claws at the harpies, knocking them back. More of the harpies got behind the gorgon. Then, with a flap of their wings, in a burst of speed, the bird demons swooped down with their legs stretched out. However, the snakes on the back of Maddie's head let out a hiss, alerting the gorgon of the harpies, who quickly ducked her head, rolling to the side, dodging the cowardly attacks. Enraged, Maddie strikes back in a blur that rivaled to that of a normal snake's reflex, hitting one of the harpies by the neck.

"Whoa! Maddie's got some moves!" Rainbow Dash commented as she and her friends watched the fight going on.

Back in the fight, the harpies refused to be bested by a single gorgon. With a flap of their wings, the harpies all started to fly together, forming themselves into a swirling vortex, conjuring up powerful winds, picking up Maddie off the ground, into the air where they pounced on her, grabbing her by the arms, the tail, and her head, threatening to tear her apart.

Finally having enough, Maddie blinked her third transparent eyelids apart, to reveal her eyes to the harpies. With that, the looks of shock was immediately frozen on the harpies' faces, and they dropped out of the sky, as stones, with Maddie.

"Look out! It's raining meteorites!" Pinkie shouted.

"Get under me darlings!" Rarity shouted, conjuring up her shields into the shape of an umbrella, together with Twilight's magic to hold up the barrier, saving the friends from the falling stones.

All around them, the harpies crumbled and broke apart into tiny little rubbles upon impact with the ground. Soon, Medusa followed. But before the gorgon could hit the ground, Spider–Pie quickly reacted, shooting several pink fluids to create a large web, catching the gorgon moments before she hit the ground.

"Maddie! You alright?" Rainbow asked.

Taking the moment to recover herself from the shock of the battle, if not the use of her infamous petrifying stare – which she hadn't used in over many centuries – Maddie managed to regain her composure.

Once she did, she blinked her third eyelids across for safety reasons, to look at her surroundings. Everywhere she looked, the area was littered with the rocky remains of the harpies the Rainbooms has bested in battle. Though the credits, however, all goes to Medusa.

"What have I done?" the gorgon asked herself, shuddering in the cold grip of fear.

"What do you mean, what have you done?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Medusa! You...You just saved us! You defeated the entire flock of those bird demons! You were awesome back there!"

“Darn tootin!” Applejack added.

“It’s not that bad,” Fluttershy added.

“Here here,” Rarity joined in. “Though, you were kind of cutting it a little too close for comfort back there darling.”

But the gorgon could hardly care less about the compliments, "Why? Why aren't you ssssscared?” She hissed in confusion. “You sssssaw firsssst hand the dangersssssousssss potential of my powerssssss. I could've desssstroyed you all."

"Maddie," Twilight began. "As a fellow, former demon sorceress, your curse, or gift, however you want to look at it. It's a part of who you are. You can't just stop using it. It's inevitable. You're bound to use it again sooner or later."

"But how will I know I won't misuse it again and hurt you?"

"Because we know you, Maddie." Applejack added. "You're our friend. And we're here to help ya out all the way. Because that's what Sunset would've wanted. And we're not gonna let her down. And neither should you,” at that speech, Maddie looked up at the Rainbooms with newfound admiration and astonishment. “So c'mon. We got a friend to save. Ya with us, or what?" The country girl asked, holding her hand out for the gorgon to take.

Maddie looked down at the hand, then back up at the Rainbooms and Spike, who were all waiting anxiously for her answer.

They’re stubborn, she’ll give them that. But in a good way. With the warmth feeling of love and friendship still pounding in her heart, the corners of Maddie’s lip turned upward, “Exxxxxcelsssssior,” she hissed, smiling, and accepting Applejack’s hand, shaking it.

Next thing she knew, the strong girl pulled her in for a group hug.

“YEAH!!! Friendship is magic!!!” Spider-Pie cheered. “Y’know, Maddie. You’d make an excelsior of a superhero!”

“Like SSSSSSpider-Man?” The gorgon asked.

“Nah, you’re more like the Incredible Hulk,” Rainbow Dash commented. “But Spider-Man works too. I mean, you kinda have a sixth sense. Snake senses that is. Er, how many snakes do you have?”

Seeing everyone were getting off topic, Rarity spoke up, “As much as I’d like to keep this fun discussion going, Sunset is still in trouble. So if we’re going to talk about superheroes, then might I suggest we be like heroes for our Sunset, now?”

“Oh yeah,” With that, the Rainbooms, Spike, and Maddie all shouted, “EXCELSIOR!!!!!” With that, the friends all resumed their rescue mission for Sunset Shimmer.

Little did they know, however, that this wasn’t the last they saw of the harpies. After it was left alone, the owl looked down to see remnants of the harpies were pulsing in sparkling auras.