The vines were, mercifully, far less numerous after the group departed the clearing. There were still a few that were routinely pummeling Twilight’s barrier, but the frequency of their attacks was significantly easier for the group’s alicorn to manage. She gritted her teeth and bore the weight of the assault like a champ, keeping her eyes focused on Fluttershy’s tail.
As proud of her as Rainbow felt for pressing on so bravely despite the near-death experience she had just gone through, her concern for her friend was rapidly consuming everything else. They had been walking for over an hour already, with Fluttershy periodically making a brief trip up through the vines to get her bearings and keep leading the group, usually with Rarity or Pinkie providing a distraction so the vines didn’t go after her.
In all of that time, Twilight had only spoken a few times, and not once had any of those words been directed at Rainbow. It was almost as if Twilight was trying to ignore her or forget she was even there. It stung deeply and stirred up a veritable storm of questions in Rainbow’s mind. What could have possibly caused Twilight’s demeanor towards her to change so abruptly? Had Rainbow done something wrong?
Alas, there were no answers to be had in Twilight’s concentrated frown, and all attempts at asking about the matter had thus far been swiftly deflected and rebuffed with the reminder that they still had to save the Tree of Harmony.
The rest of her friends had noticed, too, and Applejack even tried to get Twilight to open up not all that long ago. Alas, her efforts were just as fruitless as Rainbow’s, leaving everypony stumped.
After what felt like an eternity, Rainbow’s scattered thoughts were pulled away from Twilight’s sudden aloof behavior when they broke through a patch of dense bushes. An enormous and very familiar chasm greeted them. In its center was a tall plateau, upon which rested the ancient, decaying ruins of the castle of the two sisters. They had come out of the treeline from a different angle than usual, allowing Rainbow to spot the still-fallen bridge dangling by threads of rope far along the left side.
“Oh, thank heavens!” Rarity sighed in exaggerated relief. “We made it!”
“Yeah, but them vines are here, too,” Applejack pointed out while nodding down into the chasm. Rainbow looked, and sure enough, she could see the thickest of these vines she had seen yet covering the walls and floor of the chasm in large amounts.
And all of them were coming from one spot in particular.
“Look, there!” Pinkie said loudly, having spotted it too. She pointed, and all eyes were drawn to a cave at ground level that was embedded in the side of the plateau. A sickly blue light came from within - along with a great many of the vines. “I think that’s it!”
Fluttershy nodded. “I think so, too. It sure looks like what I saw, at least.”
“Then we need to get down there,” Rainbow confirmed with a simple nod, her eyes sweeping along the chasm walls for the stairs that Pinkie had scared them all with last time. She caught sight soon enough and pointed them out to Twilight. “Right there, Twi. Let’s go.”
“Hm.”
Rainbow’s ears drooped when Twilight pressed on without anything more than a tired grunt of affirmation. Rainbow glanced back at the others, but all she found were equal amounts of confusion and concern to match her own.
“What’s going on?”
The group didn’t linger long, everypony moving quickly to stay under the protective umbrella of Twilight’s barrier. A few more vines took swipes at them as they passed, but like the others, they were deterred by their inability to break through. Confident that they would be safe for the time being, Rainbow looked up at the castle, an odd wave of nostalgia washing over her.
“The last time we were here, we were trying to hide from Chrysalis and figure out how to take back Canterlot,” she thought to herself. “And we had Starlight, Thorax, and Wind with us back then…”
On recalling the lilac unicorn in question, Rainbow couldn’t help but briefly ponder what that mare was up to now. It had been two years since she last heard anything about her, and when they had parted ways back in the empire, Starlight said she needed to sort some things out for herself.
“Well, wherever she is, I hope she’s doing alright,” Rainbow concluded after a few seconds before focusing on the task at hoof again. “And I hope she found the answers she was looking for.”
The group came to the bottom of the chasm. Fluttershy let out an alarmed squeak when one of the larger vines that blanketed the ground lashed out at them like a raging bull, the force of it actually making Twilight grunt and stagger to one side.
“You okay?” Applejack asked quickly, putting a steadying hoof on Twilight’s shoulder.
Twilight nodded the light on her horn growing stronger along with the barrier. “I’m f-fine,” she said through gritted teeth. “That one just hit harder than I was expecting. I’ve already powered up my spell to compensate.”
“There’s an awful lot of these things,” Pinkie pointed out in mild revulsion, sticking out her tongue a moment later. “Blegh! Let’s go save that tree so they can all go away! Vines aren’t supposed to be mean! They’re supposed to be pretty and let monkeys swing around in the jungle!”
“Or Daring Do,” Rainbow commented almost automatically. “She does that, too.”
Pinkie shrugged noncommittally.
Finally, the group came in front of the cave, only suffering one or two more flails from the big vines as they passed. Rainbow peered inside, and her eyes slowly flew wide. “No way…”
At the back of the cave, surrounded by gorgeous blue crystal growths and glowing with the most enchanting light she had ever seen, was a tall tree made entirely of blue crystals. Six main branches came out from the center of the trunk, while a collection of smaller branches reached out from between them. At the end of each of the main branches was an empty slot, shaped like a gemstone.
It was beautiful.
And it was dying.
The entire thing was being tightly constricted in the vines, each one repeatedly tugging and yanking on the tree with a significant amount of force. Cracks had already started to appear along the length of the trunk, and the majestic light the tree emitted was steadily growing dim and almost nauseating to look at. Two large, coiled mounds of the vines sat next to the tree, one on either side.
“This is it…” Fluttershy whispered quietly, her eyes just as wide as everypony else. “This is the tree. This is what I saw in my Flash.”
“And it looks like it doesn’t have much time left,” Applejack pointed out with a grimace. “How in the heck are we s’posed to save it with all them vines hangin’ round?”
“We can’t zap them with magic—there’s too many for that and Twilight would have to drop her barrier—my party cannon only throws them around, and Rainbow can’t get around fast enough with her wing busted like it is,” Pinkie pointed out in a surprisingly direct manner before pouting. “That’s so not fair!”
“And they don’t have eyes,” Fluttershy added meekly. “So my Stare won’t work on them…”
“And Ah only got one rope to work with,” Applejack said, tugging at said rope with an agitated grimace. “Not enough to tie all of ‘em up when they’re thrashin’ round like that.”
“Then what do you propose we do?” Rarity asked the group impatiently, her eyebrow flying up to hide under her mane. “Ask politely? As delightful as that plan sounds, I somehow doubt that these grotesque growths are going to pay any mind to even our most elaborate of requests.”
Rainbow grit her teeth, snorting in frustration. “There’s gotta be something! Come on, Everypony! Think!”
Before any further discussion could be had, a loud gasp tore through the air. All eyes turned to watch as Twilight’s eyes went as wide as saucers, her breathing becoming labored as she fell to her haunches. A collection of alarmed exclamations echoed in the cave as her friends quickly gathered around, just in time for Rainbow to reach out and ease Twilight gently to the ground.
“A flash? Here? Now?” Applejack asked incredulously, her eyes drifting up to the barrier as it began to flicker.
“Bad timing, bad timing, bad timing,” Pinkie Pie repeated over and over, quickly withdrawing her party cannon from somewhere and aiming it up as the dome began to flicker. “Everypony, brace yourselves! Vines are coming!”
“Darnit!” Rainbow growled under her breath before standing protectively over Twilight’s prone body. “Okay, same deal as before! Keep them off Twilight until she wakes up and lifts her barrier!”
“Right!” A chorus of voices shouted back.
The barrier shattered, and the vines lunged.
Twilight Sparkle stepped forward, her eyes shimmering with uncertainty. The Tree of Harmony stood before her, its colors dulled, its branches dripping with some foul liquid as the vines coiled around and constricted it. Moving carefully, she unfurled her wings and leaped into the air, moving for the starburst shape that sat in the center of the trunk, reaching out her hoof.
Suddenly, two of the vines snapped out, coiling tightly around her hoof. Twilight cried out, pumping her wings and moving rapidly back through the air. Shivers crawled up and down her spine, and she shuddered involuntarily before her horn lit up. With one quick burst of precise magic, the vines were severed, their stumps falling uselessly to the ground below. She quickly backed away, clutching her hoof protectively against her chest, her eyes wide and her teeth grinding together.
After taking a moment to catch her breath and calm down her panicking nerves, she focused on the starburst again. She watched, a sickening pit forming in her stomach, as more of the vines slithered across the surface to block any attempts to reach it by hoof.
“Discord really was holding them back last time, then,” Twilight deduced as she watched the scene unfold. “Otherwise the vines wouldn’t have backed off so quickly. They wouldn’t have even let me get that close.”
Twilight then looked to the branches one at a time, her mind racing for a solution. They had to save the tree and get rid of these vines, or all of Equestria would be done for! She just had to think! She must have known something that would be of use, here!
Her eyes slowly widened as the words of her teacher echoed in her mind.
“Even without these elements, the Tree of Harmony will possess a powerful magic. As long as that magic remains, it will continue to control and contain all that grows here…”
That was it! Twilight’s expression hardened with resolve before she turned and made her way back down to her friends, all of them looking on at her with hopeful expectancy. She took a moment once she was on the ground to steel herself for what she had to say, her eyes lowering down to stare at the dirt beneath her hooves. “I know how we can save the tree,” she began quietly. “We have to give it the Elements of Harmony.”
Suddenly, the vision flickered and contorted along with the sound of cracking glass. A vertical split appeared in her line of sight before her vision shattered entirely.
Twilight’s eyes snapped open, her senses rushing back to her far faster than they had the last time she had experienced a Flash, albeit the pounding headache was very much still present. Groaning, she lifted her head from the ground and looked around, trying to get an idea of what was happening.
She let out a short shriek when Rainbow Dash was brought down onto the ground, hard, in front of her. The pegasus was constricted from the shoulders down in vines, her eyes screwed shut and her teeth visible in a cringe of agony.
Adrenaline filled her veins as Twilight realized what was happening. Her friends were under attack, and they were losing. Moving fast, Twilight forced herself to her hooves, her horn lighting up with bright light. Recalling everything she had taught herself about magic since waking up, she spun and unleashed a condensed beam of magic, quickly carving through the veins attacking her friends.
Pinkie noticed her interference first and turned to the alicorn with an enormous grin. “Twilight’s awake!” she declared before ducking under a swing from another vine that had just slithered into the cave, then bounced over it as it flew back for her legs. She landed next to Twilight and smiled. “Hey!”
Twilight ignored her, her horn flaring up with even more light. “Hang on!” she shouted, screwing her eyes shut and reaching out. Oh, this was not going to feel good…
In rapid succession, all of her remaining friends were ensnared in her magic and hauled forcefully towards her. A collection of startled gasps filled her ears, along with a pained scream from Rainbow Dash. A small spike of guilt stabbed Twilight in the heart, but she forced herself through it. “Better hurting then dead!” she told herself.
Once her friends were close enough, she released her levitation spell and focused on her barrier again. With a high-pitched sound and a burst of light, her dome re-appeared around them, knocking the vines away just as they were about to coil around the outliers of her friends. She held still, her eyes screwed tightly shut as she focused on ensuring the barrier would hold up under the oncoming assault.
After a few tense seconds, she let out a relieved sigh and opened her eyes. All of her friends were safely in her barrier, although all of them were looking more than a little roughed up.
“T-t-twi,” Rainbow’s voice stammered from behind her. Twilight’s blood ran cold, and she turned around to see the pegasus in question shaking horribly as she forced herself back up to her hooves. Her eyes were wide open, and her breath was coming in heavy gasps, but she otherwise seemed fine. Rainbow wiped a hoof over her face before looking at Twilight and offering her a weak smile. “You’re alright…”
Twilight hesitated for a second before nodding. “Yes… I’m okay,” she said before looking ahead at the tree. As the tension slowly faded away, she thought back on her Flash, and what it had more or less told her to do.
Her friends weren’t going to like this…
“So, what did you see?” Pinkie asked curiously. “Did you see what we need to do to save the tree?”
Twilight swallowed heavily. Now or never. Pinkie had asked, after all. “...Yes, I did,” she began slowly, a chill running down her spine. “We… we need to give the Tree the Elements of Harmony.”
A moment of silence fell over the group. Rainbow came into Twilight’s line of sight, an incredulous expression on her face. “Uh, Twi? No offense or anything, but are you sure about that? Cause uh,” she tapped her Element with a hoof. “We kinda need these things to protect Equestria.”
Applejack snorted in disbelief. “Are ya sure ‘bout that, RD?” she asked with an eyebrow flying up to hide under her hat. “Cause last Ah checked, y’all got us pretty far when we were dealin’ with Chrysalis and Sombra. We didn’t have the Elements ‘til literally the end of all that, and we didn’t use ‘em on Sombra.”
“Yeah, we had another Deus Ex Machina,” Pinkie Pie said with a small bounce and a big grin.
“I do not believe that is the point, Pinkie, dear,” Rarity said with a small smile before nodding at Rainbow Dash. “I believe what Applejack was trying to say, is that we don’t need the Elements to protect Equestria. Thus far, your leadership has seen us through the largest threats we have faced.”
Rainbow shrank back, her ears drooping at the sudden praise. “Wha… b-but, guys! C’mon…” she babbled uselessly before turning back to face the tree. She was quiet for a few seconds before letting out a quiet sigh.
“...Doesn’t matter, does it? Whether or not I’m a good leader, I mean,” she began quietly. “If we don’t stop these vines, Equestria’s dead… and I trust Twilight. If she says we gotta give up the Elements to save our home, then that’s what we gotta do.”
“But how do we do that?” Fluttershy asked in a whisper, hiding behind Applejack and rubbing at a collection of new bruises she had acquired in the earlier scuffle with the vines. “These vines are way too dangerous to get near the tree safely…”
Rainbow sighed and unfolded her good wing with a sad expression. “Well, if I still had use of both my wings, maybe I coulda flown around the dropped the Elements off before the vines could get to me. But, well…”
“So Dashie’s out,” Pinkie clarified before turning to the rest of the group. “How are we gonna do this?”
“There’s gotta be a way,” Applejack said quietly adjusting her hat on her had. “Gotta be…”
Pinkie was right. There was a way.
But it was risky.
Twilight’s heart began to beat faster in her chest as she turned to face the tree, all of the variables running through her head at high speed. Considering the aggression of the vines and the power they held, nopony present would be capable of bringing the Elements to the tree without potentially getting killed.
Except for Twilight.
A lump formed in her throat, and she slowly turned to face Rainbow Dash. The pegasus was focusing on the tree, her face scrunched up in thought.
After a few seconds of hesitation, Twilight cleared her throat, and all eyes turned to her. She stood up tall and steeled herself.
“I can do it.”
Rainbow’s eyes widened, inhaling quietly through her nostrils. After a second of silence, her head shook back and forth just slightly, the movement so subtle that Twilight almost missed it. With every passing second, Rainbow’s entire demeanor became more and more tense, and Twilight suddenly found herself regretting her decision.
“...No,” Rainbow suddenly choked out. “No, you can’t.”
Twilight blinked, taking a step forward. “Rainbow, listen to me,” she began carefully, setting aside any animosity she may have felt for the time being. “I can fly. I’m almost as fast as you are in the air, and I have my magic. If anypony can get the Elements in place safely, it’s going to be me.”
Rainbow’s head shook again, harder this time. “No. No, there has to be another way,” she denied, her voice climbing in volume. “It’s too dangerous! Those vines are going to kill you! They almost killed the rest of us, and we could watch each other’s backs!”
“We don’t have time to think of anything else!” Twilight argued emphatically. As if to emphasize her point, another loud crack echoed in the air as the tree sustained more damage. Cringing, Twilight continued. “If I don’t do this, then everypony we know and love, including me, is going to get seriously hurt, or worse!”
Rainbow took a step back, her ears drooping and desperation leaking into her expression. “No… no, no. I forbid it,” she stammered, starting to shake horribly.
Twilight blinked in confusion. “You… forbid it?” she asked, stunned.
Rainbow narrowed her eyes and stood upright. “As a Princess of Equestria, I am ordering you not to go through with this!” Rainbow stated forcefully, taking another step forward. “It’s a suicide mission! We can think of something else!”
Twilight gaped at her for a moment, completely at a loss. Not once in all the time that Twilight had known her had Rainbow actually given Twilight an order. Never once had she made use of her rank to make Twilight do something.
“Ah hate to play the treason card, here,” Applejack cut in carefully, her eyes darting between Rainbow and the Tree anxiously. “But Twi might have the right of-”
“SHUT UP, APPLEJACK!” Rainbow suddenly snapped, causing everypony to take a step back in surprise from the outburst. She immediately turned back to Twilight, her eyes burning with defiance, anger, and fear. But more than that… were those tears that Twilight saw starting to form?
Rainbow took a shaking breath before she spoke again. “You’re not doing it. Period. End of story.”
Twilight sighed and stepped forward, lowering her voice and speaking as soothingly as possible. “Rainbow, please… I have to do this,” she began, placing a hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder. “I couldn’t live with myself if I let my friends get hurt. After everything all of you have done for me, helping me find my way without my memories… I have to do this.”
Rainbow shook her head again, her lip starting to tremble. “Don’t you dare. Don’t you dare, Twilight!”
“Rainbow-”
“I AM NOT WATCHING YOU DIE AGAIN!”
It was like a pin dropped. Everypony went rigid, none of them daring to breathe. Even the vines slowed to a crawl outside the barrier, leaving the entire cave in complete and utter silence.
Twilight pulled her hoof away, taking several steps back, confusion and apprehension fighting for dominance in her heart. As she retreated, she watched Rainbow’s expression devolve into one of abject dread and despair, her hoof weakly reaching after Twilight as if to call her back.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Twilight was able to find her voice. “W-What?”