“So, let me get this straight,” Applejack leaned forward, her hooves planted on the table to support her weight, “Y'all were jus' walkin' 'round, an' all of tha sudden, Rarity jus' runs off into the forest?”
“Hmm... that sounds about right. It was the most inexplicable thing that I have ever seen,” Twilight levitated a small cup on the table to her lips, sipping the delicious virgin cider delicately. Pulling the cup away from her muzzle, she turned towards the white unicorn to her right, and continued, “Whatever caused Rarity to run to that door like that must have been extremely powerful magic. We're just lucky that it only pulled her to the entrance, and not something worse.”
Twilight saw Rarity focus her entire attention towards the cup in front of her, the faint blue glow encasing the cup in her magical grasp. The lavender unicorn had insisted that she take it easy, but every time, Rarity stubbornly refused. The tea filled cup slowly reached the unicorn's lips, and after a tiny sip, the white mare finally released most of her grip, letting the cup drop slowly to the table, a soft clunk reverberating through the dining room table at the tiny impact. The alabaster mare tried to hide it, and she honestly did hide it well, but Twilight noticed Rarity let out the breath she was holding from the exertion.
Finally, Rarity looked back towards the three, “I do have to say though, while the experience was unpleasant, at the time, all I could do was think about how much I wanted... well... I guess it was the door that I wanted.”
“Thath's weith,” Pinkie said, her mouth filled to the brim with several of the many doughnuts that she had made just half an hour ago. Swallowing what looked like five of the pastries at once, the pink pony shrugged, “I mean, wanting a door? What kind of strange and spooky magic makes you do that?”
Shrugging as well, the lavender mare brought her cup back to her lips, “I have absolutely no idea. I haven't seen anything like it.”
Pinkie and Applejack, curiously enough, eyed each other for a second. After sending some kind of silent message, Pinkie nodded at Applejack, who then turned back towards Twilight, “We have.”
Whatever cider was in Twilight's mouth at the moment quickly found its way onto the table and Applejack, the latter of the two not appreciating the sticky liquid sprayed all over her. Not really caring about the massive faux pas she just committed with the spit-take, Twilight nearly shrieked, “Wait, you mean to tell me that you came across a door exactly like the one we did, and you didn't bother to tell us!?”
“Oh don't be all huffy duffy, silly filly!” Pinkie giggled. She started to reach over towards a slightly cider covered doughnut, the pastry just barely out of her reach, “Besides, its not like we knew that you came across a magnet door until about thirty-seven seconds ago!”
Twilight sputtered, “That's... that's not the point! You could have said something about it too! You waited until we said something to tell us!”
“Well, tha' Ah admit is true,” Applejack slapped her hoof against her blonde bangs in a vain attempt to get out the sticky liquid. “However, Ah also gotta say tha' Ah didn' think tha' it was of any importance 'til jus' now. Ah thought it was jus' some weird crazy thing tha' we always seem to come across.”
“That's true, Twilight, and I would ask that you please never spit out any sort of liquid like that ever again.” Rarity again used her magic, this time to move the just out of reach doughnut closer to Pinkie, who eagerly snatched the pastry. “Pinkie, I know you and dear Applejack haven't had proper refreshments in a number of days, but please control yourself. Those treats will go straight to your flank.”
Pinkie was just about to stuff the sugary treat into her gaping mouth when the words entered her ears. She paused, and Twilight swore that the pink mare glanced in her direction for an instant, before, for the first time that the lavender unicorn had known Pinkie, the mare took a normal bite of the doughnut, chewed it normally, and swallowed like she had a normal digestive system. For a moment, Twilight had to look around to make sure that there weren't any pigs flying around the room, though to her surprise, there were none.
Shrugging, the unicorn looked back at Applejack, “Alright, so I guess that's how you found the cave to Pinkie's element. Woah, wait a second,” the lavender mare looked towards the energetic pony, “Why did you say that wanting a door was weird, if you went through the same thing that Rarity did?”
Pinkie set the baked dessert down, “I so totally did, but my door was different. It didn't make me want the magnet doors. That would be all weird and silly. It kinda made me all loopy doopy, and filled my head with things I normally want, and I guess my legsies just did what they wanted to!”
“Interesting...” Rarity rubbed her chin with her hoof in thought. “That's similar to what happened with me, though when I was under the, I guess it must have been a spell, I was at least partially aware of what was happening around me. Sure, I didn't particularly care what was going on, but for the minute or two I was under its control, I knew what was happening.”
“Two minutes!? Ha!” Applejack gave up on her mane, and took a bite of an apple that was in front of her, “Y'all had it easy. Ah had ta chase after this crazy filly for close to half an hour! Even I was gettin' tired near tha end.”
Twilight rubbed her chin as well, “Interesting indeed. So Pinkie, I'm curious, if you weren't thinking about getting the door, then what WERE you thinking of?”
Curiously enough, Pinkie sputtered, barely swallowing the piece of pastry that was in her mouth, “Uhh... I was thinking about... umm... balloons!”
Rarity raised an eyebrow, “... balloons?”
The pink mare shifted her eyes suspiciously, “Yeah! Balloons. Well, not really just balloons, but streamers, candy, and all the other things that go into a party as well!”
Slowly, eying the mare across from her, Rarity spoke again, “Are you sure that's what you were thinking about dear Pinkie?”
“Anyways, tha' ain't entirely important,” Applejack blurted out, changing the subject entirely. “Wha' is important is this little thing tha' Ah been thinkin' 'bout for a few days now: why do we gotta get these elements?”
Rarity rolled her eyes, “I don't mean to be rude dear Applejack, but because we are the only ones keyed to those doors. I thought this was obvious enough. Besides, even if Sarlaka knew their exact location, its not like that dragon could could fit inside the door to where my element was kept at least.”
“No no no. Tha's not wha' Ah meant. Wha' Ah meant was... well...” Applejack looked to Pinkie, “Ya wanna take tha honors?”
A massive grin formed on the energetic filly's face, and she nodded frantically in affirmation. Turning back to the other two, Pinkie inhaled, and blurted out a long string of words in a single breath, “So Applejack and I were trying to get to sleep a few nights ago when she asked me 'hey Pinkie why do we have to get these elements while Mr Dragon gets the honesty and loyalty necklaces' and I said 'because he's so super duper loyal and honest' and Applejack was all 'wrong' and told me that with us getting our and him getting Jackie's and Dashie's doesn't make sense which makes sense because since we need to sense where since is... sensing... sincerton...?”
Pinkie shook her head violently, “Wow, I think I'm out of practice, but yeah, its silly that Jackie and Dashie aren't getting their elements, when we have to get ours. Wouldn't that be against what he was suggesting with the other three?”
Rarity blinked, “I know that was important dear, but I have to ask... out of practice?”
“Yuppies!”
“You practice!?”
“Every day!”
“But... why?”
Pinkie beamed, “In case of an emergency. Duh!”
“Anyways,” Twilight interrupted, “Applejack, you have a point, and considering what Rarity and I heard from that war meeting about those armies, I'm starting to think something fishy is going on.”
“Ah hear ya there, but Ah reckon there ain't nuthin' tha' we can do 'bout it right now, so if y'all don' mind, Ah haven' had a shower in almost two weeks, and Ah hear there's one with mah name on it.”
Applejack hopped off of her seat, and started to make her way to where their bedrooms were, before stopping. Twilight could tell that she was thinking about something, though whatever was going on in her head was a mystery. Suddenly, and completely out of personality, Applejack turned towards Rarity, “Hey Rares, Ah could use your help with my mane and tail, if ya don' mind.”
The alabaster mare blinked, “... Wait... you, Applejack, are asking me to give you a makeover?”
“Well, Ah wouldn' call it a makeover. More of jus' helpin' me get tha tangles outta mah hair, since Twi' decided ta make a mess of it. 'Sides, Ah ain't Rainbow Dash; Ah ain't agains' any of tha' frilly frou-frou stuff, jus' don' suit me righ'. Anyways, ya gonna help or not?”
“Why, of course I'll help you dear, and I must say, while what happened to your hat is simply dreadful, it presents many unique opportunities!”
Rarity jumped out of her chair, and joyfully trotted towards the bedrooms as well. Twilight could heard the excited gossiping of her unicorn friend through the hall, the words “braid”, “proper”, and even “hooficure” entering her ears, along with what she swore was a slight exasperated groan from the orange mare. Just a few seconds later, it was only her and a curiously fidgeting Pinkie Pie left in the room.
Even though she had been in the dining room for half an hour now, a rumbling stomach told her that she really hadn't eaten anything yet; the mare merely had sipped on her cider every so often because of how engrossed she was with the other girl's stories. Twilight started to hum a nameless tune, and with her magic, started to assemble a wide assortment of food for herself. Two apples, a glazed doughnut, some more cider, and a few pieces of celery. If there was anything that could be said, it was that her plate was a very colorful collection of some very tasty looking delights.
“Hey Twi-Twi,” Pinkie softly spoke from across the table, the pink mare fidgeting her forehooves in nervousness.
Twilight looked up, “Yes Pinkie. You ok?”
“Y... yeah. I'm fine,” The mare stuttered. Taking a deep breath, she continued, “I just... well... I just want to thank you for being there for me.”
The lavender unicorn patted the seat to her left, “You're welcome Pinkie Pie, though I have to admit that I have no idea what in the name of Equestria you are talking about.”
The mare stood up out of her seat, and with a surprisingly deliberate pace, made her way around the table. Twilight was actually starting to feel a tiny tinge of discomfort at how Pinkie was moving, the pace she was taking, and how much thought the mare was putting into her words. Finally, after way too many seconds of Pinkie Pie going around, not over, under, or through the table, the pink pony sat down, but still kept her gaze at the table in front of her. A few more moments later, and she began again, “Earlier today, when I told Mr Angry Dragon Pants about how Xavier... well... you know...”
“Oh... that...”
“Yeah... well... I wanted to thank you for being there for me, Twi-Twi,” Pinkie started fidgeting with her forehooves again, “because I wasn't sure what I would've done if you weren't there to comfort me when Mr Sarlaka Dragon was pressing me on what happened and Applejack wasn't saying anything to help and I guess Rarity didn't do anything wrong but I wasn't sure that-”
“Hey,” Twilight smiled, and softly placed a lavender hoof over one of Pinkie's, stopping the nervous movements. Ever so gently, Twilight began to rub their forelegs together, the unicorn feeling the soft and short hairs rubbing against her own as she comforted her friend, “You know I'll always be here for you, alright Pinkie? All of us will sure, but you are one of my best friends, and if there's anything I can do for you, just let me know, okay?”
A small grin formed across her bright pink face as the mare's mood slightly rose. For whatever reason, Twilight never removed her hoof from her friend's, the long and slow strokes actually being very therapeutic for herself as well. A feeling of calm started to overtake her, and she couldn't help but to close her violet eyes, and let the feeling of serenity swell inside of her. She honestly had no idea what Pinkie was thinking, or even what she was doing, but if it was anything close to what Twilight was feeling, then there was a good reason why Pinkie's hoof felt like it was moving against her own, further aiding in the calming movements.
“Hey... Twilight...” A tiny voice escaped her friend's lips.
For her part, Twilight never opened her eyes to look at her friend, “Yes Pinkie?”
“I may have kinda sorta maybe lied to you a few minutes ago about the whole door wanting thing.”
Even with her eyelids closed, she still rolled her eyes, “I kinda gathered that. I would say you were the worst liar I've heard in a long time, but I think Applejack's got that one permanently covered.”
“Oh... well... like I said, I wasn't thinking about balloons when the door thingy was messing with my brain. I was...” Pinkie stopped for a few seconds to take a few relaxing breaths for courage, before she continued, “I was thinking about a pony that's very special to me.”
Twilight stopped her movements, “Oh?”
If Pinkie noticed Twilight stop her strokes, she didn't bring it up, “Me and my very special pony were in the woods somewhere. It was super duper cold out, with snow and everything, but I was all nice and toasty because my pony was a very talented unicorn, and was using her magic to keep me all warm and fuzzy. We were snuggling up next to each other, and just laying next to a popping and crackling fire, which was really neat.
“The funny thing was that I wasn't all super jumping and silly like I usually am, but that was okay, because when I'm with my special unicorn pony,” Twilight felt Pinkie's other forehoof gently place itself on top of her own, so that her lavender hoof was now held between both of Pinkie's forehooves, “I don't have to be all super excited crazy to be the happiest filly ever.”
To hear Pinkie Pie say those words sent Twilight's mind into overdrive. Why her? Why would anypony, especially Pinkie, be interested in a lame and nerdy pony like herself? She was a librarian for Celestia's sake, and the pony that was interested in her was Pinkie! Pinkie Pie! The craziest and most energetic pony there was ever to exist. IF there was ever a case of opposites, they were it. Sure, her heart was sent aflutter by the feelings, but why, why, why, why, WHY? There had to be some logical explanation to explain why that pink mare was feeling like this. Maybe there was some sort of gas in the place where Pinkie's element was kept that made the mare grow attached to her? Maybe that incident messed up Pinkie more than Applejack thought, and she was actually mentally and emotionally unstable? What if there was some sort of strange effect that the elements were having on Pinkie, and because she was the weakest right now, they were trying to make sure that she was going to stay attached to the group in any way possible, which would be a feeling of lust? What if-
“Umm... Twi-Twi... you're shaking...”
Twilight was pulled out of her thoughts, and realized that she was shivering from both the nervousness and the mental exercise that she was throwing at herself. Opening her eyes finally, the lavender unicorn took a few slow, deep breaths to help steady her thumping heart, before finally replying, “Pinkie... I... we...”
“You don't feel the same way.”
Twilight tried to will the nervousness away and the words to form, “I don't... I mean... I'm not sure that... with Discord... and Sarlaka...”
“Its okay, Twilight. I knew it would be a long shot, with you being as amazing as you are, and me being as random as I am.” Pinkie's hooves stopped stroking Twilight's, her figure slumped, and her voice became nothing but a sad whisper, “I just wanted you to know... just in case... you...”
Twilight's ears flattened in shame, “Pinkie, I'm sorry. I promise its nothing like that. Its just-”
A loud boom emanated from the passageway behind the two of them towards where the foyer lay. The immense confusion that the sound brought broke the conversation, and with raised eyebrows, the two ponies looked at each other for answers that neither held. In unison, the pair jumped up to their hooves, and with a small feeling of trepidation, given their reptilian guardian was out doing something, galloped into the entryway. On one hoof, Twilight thanked the stars for the break in what was quickly becoming a very awkward conversation. On the other though... well... if it was something hostile...
Pinkie and Twilight made it to the foyer, the shine of the gems to her left dazzling in the torchlight, brightening the room even more than the chandeliers alone would normally. To her right, the thumps of what sounded like an extremely large creature reverberated through the floor. There was no doubt in the lavender unicorn's mind as to who it was anymore; Sarlaka was back from whatever mission he put himself on earlier that day. However, something felt... off.
“One step is a lot heavier than the others,” Pinkie whispered, “and I only hear three steps.”
Twilight only had a second to process the mare's statement before she saw what looked like a dead creature walking. Her eye twitched at the sight before her: the dragon that, just a few hours before, had only scars to show of his violent past was now pockmarked with hundreds of fresh injuries. While it appeared that the vast majority were minor, similar to a simple cut on a pony, two dozen looked like they should have taken the dragon down and sent him to death's door. One weapon actually got deep enough to cause the hundred and fifty hoof long dragon to raise a foreclaw and limp in pain. Furthermore, at least ten additional metal shafts, most likely spears, were still sticking out of his body, and while Twilight had no idea how long they were, considering how long some were sticking out and how short some were coming out of his body... the mare just hoped that they just broke off after barely piercing his hide.
“Oh... oh my Celestia...” she whispered
While she stood her ground, Pinkie took a few steps back in fear, “M... Mr Dragon Pants?”
Panting heavily, Sarlaka slowly turned his bleeding head, so that his eyes met with the pink pony. Even though he had shown nothing but friendship, albeit a very unusual one, Pinkie seemed to wither at the stare. Fifteen seconds went by before he scaled being spoke slowly, “Yes Laughter?”
Whatever Pinkie was planning on saying, was swallowed by the fear of the creature before her. Twilight herself wasn't sure what to say; the loving and silly dragon she thought she knew was completely destroyed by the brutal sight that stood before her. Pinkie tried to talk to him, but the only words that came out of her mouth were jumbled, “Bu... wh... I...”
Sarlaka huffed a small puff of smoke out of his nostrils, “Hmph. Fine. Oh, and Magic, could you do me a favor and get these things out of me? They are starting to itch something fierce.”
She nodded, and fearfully approached the creature, careful not to do something that would set off Sarlaka in any way. Finding what was a spear that looked like it was driven the least into his body, Twilight gripped the metal in her magic. The unicorn decided that, like a bandage, fast was better than slow, and with a sudden pull, yanked the broken weapon out of his hide, eliciting a pained howl from the dragon in front of her.
He turned, and glared at Twilight, “You do realize that medical professionals carefully and slowly remove objects out of ponies not because they're paid by the hour, but because there's something called organs inside of those creatures, right?”
Twilight lowered herself slightly, “Sorry.”
Again, she gripped a metal spear with her magic and, slowly this time, pulled the cylindrical piece of steel out of his body, with only a small pained grunt and the slight spilling of blood being his reaction. Even without a more vocal complaint that any other creature would've voiced, it must have been a painful process, each spear causing some tearing of flesh whenever it was pulled out of his body. Five minutes later, there was only two spears left in his body: the one that was embedded in his shoulder, and one particular spear that was obviously dug deep into his side, for there was only a miniscule few inches of shaft left outside of his body. With both Twilight and Sarlaka realizing that these two were going to hurt something fierce, they braced themselves as the unicorn grabbed onto the one in his shoulder, and prepared to pull.
It was that moment that Applejack and Rarity entered the room, “Ah thought Ah heard a... woah...”
Ignoring her friend, Twilight carefully pulled on the weapon, only to find that the spear was not budging, yet painful grunts from Sarlaka told that he still felt the force she was putting on it. She put more power into her tugs, getting a louder grunt every time, until she finally released her magic. The lavender mare inspected the wound, until she said grimly, “I can get it out, but it's going to hurt...”
He never looked at her, “Do it.”
“Alright... on three.” Twilight shifted her weight slightly, “One. Two...” and with a violent yank, pulled the spear out of his shoulder, a pained howl spilling out of throat.
A few seconds later, Sarlaka's howl transformed into a pained laugh, “Wow, I think that one was in the bone. Whatever they put in those spears I need to get a hold of.”
With wide eyes, Rarity looked at Sarlaka and Twilight as the latter gripped the final spear that was deeply embedded into the dragon's body, “What happened to you? You look absolutely terrible!”
Sarlaka continued to grin, though it was more likely that he was gritting his teeth in preparation for the last pull, “Heh... you should see the other guy.”
Without warning, Twilight pulled the four hoof long weapon out of the dragon's side, sending Sarlaka to his knees as a final howl escaped from his throat. The thunderous noise echoed through the chamber, causing more than one pony to place her hooves over her ears in pain. The deafening noise slowly faded into a deep laugh as the pain subsided, “Alright, I admit, I’m lucky to have survived that one. I think I felt that thing tickle my liver on its way out.”
“For Luna's sake, answer us!” Applejack stomped a hoof into the floor. “Wha' happened to ya?!”
It was a few seconds of heavy panting before Sarlaka shakily stood back up, and with a lethargic limp, made his was past the ponies, and towards the far wall with the two locked doors. Just as he made it to the right metal door, he turned, “Like I said before, I was visiting Lord Xavier the 'Completely and Utterly Bucked', and if there's one thing I have to say about pony-griffin hybrids, its that they taste worse than parasprite droppings.”
_________________________________________________________________________
The yellow mare sighed contently, the feeling of warmth against her side relaxing her muscles after the pleasant slumber. It was almost silly that both her and Rainbow, after everything that had happened in this cavern and all the danger that was still present, found themselves calm and relaxed enough to climb onto the platform that her element was sitting and simply sleep. Of course, the irony of Rainbow being the one to initially snuggle up next to her so affectionately, especially after Fluttershy's own decision earlier to not try to push a relationship with the cyan mare, didn't escape the pegasus. Granted, Rainbow didn't actually say anything along any romantic lines before they cuddled together to nap, but it was nice either way. In fact, it was a picture perfect way to end their quest together.
A slight shifting of the body next to her signaled that Rainbow was starting to stir from her own sleep. Cheerfully, Fluttershy leaned her mouth next to the mare's ear, “Wake up sleepyhead. Its time to get up.”
The only response was just a series of grumbles, “Ugh... five more minutes.”
“Oh?” The yellow pegasus giggled, “Don't you remember the last time you tried to sleep in for too long, or am I going to have to remind you?”
“The last time? What happened theEEP!” Rainbow twitched, a errant yellow feather brushing up against her stomach. Fluttershy giggled further as the once lethargic pegasus found herself scrambling to get onto her hooves, “Alright alright alright! I’m up I’m up!”
Smiling, Fluttershy slowly brought herself to her hooves, and together, they did their morning stretches. Just like last time, the yellow mare was done much sooner than Rainbow, the athletic pegasus making sure that every single muscle was ready for intense action. Instead of just idly waiting by while her companion finished, the yellow mare contented herself with a much needed preening session, the feathers on her wings still a mess from the action when they first entered the cavern. It was a painfully slow process, making sure every feather was in its proper place, but it gave herself something to do other than to stare at the toned figure of her friend. A few extra stretches and a few carefully straightening of feathers from Rainbow and Fluttershy later, and the two were ready to take on the day.
A low rumbling from below their hooves vibrated through the cavern, the most likely source being from the basilisk that lurked below. The sounds of several small stones falling from the ceiling were heard splashing into the water all around them. If it wasn't for the fact that Rainbow was right next to her, as well as the fact that she had to get her element from just a few hooves away, there was no doubt that Fluttershy would've flown out of this cavern, and been done with this place. Instead, those two reasons gave her enough nerve to stay, at least long enough to get the job done.
The first order of business? Getting the Element of Kindness.
Considering the piece of jewelry was right in front of the two of them, it was a simple feat really. As Rainbow lit a torch, Fluttershy nearly jumped for joy as she beamed, “I can't believe its right there!”
“Yeah... it seems so... simple...” Rainbow slowly spoke, her voice carrying a tone of disbelief.
Fluttershy brushed up against Rainbow's side, “I wouldn't call that basilisk simple, Dash.”
The mare didn't even react to her slightly intimate touches. Instead, the questioning look was stuck on the her face. Quickly, Rainbow stuck the torch into the ground, flapped her wings, and zipped over to the necklace, inspecting the mannequin around it, “Of course not, 'Shy. That was the complete opposite of both simple and awesome, but think about it. A big bad monster followed by an unguarded treasure? Not quite a typical storybook ending.”
Taking a couple steps forwards, Fluttershy tilted her head, “Storybook ending?”
Rainbow darted to the backside of the mannequin, looking at its backside, “Yeah. There's always a trick, a trap, or some other surprise that's supposed to make the heroes, or in our case heroines, run for their lives. My bits are on the cavern completely filling with water and flooding the place, and I would much like to prevent something like that.”
“Umm... Rainbow, I don't mean to be rude, but... umm... you read?”
“Psh,” Rainbow dismissively flicked her hoof in Fluttershy's direction, “Of course not. Reading's for eggheads, but I've seen plenty of movies, and I know the stereotypes of these sort of things.”
“But... umm... reading can be fun, and it doesn't have to be for only eggheads. There's some fun books out there I think you'd like. I think Twilight would be better at recommending things for you, but I know one or two.”
“Unless its a secret guidebook for getting into the Wonderbolts in ten easy steps, not interested.” Rainbow stopped inspecting for potential traps to gaze off into the distance, “Wow... I think that's the first time I actually even thought about wanting to join those guys since we got zapped just outside of Conch-shell.”
“Conflound?”
“Yeah, that one. Huh.” Rainbow looked off into the distance for a few seconds later before resuming her inspections, “Anyways, I guess it doesn't matter now though, considering I’m just going to have to reform them when this is all over, so forget the guide. However,” the cyan mare took one last look before doing a quick flip in the air and landing right next to Fluttershy, “I guess the stories are wrong, because I don't see anything.”
“Well then lets get the element and get out of here. I’m starting to worry about all of the sha-”
The rumbling came back, violently this time, so that the sounds of dozen of much larger boulders were heard crashing into the water below. Quietly squeaking, Fluttershy bolted to Rainbow's side and pressed up against the cyan mare's warm coat for some kind of protection. The warmth spreading through herself, the yellow pegasus found her heartbeat slowing slightly, the panic inside of her slowly subsiding even as the entire cistern felt like it was coming down all around the two of them. Still, as long as nothing too significant came down, everything would be alright.
It was then that Fluttershy heard a terrifyingly loud crack come from the center column, and the mighty stone structure suddenly split along its entire length by the vibrations. The mare held her breath as she could do nothing but watch the main support for the room begin to crack, the initial split quickly spreading to more areas of the column, further weakening the stone. Finally, the rumbling underhoof came to a stop, and while a fleeting moment of relief washed over her, a sudden split of the column told her that too much damage had been done, and the splitting was not going to stop anytime soon.
The pegasus didn't know how long it was until she heard a whisper next to her, “Ponyfeathers.”
A single particularly large crack reverberating through the cavern brought the two mares to their senses. Quickly, Rainbow left her side, “Fluttershy! Get your element and lets get out of here!”
Not bothering to respond, Fluttershy turned and ran to the mannequin, quickly grabbing the necklace once she got to it. Putting the piece of jewelry around her neck, she flapped her wings and took to the air, Rainbow already a small distance ahead of her due to the pegasus' head start. The cavern shook again, this time caused by the center column's weakened state, sending more stones from the ceiling. The mare was forced to pull off several bits of acrobatics to avoid the falling stones, and as a result was reminded of her wing injury from before. The fresh blood flowing out of the injury slowed her down slightly, but the surge of adrenaline flowing through her veins pushed her on, and the pain was overwhelmed by her survival instinct.
The yellow mare was forced to bank right, dodging a boulder twice the size of herself. Coming out of the sharp turn, the mare nearly panicked as she lost track of the rainbow contrail that her friend was leaving behind. The mare quickly gathered her wits, and zoomed off into the distance. Even if Rainbow had left her in the dust, an action that was completely understandable, Fluttershy still knew the way, and with a sharp turn to the left, made her way towards where the ceiling tunnel was. A sudden explosive shattering from behind her pierced all the other chaotic sounds, and she didn't even need to turn around to figure out that the final bastion holding back the ceiling broke, and the column fell.
Sounds of the collapsing cistern filling the air around her, the yellow mare pulled up sharply, and at a perfectly vertical climb ascended the tunnel. She pulled at the air with whatever strength her wings could muster, the very tips of her primaries scraping against the stones on either side of her. As much as the adrenaline was giving her strength, the sheer wing-power needed to perform such a climb for such a long period was beyond her means. At this point, it was only her momentum that was keeping her soaring upwards, her wings only serving to slow down her rate of deceleration. Her only hope at this point was that the length of the tunnel was shorter than she-
It was as if déjà vu itself slammed into her full force, for all of the sudden, a body smashed into her, threatening to send her into a death spiral. Instead however, strong cyan hooves wrapped themselves around her body, and with a sudden surge of speed, the two accelerated. The regular beating of Rainbow's wings, along with the mare's strained grunts, propelled the two faster than Fluttershy herself could have sent herself alone. It was all that Fluttershy could do but to hold on for dear life as small stones fell on all sides of the two of them. Good fortune must have been with the pair, for not once did a single boulder larger than a hoof fell through the narrow passage, an event that would've resulted in certain death.
Suddenly, their vertical climb stopped, and with a painfully sharp lurch in her stomach, the two leveled off into a swift and nearly horizontal flight. Their slow right turn was a reverse from their earlier travel down the passage, the spiraling climb a dizzying reminder on how much further they had to go before they made it to the exit. Of course, with Rainbow Dash flying at top speed, it wouldn't be long at all. The echoes of crashing and crumbling behind the two of them started to grow louder, Fluttershy unable to do anything except grip onto her savior harder, and pray for the best.
Fluttershy was suddenly thrown out of the strong cyan grip of her friend, a short squeak from Rainbow being the only warning given. Eyes wide in fear, the yellow mare didn't have time to right herself before she hit the ground, rolling head over tail as she tumbled across the cave floor. Through the tumble, the yellow mare made out the sunlight of the outside world, and with a sudden extension of all of her hooves to stop herself, barely stopped before she fell down the ledge at the cave entrance. Before she could do anything else, as if she hadn't gone through enough yet, she was washed in a cloud of dust from behind her, the fine dirt filling her lungs and sending her into a coughing fit.
While she hacked and gagged, the rumbling from behind her slowly dissipated, the collapsing structure finally settling onto itself. Even when the coughing fit ended, the mare could do nothing else but groan as a headache started to form, not to mention the wing injury she had reopened again, the idea of a scar marring her pristine coat forming there more likely than ever. Still, even with aching muscles, watery eyes, and a dysfunctional wing, thanks to Rainbow, they were alive and safe, and that was all that mattered.
“I... I can't believe that we made it. Thanks for saving me, Dash,” the yellow mare was able to say through the lingering hacking gasps. However, when nothing but silence replied, she turned, “Rainbow, are you-”
Fluttershy stopped when Rainbow wasn't next to her.
A feeling of complete fear felt like a stone was dropped into her stomach, a whirlwind of panic sending the mare into a frenzy, “Oh no... no no no no no...”
The pegasus looked all around her frantically, the rainbow maned pony nowhere to be seen. The area where the cave entrance used to now only consisted of a covered ledge about the size of a king sized bed, with the former cave entrance completely blocked by collapsed rubble. While it was possible that Rainbow fell off the ledge like she almost did, with every passing second, that possibility was more and more unlikely, the idea of Rainbow not flying back up impossible. Still, she checked over the side of the ledge, and was greeted with nothing but the grays and browns of the dying world below.
Her body still reeling from both the tumble and the discovery that her friend was missing, the timid pony turned, and slowly approached the rubble, unable to accept what she potentially might find under the rocks below. It didn't make it any better that the rubble was so deathly still. Several times, she tried to call out, but every time, her voice caught in the back of her throat in emotion, leading to nothing but a muted whimper.
Finally, the mare found her voice, “Ra... Rainbow?” When there was no response, she started to pick away at some of the looser pieces of stone, never really putting much effort in the dig in fear of finding the tell-tale wisps of rainbow hair. Again, the mare called out quietly, “Rainbow Dash?”
If she hadn't called for the mare so lightly, she never would've heard the response from under the rubble, “... ugh...”
“Rainbow Dash!”
In an instant, the mare sprung into action, throwing her hooves into the rubble in front of her. Again and again, she maneuvered her forehooves around the pieces of stone, both large and small, and threw each one in kind off of the cliffside. It only took a few moments of frenzied digging for one of her hooves to crack from a stone, but even through the newly bleeding wound, she kept at the digging. Sweat poured from her face from both the intense manual labor and the panic of finding her broken friend, the mare trying to do anything but think about what she might find.
A final and exceptionally large boulder was removed, and Fluttershy saw the top of Rainbow's head, the chromatic mane caked in more red than normal. Motivated to new levels, she continued to removed the stones, more and more of her friend being revealed with each removed rock. A few more stones, and another hairline split in her hoof later, the entirety of Rainbow's upper body was revealed, the mare laying unconscious on her back, the saddlebags the pegasus once wore torn to shreds. Fluttershy pressed up against the single large boulder that was on top of Rainbow's lower body, and with all her her might, pushed against it. Several seconds went by, with not a single inch of progress being made. Finally, the mare stopped her pushing, and gasped for breath in defeat. Instead of trying to free Rainbow, the mare was forced to settle with making sure her friend was even alive.
Surprisingly, with the exception of the dozens of minor cuts and scrapes, the darkened discoloring of the mare's coat, and the single large gash on top of the cyan mare's head, Rainbow didn't look that bad. This was especially true considering she had gone through a literal cave in. Sure, a few new patches of the mare's coat were gone, the old patches from weeks ago finally not being too noticeable, but there wasn't any external injuries that could be seen. Carefully, Fluttershy knelt down and carefully felt the cyan mare's midsection, her touches light enough not to cause any additional internal damage. As she pressed against the mare's chest, she could feel a few places where ribs were fractured, but each was minor, with none, thankfully, puncturing any organs.
Another groan stopped the mare's inspections, “...ugh... Fl... Flut...”
“Shhh...” Fluttershy whispered, “I'm here Rainbow...”
At the sound of her quiet voice, Rainbow's eyes flew open, the pegasus suddenly alert to the situation around her, “What happened!? Where am... oh...” Rainbow looked down, and saw a boulder pinning her to the ground. Frantically, Rainbow pushed at the stone, doing her very best to simply shove the massive rock out of the way, but was only met with the same results that Fluttershy before was met with. After several seconds, the mare collapsed back into her laying position in both pain and resignation, “Heh... figures...”
“Dash!” Fluttershy squeaked.
The cyan mare looked over, her eyes slightly glazed over, “Hey 'Shy.”
“Oh Rainbow. You're... you're going to be alright. We're going to get out out of here, and be on our way back to Sarlaka's home, and sit by the fire and do everything that will make you happy, alright?”
“Fluttershy... umm...” Rainbow looked down at her waist, and the boulder that was pinning her to the ground, “I don't think I’m going anywhere anytime soon.”
“I... I...” The yellow mare was too shaken to cry any tears. Instead, she, as gently as possible, stroked Rainbow's side. A few precious seconds went by before she could speak, “Don't try moving Rainbow... don't... I... I can get you out... I can...”
“You can't do that, and you know it,” the cyan mare's voice rose in pitch slightly with her final words, the pain obvious in her voice. “You have to get help, 'Shy. This thing isn't going anywhere anytime soon.”
“Oh... okay,” the timid mare nodded her head. “I'll see if I can find some ponies nearby who can-”
“NO!”
Rainbow closed her eyes and grunted in pain from her sudden outburst, her forelegs crossed across her fractured ribs. Fluttershy could barely watch as the once powerful and seemingly invincible pegasus winced with every breath she took. Finally, the daggers of pain finally becoming slightly bearable, Rainbow opened her deep magenta eyes again, the slight glaze from before gone, “No, you can't. Even if they could get up here... they'd... they'd only try to kill us. Remember the inn? You... you have to get Scaley.”
Fluttershy shook her head, her once bright pink mane now reduced to a dull and tangled mess, “No... Rainbow... it took us a week to get here, and that was after we were rested up in Sarlaka's cave. Now...” Fluttershy lifted her wing, the knife wound still oozing from its recent reopening, “I... I don't think I can-”
“Yes you can 'Shy. Yes you can. I know you can. You can do it.”
“But... Rainbow... I... I can't...” Fluttershy's tears finally let loose in full glory, “I... I can't lose you again! Not again...”
Rainbow reached up with a foreleg, placing the scuffed appendage to Fluttershy's cheek. The frightened mare leaned into the comforting hoof slightly, “You aren't going to lose me again, alright? I promised you that before, after we were freed. Remember? Oh, and don't forget this.”
The trapped pegasus lowered her hoof for a second so she could look to her left, and opening what was left of the saddlebag, brought out a bright red feather with her teeth. Slowly, she reached out as much as she could, and with Fluttershy leaning forwards slightly, carefully placed the feather in her matted pink mane.
Smiling, Rainbow Dash rose her foreleg towards her again, and whispered, “There, now you have that phoenix feather thing. That will give you the extra speed boost you'll need to get there extra quick.”
The emotionally broken mare nodded, unable to speak anymore, merely settling to lean herself back into the cyan pegasus' affectionate touches. Through blurred vision, Fluttershy saw the physically broken mare in front of her manage a smile, “Hey, I'll make you a deal: while you go and get Scaley, I'll think about what we're going to do on our first date, and I promise it won't involve any basilisks. Sound good?”
If it wasn't for the awful situation that brought upon the statement, Fluttershy would've been the happiest pony in the whole world at those few words. Instead, the sincere vow brought nothing more than a small smile and a single nod. With the pegasus unable to do anything else for Rainbow, she leaned down, and with the most careful of touches, wrapped her forelegs around her friend, to which Rainbow reciprocated. The two only stayed in their embrace for a few moments, before Fluttershy lifted herself back up to her four hooves. Not another word was shared before the pegasus turned, and with renewed determination, flapped her wings and took to the skies.
A/N: If anyone makes any references to the movie 127 Hours, I will hunt you down...