//------------------------------// // Up, Up and Away // Story: Fluttershy Digs Deep // by MagicS //------------------------------// “This has been very nice but I think now we need to start our climb back to the surface,” Fluttershy said. “We’ve all been gone so long and I know the rest of my animals and my friends are going to be so worried.” She and the others were now standing on a new ledge on the opposite side of Magman’s chamber. It was a much safer place to be than the partially destroyed bridge. All of them were in great condition now that Magman had helped them with the temperature too. No more sweating their tails off or panting their lungs out thanks to the heavy heat. And it was done. They could really finally relax now that their journey was over and they had discovered the source of all the turbulence in the subterranean world. And of course solve the problems in the first place so that they wouldn’t happen again. “You say that but what exactly is the plan?” Daylight Gleam asked, raising an eyebrow at Fluttershy. “Yeah I’m with the grump over here,” Amethyst Star pointed a hoof at Daylight. “How are we supposed to get back to the surface? A lot of the tunnels and paths we used to get down here have collapsed. And we didn’t exactly leave a string of yarn to show us the way back.” “I memorized our steps but it’s true that the same path we took to get here would be impossible to go back up,” Maud said. “I know, and we should also try to make it back up much faster than how long it took us to get down here since we still need to make sure the moles are okay. I’m so happy we have Earth Miser temporarily helping us out, otherwise… oh dear.” Fluttershy gulped. “So we’re still stuck without knowing how to get out of this crazy place and do it in a timely way,” Daylight sighed. “Seems like it,” Amethyst Star shrugged. “If we could mass teleport or open up portals that would be a different matter. But that’s like, a Twilight Sparkle level thing.” Fluttershy bit her lip. “Either way, sitting around here talking isn’t going to help anypony. We need to get back up to the surface and we need to do it now.” Angel Bunny nodded. Though he wasn’t thinking about the moles, (for obvious reasons he still didn’t like them) he just wanted carrots. “UMMM...” Fluttershy and all the others looked up to see Magman nonchalantly pushing his fingers together. “I MIGHT BE ABLE TO HELP YOU GET BACK TO THE SURFACE WORLD,” Magman said. “You can help us?” How?” Fluttershy asked him. Magman smiled and pointed up at the big hole right above his head. “THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO I ERUPTED FOR THE FIRST TIME AND MADE THIS HOLE! MY MAGMA RUSHED ALL THE WAY TO THE SURFACE AND EXPLODED, POURING LAVA AND ASH INTO THE WORLD ABOVE. I CAN SEND YOU BACK UP THIS HOLE STRAIGHT TO THE SURFACE FOR SURE!” “Wait—but—that doesn’t sound totally safe for us,” Daylight Gleam frowned and rubbed her head. “HAHAHAHA! DO NOT WORRY, MY NEW FRIENDS, I KNOW YOU CAN NOT SIMPLY RIDE MY MAGMA UP,” Magman grinned and reached one of his huge hands over to the wall of his chamber. While the ponies watched he dug his red hot fingers into the rock and melted through the top layer, then rotated his hand until he had created a perfect burning hot circle in the wall. It was like he was carving something out but using the power of heat instead of a chisel. Finally Magman pulled a large slab of rock from the wall in the shape of a circle. As it was still burning white and pliable thanks to the heat, he began to mold it with his hands into a bowl-like shape. As soon as he was done he snapped his fingers with the other hand not holding it and the bowl cooled down and solidified almost immediately. Magman then brought it over to the ledge and held it out to them. “HOP ON IN! YOUR CARRIAGE AWAITS!” “Well will you look at that!” Amethyst Star grinned and jumped right into the bowl. “An expressway straight to home! Not the nicest thing I’ve ever traveled in but it beats walking.” “Considering how it’s made out of rock I enjoy it quite a bit,” Maud said and hopped in after her. Fluttershy lifted up Angel Bunny in her hooves and flapped her wings to carry them both into the bowl. “Thank you so much, Magman!” “I suppose we definitely need a fast way out of here after all,” Daylight Gleam shrugged and jumped in as well. “I’m going to fly straight to Twilight’s castle once we’re back on the surface,” Fluttershy said. Angel Bunny glared at her. “…but first I’ll make a stop at Golden Harvest’s place to pick up some carrots.” Amethyst Star sat down with a smile and folded her hooves in front of her chest. “I’m going to go home and do nothing!” “I’m going to get some things together and prepare for a return journey,” Maud said. “And I’m going to grab a bite to eat and then head out,” Daylight Gleam said. “Ponyville isn’t my home after all.” “DON’T GO TOO FAR WHEREVER IT IS ANY OF YOU GO!” Magman smiled at them as he lifted the bowl up to his chest. “BE SURE TO COME BACK SOON!” “We will!” Fluttershy waved to him. Magman laughed before quieting down and looking at his friends longingly, his lip quivering and tears of happiness this time threatening to come out. But he managed to gain control of himself this time and let out a big breath instead. “I’LL HAVE YOU GO ON YOUR WAY NOW THEN. JUST LET ME MAKE SURE THINGS ARE SAFE FOR YOU.” Saying that, he then melted out another slab of rock from his walls and fashioned it into another bowl. But unlike the first one he burned a hole in the bottom of this one and turned it upside-down. “IF YOU HIT ANYTHING, THIS WILL PROTECT YOU. BUT STILL LET YOU BREATHE AT THE SAME TIME TOO.” Magman put the other half of the bowl on top of the one Fluttershy and the others were sitting in. It mostly went dark for them now aside from the little bit of light they could see out of the hole in the top. Magman then dragged his finger around the edge where the two halves met and melted them together. “OKAY! ALL DONE! PREPARE FOR AN ERUPTION!” He hefted the bowl above his head and placed it directly under the hole leading up and out of his home. Fluttershy, Angel Bunny, Maud, Amethyst Star, and Daylight Gleam all looked up towards the hole and then into the hole in the ceiling of the magma chamber beyond it. Now directly beneath it they could see how incredibly high it stretched. Far higher than the hole they had traveled down from Earth Miser’s domain, far higher than even the cavern the worm brought them down. But what they certainly didn’t see was any light at the end of the tunnel up there. “Um...” Daylight Gleam bit her lip. “I’m beginning to think we didn’t actually think this through at all.” “Yeah hold on. He said an eruption. Does that mean a volcano is about to erupt in the middle of Ponyville?” Amethyst Star said. Fluttershy gulped. “Oh dear, you may be right. Um, Magman? Can you-” “BYE BYE, FRIENDS!” Magman roared as their bowl shook all over. Outside in the chamber, the huge pool of magma started to fiercely bubble and ripple, as did Magman’s entire body. He grew and grew as if he was a big magma-filled balloon until he pressed right up against the edge of the hole and could go no further. The bowl was now the recipient of a ton of pressure and force that had nowhere to go as Magman’s body started to shine and get even hotter. “UP, UP AND AWAY! ERUPTIOOOOOOOON!” With an explosive sound, the magma chamber erupted and the bowl carrying the ponies and the rabbit shot upwards at dizzyingly impossible speeds. All of the riders inside found themselves flattened to the floor of it thanks to the incredible force. There was no way for them to move or do anything as the bowl rocketed up the volcano throat. At this point they were just along for the ride and wherever it was they ended up. And hopefully everypony ended up okay. “And so ya see here, this is an ancient rock formation caused by volcanic activity, just right here in the Everfree Forest!” Applejack explained to the group of students from the School of Friendship as they explored a remote section of the forest. “It goes to show that once a very long time ago things looked quite a bit different. Cause as we all know, there aint any volcanoes near Ponyville or the Everfree nowadays.” “And thank heavens for that,” Rarity nodded. “Can you imagine what it would be like to have all that ash and smoke around?” She coughed. “Ahem, no offense, Smolder.” “Eh, none taken,” the dragon shrugged. “Good, so how are you all enjoying the nature retreat? A bit of a change in schedule, we know, but Applejack and I thought it would be a good little outing for you students,” Rarity asked. Gallus raised his claw. “Yes, Gallus?” Rarity smiled brightly at him. “Yeah, uh, you say all that but isn’t the only reason we’re doing this because Miss Fluttershy, Guidance Counselor Glimmer and Spike are all still missing and the Headmistress is way too busy dealing with that to come up with new lesson plans?” The griffon raised an eyebrow. Rarity immediately began sweating as the smile quickly became forced on her face while her eyes darted around. “Nooooo?” Applejack cleared her throat and attempted to change the subject. “Twilight’s got that under control and all, uh, definitely. She’s definitely one-hundred percent got that under control. So, um, let’s look at these rocks and plants some more!” “You’re terrible at this,” Rarity whispered out of the corner of her mouth. “Give me a break! None of us are exactly at our best right now...” Applejack frowned and whispered back to her. “Yona is worried about her friends,” the “little” yak said. “Hey I’m sure they’re fine,” Sandbar said as he put a comforting hoof on her. “Let’s just try and enjoy this nature retreat for now.” “Yes! What Sandbar said,” Applejack smiled awkwardly. “That’ll take mine and Rarity’s mind off of things we’d like to be able to deal with too.” “Applejack, for the love of Celestia keep that to yourself, you’ll worry the students,” Rarity frowned. Before Applejack could respond, the ground began to rumble beneath their hooves… and feet and claws including some of the students. “Whoa there! What’s going on?” Applejack said as she looked around. “Is it an earthquake?” Rarity asked. Some of the students were worried too, with Gallus and Smolder hovering above the ground to avoid the shaking and Yona looking around in a panic. Sandbar was scratching his head in confusion. After all, when was the last time there was an earthquake around Ponyville? As the rumbling grew stronger they could all tell that it seemed centered beneath the rocks Applejack had pointed out just earlier. “Uh, Misses Applejack and Rarity? W-What if it’s not an earthquake? What if it’s an eruption?” Sandbar asked. “Don’t be silly now,” Applejack tried to reassure him. “There’s no way a volcano can erupt here after all this time. That’s just plum crazy.” “Uh, actually,” Smolder raised a clawed hand. “Take it from a dragon—this is definitely a volcanic eruption.” “Oh,” Applejack flatly looked back at the rock formation as it shook harder and the rumbling sound became louder and more violent. The ground was expanding out as if something was pushing against it and it was only a matter of time before it all exploded. “Run for cover, y'all!” Pony, griffon, dragon, yak, and what have you all ran screaming from the rocks right as it finally erupted. But surprisingly no lava came shooting out. Instead there was a cannon blast sound as all the rocks exploded outwards, blown to pieces, and a ton of other rocks from below came shooting up into the air with them. Along with some other things from below that were screaming their heads off. The bowl had been demolished once it collided with the rocks right below the surface of the ground and all of the riders found themselves blown free of it when they erupted above ground. Fluttershy had Angel Bunny gripped in her hooves as she tumbled through the air, flapping her wings and trying to gain control of herself. Amethyst Star went flying right into a tree. Daylight Gleam collided head first with Applejack when the farmer stopped to see just what was happening. And Maud was falling right towards Rarity when the unicorn managed to just barely catch the earth pony in her telekinesis on time. “Ack!” Rarity winced, her eyes shut firmly for a second while her horn was alight with magic. Noticing she hadn’t gotten crushed she opened them up to see Maud safely being levitated right above her, courtesy of her own magic. “Oh, hello Maud.” “Hi, Rarity.” “Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear,” Fluttershy repeatedly murmured as she continued to tumble towards the ground, stuck in a tailspin despite the best effort of her wings to stop her descent. “Oh please, oh please, oh please.” Finally at the last second she managed to right herself and pulled up just enough to glide right over the grass and come to a safe stop right in-between her friends. “Whoo!” Fluttershy sighed in relief and let Angel Bunny jump to the ground where he quickly wiped his brow of sweat. Meanwhile Amethyst Star hung upside-down in the tree, thoroughly forgotten. And thoroughly okay with that. “Fluttershy?! Is that you?” Applejack yelled as she picked herself off the ground while Daylight dizzily stood up behind her. “Fluttershy!” Rarity smiled brightly, putting Maud down and quickly trotting over. But Fluttershy held up a hoof to stop them. “Wait! I’m very, very happy to see you both again but I need to fly straight to Twilight’s castle and take care of something first!” Her eyes then widened as she realized something important. “Oh, wait! Applejack you’re perfect!” Applejack raised an eyebrow and shared a confused glance with Rarity. “Uh, perfect for what, sugarcube? You alright?” “Yes! But I’ll explain later, right now I want you to go back to Sweet Apple Acres and get all the apples and other food and water you have and get it all together. Please, as fast as you can! And if you see Pinkie Pie on the way, tell her to do the same thing with Sugarcube Corner!” Fluttershy then winked down at Angel, lowering her body so he could hope on her back, and spread her wings, taking to the air. “Wha—Fluttershy?!” Rarity called after her. “Just what’s all this about?” As she flew off to Ponyville and the castle, Fluttershy looked back at her with a smile. “We’ve just got some new friends to help out!” Tomorrow morning Fluttershy woke up to a happy and full cottage. The adventure was over, all of her friends were okay, the moles had been saved, and Fluttershy already had plans to visit Earth Miser and Magman again. And Angel Bunny was also just now waking up with her too. Since of course she made sure he was sleeping in her cottage with her. As she opened up her curtains to gaze outside, she realized she didn’t regret the journey she had taken at all, but she was happy to be back home living her (mostly) peaceful life with her animal friends. In fact, as she grabbed Angel Bunny and put the grumpy just-woken-up rabbit on her back, this whole beautiful and happy morning really made her want to- Morning in my cottage is wonderful~ Morning with my animal frieeeends~ Morning with every creature I care for~ Fluttershy trotted down the steps of her home with a smile on her face, while Angel Bunny rolled his eyes before smiling along with her. Oh yes this morning at my cottage shimmers~ This bright and happy morning shiiiiines~ And with my animals here with me~ I’ve got a feeling~ Yes I’ve got a feeling~ That everything’s going to be fine~