Chapter 6: Dark Shy
Bright orange light shone through the doorway up ahead as Fluttershy galloped down the otherwise dark hallway. She slowed down as she approached the double doors, planted her hoofs, and leapt out through the portal. Her wings unfurled, and a bright yellow aura radiated off of them as she took flight.
“I’ve located Dark Shy,” Celestia’s voice sounded in her ear.
“Where is she?” Fluttershy asked. Before her eyes could search the skies around her, he felt something barrel into her. She grunted, but the power of flight kept her aloft, and she looked up to see Dark Shy herself hovering in the air above. In Dark Shy’s hoof was a version of the First Blade, but with a black metallic blade instead of a white one.
Fluttershy swerved as Dark Shy fired, dodging two shots from the weapon before soaring up to meet her. She reached for her side and grabbed the weapon she had magically affixed there: a canelike wooden staff with a bent golden handle and two golden wings adorning the shaft. A barbed steel tip sat at the end of the staff, and a steel hook extended just past the handle, pointing down the length of the weapon and resembling the sight of a gun, Fluttershy swung her weapon, the Insight Staff, but Dark Shy swerved to dodge. Both ponies flew at each other with weapons in hoof, clashing them once, twice, and then a third time. Fluttershy lunged forward for a fourth swing, but Dark Shy hung back, turned, and flew off.
“Look who finally caught up!” Dark Shy called out behind her. She fired a charge shot back at Fluttershy, followed by several smaller shots. Fluttershy veered right to dodge.
“What is your problem?” Fluttershy said through gritted teeth. She fired a single purple shot from the staff, followed by a series of shorter yellow shots. Dark Shy banked slightly to dodge the charge shot, then rolled out of the way of the other shots and continued on.
The setting sun cast an orange glow on the cloud cover beneath them, competing with the creeping purple of the night sky behind them. Tornadoes rose above the clouds all around them, and the two pegasi maneuvered around them as they continued their chase. Dark Shy glanced back and fired a series of shots behind her, but Fluttershy wove her way around them and pressed on.
“Are you with the Underworld Army?” Fluttershy asked. “Is that why you’re attacking me?”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Dark Shy said, firing a few more shots. “I just don’t like the idea of somepony copying my act.”
“What?!” Fluttershy shouted. “But you’re a copy of me!” She lunged forward and swung her staff, but Dark Shy blocked it with the First Blade. Fluttershy pushed against her with her weapon, but Dark Shy just smirked at Fluttershy while pushing back.
“Come on, think about it,” Dark Shy said. “If I was a copy, why would I kick my own flank?”
Dark Shy landed a kick to Fluttershy’s chest with her hind legs, and then flew off again. Massaging her chest, Fluttershy watched as Dark Shy sped off and flew straight into one of the nearby tornadoes. She flew after her, reaching the edge of the tornado, but stopped when she saw numerous energy shots caught in the swirling winds. Despite Fluttershy’s hesitation, Celestia was still controlling her flight path, and after waiting for a pause in between the flurry of projectiles, she guided Fluttershy through the winds and into the eye of the storm.
Dark Shy was hovering far below them in the center of the tornado, firing her weapon into the swirling winds. When she saw Fluttershy flying over her, she lowered her weapon and broke into a dive. Fluttershy dove after her, and the two of them flew below the windstorm and through the underlying cloud cover.
Wide patches of grassland interspersed the rocky wasteland below, with a scattering of mountains and ridges breaking up the otherwise flat terrain. Far ahead, Fluttershy could see a break in the cloud cover as the sunset bathed the landscape with an orange glow. She could also see scores of Underworld monsters dotting the sky ahead of her.
“The Underworld Army’s here too?” Fluttershy said. She flew after Dark Shy and fired at her with her Insight Staff, but only managed to shoot down two Shrips when Dark Shy ascended to dodge.
“You’re a real go-getter, Dark Shy,” Nightmare Moon’s voice rang. “I like that.”
“Is that right?” Dark Shy said nonchalantly.
“Yes,” Nightmare Moon replied. “Though I am curious how you plan to best your doppelganger. Of course, destroying Fluttershy would be a simple task with a little help from me.”
“Don’t make me laugh,” Dark Shy said.
“Did I say something funny?” Nightmare Moon retorted.
“You’ve got me confused with Fluttershy,” Dark Shy said. “This pony is no pawn. I’ll deal with her, but I’m coming after you too!”
Dark Shy flew off toward a group of four Monoeyes floating around a small blue imp. The imp, a Shildeen, raised its hands when its saw Dark Shy approach, and a spherical barrier formed around the five Underworld enemies. Dark Shy swung her First Blade into the shield, causing it to flicker. She swung her weapon two more times, shattering the barrier, and fired a charge shot, blasting all five enemies at once. She then sped off again, flying toward the oncoming Underworld forces.
“Hmm…” Nightmare Moon thought aloud. “Now this is a little bizarre.”
“Indeed,” Celestia said.
“The Mirror of Truth created Dark Shy,” Nightmare Moon said. “So her allegiance should be to the Underworld Army.”
“Fluttershy destroyed the Mirror of Truth at the same time Dark Shy was created,” Celestia said. “Perhaps the mirror didn’t have a chance to complete its copy.”
“So that explains it,” Nightmare Moon said.
“That could also explain why her manestyle and colors are so different,” Fluttershy suggested. She fired her staff at several Handoras, including a giant one, as they scuttled along a plateau below her. “I mean, you have to admit, for an evil twin, she looks nothing like me.”
“That also sounds possible,” Celestia said.
“But if Dark Shy isn’t with the Underworld Army, does that mean I don’t have to fight her?” Fluttershy asked.
“It may not be that simple,” Celestia said. “You’ve seen how destructive she can be in the short time she has been loose. She’ll attack anything.”
“She does seem very aggressive…” Fluttershy said.
“She was created from you, Fluttershy,” Celestia said. “She could very well be manifesting your… dark side.”
“My dark side?” Fluttershy said.
“Her very existence is unnatural,” Celestia said. “She must be eliminated.”
Fluttershy furrowed her eyebrows. Princess Celestia was right about one thing. From the moment Dark Shy had come out of the Mirror of Truth, she had attacked just about every creature she’d met. But something didn’t seem right. Even though the Mirror of Truth had created her, it was hard to believe that she could be this evil twin of Fluttershy’s. After all, the two seemed nothing alike.
She eventually managed to catch up to Dark Shy, who was firing on a group of Monoeyes led by a much larger one. If she was really evil, then why attack Nightmare Moon or the Underworld Army? It was one thing for Dark Shy to attack her and Princess Celestia. But she had rejected or outright betrayed anypony she could have feasibly sworn loyalty to. Maybe she was that unstable? If that was the case, Fluttershy decided, then she would have to stop Dark Shy before she hurt anypony.
“Okay, if you say so, Princess Celestia,” Fluttershy said. The remaining patches of grassland gave way to more rocky wasteland as Fluttershy flew on. Syrens, Miks, and Monoeyes circled around her as she went, and she opened fire on as many as she could with her weapon.
As Fluttershy passed over a low rocky hill, she spotted four Underworld creatures, each consisting of a round blue head with four white hands, perched on the hillside. The creatures, called Petribombers, launched themselves into the air, each flapping two of their hands like wings to fly after Fluttershy. Two of them used their other two hands to produce glowing hot rocks. Fluttershy aimed her Insight Staff and fired, shooting down three of the Petribombers. The fourth accidentally dropped its glowing rock on its head, blowing itself up in the process.
Fluttershy frowned. “Let me get this straight,” she said. “The Underworld was using the Mirror of Truth to make copies of their monsters. But now that it’s broken, they can’t create new troops, right?”
“If that were the case, their numbers would be shrinking,” Celestia said. “But that’s not what I’m sensing.”
“Then where else could Nightmare Moon be getting reinforcements from?” Fluttershy asked.
“I’m not sure,” Celestia said, “but there’s something very strange about these creatures in particular.”
Monoeyes emerged from behind the surrounding hilltops. Handoras crawled along a series of cliffsides along her left. And above the Handoras, Kerons hopped to and from the higher ledges while spitting their energy shots at her. Fluttershy scrutinized each and every one of them and frowned. Back in Skyworld, she had dozens of animals in her care, from squirrels and chipmunks to birds and even a few bunnies. She could tell each and every one apart, and even knew them all by name. But she couldn’t tell any of these Underworld creatures apart. To her, these monsters looked like the same Underworld cannon fodder she’d been fighting the past week or so.
“They don’t look any different to me,” Fluttershy said.
“I’m talking more about their interior,” Celestia said. “Specifically, their souls.”
“So how do we get to the bottom of this?” Fluttershy asked.
“Nightmare Moon is still the cause of all this," Celestia said. “And we need to find out where her armies are coming from. But for now, Dark Shy presents the more immediate threat. We need to focus on her first.”
Fluttershy shot down the last of the Kerons and continued on. She caught up to Dark Shy, who flew over a nearby mountain ridge and descended into a canyon, and kept her pursuit. Five Syrens descended into the canyon ahead of them and flew toward them. Dark Shy stole a quick glance behind her. She seemed to linger on Fluttershy for a moment, but turned back to the Syrens. She fired two shots at the Syrens and then darted forward, maneuvering around the Underworld enemies. Fluttershy aimed her Insight Staff at the Syrens and started firing.
“So you two defeated Chrysalis,” Nightmare Moon sneered.
“You don’t seem very upset that we eliminated one of your top commanders,” Celestia said.
“Chrysalis may be gone, but her power lives on in Dark Shy,” Nightmare Moon said. “I can sense it in her wings.”
“Nice one,” Dark Shy snarked. “How long did it take the supreme leader of the Underworld to figure that one out?”
“My, aren’t you prickly,” Nightmare Moon said. “Even so, your power of flight seems to outlast Celestia’s.”
“I’m not surprised,” Celestia said. “The five-minute limit is inherent to the power of flight spell. But with Dark Shy using Chrysalis’ stolen magic as her own, she doesn’t need that spell.”
“How long has she been in the air?” Fluttershy asked.
“Almost nonstop from the moment she escaped the Labyrinth of Deceit,” Celestia said.
“Wait, but that was hours ago!” Fluttershy said.
“Indeed,” Celestia said. “We’re fortunate that I was able to track her after all this time. Even so, that doesn’t mean her power of flight won’t eventually run out.”
“Who’s to say that it will?” Nightmare Moon said. “Chrysalis’ power isn’t going to expire any time soon, and Dark Shy seems to be handling it quite well, at least while she still has it.”
As Fluttershy exited the canyon, she took aim at a group of Gyrazers and Monoeyes that emerged ahead of her. She banked left, dodging a laser from one of the Gyrazers, then dove under a blast from one of the Monoeyes, and then fired back. A stream of yellow shots peppered the Underworld creatures, shooting them down one by one.
A deep gouge in the earth lay before Fluttershy’s flight path as she left the mountains and ridges in her wake. The wasteland below had begun to level off, with a large, flat expanse of land stretching out before her surrounded by a series of mesas on either side. Three Petribombers flapped toward her from up ahead, and she caught sight of several Splins hovering up from the gouge below.
Fluttershy fired on the Petribombers first, shooting down two while the third prepared a hot, glowing rock in its free hands. Two of the Splins vibrated, and then each one split into two identical creatures before hurling themselves at Fluttershy like shurikens. Fluttershy swerved right, evading two of the Splins, and dove to dodge the other two. The third Petribomber hurled its rock at her, but she rolled left and fired back. More of the Splins vibrated and divided in two, but each was shot out of the air by her Insight Staff.
The power of flight steered Fluttershy to the right, in between two mesas and into another expanse of mostly flat land. A number of buttes stood spread apart from one another, and in the middle of that stretch of terrain was Dark Shy. Dark Shy swooped low, circling around and behind a cracked stone pot that lay there on the ground. Fluttershy recognized the pot as the home of a Zurret, an Underworld monster that functioned as a stationary turret. Sure enough, Dark Shy reached into the pot and yanked out a tall, rubbery white creature with a single red eye and two squidlike tentacles on either side.
“What is she doing with that?” Celestia asked.
The Zurret fired a stream of red energy blasts at Fluttershy. Fluttershy veered right, flying out of the path of the creature’s fire, but saw that the Zurret was turning—or rather, being turned—to aim at her. “Using me for target practice!” she said.
“Not bad,” Nightmare Moon said. “Not bad.”
Fluttershy sped toward the ground, taking cover behind the closest butte she could find as the Zurret’s fire followed her. She managed to hide safely behind the rock formation, but could still hear the Zurret’s barrage pelting the rock from the other side. After a moment, the attack seemed to cease. Fluttershy tried to peek from behind the butte, but ducked her head back when she saw the Underworld creature open fire again.
The creature’s stream of fire came to an end again, and after a second, Celestia’s magic guided Fluttershy from behind the butte and out into the open. Fluttershy could see Dark Shy behind the Zurret’s body, her weapon hoof and First Blade directly behind the creature’s back. No sooner had the two pegasi spotted each other than did Dark Shy jab her weapon into the Zurret’s back. The Zurret’s eye widened, and a stream of blasts fired from the creature’s eye. Fluttershy darted ahead, making her way toward another butte. Along the way, she fired a shot from her Insight Staff, but could only hit the Zurret’s body instead of Dark Shy herself.
Fluttershy could hear the Zurret’s shots pelting the other side of the rock formation. When the sound stopped, the power of flight guided her from behind the butte and out in the open again. Taking aim, she fired another charge shot at the Zurret. The creature’s body flung back, and then slumped down like a heap of dead weight in Dark Shy’s hoof. Dark Shy looked over the creature’s body, then dropped it on the ground and flew off. Fluttershy followed her, soaring through a gap in the cliffside at the other end of the wasteland.
A vast ravine met Fluttershy on the other side of the rock wall. A mountain loomed over the ravine, and beyond the mountain lay another vast stretch of wasteland. As Fluttershy drew closer, she could make out a number of buildings and structures along the mountainside, as well as four circular platforms that floated high above the base of the mountain.
“What is this place?” Fluttershy asked.
“They look like ruins,” Celestia said. “The power of flight is about to run out. I should set you down soon.”
“And I should deploy reinforcements,” Nightmare Moon said.
“Okay, but do you really have to?” Fluttershy said just before Celestia’s magic led her into a descent.
* * * * * * * * * *
The power of flight faded from Fluttershy’s wings as she touched down at the base of the mountain. The chasm that surrounded the mountain on one side lay behind her, while a rocky, uneven trail snaked its way up toward the ruins. Fluttershy looked up and saw a swarm of Underworld enemies hovering above the side of the mountain. Monoeyes, Miks, Paramushes, and Daphnes scattered into smaller groups and descended into different areas of the ruins.
“Somewhere within these ruins is Rainbow Dash,” Celestia said.
Fluttershy raised an eyebrow. “Who?” she asked.
“Rainbow Dash,” Celestia said. “Otherwise known as Dark Shy. It’s a fitting nickname for her, don’t you think?”
“You mean because of her mane colors and how fast she flies,” Fluttershy said. She placed her Insight Staff over her right wing, locking it in place just as she had with the First Blade, and made her way up the trail. “So, the plan is to find Rainbow Dash and take her out?”
“Correct,” Celestia said. “She knows that your power of flight has run out. She could have flown away if she wanted to, but she hasn't. She's preparing for a fight, so be careful.”
Fluttershy nodded. The trail led her to a paved stone circle with a dried up fountain at the center of it. The stonework beneath her hooves was old, and erosion was just starting to eat away at it, but the pavement blocks had held up well. There weren't even any weeds poking from between them, or any roots pushing them up, leaving the circle perfectly flat and smooth. Come to think of it, Fluttershy hadn't seen any plant life along the mountainside, and the fountain in front of her looked like it hadn't seen any water in years.
Four other paths led away from the fountain to different parts of the ruins. Rainbow Dash could be down any of them. As Fluttershy thought about where to search first, she saw a Monoeye floating down toward the fountain area. She began to reach for her weapon.
“Wait, don’t shoot it,” Celestia said.
“What? Why not?”
“The Underworld troops are probably searching for Rainbow Dash as well,” Celestia said. “They’re none too pleased with her for absconding with Chrysalis’ power, and following them might lead you to her.”
Fluttershy crept back toward the unpaved trail she had come from, staying out of sight and watching the Monoeye. The creature hovered around the fountain and floated down the path on Fluttershy's left. Fluttershy followed the creature on hoof.
The road wound its way around several rock formations and ended at a ledge. At the bottom of the ledge lay a wide stretch of flatland. Fluttershy jumped down from the ledge and surveyed the area. She could see the ravine past the edge of the flatland, and a scenic view of the hills and mountains that stood beyond it, but the flatland itself was mostly empty. A charcoal gray machine of some kind lay to one side. On the other side stood Rainbow Dash.
“There she is,” Fluttershy said.
Rainbow Dash galloped toward Fluttershy. She no longer held her recolored First Blade, and instead there was a soft, swirling rainbow light surrounding her right foreleg. Fluttershy recognized the light as a palm weapon, the Violet Palm to be exact. Rainbow leapt in the air and fired an iridescent fireball from her weapon hoof.
“Go to that machine over there,” Celestia said.
Fluttershy rolled to dodge the fireball and fired back with her Insight Staff. “That one over there?” she asked.
“Yes,” Celestia said. “It's called a Cherubot. Get into the cockpit and use it to fight her.”
Fluttershy galloped, evading a volley of smaller multicolored fireballs from Rainbow Dash's Violet Palm as she ran for the machine. Rainbow eyed her as she went and spotted the Cherubot at the end of her path.
“Oh no you don't!” Rainbow said. A green aura enveloped her wings, and she took flight, beelining for the Cherubot and cutting off Fluttershy's path to it. She shot a multicolored fireball from her palm weapon, but Fluttershy flipped to the side, firing back with her Insight Staff as she dodged. Rainbow swerved right to evade, but in that moment, Fluttershy made another run for the Cherubot. Rainbow fired a volley of iridescent fireballs, but Fluttershy darted around her and leapt for the Cherubot's cockpit.
The machine came to life as soon as Fluttershy entered the cockpit, standing on two stubby legs at first, then hovering off the ground when it rose to full height. Two heavy arms were connected to the Cherubot’s main body by broad, spherical shoulders, with a small cannon on the left arm and a heavy iron ball at the end of the right. Fluttershy scrambled into the seat of the machine and placed her front hooves on a glowing red orb in front of the cockpit, working the controls.
Rainbow Dash aimed her weapon hoof and shot at the Cherubot's body. Her Violet Palm's fireballs splashed against the vehicle's main body, but seemed to do little if any damage. Fluttershy moved her left hoof, aiming with the Cherubot's gun arm, and fired. A barrage of shots pelted Rainbow Dash, knocking her out of the air and dropping her to the ground. Fluttershy steered the Cherubot toward Rainbow.
“Whoa, this is amazing,” Fluttershy said.
“The Cherubot is both armor and weapon,” Celestia said. “Even its jump is powerful.”
Working the controls, Fluttershy made the Cherubot hop off the ground. When it landed, a shockwave issued from the machine, tossing Rainbow Dash into the air. Fluttershy moved her right hoof, beckoning the Cherubot's other arm to punch Rainbow in midair. Rainbow hit the ground and tumbled for several feet before finally landing on her side.
“Has this always been here?” Fluttershy asked. “I wish I could take a Cherubot into every battle.”
“Unfortunately, it's not that simple,” Celestia said. “I can’t grant the power of flight to a Cherubot, and they are not easy to summon from Skyworld. Even if they were, placing them on the battlefield comes with risks. Imagine if Rainbow Dash had taken control of the Cherubot before you could.”
“Oh…” Fluttershy said.
A fireball struck the body of the Cherubot. Fluttershy looked at Rainbow Dash, who was aiming her weapon hoof at the machine. She fired from the Cherubot's gun arm, but Rainbow rolled out of the way. Rainbow’s wings spread out, and she took to the air and flew toward the ruins.
With her hooves at the controls, Fluttershy piloted the Cherubot back toward the path to the fountain. She came to a stop at the ledge she had jumped down from the road. She beckoned the Cherubot to jump, but its hop was too low to get atop the ledge.
“I can’t get out of here!” Fluttershy said.
“You’ll just have to abandon the Cherubot,” Celestia said.
“Aw,” Fluttershy said. “But I was really starting to like the Cherubot.”
“And I’m sure he likes you back!” Rainbow Dash called out. Fluttershy looked up to see her hovering overhead, her power of flight keeping her out of reach of the Cherubot's gunfire. “Sorry, Flutters. Performance issues. Happens to a lot of ponies.”
With that, Rainbow Dash flew off. Fluttershy scowled.
“She hasn't left the ruins just yet, Fluttershy,” Celestia said. “I sense she will be waiting for you at the end of a trail.”
Fluttershy looked down at the ledge from the Cherubot's cockpit, then at its two weapon arms. “Wait, I have an idea,” she said. Manipulating the Cherubot’s right arm, she threw a punch at the ledge. The mech’s arm left a dent in the rock, as well as numerous cracks. She then made the vehicle jump, and the resulting shockwave shook apart what was left of the ledge. Smiling, Fluttershy drove the Cherubot up the crumbled ledge and onto the paved road above.
Three roads remained when Fluttershy piloted the Cherubot back to the fountain. As she looked from one path to the next, she noticed a Daphne hover above the fountain area. The creature floated down the path on Fluttershy's left, and Fluttershy followed it in the Cherubot.
Sections of stone wall stood before Fluttershy as she made her way up the path, which had grown wider as she left the fountain behind. Further on, the trail sloped upward and twisted around the side of a rocky hill up ahead. An even larger hill stood next to the first one, looming over Fluttershy and the nearby ruins. Fluttershy kept her left hoof ready at the Cherubot's gun arm as she went, her eyes checking the road ahead as well as behind the wall.
A flash of light shot past Fluttershy's eyes, and a metallic crunch could be heard beneath her. She looked down and saw a hole through the Cherubot's main body. Smoke was rising from the hole, and she could see the controls flashing under her hoofs.
“Uh-oh,” Fluttershy said.
“You had better get out of it now,” Celestia said.
Fluttershy jumped out of the cockpit and ran, taking cover behind one of the nearby sections of wall. Seconds later, she heard an explosion coming from where the Cherubot stood. Fragments of scrap metal flew overhead, and the Cherubot's gun arm clattered away from the source of the explosion.
“W-We have more of those at home, right?” Fluttershy asked.
“Eight of them, last time I checked,” Celestia said. “But I dare not commit any more of them to the field. Not when Rainbow Dash destroyed this one so easily.”
“She did that?” Fluttershy asked.
“I believe she is at the top of the hill, aiming at you with a sniping staff,” Celestia said. “The only way to reach her is up the path.”
Fluttershy peeked her head out from behind the wall. She glanced past the smoking heap that was left of the Cherubot and up the side of the two hills before ducking back. In an instant, a yellow beam struck the ground next to her, making her flinch. Steeling herself, she stepped out from behind the section of wall.
Rainbow Dash stood at the top of the taller hill, her weapon aimed down at Fluttershy. A metal sheen ran along the weapon's purple body, except for the tip of the muzzle and a pair of what looked like stiff wings on either side of the sight, both colored yellow. From where she stood, Fluttershy thought she could make out a ball of cyan light at the weapon's sight. Fluttershy had never seen that weapon before, but from the length of the barrel and the bent handle, it was unmistakable as a staff weapon.
Fluttershy ducked behind the section of wall again. Another shot from Rainbow Dash's weapon, the Dark Pit Staff, struck the ground where she had stood. She gazed up at the path, making a mental note of every broken wall, column, or anything she could take cover behind along the way. She then looked down at her Insight Staff, her own long range weapon.
“I think I have an idea,” she said.
Fluttershy emerged from behind the wall, aimed her Insight Staff, and fired. Rainbow Dash jumped back, taking cover on the other side of the hill. Fluttershy remained still, her eyes scanning the two hills and the path leading down from them, but her weapon still trained on the top of that hill. The high ground gave Rainbow Dash an advantage, but the hill only had one sniping position.
Sure enough, Rainbow Dash returned to the top of the hill, and before she could see Fluttershy aiming back at her, Fluttershy fired. The shot struck Rainbow in the chest, eliciting a yelp from her as it threw her off the side of the mountain. She didn't fall very far before Chrysalis’ magic flared through her wings and she righted herself with a few wingbeats. Rainbow clutched her chest and glared down at Fluttershy, then flew back toward the rest of the ruins.
Fluttershy lowered her Insight Staff. Returning the weapon to her side, she turned and headed back toward the fountain. She cast a forlorn glance at the wreckage of the Cherubot, but continued back on the pathway.
“Good work with that staff,” Celestia said.
“Hm?” Fluttershy said. “Oh, thanks. It's not the easiest weapon to use, but it packs a punch, especially from afar.”
“Staffs have the longest range of any weapon class, so they are best suited for sniping,” Celestia said. “But back to the problem at hoof. I’m sensing that Rainbow Dash is hiding in the dark. There may be a path by the fountain that leads somewhere underground.”
A Specknose was floating on the other side of the fountain when Fluttershy made her way back to the circle. The monster traveled down the road directly across from her, to the right of the rocky trail she had come from when she first landed at the ruins.
Breaking into a canter, Fluttershy made her way around the fountain and followed the Specknose. The road brought her to an open area, where the remains of yet another structure lay. Large sections of wall remained standing, as well as a number of stone columns surrounding the foundation, but any roof that this structure may have once had was long gone. Aside from the fountain behind her, it was the best preserved structure Fluttershy had found here thus far. At least she could tell it used to be a building.
“What was this place?” Fluttershy asked.
“There must have been a temple,” Celestia said.
Fluttershy furrowed her eyebrows. There were no clear symbols or relics to indicate which god, if any, this temple was built to honor. Not even a statue, or the remnants of one, stood nearby.
“Ponies turn to the gods in times of need and forget them in times of prosperity,” Nightmare Moon sneered. “They really are a fickle bunch.”
“Nice of you to join us, Nightmare Moon,” Celestia deadpanned.
“But if there used to be a temple here, wouldn’t there have to have been a town here as well?” Fluttershy asked as she approached the structure. “The Earth ponies wouldn’t just build a temple here in the middle of nowhere.”
“I think you're right,” Celestia said. “Nothing would have been built here unless this land was once habitable to Earth ponies. If they abandoned their home, then something must have happened here. Their patron god may have turned their back on them, or worse, turned on them.”
“Either way, it looks like that god finally did the sensible thing,” Nightmare Moon said.
Making her way around one of the surviving walls, Fluttershy came across a hole in the floor. Peering into the hole, she saw an underground tunnel beneath the structure. Rubble lay scattered at the bottom, suggesting a cave-in, and sections of the floor surrounding the hole were at risk of collapsing as well.
Gingerly, Fluttershy jumped down into the tunnel. The cave-in had blocked one section of the tunnel, but the other led to a chamber. Round stone columns were spaced evenly throughout the chamber, supporting the ceiling above her head. Despite the condition of the ruins outside, the underground chamber had held up remarkably well. Not a single crack could be found anywhere on the chamber walls, or on any of the support columns. The only sign of damage or disrepair was in the collapsed ceiling in the tunnel nearby.
“Hey there, pegasissy!”
Fluttershy turned to her right, where Rainbow Dash was hovering above the ground, a green aura flowing through her wings. In her right hoof, she held the iron handle of a crude stone club with metal spikes sticking out of it.
“You do know that you’re a pegasus too, right?” Fluttershy shot back.
“Yeah, but I'm pegas-awesome!” Rainbow said with a smug grin.
“That… was terrible,” Celestia said. “Like something Pit would have said.”
“Wasn’t his role going to go to her at one point?” Fluttershy asked.
“It was,” Celestia said, “but the author decided that the role should go to somepony who has as much trouble flying as Pit does. He also thinks putting her in the role would be too straightforward, and that he could do more with you instead.”
Fluttershy narrowed her eyes. “Well I'm glad I could help,” she deadpanned.
Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and looked on at Fluttershy, waiting for her and her goddess to shut up so that they could fight. She glanced at her foreleg, as if checking a watch she wasn't even wearing, then looked back at Fluttershy.
“Screw it,” Rainbow muttered.
She swung her weapon, the Ogre Club, and a huge ball of red and black energy lumbered forth from the club's body. Fluttershy looked up to see the slow-moving charge shot and ran out of its path.
Rainbow Dash flew at Fluttershy, both hooves dragging the Ogre Club as she went, and swung the weapon. Fluttershy rolled to the side, dodging as the club slammed into the wall behind her. Rainbow Dash pulled, but the Ogre Club was stuck, embedded in the wall.
Seeing her opportunity, Fluttershy aimed her weapon and fired at Rainbow Dash. Rainbow yelped in pain, then bristled at Fluttershy. She yanked her weapon, wrenching it loose from the wall, and swung it in Fluttershy's direction. Another ball of red and black energy slowly launched itself from the Ogre Club. Fluttershy took cover behind a nearby support column, but the energy ball simply passed through the column and barreled into her.
The energy ball slammed Fluttershy into a wall before dissipating, and she hit the ground in a heap. Fluttershy groaned as she rose to her hooves. She looked up, and her eyes widened as she saw Rainbow Dash fly at her again. Rainbow lifted up her Ogre Club for a downward swing, but Fluttershy rolled out of the way again. Reaching for her Insight Staff, Fluttershy aimed at Rainbow Dash and fired. The shot hit Rainbow in the chest, throwing her to the ground and knocking the Ogre Club out of her hooves.
Rainbow grunted as she rose to her haunches. She glanced at her weapon, which had fallen just a few feet away. She then turned her gaze to Fluttershy, whose weapon was trained on her and ready to fire at the drop of a hat. Rainbow stared at her as she looked for an opening, any chance to outpace Fluttershy’s trigger hoof and make a dash for her Ogre Club. She was surprised when Fluttershy secured the weapon to her side instead.
“Look, can we talk about this?” Fluttershy asked. She took a few steps toward Rainbow. Her tone was a bit brusque, betraying a hint of annoyance at the rogue pegasus, but the plea was there all the same. “Maybe we don't have to fight like this. I know you don't like me, but I know you’re not siding with Nightmare Moon either. So maybe you and I can talk this out, or at least call a truce? I mean, if you want to…”
Hesitantly, Fluttershy extended her hoof toward Rainbow Dash. Rainbow glanced away for a moment, then stared back at Fluttershy without saying a word. For an agonizing moment, the two pegasi continued like this: one with hoof outstretched in a show of peace, the other scrutinizing both the gesture and the offer behind it.
Eventually, Rainbow Dash raised her right foreleg toward the outstretched hoof. Fluttershy smiled, holding back a sigh of relief. She grabbed Rainbow’s hoof, but as she tried to pull her up, she met with resistance.
Before Fluttershy knew what was happening, Rainbow’s grip on her hoof tightened. She pulled Fluttershy in, leaning back and catching Fluttershy’s body with her hind legs. As Rainbow Dash rolled onto her back, she let go of Fluttershy’s hoof and kicked with her back hooves, throwing Fluttershy behind her.
As Fluttershy landed on her back, Rainbow Dash scrambled to her hooves and ran toward her dropped weapon. Grabbing the Ogre Club, she beat her wings, lifting off the ground again, and swung the weapon at Fluttershy. Another charge shot issued from the club, slamming into Fluttershy and pressing her into the ground. A shallow crater was left behind when the attack dissipated, with Fluttershy lying in the middle.
“Fluttershy, are you alright?” Celestia asked.
Fluttershy groaned as she rose to her haunches. She rubbed her chest and barrel, still sore from Rainbow’s attack. She then looked around the chamber, but Rainbow Dash was nowhere to be found.
“As I said before, you’re here to eliminate Rainbow Dash, not reason with her,” Celestia said.
“I think I’ll remember that next time,” Fluttershy muttered as she rose to her hooves. She looked around for the hallway she entered through, but instead noticed blue light coming from a different hallway. She followed the hallway, and found a glowing runic circle on the ground with a ray of light shining in the center and a sigil over it. A Zodiac Chamber.
Fluttershy stepped into the circle, and with a flash of light, she found herself standing on one end of a long platform. She walked to the other side, where a pedestal and a ray of yellow light waited for her. As she approached, a set of blue and silver orbitars appeared within the ray of light, together resembling a pair of theater masks, one for comedy and one for tragedy. A wing-shaped ornament adorned each orbitar on opposite sides of the masks’ foreheads.
Fluttershy touched the new weapon, the Gemini Orbitars, and in a flash of Celestia's magic, the orbitars disappeared. Turning back, Fluttershy left the Zodiac Chamber and found herself back in the underground chamber in the ruins. She found the entrance, climbed back out, and made her way back to the fountain.
Only one path remained unsearched when Fluttershy returned to the fountain: a road on her right leading up the mountain. A Mik was already following the road from above. But as Fluttershy began her approach, she spotted something at the base of the fountain. Three plates rested on the ground: one with an apple on it, one with a slice of cake, and one with a doughnut.
“Where did this food come from?” Fluttershy asked.
“From Skyworld’s kitchens,” Celestia said. “I thought you could use something in between these bouts with Rainbow Dash.”
“Oh, thanks,” Fluttershy said. She started with the apple first, taking a few bites, and then picked up the slice of cake. After finishing the cake, she turned and headed toward the last road.
An altar stood at the top of the hill where the road ended. A massive roof was built over the altar, held up and buttressed by four enormous stone segments at its corners. Fluttershy had been wrong before; the altar was the most well-preserved structure in the area. Despite the wear and damage throughout the rest of the ruins, the altar and its roof had remained largely intact.
Fluttershy had almost reached the top of the hill when she started hearing sounds coming from the altar. Suddenly, a Handora and two Skuttlers launched from the top of the hill and fell toward her. Fluttershy grimaced and froze in place, but the monsters flew past her on their way down, hitting the ground and tumbling down the hill for a few feet. She looked at them in confusion as they lay motionless for a moment and then vanished in a puff of purple smoke. Still hearing the sounds from earlier, she cautiously made her way up the rest of the hill.
Within the altar, Rainbow Dash was fighting against more of Nightmare Moon’s troops. A large, boxy white cannon with a flared cyan muzzle and a teal blade along its side was fitted over her foreleg as she hovered over the ground in flight. She aimed the weapon, the EZ Cannon, and fired a blast from it at a nearby Skuttler. The creature was thrown back by the blast radius, while Rainbow turned the weapon on a pair of Handoras and launched several fireballs. A Skuttler charged at her from behind, but she glanced back, spun around, and struck the monster with the body and blade of her cannon.
With the last enemy slain, Rainbow Dash turned and scowled at Fluttershy. “What the hay took you so long?” she asked. “Is that cake frosting on your muzzle?!”
“Um, yes,” Fluttershy said, wiping her muzzle with a hoof. “Princess Celestia sent me some food. And I found a new Zodiac weapon.”
“Oh, cool!” Rainbow said. “What did you get?”
“Gemini Orbitars.”
“Lame,” Rainbow Dash said, rolling her eyes. She aimed her EZ Cannon and fired at Fluttershy. Fluttershy sidestepped the shot as it bounced past her, wincing when it exploded behind her, and fired back with her Insight Staff. Rainbow swerved to dodge, and then dove at Fluttershy, bringing her weapon to bear. Fluttershy raised her staff, and the two weapons clashed against each other. But with Rainbow Dash’s speed and the weight of her cannon, Fluttershy was thrown back and sent tumbling down the hill. Rainbow Dash fired another blast from her cannon, catching Fluttershy in its explosion and sending her further down.
Fluttershy’s body came to a stop partway down the hill. Groaning, she began to get her knees underneath her. She didn't have much time before several explosions rocked the ground around her. She rolled to the side, evading a few more shots from Rainbow Dash's cannon, rose back onto her hooves, and fired back. The shot struck Rainbow Dash in the shoulder, knocking her out of her flight and tossing her to the ground several feet ahead of Fluttershy.
Rainbow Dash rose back on her haunches. She winced at the fresh injury to her shoulder, but the green aura of Chrysalis’ stolen magic flared through her wings, and she lifted off the ground again regardless. Fluttershy fired at her with her Insight Staff, but Rainbow dodged one shot and blocked two more with the body of her EZ Cannon. Rainbow lunged at Fluttershy again, bringing the weight of her cannon for another swing, but Fluttershy rolled out of the way. The two mares turned to face each other again and fired their weapons at one another. The two attacks collided, but Fluttershy’s shot punched through Rainbow’s, nullifying the EZ Cannon’s blast and nearly grazing Rainbow’s side.
Rainbow flinched at the near-miss from Fluttershy’s weapon, and then glared back at Fluttershy. After a moment, she turned and flew down the hill, leaving Fluttershy looking on.
“She’s headed for the area by the fountain,” Celestia said. “Stay on her.”
Fluttershy affixed the Insight Staff to her side and walked back down the hill. A set of grind rails lay at the base of the fountain when she made her way back, starting from the ground and spiraling upward. Looking up, Fluttershy saw a set of four circular platforms floating high above the ruins.
“I never would've thought the Earth ponies could make something like that,” Fluttershy said, furrowing her eyebrows.
“It must have been left behind by the god this temple was built to serve,” Celestia said. “Regardless, Rainbow Dash is up there right now.”
Fluttershy hopped onto the rails, letting their magic carry her along. As the rails led her up into the air, three Monoeyes and two Syrens appeared from the surrounding ruins and flew after her. Reaching for her Insight Staff, she aimed and fired at the monsters, dispatching each one with a few shots. She lowered her weapon, and then looked up again at the platforms.
As Fluttershy drew closer, she saw that the platforms were arranged close together in a square, except that one floated higher than the other three, while the one diagonal from it hung lower than the others. Once the grind rails carried Fluttershy above the platforms, she could see Rainbow Dash standing on the highest platform. The rogue pegasus was gazing out over the ruins, with a half-eaten doughnut in her hoof.
“Isn’t that the doughnut I left by the fountain for you earlier?” Celestia asked.
“It is,” Fluttershy murmured. “I was saving it for later.”
“Leaving it behind for an enemy to find may not have been the best idea,” Celestia said. “Not that it matters. You still have to defeat her.”
* * * * * * * * * *
The set of grind rails made a final circuit around the four platforms before reaching their end above the highest one. Fluttershy hopped off of the rails at their highest point and landed at the center of the highest platform.
At the edge of the same platform, Rainbow Dash was staring out over the ruins and the mountains below. She had seen the grind rails form around the floating platforms, and she glanced back when she heard the sharp clop of Fluttershy’s hooves landing behind her. She turned around and gazed at Fluttershy, who was already glaring back at her with Insight Staff in hoof. Attached to Rainbow’s foreleg was a stringless blue bow with bladed silver limbs, the Silver Bow.
With one quick roll of her hoof, Rainbow Dash flipped the Silver Bow off of her foreleg and into her grip. “Let’s do this!” she called out.
Within a split-second, Rainbow raised her weapon hoof and fired an arrow at Fluttershy. Fluttershy raised her staff, blocking the shot with the shaft of her weapon, but Rainbow was already closing the distance on her hooves. She held up her weapon, blocking a downward swing from Rainbow Dash's bow. Rainbow swung horizontally, but Fluttershy turned her staff to block again.
Fluttershy pulled back her weapon and swung at Rainbow Dash. Rainbow ducked under the attack, and then held up her bow to block a downward strike from Fluttershy’s staff. Deflecting the staff, she swung her bow up at Fluttershy, who sidestepped out of the way. Rainbow moved for a horizontal slash, which Fluttershy ducked under. Seeing an opening, Fluttershy swung her weapon at Rainbow Dash. Rainbow separated the Silver Bow into its two bladed limbs, tossed one bow limb into her other hoof and parried Fluttershy’s strike with it.
Holding back Fluttershy’s Insight Staff with one bow limb, Rainbow Dash moved to slash at Fluttershy with the other one. Fluttershy hopped back, disengaging from their weapon clash to dodge Rainbow’s swipe. Rainbow lunged with one of the bladed limbs. Fluttershy raised her weapon vertically to block. She deflected a blow from the other limb as Rainbow swung again, using Rainbow’s own momentum to send her stumbling forward.
With both front hooves occupied, Rainbow Dash nearly hit the ground. She managed to roll on her back, recombine her bow, and land on three hooves. The two mares turned around, weapons aimed in each other’s directions, and fired. Their weapons missed, both firing past the sides of one another’s heads, but close enough that both pegasi winced, stumbled from the near-miss, and massaged their own heads.
After a moment, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash recovered. They opened their eyes, gritted their teeth, and swung at each other with their weapons again. Rainbow separated her bow, catching one limb in the other hoof, but Fluttershy caught Rainbow’s hoof with her own before she could move for a slash. The two ponies pushed against each other, staff clashing against one bow limb while Fluttershy’s hoof held back the other.
“Bring it, puppet!” Rainbow said.
“Who are you calling a puppet?” Fluttershy retorted.
Rainbow headbutted Fluttershy in the snout. Fluttershy stumbled back, releasing Rainbow Dash as she winced at the blow, while Rainbow scrambled to toss both bow limbs in one hoof and catch herself in midfall with the other.
“Celestia says jump, you jump,” Rainbow said. “She says fight, you fight. It sounds pretty sweet, doesn’t it? For her, that is.”
Fluttershy fired a shot at Rainbow with her Insight Staff, which Rainbow dodged by craning her neck. “It’s called loyalty!” she said. “It’s called having faith! What would you know about faith, you treacherous blackheart?!”
Fluttershy lunged forward, bringing her staff down on Rainbow with both hooves. Rainbow raised her Silver Bow, recombined again, and blocked. Their forelegs twitched as the two struggled against each other, but Rainbow Dash still managed a cocky smirk.
“The Mirror of Truth doesn’t lie,” Rainbow said. “I’m you, Flutters. The real you. So maybe your faith in Celestia isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”
Fluttershy bristled. With a surge of strength, she pushed Rainbow back with her staff. As Rainbow stumbled, Fluttershy struck her in the chest with the butt of the Insight Staff. She then flipped it around, aiming it at Rainbow Dash’s chest, and fired. The shot tossed Rainbow back a few feet and landed her on her back.
“I have absolute faith in Princess Celestia!” Fluttershy said, still aiming her weapon at Rainbow. “She always guides me the right way! That’s why I follow her. And that Mirror of Truth you mentioned? It’s nothing more than a pane of lies! Chrysalis was just using it as bait!”
Rainbow Dash rose to her haunches. She massaged her chest with a hoof, only to pause as her hoof ran along a tear in her tunic. Pulling her hoof back, she noticed a streak of blood and smirked.
“Looks like I touched a nerve,” she said. “Who are you trying to convince, me or you?”
Fluttershy scowled. She fired, but Rainbow rolled out of the way. A burst of fiery green magic rushed through Rainbow’s wings, and she took to the air again.
“Okay, fine,” Rainbow said. “Do what you want. Or rather, keep doing what she wants. But I won't be anypony’s puppet. These wings take me wherever I want to go.”
“Not if I take you down first,” Fluttershy muttered. She fired a shot from her Insight Staff. In an instant, Rainbow Dash swung her bow, deflecting the staff’s shot right back. Fluttershy grimaced and stepped back as her own shot struck the ground near her hooves, and then scowled back up at Rainbow Dash.
The green aura around Rainbow’s wings flared. For a moment, Fluttershy thought she saw the aura extend through Rainbow’s foreleg and envelop the Silver Bow before she shot up into the sky. She could see Rainbow soaring up in the air, going faster with each passing second, and then a vapor cone forming around her.
Several things happened all at once after that. An explosive boom echoed throughout the canyon. A spectral shockwave radiated across the skies above, lighting up the twilight sky in a brief flash of daylight. And in that moment, high above the temple ruins, Rainbow fired her weapon. The lone magic arrow didn't seem to go anywhere, its energy instead resonating with the rainbow shockwave and Chrysalis’ stolen magic. And then a hundred points of light flickered throughout the circle within the rainbow shockwave.
Fluttershy looked on in trepidation at the spectacle above. She took a few steps back as the points of light hovered in the air and then fell in quick succession. She turned and galloped toward the edge of the platform, making a run for the next platform as a volley of arrows rained down. The platform cracked with each arrow strike, and then broke apart as Fluttershy leapt over the edge. She could hear the platform crumbling behind her as she landed flat on her belly on the next platform.
Fluttershy rose to her hooves, glanced back at the empty space where the platform once floated, and then looked up. A vivid rainbow contrail traced its way across the sky above. She began to follow it with her eyes, but barely had time to trace its path before she was tackled from the side and over the edge of the platform. Her hoof caught the edge before she could fall, leaving her dangling from the platform for dear life.
Before Fluttershy could try to hoist herself up, a set of hooves could be heard touching down on the platform. Fluttershy froze. She heard the sound of hoofsteps on the ground above her, and then an abrupt stop. Panicking, she lifted her weapon hoof, angled it over the surface of the platform, and fired.
A yelp sounded from the platform above Fluttershy, followed by the thud of something hitting the ground. Fluttershy breathed a quick sigh of relief, then thought about how she was going to get back on solid ground. She considered climbing back up, but Rainbow was still up there and wouldn't take long to recover. She then glanced to her right, where the lowest platform hovered close by. She swung her body towards it, but it wasn't enough to make the jump. She swung the other way, and then swung back. She let go of the ledge and landed on the next platform.
As Fluttershy rose back to her hooves, Rainbow Dash hovered over the platform in flight. Both her front and hind left legs had visible scorch marks. The two pegasi fired at each other, but their shots collided in midair and canceled each other out. Rainbow fired several smaller arrows from her bow, but Fluttershy rolled to the side and fired back with a few shots from her staff. Rainbow swerved to dodge, and then dove at Fluttershy. Fluttershy sidestepped, parrying the Silver Bow with her staff. She turned, aimed at Rainbow, and fired.
Fluttershy’s shot hit Rainbow before she could turn around, and Rainbow fell from the air and crashed onto the platform. Her bow still in hoof, she began to rise back onto her hooves, but her left legs protested when she tried to put her weight on them. She flipped around, sitting on her haunches instead, only to see the muzzle of the Insight Staff mere inches from her head.
Fluttershy glared silently at Rainbow Dash, all the while aiming her weapon point blank at Rainbow’s head. All she had to do now was fire, and it would be over. She and Princess Celestia could move on, go back to dealing with Nightmare Moon and the Underworld.
“Her very existence is unnatural. She must be eliminated.”
Rainbow sat there, frozen in place as Fluttershy kept her weapon pointed at her. She had been nothing but trouble from the moment she was created. Attacking her at the Labyrinth of Deceit, taking Chrysalis’ power for her own, and fighting her up and down these ruins. If Fluttershy let her go now, she would only cause more trouble.
“You’ve seen how destructive she can be in the short time she has been loose. She’ll attack anything.”
Fluttershy’s eyes narrowed, albeit subtly. She had tried before to spare Rainbow Dash. Talk things out with her, make peace. And Rainbow had thrown it back in her face. She wouldn’t make that same mistake again.
“She was created from you, Fluttershy. She could very well be manifesting your… dark side.”
Fluttershy lowered her weapon. She continued to glower at Rainbow Dash. Rainbow glanced at the weapon, now pointed at the ground, and returned a glare back at Fluttershy. For a while, an uncomfortable pause lingered between the two pegasi. Not even Celestia broke the silence between them.
A green aura enveloped Rainbow Dash’s wings, and she took off from the ground before Fluttershy had a chance to react. “I went easy on you this time!” she said before twisting around and flying off.
At that moment, Fluttershy jerked forward and reached out with a hoof. “Wait!” she called out.
“No, let her go,” Celestia said. A shaft of yellow light shone down on Fluttershy from above, and she could feel the familiar weightlessness as Celestia’s magic began to call her back. “She’s headed for a fall, and we need to focus on stopping Nightmare Moon.”
In an instant, Fluttershy vanished from the platform. The shaft of yellow light winked out as well as she returned to Skyworld, and the quiet and darkness of night settled on the ruins below once again.