Rarity propelled herself forward and took a defensive stance before Fluttershy, her horn radiating a bright light as she summoned a stunning shield of sparkling, multi-coloured gems, the set of hues complimenting the orange beam of the setting sun, shining brilliantly as it surrounded Rarity's front.
The unicorn stood valiantly, and her shield raised high against the onslaught of the gnarled bark and wooden tendrils that came hurtling toward her. As the tendrils collided with her shield, they produced an ear-piercing screech, like a fork forcefully scratching a plate, pushing the shield and Rarity back a few steps. Sparks flew left and right. However, the tendrils were no match for the strength of the unicorn's shield, as they were swiftly repelled and sent flying sideways.
The shield Rarity had manifested disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. She lifted her gaze and widened her eyes in surprise. They landed on Somnambula, taking a diving stance, gracefully extending her hind hoof downward towards the ground.
The unicorn was saved by a sudden strong and urgent yank on her tail that sent her off balance. Twisting her neck around, she saw Fluttershy, wings spread wide against her back, pulling with all her might, dragging Rarity out of Somnambula's impending attack.
"Sorry about your tail, Rarity!" Fluttershy shouted, her voice muffled by the exertion.
Rarity opened her mouth to express gratitude, but the words died on her tongue. The ground erupted in a violent spasm. Thick, gnarled roots, several meters tall and spiked like monstrous spears, shot upwards with lightning speed.
"Never mind that, deary! LOOK OUT BEHIND YOU!!" Rarity screamed with a point of a hoof, her eyes widening in terror as she whipped her head around. The urgency in her voice sliced through Fluttershy's daze, prompting her to react instantly.
Fluttershy flung herself sideways and dragged Rarity along for the ride, narrowly avoiding the impaling spikes that surged where she had stood a moment before. The ground trembled with the force of their emergence, showering them with dust and debris.
The earth barely trembled under Somnambula's silent descent. As graceful as a dancer, she landed with nary a rustle of leaves. Then, with a push powerful enough to send gusts of wind in the opposite direction, she relaunched herself using the ground she landed on as leverage, a dark blur hurtling towards the fleeing ponies.
Moving her hoof around her back, Somnambula pulled out a vial of green substance. Rewinding her arm, she lobbed it over Rarity and Fluttershy. The vial shattered upon making contact with the floor, and new life sprung forth.
From the wreckage of glass, a tide of green pulsed outward. A sickly, unnatural shade covered the area, seeming to writhe and pulsate like a heartbeat. As it spread, the earth beneath their bodies seemed to corrupt, twisting into gnarled, thorny vines and a tree trunk erupting upward. At the last moment, Rarity conjured a shield below them to protect against the wild foliage. Even with defences up, the impact was too overwhelming, as the force sent the two upward, the pair screaming between the branches and twigs.
Just as the monstrous tree trunk slammed towards them, Rarity conjured a shield in a desperate gamble. The impact was unlike anything Rarity had ever experienced. Even with the shield, the force of it seemed to squeeze the air from their lungs. The young sapling, imbued with unnatural power, sent them hurtling skyward in a chaotic whirlwind of leaves, twigs, and panicked screams. Sending them higher and higher, past the building's horizon and into the open air.
Pinned to the shield by the sheer force of the collision, Rarity and Fluttershy were at the mercy of the wind. It whipped past them, tearing at their fur and carrying the stared gazes of Somnambula and Meadowbrook from below. The forest canopy seemed a blur of green and brown as they shot upwards, branches snapping and leaves shredding, carving deep gashes against the shield's shimmering surface.
Their screams turned into gasps as they broke through the leaves, the branches slithering outward away from the pegasus and unicorn duo. Encompassing the open space in a web-like structure, the leaves bloomed, abundant and many flourishing naked stalks. Decorating the branches and surrounding them in every direction with a familiar green that only allows some golden light to pass through the gaps between leaves.
The chaotic dance of branches and leaves subsided, and so did the rumbles and vibrations coming to a halt, replaced by an eerie stillness. Sitting on their rumps, the two looked at one another. Able to finally take a breather while brushing leaves stuck onto their faces. But their respite was short-lived.
A deafening screech shattered the silence, ripping through the air with the force of a hurricane. Rarity whirled around, shielding her eyes against the sun, and saw a creature unlike anything she had ever encountered. A bird curse sporting a dozen pairs of wings, some feathered, some leathery, sprouted from its spine. But it was its eyes that genuinely sent shivers down Rarity's spine.
Each a swirling vortex, multiple eyes trailed from its underbelly, tracking them across the open sky. Its face, a grotesque mask of bone and exposed muscle, stretched into a horrifying grin, its beak revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth dripping with drool hungrily at its next meal.
A gasp escaped Rarity's lips as the monstrous bird swooped down, its talons glinting in the sunlight like deadly daggers. Her fear threatened to paralyse her, but a flash of pink sliced through the air. A beam of pure light, seemingly conjured from nowhere, pierced the bird's abdomen.
The creature screeched, an unearthly sound that tore through the silence before arching its back in agony. Its wings faltered, and its terrifying momentum swayed. Losing all semblance of life, it tumbled lifelessly towards the two friends.
As the bird neared, it disintegrated into a cloud of dusty grey specks, scattering harmlessly around Rarity and Fluttershy. The two got into a coughing fit, waving the dust clouds out of their faces.
"Who... who did that?" Rarity whispered, her voice barely a tremor in the stillness.
Fluttershy's fear melted away, replaced by wonder as her eyes followed the source of the pink light. "Princess Cadance!" she exclaimed, pointing towards the distant Crystal Castle.
Rarity turned, eyes widening at the sight. There, on the balcony overlooking the vast empire, stood the ever-graceful Princess Cadance. But even from afar, the wear and tear was evident. Cadance's posture was slumped, her legs trembling, her head hanging low, and each breath required effort. Clearly, the princess had pushed herself to her absolute limit to intervene.
A pang of worry stabbed Rarity but was quickly overshadowed by their current predicament.
A knot of anxiety tightened in Rarity's chest. She knew, as clear as she knew the Pantone colour chart, that combat wasn't her forte. Fluttershy, with her gentle spirit and calming voice, wouldn't fare much better. Unlike Twilight, whose magical prowess and intellect made up for her lack of physicality, Rarity's magic and affinity leaned towards gem finding do nothing for combat, and her expansion with the art could only bring her so far.
Rainbow and Applejack's speed and strength far surpass the norms of the average pony; their physical gifts and overlapping fields give them great battle awareness. This wasn't a surprise to the fashionista; she knew that with those two together, Rarity need not worry about their safety. Though, she couldn't say the same for her circumstances.
As for Pinkie, well, she was Pinkie, so there's that.
Could she, with her delicate hooves and aversion to conflict, come out of this alive? Cold and unwelcome, Doubt began to gnaw at her as a bead of sweat rolled down her forehead. Million thoughts and scenarios ran through her mind, her eyes locking onto nothing.
"Rarity, are you alright?" Fluttershy asked, her voice laced with concern. "If you're worried about me, you don't have to be. I'll be fine, I promise not to drag you down."
A weary frown drew itself on Rarity's face. "Don't even think of saying such a thing, Fluttershy. And don't ever imply that you are "dragging me down". We're friends, is it not natural that we help one another in times of need?"
Their conversation was abruptly sliced short as Somnambula popped upward from the very edge of the woody platform. Her eyes, burning with an unnatural emerald light, locked onto the two friends with a predatory glint. Rushing them with a chilling flourish.
Rarity channelled her magic and focused it on the fast-approaching pegasus; Somnambula's head glowed a sparkling blue before her headpiece was shoved down past her eyes, metal gold obstructing her vision.
Momentarily blinded and disoriented, Somnambula stumbled mid-flight. Her wings flapped erratically, sending her careening off course in a chaotic wobble. She slammed into the trunk of a nearby tree with a sickening thud, the impact echoing through the clearing.
While Fluttershy winced at the impact, a flicker of concern crossing her gentle features, Rarity took a few cautious steps forward. Her expression held a hint of unease as she addressed the stunned Somnambula.
"C'mon now, Somnambula, dear," she said, her voice surprisingly calm despite the tension crackling in the air. "Fight it! You're stronger than this, stronger than some... simple mind control!"
A groan escaped Somnambula's throat as she stirred. With a sluggish movement, she pushed herself back onto her hooves, her form trembling slightly. Her head swayed from side to side, scanning the clearing with a newfound ferocity. When her eyes locked onto Rarity, they burned with an even brighter emerald light, devoid of the momentary vulnerability Rarity had glimpsed. Baring her teeth in a snarl, she pounced at her, continuing her assault.
Somnambula reached for another vial behind her back, But Rarity acted first. With a flick of her horn, she unleashed a wave of telekinetic energy, clamping down on the pegasus's stiff arm like an invisible vice.
"You honestly think I would let you repeat that trick?" Rarity retorted, a cocky smile playing on her lips,
Somnambula's response was a chilling, maniacal smile that stretched unnaturally across her face. She halted mid-air, her mighty wings beating against the still air as she hung suspended before Rarity. In a lightning-fast movement, she reached over her transparent veil with her free hoof and ripped it forward, shrouding her entire head in a blinding white fabric.
Simultaneously, a sickening ripping sound tore through the air. Gold cuffs and securing clamps, previously hidden beneath the veil, snapped open with a metallic clang. Rarity's vision was briefly obscured by a flurry of white fabric as Somnambula completed her unexpected manoeuvre.
Rarity instinctively flung herself backwards, narrowly avoiding the sudden explosion of action. But the damage was already done. Previously held securely on Somnambula's attire, the glass vials shattered against the rough bark of the nearby tree where the pegasus had collided moments ago.
A symphony of hissing and sizzling filled the air as the mysterious liquids within the vials seeped between the cracks in the bark. The tree branches contorted and twisted, morphing into autonomous spiked projectiles that whipped through the air with deadly intent.
Their target: the fashionista.
Despite the adrenaline coursing through her veins, Rarity could only muster a meagre defence. Her movement was sluggish and strained because of work earlier that morning. Hastily conjuring a gem shield, barely more than enough to cover her body, offered little protection as the spiked branch lashed out, managing to tear a bloody furrow across Rarity's cheek before coming to a crawl in fixed positions.
A sharp gasp escaped Rarity's lips. Her hoof flew to her cheek, brushing against the burning blossoming wound, a crimson stain blooming on the once pristine white of her coat.
"My face!" Rarity hissed, her picture-perfect figure mawed ugly by a bloody wound.
Somnambula cracked a laugh from the result, but a pair of yellow hooves interlocking around her torso quickly shut her up. Snapping her head around, her eyes met Fluttershy's, fear no longer controlling her upon seeing her friend sustain an injury. She wouldn't allow it.
With a mighty heave, she lifted the surprised pegasus above her shoulders. Her body instinctively arched back, mirroring the movements she uses for Harry's back massages, providing the proper leverage for the manoeuvre.
Somnambula caught off guard and off balance, felt the wind whipping through her feathers as her wings struggled futilely against this unexpected turn. Their frantic beating filled the air with a desperate hum, starkly contrasting Fluttershy's determined silence.
"Forgive me Somnambula..." Fluttershy apologised with a huff as she brought Somnambula over her head and closed her eyes, slamming her shoulder and back into the branches below.
The impact reverberated through the clearing like a thunderclap. The targeted branches, unable to withstand the combined weight of the two pegasuses, snapped with a sickening crack. Causing Fluttershy to jolt a face from hearing the crunch. Bark splintered, and leaves rained down as Somnambula laid in the bowl of fractured foliage.
A jolt of pain shot through Fluttershy's body as she braced herself for the recoil. She winced, instinctively pulling her face away from the sharp snap of splintering wood that echoed in her ears. Disoriented, she opened her eyes, staring at a tangled mess of broken branches and leaves.
Somnambula lay sprawled amongst the shattered wood, her form eerily still. Not a single tremor, not the slightest flutter of a wing, suggested any consciousness remaining within her shell. Fluttershy, her heart heavy with a weight far greater than her small frame could bear, sank to her haunches beside the fallen mare. Though the action had been necessary, the act of violence left a bitter taste in her gentle soul.
"Fluttershy," Rarity's voice, laced with a hint of awe, broke through the silence. "I never knew you practiced martial arts."
Fluttershy, still struggling with the turmoil within, offered a weak smile. "Um, I don't," she admitted, her voice barely a whisper. "It's just... one of the ways I... massage Harry."
A faint, fluttering beat echoed against her eardrum. A heartbeat. It was soft but undeniable. Relief washed over Fluttershy; she had just knocked Somnambula unconscious, But that wasn't the only sound she picked up. A low tremor, almost imperceptible at first, grew in intensity. The trunk drummed beneath her hooves, and a low moan echoed through the clearing. Before she could react, an explosion of bark and splintering wood erupted from the other side of the giant tree.
Shrouded in a tangled mess of twigs and leaves. Meadowbrook, encased in a pulsating cage of branches, had used her potions to aid her in travelling up to the verdant canopy above where the battle had been fought.
"FLUTTERSHY! LOOK OUT!!" Rarity warned.
Hurling a beaker straight towards the fallen pegasus, it shattered against Somnambula's form, coating her in a viscous green liquid.
A cry of pain escaped Somnambula's lips as the shards of glass tore at her skin, but the effect was fleeting. The green liquid pulsed, bathing the injured areas in a weird glow. Within moments, the wounds began to knit themselves back together, the flesh visibly healing beneath the light.
With renewed energy, Somnambula snapped her eyes open and jumped up, wrapping her hooves around Fluttershy's neck. Somnambula pulled Fluttershy off her hooves with a ferocious yank, dragging her towards the platform's edge, each step heavy and shaky. The air rushed past Fluttershy's ears as she dangled precariously. With one last tilt backwards, Somnambula pulled the screaming pegasus down, plummeting towards the earth below and into the rubbled streets and destroyed buildings below.
Rarity turned her focus to Meadowbrook, the new threat taking centre stage. Meadowbrook, however, didn't appear fazed by Rarity's death glare. Instead, a chilling smile twisted her features as she held up a vial of the same green liquid that had empowered Somnambula, wiggling in her hoof as if saying, "Look what I got.".
Except it had bits of purple chunks swirled into it, glittering in the sunset.
Rarity knew what she planned to do, rushing towards Meadowbrook to stop her. But Meadowbrook, seemingly anticipating the attack, released the vial from her grasp. Meadowbrook released the vial from her grip, allowing gravity to drag the vial down to the trunk platform below.
With quick thinking, the vial, trapped within the telekinetic hold of Rarity's magic, wobbled dangerously close to the trunk floor, the green liquid swirling excitedly. Sweat beat down her jaw as her hooves got sweaty. With that dealt with, Rarity continued her rush towards Meadowbrook, intending to finish this as soon as possible.
However, the mage remained eerily still, her earlier menacing grin replaced by a stoic expression. She didn't flinch as Rarity reached her, nor did she reach for another vial.
This unexpected calmness, this lack of resistance, sent a shiver down Rarity's spine. It felt wrong, unnerving in a way that the outward aggression had not.
As the unicorn faced Meadowbrook, centimetres apart, the mage lifted her hoof, stepping on the vial held in Rarity's grasp and forcing it down, shattering against the wood.
BOOM.
Spiked branches and splintered bark erupted in a violent explosion, showering the clearing with a deadly rain of debris. The force of the blast propelled both Rarity and Meadowbrook over the edge, sending them plummeting along with the two pegasus earlier.
The first sensation Rarity felt was the explosion, and the second was the wind blowing past them as they fell. Followed by branches snapping as she fell through them, each sharp edge and hardened mineral wood slashing her pristine white coat. Dirtying and opening wounds all over her body, some even getting caught in her mane and tail.
Rarity glanced down and saw a clearing, no more visible branches blocking her descent. Switching focus, she frantically looked around for any she could land safely, but a colourful ball in her peripheral caught her eye. Down below her, Fluttershy and Somnambula were struggling in each other's grasp. She would always pull her back into it whenever Fluttershy managed to break free from her grip.
Rarity ducks her head, pointing her horn to the two and channelling her magic again. Her focus was abruptly broken by Meadowbrook, propelled by the explosion, plummeted from above, landing squarely on Rarity's back. The sudden, unexpected weight sent a searing pain through Rarity's shoulder, forcing her horn to falter and her fixation to break. The magic flickered and died, leaving them both vulnerable and rearing her closer to the trunk.
The sudden imbalance caused Meadowbrook to slip down and past Rarity, which she took advantage of;
"Y'know, using a lady as a landing pad is ill manners!" Rarity yelled through the gushing winds.
With a burst of remaining magical energy, she conjured a volley of sharp, prismatic gemstones. They whizzed through the air, humming with contained energy, and intercepted the vials Meadowbrook had tossed in mid-flight. Each gem collided with a vial, shattering the glass with a satisfying crackle near the mage. The green liquid sprayed into the air, evaporating before it could touch anything except the brewer's eyes.
Meadowbrook clenched her eyelids shut. An irritating, burning sensation clawed at them. She tried wiping the concoction out, but it only worsened the irritation.
"Sorry, Meadowbrook, this is going to hurt."
Catching Meadowbrook in her magic, Rarity dragged the healer to her side. Using her as an unconventional shield. Pushing Somnambula with her hoof and aiming their descent towards the rough bark of the giant oak, Rarity gritted her teeth as they scraped against the unforgiving surface.
The impact was brutal. The combined force of their descent and the roughness of the bark sent a jolt through Meadowbrook's entire body. It tore at her cloak and left raw burns on Rarity's hooves. Wincing, she felt the heat of friction sear them as they scraped against the coarse surface. Meadowbrook, restricted in magic, cried, her struggles echoing faintly in the wind.
The descent slowed, the bark acting like a giant sandpaper, gradually lessening their speed. Though the unorthodox landing method came at a cost, leaving both Rarity and Meadowbrook battered and bruised, it ultimately served its purpose, saving them from a potentially catastrophic plummet to the city streets below.
The blowback came soon after, the force pushing Meadowbrook off along with Rarity. They collided with the roof of an abandoned building, the impact shattering the tiles and sending them tumbling off the edge. Dust and debris rained around them, the air thick with the smell of stone and dusty crystal.
Finally, with a bone-jarring thud, they landed amidst the overgrown crystal rose bushes of the Crystal Castle's garden. Rarity, momentarily stunned, lay sprawled amidst the thorns and flowers, each cutting into her fur and grazing her flesh, her breath ragged in her chest.
Coughing violently, she pushed herself up, spitting out dust and grit.
Across from her, Meadowbrook lay spread eagle, her face contorted in pain. Rarity's gaze fell upon the green pony. An extensive, gruesome abrasion ran across Meadowbrook's torso, a sickening expose of muscle and bone. Rarity shut her eyes and looked away, unable to stomach the gore.
Soon after their landing, two figures, their forms obscured by dust and debris, fell from the rooftop of a nearby building, inviting themselves to land with a collective groan in a bed of lavender flowers. Once bursting with fragrance, the vibrant purple blooms seemed to wilt under the weight of the unexpected visitors.
Rarity squinted through the dust, her eyes adjusting to the sudden influx of movement. As the dust settled, two pony silhouettes emerged from the lavender patch, or rather, one dragging another by the tail. Somnambula trudges through the cloud, an unconscious Fluttershy being pulled by the tail in tow.
In her light scarlet wing, another vial. Popping the cork, she doused herself in the liquid with a squelch. The liquid oozed over a deep gash on her leg, and in a matter of seconds, the wound vanished, leaving behind only a faint scar.
Rarity stumbled back, her hooves scrabbling against the loose crystal leaves.
"I've already taken Meadowbrook here out of commission. Surely you wouldn't want to brawl—"
Another unmistakable pop goes off behind her, turning around. Rarity caught sight of Meadowbrook dousing herself from head to hoof. The gashes across her body sealed shut with a sickening hiss, leaving only smooth, unblemished skin. Her fur grew back at a steady rate to cover the exposed area.
"Oh... Fantastic..."
Somnambula flung Fluttershy to the side with a brutal swing of her head. The gentle pegasus landed with a thud against a crystal floor, a yell escaping her lips as her limp form shrouded in unsettling silence.
Across from Rarity, Meadowbrook rose to her hooves, a grin plastered across her face. The two pillars form a menacing pincer, effectively cornering Rarity in the heart of the corrupted garden.
The two pillars charged at her, Rarity mustering what remaining magic she had left, few as it may be. Suddenly, the flora around them shot up, not by Rarity's command, like they had a mind. Circling and restricting the pillar's movement.
Somnambula and Meadowbrook struggled in the crystal-floral binding; one thrashed wildly, desperately trying to free her wings from the thorny vines, while the other scrabbled at her pouch, searching for another vial of the green liquid. Soon enough, two colossal crystal roses, their petals shimmering with formless light, materialised before the struggling ponies.
As if possessing a force for life, they turned their glowing centres towards Somnambula and Meadowbrook, spewing a dense cloud of purple mist.
The purple mist proved remarkably efficient. Within seconds, both Somnambula and Meadowbrook succumbed to its effects. Their struggles ceased, their bodies growing limp as unnatural drowsiness washed over them. Their eyelids fluttered shut, followed by heavy, gentle exhales and silence.
Suddenly, a voice broke the silence, sending a jolt through the tired mare. "Are you alright, Rarity?"
Rarity turned to the pony that called her name, seeing a familiar old unicorn dressed in royal attire, her turquoise mane flowing gently behind her, a gentle smile adorned her wrinkled features, radiating warmth and reassurance.
Like a soothing balm, relief eased the tension from Rarity's battered body.
"...Mistmane?"