//------------------------------// // Lies Lead To More Lies // Story: Deeper Than Friendship // by JustaninnocentPony //------------------------------// Chapter 8 ------------------- “Twilight? Twilight, are you awake?” Twilight’s ears rung violently from the aftershock of the explosion, barely able to understand the simplest of dialogue as she slowly attempted to rise. She lightly shook her head, little pieces of gravel and dirt falling out of her mane and rolling over her entire body. She tried to move forward, but quickly leaned back against the tree she found herself in front of. Her head felt like someone had token two symbols and bashed them against the sides, the loud sound reverberating throughout her ears, through her skull and down her entire being. Her eyes slightly fluttered as she examined herself. The damage wasn’t too bad, she had a few cuts and bruises scattered around her chest and stomach, one of her legs had a deep cut where a sharp branch had unfortunately scraped across it and was bleeding profusely; and from what she could tell, which wasn’t much considering the state of her blurry vision, she was bleeding somewhere on her cheek. It’s okay Twilight, you can just go to the hospital, get some stitches, and heal up the rest with magic later. Twilight attempted to rise again, this time met with some success as she was able to lean on her non-injured foreleg. She felt Celestia-Damned awful, as if she could puke up her guts and keel over at any minute. She rubbed her head with her other hoof, wincing in pain as blood leaked out of her leg. Okay, maybe stitches won’t fix it… Twilight slowly raised her throbbing head to examine her surroundings. She was still in the forest, though that probably wasn’t a good thing. There was a miniature crater where she assumed she had passed out at; dark singing circled the edge of it in a criss-cross pattern, dimming the grass’s natural bright-green color. A couple of trees had fallen down, their tops now leaning in on the creaking branches of other, less fortunate ones. The trees that had not fallen had several cracks in them, marring their usual chaotically perfect appearance. Many flowers and weeds had been yanked from the ground and tossed several feet from the crater. Is this what her spell had done? How could a so-called “protection spell” clear so much forest? She assumed that any surrounding critters she hadn’t killed weren’t too happy with her for destroying their habitat. Note to self: Don’t ever use the dome spell again, unless I’m doing demolition work. Twilight attempted to stand up on all four legs, she yelped as searing pain shot up from her foreleg. She raised the injured leg up, fresh new blood dripping from the end of it, overlapping the dried blood that had shed moments ago. Her breath was shuddering and she felt very light headed. She was almost certain that she wouldn’t be able to make it out of the forest by herself. Wait… didn’t somepony just say her name? Twilight looked around the vast expense of forest, her eyes drifting from split tree to split tree until she landed on the figure, Rainbow Dash. “Here Twilight, let me help you.” Rainbow Dash said earnestly, coming forward and heaving Twilight’s injured foreleg over her shoulder, acting like a makeshift crutch for the purple mare. Twilight glanced over at the rainbow maned pony and smiled lightly through her pain. Rainbow herself didn’t look too good as well; she had rocks and dirt in her coat and her mane was a frazzled mess. Beads of sweat were running down her forehead and she had bags under her eyes, as if she were very stressed about something. “Thanks Rainbow Dash… You don’t look so good” Twilight said with deep concern in her voice. Rainbow Dash shook her frazzled mane again, little pieces of dirt flinging out and flying to the ground below. She took her free hoof and wiped the sweat off of her forehead before responding. “Yeah… I came here in search of Fluttershy. I heard her scream from my cloud above her house. But… I haven’t been able to find a thing. And then I saw a massive column of smoke from this section in the forest and flew down. That’s when I saw you” Rainbow Dash worriedly replied “Have you seen her around here anywhere?” “Yeah, she was just with me a moment ago before the explosion.” “Wait… If there was an explosion and Fluttershy was with you…” Rainbow’s voice trailed in fear, her pupils growing small as she nervously looked around. “Is everything alright, Rainbow Dash?” Twilight asked curiously. She didn’t even really know why she asked, she already knew what was on Dash’s mind. But she wanted to hear the words come from the Pegasus’s mouth. Rainbow Dash instantly tackled her to the ground, holding her down and fearfully looking her in the eye. “Is she alright Twilight?! Did she get hurt?!” Rainbow asked urgently. Twilight felt pain shoot up from her foreleg again and winced slightly. Rainbow realized this and quickly apologized, helping her up. She shakily arose and took a deep breath before speaking again. “I don’t know where she is right now Rainbow, nor do I know if she is doing okay or not. And believe me; it worries me just as much as it does you.” Twilight replied. She felt her heart sank as she spoke; everything that was happening right now was her fault, nopony else but her. If she hadn’t been such an incompetent foal and lured Fluttershy out into the forest with that blatant and not well thought-out plan of hers none of this would’ve been happening. But there was no way in Equestria she could let any of her friends know that just yet, especially Rainbow Dash. They would all hate her and never want to speak to her again. Worse, what if she was banished to the Everfree Forest!? Or what if she was encaged in a dungeon?! Or what if she was banished to the forest and encaged in a dungeon to the place she was banished to?! Several different scenarios ran across her mind, each having a more dreadful consequence than the last. Twilight gulped before turning her attention back to Rainbow Dash. She had to focus on this right now; she could worry about her big problem later. But it seemed like Rainbow Dash was already one step ahead of her, already flying around and looking in bushes and trees. Soon after, she turned around to Twilight with an irritated look on her face. “Come on Twilight! Chop Chop! We need to find Fluttershy; she could be in danger, or worse!” Rainbow Dash pegged on with more urgency. Twilight stood there, lost in thought. Did Rainbow really care that much about her Fluttershy? Were they really in love? And could it really last? And if so, should she stay out of it? Rainbow Dash angrily turned around again “COME ON TWILIGHT! NOW!” She yelled impatiently. Twilight shook her head and broke out of her haze, beginning to limp around in search for the pink-maned pony. After a good while of searching and no results, they both felt the depression of the situation. They needed to find Fluttershy, because if they didn’t… she could very well die if she hadn’t already. Rainbow Dash seemed to be taking that fact heavier than Twilight did, always flying around her and yelling out things like “Get back to searching!” or “Use a spell of some sort!” or “We have to find her!”. It wasn’t as if Twilight herself wasn’t scared; she too worried about Fluttershy’s safety. Moreover, she was worried about what could happen to her if that were to be jeopardized and her friends knew it was because of her. Rainbow Dash herself was already concerned enough herself to notice Twilight stopping; this was too much to take in. Her best friend could be laying in a bush somewhere dead or slowly and painfully dying as she was screaming out for help! What if she was and they couldn’t hear it? What if she couldn’t scream at all?! She blamed herself most of all, if she wasn’t napping on the cloud like she had been then she would’ve known about it when Fluttershy ventured into the forest. She could’ve been there to help her! She could’ve been along to accompany her and Twilight! Rainbow Dash stopped dead for a moment, a thought spontaneously coming into her head. Wait a minute… why did Fluttershy go into this forest in the first place? She’s terrified of this forest! She never even goes in here except into the clearing! And that’s not even that deep in the forest! And… why was she with Twilight? And what about the explosion, what could have possibly caused that? Twilight had token a moment to slow down and catch her breath when Rainbow suddenly whirled around, giving her a suspicious stare. Twilight slowly cringed up, being taken aback by her friend’s sudden hostility towards her. She swore the stare she was being given could melt metal or turn ponies to stone. But after a quick mental check she verified that she had not been turned into molten Twilight or made into somepony’s garden statue, thankfully. However, fear began to seep into Twilight’s mind, overriding her deep thinking. Had Rainbow found something out somehow? Oh no, what if she had?! It could all be over now in a heartbeat! “Twilight… Why did you and Fluttershy even come out here in the first place” Rainbow Dash started with suspicion in her voice. 'Oh no' Twilight thought as she heard the words escape her friend’s mouth. She was already a terrible liar, even under even the smallest amount of guilt and pressure. If she couldn’t even handle lying about stealing cookies from the cookie jar as a filly then how in Equestria would she be able to lie about potentially killing Fluttershy! Don’t jump to conclusions Twilight, she isn’t dead yet… I hope “Ahem.” Rainbow said impatiently. Twilight shook her head and hastily tried to recover her senses. Rainbow’s impatience had told her that she had obviously been silent for too long; which was very bad considering the fact that it didn’t help her too much in seeming earnest to the Pegasus. Twilight had to come up with some sort of excuse, and fast. Her mind quickly went to work on gathering every possible lie she could tell. After a bit of thinking and another prod from Rainbow Dash she looked up to meet her narrowed eyes and took a deep breath. “Well… You see the thing is…” Twilight began nervously. Rainbow Dash further narrowed her eyes to the point where they nearly closed. Oh no, not off to a good start. Okay think Twilight, recover! “The bunnies escaped!” Yes! Good going, now keep it coming! “Right after you went up to take your nap I saw the bunny encampment open, the bunnies had already left towards the forest!” Twilight ended with a nervous laugh, unsuccessfully trying her best to sound believable. Rainbow Dash slowly nodded her head as if she hadn’t believed a word she said. “Okay then, Twilight… Why was Fluttershy with you?” She prodded. “What? I’m sorry” Twilight stumbled; she was busy recovering from her last lie when the question had been thrown at her. Her brain needed another excuse. This time, luckily, the lie followed in so well with the last one. “I said-” “Oh yes, sorry!” Twilight cut her off, still sounding very nervous. “As soon as I saw they left I went to gather Fluttershy and possibly Rarity as fast as I could. Rarity didn’t want to come with me and I felt as if I needed all the help I could get my hooves on. But there wasn’t any time to go search for Pinkie Pie or Applejack and I didn’t want to disturb you from your nap” Twilight finished, sounding much more believable that time. The lie wasn’t too difficult to tell, mainly because most of it wasn’t a lie, save for the last part. Rainbow slowly nodded her head again, still not fully beleving the story. “Okay… And what about the explosion?” Rainbow Dash asked, conspicuously sounding suspicious still. Twilight didn’t need to pause and think for this one; the truth could suffice. She wouldn’t be harming anything if she told her about the attack. “Well… there was a Manticore that found us and attacked us. I used a shield spell but after awhile it began to fade. So I kicked my magic into overdrive and then…” Twilight trailed off, not wanting to finish the sentence. Regardless of this however, both of them knew the word it would have ended in. Rainbow’s eyes went small again as she grabbed Twilight by the shoulders. “We need to hurry” She said in urgency, beginning to dash further down the path. Twilight gave a sigh of relief under her breath and began to follow suite. She stopped for a moment, wincing in pain when her foreleg bared the weight of her body. She had been so caught up in the heat of lying that she had forgotten that it was horribly injured. Her run turned into a walk, which then turned into a limp, the foreleg dragging gradually in front of her with each step. She took a second to look down and rest, breathing in heavily. Her leg was on fire and she was sweating almost as much as she was bleeding. Not to mention the fact that she felt like giving the ground her whole lunch as fertilizer. Even though bile probably wasn’t the best way to make plants grow… She needed to leave the forest, and fast. She’d pass out any minute now and then Rainbow Dash would have two bodies to take care of. She also had to stay conscious to keep up her lies. What if Rainbow were to find something that would make her suspicious again? Or what if she found Fluttershy and her whole lie was revealed before she could even wake up to argue against it? It would most likely be all to no avail but at least she would be able to try! Twilight sighed and continued walking, keeping her eyes focused on the ground. She had a plethora of emotions running through her mind; Anger at herself, guilt, sorrow, worry, anxiety, fear. It was so much she couldn’t even pay attention to where she was walking when she bumped into Rainbow Dash’s rear and bounced back onto the earthy ground. She moaned in pain as she sat up, rubbing her flank and testing to make sure she hadn’t broken her tailbone. She then got back on her two feet, composing an apology in her mind as she faced Rainbow Dash who, by her guess, wouldn’t be too happy with her for the collision. But when her eyes fell upon her, the sky-blue Pegasus wasn’t even facing towards her. She was just standing there, locked in place as if she had locked eyes with a cockatrice. Twilight shuddered a bit, recalling her memory of her experience with the dreadful creature before shaking her head and walking up to the still Pegasus. “Rainbow?” Twilight curiously waved a hoof in front of Rainbow’s face, not receiving a response. She frowned, this couldn’t be good. “Rainbow what’s the matt-” Twilight stopped when a plaintive and painful moan entered her ears, making her shudder out of disturbance. The owner of it was not her or Rainbow Dash; but instead, a shaking and twitching yellow Pegasus lying on the ground before them. Twilight gasped in shock and Rainbow’s face had lost all color. They stood there for awhile, not being able to move an inch. There, incapacitated in a mess of blood and bruises was one of their closest friends. It was an experience that would stay with them for as long as they lived. “F-F-Fluttershy…” Rainbow quietly stammered out, tears filling her eyes and wetting her cheeks. “FLUTTERSHY!” She picked up a haste gallop, going at a speed that even famous race-ponies would marvel at. “FLUTTERSHY!” Rainbow continued her running, quickly closing the gap between her and the injured pony. Fluttershy shakily raised her head a mere few inches off the ground, searching for where the sound was coming for. When her eyes came upon the speedily approaching Rainbow Dash she mustered all of her strength, attempting to rise to her hooves. She began to violently shake, falling straight back to the ground after only a few seconds. Rainbow reached the very week pony in front of her, looking down in pure fear and worry. Fluttershy was cut in several places along her body, blood streaming freely from all of the wounds. She had a rather large gash on her forehead, the blood coming from it dimming her usually bright and vibrant yellow coat to a darkly stained color. Her mane was in tuffs of varying size, some very large and others microscopic. Its pink color had been dimmed by a tremendous amount of dirt and small debris. It was an awful sight to witness, she just wouldn’t stop shaking or trying to get up. This brought Rainbow Dash to teary despair in no time as she gently put her hooves on Fluttershy’s back, forcing her to stay down. “Stay down Fluttershy… We’ll get you help” Rainbow Dash quietly said as she lowered herself to the yellow pony’s level, staring worriedly into her eyes. Fluttershy did the best she could to look back, feeling defeated and weekend. She needed to be strong like Dream Rainbow Dash had told her, she needed to get up and survive. She tried to rise once more, barely being able to even lift herself inches off the ground before collapsing. Before she could try again she felt a hoof rest on her back gently. She looked up to be met with the beautiful magenta eyes of Rainbow Dash, looking lovingly into hers as if they were pleading for her to stop and wait for help. Fluttershy complied, resting back a little as she kept her eyes locked on Rainbow’s. Twilight had stood there, not moving from her spot as she watched the scene unfold. It was so heartbreaking yet so sweet to see at the same time. Maybe… Maybe she was wrong… Guilt crept its way into Twilight’s heart and filled it to the brim, blocking all other emotions. Fluttershy… in this much pain… all her fault. She felt a tear escape her eye and sliding down her cheek, leaving a warm touch behind. Twilight wanted to be put in that dungeon in a far away place where she’d be banished to for all eternity now; she deserved it. She deserved any punishment she was given for her actions. She took a deep breath and walked forward, she couldn’t tell them yet… but she would when the time came. “Perhaps I could be of some help” She calmly stated, a mixture of worry and guilt in her voice. Rainbow looked over and stared for a moment, simply nodding in agreement. Twilight began a gradual limp towards Fluttershy, making no attempt to hurry. Eventually she reached the yellow Pegasus, and loomed over her body in examination. The smaller cuts and bruises weren’t too bad and could be mended with magic, but the bigger ones would definitely need medical attention and stitches that she could not give. Fluttershy was also very, very weak and had lost a considerable amount of blood… and blood couldn’t be magically replaced or generated. “This… doesn’t look good guys… But I can try my best” Twilight said, each word containing sorrow and worry. “Now… this may hurt a bit” She finished as her horn began to glow brightly. She closed her eyes, concentrating as she lowered her horn, touching it to Fluttershy’s body. Fluttershy tensed up, closing her eyes and beginning to shudder. Rainbow Dash noticed this and tentatively put her free hoof onto the yellow pony’s face, gently brushing her mane to the side. A wave of warmth cascaded through Fluttershy, causing her to loose her tension and ease back. However, the warmth was quickly replaced by searing pain as Twilight’s spell began to take affect. Fluttershy’s eyes once again closed and small moans of pain began to escape her lips. Rainbow Dash kept her hoof firmly planted on Fluttershy’s cheek, the other one moving down to the ground to grab hold of her hoof. Fluttershy tried her best to keep her pain contained, having Dash there to make her calm down was a massive help; but she could still feel waves of intense pain running across her body and making it scream in agony. Fluttershy thought that at this rate her whole body would spontaneously burst out into flames before it healed. It was the worst pain she had ever felt in her entire life; and Twilight was just healing the small wounds! What would happen when she got to the bigger and deeper ones? Fluttershy moans soon grew louder, turning into miniature screams as more and more cuts were closed, wounds were mended, and blood was stopped. After what seemed to be an eternity; Twilight’s magic stopped. Both Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash turned their heads in confusion to look at the mare. Sweat was beading down her forehead and she looked as if she had just sprinted a hundred miles. It was obvious she had done everything she had possibly could because no matter how hard she tried her horn would not light up. Fluttershy looked to her body; it looked nearly brand new. Apart from the large wounds that still occupied it, it was perfectly normal. She could also feel a bit of her strength returning as blood began to pump rapidly through her veins. She felt herself slowly but surely standing up on her hooves. Rainbow Dash carefully helped to guide her up until she was able to stand alone. Whatever Twilight had done it had worked, and Fluttershy was more than thankful for it. Fluttershy turned her attention back to Rainbow Dash who was already looking back at her. When there eyes met Rainbow Dash blushed and turned away, looking off into the distance. Fluttershy giggled lightly, leaning up to give Dash a peck on the cheek which only caused the mare to jump and blush more. After a bit, there eyes met once more; but this time, neither of them turned away. Fluttershy smiled lovingly at Dash who happily returned it. “I’m so relieved that you’re okay now Fluttershy” Rainbow said sincerely, pulling Fluttershy into a tight hug. Fluttershy didn’t complain as she laid her head on Dash’s chest, accidentally staining some of its blue color with a bit of blood. “Well… almost okay” she joked, laughing as she brushed Fluttershy’s mane ever so carefully. Fluttershy joined in the laughter; she may not be fully healed yet, and she still needed medical attention, but she didn’t care. So long as she could stay in an embrace with Dash for as long as possible the rest of her troubles could wait. Twilight was heaving in and out, attempting to catch what breath she could. She had honestly never felt this exhausted in her entire life. She could feel buckets of sweat relentlessly pouring down her face and dropping off to the ground below. She lifted her head to watch the scene unfolding before her. If anything, she had to admit that they were cute together. How they seemed to be able to get lost in each other’s company so easily, how much they cared for each other. ‘They must be really happy together’ Twilight thought as she smiled. She had never seen any two ponies this happy since… since Lyra… Twilight shook her head; what if this time was different though? What if this time, they wouldn’t break apart in pain? But… What if it wasn’t? What if they ended up just like Raven Night and Lyra? They may not cheat on each other but a number of different possibilities could take place that could throw them into the heat of a break-up. If anything, she would at least have to stand by and monitor it… so she could stop it if she saw it diving down that path. Fluttershy looked over to Twilight and met her eyes, smiling. “Thank you Twilight for what you did do… I know you couldn’t heal me completely, but I’m thankful for the wounds you did heal. And thank you for protecting me from the Manticore… or at least trying to.” She finished with only kindness in her voice. Twilight could feel guilt filling her emotions and taunting her to tell the truth once more. In her opinion, she hadn’t protected Fluttershy. No, she had nearly killed her. But she kept silent; she still had to keep that a secret for as long as she could, even if that wasn’t going to be that long. Fluttershy then turned her attention to Dash; she had to let her know that she hadn’t minded the prank as long as they were still together. “Rainbow… I know you pulled a prank on me and let the bunnies loose but I want to let you know… I forgive you, so long as it doesn’t happen again” She said with a smile. Rainbow Dash stared at her marefriend blankly. Prank? What prank had she ever pulled on Fluttershy? Then a thought popped into her mind. “Twilight…” Rainbow said, a hint of anger in her voice. Twilight tensed up, she had heard the whole thing and knew what it meant. She was done for, finished, and it scared her as much as almost loosing Fluttershy had. She began to back up as Rainbow Dash let go of Fluttershy, beginning to move forward. Fluttershy watched the two in confusion, having no clue what had just happened. This was it… the end. She would loose all of her friends and be shunned from everyone in Ponyville for the rest of her days. Nopony would ever see her in the same light ever again, no matter what she said or did. Twilight took a deep breath and closed her eyes, exhaling slowly before looking back at Rainbow. “Yes Rainbow?” Twilight asked innocently, trying to sound truthful. “Don’t play dumb Twilight… tell me what happened…” Rainbow said, anger deeply rooted in her voice. “I… I don’t know what you’re talking about?” Twilight asked nervously. “Tell me why you led Fluttershy in here on purpose!” END