Chapter Five
She stared down the monstrous beast that stood before the two of them, the hissing reptilian serpent looking like a snake with sickly yellow teeth bigger than even the largest of human’s, two forelegs armed with sharp looking claws that supports its upper body, reptile irises narrowed in their direction, with black scale hide don with harden scales, the beast blocks their way, and Charm knew for a fact... that she could not handle such a beast.
After climbing up the cliff with no difficulty besides a few errand rocks falling under Rarity’s hooves, everything was ok.
That is until this monster showed itself, and before they knew it they were ducking and weaving around the creature in vain hopes to avoid being eaten.
So far her small size and combat experience up to this point had saved her life as well as Rarity’s, her small frame allowed her to duck under the striking teeth, her combat experience allowed her to at least get a hit in or two.
But that’s where things get more complicated, 'Charm in her days in skyrim had developed a lot in the magical arts, but was in no stretch of the word a very good combat mage, her fire couldn’t match a dragons or even the weakest of wielders, her ice was mediocre at best, her lightning was a mild annoyance beside to small and weak targets, she isn’t profound in swordsmanship besides the basics, and her conjuring skills is subpar as she didn’t like the idea of playing god by raising the dead.
And all this was before her transformation, her new body allowed her to channel magical energies more efficiently, unfortunately she is still inexperienced in wielding it, at best her fire and lightning spells had been upgraded from there mild annoyances.
But when the stakes are high she steps up to the plate to fight to the best of her ability, she also got some helpful tips from her friend Leona.
Her summoned swords are powerful as it was the only thing in conjuring she found a lot of use for.
Her enchanting is amazing as her origins allowed her to add something new to the craft.
Her alchemy craft is also pretty unique.
But as an combative mage? Yea good luck Charm you are not up to the task.'
‘Eve, would you shut up about my mediocre combat skills?’ Charm thought in deadpan as she ducked a swipe from the monsters tail. ‘And help me!?’ Charm thought frantically as the monster strikes again with its claws, missing her by a hair as she is now slowing down in her movements as they been at this for a good ten minutes, with no slowing down of the big creature.
‘Like what!?’ Eve replied also freaking out as their combined knowledge doesn’t cover fighting large monsters, ‘at best as I could come up with is to cut the head off with your swords, but you can’t achieve the momentum at your current ability, even if you flew your flying skills aren’t up to the task. But if you could do all this you won’t be able to protect Rarity!’ Eve said as she nearly screamed as the monster almost took Charms head off.
While this was going on, Rarity was off to the side watching with horror as she watched her friend dodge the monsters advances while getting a few fired off shots but they don’t seem to be effecting the creature as effectively as the timber wolves.
Charm turned to Rarity and yelled out at the top of her lungs to her. “GO!” This startled Rarity as she had noticed as she had been watching the fight in a relative safe distance, which she had been backing up while Charm moved the creature. Making it face in a complete different direction with its back towards the cliff, with Rarity’s flank now facing towards Ponyville. “GO I’LL HOLD IT OFF!” she yelled just managing to duck under another bite from the creature, causing the teeth to be lodged into the dirt giving her enough time to jump on the head before it could pull back, summoning her sword she stabs it in the head, only for the blades to bounce off the harden scales.
Cursing some rather creative expletives, she didn’t had time to get off the creature as it pulled its head up taking a large chunk of dirt to which it crushed under its mighty jaws.
It couldn’t find Charm as she was holding on for dear life as the pressure of the sudden assent caused her to be winded, she clung to the beasts head spines with all of her being. The Creature then notices Rarity who watched on still not sure what to do, it hissed in anger as it started moving towards her as she look on with horror.
“Oh. No. You. Don’t!” Dispelling her swords she summoned fire and lightning into her wings, she then starts shooting downward onto the monsters head causing it to roar out in pain, the lightning pierced the scales giving it a mild shock enough to cause it to be numbed to the world as its vision became distorted, while the fire on the other hoof created light and sound blinding it temporary as its already blurry vision was assaulted, she had enough time now for her to jump off the beasts back then ran towards Rarity.
“What are you doing?! GO!” Charm yelled as she pulled Rarity with her wings away from the monster as it’s in the process of shaking off its sudden daze and blindness.
They barely made it to the tree line that spreads the rocky Cliff side and the forest, because the monster spews a foul smelling sludge in their pathway killing many trees in its way with its presence alone.
Thinking quickly Charm looks back at the monster as it was doing this randomly it had managed to get in a lucky shot, looking to her left she sees a cave, looking back at the only exit, making her mind up she and Rarity made a mad dash to the small cave just as the monster recovers, and with speed that betrays its large size moved quickly in front of them again blocking their only hope for survival.
Not slowing down in the slightest she jumps in the way of its bite with swords out stretch holding off the monster with one wing blade jammed in its mouth but far enough in to hit a nerve causing the beast to pull up in pain, with Charm stuck in its mouth.
Rarity also not slowing down as she let Charm handle the monster as she rushes into the cave, looking back she sees Charm in the monsters mouth with her wing blades stuck in its jaw as it thrashed its head around.
With an all mighty jerk, the monster throws off the prick in its teeth which was causing pain, this was of course Charm who found herself in the air and in pain in her wing as she feels a joint dislocated, fortunately she was thrown into the cave but unfortunately she hits a stalagmite causing the cave roof to become unstable but not enough to cause it to fall apart.
The monster with a clicking sounding hiss that also sounds like its form of chuckling evilly, the monster watched the unconscious mare pegasus ready to lunge to its well fought meal, but before it could a blue aura surrounds Charm pulling her back in time just as the monster lunges, missing the mare by mere inches, the ensuing thud rumbled the cavern enough to cause a cave in as large hunks of rock falls onto the monster crushing its head under rock and rubble completely blocking the cave entrance.
Panting heavily from the now fading adrenaline of a life or death situation, she looks at Charm who is still unconscious, only to see that Charms wings are badly damaged with missing feathers and from what she could see is a broken bone sticking out of the wing, which caused Rarity to gasp in horror.
“Oh no!” Rarity exclaims loudly as she starts taking out her sleeping bags, placing Charm in them she reaches out with her magic to fish out some potions, pulling out the right potion for the job she was about to place it into Charms mouth.
Only for Charm to stop her from doing so as the mare is now awake but barely.
“Nah-no, R-rarity that would be... very bad...” Charm winces as her eyes started glassing over.” At my current injury... it’ll... fuse... bones.... wrong...” with fading consciousness she managed to say before passing out. “Must... set... bones... right...” and with that she was unconscious again.
“B-but I don’t know how to do that!” Rarity yells hysterically now seeing the situation she is in, she looks at the protruding bone not knowing what to do as she is starting to panic.
Steeling herself she reaches out with her magic she pulls Charms wing to its full length at the tip which had the effect of pulling Charms bones back into the skin.
Crying as the whole thing made a sickly sound of flesh and bones squishing nastily together, she withheld the urge to vomit as she readies some bandages, with great focus she bandaged Charms side, not knowing what else to do she places her wing back down hoping with all her might that she did it right.
Next she takes the potion she was going to give her back out ready to give to Charm, but... she couldn’t, with tears in her eyes the potion shakes in her magical field as she couldn’t bring herself to do it as if she did it wrong it could spell the lost of Charms ability to fly.
“I-I’ am sc-scared,” she whispers still with tears in her eyes as the potion falls from her grip spelling its contents onto the cave floor.
‘We all fear something child.’ A voice said sounding feminine in Rarity’s hysterical mind she brushed the voice off as her own. ‘Please tell me of your woes little one,’ The voice said as a small light emits from under Charms tattered adapt robes.
“I-I don’t know what to do, she has been so brave, so strong for me, protecting me from the monsters, s-saving my life. I-I don’t want her to lose the ability to fly when she had just achieved the feat!” Rarity yells out feeling even guiltier in her entire life, this was her fault she knows it and she announced her guilt’s. “I-I shouldn’t had rushed us, shouldn’t had made the risk.” She says all near whisper as tears still leak out of her eyes. “Th-this is my fault, I know it.” She finishes full on crying.
‘hush now, it’s ok child, it is all going to be ok.’ a ghostly apparition of a tall unicorn mare wraps her hooves around Rarity in a soothing gesture, she leaned in the embrace which to her surprise as she could feel her, but she couldn’t hear a heartbeat or the warmth, ‘just like a ghost.’ Rarity thought now taking a good look at the mare.
For a moment Rarity thought she was in front of Princess Celestia, but the fact the white mare was not as tall and lacked wings or even a cutie mark dissuaded her of that. The mare had silver eyes and a mane and tail that were like mist.
"Who… who are you?" Rarity asked in fear, was this a ghost of a death mare who also had been killed by a horrible monster? The unicorn form wavered slightly, it must be a ghost!
‘My name is errr my name is… uhm… call me Guide for now, I still have to fit a suitable pony name. I’ am Charms companion for life, her guide to life’s problems, her morals, Ideas, memory’s and Creativity.’ Eve lifts her head to look at the cave ceiling. ‘When she is lonely we speak, when she is lost I guide her, when she is hurting inside she comes to me.’ She looks down at Rarity again with a soft expression. ‘And when she will fall in love she would come to me for advice.’
"Oh, so you are like a big sister for her?" Rarity asked, now more relaxed, for some reason she could feel that she could trust the strange pony.
'Big sister? I… well, I guess that fits.' The big unicorn sighs, now her expression was pained. ‘Unfortunately I wasn’t always there for her.’ With determination she looks back at Rarity. ‘We had been granted a second chance her and I… I I won’t lose it again.’ Looking down at her hooves she draws a circle on the ground, Rarity watches with a mix of curiosity and a bit of fear.
Looking at Charms gentle breathing and injured body she smiles in sadness. ‘She needs help but all I could do is watch, I want to help but I can’t do much. I guess a lot of big sisters must sometimes feel like I do.’ She looks at Rarity again with Rarity tucked under her front legs. ‘I cannot provide much aid, but I can provide teaching.’ Guide said now looking squarely into Rarity’s soul, to see a beautiful and generous one.
‘Rarity listen closely, would you do that for me? Will you help Charm and watch over her, as only a true friend would?’ Rarity nods as she didn’t had the urge to speak contempt in listening to the unicorn.
‘Charm has many talents in magic, but healing magic is not one of them, and she lacks the right potions to heal herself. And even if she had the ingredients to make them, we are in a bit of a hurry.' Guide then smiled at Rarity "But you on the other hoof, can do what she can't with a bit of help."
‘I will give you the theoretical knowledge of spellcraft for Restoration which is the school of healing, then I want you to go to her bags as she has some spell tomes in hopes that it would be useful look for healing hands ok?’ Rarity nodes as she got up to get the tomes.
Returning with the spell tomes she places them down at Guide’s hooves. ‘Good now come here’ Rarity did so as she lays down on her belly with her legs tuck in.
‘I shall place my own horn onto yours and establish a link between us.’ Eve said to Rarity as she lowered her head down her horn touching the tip of Rarity’s own.
With a jolt Rarity stands back up rather abruptly as her head was filled to the brim of foreign magical knowledge, looking up at were the unicorn used to be she looks back down at the tome in her hooves.
The book was titled spell tome: healing hooves, Rarity couldn’t understand as she doesn’t remember being able to remember how to even read Charms language, but one look at Charm was all the motivation to start reading came up, opening the book she was assaulted with the ancient knowledge of the art of healing, how to regulate mana flow to the affected injury, how to apply her telekinesis to set bones in, while also fusing mana into the bone creating a highway to it, using the hosts own mana flow she can guide it threw the highway to better promote healing for a faster recovery.
All this and much more, the spell formula had started giving her mathematical formulas on how her own mana reserves would be drained and replenish and how effective her healing would be on injured body parts as a whole as she heals it.
And within half a second this was burned into her mind, after its use the tome turns to glimmering blue ash causing it to fall to the ground as even the ash winks out of existence.
“I-I know what to do.” Rarity said now full of confidence as she ran to Charms side, her horn burning into existence with a golden hue, she casts her spell at her friend, causing all her injuries to be instantly healed as Rarity’s own mana reserves lowers, she could physically feel the drain on a mathematical scale.
Rarity looks down at her handy work, she could see how Charms injuries had all healed as she could no longer sense the break in the bones, and she could also tell the muscle tears were all healed, with nothing left of it behind, not even a scar.
Rarity now spent as she had never used so much magic before, was now suffering magical exhaustion as she had never used so much mana in her life, collapsing on top of Charm, she could no longer stand as the day’s events had drained her physically and mentally, now even spiritually
Her day had finally caught up with her, and her friend was safe possibly dreaming of pink fluffy unicorns dancing on rainbows. With a smile she snuggles up to her unconscious friend and soon joined her in dreamland.
In the darkness of the cave a small flash appears in the dark, in the shape of a bird, and something that wasn't there before shows in the little unicorn flanks.
~ Canterlot ~
Some may not know this but Princess Celestia isn’t all knowing, her magical senses have been achieved by time and study over thousands of years, but she doesn’t know everything.
So because of this she was surprised when Twilight Sparkle jumped in her seat as she was previously playing with her smarty pants doll, to now fully alert with her ears pinned up searching for something that made her feel like she was pinched in the brain.
“Twilight dear what is the matter?” Celestia asked her student worried for her as this was odd behavior for her.
“I... I do not know Princess, but... I feel as if... something amazing happened.” Twilight said now full of awe as whatever had happened it was truly something to behold.
End of Chapter...
A battle to survive,
Two fillies flee danger,
Only to be stopped,
One is injured,
The other in tears,
A friend of the injured,
Gives their knowledge,
To the crying filly,
Giving her something magical and wondrous,
A talent she is capable of,
A magical art like no other,
In all of Equestria.