Twilight's Transmutation
Chapter 14
Rainbow Dash stared up at her friends in shock, not believing what she missed while she was away.
"You want to kill her!" Rainbow Dash yelled, anger pulsing through her body.
"Rainbow Dash, look at what she did to you! I wouldn't be here if you hadn't saved me, and now she's off doing Celestia knows what, prepairing herself to strike again!"
Rainbow Dash cringed as Twilight reminded her of the injuries she had sustained. Her wing was torn apart, and it would take weeks to heal. "I thought you believed in friendship Twilight." Rainbow Dash's mind filled with rage at the thought of her friends actually concidering the thought of killing Fluttershy. "It's not her fault Twilight, if anything . . . we should kill you!"
Twilight took a step back, giving Rainbow a chance to continue her virble assult. "You were the one that ruined her life, and you were the one that started all of this. Now you just want to take the easy way out and kill your best friend for a mistake you made?" Rainbow turned her head in dissapointment. "Y'know, with being such an egghead and all, I thought you would be able to come up with a better solution then that, it's no wonder Celestia is disapointed in you . . ."
Twilight's eyes filled with tears, with no responce, she sat on her haunches and let them flow down her cheeks. Spike was at her side in an instant, comforting the best he could.
"Rainbow Dash!" Rarity scolded. "Now is not the time for hurting each other, now is the time to help each other come up with a way to fix this!"
The cyan mare stared at Rarity, a hurt look etched apon her face. "How could you even think of doing such a thing Rarity? Are you willing to kill one of your friends so quickly with no second thought?"
Rarity sighed softly and walked over to her bedside. "Now dear, this isn't an easy thing to do, but think about it. Fluttershy is growing stronger and stronger everyday, and just recently she has assulted Princess Celestia, almost killing her. We don't have the Elements of Harmony, and Fluttershy could show up at any moment. What do you suggest we do?
Rainbow sighed. Honestly, she hadn't thought about another idea, she just didn't like the one about killing her best friend . . . There has to be another way . . .
" . . . I'll help you find her," she said glummly, her friends expressions only furthering her saddened mood. "but please . . . can we try to find another way . . . instead of killing her?"
Applejack nodded. " 'Course we can Sugarcube."
Seeing the yellow mare writhing in agony in the middle of the dark alley drew some attention. The older stallions had no thought of helping the young mare however, and instead planned on taking advantage of her. Sadly for them, they failed to realize the small, white ball of rage that flung himself at their heads.
Panting, Angel Bunny hopped away from the seventh victom of the evening, returning to check on his caretaker. Fluttershy looked exhausted, her face was pale, her breathing was shallow, and her stomach appeared bloated. Busy trying to comfort his caretaker, Angel failed to notice the stallion behind him.
"What the hay is goin' on here?"
Turning around, Angel swiftly lashed out at the stallion's head. Blocking the onslought, the stallion held him carefully and moved him aside, returning his focus back to the mare in pain. Cautiously, the stallion nuzzled the mare, withdrawing a yelp of pain immediately. Backing away, he tried a different aproach. Slowly, he approached Fluttershy's ear.
"It's alright Miss Shy, it's just me, Big Mac. Ah'm goin' to take ya to the hospital nice and easy alright? Just tell me if ya want me to slow down." Slowly, Big Mac and Angel raised Fluttershy onto his back.
Slowly, Big Macintosh worked his way through the side streets of Ponyville, how Fluttershy ended up in a place like this he would never know. The evening eventually gave way into night, as Luna's moon lit up the night, showcasing her beautifully crafted constellations for all of Equestria to see. Now that most ponies were entering their homes for sleep, the other ponies came out and skulked the streets. Sadly for him, carrying a half conscious mare that's groaning in pain attracted a bit more attention then he wanted.
One by one, the Skulkers as Applejack called them, filled the alleys of Ponyville. Each one of them more interested in Big Macintosh's cargo then the last. Keeping his eye's glued forward, he tried to pick up the pace, but was immediately denied by a yelp of pain.
"Sorry 'bout that Miss Shy." Big Mac whispered behind him. Settling on just a swift walk, He couldn't help to notice all of the eyes on him. The cold, hungry, glowing red eyes tracked him every step he took, and so did the whispers.
"There they are . . ."
"Look at how strong he is . . ."
"Lots of muscle that one has . . ."
"So pretty . . ."
"He must've bagged that mare himself . . ."
"So hungry . . ."
"So delicious . . ."
Big Macintosh sighed, he should have expected things would not be this easy for him, and now he needed to find a way out of the mess he walked into. Looking around, Big Mac looked for something to hide Fluttershy in. Crates, barrels, alleys, and small holes in walls that some of these ponies called their home passed through his vision, but he chose the hay pile instead. Carefully putting her down amongst the hay, one of the Skulkers came into view.
The first thing that got to Big Mac was how thin she was, so thin you could play her like a xylophone. Her cold blue eyes were fixed on him, and her mouth was watering. She opened it several times, but nothing came out. After several attempts, a scratchy sound could be heard.
"C-can I have some?"
The crimson stallion took a step back only to bump into somepony else. Retreating back towards the hay pile, he searched for Fluttershy, but to no avail. "Miss Shy!" Big Macintosh yelled, looking over the heads of the surrounding ponies.
Big Macintosh jumped back as one of the ponies snapped at him. Turning around, he found his target right in front of him. Fluttershy was hovering above the ground, smirking at him with cold, lifeless eyes. Big Mac gasped as Fluttershy's eyes, and the ground beneath him began to glow. Suddenly, tendrils pierced his body. He growled in pain as his body began to feel like it was on fire, and he collapsed to the ground his warm blood began to pool underneath him. Fluttershy's eyes began to glow once more, and the surrounding ponies began to look around confused.
I'll see you later Big Macintosh. Fluttershy smirked and the glowing eyes of the Skulkers began to fade. Their eyes returning back to their normal colors. Blending into the crowd, Fluttershy flew away, leaving an unnoticed Big Macintosh to bleed out.
Wasn't that so much fun Fluttershy?
Fluttershy was currently flying towards her cottage, her body being wracked with pain every couple of minutes. With her teeth gritted, eyes focused, her breathing coming in ragged gasps, and one of Pinkie's songs in her head, she trudged in the direction of her cottage, doing her best to forget what happened.
"W-what do you . . . want with me?" Fluttershy groaned, barely able to keep herself aloft.
What I want right now is for you to put on those legs.
Fluttershy grimaced. After the scene with Big Macintosh, she was forced to go back to the blacksmith and take the four metal legs he was working on. She had no idea why the Voice wants them, but she figured that she couldn't argue with it. With her wings on fire, Fluttershy opened the door and flew upstairs, instantly, the small house came alive with cheerful greetings and please to help the injured.
"Hello"
"Where have you been?"
"We've been so worried."
"Mr. Mouse broke his leg again!"
"Mrs. Robin laid three eggs!"
"Silence!"
A deep roar echoed through the cottage, instantly stopping the chatter. As Fluttershy lay in her bed, shadow tendrils spread out from the bed, and opened up the saddlebags, grabbing the metal legs.
Don't worry Fluttershy, this will only hurt alot
For the next hour, the cottage was filled with screams of agony and howls of pain. Slowly, Pride managed to equip Fluttershy with the automail she needed to bring him one step closer to his goal.
Rainbow Dash snapped awake. Mumbling softly, she remembered that she spent an hour arguing with the nurse, begging for her to leave. Inevitably, it was a battle Dash could not win, so she went back to her room and fell asleep. Ears perking up, she heard the sound again, a thudding sound. Sighing softly, she got up out of bed, ready to help Tank adjust his course once more. Upon turning on the light, she saw Tank in his shell sleeping peacefully.
Sighing softly, she turned the light back off and trotted back into bed. As she looked up at the ceiling, she saw a twinkle. What is that? Rainobw Dash thought, rubbing her head. Reaching over, she clicked on the light once more and looked upwards, right into the sea blue eyes of Fluttershy.
Rainbow Dash regained full consciousness almost instantly at the sight of her best friend. Sadly, it took her half as long to realize something was wrong.
Fluttershy was pale. Her sweet yellow glow had faded complete and all that was left was a husk of a pony. She didn't look like she was getting a lot of exercise, as she appeared to be chubbier than usual. She also appeared to be walking awkwardly on four metal sticks. Which, upon further investigation, Rainbow noticed that they were intricately designed legs, giving a once legless mare that ability once again.
Rainbow Dash slowly got out of bed.
"Fluttershy? W-what happened to you? Are you alright?"
Dash took a step back as Fluttershy trembled with rage at each question. Rainbow tried to walk slowly over to the door, but Fluttershy's venomous gaze stopped her in her tracks.
"You're first." Fluttershy whispered, the sound almost being drowned out completely by a sharp metallic ring. Slamming her forehooves to the ground, a blue light filled the room.
Immediately, Rainbow Dash's body wracked with pain. Doubling over, she fought her seizing lungs for air. The request was ultimately denied however, as her brain felt as if it were expanding. Groaning in pain, Dash tried to take a step forward, just enough to get into bucking range, but when she tried, she ended up flat on her face.
"Don't try to resist!" Fluttershy hissed, her pink mane flowing in the energy of the active transmutation circle.
Rainbow Dash felt her body weaken, and her consciousness slip. Unable to break free, she stopped resisting completely, and let Fluttershy's transmutation take hold.
"Somepony help!"
The shrill cry pierced the night sky, as ponies in Ponyville settled into a panic. From what the nurse could gather, a red stallion appeared out of nowhere injured and half dead. His hide was soaked in his own life essence, along with a huge gash on his side. It had taken three stallions to carry him safely to the emergency room.
The stallion that was injured was big and strong, one of the toughest in all of Ponyville. If the attacker could take down such a strong pony, what would stop them from coming back and striking again? The nurses of Ponyville hospital spent all night trying to stabilize his condition, finally accomplishing their goal at 8 a.m.
Absolutely exhausted, the nurse ponies wheeled the stallion into an available room, not noticing that in the room next door, its occupant was passed out on the floor.
Eventually, the sound reached the cyan mare. Groaning, Rainbow Dash struggled to her hooves. Seeing her room empty, she knew that Fluttershy had disappeared once more. She knew that finding Fluttershy was important, especially if she didn't want her killed, but Rainbow knew she had to tell Twilight what happened.
Limping out of the room, she dodged out of the way as nurses shoved their way into the room next door. Letting her curiosity beat her, she took a peak inside. Rainbow's eyes widened as she saw Big Macintosh covered with blood, the nurses monitering him constantly, prepared for any change in condition. With new found determination, Dash started towards Twilight's house at full gallop.
Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, and Spike didn't get back to the library until late at night. Rainbow Dash clearly didn't like the idea of having to stay in the hospital for couple more days, but eventually she caved in and called it a night. As Twilight opened the door with her magic, she couldn't believe what she saw.
The library was destroyed. Bookcases were toppled, papers thrown everywhere, years of careful charts, catalogs, and notes were destroyed. In the middle of the room, Princess Celestia lay in the center of a transmutation circle, a two legged figure looming over her.
"Princess Celestia!" Twilight shouted. Reacting quickly, she clapped her hooves together and forced them to the ground. A pillar of wood crashed into the figure, causing it to roll in a flurry of limbs before hitting the wall with a loud thud.
In an instant, everypony ran towards the Princess. Looking up, Twilight saw the figure collect itself and come charging forward. Thinking quickly, Applejack turned and bucked the air, catching the figure just below the jaw, sending it flying through the air. Twilight performed a quick transmutation, causing the wood around the figure to pin it.
"Everypony okay?" Applejack asked, looking towards the struggling figure.
"Turn on the lights Spike." Twilight asked, walking back to her fallen mentor.
Flipping the light switch, Spike turned and saw the mysterious creature, it had a green mane, and two legs.
"What is that?" Spike asked.
Twilight walked closer, not believing her eyes. "P-Princess Luna?"
Before anypony could react, the door was bucked off it's hinges. Turning, Twilight saw an exhausted, bruised, cyan mare. "Rainbow Dash!"
Rainbow Dash gasped for air, her chest heaving in and out. "T-Twilight! Applejack! B-Big Macintosh! Fluttershy!"
Rarity looked at Rainbow Dash in confusion. "Calm down Darling! At this rate you're going to get a pimple! Please, calm down and start from the beginning."
Dash took a deep breath, thinking about where to start. "Alright, well after I had my conversation with the nurse and went back to bed, I eventually fell asleep. I woke up in the middle of the night because I heard a noise, and Fluttershy was in my room."
Rainbow paused and waited until the collective gasp and murmurs settled down. "S-she transmuted me . . ."
Everypony paused as an evil cackle filled the room. Turning to Envy, Rainbow Dash charged at her.
"What's so funny!" She yelled, hovering over her.
"Looks like Pride put his plan into motion," Envy managed to choke out in between her laughter. "now there's nothing you can do!"
Princess Celestia groaned and tried to lift herself up. Running to her aid, Twilight let her mentor lean against her for support.
"Why are you doing this Luna?" Celestia asked tiredly.
Envy smiled. "Princess Luna was just an alias." Envy's smile widened as she noticed the confused looks. "Princess Luna was never real you idiots! It's been me the entire time! Overthrowing Discord, Nightmare Moon! Everything you know about 'Luna' is just a bunch of lies! Now that Pride's plan is taking action there is nothing you can do!"
"Girls?"
In turn, the five ponies turned, each looking at Rainbow Dash.
After shuffling her forehooves for a moment, Dash spoke up. "I-I think something is wrong with Fluttershy . . ."
Twilight's ears perked up immediately. "What do you mean Rainbow, what's wrong with her?"
"Well, when she was inside my room, she looked really pale, she looked absolutely exhausted, and she looked chubbier then usual."
"Spike," Twilight called, turning towards her assistant as he appeared by her side. "Get me Symptoms: Sicknesses and Diseases please."
With a quick nod, Spike ran off to get the book, appearing moments later. Grabbing it in her magic, Twilight began to flip through the book, skimming the information before stopping. After a short pause, Twilight fell back on her haunches. A perplexed look etched her features.
"Umm . . . girls?" Twilight took a moment to go over what she just read. "I . . . I think Fluttershy is dealing with some type of accelerated pregnancy-"
"What!"
Fluttershy's body wracked with pain once more. She was currently pacing around the room, unable to keep still until the pain got even worse. Groaning in pain, the animals in the cottage began to retreat, all except for a small, white bunny.
Angel Bunny hopped towards his caretaker, staying at her side for the entire process. A few seconds later, it was perfectly clear to both of them that Fluttershy was currently giving birth.
Turning her head weakly, Fluttershy stared at Angel. "G-Get Nurse Redheart . . . please." Turning swiftly, Angel hopped swiftly out of the cottage towards the hospital.
The next 16 minutes where the most strenuous of Fluttershy's life. The process was extremely uncomfortable for the small mare. The racks of pain, the awful screams and yells of defiance coming from her head, and the constant attempts from Pride to impede the birthing process. Sadly for him, 16 minutes later, a beige colored foal with a black mane, purple eyes and a red mark on his forehead lay on the floor next to an exhausted Fluttershy. Disoriented, he tried to stand multiple times, crashing on his face after each attempt.
A small chuckle filled the room. Curious, Pride turned towards the source, only to see two blue eyes staring back at him.
"Y-you aren't so scary now that I can see you . . ." Fluttershy adventured. "W-why do you want to hurt everypony?"
Pride focused on his hooves, slowly lifting himself off the ground. "I'm trying to find my friends . . . can you help me?"
Fluttershy smiled softly and squirmed closer to her foal. "Of course I can."
"What!"
Everypony turned towards Envy, who was currently trying to escape the wooden grasp of the floor.
"That's impossible! Pride would never let that happen!"
Enraged, Envy began to thrash around her wooden restraints. Flexing her body, Envy shattered her restraints. Dodging the wooden projectiles, Applejack charged forward, unprepared for Envy's arms to extend and smash against her head. Rarity used her magic to lift the shards of wood and launch them at Envy. Envy smiled as she swatted them out of the air. As Envy turned to Rarity, Rainbow went in to sweep her off of her feet. As she executed her move, she misjudged the weight of her opponent and stopped in her tracks.
Turning, Envy impaled Rainbow in the floorboards. Seeing two ponies standing, Envy extended both her arms out, wrapping up Celestia and Twilight. Smashing them together, she heard a satisfying yelp of pain.
Smashing the door off its hinges, she ran towards Fluttershy's cottage. Pride was becoming soft, too soft. As soon as he is out of the way, all I need to do is wait for Sloth.
As she arrived at the cottage, she peaked inside, she saw a yellow Pegasus curled up around a beige foal. Both of which were fast asleep.
Back over the by the bridge, she saw a bunny leading a white mare towards the house. A perfect way in. Envy thought. Swiftly sneaking up behind the white mare, making sure to get a good look at her, she swiftly thrusted a spiked hand through her throat. Covering Nurse Redheart's strangled cry with a cough, she tossed the corpse aside out of view, and transformed into her most recent victim.
As the pair walked into the cottage, the foals ears perked up. Instantly, shadows surrounded her. Stopping in her tracks, it finally clicked. That Pegasus didn't give birth to a foal, she gave birth to Pride! Envy smirked, her plan was going to be easier than she thought.
"You've got to be kidding me," Envy smirked towards the foal. "How did you slip up so badly, you got trapped in that tiny little body?"
Realizing who it was, the shadows withdrew. Grumbling, Pride turned his head and snuggled back under the Pegasus's wing.
"You're pathetic," Envy spat. "You really weren't kidding when you were being destroyed were you? All of this was just so you could have a family wasn't it!"
Pride did his best to ignore her, snuggling deeper into Fluttershy's stomach. Sensing her foal's discomfort, Fluttershy awoke. Turning her head, she saw Nurse Redheart.
"H-hello Nurse." Fluttershy whispered, trying not to bother Pride.
"Hello Fluttershy," Envy said, forcing herself to remain casual. "I've been informed that you had a foal!" Seeing Fluttershy nod, Envy continued. "Well I'm going to take him upstairs real quick and get him all checked out."
Fluttershy squirmed uncomfortably. "Oh . . . um . . . would it be okay if I come too? I-if you don't mind that is . . ."
Envy turned swiftly. "Well, I do mind. Wait right here, we'll only be a couple minutes."
Taking Pride upstairs, she went in Fluttershy's room and locked the door.
"Alright Pride, what game are you playing?"
"You don't have to worry about her." Pride said. "I have her in my pocket, and when the time is right, I'll kill her."
Envy chose then to shed her persona, returning to human form. "You really are weak aren't you? Don't forget that our mission is to create a Philosophers Stone out of this place."
Pride's ears splayed back. "Don't worry, I remember."