“Rainbow Dash? Is that you!” Twilight padded up to the base of the mirror. It's her.. She's alive! Her body felt light with relief and tears welled up in her eyes.
“Twilight!? Twilight you in there? What's going on?! Where are you?!” Rainbow's frantic, labored voice flowed through the mirror as though she were standing right in front of Twilight.
“Yes! I'm here Rainbow, I- I don't know where I am! Some sort of underground chamber!” Tears began to fall down her face, soaking into her still wet fur as she saw the mangled state her friend was in. Oh Rainbow Dash, I'm sorry I let this happen..
“Don't cry Twilight! I'll find you before you know it and I'll get you out of there! Just wait for me okay! Do you have any idea where you are at all? Did you see any land marks?”
Twilight shook her head somberly. “No... I've been wandering around down here the whole time. I have no idea where.... wait! Rainbow Dash, is there something that looks like a big circle made of gold where you are? It would have a gem in the centre and strange markings. Do you see anything like that?” Her excited outburst seemed to take Dash off guard as she turned her head away from the mirror.
“Yeah? How did you know?” She asked in perplexed surprise.
“Dash, It's a time space drive! If I can activate it, I can come straight to you instantly!” She smiled hopefully. Turning away from the mirror, she cantered to the centre of the chamber standing right above the large gem.
“Twi? Twi!? Where'd you go? Are you alright!” Her voice was strained and panicked as she pushed her face right up against the mirror, squinting her eyes tight to try and see any faint shadow in the inky darkness.
“I'm alright Rainbow! I think I found a way to come to you!” Her voice echoed throughout the dark chamber, the hard wall reflecting the sound superbly. This enchantment seems to run off it's own power source. Based on the fact that it's rapidly shifting, limited mode space-time antagonist, the magical energy shouldn't be continuously flowing through it, or else it would corrode into an unstable dimensional fold and collapse. That means the flow of power needs to be completed by an additional magical connection. I don't have much power, but all I need to do is complete the circuit... if I can find one. Straining her eyes she followed the glimmer of the gold rings. Come on! It has to be here! I can't think of any other way it would remain viable... unless I'm wrong about everything. Maybe It's not an Altaibierre drive. Maybe I was just seeing what I wanted to see. A pang of despair began to take hold in her chest. No! That thing... what ever it was, It brought me here for a reason, I know Rainbow Dash is safe thanks to it, and I just feel it was trying to help me. I'll find the disconnect, I have to! It wasn't a moment after that thought that the light that ran along the edge of the gold ring from the mirror faded briefly. Stooping down, she could just make out a break in the gold ring, and in between was a small, round indent of the stone.
“Found it.” She whispered relieve with a small satisfied smile. Okay, it just needs a flow. Any magic will do, the smallest spark.... Theoretically. Taking a deep breath, she cleared her mind and bowed her head, the tip of her horn making contact with the inch deep indent. The cold metal leads of the circle made contact with her horn on opposing sides. She strained herself, trying to draw out any lingering magic with in her.... but to no avail. She was so depleted that not even a single spark came forth. No! No, come on. Just a little spark! Please! Her heart began racing as the prospect of not being trapped here, just out of reach of her friend, became more and more real. Gritting her teeth and shutting her eyes tight she tried once more to elicit even a small charge, but it was fruitless. Panting from the strain she pulled her head back up and sat down before the space in the circle. Looking at the dim floor dejected. Wait... The flash back spell. I made to mimic Zecora's potion from when Discord's plants were attacking Ponyville. In order to activate it I had to use “alicorn” magic. I still don't completely understand what it was, but that magic felt different than the magic I'm used to. I can still use it here, even though my normal magic is depleted and my other spells are ineffective. Maybe, that magic is just inherently different than other magic. It may be possible that a different type of magic could still complete the magical current. I don't know enough about how this enchantment works or how the flash back spell works... maybe, I just don't understand how magic really works. But I have to get back to Rainbow Dash, I have a chance to get out of this place alive! With determined fire in her eyes she again set her horn down into the floor. She closed her eyes, focusing inward, feeling for where the magic was drawing from. A dark, deep purple aura began to flow from her horn. It carried a different essence than the normal, light colored, translucent glow her horn usually produced. Suddenly, the instant her magic met the golden leads an immense arc of magical energy surged through Twilight's body like lightening. For a moment her body felt as though it were on fire, complete with the sound of water rapidly turning to steam off her fur. I coursed through her for a moment, it's power paralyzing her. Then, in a flash of bright, white light, she was thrown across the room, slamming into the base of the mirror. She could faintly hear Rainbow's voice calling out to her.
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“Twilight! Are you alright? Twilight get up! Answer me Twi!” Rainbow screamed into the small mirror, standing on her hind legs with her hooves against the wall supporting her. Adrenaline and fear momentarily tearing her mind for the searing pain in her side and her general malaise. Come on Twilight! Please get up. There has to be something I can do! I can't just watch her die! Don't make me go through that Twi, please get up. Don't make me watch helplessly while you suffer alone. Don't leave me alone in this place. Don't make me go home without you! Tears were streaming down her face relentlessly. Her body convulsed from her sobs, pulling on her side, exacerbating the pain.
“Damn it Twilight get up!” She screamed, her voice was choked with tears. She stared at Twilight's limp body, unresponsive to her pleading cries. “You have to get up Twi, you can't die here! I need you! I...” A blindingly bright light filled the room, tearing her from her words. Turning away from the mirror she found the light was emanating from the gem in the centre of the room. Her body became frozen in it's place as soon as she made eye contact with it. Her vision became filled with white as the light bathed over her. Impulsively, she shut her eyes tight.
“R- Rainbow?” A voice meekly whispered her name. Gingerly, she opened her eyes. The blindingly bight light was replaced with a dimmer, more tolerable intensity. The room too had changed, it was bigger, and smelled differently. She could also no longer hear the storm rage overhead. Looking down to the floor in front of her, she found the source of the voice.
“Twilight!” She grunted as the pain became more apparent, her adrenaline inevitably ebbing. Rainbow limped over to her, her body was feeling weaker every second. Don't you give out now Rainbow, just a bit longer then you can rest. Damn, I really hurt. I- if I'm bleeding internally... Twilight, I'll get you out of here, but you may have to make it home without me. Twilight now lay at her hooves, weakly looking up at her.
“Rainbow Dash.. It worked.” She smiled softly as she slowly shifted her body to stand.
“Are you alright? That looked really bad. Here, let me help you.” Dash put her foreleg under Twilight's and pulled her up. The pain in her side burned like hot iron as her flashed with heat and a wave of nausea swept over her from the pain. She bared the pain stoically, though she felt like screaming out as Twilight's weight pulled on her. In a daze, Twilight failed to notice the pain filled look in her friend's eyes.
“Yeah.. I think so. I didn't expect that. A magic over load. It should have flowed seamlessly through my own magic and completed the circuit, but instead it over loaded me. It's an amazing amount of power.” Now recovering her senses, she shakily extricated herself from Rainbow Dash's support. Looking around the room, disappointment took over her expression.
“No.. It didn't work. I was supposed to be transported to you, not the other way around! Or Rainbow I'm so sorry I...” She stopped, struck speechless at the state the pegasus was in. Glancing down the foreleg Dash had held to support her, she saw her fur was stained with her friend's blood. Rainbow Dash was soaked. Her face and mane were covered in mud and patches of her fur were forcibly torn from her. She was covered in minor scrapes, but her chest and belly had deep gashes running almost the length of her body down to her hind legs. They had clotted for the most part but some blood still oozed from the deepest parts. Her tattered right wing was held inches out from her swollen and disfigured side. She looked like she had been through hell. Tears quickly came to Twilight's eyes.
“Twilight? What's wrong? Don't worry, I promised I'd get you out of here and I will. We're together now so the hard part is behind us. So don't cry okay.” Dash's hopeful smile only made Twilight's guilt and heart ache intensify. She stared almost blankly at Rainbow as her teared streamed effortlessly down her muzzle.
“Come on Twilight, It'll be okay. Ya can't go losing it on me now, I can't figure out how to get us out of here alone.” She tried to pull off her characteristic cocksure smile, but only managed a half smile before a bout of coughing struck her. Each cough felt like it was forcing her broken rib to pierce her insides further and further. She brought her foreleg over her mouth to keep from coughing in Twilight's face, and to hide her painful grimace. Then, she tasted something that terrified her. A metallic taste. Pulling her foreleg away from her mouth she found just what she had feared. Blood spattered across her cyan fun, a quick glace up at Twilight showed that her once worried expression was now extremely distressed and fearful. Did she see? No, how could she?
“Rainbow... I-”
“So how do we get out of here?” She asked hastily, cutting off Twilight before turning away from her, looked around busily.
“You're in no condition to move! You need to-”
“Need to what? Stay down here? Forget it, I'll rest when I can see the sky again. Besides, it's just a scratch. We're getting out of here Twilight!” Her tone was harsh. She glared at the wall, never turning to meet Twilight's worried eyes. Taking a trembling breath, her expression and voice softened. She looked over her shoulder, to see her friend's hurt and guilty expression. “I'm sorry, I know it look's bad but I'll be fine. We can't stay down Twi. I'm not smart like you, so I can't get us out of here on my own. I need you Twilight, so please stay strong for me. Otherwise, I don't know if we'll make it.”
“Okay... I'll try. W-we can't go back the way I came in, there's no way out. I'll see if we can use this magic to get us out” She spoke dejectedly, knowing she wouldn't be able to sway the stubborn pegasus. I need to get us out of here fast then, from the looks of it she can barely stand and even speaking looks like it's hurting. She walked over to the walls, glancing over at Rainbow Dash frequently, who was also fruitlessly looking at the runes. Twilight stared up at the ornate and complex making that plastered the wall. I don't know any of these symbols, but they seem to follow basic magical formulas and patterns. It's strange, I feel like I have some of my power back. Not all, but some. Could that overload have recharged me somehow? That doesn't make any sense though, It shouldn't work that way. But what else could have caused it? She became engrossed in her thought and deciphering the glyphs, pulling her mind away from the pain in her own body, but a lingering worry remained for her friend's well being. Even if we get out of here, then what? I thought my injuries were bad, but the state Dash is in, she wont be able to travel in this condition. We'll be forced to either say in one place or move very slowly. Those timber wolves aren't the only predators in this jungle. They'll be drawn to the scent of her blood and the sounds of her breathing and groans. We'll be easy, slow and weak prey. The odds that we'll survive the next few days are slim enough, but I can't clean her wound properly out here and she's been dragging herself through the mud and dirt with those open and deep lacerations. If she succumbs to infection, she could become septic and die within a day, especially in her state. Horrifying images of what could come to pass flashed through her mind. Her body quivered with a frightened chill as she tried to push the images back.
All the more reason I need to focus. The very least I can do is make sure this place isn't her tomb. Turning her head she swept her gaze over the entire room. Ceiling, walls and floor. Despite appearing to follow the base magical formula, it seemed noting more than incoherent gibberish, with only bits and pieces making up fragmented spells. She focused her attention back to the Altaibierre drive and at the runes surrounding the gem at it's centre. She stare at it in deep contemplation, narrowing her eyes as a realization slowly came to her. I was right about what it was, but none of the symbols around it correspond to any on the walls. Why is that? Wait... The standard magical formula, it doesn't seem to be in place anywhere else in here. Just on the Altaibierre drive? But why? Hold on, the symbols in the circle, they may follow the magical standard, but they also follow something else! Spinning around faster than she thought her beaten body capable of, she returned her attention to the wall. Sure enough, she found what she thought she would find. Each rune had a number of dashes or smaller glyph incorporated into it, all of them had a certain number of them in certain clusters. She looked back to the golden rings on the floor and grinned brightly. Though the gold laid in the floor were circles, the symbols came to be a spiral
“The golden spiral... One, one, two, three, five, eight. It's the Fibonacci sequence! The symbols themselves don't matter, it's not a language it's an encryption. The symbols follow certain patterns, and not just the magical standard or the Fibonacci sequence, but if I add up the geometry of the room and golden ratio, and divide it by the the speed of light multiplied by the magical standard formula and utilize the Leibniz series from there it reveals pi! This is more than just one timespace spell, it's a library! A massive computer with mathematical patterns and equations overlaying each other. The number of possible outcomes from each interaction of the equations yields different results. This is amazing!” She shouted gleefully, her discovery almost giving her the energy to jump up and down with excitement. Despite her enthusiasm however, Rainbow Dash seemed less than thrilled.
“That's great and all Twi, but does it tell you how to get us out of here?” She spoke softer than usual, her voice seeming distant and hazy as she leaned against a wall for support.
“Maybe. The symbols at the base of the crystal correlate to zero, one, one. The first three numbers in in the Fibonacci sequence, then use a formula to for the dimensions of this room, I can find the location by the direction of the upper most pentacle of the magical standard geometry. I have a feeling that the zero, one, one also correlates to a base two system, also known as binary. I think the command for touch or activate will be in that code, which appears to be tertiary in order of code depth.” She closed her eyes and immersed herself in deep thought as she worked through the math as fast as she could. The room fell into near silence for minutes as she worked though the formulas. The only sound that could be heard were hat of Dash's labored breathing, a sound that urged her to think faster. Suddenly, her eyes shot open and she spun around to face Rainbow Dash, or rather, the wall that was supporting her. Upon examining the wall she quickly found what she had hoped to find.
“I was right, it is in base two, which means...” Dash watched beside her as she raised a hoof, placing it against a particular symbol. As soon as it made contact, the gem in the centre of the chamber again lit up with a dim white light and the room began to shake.
Twilight and Dash both turned to the sound of stone scrapping against stone that screeched behind them. A large slab of wall was being raised off the floor, revealing a rectangular corridor. Twilight look back to Rainbow Dash.
“It worked! Dash I did it!” She smiled excitedly, but her glee was quickly snuffed out as she saw her friend, who's condition seemed worse than only a few minutes ago. Despite her state, she smiled weakly back at Twilight.
“Of course... you did, I wasn't worried for a second.” She chocked out a soft laugh before succumbing to another agonizing coughing fit. Blood spattered on her fur. She tried in vain to hide it from Twilight, who saw the crimson specks fly from her mouth.
“Come on, let's get you out of here.” Twilight offered her shoulder to Dash for support. Shakily, Dash moved from her perch against the wall and leaned on Twilight's side. She could now barely support herself as most of her weight was put on the weakened Twilight. She could here Rainbow's unsteady and shallow breathing, and her body felt unusually warm. No, not yet! She shouldn't have a fever yet, she just got injured. I hope I'm wrong.
“Come on Dash, we're getting out of here. Walk with me.”
“S-sure thing Twi.” She replied, her voice was dull, but a trace of her characteristic bravado still permeated her tone. Together, they slowly made their way across the room, Twilight's sore body begging her to stop and rest as the excess weight sapped her remaining physical strength quickly. She willed herself to keep moving as they left the room. Suddenly, the sound of moving stone groaned behind them. Twilight turned her head back just in time to see the last glimpse of light vanish behind the stone door. It was pitch black now. Steeling herself, she pressed on. There's no turning back. I'm getting us out of here damn it!
“Twilight... I'm sorry I got like this.” She wheezed. Tentatively, she extended her wing around Twilight. Though opposite her injured side, the movement still force a grunt of pain out of her as she leaned more heavily on her friend.
“Don't apologize. Just save you're strength. I'll get us out of here.” Forcing her muscles to cooperate she trudged forward. The air began to take on a distinct smell, and cave was starting to warm up, though still uncomfortably cold. She could also feel, both to her dismay and relief, that they were on an incline. They were heading to the surface.
“Twilight... If I can't get better you have to leave me behind.”
“Don't talk like that Rainbow Dash! We are making it out of this. I'm not letting you die out here!” The floor was becoming more and more uneven. It was a natural cave. Soon Twilight could hear rain from the storm still raging above.
“Rainbow! Light! I see Light! We're almost there!” With a rush of strength she pulled herself and Dash up the cave floor. Upon reaching the top of the hill, Twilight's heart soared with relief. The cave opened wide to the forest just beyond, the cave kept dry by a rocky outcropping. I never thought I would be so happy to see the jungle!
“We made it! Rainbow we-” Before she could get out her next words she felt the weight she had been bearing leave her body as Rainbow Dash collapsed on the cave floor. She didn't even fight the fall as she landed limply, her head slamming into the solid stone.
“Rainbow! Rainbow Dash!” Twilight cried, rushing over her friend. She put her nose against Dash's. It only took one second to confirm her worst fears.
“Rainbow Dash, you're burning up. But.. you would have had to be sick for longer than this for it to progress to this point. Rainbow... how long have you been sick?” Weak wheezing left her throat as Dash struggled to move herself before her body quickly gave out again.
“I- I'm sorry Twi.” She stammered, before her body relaxed into unconsciousness, leaving Twilight once again, essentially alone.