//------------------------------// // Chapter Five:The Center of it All // Story: Distorted World // by FluttershyLover55 //------------------------------// Chapter Five:The Center of it All Twilight's library seemed to be where it all started. Something had brought about the destruction of the town, and Fluttershy hoped that whatever did it wasn't still there. A spear of lightning unusually purple, arced through the sky and slammed down into the ground a few inches from Fluttershy's forelegs, startling her and Spike. " What the..." Spike muttered, looking ap at the sky in confusion, " The lightning bolts aren't usually supposed to be that accurate...It's almost like somepony's guiding them!" The dragon was proven correct, as a shadowy figure hidden behind the clouds, hurled more bolts at them. Spike gasped in horror, as he realized their true intended target. They were after... " Fluttershy! Look out!" Spike yelled, tackling the shy pegasus to the ground. A few seconds more, and she would have been hit, but he had managed to save them from harm. Fluttershy peered up from behind her mane, which had covered her face when she fell, with big eyes looking up at Spike. " Y-You...saved my life..." She whispered, her cheeks stained with red. Spike smiled lightly at the mare's shyness, and waved a claw. " Oh, it was nothing...I'd do anything for you, Shy'." Spike acted like it was no big deal, but Fluttershy thought that it was much more than that. " I-I don't know how to thank you..." Spike took hold of her hoof and helped her up. She surprised even herself when she bent down and kissed him on the cheek, blushing once more. She smiled at him bashfully, and the assistant couldn't help but think she was adorable. " It's...uh...no problem..." Spike stuttered, feeling something in his stomach, a weird feeling. He glanced at her flank with three butterflies on it. That was it, it felt like butterflies. " Fluttershy, I don't know who or why, but somepony is after you. Don't worry though, I'm here to protect you." Spike assured. He took her hoof and ran, as more lightning bolts rained down.They finally made it to the library, and closed the door behind them. " Is it safe to be here?" Fluttershy was worried that the tree would catch fire from the lightning, but Spike assured her that Twilight had put a spell on it to protect it from such things. This calmed her down as they rested on the couch, which was conveniently near the window, so they could wait out the storm. There was still another problem to solve, however. " I'm getting kind of hungry..." Fluttershy admitted, her stomach rumbling in agreement. Spike nodded his head, " Yeah..." He thought for a moment and remembered something. " I know where we could probably find something to eat!" " Really?" Fluttershy perked up, excited at the idea of food. " Yeah, I think Pinkie Pie mentioned storing food in Sugarcube Corner in case of a zompony apocalypse, or something like that." Spike said, rolling his eyes at the thought of the pink party pony and her random ways. Glancing at the door they had just came through, he realized they couldn't go back that way, but he remembered another way they could go. " Hey Fluttershy..." Spike started, but trailed off with one look at her. The shy mare was sitting on the sofa, shaking silently. Spike mentally cursed himself for being so heartless. He hadn't even stopped to think about her feelings in this situation. Knowing his friend as well as he did, he could tell that she was upset and probably shivering in fear. He had to be there for her and show her that he cared. The little dragon made his way over to where she was, and embraced her. She calmed down at his touch, and ceased shaking. She hadn't been crying, but she was close. Fluttershy backed away so she could meet his gaze. Spike smiled warmly at her, " There ya go! Don't cry, you're much prettier when you smile." The sensitive pegasus smiled back, then looked away, shyly. " As I was saying before, I know another way out of here, safe from whoever's after you." She was obviously still shaken up from the latest events. " I don't see another way, Spike." Fluttershy spoke, not sure what he was getting at. To her surprise, he responded, " Exactly! That's the thing, you're not supposed to be able to see it! Well, at least, not at first." " What?" She still didn't get it. "It's a secret passage, that Twilight and I built(mostly Twilight) for something like this! I believe her exact words were, 'In case of a zompony apocalypse, or something'." Spike explained. " Wow, uh...that's oddly specific." Fluttershy commented. " Yeah, well, you know Twilight. She's always prepared for everything, and I mean EVERYTHING." Spike spread his arms wide for emphasis. They both laughed for amoment, and then Spike continued, " There's a password to make it appear, and it involves some of the books in this library..." He looked side to side to make sure that nopony was listening," The password is Elements. All we have to do, is find the books with these letters on their spines in bold. Twilight enchanted the books, so that they respond to touch, and light up.. This will make the way appear." " Oh, my..." Fluttershy responded, assuming that it would take a long time to find them. She squeaked in surprise, when the bark on the tree trunk in the center of the room pulled away from the trunk, and receded into the floor. " Found them!" Spike announced, hopping down from the rolling ladder he had used to reach the tomes of importance, most of them too high for him to reach with his short stature.They approached the new opening where a few stone steps led deeper underground, but darkness swallowed all else. " It looks so...dark." Fluttershy pointed out, unsure about her safety.Picking up on her hesitance, Spike offered, " I could go first, if you want me to." She nodded, as he took the lead, and started down the steps. Spike returned after a moment, when Fluttershy didn't follow him. " What is it?" " Um, don't we need a lantern or a map?" She asked, in confusion to what she thought would be common sense to the dragon. " Of course not! I know these tunnels like the back of my claws, so don't worry!" He assured, waving a hand dismissively. " But that doesn't answer my other-" The dragon was already gone, so he didn't hear her," question..." She sighed and followed after her companion, not wanting to be left behind. The bark sealed itself back into the trunk, covering the opemimg, and leaving the library quiet, once more.