They stood facing each other, power radiating off of the both of them.
Fluttershy, the once kind and gentle Pegasus, now a titanic, prehistoric form of the more civilized vampony, that stared at its enemy with such bloodlust and rage, that she easily put all of her genetic successors to shame.
Twilight, the once powerful Princess of Friendship and Magic, whose soul had hardened from decades of regrets and self-destruction, struck fear into the hearts of those she fought against, and awe-riddled respect in those she fought alongside.
Twilight looked over as Rarity galloped up to her, “What happened?”
“There was a griffin that upset her. It’s...terrible, because what was said wouldn’t normally trigger this. I fear that we may be losing our Fluttershy to that…thing she’s turned into.”
“No!” Twilight snapped. “Stop saying that! There will be none of that our Fluttershy and monster Fluttershy shit!” she looked back over at the snarling vampony, “She’s our friend…all of her, and we have to save her...”
Rarity arched an eyebrow, “And how do you propose we do that? The only way to stop her like this is knock her out to force her to revert back.”
“After that spell I did on her, she'll never fully revert back.” Twilight replied. “Once I realized this, I learned how to stop her power after the last outburst when she nearly killed Pitch Black…” she noticed that Fluttershy was standing completely still, staring at her with pure bloodlust in her eyes. This time, she didn’t look away as she continued to speak. “She’s starting to get into the more feral stages of her power…she’s waiting for me to drop my guard. Rarity, Bright Spark...I need you two to listen carefully.”
They swiveled their ears in her direction, keeping their eyes on Fluttershy, as they felt a dangerous shift in their situation,
“We’re all ears, darling.”
“If you can cause her enough damage to her body simultaneously, her Element will be forced to channel it magic to heal her wounds, and stop amplifying her vampony powers. I placed a shard of an EvenTide Crystal in her body while she was sleeping not too long ago. Do you remember me showing you where to let crystals form in the body so that you can cause extreme pain without causing death?”
Rarity’s brow furrowed, “That was for this situation, Twilight? Really?! I can’t believe you!!”
“You can yell at me later, Rarity. Right now, we have to stop her. Now...she’ll attack me as soon as I look away from her, so I won’t be able to perform the spell. It’ll be up to you to do it.”
“EvenTide crystals are different from regular crystals, Twilight. I’m still recovering from internal injuries from the griffin that attacked me. I won’t be able to perform it on my own right now.”
“You have an Apprentice now, don’t you?”
Rarity looked over at Sparks, “Well...yes? But she’s injured too-”
“You two will have to try. For Fluttershy. And for Rainbow, who would certainly kill us if we come back without her wife.”
Rarity looked back at Sparks, “How much do you know about crystal manipulation?”
“Nothing that has to do with the EvenTide Crystals…”
Rarity touched the tip of her horn with Sparks’, “I’ll do a quick knowledge transfer spell to you, so we can be on the same page.”
There was a glob of blue aura that flowed from Rarity’s horn, down Sparks’ horn, and into the younger Unicorn’s forehead. She blinked a few times, as she took in the information she had received.
“Wow.” Sparks said breathlessly. “That was cool. Weird, but cool. Thank you for trusting me with such information, Master Rarity.”
Rarity nodded, “It’s no trouble at all, dear.” Her facial expression grew serious as she looked back at Twilight, “We’re ready…”
Twilight smiled, “She is going to probably kick my ass. So...try to do it as quickly as possible.”
“Yes ma’am.” Sparks spoke up.
Twilight gave a slight nod, then took a slow and deep inhale of air. She quickly snapped her head in the direction of Rarity and Sparks,
“NOW!-“
Before the single worded command could fully leave her lips, Fluttershy body slammed her. Their bodies tumbled in the dirt as she pounded away at Twilight’s body. As Sparks and Rarity galloped to get closer to them, the younger Unicorn observed that Twilight also had the healing power. Not only that, she was healing at a much faster rate than her teacher or the vampony had.
Fluttershy snapped her horn off, it grew right back.
She broke her right foreleg, it crunched and snapped back into place.
She ripped her chest open, the muscle and fur immediately covered the wounds.
“BRIGHT SPARK!!” Rarity screamed. “HELP ME DO THE SPELL!!! NOW!!!”
Sparks focused all of her magic into her horn. Her side flared again with pain, reminding her that she still have a massive gash on the side of her body. It was making it hard for her to focus. She stared at Fluttershy, as if it was helping her channel her magic better. She winced though, as she watch Fluttershy continue to rain blow after heavy blow on Twilight’s body. Blows that would’ve killed any normal pony instantaneously. They quickly slowed down, then stopped, as the first two crystals exploded from the inner bend of her elbows. Fluttershy froze, her face contorted into confusion and pain as more and more crystals grew from her joints. Twilight’s wound quickly healed up and she got to her hooves. Fluttershy roared in frustration and looked at her. Twilight, knowing that the giant vampony could no longer move, got closer and cupped her cheeks,
“This is for your own good, my friend. Please, I beg for your forgiveness…”
A crystal exploded from the base of the vampony’s neck. Her iris rolled into the back of her head as she slumped forward. Twilight used her magic to gently set her down. She trotted over to Rarity and Sparks,
“Go check on the personnel. We need to get the severely injured back to base. The others that can continue will do so, and Applejack will have to take Fluttershy’s place. We’ll have two squads accompany her as well to replace fighters and meet up with you.”
Rarity nodded, sighing heavily, “I fear that I may be getting a tad too old for this.”
Twilight smirked, “You’re only 122! You’ve still got plenty of fight left in you.”
Rarity didn't return the smirk, “The Element of Generosity makes my body have fight left. My soul however, is running severely low on hope…”
Twilight frowned and rested her forehead against Rarity’s, “Stay strong, Rarity. We’ve been through too much to give up now…”
Sparks smiled softly at Twilight began to nuzzle her mentor, who returned the display of affection. She truly cared for her friends. She may no longer be an Alicorn, but she was still the Princess of Friendship and Magic in her eyes. She was so distracted by this rare moment that she barely understood what was happening.
Rarity and Twilight had a look of horror on their faces.
She felt a sudden pressure on the sides of her neck.
Her eyes went wide as she felt her spine crumble with an audible ‘crunch’.
Her vision was covered by a mixture of blood and the EvenTide sky.
The Fallens’ screams rang in her ears as she hit the dirt with a heavy thud. Her vision spun and swirled as she heard something run up to her. Her eyes began to focus as she realized it was Fluttershy lumbering over her. she looked at the Fallen’s facial features. How could somepony so sweet and kind as her transform into the monster that stood over her now? She looked into Fluttershy’s gleaming, glowing red eyes and smiled. If this is how she was going to die, then so be it. She would rather be killed by one of the mighty Fallen, instead of being taken down by some pathetic, mutated fucker. She stared up into her Fluttershy's eye, who smiled as she stared back. Bu, not with the gentle smile she had given her when they first met,
“I can no longer smell fear on you…”
“The gods have chosen this to be my death.” Sparks replied in a wheezy tone. “It's a fate that I'll accept with dignity..."
Fluttershy’s face scrunched up in irritation, “Very well then.”
With that, she clamped her jaws onto the front of Sparks’ neck. A burning sensation tore through her entire body, and her ears automatically folded down as she tried to block out the sound of her own throat being ripped apart. Her vision instantly began to blur, and started to blacken at the corners. She could barely make out Fluttershy suddenly disappearing, and being replaced by Twilight and Rarity hovering over her. she gave a weak smile and tried to speak, only to realize that her trachea had been destroyed. The two older mares were screaming something, but she couldn’t really understand them. She wasn’t really understanding anything going on at the moment. The only thing that she knew was going on, was that she was getting tired, and fast. She needed rest. Just a quick nap and she would continue on with her new appointed tutor on her mission. She felt her breathing getting slower, her body urging her on into the depths of a gentle slumber. Her vision started to get jerky as Rarity violently shook her body. But she simply couldn’t feel it. Her vision continued to blacken, and her eyelids flickered. She smiled as her mother suddenly appeared in between Rarity and Twilight, her forelegs outstretched to her. She let out a slow, long sigh, as she shut her eyes and slipped into the darkness…