Friendship is Scaleless

by Limescale


Chapter 33

“Whoops, you missed again! Nyaaaaah!” Rainbow Dash taunted as a missile sized arrow shot past her. With only a tilt of its helmet to show whether it was disappointed by this, the silver clad knight below her grabbed for his stash of arrows and notched another onto his giant sized bow. In stark defiance of the danger she presented as a stationary target, Rainbow blew a huge raspberry at the two beings on the windowsill, following with an insulting facial expression, then zipping out of the way when it was too late for them to alter their lock.

“Annnd another miss! Want us to move closer maybe? That ledge looks big enough to hold two additional souls.” Rainbow mused before grinning. “You guys can hit something at point blank range, right?”

She swooped in closer, enough to almost plant a kiss on the knights’ faceplates. They duly paused in notching up more arrows and instead tried beating the pegasus with their bows. She swooped back out of reach and they duly resumed with trying to pin her to the nearby buildings.

“Oh dear, guess not!” Dash sighed as she again dodged the projectiles. “Well, don’t feel too bad, being this awesome doesn’t come naturally to everypony. Right Twilight?”

A feeble squeak was heard, followed by the clang of a giant arrow bouncing off a magical barrier.

“Twilight?” Dash asked with noticeably less smugness. She turned and felt her jolliness die upon seeing the alicorn encased in an aura of her own magic, sweating in fright and eyeballing every move by her opponents to gauge what part of her anatomy they were likely to target next.

“Twilight…” Dash said in a quieter, more fearful tone as she zipped over. “Um…are you okay? Besides the obvious, I mean?”

The alicorn waited until the next volley of arrows had been evaded and then frantically checked the terrain below her.

“I’m… fine… just… well, interesting fact: being undead apparently doesn’t make situations like this any less nerve wracking.” She said through her chattering teeth. Two more arrows made to end her and Dash’s lives, and again the two managed to dodge, if only barely. “Where the heck are Griggs and Logan? And Seath? I don’t know how much longer I can keep this up!”

Feeling a few beads of sweat run down her own face in betrayal of her laid back façade, Dash forced a smile.

“Well… try moving around a bit more. They’ll take longer to load and let loose if they have to keep tracking you.” She said before pushing Twilight away from her so more projectiles could zip between them and crash into the tower behind them. “Just don’t make it obvious that you’re trying to distract them.”

“Right… sure… no problem…” Twilight replied between ragged breaths. She made to draw her catalyst, however, no sooner had she managed to get her arm behind her back than another arrow was dissuading her from continuing with that plan of action. “I can do this… just keep flying around until our friends are in position, and….”

One knight loosed a fresh attack. Twilight dodged, only to find herself in the way of the follow up as the second knight tried to intercept her.

“EEEEEP!” She cried as the dragonslayer arrow hit the dead center of her barrier, shattering it and forcing Twilight against the side of an adjacent building. The knights took mere seconds to exploit this and tried to nail the alicorn before she could move out of the way.

“TWILIGHT!” Rainbow screamed in horror as the metallic missiles closed in on their target. The knights were fast on the draw, and their arrows were even faster on the fly.

Mercifully, Rainbow proved that when needed she was still fastest of all. A mere instance before Twilight became a wall mounted trophy to her opponent’s deadly aim, two hooves grabbed her by the waist and hauled her up and out of danger. The wall instead merely exploded as both projectiles smashed a good sized chunk out of it, sending masonry raining down into the void below.

“You know, in hindsight, maybe I should’ve been more insistent on doing this alone. Spare you having to experience this as your first time flying in a crisis situation.” Rainbow mumbled in embarrassment. More arrows shot through the sky with the aim of removing her head from her shoulders. The pegasus tucked her head against her friend’s and pulled them both down to safety.

“No! No, Rainbow, please, trust me, it’d be even worse if I were on the sidelines sweating in fear at you sticking your neck out again for my behalf!” Twilight shouted, a bit harsher than intended, but with the utmost sincerity to her words. Rainbow trembled in quiet admiration at how the alicorn’s bravery remained so solid, even after it had already cost her her life once before.

“Well… erm… it’ll be over soon… hopefully….” The pegasus looked at the surrounding buildings. “Where the hay IS our support? It can’t possibly be taking them this long to find a spot where they have a clear shot at two targets standing right out in the open like…”

THWACK!

“EEEEEP!” Dash gasped as she felt her cape snag on something and drag her back up against the wall behind her. Looking down, the pegasus felt a bolt of ice shoot down her spine at seeing a giant arrow speared cleanly through her attire, less than an inch from her flank. Thoughts of just what would have resulted if she hadn’t been gifted with such quick reflexes swarmed her mind, giving Dash cause to almost puke as the archers took aim again to end her pestering.

“RAINBOW!” Twilight dropped down in front of her friend and threw up her barrier again. The force of the next volley hitting its mark mashed her painfully up against Dash’s body, almost turning the two into a pulpy mess.

“Right, that’s it, I can’t wait around anymore!” Twilight declared as she peeled herself off her friend and flew to a free standing spire. Alighting upon the top of it, the alicorn drew her catalyst and swallowed heavily as her opponents took notice and turned their arrows on her.

“Twilight what are you doing? You can’t just stand there and let them take free shots at you!” Rainbow protested as she frantically tried to pull the arrow out of her cape.

“So long as they aren’t doing the same to you, I’ll deal with it. If they kill you I’ll never forgive myself…” Twilight dropped to the ledge as more missiles arched over her body. “If they kill me, however….well….it’ll just be a matter of how long it takes me to get back here from the last bonfire.” The alicorn sighed in resignation and charged her catalyst. Two more arrows were aimed right at her face, but this time she pre-empted their release by launching a soul arrow. The knights rolled easily out of the way and returned the gesture, making Twilight grit her teeth as she threw her barrier back up and weathered the crushing impact of the massive projectiles. Quickly the knights were notched and at full draw again, but quicker still Twilight had a shower of soul masses primed and fired. Behind her Rainbow Dash exhaled in weak relief. Twilight may not be the fastest flier around, but when it came to all things magical she knew her stuff!

The knights spread out across their perch as Twilight ducked behind the body of the spire. It seemed nothing short of a miracle that they still hadn’t called for reinforcements, but now was not the time to be questioning a sudden turn of fortune. Grinding the demon catalyst between her teeth, Twilight listened to the clank of armored bodies moving to their new positions. She very carefully craned her neck out, sighted the reflection of the sun off of silver plates, and then ducked back to safety as another arrow nearly cleaved her nose right off her muzzle.

“Steady… steady….” Twilight whispered to herself as she charged her weapon. Again she peeked out, angling her catalyst to act as a lure. An arrow shot past as expected, and in the brief instant it took the knight to redraw, Twilight jumped out and nailed him with return fire. The armored soul crashed back against the wall, stumbling as his own weight threatened to drag him off the windowsill and into the void below. He slammed his bow against the ground, used it as an anchor to steady himself. Twilight prepared to fire again… only for her ears to twitch as the sound of a string letting loose another harbinger of death. She turned as the projectile shot past her, and buried itself into the wall a mere inch above Rainbow Dash’s head. Twilight cursed silently upon realizing the knight’s plan. They hadn’t been moving just to find a better vantage point to shoot at her, but so they could also maintain a bead on her friend so as to see that no loose ends remained.
Now getting angry, the alicorn set down her catalyst and redirected her magic back to her horn. Her sorceries were giving the knights a fair beating, but not enough to stop them. It was time to get creative in how she approached this problem!

Twilight’s ears strained forward as she listened to the scrape of a shaft being drawn across a bow, the scratching of boots across stone, the loosening of armored fingers around a thin, tight string.

With a nervous swallow, Twilight turned to Rainbow and silently nodded for her to be still. Rainbow, respectively, asked what the heck Twilight was thinking… just as two more arrows shot forward to bury themselves in the pegasus’ gut and her heart. Rainbow closed her eyes in preparation of her untimely end…only to then realize she in fact was not feeling the cold punch of steel penetrating her flesh. Hesitantly, Rainbow cracked an eye open and beheld the dragonslayer arrows being held in place right in front of her by Twilight’s magic. She looked to the grimacing alicorn and felt the air leave her lungs in a massive woosh as Twilight spun the arrows around then launched them back the way they’d came. The knights were already back at full draw before they registered their own projectiles had redirected their focus. One promptly dove out of the way and ended up sending himself into a free fall as the arrow destroyed the ledge beneath his feet. The other, having been standing closer to the broken window they were guarding, grabbed for the broken pane and pulled himself to safety inside the keep, as his perch was likewise smashed to bits.

“Man, while I could’ve done without the near heart attack, those were some sharp reflexes, Twi.” Dash gasped as she tore her cape free of the arrow and flew to join the panting alicorn.

“I just… I didn’t know what else to do. They weren’t going down fast enough from my spells, so I thought I’d see how they liked a taste of their own medicine.” Twilight collapsed, gasping from the exertion of her magic. “I’m… I’m really sorry for scaring you there, Dashie!”

Shaking her head, Rainbow placed a hoof gently on her friend’s shoulder.

“Hey, it’s cool, Twi. The going here may be treacherous, but so far we’re managing…” Rainbow broke off as she heard the clank of armor from up ahead. “Uh… I think?”

Against her better judgement the pegasus peeked out from around the tower, and jerked her head back again as the remaining archer let loose with a gesture of how he felt about the equines’ tactics.

“Consarnit it to Cloudsdale and back! Why does no one here seem capable of taking a hint?” She glowered as another arrow smashed a chunk of the two’s cover off. The knight quickly notched and prepared to bring both the spire and its occupants crashing down from the sky, only for a great soul spear to arch across the gap between them and knock him to the ground.

“When all that keeps a soul from hollowing is purpose, thou shalt strive to stick by that purpose no matter how dire things may be!” Seath glowered as he flew up into view. The knight rose from his prone position and jerked back upon seeing the great white dragon. He rolled over and scrambled to get to his feet. Seath responded by punching through the window and grabbing the feeble being in a deathly tight grip.

“Seath? Where the hay have you been? We nearly got killed trying to distract these creeps for you and your buddies!” Rainbow Dash spat. The dragon fixed her with a disdainful glare, only to then turn his ire to the big hatted sorcerer making his way to the spire.

“Logan did find many an issue with all possible points of attack. When hear I did thine cries of alarm, no longer could I wait for his approval.” Seath scolded. Logan slumped his shoulders as if weighed down by the disappointment of his idol.

“Forgive me, Grand Duke, I failed to account for the narrow field of view in this area. There are scant few places where we would have been within range to take out the archers and not risk hitting your… equine friends in the process.”

Seath snarled and pulled his hand back out of the window. The knight struggled to break free of the drake’s bone white fingers. With a low growl, Seath crushed the armored warrior as if he were nothing more than a cheap tin chalice.

“T’is to all our fortune, then, that mine student doth show how she excels in creatively solving problems… as hath Rainbow Dash, in her swift speed and agility.” He replied. Logan looked at the two ponies with the faintest hint of disappointment crossing his features. He promptly cleared his throat and nodded.

“Indeed, my apologies to you as well. Let us get inside the keep where we needn’t fear joining our foes in a hard landing on the streets below.”

“Yes, I second that!” Rarity meeped as she shakily crossed the beams linking the spire to the wall of the keep. “Heights and I have… urk… never quite gotten along all that well!”

Shakily, the unicorn placed one hoof in front of the other while trying to focus on anything besides the sheer drop beneath her.

“Don’t worry, Rarity, I’m right behind you. If you feel like you’re slipping or getting dizzy, I’ll be there to grab you… erm… if grabbing is permissible.” Spike gulped as he slowly inched his way across the narrow bridge connecting the spire and the wall of the keep. Rarity immediately felt one of her hooves slide off the edge as if motivated by Spike jinxing her luck. She duly dropped onto her barrel and wrapped all four legs as far around the stone beam as she could.

“Eeh…eeh…heh…oh Spikey Wikey, right now you can grab any part of me you wish, so long as it’s done with the gentlecolt intent of preventing me from falling to my doom!” She said through clenched teeth and a nervous smile. Spike lifted the visor of his gargoyle helmet, getting an eyeful of how defined Rarity’s flank was even under the folds of her antiquated gown. His own legs started to feel decidedly shaky too…and not because of the heights.

“Right… gentlecolt… gentlecolt….” Spike quietly repeated to himself as he carefully followed everyone around the spire and across the second bridge to the broken window. “Okay so once we’re inside, what’s the plan?”

Twilight very carefully peeked inside the broken window, and exhaled in relief upon being met with a deserted balcony.

“I say we take it slowly, scout the interior and see if there’s any more nasty surprises waiting…”

A metal clank drew the alicorn’s ears to the balcony railing. She craned her head over it and felt her momentary elation vanish upon seeing more of the giant armored golems standing guard below in what looked to be a magnificent entrance hallway.

“Uhhh…like this for example. Crud, they really do not want anyone getting in here at any cost do they?” She sighed. Rainbow Dash crept up beside her and shared the same sentiment.

“Right, so… how shall we go about getting past them? There’s more standing outside, and these dudes are between us and what looks like the only door to the inner chambers of this place.” The pegasus said in lament. “Either way, I’m guessing we’re not done fighting yet.”

Twilight rushed for a solution. She scanned across the balcony and her heart jumped at seeing another side entrance on the far end.

“Well we could see where that leads… hopefully to a means of getting around all these sentries, but if not….” The alicorn’s ears wilted as she struggled to come up with a Plan B.

“Perhaps a three prong attack may work?” Griggs commented as he likewise surveyed the guards. “His Grand Duke Seath should be able to handle the souls outside, while Logan and I can distract the ones below us. That in turn will allow you to explore the other possible means of infiltrating the keep and allow us all to prevent each other’s selected foes from staging an attack from behind?”

Twilight’s hoof lowered onto the ground again as her ears rose with intrigue.

“Mere automatons and winged couriers are of little consequence to me. Thine plan has merit, Master Griggs.” Seath commented from outside. Twilight nodded enthusiastically.

“I’d agree…so long as you two think you’ll be okay.”

Griggs looked to Logan, who appeared to be busy inspecting his catalyst.

“I sincerely believe it is the best course of action for us all.” The young sorcerer replied, with perhaps just a hint of a glare directed at his elder colleague.

“I certainly would prefer to avoid messing myself up even more than I am. Let us hurry Twi, and pray our good fortune holds.” Rarity replied. Twilight nodded again and gestured for her friends to follow her around the balcony as quietly as possible.

“Even if it doesn’t, I’m still here by your side my fair Rarity!” Spike whispered, eliciting a blink then a bashful giggle from the unicorn.

“Same here.” Rainbow swore as she grabbed her catchpole. “Nothing’s getting at us from the rear! No giants, no demons, no additional archers, no…”

SMASH!

The pony party stopped dead as something cut in front of them and sheared a huge chunk of the wall off. All eyes turned to a stairway leading down to the main floor of the chamber, and several hearts began beating faster as a new silver knight ascended into view, setting down his dragonslayer bow and drawing out a gleaming sword and shield.

“Okay, maybe one more archer….” Rainbow grunted as the shimmering warrior charged at them. Below there came the sound of additional bodies moving to investigate, the stairs rumbling as they were set upon by beings of great weight.

“And maybe we’ll have to face the giants after all… heh…”

“Rainbow, I mean no offense, but please could you kindly not keep testing our luck?” Rarity asked as she fumbled for the gargoyle tail axe on her back. “I’d very much prefer to not have to use this ghastly thing, but if we have no choice…”

The knight swung for her. She swung back with her axe. Sparks showered onto the floor as the two weapons met. A tense standoff seemed imminent… until the knight then bashed Rarity with his shield and sent her flying.

“Rarity! Oh you’ve really stepped in it now, bub!” Rainbow cursed as she hit the armored being with her catchpole. The knight broke off its assault upon the reeling unicorn and turned to cross blades with the pegasus. Behind him, the helmets of the giants emerged from the stairs as they ascended to provide reinforcements.

“Uh, maybe we should stick to the plan and… um… run?” Twilight commented while charging her horn. “Spike get Rarity. Rainbow, help me hold them off for a few more minutes!”

“Heh… not a problem!” Rainbow said as she parried another swing and then thrust her pole into the knight’s chest. It duly stumbled back from the force, stumbling into the giants as they mounted the top step. Twilight cast a magical beam from her horn to give her opponents more reason to keep their distance as the ponies all scrambled to escape.

“Well, it would seem we are required to save the day again.” Logan muttered from the opposite side of the balcony. As he massaged his face in aggravation, Griggs raised his catalyst and charged it with a fresh attack.

“Indeed, can I trust you will do our founding father proud and fight by my side?” The younger sorcerer asked as he ran to join the battle. Logan glanced back out the window to see Seath had already departed to keep the guards outside from making things worse.

“Of course, Griggs. Of course!” He stated mutely.

***

All around her, Fluttershy heard the rustle of what could either be wind brushing through the branches of the trees, or possibly the trees themselves rising up to catch her and kill her for trespassing in Darkroot. Biting her tongue, the timid pegasus told herself to stay focused on the ground, look for splotches of blood or paw prints indicating where Sif had run off to. She had a duty to her friends, and more importantly to Aurelia, and she couldn’t let her own fears get the better of her now.

Cracks echoed across the darkness, and shadows moved along the perimeter of light cast by the glowing foliage. Fluttershy pulled her hood further over her face and continued to try and steady her breathing. Having watched Discord tussle with several of the more exotic looking creatures inhabiting the woods, the pegasus at least had some idea of what to watch out for, but of course that was no guarantee that the world around her couldn’t spring some other nasty surprise when she was least expecting it.

Presently, Fluttershy came to a narrow passage between two tall rock faces. She squeaked with slight relief upon noticing a thin streak of what was clearly freshly spilled blood beside one of the glowing plants, with several paw prints scattered about further ahead. Feeling a little better that she was at least still heading in the right direction, the pegasus quickened her pace. The irregular spacing of the paw prints attested that Sif’s own passage had not been easy. With the limp and the wounds she’d seen on the wolf, she had to be in terrible pain. Fluttershy hoped she’d be able to reach her before something else did.

More rustling and snaps suddenly registered on the mare’s ears from her right. Daring to glance in that direction, Fluttershy noticed an alcove, out of which three more of the murderous ent creatures suddenly sprung forth with arms spread to grab her. Uttering a scream, the pegasus ran like hell down the passage, her ears folded back along with her wings to try and make her more aerodynamic, as well as muffle the creaks of pursuing death behind her. On and on she tore through the darkness, her lungs burning and her body covered in cold sweat under her robes. Finally the passage opened up into another clearing, one that appeared to have once been the site of a fortress, and apparently a terrible battle between beings of great stature. Armored bodies as big as three of the humans she’d been travelling with lay still and lifeless amid the trees, clustered around the crumbling remains of another stone tower.

Gasping raggedly, Fluttershy whipped around to face the darkness she’d just run out of. Her ears arched forward to listen for the sounds of the approaching ents. To her enormous relief she heard only silence again. At some point she must have gotten far enough ahead for them to give up on chasing her. She could rest for a moment.

Flopping onto her haunches beside one of the giant corpses, Fluttershy pressed a hoof to her chest. After the horror of this, living next to the Everfree didn’t seem so dangerous anymore. Heck, once she made it back, the pegasus swore she would go find Zecora and personally apologize for questioning the zebra’s decision to live in the forest itself.

That is…if she made it back.

Fluttershy cringed and gave herself a mental slap. No, it was ONCE not IF! She was going to make it out of this nightmare, they all were! She just needed to catch her breath, get her bearings and do right as the Element of Kindness in…

CREEEAAAK

Fluttershy’s inner voice promptly ceased its pep talk as a new sound echoed across the trees. Tentatively, the pegasus looked around herself, her heart rate slowly increasing again at the signs that something else was making its presence known. She backed up against the body of the fallen giant, trying to gain at least some assurance from the fact that nothing could sneak up behind her…

Until she then felt the body move.

Whirling around, Fluttershy gasped as the moss covered corpse slowly rose as if awakening from its slumber. Dirt and plant life tumbled off its stone armor as it got to its feet and held up the great sword and shield clutched in its hands.

“Uh…heh…hello?” She squeaked as the knight turned to look down at her. “I…I…I…I hope I didn’t disturb you just now…”

The shield was raised as if to fend away the strange winged equine.

“I…I’m sorry! I meant no harm!” She squeaked again.

The sword was raised higher as the knight took a step back, either to keep his distance from Fluttershy…or to give himself more room to execute a strike.

Fluttershy sensibly did not wait to see which the knight intended. She spread her wings and flapped as hard as she could up into the trees as the stone warrior swung his weapon at her at mach velocities.

“Please! I’m just looking for someone! A wolf! Have…have you seen…EEEEEK!”

The aged granite blade was upon her again. Fluttershy ducked and let the tree behind her take the blow, giving her opponent pause as its weapon cleaved the trunk clean in two, causing it to fall over on top of it. The ground shook as several hundred pounds of stone met with it, now weighed down by an equal number of pounds in fresh cut timber.

“Oh my! Are you okay?” Fluttershy landed and ran over to lend what aid she could. Sadly it seemed the only aid the knight was interested in was that which would hasten the death of its enemy. With the tree pinning its sword arm to the ground it instead struck out with its shield, opting to try and bludgeon the pegasus into a bloody pulp.

“EEEE! Mr. Giant, I’m only trying to help! Please!” Fluttershy meeped as the stone disc was flung wildly at her. She scrambled backwards, and felt herself collide with a similarly hard and granite like surface. Looking behind her, Fluttershy felt her stomach sink as a second stone golem stirred and rose from its flowery bed.

“Oh no.” She breathlessly whispered as her new foe went through the same wake up routine and turned to face her. “Please no.”

Whatever mercy she may have hoped for, the powers that be weren’t interested in granting it. The second stone knight proceeded to attack with the same ferocity as the first, forcing Fluttershy to make a run for it. Dirt and plant life were launched several feet into the air as the stone knight’s sword cut into the ground behind her, the giant groaning as if annoyed by his target’s panicked pace. Fluttershy ran harder, feeling her heart stop as she came to a few trees resting against the side of a rocky wall that blocked all avenues of escape.

Frantically the pegasus looked up, judging if she could fly up and hide amid the branches. What she got was another of the two headed lizard creatures, snapping hungrily at her with both jaws as it crawled down the trunk from its hiding spot.

Fluttershy turned and ran along the wall, praying to find an opening, a cave, just somewhere she could hide from the ever increasing number of pursuing monsters vying to see who could claim her head first!

“Help! Someone! Help!” She called out, scrambling around trees and dodging sword swings while looking for some avenue of escape.

To thine left!

Fluttershy turned in the direction of the voice. Her heart leaped as she spotted a passage leading through the rock wall to another part of the woods.

Make haste!

Not wanting to question a saving grace, Fluttershy forced her exhausted legs to take her there. Disturbed from its eternal slumber by the cacophony of pounding hooves, granite footsteps and predatory hisses, a third knight slowly rose from its position lying beside the passage. Begging herself to be fast enough, Fluttershy spread her wings and flew towards the opening, zipping through it just as the latest addition to her enemies drove its sword down across the entranceway.

Fluttershy crashed onto the ground beyond, her lungs burning and her legs feeling like lead from the impromptu sprint around the woods. The crash of swords and bodies behind her made the pegasus fear her momentary rest was in error, but as she rolled over and looked behind she found herself no longer staring at the entrance to the passage, but at a massive tree trunk that now blocked her off from her pursuers. Gasping wearily, Fluttershy slowly pushed herself back onto her hooves, reaching out to touch the bark of the mighty trunk. To her shock the tree shifted slightly, twisting itself around in the spot it had now claimed for itself. A second gasp escaped the mare’s lips as the rotating trunk revealed a section that was now disfigured by missing bark, frayed splinters, and numerous signs of the stone giants’ swords at work. Beyond that, said giants continued to hack and smash at the tree but it remained resolutely in place, ensuring their prey was now beyond their reach for the moment.

“Praise… Praise Faust….” Fluttershy panted in relief as she turned and forced herself to keep going down the passage. Where it lead to she had no idea, but right now the more distance she put between herself and the hazards of the woods, the better.

On and on the mare travelled, down the darkened pathway through the rocks, finding nothing save for the odd glowing plant that helped her at least see where she was going. As she got her breath back and her heart rate slowed, Fluttershy’s thoughts drifted back to her purpose. Picking up Sif’s trail again was going to be very difficult, but she had to find a way. Somewhere amid Darkroot was a soul who had suffered more than they deserved, and for Ponyville’s resident animal caretaker that was a call to duty she could not ignore. More so since it appeared some force of Lordran intended for her to survive at least a little longer, based on what had just happened.

Straining her ears, Fluttershy listened for any sounds on the air, something that might help her get her bearings. The wind quietly brushed across the rocks above her, the sounds of heavy beings still trying to break through the barricades echoed from far behind her. There was the usual cracks and snaps of other beings moving about the trees…

…and then…there was a whimper.

Fluttershy stopped dead as her ears reached as far forward as they could manage while still attached to her head. It was faint, but still unmistakable. A soul was whimpering in pain, and it was very near.

The exhaustion from her previous sprint suddenly vanished as Fluttershy broke into a gallop again. The passage twisted left, then right, finally coming to an opening that was, ironically enough, blocked by another giant tree.

“Sif? Sif is that you?” The pegasus called out.

The tree shifted, squirming as if unsure to permit its new arrival access to what lay beyond.

“Sif?” Fluttershy called out a little more hesitantly. Another pained whimper answered her. Taking this as an order to be gone, the giant tree slowly faded away into nothingness, revealing a sight that had Fluttershy gasping simultaneously in relief and horror.

There, lying surrounded by several of the frog-ray creatures, was the great grey wolf herself, looking not at all well as she weakly batted and tried to stop the amphibian hybrids from advancing on her.

“Sif!” Fluttershy cried. “All of you, get away from her!”

The frog-rays turned to view this new annoyance. Several of them whipped their tongues out at the pegasus as a warning.

“I said get away!” Fluttershy ordered, summoning all her energy to transfix the creatures with her stare. The hybrids reeled their tongues back in and several of them blinked their golden eyes in shock. Though her gut told her it was suicide, Fluttershy forced herself to take a step forward, then another. Her eyes remained fixed on the croaking monstrosities, channeling exactly why she was there and why she was not about to let them dissuade her from her objective.

The frog-rays finally lost their nerve and slithered away into the darkness. Sif uttered a feeble grunt as she tried to rise from her prone position.

“Sif… no, no, don’t move! I’m here to help!” Fluttershy ran over and shrugged off her saddle bags. “Please, you’re hurt. I need to have a look at you!”

The giant wolf bared her teeth. More of the dark vapor poured from her mouth as she growled threateningly. Unfortunately, she then made the mistake of resting too much weight on her injured paw, and got a sharp reminder of why she wasn’t going to be going anywhere soon. With a pained whine, Sif collapsed back onto her side.

“Shhhhh, Sif, it’s okay. I’ll take care of your wounds. Tell me where it hurts.” Fluttershy replied, giving the wolf what she hoped was a reassuring smile. Sif looked back at her with doubt gleaming in her majestic golden eyes, but then gestured to her leg and the cuts all over her body. “Okay, I can mend that. Just let me sanitize the cuts first.”

Fluttershy looked through her supplies and managed to find a few bottles of ointment that hadn’t been shattered in the previous attacks. Hoping it’d be enough, she uncorked them and poured them over the wolf’s wounds.

“I’m sorry if this stings.” She apologized. Sif winced and growled something that made Flutter’s heart sink.

“I know you’ve already been through worse pain. That’s why I’m here.” She soothed. Sif grimaced as the ointment slowly clotted the blood. With a gentle yet thorough touch, Fluttershy applied bandages and got the worst of Sif’s sword wounds efficiently dressed.

“Okay, now let’s have a look at your leg.” She said, very carefully taking the injured limb in her hooves. “Tell me if I’m pressing too hard on anywhere.”

Sif shut her eyes tight and let out a weak howl. Fluttershy cocked her head in bewilderment.

“Why am I helping you? Why would I not help you? You’re very important to someone, and helping injured animals is my specialty.” She replied, knitting her brow together as Sif shook her head and howled again. “What? How can you say that? Of course I don’t want you to die! Why would you think of such a terrible thing?”

Sif turned to her and growled. Fluttershy nodded in resignation.

“Yes, but… well… I’m sure Trixie will be okay. Pinkie seemed adamant she would and… well… she’d know best, based on a few recent events that happened to her.” The pegasus quietly replied. “Look, we can work that out once you’re better. I’ll make sure of it!”

Sif whimpered again, sounding unconvinced.

“Of course Aurelia will forgive you too! As she said you were only acting out of compassion and loyalty!” Fluttershy assured, before adding in a far meeker voice. “Er… right?”

Sif averted her gaze, laying her head back down and wincing as Fluttershy pressed upon the part of her leg that had been on the receiving end of the Chosen Undead’s tracer blades. She whined in sadness, making Fluttershy even more confused.

“What are you talking about? Why in Equestria are you required to die?”

Sif looked at her and barked.

“Yes, that is why Aurelia sought you out…but I don’t see how…”

Sif cut her off with another bark, this one sounding heavier, and more painful. Fluttershy’s jaw dropped open.

“As long as you live, she won’t be able to traverse the Abyss? How can that be?” The mare asked. Her patient exhaled another cloud of black mist, opening her jaw so Fluttershy could see inside.

“The means to do so is… inside you? It’s bonded to your soul?” She asked. Sif nodded.

“So that’s why you attacked? You can’t give it up unless you’re dead?”

Sif nodded and whimpered as two great tears rolled down her cheeks.

“So that’s what you meant when you told me you didn’t have a choice?”

Sif nodded mournfully, laying her head back down and letting out another whimper. Fluttershy’s hopes were dashed. On one hoof she was adamant about keeping Sif alive, but on the other, Twilight and the Chosen Undead had both stated they needed a means of traversing the Abyss to find the answers to their respective quests, and if the only means to do so required Sif’s sacrifice…

The pegasus promptly shook her head and chided herself for daring to even think of such horrible things. Sif whimpered again as if to scold Fluttershy for her denial, or perhaps scold herself for some other failing…

“No, no, Sif don’t say that about yourself! Running away isn’t cowardly, it’s just instinct! You felt bad about having to hurt Aurelia didn’t you? So you did what was necessary to stop yourself. That’s to be expected.” Fluttershy smiled. “Just as its expected for one who truly cares to come after you and convince you it’ll be okay!”

Sif looked like she truly wanted to believe the pegasus. Desperately wanted to believe. Yet as she breathed another gust of black mist, the wolf felt a sharp pain, not from her wounds but from her soul, reminding her of the unavoidable truth. She whined at Fluttershy.

“How can I be so sure? Well….” Fluttershy flinched and thought hard. “I can’t… not entirely…”

Sif looked at her reproachfully.

“But… but… I CAN speak from past experience! If you’ll just let me set your leg, I’ll tell you.”

Sif looked down at her mangled limb, the sting of the poison from Ciaran’s tracer wracking her bones. Much as she now felt she deserved the pain, it seemed foolish to turn down an offer from one wanting to make things better. With another whimper, Sif held out her leg.

“Thank you. Now fortunately it doesn’t feel like anything’s broken, so a basic dressing should suffice.”

Fluttershy fished out a bundle of gauze and soaked it with more of the ointment. This she pressed to the slash wounds and secured it in place with more bandages.

“There, how’s that feel?”

Sif shakily got back on her feet, finding her legs felt a bit sturdier. Her wounds still hurt from the heat and the other enchantments of the Chosen Undead’s attacks, but like all war scars, the physical pain would pass. The emotional pain on the other hand…

“You’re a very brave and strong wolf.” Fluttershy soothed. Sif turned to her again, giving her a soft bark of thanks, leaning in to lick her face. It seemed the least she could do for the pony.

Fluttershy giggled and hugged her back, nuzzling into her thick, soft cheek fur. For the most merciful of moments, the pegasus’ worry was forgotten now that she knew Sif would be okay.

A whimper of curiosity caused Fluttershy’s smile to fade, however. Breaking the hug, she acknowledged the wolf’s request.

“How do I know things will be okay? Well… ahem… not that I’m partial to revealing this, but… you’re not the first one who’s been forcibly separated from their loved ones. I know one other who’s suffered the same grief for many years. They couldn’t be there for their family when they needed to be, and, like you, were only met with pain and despair when finally they were reunited.”

Fluttershy looked up to lock eyes with Sif, conveying a silent message that made the wolf stagger back.

“And yes, the outcome was almost as heartbreaking as you fear yours will… but by some grace of fate things turned out differently. Friends, trusted souls, intervened to see that tragedy was averted, just as I now stand before you to try and accomplish the same.”

Sif’s ears wilted. She blew more mist at Fluttershy as if to ask how she intended to pull off such a miracle.

“The means that will allow Aurelia to traverse the Abyss, it wasn’t always a part of you was it?”

Sif nodded.

“Then there has to be some way of removing it without harming you….” Fluttershy took a deep breath as her ears rose in realization. “Seath… he may know how!”

Sif staggered back again, barking a repetition of the name.

“Oh! Yes, Seath is still alive. He…someone delivered him to us… gave us a chance to rescue him… much like we now wish to rescue you!” The smile hesitantly reappeared on Fluttershy’s face as she latched onto this new hope. “Twilight said he knows everything there is about manipulating souls for his sorcery… he can purge the effects of the Abyss from you!”

Sif narrowed her eyes and folded back her ears. Fluttershy’s smile again vanished as she now realized how insane she must sound. Holding the potential hope firmly within her bosom, she looked up at Sif in pleading.

“I… I know you think Seath is a monster… and, well, in many ways we agree he is… or was. But we’ve turned others like him back to the side of good, Discord is living proof!”

Sif’s ears rose slightly.

“Please, I know this sounds crazy, but give us a chance! Aurelia needs you, and I know at heart, you need her. Let us make it so you two can be together again!” Fluttershy said, feeling her heart leap as Sif dipped her head in consideration. She still seemed understandably dubious, from the way her teeth were then bared it looked as though she was trying to summon the will to turn down the pegasus’ offer.

Try she might though, the feel of the ointment mending her wounds and the kindness this gentle mare had shown were too strong for the wolf to turn away. As two more tears rolled down her cheeks, Sif nodded she’d at least permit Fluttershy a chance.

“Okay, now do you feel well enough to walk? We need to get back to get back to Aurelia and the others!”
A loud crash made Fluttershy jump in fright. “Erm…with all due haste at that!” She said in alarm.

From the passage there came the foreboding clatter of armored bodies. Amid the darkness, shapes tall and terrifying slowly began to emerge. The tree that had blocked the path of the stone knights had done a fine job of holding them back, but mere wood could only hold out for so long against swords and brute force.

Fluttershy turned around and felt her soul sink. The clearing, much like almost every other location in the damnable forest, terminated in a sheer cliff face, with naught but the void beyond. There was a ledge visible in the distance, but while Fluttershy knew she was capable of reaching it with her wings, she doubted Sif could jump to it with her bad leg.

The stone knights drew closer, their features coming into focus. The moss stained their armored bodies with a muddy green in the light of the glowing plants, while the edge of their blades glistened with lethal sharpness. Fluttershy stole back to the edge of the clearing, frantically debating on what she could do to escape.

“Sif… I may have to carry you.” She said despondently. Again the wolf looked at her like she was crazy. “You’re still too hurt to get to the far ledge. There’s no other way out of this!” Fluttershy protested. The wolf gauged the distance across the gorge then flexed her injured leg. It still felt weak, a definite risk if she intended to trust it to carry her to safety…but on the other hand, there was no way a pony not even half her size could hope to support her weight either.

There had to be another way…

“Sif, come on! We have to go now!” Fluttershy cried as the stone giants raised their blades to attack.

Peace, little pony. They shall step aside.

The giants promptly froze in place. Their heads twisted this way and that in confusion, apparently having heard the same voice as Fluttershy.

They SHALL step aside!

The giants shook at the sudden ferocity of the unseen speaker. They lowered their weapons, and turned to look behind themselves.

Fluttershy gaped as her opponents then did as ordered, stepping out of the way to reveal Alvina, scampering up with Siegmeyer in tow.

“Noble thou art in thine guardianship, but forget not who gave thee purpose when thine makers abandoned thee, and whom thou swore to follow what she commandeth!” The cat sneered at the golems. Siegmeyer stared at them with an air of extreme puzzlement.

“Does everything in this forest obey your command, good lady? I daresay that would’ve made things much easier on our little trek here.” The onion headed knight commented. Alvina shook her head as she turned to Fluttershy and Sif.

“Too often hath souls come with ill intent, this thou hast seen for thyself. If it is the will of they that dwell amid Darkroot to punish invaders, then I am bound to permit them the freedom of choice. Mine will is to only be used in the face of that which is too miraculous or terrible to have been foreseen.” The grey feline sighed as she looked up at Sif. “Lo and behold, t’is such that now standeth before me.”

Sif barked at the cat, expressing her own astonishment. Alvina nodded silently in agreement as Fluttershy hesitantly stepped forward.

“As you can see, we found Sif, and Aurelia…and….ngh…Trixie.” The pegasus flinched. “I’ve patched up Sif’s wounds and am now taking her to where the means to traverse the Abyss can be safely extracted from her.”

Alvina mewled, sounding oddly relieved.

“What sorrow was fated to come has now passed, and rather than losing one of Darkroot’s most treasured souls, I look upon her living and healthy. Unto thee I gave a fool’s hope, and in return thou delivered a most gracious miracle.” The kitty hissed in miserable laughter. “T’would seem thine patchwork friend spoke truth that I was in error.”

Feeling emboldened, Fluttershy retrieved her saddle bags.

“We need to get back to our friends, and Sif needs to be taken to Seath. Will you help us?”

Alvina looked down at her paws. Her ears wilted as she began to clean them again.

“Betrayed am I by doubt that thou will succeed further in thine goal. Artorias’ Covenant will not be severed from its bearer lightly…“ The feline broke off upon noticing Fluttershy’s panicked expression. “Yet already thou hast accomplished what all deemed impossible. No more can I trust the murmurs on the winds, nor the visions gifted to me by time.”

Alvina brought her tail around, revealing a golden ring set with a strange foggy white pearl, and a glittering pendant wrapped in its length.

“Unto thee I bequeath these precious rewards for thine service. May they afford thee safety and respite in thine travels.”

Fluttershy duly accepted the gifts and tucked them into her saddle bags.

“Thank you, Alvina.” She said with a smile. The kitty nodded mournfully.

“Get thee and thine companions to the bonfire. See that Sif, most noble of souls that she is, need suffer no longer!”

“We will!” Fluttershy promised. “Come on Siegmeyer, we’ve gotta get Sif back to Aurelia!”

“Righto, Miss Fluttershy! Lead the way!”

The pegasus, knight and wolf made haste in departing the way they came.