“Are you sure you want to go through with this?”
Rarity walked alongside Twilight as the pair made their way towards what was, as Twilight described it, Sarlaka's forge. The morning was starting out to be an increasingly interesting one to say the least. Just twenty four hours ago, Rarity was spiraling further and further into depression and nothing that Twilight could say or do was helping her break out of it in the slightest. In fact, everything that Twilight WAS doing, from taking the blame for the accident entirely, to cursing herself out, was making the entire situation far worse. Just a little over twelve hours ago, Sarlaka had shown her that while her magic was fairly useless right now, due to her being without her treasured horn, her magic was still there. And just a little over an hour ago, she had found out from Twilight that Sarlaka had, apparently, created a new horn for her.
“I am certain, Twilight.”
To say that she was stunned at the revelation was an understatement, the concept of making a functioning prosthetic horn had been deemed impossible in former Equestria a long time ago. Yes, the science of prothetics had come a long way in Equestria, but the best that even the doctors from Canterlot Medical could create was something that was more for ascetics than for actual functionality. Rarity never really followed medical journals that much, she wasn't even sure if even Twilight did, but the last she heard, the research had been dropped because of “Ley-Line Adaptability Complications and Magical Diffusion Desynchronization.” What that literally meant, the alabaster mare wasn't sure, but what she did know is that that was code for “we have no bucking clue why it won't work.”
“But don't you think that you are rushing into the decision a little quickly?”
When Twilight told her what Sarlaka had created, and that he had told the lavender mare that the horn would allow her to actually use magic again, she was filled with a whirlwind of emotions, ranging from confusion to doubt. How could a dragon in a cave over the course of a single night do what the finest Equstrian doctors couldn't do over the course of generations? Sure, Sarlaka was intelligent, the fact that he had been able to keep up this ruse from Discord for so long made that apparent enough, but how could he do it so quickly with such crude tools? Yes, a thousand years had gone by, but from what Rarity had seen from Conflound, society was stagnant at best, and most likely took a few steps backwards compared to Equestria. This was yet another secret that Rarity needed to ask him about, adding to her growing list of questions. However, as long as he was being truthful to the two of them, she'd let it slide... for now.
“Twilight, darling, no amount of time could change my opinion in any way on the matter, so why should we wait?”
Of course, once the gravity of the news started to sink in, that doubt and confusion was quickly replaced with that of hopeful glee. She felt like a little filly why was just told by her mother that her cutie mark had appeared. At the time, Twilight laughed along with Rarity, the pair jumping from bed to bed in exuberant excitement about the surprising turn of events, and the kinds of second chances that this would allow the disabled unicorn. All at once, the various opportunities that had been stolen from her, from the most obvious ones like being able to do fashion once more to even the most minor and potentially overlooked ones like simply opening a door like a normal unicorn, were within reach again.
“But do you even realize how how much the fusion is going to hurt?”
Of course, after the initial high of breaking the news settled down, Twilight had started to have second thoughts about allowing Rarity to go along with this so quickly after learning about it. According to her lavender friend, Rarity was rushing into this situation without thinking about it. Instead, Twilight had said that 'she was responding to an instinctual knee-jerk reaction, and that to properly judge on the weighty decision, Rarity should wait at least a few days, if not a week, before deciding on a course of action. That way, a series of lists could be made on the pros and cons could be created, analyzed, and allow for a reasonable and calculated assessment to be formed. Of course, that's what Twilight was saying, but she wasn't the one that had the pathetic remains of a broken horn attached to her skull.
Which brought them to where they walked now.
“No more than never being able to use magic ever again could. Besides dear, what would you do if you lost your magic?”
It was a cheap tactic yes, turning Twilight's special talent against her like that, but the incessant nagging of the lavender unicorn had been going on for half an hour, and to say that Rarity was starting to get annoyed was an understatement. However, while underhanded, it appeared to have had the desired effect, the lavender mare promptly shut her mouth, and with a saddened look, turned back towards the end of the hall. The two walked in silence now, the soft echos of eight hooves clopping against the dirt below being the only sound to break the heavy stillness in the air. Even though the hall was not too much longer than the others in the cave system, the walk to the forge still felt like it took an hour or more to traverse. Rarity wasn't sure if it was anticipation, fear, or some other emotion that made the trip as long as it was, but whatever it was, it sent the butterflies in her stomach flying in every direction.
“Rarity.”
She stopped, and turned towards Twilight, the lavender mare's voice hushed even in the echoing tunnel. Feeling the need to respond, the snow white unicorn responded in a likewise hushed voice, “Yes, Twilight?”
Twilight closed her eyes, and let out a deep sigh, “I would do the same thing, and would jump on the opportunity to have my magic back in a heartbeat. I just... I don't want something bad to happen to you... not again. Ok?”
The white mare gave Twilight the best smile that she could, walked up until she was right up against her face, and gave her cheek a gentle nuzzle, “I know, dear. I know. You don't have to worry about me. I'm a strong mare, you know that.”
The lavender unicorn indulged in the friendly rubs of her friend for a few seconds longer, until she finally pulled away, a small smile on her face, “Well, lets get this started then.”
Nodding to each other, the pair turned back towards the door at the end of the long hall, the passage somehow appearing much closer now than it was just a few seconds ago, like the hall was responding to her mood. Taking a last second to gather her courage, Rarity took the last steps though the door, and made her way inside.
The forge was exactly as Twilight had depicted it earlier that morning, with all of the machinery, equipment, and other various tools strewn around in various locations, giving a true example of what Rarity liked to call “organized chaos.” However, there were two traits of the room that did not fit with the vivid and detailed description that her lavender friend had given her. The first was that the room was quite cool. Actually, the room was not only cool, but actually had a slight chill in the air, taking the air out of the mare's lungs with a visible fog as a small shiver ran down Rarity's body. Still, it only took a moment to become more accustomed to the low temperature, and within seconds, the crisp air was actually quite refreshing compared the the slightly stale air of the rest of the cave. The other difference was that in the very center of the room was a small bench completely covered in beige pillows, just wide enough for her to lay on. The bench was obviously meant for her, and the lack of actual formal amenities for a kind of operation like this just showcased how ill equipped they really were for this. Still, the fact that the pillows were there showed that Twilight and Sarlaka appeared to be doing their best to comfort her in any way they could.
Slowly, Twilight guided Rarity to the simple bench, and with a helping hoof, gently placed her onto the cushions, so that her stomach and chest were resting on the pillows. Rarity quickly found herself fidgeting on the crude bed, rolling around a little to try and find the most comfortable position that she could, the flat pillows not doing much to help elevate the feeling of the creaking wooden support below her. Still, the alabaster mare eventually found a position that was at least tolerable, and was able to settle down a little bit, her legs nearly dangling on each of the two sides of the bench.
It was then that Rarity noticed their dragon host standing at the edge of the room, and while he was sitting up on his hind legs, his shoulders were slouched and a frown was painted on his face. While the features were tell-tale signs of sadness, it was more likely one of seriousness and focus at the situation at hand, Sarlaka obviously realizing the gravity and risks involved, and worried that he would fail. What caught Rarity's attention more though, was that cradled in his massive claws, was a small object. It was impossible to tell what it was or what it was made from, the object in question was wrapped in a worn olive green cloth, but while it looked absolutely miniscule in his massive claws, she knew that it wasn't nearly as small as the proportions made it look like. She was sure that the object in question was the prosthetic horn, and while she wished that she could get a good look at it before the operation, she resigned herself to the mystery.
The purple dragon lowered himself into a more comfortable walking position, and on three legs, slowly started to make his way over to the two ponies, his large form nearly filling his side of the room completely. The entire time he walked, his face slowly transformed from a frown filled with seriousness and worry, to his signature hardened look he had whenever he was dropping his normal sarcastic facade, and was about to drop a proverbial bomb on the naïve ponies. It wasn't long until he was beside her, taking up the side of the bench opposite of Twilight. Even with his massive sundering form, as he laid beside her, he moved with grace and fluidity, until his body was curled up in a laying position, his head placed just in front of hers, his snout within reach of Rarity's forehooves if she had the desire to touch him.
His voice was nearly as soft as Fluttershy's own when he finally spoke, “I am certain that Magic has asked this same question countless times already, but are you sure you want to go through with this?”
Rarity spoke quickly and flatly, somewhat annoyed that even Sarlaka was asking this of her, “I am certain, and nothing will change that.”
“You don't understand, my little pony,” the dragon replied, his voice still as quiet as a gentle spring breeze, “There are many risks involved in this sort of operation. I have never done it before, but from what I know, if we do not do this correctly, the first moment you try to use your magic, the magic will rebound back inside you, and a feedback will occur within your body, causing you to... well... explode from the overcharge.”
Twilight forcefully brought her forehooves onto the edge of the bench, leaned in close to Sarlaka, and glared at him, her snout nearly touching his face as she began yelling, “And you decided to mention a small detail like this NOW!?”
“It didn't occur to me until just a few minutes ago that something like this could happen, Magic, which is why I am asking Generosity now if she's still alright with this. I am sure that she's ok with the pain if she made it this far, but something like this is something I need to make sure she finds... acceptable.”
Rarity took a deep breath, giving her an extra second or two before giving her answer, “Yes, I am sure.”
“Rarity,” Twilight looked down at her, the unicorn's eyes pleading, “I know you want your magic... but you don't have to do this... are you sure?”
The white mare took a few moments to look at Sarlaka and Twilight before responding, “I am positive.”
Sarlaka nodded back, “Very well. Magic, would you please make sure that Generosity is properly secured before we proceed?”
Rarity watched as Twilight paused for a moment, hesitating at the prospect that was ahead, wanting to further argue with the two, before she finally nodded. With a flash of her horn, the lavender unicorn grabbed four brown and thick leather straps that were under the bench, and slowly wrapped them around Rarity's shoulders, her waist, just below her knees, and the final one strapped her forelegs to the legs of the bench. It was a simple process really, and it only took a few seconds before every single belt was latched and secure around her. The alabaster mare tried to move herself slightly, only to find that she could not move more than about an inch in any direction. Trapped, and at the mercy of the two beings that stood before her, she found that her heart had started to speed up a tiny bit, a quiet nervousness starting to cause trouble with her stomach. Even with her being “captured” by a friend as close as Twilight, the feeling of helplessness and the threat of being so vulnerable were both hard to ignore. Still, Rarity knew that the feelings were unfounded, and with a deep intake of air into her lungs, banished the thoughts to the deepest recesses of her mind.
Rarity turned her eyes towards her draconian “doctor”, and, satisfied at her restraints, he slowly and carefully started to unwrap the olive green rag around the object in his claws. He was slow and meticulous with the wrappings, taking an extra second or two with each motion to make sure his dangerously sharp claws never cut into the cloth or the object that it was protecting. The process already slow, the alabaster “patient” felt like she wouldn't live long enough to see what was inside them, a ridiculously silly fear of dying of old age before it happened flashing in her mind for a moment. Eventually, the rags fell to the floor, and she finally got her first sight of her new horn.
Most prostheses of Equestria were made to match the unicorn that they were to be fashioned to. If a unicorn like Rarity were to have one crafted for her in Canterlot, then it would be specially created with her in mind to match her snow white horn stub, so that one couldn't tell without proper inspection that the horn was indeed fake. While no, the fake horn was not made out of actual boney material, it was typically made out of a blend of synthetic materials that was meant to look and feel similar to actual bone. There were exceptions of course, the poorer off would be forced to choose from mass produced horn prostheses which didn't quite match most pony's colors, while the super rich could afford horns to be created out of the actual horns of sea creatures that were found washed onto shore, already dead of course, and specially enchanted to match the size, shape, and color of the host. But there was always one point in the entire process: to make it look like the unicorn was “normal.”
That final goal could not be further from the truth with the horn that Sarlaka was now presenting to her. In his claws sat six inches of the clearest and purest material that Rarity had laid eyes on before. The structure was flawless, the torchlight emanating off of the walls that shined through it gave no signs of any flaws or any residual discolorations that normally were found in making such a crystal clear material. Indeed, with the exception of the material and the transparent nature of the object, the rest of the makeup of the prosthetic was perfectly made; from the shape and point, down to the simple details of the spiral groove that unicorns normally had on their horns. Those details, along with all of the other minor details, had been looked at, replicated, and reproduced with perfect precision.
Rarity was left speechless, save for a single word, “What...”
“I told you that if you could move that diamond I was holding, you could keep it. Granted, I cut quite a bit off of it, but I don't think walking around with a giant rock attached to your head would suit your fancy.” Smiling, Sarlaka turned to Twilight, “My little nurse, could you please take this, and put it close to her break? I'm not very good with the dexterous movements and such.”
Nodding, if a little slowly, Twilight enveloped the diamond spike in her telekinetic grasp, and moved it over near Rarity, so that the spike and the mare were only a few inches apart. Sarlaka, almost comically looking, put on a pair of jeweler's eyepieces, got down so close to her head that his hot and dry breath washed over her curly mane, and carefully studied the two connecting points. Rarity attempted to turn her head to get a better look, only to find that Twilight had already thought of that, and had used her magic to grab her, making sure that her head did not move during the operation.
Resigning to merely using her eyes, she noticed that he was carefully looking at the connecting parts, every so often touching the diamond, until he finally motioned for Twilight to lift the diamond spike up closer to him. With a chisel, he carefully worked at the end of the diamond, the tool barely removing anything with each hit, until Sarlaka appeared to be satisfied. After a quick double checking, which consisted of Twilight holding the connecting end back close to Rarity's stub, the dragon smiled a toothy grin. One final time, Sarlaka had Twilight lift the connecting piece up to the dragon, the connecting piece now apparently perfect. Pulling out what looked like some sort of gel, Sarlaka generously slabbed the gel onto the end of the diamond prosthetic, so that the entire end was covered.
Sarlaka looked up at Rarity's confused eyes, “Its like superglue, but better.”
Motioning to Twilight, the lavender mare moved the spike for a third, and hopefully final, time near Rarity's head. “Now Magic,” the dragon said, his voice deadly serious in tone, “I do not care what happens, what she says, what you hear, or what you ate for breakfast, do not move the the horn from the connection. Got it?”
Twilight nodded.
“Then let us begin.”
Sarlaka crouched back down so that his face was only inches from Rarity's own, the massive purple scales taking up nearly the entire vision of the mare's world. Rarity felt something extremely icy press itself against the end of her broken stub as Twilight finally pushed the diamond spike into position, the end flush with her broken horn. Somehow, Sarlaka moved his head even closer, so that Rarity could swear she could feel his claw brushing her prized purple mane to the side, but she could make no move to check to see if this was true.
“Last chance to back out,” Rarity heard Sarlaka whisper to her.
“Just get on with it,” She whispered back.
“As you wish... my lady.”
Before she could say anything to question those last two words, she heard him take a deep breath of air though his nostrils, the wind generated from the simple act astonishingly strong, before he opened his mouth, and let out what sounded like a tiny, yet constant flame. Even if it was miniscule, Rarity could feel the unbelievable heat from it instantly, her forehead breaking into a sweat just moments after the flame erupted. For the first three seconds, there was no pain, just the intense heat. However, pain very quickly started to form around where her horn was broken off, the fire feeling like it was cooking the broken bone on her forehead into oblivion. Even as images of the charred remains of what was left of prized horn flashing in her mind, Rarity refused to move as the pain increased with every second as the area where the dragon breathed scorched.
Still, even with feeling the most incredible pain since her horn was so viciously destroyed, the alabaster mare did not cry out. Instead, she gritted her teeth, and bore the intense pain without a single complaint, as if crying out would cause Sarlaka and Twilight to stop the process, and making all of this mean nothing. The pain was strong, but she was stronger, and in a battle of wills, she was winning handily. All she had to do was wait out the fire, let it do its work, and all the pain that she would be experiencing right now would be over, and she would be whole again, able to go about her life as she used to. Indeed, Sarlaka appeared to be running out of air to breathe fire with, and it was only a matter of seconds before he was-
Sarlaka stopped, and took another deep breath.
If the previous fire was hot, this fire was that of a thousand suns burning just two inches from her forehead. The air made a loud pop as it superheated in a blink of an eye to colossal levels. Rarity no longer felt the drips of sweat on her brow, the salty liquid evaporating faster than she could produce it. Maybe her mind was playing tricks on her, but Rarity would swear that she heard crackling sound of what was left of her horn breaking under the stress. This pain was much worse than when she lost the horn, the only reason she wasn't crying out now was because she was aware that pain was coming.
Of course, it was soon after this final thought that she lost that internal battle.
“AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!”
Over her screams, she heard Twilight's own yells, “STOP IT! STOP IT NOW!!” the mare cried, trying to get the dragon to stop. Still, the pain stayed put as Sarlaka didn't flinch from either of the mare's yelling, his breath steady as he ignored both of their protests as he continued his work of uniting bone and gem into one seamless form.
Still, it didn't stop Twilight from trying to get him to stop, though for her part, she never did release her hold on the mare's head or the artificial horn for even an instant. The room quickly descended into a maelstrom of screams and cries as the diligent dragon continued his important work. Seconds bled into themselves for Rarity, and every single tick of the clock was a second of pain and agony as the feeling of being burned alive localized in her head threatened to drive her insane. For a few long and harrowing minutes, the torture went on, and for the victim of all of it, any cognitive thought was thrown out the window as she screamed.
Though through it all, she never said for either of them to stop.
Finally after five minutes of pain, Sarlaka stopped his fire, and addressed Twilight, who was still yelling at the dragon to stop, “Magic, a gust of wind. Now.”
Apparently not bothering to question the dragon's motives, Rarity felt a strong breeze cut across her forehead, the molten air quickly being replaced with air many magnitudes cooler than before. It was as if heaven itself had graced her, for the chilled air that she mentally complained about earlier now soothed her, forgiving her for her mental bullying. After a few seconds, the pain was low enough that Rarity no longer screamed, though the idea of even opening her eyes now was completely out of the question. For now, she was satisfied with simply basking in the chilled air, the pain from her ordeal, which was definitely still there, slowly started to dissipate into a deep throb, and while it was still painful, it was not nearly as agonizing as the sharp pain from before.
A calming quiet came over the room as Rarity was left taking deep breaths. However, a single line eventually broke that silence, the voice belonging to their host, “Now that, is a lens.”
_______________________________________________________________________________
Fluttershy had her eyes closed, basking in the radiant warmth of the bright midday sun. While yes, technically every time that the sun was in the sky in this future, it had the high noon "midday sun" aspect to it, but the yellow pegasus estimated that it was around the middle of the day anyways, so calling it midday was accurate enough. The small mare had a smile on her face as she sat upright on the cool dirt, her forelegs curled up in front of her, and her wings spread as wide as they could to catch the warming rays. The gash on the base of her left wing still hurt, the wound still not nearly close to being healed. However, after a careful preening session of her delicate wings earlier in the morning, she found that as long as she didn't actually move her wing too much, it really didn't hurt more than a little bit.
She had come a long way since the beginning of their journey. At first, the very thought of flying to where her element was located, not even including the prospect of dealing with all the trials and enemies that would undoubtedly stand between them and their prize, scared her to no end. It was only the presence of her cyan friend that had kept her hooves moving forward. Sure, there had been some bumps on the way, the thought of two nights ago coming to the forefront of her mind, but for the most part, the two had been safe, and the Element of Kindness was most likely directly beneath them. Not only that, but the task at hoof didn't scare her as much as it did a week ago, the usual jitters and the typical loss of her voice not present like it was when they first started. Fluttershy wasn't entirely sure if that was a good thing or bad thing, but if nothing else, it helped keep their pace going strong. And considering how much happier Rainbow seemed when they kept their swift pace up, it was good enough for the time being.
The thought of her cyan counterpart made her smile waver for just a brief second, before it returned just as strongly as before. Their relationship was... an interesting one at best. Before all of this craziness started, Fluttershy had admired her feathered friend more than that mare could ever imagine, at least until recently. Fluttershy had accepted the fact long ago that her sexual preferences tended to lean towards mares. It was something that she knew was a touchy subject, and at first, like most things, the idea of being seen as an outcast had scared her to no end, leading her to hide this important part of herself from her friends and family. In reality, if one of her friends had outright asked her about her sexual tendencies, Fluttershy probably, granted with tremendous amounts of meekness, would be honest about the matter and come clean, but the subject never really came up. Therefore, for better or worse, she never found the need to let any of them know.
That said, she wasn't sure when she really started to see the rainbow maned pegasus in a romantic light. For all of her life, from when the two went to flight school together, until now, the two had always been best friends. Sure, in recent years, Rainbow had gotten close to Pinkie and Applejack, while Fluttershy took more and more time to hang out with Rarity, the two had an unbreakable bond that could only be forged through time. While she didn't know when it was that she started to see Rainbow as more than a friend, she only just consciously realized it just two months ago that her admiration of the strong flier had turned into an infatuation. Instead of acting on it, Fluttershy decided not to tell her and just try to let the feeling slowly fade away, fear of the worst case situation always on her mind.
Of course, the idea of Rainbow not knowing how Fluttershy felt towards her was completely out the window by this point, considering what they did two nights ago. Thinking back more now, she could have sworn that it was Rainbow that had initiated the entire thing, after all, it was Rainbow that rolled over on top of her in the first place. Of course, before that, Fluttershy had been the one to sensually rub her hooves along the soft hair on Rainbow's sides. Then again, Rainbow had been the one to almost flat out tell Fluttershy to join her in bed considering the look she gave Fluttershy, once again putting the blame on her. But before that, Fluttershy had been the one to whisper to Rainbow that they should head back to their room for the night. Of course, before that...
Fluttershy scrunched up her face, willing the mental self argument to end. Deciding that no matter who initiated it, the simple fact was that in the end, while Rainbow had partook in the... activity, there was no doubt that the mare had been quite spooked by the incident. Even if she said she didn't want to forget, Rainbow had been scared to the point that she had ran away from Fluttershy to think for a large part of the night. She had come back yes, thankfully, but still, the simple fact that she had left was telling enough about how the incident had impacted Rainbow.
With that, the yellow mare made a final, if disheartening, decision: she would never bring up the topic of the two getting together ever again. As much as Fluttershy wanted otherwise, as much as she needed otherwise, she would much rather have her beautiful Rainbow be her best friend than risk having her never want to be near her ever again. Resigning to this wasn't a easy feat; many times Fluttershy thought of reasons to go back on this drastic course of action she was making, but every time, the end result of her mental scenarios was the same: the possibility of never talking to Rainbow ever again. It would be hard, harder than facing a fully grown dragon that wanted nothing more than to gobble her up in a single bite, but she didn't care. Of course, if Rainbow initiated the subject, then... well... maybe then...
A sudden and loud snort from behind her broke Fluttershy out of her thought process. Opening her eyes, the startled mare turned, and noticed that the very subject of her affection had still not awoken from her deep slumber. In fact, not only had she not awoken, but she was laying on her back, her forelegs curled up to her chest as one of her hind legs twitched every so often, leaving any sense of decency out the window. Her signature rainbow colored mane and tail were all over the place, the prismatic colors in each blurring together as the tangles made themselves apparent. The yellow pegasus giggled as she noticed that the sleeping pony was murmuring something to herself in her sleep, something, or somepony, in her dream significant enough to bring out the noises.
Finally deciding that she had let the lazy mare sleep in long enough, Fluttershy picked herself up and trotted over to where the chromatic pegasus slept. Standing next to Rainbow, a sudden and devious thought crossed Fluttershy's mind. Fluttershy extended her uninjured wing and carefully lowered the feathered appendage until the longest of her primary feathers started to lightly brush against the mildly wet cyan nose. At first, Rainbow didn't react, but the constant and careful tickling eventually brought out the desired effect when the yellow pegasus' victim started to use one of her forelegs to try and brush the source of the assault away. However, before the hoof could make contact, Fluttershy would pull her wing up, leaving the dozing mare to swipe at nothing but air, until Rainbow slowly settled down, and went back to her loud snores.
Giggling yet again, the yellow mare repeated this process for a few minutes, until eventually, Rainbow flailed around frantically, nearly kicking Fluttershy in the process as she unconsciously tried to attack her tickling assailant so that she could sleep further. The sudden jolting around backfired though, and ended up awakening the pegasus, who's mind was still in a daze from the slumber.
"Who? What? Where are they!? The marshmallow pinatas!! What are... wait... huh?”
The yellow mare did her best to stifle her giggles, being forced to cover her mouth with a forehoof as she tried to contain the snorts directed towards Rainbow. The cyan mare quickly shaken out of the cloud covering her mind, she quickly looked over at the offending mare, pointing an accusing forehoof, “Hey, don't laugh at me! I carried you all day yesterday! Plus, I didn't get much sleep last night,” Rainbow fussed as she slowly got up onto all four of her hooves. Slowly and deliberately, she started to stretch her limbs, “I think I'm allowed a few extra minutes of sleep.”
Still smiling, Fluttershy giggled her response, “Rainbow, its been daylight for hours.”
“... Oh... well... still! Anyways, let me stretch real quick, and then we can go do this thing.”
Fluttershy nodded, and after taking a few steps away to give Rainbow some extra space, decided to watch the rainbow maned mare do her stretches. Fluttershy knew the importance of proper stretches sure, even if she never really bothered to do them that often. Of course, after that crazy day of flying a few days ago, she made a conscious decision to make sure she did a few stretches every morning since: a few extensions of her forelegs, a few with the hind ones, and while she took extra care to not further injure her wing, she did do one or two different pulls on her wings to stretch her back and chest muscles. The stretches were definitely useful, and she was grateful that she didn't pull anything yet this trip, but none of that was anything like what her athletic friend's regiment was.
It was an interesting thing to watch really, looking on as Rainbow Dash loosened her taut and firm muscles for the upcoming day. More of an art rather than exercise, the cyan mare went about a long process of making sure every single fiber of muscle in her body was prepped. Everything from her legs to her back, all the way to the muscles that swayed her chromatic tail back and forth. On the last, Fluttershy did feel a little redness in her cheeks appear as she looked at Rainbow's taught flank, but if Rainbow noticed that Fluttershy was staring, she didn't react to it in the slightest. Instead, the stretching mare merely continued to flex and stretch the toned muscles in the entirety of her body, focusing heavily on her wings.
It took a good fifteen minutes, in which neither of the mares talked to one another, before Rainbow was done. Rainbow gave her wings a final couple of flaps, making sure they were properly stretched, before turning towards her yellow friend, “Alright, lets do this.”
Nodding, Fluttershy took to Rainbow Dash's side, and together, they started trotting around the top of the lonely mesa, searching for the entrance to the cave, cavern, or any other place that the plateau might have been hiding within its structure that could contain Fluttershy's element. The two mares didn't make much conversation, the pair too focused on the task at hand to really think about anything to gossip about. If anything was said between the two, it was related to the job at hoof, and was completely impersonal. It slightly unsettled the yellow mare, her mind always worrying about what her counterpart was thinking, and if any of it was about her, and if any of it was positive.
It didn't take long until Rainbow started fussing about some nonsense like how she wished Fluttershy had some sort of homing device to lead the two to the cave, but the shy mare decided not to take it to heart, even if it was a weird statement. A homing device? What kind of thing is that? Thankfully, it only took a few more minutes later until Rainbow noticed that there was a section on the side of the mesa, about twenty hooves below the lip of the edge, that actually was a hole leading inside.
Looking inside, Fluttershy noticed that, with the exception of the location on the mesa that it was burrowed into, the place was fairly nondescript. There were no distinguishing markings, no colorful banners, nor any special doors leading inside. All there was were the walls, floor, and ceiling of what appeared to only be a naturally occurring cave. It was impossible to tell if this was the case further inside, the light from above refusing to enter past the first few hooves of rock, but from what the yellow mare could tell, the stone was all the same. The earth that made up all the walls was completely unworked, and was exactly the same kind of rock that SHOULD be here, a sandy tan stone that was slightly crumbly if picked at.
Rainbow lazily flapped her wings, hovering at the entrance as she shrugged, “Seems kinda lame for an awesome cave, don't you think?”
The yellow pegasus decided to make a quick landing inside instead of hovering, sparing her injury any stress, “Well... umm... maybe Sarlaka, or whoever hid it, wanted it to look... umm... lame?”
The cyan mare leaned her weight forward, coming up alongside Fluttershy, and softly landed on her hooves, “I guess. Still lame though. I was expecting some massive door, some crazy guard monster, or something to give us some kind of storybook entrance.”
Managing to give her own shrug in response, Fluttershy, after Rainbow pulled out and ignited a small torch from their shared set of saddlebags, started down the long tunnel. Just like the inside, the tunnel was, as Rainbow put it, lame. Just a lot of unworked tan rock that disappeared into the distance as the light gave out. If anything significant was to be gained from the tunnel, it was that it seemed that the tunnel itself was actually spiraling around and down just inside of the walls of the mesa, the tunnel descending deeper into the structure itself. It was as if the tunnel was some kind of very crude spiral staircase, sending the pair deeper and deeper into the bowels of the earth. With not a single word shared between the two, they eagerly kept moving, determined to find their way to Fluttershy's element. It took close to thirty minutes, and what felt like two full rotations around the perimeter of the mesa later, but eventually, the pair found themselves at where the tunnel ended.
A hole, just a little wider than a pegasus' wingspan, sat in the ground just before the pair, and headed straight down. If this passage was a completely natural formation, Fluttershy would now be surprised, because of the sharp angle in the stone as it dipped down, plus how uniform the radius of the opening was, pointed towards a hoofmade design. Otherwise, the way down was extremely boring, with no real defining features about it; the rock was still the same sandy color as before, though if the color or texture changed further down because of the lack of light, Fluttershy couldn't tell. Also just like before, the stone itself crumbled slightly if she struck her hoof against it, an action that she only tried once, paranoia of a cave in on her mind.
Getting down the hole, at first glance, would be a simple endeavor for the two pegasi: just jump, flap your wings, and fly down. Fluttershy knew otherwise though, the steep nature of the hole in the ground prevented a winged creature of her size from getting a good angle to fly. Sure, there were some very strong pegasi, like Rainbow Dash, who could fly straight up or straight down without any issues, but most pegasi, like herself, didn't have the amount of talent and strength that Rainbow had. Hovering would be an issue as well, the small space not allowing the proper amount of air flow to permit ease in the mater, if such an action was possible at all. No, the two would have to stop, think, and be careful when-
“Race you to the bottom!”
Rainbow bolted past the yellow mare without a moment's hesitation, dropping the torch in the process, and after a small smirk over her shoulder aimed the yellow mare, leaped into the air, and dropped down the small hole in front of Fluttershy. Instantly, Fluttershy ran over to the lip of the ledge, peered over the side, and saw the small cyan colored form disappearing into the darkness, the mare's wings firmly clamped to her sides. For a few seconds, the stunned pegasus could do nothing but gawk at the sight, but was quickly pulled out of the trance when she could no longer make out the cyan color in the darkness.
In a flash, and without really thinking, the previously stunned mare grabbed the discarded torch from the ground, and jumped after her chromatic friend. Using the same tactic as Rainbow, the pink maned pegasus kept her wings clamped shut against her sides, a little more tightly than needed out of fear, and quickly picked up speed as her weight carried her down. Her forelegs extended, she rocketed down the hole, determined to catch up to her friend, or at the very least, get to the point where she could see the tell-tale cyan color of Dash's coat. Images of what would happen in a few seconds flashed in her mind, the more prominent ones being how she caught up with a surprised Rainbow Dash, quickly pulling up just in time to prevent the two of them from crashing into the rock and stone below, effectively saving her pegasus.
Of course, the idea of Fluttershy actually saving Rainbow was ridiculous, though what happened next was just as unimaginable.
The next moment happened in the smallest fraction of a second, too fast for Fluttershy to react in the slightest. All the sudden, the cyan color of Rainbow's coat appeared in the farthest tendrils of light, the prismatic mare's wings fully extended to slow her fall. Fluttershy only had time to gasp, releasing the torch from her grip as a result, before she crashed into Rainbow at near terminal velocity, sending them into a wild freefall, the two somewhat hugging each other as they fell. Squealing in fright, Fluttershy attempted to extend her wings, only to find that her right wing was too close to the wall to fully extend, making the feathers useless to stop their fall. Attempting to correct themselves in any way possible, she started to extend her left wing, only to find the wound that she suffered from two nights ago sent daggers of pain through her, her wing instinctively retracting back to her side .
For her part, Fluttershy watched as a determine-faced Rainbow Dash attempted to extend her wings like Fluttershy just tried, only to find that her left wing wasn't able to extend properly, the wall having the same hindering effect on her. Extending her right wing, the pair swiftly found that with only the one wing open, they were sent into a quick tumble, their previous stable fall turning into a blur as they began to spin, every so often slamming into the sides of the hole. Obviously, Rainbow quickly pulled her wing back to her side and used what she could of her left wing to slow their tumbles, until the pair found themselves once again with Fluttershy on top of Rainbow's form. For all of the trouble, the only improvement in their situation was that they were now in the center of the chasm instead of on the edge of it.
Suddenly, Rainbow let go of the bear hug that she had on her friend, Fluttershy grabbing on a little tighter in response, and extended her four legs, the hard cyan hooves connecting with the porous stone, sending fragments and dust in every direction. After a few moments of tearing into the rock with her poor hooves, she started flapping her wings, doing what she could to imitate her signature upside-down flying in the cramped confines of the hole, the saddlebags on her back hindering this style of flight. Still scared out of her mind, Fluttershy heard her rainbow maned friend grunting in response to the immense forces being placed on her legs and wings as she did her best to slow down the pair out of terminal velocity. Not knowing what to do, Fluttershy just opted to wrap her legs around Rainbow's midsection as tightly as she could, bury her face into the cyan hairs on her friend's neck, and scream.
“FLUTTERSHY!!!” Rainbow screamed, her voice strained from exertion and pain, “For the love of Celestia, flap your bucking wings!!”
Struggling to comply, Fluttershy extended her feathered appendages, and instantly felt the wind pulling at the feathers, sending shockwaves of pain from her knife wound. Still, she ignored the pain, and forced her yellow appendages to flap furiously, feeling the the very tips of her yellow primary feathers clip against the sides of the tunnel as they sped down. Fluttershy ignored both feelings, and with her face still buried in Rainbow's neck, flapped her wings as fast as her body would let her, the power behind the feathers giving enough force to slow the pair down, if barely. Her body wanted to just stop flapping her wings and give up, the base of her wing now filling her head completely with pain, but for her friend and protector, her mind commanded her body to continue.
Thankfully, she started to feel the wind whipping against her mane and tail gradually start to let up, a sure sign that their barely controlled descent was slowing. Slowly, she let her hopes rise at the result, the prospect that they were going to make it putting a smile on her face. Just a few more seconds, and the pair would come to a stop, then they could just float down at a leisurely pace like they should have when they first got to the hole itself. Slowing even more, Fluttershy almost let out a little cheer in joy.
Suddenly, the tunnel ended, removing the four forces, Rainbow's hooves, that were slowing the pair down the most from the equation. Whatever place that they dropped into was only a short drop from the exit of the immensely long tunnel, for it was only a few seconds after Rainbow lost her grip of the walls of the tunnel did Fluttershy feel the sudden jolt as they hit a shallow pool of water, her legs shifted just in time to prevent them from being crushed under their combined weight. The athletic mare that took most of the fall grunted in pain as they both hit the ground, the wind knocked out of her. Otherwise, the pair were somehow unharmed. Finally, ending the entire event, the long forgotten torch that Fluttershy dropped a little less than half a minute ago hit the water next to them, plunging both of them into darkness.
Uncaring about being in the completely black unknown, Fluttershy held onto Rainbow's warm body tighter, her small frame still shaking from the ordeal as her wings limply laying on either side of her, her feathers soaking in the water. Even as she lay there on top of her object of affection, her mind was completely focused on trying to slow her heartbeat, only taking a moment to register the tickling feeling of Rainbow's mane on her nose and the oddly satisfying feeling of the chromatic mare's feathers slightly intertwining with her own. After a seconds of heavy breathing from the both of them, the yellow pegasus felt her athletic friend return the deep embrace, bringing a pair of cyan hooves around Fluttershy's lower back, and gripping tightly. It was only then that Fluttershy noticed that Rainbow was shaking just as badly, if not worse, than herself, the idea that her friend being just as scared as her a little disconcerting, but was comforting in a strange way.
Instead of getting out of the water, the pair simply settled to just lay there for a time, allowing each other to just enjoy the protection and comfort of the other. Sure, the feeling of the chilly standing water under them was mildly uncomfortable, but the way that their breathing rhythmically started to become one and their heartbeats subconsciously syncing up in the most curious way, it was worth it. In almost any other situation, Fluttershy would like nothing more than just to stay here, in Rainbow's forelegs, not because of her romantic feelings towards the mare under her, she had already addressed those this morning. Instead, she loved being here because of how safe she felt in the mare's forelegs, her protector's shielding grasp.
“I'm sorry.”
Fluttershy, unbelieving that she heard Rainbow Dash apologizing, lifted her head from Rainbow's neck, and tried to gaze into the mare's dark pink eyes, even if the room was pitch black, “Sorry? Why are you sorry? I'm the one that should be sorry...”
“Hey, don't be sorry for anything, 'Shy. I was the one that decided to not only dive down recklessly, but I decided to start hovering halfway down, thinking you weren't going to dive down with me. It was stupid, reckless, I shouldn't have done it, and almost got us... got YOU killed. That's why I'm sorry.”
The yellow mare didn't respond, simply pulling her friend back into a tight hug, which Rainbow readily returned. Again, they lay there, their breathing, and the occasional drip of water in the distance, being the only sounds to break through the silent void. The shy pegasus wasn't sure how long they lay there, but she relished every single moment of it. If Rainbow was uncomfortable with Fluttershy laying on top of her, easily closer and longer than normal friends would, and with the yellow mare's head buried in the side of her muscled neck, she never spoke out. Instead, the cyan mare slowly stroked her yellow back, every so often running a hoof across some of Fluttershy's feathers, attempting her best to fix some of them after the frantic filly-like flapping. It was all mesmerizing for the receiving mare, and under different circumstances, the moment would be perfect.
Rainbow finally whispered, her voice carrying through the darkness without effort, “Hey 'Shy, why did you dart down that hole so fast anyways? I know we raced before, but I nearly had to beg you last time.”
Fluttershy didn't even bother removing her face from her friend's neck as she whispered, “Oh... umm... I thought that you might hurt yourself... so I was... umm... trying to save you...”
Rainbow stopped her gentle rubs, her voice now filled with slight disbelief, “Wait wait wait. You, Fluttershy, were trying to save me, Rainbow Dash, from falling?”
The yellow mare nodded slowly, wanting to apologize, but was interrupted by the death grip implemented by the mare under her, “You are one amazing mare. Crazy, to the point where I think we should get your head checked later, but still completely amazing.” Rainbow paused for a second before chuckling lightly, “Oh, and do me a favor, and don't tell Rarity about the whole hoof thing I did up there? I don't want to have to try and fight her when she wants to give me a hooficure or anything weird like that.”
Giggling, the pink maned mare snuggled a little deeper into the snuggle, and the two lay there for another few minutes, taking comfort in each others presence. The urge to smell Rainbow's mane and take in the scent momentarily pulled at her heart, but how her companion might react to such an... intimate act stayed her. It was good enough to be like this for now, for even if the chromatic mare didn't share her feelings for her, then at least this would be enough... hopefully.
Too soon, the yellow mare felt her friend fidgeting, trying to get out from under her body, to which Fluttershy reluctantly got off of Rainbow Dash. Once they were on their hooves again, the two fumbled around Rainbow's saddlebags to try and get another torch lit, the darkness not aiding them in this task in the slightest. The action was difficult not only because of the darkness, but also because how the other torches were a little damp now. Finally getting a torch to ignite after several minutes, the two took an second to try their best to dry off, a really fruitless endeavor considering the only cloth they had brought with them on the trip were the cloaks they left behind a couple nights ago. Still, after shaking off what they could, the pair started to walk along the shallow water. It was only then that Fluttershy could finally take a long look around the room.
The area was, just like every single other place the pair had been in this cavernous cave system, bland and uninteresting. The walls and ceiling were made of the same tan and sandy stone that she'd been looking at for the past few hours, though she could tell that it was a little bit darker here and there from being saturated from surface water seeping down into the cavern. Considering the vast room that they were in, and the wide open space it supported, the only thing that appeared to be holding up the cave's ceiling was a single, massive column in the center that soared into the air. The column itself appeared natural in nature, erosion slowly cutting away the stone around it, until only this single pillar, larger than the biggest trees the yellow mare had ever seen in her life, remained.
Continuing to walk along, there were only two other notable features that were significant in any way. The first was the standing water in the entire area that came up halfway to their knees. From what it looked like, at least Fluttershy assumed, water would seep through the ground on the surface when it rained, drain into this cistern, and with no place to drain into from here, it would just pool up, forever filling up the large place. Considering this, and the fact that she wasn't currently swimming, there must have been much more to this cave system than she would ever able to explore in just one visit. Thoughts of Twilight abandoning their mission to spend a lifetime exploring the place flew across her mind for a moment, but to Fluttershy, her only desire was to get her element as quickly as possible, and get out of this dark and damp place.
Which, of course, let to the second of the two notable features of the cavern. Two hundred hooves away, there was a raised platform jutting out from the water, the highest point of it being about ten hooves above the surface. The platform was very plain, the raised structure had a slightly more silver hue to it than the stone walls and ceiling of the room, but that was the only significant part about it, leading Fluttershy to suspect that this material was not naturally from this area, though crazier things have happened before. Of course, on top of the platform, a single pony mannequin stood, wearing the Element of Kindness on its neck. No tricks, no traps, and no monsters. For all intents and purposes, all the pair had to do was walk up to the other end of the cavern, grab the element, and walk out. It seemed too easy, as if-
The ground under Fluttershy's front hoof disappeared, the yellow mare squeaking as she suddenly plunged into a pool of very deep water. Swallowing the urge to panic, along with a mouthful of water, she worked herself back to the surface of the pool, gasping for breath as she broke the surface. Her forehooves gripping edge of the hole that she fell in, she did her best to start to pull herself up, her hind legs kicking in the water to try to give herself an extra boost. It was then that a pair of cyan hooves wrapped themselves around Fluttershy's forelegs, and with a yank, the yellow mare found herself back on “land”. Sure, she was soaked to the bone, her body shivering in response, but she was safe again from the... mostly just unpleasant experience.
Rainbow Dash lightly chuckled, “How about we tread carefully so we don't have that happen again.”
Before either could enact that new plan, a sudden rumbling shook the entire cavern, various small pieces of stone falling from the ceiling, splashing in to the water in ever direction. Attempting to do their best to not fall down from the rumbling, both mares took to the air, Fluttershy wincing in discomfort in the process. For several seconds, the room shook, the idea that the entire place would come down around them entering the yellow pegasus' mind for a moment or two. But, as fast as the entire thing started, the shaking stopped, whatever force causing it to cease its disturbance in the chamber. The pair held their breath for a moment, until they were satisfied that the shaking was done.
Of course, it was right when they let their guard down that it appeared.
Breaching the surface of the water a few dozen hooves away, a great serpentine creature jutted out of what must have been one of the deepest pools of the cavern. It never completely exited the water, the creature keeping about half of its body inside the underwater cavern below, but what was sticking out of the water was at least thirty hooves tall. Its scales were a black olive green, each shimmering scale reflecting the small amount of torchlight that was provided by the small source held by the cyan pony. Even though it wasn't facing the two of them right now, Fluttershy knew from experience that the creature had horrifically sharp and long fangs, and while nonvenomous, considering that it could eat either of the two in a single bite, it wasn't like it mattered much anyways.
The cyan mare gawked, “What... is... that...”
Quickly, the yellow pegasus grabbed Rainbow's face, and pulled it so that Rainbow's eyes were averted, “Rainbow! Don't look at it!” Fluttershy screeched. “That's a basilisk! If you look into its eyes, it'll turn you into stone!”
Her companion was silent for a few seconds, before she grabbed Fluttershy's shoulders forcefully, pulling the mare closer, dread filling her dark pink eyes “A what!? Oh... oh you gotta be bucking kidding me...”
A/N: According to this link (and a lot of other places I looked), the average length of a Fantasy novel is around 120k words... oh boy...
