Perhaps the Most Convincing Case in Favor of the Solar Empire

by WingsOnTheBus

V: Plan B

Twilight fought the wicked sorceress hard, with every spell in her arsenal, but it was no use--in the end she was dropped into the boiling cauldron just like every other pony the sorceress had cooked alive for her meals.

She flailed all four legs frantically, trying to keep her head above the searing bubbles, but as she watched, the cauldron’s lid slid slowly into place above her, blocking out the light. Then the cauldron began to shrink around her--iron contracting to scald every facet of her body--

Her eyes flew open. Twilight was confused in the semidarkness for a mere moment before laughing at herself and moving to kick the covers off.

Nothing happened. There were no covers, but the heat, the drenched-with-sweat-and-breathing-heavy heat, was wrapped around her as tightly as ever.

Confused, she looked around. Leaves and brambles surrounded her, directly above and within a few leg-lengths on every side, as far as she could see with this little light. From the loamy smell and the hanging dampness, she was in the Everfree. But why in the hay would it be this hot?

A rustling noise to her left made her jump, and something poked her in the back.

“Ow!” She rolled over. Underneath her was her blanket, from her own bed, but--she lifted a corner--it was spread over a mixture of dry leaves and pine needles.

All at once she remembered everything, all the horror of the past two days, and was still. From the thickness of the air, it hadn’t passed yet. She was still in the cauldron, and she wasn’t getting out anytime soon.

But where were Cadence and Spike?

Twilight fumbled around in the moist earth and fallen plant scraps for her saddlebags. They were nowhere to be found, so she began to dig a path through the thorns until she was suddenly assaulted by the glaring, red-tinted light. At first all she saw were tightly packed spruce trees, and she panicked, fearing that maybe the noise had only been an animal and something awful had happened--

“Oh, thank goodness!” called Spike as he walked around into view, followed closely by the princess, who wore Twilight’s bags as well as her own. “We thought you might have gotten heat stroke!” Cadence raised an eyebrow at him. “Okay. I. I did.” He grinned sheepishly.

Twilight sighed and enveloped him in a hug as she pulled herself free from the tunnel of thorns. She felt that horrible, swollen sun burn down on her, and resolved not to look up at it anymore. Focus on getting to your friends, Twilight. Nothing else matters right now.

Instead, she glanced back at the tunnel--it appeared to be a natural occurrence (a community of root-sharing thorny shrubs, perhaps?), except for a small hole marking her unrecalled entrance into the other side.

“Wow, Cadence, that was really clever.” She had to take a stop to breathe. This is gonna get old quickly. “You might actually have saved me!” Cadence smiled.

“Actually, it was Spike’s idea to get you out of the--hah--sun like that.” Twilight turned to Spike, who was looking embarrassed and leaning awkwardly against one of the gnarled, looming trees.

“How long was I out?” And what the heck is happening to the sky?!

“About four hours,” Cadence answered. A glinting bead of sweat fell from her lowered head. Somewhere, birdsong rose from the baking ground. “I’ve...been thinking about what you--whoo--said, Twilight, and…” She looked her square in the eye.

“You’re right. I can’t ask you to--hah--abandon your friends, especially at a time like this.” Her eyes flickered upwards. “And...well…” She dropped her gaze again. “They might actually be safer with us.”

“Huh?” Could she really have changed her mind just like that? “But what about Luna’s orders?”

“Mother didn’t specifically tell me to leave the others behind. I just thought...well, maybe if I could get you and Spike through the--huh--forest unnoticed, then--”

“Wait. Through the forest?” Twilight didn’t understand. Cadence straightened herself. Spike was listening raptly.

“Yes. Through the forest. To the west. Eventually we’d--hah--get far enough that we could take to the air and ultimately reach--huh--Saddle Arabia. You could get to the other side of the world--to safety.”

“Saddle Arabia? But on hoof, or even wing, it takes months just to arrive at the border! We’d need supplies--food, water…” She abruptly realized that she was desperately thirsty. “Actually, would you--hah--happen to have any of that on you right now?” Apologizing, Cadence rummaged through her saddlebag and removed a canteen. Twilight took it gratefully and drank. In the few moments’ silence as her magic screwed the cap back on, the vastness of the forest came crashing down on her. Coupled with her exhaustion, this unbroken flat of ancient plants and lurking creatures, all red-washed in the light of the...abomination she was forcing herself not to see, made it seem as if she would never again get out.

As he would, Spike broke her trance.

“Princess Cadence? What do you mean by ‘the other side of the world?' Why would Twilight be safe there?”

Something white rushed past overhead.

Without missing a beat, Cadence shoved Spike and Twilight toward the bramble-tunnel. One by one, all three dove inside, leaving a Cadence-sized hole that the princess narrowed frantically until only a gap just large enough for her to see out of was left. She kept her eye pressed to it.

Several minutes passed in the duskiness. Twilight felt moisture ooze from the places the thorns had cut when they’d entered so hastily, and the coalescence of her own feverish breath in front of her. It came to her attention that Spike was shuddering violently, so she wrapped her hooves around him. She couldn’t tell if she was any better, though the heat of the draconic flame within his body did not help with the waves of exhaustion rolling over hers. At least she didn’t have to worry about seeing the sun anymore.

That noise again--the rush of wings. Lower now. An adrenaline jolt seared Twilight’s sleepiness away. Her heart sped--Spike’s to the speed of a hummingbird’s buzz--and her ears turned, alert. What was that? In all her studies she’d never learned of a white-feathered creature living in the Everfree frightful enough to make even a powerful alicorn run for cover and silence…

The rushing sounded again. After only a few seconds, Twilight heard the animal come to a flapping stop, and a thud touched down right where Cadence, Spike and she had just been. Then another--there were two! No--three! Twilight felt as if she were going to burst. She heard the crackling of so many leaves. A hollow tap. Then, extremely close, the gushing of water out onto the forest floor.

Her stomach dropped. Cadence pulled back from the gap and stared at her. The canteen. How could she have just dropped it like that? Beginning to hyperventilate in the musty air, she imagined keen nostrils sniffing the thing out, finding the scents that would lead the monsters straight--

A low, gravelly voice from where the creature should be.

“General, sir? I think I’ve found something.”

Comments

[Princess Woona]

I like dark, but I don't generally go for such things set in the present. Too hard to get right, and too easy to go overboard. You've struck a note of unnerving which resonates well. Looking forward to see where this develops, once it gets into gear.

[WingsOnTheBus]

4891190

I'm pretty sure, considering the experience you seem to have, that that is literally the best compliment I have ever received.
Well, okay, hyperbolically. But still. So thank you and I'll keep that in mind!