Secrets of the Everfree

by PaisleyPerson

Chapter 85: Paralysis

Chapter 85
Paralysis

Charcoal’s heart pounded in fear as they rematerialized, banging against his ribcage like a sledgehammer. He looked around, and instantly recognized the tower he had originally been imprisoned in.

“Now you’re mine,” Kindling let the glow of his shield fade away, and menacingly started forward. Charcoal didn’t even have the sense to plead for him to stop. From behind him, Charcoal watched as the small timberwolf pup leapt to his rescue, barking defiantly at the destral. Kindling hysterically laughed.

“This is your rescue?” he cackled, charging up his horn for a powerful and destructive blast.

“Little guy!” Charcoal cried. The timberwolf made a hasty retreat, breaking down into armor just Charcoal’s size. No sooner had it reassembled itself than Kindling fired. The effect left Kindling and Charcoal both gasping for breath.

The blast had absolutely drained Kindling, even though he hadn’t intended to put so much power into the charge. He was doing well just to remain standing, let alone fire again.

As for Charcoal, the blast had not physically harmed him, but rather, supercharged him. He felt a surreal amount of energy flowing through him, with nowhere for it to go. The carbuncle gem encrusted in his chest plate was also glowing. No, wait. It wasn’t purple, so where was that violet light coming from?

The siren pendant. He was still wearing it! The red jewel underneath the chest plate was actually the source of the light, and upon running through the blue filter of the carbuncle gem, the light turned purple. Topaz had said that the gems absorbed negative energy. A blast that powerful from the destral was surely comprised of negative vibes! And it didn’t stop there- the necklace was still feeding on the antagonistic passion radiating from Kindling.

“No... stop,” Charcoal grasped, trying to dig the pendant out. “Too much... energy!” He felt like he was about to explode. This time, the carbuncle gem really did glow. White light filled Charcoal’s head, and everything was blurry when he opened his eyes again. Not much time could have passed, because Kindling was still standing across from him.

“No!” he gasped. “How?”

“Huh?” Charcoal woozily looked around for the source of the destral’s confusion, but Kindling’s gaze remained locked on him.

“Why... you little... always getting in my way!” Despite the energy drain he was still experiencing, Kindling dragged himself forward and raised a hoof to strike Charcoal. Still paralyzed, the colt could only shut his eyes and prepare for the impact... which never came. Charcoal did make out a loud thud, however.

He opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was Kindling’s limp form slumped on the ground beside him. Looking up, he immediately recognized his rescuer.

“POUND!” The pegasus was still clutching the heavy lamp he’d used to knock out the weakened destral.

“Hey, Char,” Pound Cake cautiously returned Charcoal’s wild grin.

“You’re okay! Oh, you have no idea how good it is to see you again. I mean the real you!”

“Yeah,” Pound scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. “I... uh... I remember everything that happened while I was a changeling. What I did. So... sorry.”

“It wasn’t your fault. You didn’t know what you were doing!”

“Still feels weird, though,” he mused, trying to hoist Charcoal to his hooves but finding him limp as a rag doll. “Good grief! What happened to you?”

“Kindling bombed us with manticore venom. I can’t move,” Charcoal apologized.

“Well, the horn’s an improvement, though,” Pound hoisted Charcoal up onto his back instead.

“Horn?”

“You don’t know?”

“Don’t know what?”

“Gee, we need to find you a mirror,” Pound glanced around the room, and eyed a partially-hidden one concealed in the far corner. “There we go.”

“Pound, what are you-” Charcoal didn’t finish the statement when Pound yanked away the drape covering the mirror. There was a horn sticking out of his forehead. Like, a destral horn!

“Is that why my head itches so much?” he quietly squeaked. Pound Cake burst out laughing.

“You just realized you became a destral, and all you can say is that the horn is itchy?!” he chortled.

“What am I supposed to say? I HAVE A HORN!”

“Yeah, how sick is that?”

“Only sick as in the bad, twisted way! The siren pendant must have somehow converted his negative energy into a magical horn! Does that make me evil, too?”

“I won’t pretend to understand a word of what you just said,” Pound shook his head. “But I do know that you are many things, ‘evil’ not being one of them. Not even close.”

“How do you know?”

“I have faith in you,” Pound reached back to pat his shoulder. “Now, let’s get you back downstairs. I guess your folks must be worried.”

“Wait! Grab that book while you’re at it,” Charcoal requested. “Everypony’s been paralyzed with the venom. That book contains all of Kindling’s notes- there may be an antidote inside.”

“Hey, good thinking, slick,” Pound eased Charcoal down from his back and began leafing through the book. “Hmm... I don’t guess this thing has a table of contents?”

“It’ll probably be near the front,” Charcoal advised. “Manticore venom seemed to be one of the first things Kindling started experimenting with. Any notes he took on it would have been written down before any of the recipes using it.”

“Sounds reasonable. Say, you seem awfully familiar with this book,” Pound tried to sound suspicious, though Charcoal knew he was only teasing.

“Yeah... I was whipping up a little something before my cutie mark appeared,” he shot back.

“Wait, WHAT?! How did I miss that?” Pound abandoned the book and rolled Charcoal over to get a good look at the print. “You weren’t joking! Congrats, Char! It’s about time!”

“Thanks. Now get me up,” Charcoal grouchily demanded. Pound noticed what an uncomfortable position he had accidentally knocked his friend into, face and newly-acquired horn both implanted into the ground.

“Whoops,” Pound couldn’t hide his laughter, but pulled him upright again anyway.

“What does the book say?” Pound picked it up again and rifled through the first few pages.

“Here! ‘Manticore venom. Comes from manticore’s scorpion tail. Causes paralysis in victims by means of neurotoxin.’”

“Does it say anything about an antidote?”

“It says that it’ll wear off naturally in about three hours, but the process will run its course faster if a pony’s metabolism speeds up.”

“And how do we do that?”

“Beats me. That’s all the book says,” Pound shrugged.

“Maybe one of the princesses will know a spell?” Charcoal hoped. “We better get down and tell them, anyway.”

“Right-O. Away we go! Hey! That rhymed!”

“Shut up,” Charcoal groaned, trying to cling to Pound’s back as best he could.

“Fine, Mr. Sourpuss. At least tell me which way we’re going.”

“You might want to start by heading out the door.”

“Right.”

---

“We have to find him!” Acrylic cried, still straining against the paralysis.

“Acrylic?” Torchwood interrupted.

“We have to save him!” Acrylic thought she felt herself move an inch.

“Acrylic?”

“We have to get out of here!”

“ACRYLIC!”

“What?”

“Calm down,” her husband ordered. “We won’t get anywhere like that.”

“How long is this paralysis supposed to last? I think my wing is cramping up.” Hawk complained.

“My son’s life is on the line, and you want to complain about your wing?!” Acrylic incredulously burst.

“If he is still alive, we will do everything in our power to save your son, believe me,” Celestia vowed.

“Topaz. You are the most familiar with Kindling’s devices. Can you think of any way we could get out of this?”

“I don’t know!” she desperately wailed. “The effect of manticore venom can last for hours! The only way to get out of this is to let it run its course.”

“Well, make it run its course faster,” Discord grouchily ordered. Smoky paused.

“Run its course faster? Faster, of course!” she exclaimed.

“What is it?” Ditzy curiously inquired.

“If we can speed up our metabolisms enough to process all the manticore venom, the paralysis will wear off.”

“Great! How do we do that?” Soarin’ asked.

“I may be able to devise a spell,” Topaz thought. “But the last time I tried casting one, I ended up as a love-hungry changeling.”

“This time won’t be like that,” Acrylic promised. “Just try! In fact, I’ll be your guinea pig.”

“Acrylic, no!” Torchwood gasped.

“Our son is out there,” she snapped. “I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to him!”

“Nor could I. So I’m going,” he declared.

“You can’t be serious!” Twilight exclaimed.

“Let her go, Twi,” Applejack agreed. “I know I’d do anythin’ for my little Candy Apple.”

“Or me for Petti,” Rarity concurred.

“Your resolve is noble, but I caused this mess, and I will fix it,” Topaz declared, charging her horn. Luckily, the paralysis hadn’t affected her magic, too. Everypony held their breath until Topaz’s muscles began to relax, and she wobbled to catch her balance.

“Great! Now the rest of us!” Time Turner called.

“No time,” Topaz shook her head. “Kindling will have taken them to the tower. Charcoal could already be dead.”

“Topaz!” the destral was already charging off for the tower, leaving everypony else stranded.

“Did she really just abandon ship?” Rainbow disbelievingly blinked.

“I just hope she gets there in time,” Acrylic bit her lip, praying for Charcoal’s safety.

---

“Charcoal? Kindling?” Topaz panted, calling up the tower stairwell. Hearing no response, she started bolting up the flight of stairs, only to run right into Pound Cake and his passenger.

“Whoa!” Pound reared up to avoid collision, causing Charcoal to slide off.

“Ow!” he complained, hitting his head and incredibly sensitive horn on the stairs.

“Oops. Sorry. Hey, what’s the big idea, anyway?” Pound Cake indignantly lifted Charcoal back up.

“Charcoal?!” Topaz wheezed, not daring to believe the sight that met her eyes. Not only was the colt safe, but he had been transformed into a destral!

“Smoky!” he grinned back. “So you figured out the metabolism thing, then?”

“Y-yes,” she stammered, still confused. “Where’s Kindling Pyre?”

“Knocked out upstairs,” Charcoal looked up, the only way he could gesture at the moment.

“I gave him a piece of my mind,” Pound assured.

“Where’s everypony else?” Charcoal failed to peer around the crystal pony.

“I left them in the ballroom,” she dizzily shook her head. “We thought you were in danger. What happened to you?” She gently levitated Charcoal off Pound’s back to cast the metabolism spell.

“Isn’t that the million bit question?” Pound shrugged.

“I don’t know exactly what happened up there, but I think that in a way, you saved my life. Hey! Thanks!” Charcoal wiggled his hooves as he felt the life return to them.

“Me?” Smoky Topaz’s eyes widened.

“Hey! I’m the one that clocked the guy,” Pound indignantly reminded.

“Yeah, and I already said thanks for that.”

“Actually, no, you didn’t.”

“No? Well then, thanks a ton.”

“No prob,” Pound smugly grinned.

“I’m sorry, I’m still confused as to what role I played in this.”

“Your siren pendant absorbed the blast he nearly hit me with. I think all the power was translated into a horn.”

“A siren pendant cannot just grow you a horn!”

“There was so much energy flowing through me, I thought for sure I’d burst,” Char continued. “Then the carbuncle gem in the armor started to glow...”

“Carbuncle gem? Now, that would explain things.”

“Why?”

“Carbuncle gems have a way of making things work in harmony, whether it be ponies working in peace or orb ingredients fitting together like clockwork. The pendant was feeding you too much energy, so the carbuncle gem must have been what created your horn. The energy had to go somewhere, after all.”

“Hey, this is kind of starting to make sense!” Pound exclaimed.

“So it was all just an accident? Aw. I was sort of hoping it was part of a greater purpose like ‘fulfilling my destiny’ or some junk like that. You know, like what happened to Aunt Twilight. Accidently gaining awesome power just doesn’t sound as cool.” Topaz laughed.

“You may just find it to be part of your destiny yet, young one,” she lightly brushed a wing over him, which prompted a full-on embrace on Charcoal’s part. She stumbled back, not sure how to take the reaction.

“Smoky?”

“Yes?”

“Thanks.”

“For what?”

“Not staying a power-hungry changeling. And helping me find my family. And basically everything that happened after I found your orb.” She smiled.

“It should be me thanking you. You offered me a second chance, Charcoal Stormwood.”

“Guess the feeling’s mutual, then. Now, you think we can go free my parents... again?”

“Lead the way.”