Journey to the center of Equestria

by Rarity Belle

Chapter LXXIII

Both Twilight and Pinkie held their breath firm after the drops of blood had entered the mouth of Fluttershy. The lamia was still furious about the little fact that the unicorn had stabbed her. And naturally did she had all the right reasons for it. Twilight on the other end was also having her fair share of reasons to do the actions she did. She didn’t know if they were justified or not though.

A swallow or two could be heard from Fluttershy as they both then knew that the blood had been consumed. The moment of truth would be revealed to them at one point or the next. They had mentally prepared themselves for the worst as they silently prayed for the best.

Countless prayers went through the mind of Twilight. Prayers that were aimed at both the goddess of both the sun and the moon. She prayed to them more than ever. The mare wanted to have Fluttershy back. Perhaps not in the way that she always had been, but at least back as they came to know her. It was all a massive longshot but everything was worth a try.

Hopes had to be kept high in the moment. For their emotions and the will of the doctor would have been the most decisive features in the whole ordeal. The eyes of both the mares looked down at the pegasus as they noticed how the stoning seemed to have stopped. It was a major relief from their hearts. But they also knew that the possibility was there that it would just have gotten straight back up.

Twilight kept her eyes ready and her magic primed. For the last thing they needed was either the stone setting further in. Or worst case scenario: Fluttershy going on a rampage. Neither of the two dared to blink even once during the whole thing as they thought they would be missing it then.

Moans and groans continued to leave the doctor when she once more gasped for air. Though no words seemed to have been able to leave her mouth. It almost appeared as if her whole ability to speak had been taken right from her. Perhaps it was only better that she couldn’t say a word, or that she couldn’t scream out in agony.

Neither Twilight nor Pinkie could even imagine the sheer amounts of pain that were surging through the doctor’s body. Fluttershy was in a true pain, a pain that she never had in her life before that point. Despite her possible age, the ordeal that she was going through at the moment was the worst of all. There wasn’t anything in her life that could have gotten close to it.

Pain surrounded her and her body failed her literally inch by inch. It could have turned her in a monster. Yet if the blood of the lamia would actually be able to reverse the stoning, it all would have been so worth it in her eyes.

Speaking of her eyes, they were closed when she gave off yet another winch. Her whole body tried to fight the curse upon her. A thing that was without much success sadly enough.

Twilight was having perhaps the most difficulty to process the events. It had been her decision to go straight after Pinkie. If they would return to the others with the lamia but not with the pegasus, the rest of the company would have placed the blame straight upon her. There was no single doubt in that little fact.

It only made the unicorn even more determined in the fact that she would return to Canterlot –or at least a familiar place– with the six of them. And only the six of them. The burden had been heavy upon Twilight’s shoulders, but she had to push on just a little bit more. It was all that she could have done.

The wait was most terrible. The wait for something to happen was the thing that seemed to be ready to kill them both on the spot. The tedious seconds in which nothing happened went by like hours. One second slowly became a lifetime. Their heartbeats could be heard through the moans and groans of Fluttershy while the silence of mouths remained.

Silence had fallen upon all of them. Words couldn’t express the situation as it was while the eyes screamed. Their eyes screamed for all sorts of things. One for redemption, one for hope and the third for life.

Nothing in the carved room even made a whisper. It almost seemed as if Sombra himself had actually vanished from the face of the earth. A little fact for which the pair of them were truly happy. A happiness that went unspoken though.

A deep exhale was released through the nostrils of Twilight when she finally dared to close her eyes for a moment. Nothing had happened so far, so why would it do then? Perhaps a stupid way of thinking, but in the moment there was no right or wrong. It either had to happen or not.

From behind her eyelids did the debate continue with herself. The endless debate about what was the right thing that had been done. Everything was weighed down against everything. If Fluttershy would have died, it would have been a death that wasn’t necessary. Not in the eyes of Twilight at least, and especially not in the eyes of the rest of the company.

The wrath of the three other mares was the thing that terrified her the most. Thoughts of pure horror struck her before she shook her head once more. She couldn’t be thinking about those things. Not yet, not anymore. The deep exhale that was given off by the mare only helped so much afterwards.

The eyes remained closed while a tear left them and fell down on the stone below. Pinkie noticed the little glister happen and followed gently. Only to look back upon the body of the doctor and there she made one of the most horrifying discoveries to that date.

Nothing in her life had prepared her for what she saw right there. A deep gulp was given off by her throat before she nudged Twilight’s shoulder.

The mare was shocked out of her thoughts and she finally dared to be looking downwards. There she too saw the scene that had shocked Pinkie to almost death itself. The silence was abruptly broken as one word filled the room. One word filled the room with utter terror. One word that would be enough to describe the whole situation they were in.

“Impossible!” was the single word that Twilight exclaimed. She began to breathe deep to herself as everything she had thought about could have been thrown out of the window. The soothsayer almost trembled at the sight beneath her while Pinkie slithered back just a little bit.

Beneath them laid the slowly stoning Fluttershy. The only problem was that she had gone silent. The silence that came from her was the direct effect of one thing and one thing only. The curse had managed to pull through. The stone had risen once again and had covered her whole body.

The doctor with whom they had travelled for so long, was by then nothing more but a lump of stone. A beautiful carved out statue with a pose of utter terror. The horrified expression in the eyes was shared by the other two mares. The embodiment of utter terror laid directly beneath them.

There was nothing that they could do for Fluttershy anymore. Her soul had been trapped inside of the stone and could only be released in one manner. “P-Pinkie, we, we have to break her, otherwise she’ll never be free from the curse,” said Twilight with a massive chunk stuck in her throat. The tears almost seemed to be getting uncontrollable for the both of them.

In their eyes had the lamia-blood failed. Which meant that Pinkie was stabbed for nothing and Twilight had set up the second rescue for nothing. It pained both of their hearts to see Fluttershy like that. The lamia couldn’t say, let alone do, anything to help or harm the soothsayer.

Twilight couldn’t do it either. She couldn’t just break the newly formed statue just like that. They didn’t even had the chance to properly say goodbye to the doctor. The mare dropped down to her bum and scurried up a bit more with tucked up legs. A deep exhale was released through her nostrils before the words finally came.

Words that spoke of friendship and kindness. Two things that the doctor had always showed them, no matter what. The fingers of the soothsayer stroked the cheek of the statue as the tears flowed over her own. “I’m so, so sorry, Fluttershy. I shouldn’t have send you down here with me. It’s, it’s my fault and, I’m just so sorry for that. Words, can’t justify the acts and I’m not begging for your forgiveness. I only hope that, one day or another, you will understand it,” were the words that ended the speech of the heartbroken unicorn soothsayer.

She had wanted to see the pegasus remain walking upon the earth just so much, but the chance wasn’t given to her whatsoever. There wasn’t anything else that could be done outside of two things. Either they would wait for Sombra to claim his price, or they would shatter the statue and send the soul free. It was one tough decision after the other in a heartbreaking moment.

The body of Twilight leaned in a little bit closer while the hand was removed from the cheek. What followed was that the lips of the mare were placed upon the stone cold cheek and the unicorn gave the pegasus one last kiss. One last, well meant and friendly kiss upon the cheek as a reminder of the kindness in the world.

“May you always be remembered and find your place, next to them,” the unicorn spoke in a final whisper. The tears were wiped away to the best of her abilities when she stood back up. Then it was her who did a couple of steps back. A deep but stuttering exhale was released through her mouth. The terror that she had witnessed so far, all seemed to have become just a little bit for her.

The sadness would have then transformed in downright anger. Twilight felt herself becoming just angry at any and everything. But she still managed to channel all of her hatred to one particular being. A being who she from that moment wanted to just see dead. And that being was nopony else then Lord Sombra himself.

The anger that went through her body then transformed itself into almost raw arcane power. The horn coated itself in the magical aura as both of her hands coiled up into a first and gained the aura as well. Raw arcane power was being pumped out to the greatest of speed which was almost impossible for a unicorn to withstand.

Yet in the moment was Twilight everything but normal. She was so emotionally moved by the death of a close friend of hers, her mind had gone haywire. Without a warning beforehand did her voice then bellowed the words out, “lord Sombra! Coward that you are! Get back out here and face me! I shall give you the same treatment you gave her!”

Her words translated the anger she carried within her. Yet there was no reply from the mysterious gorgon lamia. Whether he had already merged with the physical world again was a fact that needed to be seen.

Of course there wasn’t any answer that came from the dreaded creature which had tormented them both for such a long time. No sound even came from it that indicated where it was. That fact only angered the unicorn even more as she wanted to punch something so badly.

Yet what she hadn’t realized was that there was an arcane vortex swirling right around her. She had become the literal eye of the storm as it only became more intense as time went on. Pinkie watched over all of it and realized that she had to do something. She shook her head a couple of times before the courage was gathered.

She could understand the sadness of Twilight, it even was right at its place. But it was not the right place to release that amount of anger. Pinkie then slithered forwards and stopped at the statue of Fluttershy. Hopefully it would have provided her with some sort of cover from the anger from the soothsayer. All she had to do next was just to talk against the soothsayer. Pinkie Pie was the one who had to talk some form of sense, right back into Twilight.

Everything was set on everything before the words began to leave the mouth of the lamia. “Twilight! This isn’t you! Don’t let your anger control you right now. I know you’re sad, and I know you want to get to him, so do I. But you have to realize this: Fluttershy didn’t die for nothing! She helped in saving the land, she helped to save me. You did everything you could, so now I command you, to regain your control again!”

The words were shouted in their most truest form. Pinkie spoke them directly from her own heart as she could only pray to the goddesses that Twilight would turn back to normal. That was it, suddenly there was another spark that could be witnessed right in her eyes. She had gotten a new idea. A crazy one, but one that might just be working out the way it was supposed to be.

Like a fool did the lamia slither back a bit and watched over Twilight. The angered expression that could be seen within the eyes of the unicorn didn’t soften up one bit. The rage was still too strong and the eyes only wanted to see blood. Pinkie nodded to herself one time before she played the ultimate wild card that she had.

“If you harm any being, what would your goddesses say?!” she exclaimed. The bomb had been set, timed and then she could only wait for the explosion. Either a big boom would happen or a major fizzle. Which one would happen, she didn’t knew. Even though Pinkie remained standing in a tough pose, she was worried deep within her very being. The thoughts of Twilight not only bursting out at her, but physically attacking her surged right through her. It was a genuine fear to be having for certain. Yet it was also a risk that she deemed worthy to take.

Seconds went by as the storm seemed to have gotten less and less. The arcane power that surged through Twilight seemed to be released in the air. But not as a massive blast. No, instead it was given back to nature. At least that was the way Pinkie seemed to be witnessing it.

The feelings of relief went through her as a massive exhale was released through her nostrils. She then closed her eyes and hoped even more that everything would have gotten alright. For as much as that was possible given their situation.

The storm had indeed gotten less and less up to the point where it didn’t exist any longer. Twilight managed to regain the control back over her emotions as both of her fists trembled. They didn’t tremble in anger though. Instead they did so in fear of her own abilities. She had gotten terrified of what she could have done if she wasn’t stopped.

But at least she was back. Back by her senses and nothing seemed to have been destroyed. A sigh of relief was also given off by her as the eyes were closed. The trembling of her fists didn’t seemed to have stopped but in the moment she could live with it.

Silence had once again taken over the room as Twilight was getting happy that Sombra hadn’t gotten out to her words. She remembered the specific ones that she had spoken. Luck by bad luck it could be called. A thing which was more than true in the moment.

When the silence kept dragging on, there was something else that began to catch the attention of both of the mares. For a massive white light was cast upon their eyes. The theory of the lamia blood working was never fully confirmed and that sparked a new ray of hope within them.

Why Twilight thought about it just in that moment, remained a mystery to even her. But she thought about it, suddenly there were thousands of other thoughts that rushed through her mind. All while the light continued to tease her and Pinkie’s eyes.

Both Twilight and Pinkie opened their eyes again. The white light had managed to grasp their attention and mesmerize them. They had to know just what it was that laid inside of it, what it was even. They once again went out from the possible worst, but hoped for the possible best.

In their eyes they caught an orb, an orb that was suspended in the air right where Fluttershy laid. Or better said: used to lay. The very statue of the doctor had vanished from the face of the earth just like that.

Twilight then quickly made the assumption that it must have been sucked right into the orb, or that the orb was in fact the soul of the doctor. But if it was the soul of the mare, how could it have been that big? The orb against which she looked was about half a time bigger than Twilight was tall. Questions asked and answers given through time.

That was the only explanation that could have been given to it all. Not a word was once more dared to be spoken by either party. The lamia nor the soothsayer wanted to say anything as it possibly would ruin the moment.

Anything could have hidden itself within that orb. But such a bright light could have meant only one thing for them though. Fluttershy had to be inside of it. There was no doubt in the mind of Twilight. It had to be, and otherwise were they in their deepest troubles yet.

~~~~

The light that was cast to them became more intense and the two mares had to cover their eyes with something. Something that came in the form of their arms and they continued to look inside of the orb. They had to see just what it was that was hidden inside of it.

But what they saw struck both of their minds. Within there she laid almost as if she was floating in water. The pegasus doctor with whom they had been wandering for so long. Her hair waved gentle while the arms laid upon the chest. The legs were placed close together and the wings were spread to their furthest.

Yet there the wonder turned horror. Twilight would have noticed what kind of wings they were. They weren’t the wings of a pegasus, but those of bat. They shared the same characteristics as those of the bat anthronies that roamed the castle at night. The race that Twilight was all too familiar with. She released a couple of quick in- and exhales while she processed the information.

It was a massive game changer of course. There they were, with a possible Fluttershy would be coming back to them. But she carried a few changes with her from the first few glances. Twilight perished the thoughts from her mind as the orb’s light intensified even more.

It would have been a matter of time before the bang happened and the truth was revealed to the pair of time. The clock could have been set to that fact.

The light became brighter and brighter before the cavern didn’t carry any shadow anymore. The light pierced right in every single corner and banished the darkness from it just like that. And then it happened. Twilight’s very predicament came true as the big bang happened. A bang that shattered the orb and blown both the soothsayer and the lamia backwards for a couple hooves.

The two of them were once again surrounded by candlelight as the light had faded instantly. They crawled back up in a sitting position and there they saw the third being just standing. It even blinked a couple of times as if it had no clue about what was going on.

“F-Fluttershy..?” Twilight asked towards the yellow skinned, pink haired being. The being gave a slow nod before it turned around to face Pinkie Pie. Who on her own turn was just as baffled as Twilight. Could it be that, that the lamia blood had worked without any of the nasty side effects?

The being turned itself back around to face Twilight once more, blinked once or twice before the words finally left the mouth. “I, I think, I cheated Death, again.” What followed was a smile that went across the lips. A smile that revealed the teeth of the pegasus in front of them, but not just the teeth.

The smile also included a pair of extended canines that were for just for true biting and ripping of flesh, at least in the eyes of Twilight. Yet when the pegasus turned around, the wings on her back were covered with natural feathers. It only added to the confusion of Twilight and she needed to have her answers there and then.

“Fluttershy, not to drop straight in the house with the door, well, actually I do, but don’t take it the wrong way… What the hell is going on here?!” Twilight exclaimed to the doctor. She wanted to tie the pegasus up just to be certain and safe. Though the expression that was given to her changed it all. It was the look that she was used to from Fluttershy. That kind and timid expression almost seemed to turn her completely around and off of everything.

Fluttershy knew that she owed an explanation to the mare. Which was for the best that she gave it there and then. Her strength had returned to her quicker than expected when she remained standing on her hooves. Then again, she hadn’t been cast in stone for that long either. A gentle nod was given off by the pegasus before she walked over to the nearest torch.

Pinkie slithered over to Twilight who then proceeded to walk with the mare. The time would have been given to her to make sure the tale wouldn’t be rushed out. Fluttershy then leaned against the wall and looked both of the mares deep in the eyes. The time that she would tell her side of the story, all of it. They had to know the facts about her as they were.

Twilight and Pinkie almost wanted to sit down, as if they were going to listen to an old campfire tale. But the tale they would hear was one all too true. Fluttershy nodded calm to the pair of them as she finally began to tell her tale of woe, with as little woe she could weave into it.

The anticipation was almost killing the other two, but finally would they get to know the secrets of the famed doctor. The voice had turned to almost monotone as she finally said what she had to tell.

“It all began, about a hundred and fifty years ago. Ages of war and genocide were commonplace. But amongst the war, were always the nurses. They were the ones who patched up every being without seeing real combat. I was one of them, I was one of those young nurses who patched everypony up. I had seen the most terrible wounds and learned how to treat them from the greater ones. Prayers upon the goddesses were made for every operation, but as a pegasus from Cloudsdale, I didn’t do it. I only relied on my skills. So it went on, for a couple of years,” she told them as a start.

Fluttershy showed the two of them that it was difficult to tell her story. All the pain and suffering she had witnessed back then was almost getting the upper hand of hers. Though she managed to bite through it. And continued to tell the tale.

“Years went by and I worked at different hospitals in times of peace. But I knew that my life wouldn’t last forever either. I wanted, to become immortal. To live an eternal life and help everypony in the need of it. A noble but stupid wish, you might say. But it turned out to be the biggest curse I had ever gotten.”

A deep exhale was released through her nostrils as the eyes were closed for a moment. “One night, I was captured by something I still do not know. Whether it was Nightmare Moon or a heretic soothsayer, I just don’t know. All I know, is what followed turned me into this. Whatever ritual had been performed, it turned me into a creature of the undead. But not the way it was intended to.”

Without a warning was there a sinister chuckle that came from the pegasus, after which she shook her head. “The idiot used a fruitbat instead of an actual vampire bat. Only figured it out afterwards as I lusted for apple juice instead of blood once I had awoken. But instead of killing me, I was just thrown back on the street. Long story short, I could live the life I always wanted. Being immortal and help those in need wherever I can.”

“But,” the soothsayer kindly interrupted, “with you being immortal, doesn’t that..?”

“Become hard?” Fluttershy finished before she crossed her arms over one another. The mare nodded to confirm the train of thoughts. To which Fluttershy nodded in return. “Incredibly difficult. I have to change my name every so many years to remain like a normal mare. I don’t want anypony to figure out what I am. My whole family thinks I died a long, long time ago. Those still alive think of me as a ghost of the past. Which I think, I kinda am, when you think about it.”

Another deep exhale was released through the nostrils of the pegasus before her tale was finally over. She didn’t wanted to speak more than was necessary to them. The pain that went through her in the moment was almost getting too much for her. The thoughts had to be perished for the moment in order to regain her full attention span again.

There was still one burning question in the mind of Twilight. One question that would have defined the character of Fluttershy to her. One question that was so simple to ask, yet in the moment felt as if she would be having to move the mountain they were in.

The soothsayer almost couldn’t ask it, but she felt as if she had to. So with a deep exhale from her mouth it happened. “Fluttershy, this may sound crazy but, are you thirsty, for blood?” she asked. The bomb had been dropped and they all could only await the reactions of the other beings.

Pinkie almost wanted to slap Twilight right in the face for even daring to ask such a thing that short after the touching tale. But Fluttershy only looked back to her with a raised eyebrow. Of course she could understand why it was asked. Especially with her own fear of being turned into a full-on vampthrony.

The question was thus rightfully asked in Fluttershy’s mind. But the answer would have been one that would surprise them all. The very answer that would be given was a direct answer upon the question itself. Fluttershy took a deep inhale before she shook her head. “No, I’m not thirsty for blood. The thirst for fruit juice still lingers in my throat, as it always had been doing. So, no. I’m still the being you came to know, with the added fruitvampire-ness, that is.”

It was another massive relief that went through the unicorn as she heard that the doctor wasn’t deemed too dangerous. Though it left them with one other massive problem. That happened to have been the way back to the surface.

The pegasus had removed herself from the wall and she looked over to both Twilight and Pinkie Pie. A nod was given to the pair of them as the question was asked. “Given what I told you and what you asked me, I have a question of my own. How on earth, do we get back topside?” she asked.

It was a legitimate good question as they had gotten there by following a heat signature. A heat signature that had of course perished as time went on. That question caused a bit of confusion to happen by the soothsayer as she hadn’t thought of that. But they were having Pinkie with them. And she would be getting along, no matter what.

Twilight turned her head back to the lamia and gave her a pat over the head. “Pinkie, what I’m going to ask you now is something you have to think carefully of. Because it might be the biggest change that ever happened to your life and I don’t want to ruin it.”

“What are you talking about?” the lamia answered to Twilight. Her expression had changed from happy, to almost worried. She didn’t knew what she had to expect from the words spoken by Twilight but could only hope that it were some good ones.

Twilight herself cracked a gently smile before she spoke the words that were on her mind. “Me and Fluttershy, are going back to the surface of course. We went after you for that same reason. After what happened in the sphere and your sudden introduction to the world above, I can understand why you fled. But I want to give you a second chance. A chance to see that world again, but at your own pace.”

“You’re asking me, to leave my home..?” Pinkie repeated as she thought that it meant that. Twilight nodded gentle in return. The thought of it being asked too much, crawled up inside of her. “After what happened to me, to us three…”

The lamia waited for just a little bit longer with the answer. She had to think real carefully about it as it meant that she would be one of the first, if not few, lamia’s that ever had gotten out of the mountains and their underground protection. Yet perhaps that was the thing that she needed.

A nod was given off by the creature and she agreed upon coming with them. She would even be leading them the way back to the hole they came through. Perhaps the heat signature was gone, but the scent of Sombra wouldn’t have been vanished that easily. Or that was what she hoped.

The three of them gave off a massive smile as they were genuinely happy that everything had fallen right in its place. “Come here, you two,” said Twilight before she entered a group hug with both Pinkie and Fluttershy.

In the moment it didn’t matter who or what they were. They had all gone through the stuff and it had bonded them together a whole lot more. The way to the exit was revealed to them shortly afterwards and finally they could leave the darkness of the mountains behind them.

Yet deep in their darkness were the words of hatred spoken up in the tongue of snakes. Sombra had returned to the physical realm but knew that attacking them then would have been stupid. If they would ever meet one another again, was a fact that remained to be seen. A question unanswered for the time being.

A future that had yet to be set.

Comments

[tamales]

You had me there, you really did. I actually thought Fluttetshy died, luckily she didn't.

plus sad-friendship-cheek kisses