No More Tears

by The Last Raven

The Thing

Chapter Five

The Thing

The three ponies awoke the next morning, feeling refreshed yet slightly stiff from sleeping on the dirt. "So, you girls ready to go find this friggin' thing?" Twilight asked with enthusiasm.

"Ready as I'll ever be." Rainbow Dash replied, stretching her wings.

"Then *what* are we waiting for?" Rarity asked as she started to take the lead.

They trekked through the woods, climbing any obstacle in their way. They stopped at an overlook to take a break.

"Aw man, would you look at that. It's just so… beautiful." Twilight said as she gazed at the mesmerizing view.

"Yeah, yeah, it's great. Now I think you have a job to do." Rainbow Dash said impatiently.

"Hold on! What's that?" Rarity said pointing at a glistening cave in the distance.

"I'm not sure what you're-" Twilight said getting cut off.

"That's it! That's the cave over there!" It's the pendent! Oh my gosh this is *so* exciting!" Rarity said ending with a squeal.

"What is that it? No epic fights on the way or anything? We can just waltz over there and take it?" Rainbow Dash asked sounding disappointed.

"Not quite." Rarity explained, "legend has it that there is, some sort of… creature guarding the entrance."

"Oh wow Rarity. That's specific." Twilight said sarcastically.

"Piece of cake. As soon as he gets a taste of old Rainbow Dash, he'll head right for the hills." Rainbow Dash replied; her voice full of confidence.

"It probably won't be that easy Rainbow. I mean, how many ponies have tried getting this thing before us?" Twilight asked.

"Besides, we don't even know exactly what we're dealing with here." said Rarity with a concerned look.

"Well there's only one way to find out." Rainbow Dash said starting to fly off just for Rarity to grab her by the hoof, causing her to fall to the ground.

"We're doing this together, remember?" Rarity asked rhetorically as she began walking towards the cave.

"Do you even know what this… creature looks like?" asked Twilight.

"Hm… well *according* to the myth, the guardian of the Pendent of Spirit is this… ruthless killer. But it didn't have much more of a description besides that." Rarity replied.

"Well, I'm sure we'll know it when we see it… I hope." Twilight said sounding a bit nervous.

They trotted, confidentially at first, but paranoia started to set in as they neared their destination. It was cloudy overhead as it started to drizzle.

"Great! I just had my coat cleaned!" Rarity shouted angrily.

The other mares just seemed to ignore Rarity's statement. Twilight suddenly felt a pit in her stomach. She could see the cave. They were about twenty yards from it. "Stand back you two. Let the pro handle this." Rainbow Dash stated as she took the lead.

"Rainbow!" Twilight yelled, stopping Rainbow Dash right in her tracks. "B-be, be careful."

Ha! Are you kidding? It'll be like taking candy from a filly!" Rainbow Dash said as she marched into the cave completely self-assured. She looked around cavern, but it was too dark to see anything. "Yo Twilight, could you do some sort of glowy spell or something?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Uh…" Twilight hesitated due to her fear, "y-yeah, sure thing." She walked in slowly. Twilight started to shake for the fright of this place was getting to her.

"Um… Twilight?" Rainbow Dash asked because of her impatience.

"Oh um… right." Twilight said right before her horn started to glow.

"Oh my go-" Rainbow Dash said in awe as she observed the room around her.

The cave's walls were slightly dampened, giving them a slight glisten. In the middle of the room was a waterfall that surrounded an unknown item resting on a stalagmite.

"This place is so… beautiful." Rainbow Dash said, eyes lit up with amazement. "We need more light. Rarity?" Rainbow Dash said glancing at Rarity.

"Whatever you say, your omnipotence." Rarity said sarcastically.

Rarity's horn lit up, brightening the room even more. It was then that the three mares heard a terrifying screech from above. They all snapped their heads towards the ceiling. What they saw was a large, black object with tentacles piercing out of its sides, hanging down.

"Oh shit! Boy that thing is ugly!" Rainbow Dash shouted as she leaped into the air and dashed towards it with all her might. She hit about eleven wing power before one of the tentacles swiped her away. She let out a blood boiling shriek as she was flung right out of the cave. She smashed into a tree and hit the ground with a thud.

"RAINBOW DASH!" Twilight cried out as her and Rarity discharged the cave after Rainbow Dash.

She was a horrific sight. All of Rainbow Dash's limbs were either twisted, mangled, or broken. There was even one of her thigh bones piercing out of her front, right leg. When they got there, the first thing Twilight noticed was a large spread of lacerations across her flank. Rainbow Dash had been poisoned by the tentacle that smacked her out of the sky.

"Oh my gosh! Rainbow Dash… are you…" Twilight tried to ask but couldn't finish for she feared she knew the answer.

"Rainbow Dash! Speak to me!" Rarity shouted with tears in her eyes.

Rainbow Dash, using all her strength, looked up at the ponies and said, "Twilight, I always wanted… I always wanted to say that-" Rainbow Dash paused to cough up blood. "That I always thought you were sexy." She paused again. "And tell the wonder bolts… tell them that they can kiss my-" Rainbow Dash stopped speaking and let out one final breath. The brave, speedy mare was gone.

"Rainbow Dash…" Twilight said softly, "we won't have to. Rarity! Let's go tear this thing to fucking shreds!" Twilight shouted as she sprinted back towards the cave. But she was stopped short when she heard a monstrous bang that came from the cave. There was silence, only the sound of light rain could be heard. Twilight and Rarity slowly crept into the cave. They, once again, used their horns to light up the cavern. They looked up but what they saw wasn't the large, black mass that was there before.

"Holy Celestia! It was… a cocoon!" Twilight shouted as she saw that the black object was split open.

"Then… where is-" Rarity said before getting cut off by a nerve racking growl coming from behind the waterfall. Suddenly, they could see what appeared to be, a floating, yellow orb shining from the other side of the falls. For a few seconds, they had hope. Then the black creature slowly emerged out of the water. This time it was different. It was now mobile, using three, razor sharp legs to move around. Its body contained the glowing orb they saw before. Its head looked like that of a deformed spider. The whole thing was a terrifying sight.

"Th, th- that glow! It, it's the pendent, isn't it!" Twilight asked as her and Rarity backed away in fear. The creature then let out a terrible shriek that caused the two mares fur to stand on end.

"I'll take that… as a yes!" Rarity yelped as they fled the cavern.

It was then that Twilight halted with a skid before shouting, "No!"

Rarity stopped right in her tracks in confusion. "Twilight, what are you-"

The creature still approached them with hostile intent. Twilight let out a maniacal chuckle. "I lost my Spiky. I lost my good friend Pinkie. And you made me lose my Rainbow Dash!" Twilight shouted as she slowly started walking towards the creature. The evil, black spider stood staring at Twilight, as if listening.

"Twilight! Have you gone mad!" Rarity screamed.

"You know, I didn't get a lot of sleep last night. Do you want to know why, you putrid fuck?" Twilight asked before the creature let out a roar and swung one of its legs at Twilight. She merely closed her eyes and took a step back with a grin on her face. "I'll tell you why! My sexy friend over here gave me a book recently. And well, I might not look it, but I sure do love to read." The creature immediately lunged forward using two of its legs as scissors in an attempt to cut Twilight in half. Twilight stepped out of the way and started to glow with a faint, red light as she began levitating right in the spiders face. Rarity just stared at Twilight in disbelief. Twilight let out another chuckle and said, "And you wouldn't believe what this book said." The creature snapped its jaw at twilight yet missed again. "Friendship is magic… hatred is power. And I really don't like you!" Suddenly, a cyclone started circling around Twilight. "Oh and you won't believe this. There was even a section about ugly ass spiders like you!" Twilight then closed her eyes as a large blast of dark energy launched out of her horn and hit the spider in the chest. The creature started to struggle. "And the only way to kill something like you? Simple, a concentrated blast of energy and magic."

Rarity shook her violently shook her head, recognizing her queue, shut her eyes, and intensely focused a blast of pure magic at the monsters chest. The creature let out a terrible roar towards the sky before falling to the ground. It then disintegrated, leaving nothing behind but a gold, lustrous object. Twilight then slowly descended to the ground as she stopped glowing.