The Hag, the heroes, and a few other things

by Amaranthine Thought

Undying Loyalty 4

“Why can’t I see?”

“Because you might get upset. Lie down and relax Rainbow.”

“Upset how? Come on Hag.”

“No, stop trying to turn your head this way.”

“Stop stopping me from looking!”

I struggled with her for a moment before giving up. “Pinkie!”

“Hag?”

“Distract Rainbow for me.”

“Hang on! Tell Hag to let me see my wings!” Rainbow objected. Pinkie looked at me and I shook my head. She nodded. I turned away and began unwrapping her bandages.

“Let me… what the…”

Whatever Pinkie was doing, it was working at least. Rainbow was no longer trying to look back. I got the bandages off of her and winced.

Crumpled wings, dark stains of blood, feathers falling out… They didn’t look good at all. A tiny bit of examination and I had a hard time keeping silent. They were dying.

I could already see some black flesh. And if they died, then I couldn’t fix her wings:

They would have to come off. And the price to gain a new pair might be very, very high. A gift like that might require a life or several to grant. I had to stop them before they died, and Rainbow wasn’t going to appreciate it.

“Alright Rainbow… this is going to hurt, so close your eyes and think happy things for me.” I said.

“What?” she said, starting from her daze.

“Pinkie, hold her head for me.”

“What’s the… Pinkie! Let go!”

I do admit, Pinkie is amazingly strong at times. I could barely hold Rainbow. Pinkie got her unable to so much as shift. I heard her trying to saying something soothing while I grabbed hold of a wing and extended it.

Large patches of missing feathers, and just a few spots of illness. I had caught it early. That made it a little easier.

Life wasn’t making its way into the wings anymore. They were disconnected from the body, hence why they were dying and why Rainbow couldn’t feel them anymore.

I took a deep breath, and extended the other. This would be much faster if I did both at the same time.

I called what power I had, and carefully watched Rainbow’s soul. Every soul has a rhythm to it, and I could, and would, take advantage of that. I saw the life stuck at the base of her wings, bunching up with every thump of her heart and waited.

“Happy thoughts.” I reminded her, noticing her growing nervousness.

“What are you going to do?” she asked, a note of fear in her voice, her heart and soul beating a little faster.

I saw my chance and took it. I shifted her wings, used my power to grab the life and force it forward. I saw the blockage shift, but not enough, so I pulverized it with her own life force.

Rainbow screamed as if her life was being sucked out, but life was inching back into her wings again. I watched it go, helping it along as Rainbow screamed and tried to thrash from the pain of it. Pinkie held on and prevented her from doing so to my relief.

She had been worse than I had expected. But it was a bit better now.

When the life filled her wings again, I carefully folded them, Rainbow sobbing with every motion until I could carefully bandage them again.

Rainbow was a mess with the pain. She could feel her wings again, and nopony wants to feel a limb that has been mangled like that. I thought about giving her thorn vine, but dismissed it. She needed something stronger and longer lasting.

I fished in my pouch until I found the nastier geggiro, also known as ice thorn. I readied myself with one of its needle-like thorns, and then carefully jabbed it into the base of her wings. She never felt its sting, but the cold numbness its poison gave her eased the agony of her wings. And it would do so for days.

I used it very little, but I knew it well. It was the strongest numbing poison I had, more than enough to kill if I used too much. Too hard, too deep, too long, or even in the wrong spot, and her heart would stop. I took great care when stabbing her with it, knowing that she would be pain free for at least a week with the poison.

I pulled it out after a moment, and I saw the pain in her soul fading . A touch too little, the strike just a bit too shallow,, but Rainbow was a tough girl. She could handle a few aches.

I went back to her head, her breathing hard, tears drying on face. She looked worn and exhausted, slowly losing consciousness in some combination of pain and the ice thorn.

“...Hag?” Pinkie asked softly, watching Rainbow.

“Yes?” I asked, carefully watching to make sure that she was going to be alright. You never knew with ice thorns; sometimes they had more poison in them than normal.

“That… really hurt her. Was it for the best?”

I looked at Pinkie who looked unsure. She had a few tears in her own eyes.

“… Yes. Other ways might have kept her for a few days, but I can’t guarantee we will find a forest in a few days. This will keep her healthy until I can truly heal her.”

I looked back at Rainbow who was beginning to fall asleep and sighed.

“Though… I don’t want to see her hurt either Pinkie. I do what must be done, but I sometimes hate having to do it.” I looked back to Pinkie and asked her, “But what is the better choice? Taking chances with her life, or putting her through agony so that she will live? Less pain for a chance, or lots for the knowledge that it will get better?”

Pinkie looked like she didn’t know.

Some days, I don’t know.

Balancing that choice, deciding whether or not to do something is very difficult.

How long will it take for something to heal, or for me to be able to heal it? If I didn’t know, I had to choose the action that gave me the most time. Which was almost always the most painful.

I had people die because I tried to spare them pain before. And even then, it is… regrettable that I have to choose the most painful option. Particularly in Rainbow’s case.

I think I might have pulverized some bone, and she probably had felt that. But I needed to save her wings. I couldn’t take the chance that a forest was right ahead. If I had left them alone, I would have maybe two days before they were gone too far. And I might not have even done that.

Rainbow's jumping had gotten me worried enough to decide to finally check, particularly when she kept insisting she didn't feel any pain.

Thinking about it, if she hadn't constantly done so and and listened to me, I might have failed to notice in time at all.

“She will get better, and I’ll make it up to her somehow.” I said. “Get some rest Pinkie… stay near Rainbow. She’ll appreciate a familiar face near her.”

“Will she still be hurting?”

“Only a vague ache. Nothing bad.” I said, leaving. I knew Rainbow wasn’t going to want to see me in the morning.

I laid down a bit away and tried to relax. Tried to put my doubts out of my head and find some rest.

I was only somewhat successful.

---

“Hag? Hag, wake up!”

I stirred from my slumber, and saw Pinkie smiling at me. For a moment I had a hard time recalling.

“Hag, Rainbow isn’t mad at you!” she near squealed.

I blinked at her. “Help me up.” I said, trying to get up on my own.

Pinkie did so and I saw Rainbow nearby. She looked much better now, though more… gentle with herself. She saw me and just watched as I got my stick.

“What is this I hear?” I asked, walking over to her. "You're not mad?"

“You say it Rainbow!”

Rainbow looked away for a moment before sighing. “Whatever you did, I think it was the right thing Hag. I feel… good right now. Better than I have been anyway.”

She looked at her bandages. “I even kind of feel my wings again. Even if they do kinda hurt.”

“That is the effect of ice thorn. If the pain gets worse, tell me.” I said, unsure. “… I really hurt you.”

“You were trying to make it better and… it wasn’t that bad.”

I gave her a look and she couldn’t look me in the eye, but was determined to keep that statement.

“You’re not mad or anything?” I asked.

“No.”

“Pinkie have to calm you down?”

“No. Why? I mean, it made sense, right? You were doing what you had to, and you really tried to make it as painless as possible for me so why would I…”

A tension they hadn’t seen in me melted away and I gave a faint laugh and collapsed.

“Hag!” they both yelled.

“I… I’m fine girls.” I managed from the ground, so relieved. “Just a little… tired.”

The entire night I had been plagued with nightmares. I had slept very little because of them, though they came back every time I closed my eyes.

Starting with me messing up her wings, and killing one or both. Then it was me overusing the ice thorn, and seeing her heart slow and stop from its poison. Rainbow hating me, Pinkie hating me. I thought it couldn’t get worse.

But it did. I saw myself… making her suffer. Ripping her wings off, crushing the bone, jerking the wings. Stabbing her over and over and over again… And I couldn’t stop it. The dark magic had overcome me, and I was… enjoying killing her.

It was like I had been trapped in myself. My doubts manifest and my fears given life. I had woken with a dread in my heart, and it hadn’t gone until Rainbow had told me that she wasn’t mad. That she didn’t need an explanation.

I hadn’t messed up. She was just fine. I did the right thing. It was such a good thing to hear.

Rainbow helped me up after a moment, and supported me as I wobbled.

“Pinkie! Get the stretcher!”

“There really isn’t any need.” I said, shaking the remaining effect off and standing normally.

“Your leg is broken, remember?”

“And I can walk on my own three hooves.”

Rainbow gave me a doubtful look but let me move away from her. Pinkie headed over and began following me as I walked forward, determined to reach the end of the ravine sometime soon.

“I can kind of see why Scootaloo calls you Granny.” Rainbow remarked as we went.

“Really?” I asked, glancing back at her.

She nodded. “You’re really tough, have all those rules, and are more stubborn than a mule.” She saw my slight frown and added, “But you also care. You really want me to get better, and are concerned over me and Pinkie. I can bet you were the same way with the fillies.”

She chuckled. “I see you better now I think. Sure, you make mistakes, but doesn’t everypony? I can’t count the number of times I flew right into somepony’s house… And you try to fix them. And even when it wasn’t your fault, you try to fix them. Like my wings.”

“I don’t have a single idea how you got the power you do, but I don’t really care anymore. You want to use it for good, and that makes a lot of difference for this mare.”

“… That means a lot to me Rainbow.”

“So… Friends?”

I smiled back at her. “Friends.”

Pinkie blew on some kind of loud whistle that she suddenly had and tossed shredded paper into the air.

“Pinkie!” I yelled, the pink mare simply grabbing me and Rainbow and pulling all three of us into a hug as we kept walking, Pinkie in the middle.

“The traveling trio!” she crowed, and began singing, making the song up on the spot I suspect.

I stared at her, and then looked at Rainbow. I saw my own slight discomfort reflected in her eyes. We shared a grin and simply let Pinkie sing as we went.

---

The rest of the trip was uneventful, and much… calmer. After trying to fix her wings, Rainbow understood me better. And I her.

In many, many ways, we were alike. I was far older than she was, but I used to think like she did. Brash, strong, doing the right thing no matter what... I listened to experience, but then again, not always.

At first we grated on each other, but now, we complimented one another. I was gentler with her, less demanding and more asking. She, in turn, was more respectful, more caring. We both bonded, at least a little.

We became... friends. I now had two, Pinkie and Rainbow; Rose doesn’t count. She’s family.

It was four more days of travel before we found a way up. And to my delight, a forest at the very end of the ravine. Pinkie was happy with me, Rainbow slightly confused over my joy.

“I don’t get it.” she said.

“I can fix you now Rainbow!” I cried. “I just need a little bit of time to do so.”

She perked up. “Really?”

I nodded. “I just need to make a few preparations first. Just wait here for me; I’ll be right back.”

I headed into the wood alone, planning to do more than simple healing. I was going to ask for a few things, for… gifts. Something special for Pinkie and Rainbow and I wanted it to be a surprise.

So I walked into the woods until I was fairly far, sure that neither pony would hear or see anything. I went farther too, just in case.

I stopped in a clearing and relaxed. Then I called the forest.

I got just a touch of a response, but something stopped it. Something blocked its voice.

A few things could do that, all of them bad. I hoped, really, really hoped, that it wasn’t a nightmare. Sometimes I wonder if it might have been better if it had been a nightmare.

“Hag? Is something wrong?”

“Pinkie?” I turned and saw her walking over, looking around her. She seemed a touch concerned.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, coming over to me.

“I told you to stay behind.” I said. Something was wrong. The forest around me strained to speak.

“I just thought I should come anyway.” she said, looking around again. I knew then, and turned around. “I think something is… Hag?”

I bucked her, and distinctly felt something hard, like I had hit armor.

A shifter of some kind I thought. A good one too; the sight had been perfect. The only flaw had been my paranoia from the silent forest and that Pinkie always listened to me. She wouldn’t have followed me.

Only one problem really. Shifters were fey.

There were no fey in Equestria.

I turned and saw a pony that resembled an insect, shaking its head as it tried to recover from my strike. It had two wings that I could see through and a hooked horn, black chitin covering it like an insect. Its legs had holes in them for some reason.

I didn’t let it recover, and struck out at it, my hooves pummeling the thing. It would have worked, if not for the other four.

I backed away as they came forward, hissing at me. The forest was silent, heaving under some force that kept it from me. I could feel its efforts to reach me, the desperation it had. Whatever I faced, they were bad. Yet, they stayed back slightly, hissing at me and buzzing their wings. I thought they were waiting for a chance, and kept glaring at them, trying to guess how I was going to get away form them.

That was when something struck me from behind. An incredibly painful stabbing pain right in my back, a burning heat and a sudden feeling of pressure, all at once that left me near voiceless.

I stumbled, trembling from it, but managed to stay up and look behind me, seeing another one. That one looked bigger and smarter.

“It worked.” It said, smirking at me. “And so well.”

The forest screamed in my head, but it couldn’t help me. Whatever had hit me was blocking me from speaking to it; whatever had hit me had blocked it, and now, it blocked me. My power was locked up inside me, and it was agony. Like I had sharp points jabbing into me everywhere.

I growled at him, and he looked surprised.

“You’re still standing.” he commented, the pain slowly beginning to ebb, although in no good way; I knew what sudden numbness in injuries might mean. “That’s not supposed to… what… what are you?”

“I… can ask… the same.” I managed, trying and failing to move, either pain or numbness preventing me form doing much. He chuckled.

“We are changelings." he said, making me growl again, wondering if that fairy had lied to me. Why it might have, I don't know, but fairies don;t always need a reason to lie. "And let me spell this out for you;”

“Our queen is very interested in you, and what you have. Now, we can do this the easy way, where you give me what we want, or the hard way. You won't like the hard way. So tell me; what it’s going to be, Hag? Give me the elements you have.”

That wasn’t good. I felt I knew what they were, and was wondering what I had done to upset... certain beings such that they would come after me like this. Fey were vicious, but they normally preferred words, not sudden stabs with whatever was in my back. I just knew that I was not going to give them what they wanted, but was hiving trouble figuring out how I was going to stop them from just taking it.

I had one idea, and it was a little stupid.

“Well?” he asked, the changelings creeping a little closer. I took a deep breath.

“Pinkie!” I yelled, as loudly as I could with as much desperation as I could manage.

The big one laughed. “Nopony is going to hear you. We are far too… what is that?”

I smirked even as I trembled as the numbness slowly grew more complete. Distant, but coming closer was a cry, long and drawn out:

“Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagggggggg!”

And Pinkie shot from the forest to slam into the leader who had just an instant to look shocked before the pink blur took them both from my sight. The rest looked stunned, and Rainbow followed, ramming into one mostly by accident, but swiftly realizing.

She was good. I relied on the forest to power my strength, but Rainbow was just strong. Those four probably regretted being near her. I know I would have, if I had been them.

When the last slammed into a tree, she hurried to me.

“Hag! Hag, are you alright!?”

“I’ve been… worse.” I said, wincing. The pain had faded, but I felt numb and powerless. Cut off from the land.

“You’ll…” Rainbow stared at my back and paled.

“He got away.” Pinkie remarked as she returned. “Are you…”

Pinkie gave the loudest gasp I had ever heard and zipped to my side babbling. I saw her hoof with blood on it, and she touched something on my back.

The pain came back instantly, and I feel to my knees, hissing from it. I could hear them yelling, nearly panicked. The forest was screaming, angry that it hadn’t been able to help, and desperate to aid me. But it couldn’t.

Somehow, the changelings had cut me off. I was no more a hag than Pinkie or Rainbow. And something was deep in my back, though I couldn’t really feel it. The pain was everywhere, my life wavering from it. My very magic felt painful, somehow.

I tried and failed to remain awake. It was too hard. Without my power, I was weak; just an old woman.

The voices faded as the darkness claimed me.