• Published 31st Mar 2018
  • 4,771 Views, 164 Comments

White Curse - Jumpitydude



The students of the School of Friendship run away to stay together... only to get wrapped up in something much larger than themselves.

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Chapter 13

Author's Note:

WARNING!

This chapter is darker than most chapters in this story! If you grow uncomfortable reading this chapter, you can SKIP it! The next chapter (13B) is literally just so you can skip this one without missing anything from the story!

It doesn't get as bad as an actually dark story, but it does get pretty dark for a story of this type.

Now that I have given you a warning that you have completely ignored, enjoy~

Chrysalis was a master of deception, distrust, and control. She had deceived Canterlot, and later the entirety of Equestria and the Crystal Empire. She had come so close to victory twice, only for something small to become something bigger than she expected. There was no denying her skill at manipulation. She was very good.

Too good, as she learned the hard way.

The pink-maned, yellow creature thrashed against her bindings, but could only move her head.

"Kehehehehe..."

All she could do was stare at the mare hovering over her.

"Kehehehehehehehe..."

And the thorny vine pointed right at her.

"Kehehehehehehehehehehehe..."

The bound figure screamed into the vine wrapped around her mouth as the vine made its move. Her eyes shot wide, then rolled back into her head... as she returned to her real form; a piece of wood, stained yellow.

Fluttershy's face was twisted into a sadistic smile. "Pfffffff... Hehehehehe. Kehehehehehehehe! You stupid freak. Ahahahall you were good for was a lahahahahaugh! Kehehehehehehehehehehe! Ahahahahahahaha!"

Fluttershy, the Element of Kindness and most gentle, if shy, pony ever, was acting like a maniac. Had most creatures come across her they would have thought it was a faker, or that they were lied to. Thankfully, the students were not most creatures.

Fluttershy suddenly snapped her head to look at the six costumed creatures. "Aww, did the six of you need a bedtime story?"

Aqualine flipped her hair. "Nope! Because you're the one going to bed!"

"Ch-Chrysalis?" Everfree was shocked by what was just past the mare. "I-is she... Dead?"

"But of course." Fluttershy's smile bordered on innocent and psychopathic. "It's better for her to be gone. But don't miss her too much." Fluttershy leaned forward, any innocence in her smile gone, leaving only crazy. "You'll be joining her soon enough."

Wind Jet moved one of his front hoofs.

SANDBAR!

He moved his hoof back. Sorry.

"Is it just me, or does her body seem... normal?" Heatnix asked, ignoring the odd mental exchange.

"Compared to the others, yeah." Striker looked his foe up and down. "It's just the vines and flowers in her mane and tail."

Aqualine leaned in close to him. "You know what that means, right? Easy pickings."

Wind Jet glared at them. "Don't underestimate her. We don't even-"

"Last blow wins?"

"You bet."

Wind Jet had no time to react. The two fliers shot towards the corrupt mare.

"Cute." Fluttershy leaped up and flew off, leading the two on a wild goose chase.

"Wait! Get back here!" Wind Jet's cry fell on deaf ears, as neither of his teammates responded. "Grrr..." What are you doing?

Winning! Striker sent back.

Don't worry! We've got this! Aqualine was just as concerned as Striker (not at all).

Hold on! You're in over your-

BEEP!

What was that?... Guys?... GUYS! "What are they thinking?"

"They aren't!" Heatnix responded to her leader's question, "We had an advantage in the last two battles, but we have nothing for this one!"

"Why not fly up?" Boulder asked.

"The forest is too thick," Everfree answered. "We can see a few clearings, but most of the forest is completely obstructed to us."

"Any problems we face tonight," Wind Jet said with a scowl, "Are on their heads."


"Over here! This way! Hehehe!" Aqualine zipped out of the way of another thrashing vine.

"Can't keep up, can you?" Striker dodged another vine.

Fluttershy growled at the speedy flyers. Her attacks were too slow to hit either of them, while they were getting dangerously close to hitting her. If anyone was observing their fight, they would say that Fluttershy was fighting a losing battle.

"Wait! Where'd you go?"

Aqualine skidded to a stop a good distance behind Fluttershy. "Piece of cake, right?"

"I don't know what Wind Jet was talking about." Striker slid up next to his teammate. "This was easy as pie."

"Ready to sandwich her?"

"You bet."

Both of them shot towards the possessed mare.

Neither noticing her smirk.

Before either could react, a giant leaf lined with vines and branches appeared in front of them. The moment they collided with it, it wrapped around them, the vines binding them back to back and the branches jabbing into their legs and guts.

"AHHHH! What the-"

Fluttershy let out a hearty laugh. "Did you really think I lost track of you? The moment you all appeared, I placed a flower on each of you so I could track your movements."

Aqualine started coughing.

"And certain pollens can disrupt most forms of magic. I just took a guess and applied it to you two once I had you alone."

"What are-" Aqualine coughed. "What are you going to do? Turn us to plant food?"

"Of course. Aww, but I'm such a naughty girl. Momma told me not to play with my food... Actually, she didn't because she is a complete wuss. Either way, I'd like you two to suffer before you die."

"What do you- MMMM!?" Something wrapped around Striker's beak and neck. Given the muffled sounds behind him, Aqualine was facing the same threat.

Fluttershy ran her hoof through Aqualine's mane. "I know there are more effective ways of disposing of juveniles, but you two aren't going anywhere. I might as well make you two suffer for a bit."

The two creatures struggled as much as they could, but nothing was getting loose.

"Now, if you don't mind, I'll be going to deal with your friends. Enjoy your last breath. It's gonna be with you for a while." Fluttershy casually sauntered off.

The only meaningful thing the half-birds could do was put their claw into the other's claw.


Wind Jet was definitely angry. "Where are those birdbrains?"

Heatnix was annoyed for a different reason. "Why are we looking for the two of them? Shouldn't we be after Fluttershy?"

Everfree sighed. "Our teammates are fighting Fluttershy. We find them, we find Fluttershy."

Boulder had other things on her mind. "What wood strong against?"

Wind Jet let out a grunt. "Nothing, probably. It tends to be weak... No offense, Everfree."

Guys... Aqualine's voice was weak.

Wind Jet looked upwards as if she was above him. THERE you are! What are you two-

We can't breathe.

Everfree's eyes went wide. W-what?

She wrapped a leaf around our beaks, and there's a vine around our necks! Gallus sounded weak. She did after tying us up, so we can't move our claws at all!

Smolder was heaving. Where are you guys?

I don't know... I only see trees.

Maybe you shouldn't have run off!

Yona smacked the pony over the head. SANDBAR! NO!

Are we... spinning? Silver's voice was growing weak.

I... don't know... Gallus was growing weary.

Smolder was about to cry. We can't do anything...

Tracheotomy!

Silver thought Ocellus said something. Wh-what?

You have to make another breathing hole in your body! Below the vine! Ocellus could only hope her message reached them.

But... that... how? Gallus' voice was growing quiet.

Ocellus squeezed her eyes shut.

Silver! Use power! Yona sent out.

...

Guys?

......

This isn't funny!

.........

Silver? Gallus?

............We're breathing.

The group of four let out a collective sigh of relief.

Silver sent out a weary laugh, trying to calm her friends. I don't know how, though. It's like my powers acted on their own.

Ocellus briefly thought of keeping her secret to herself. I took over your powers for a moment. It was a desperate move, but I had to do something.

That's... clever. I feel tired, but I don't think I should sleep yet.

They were all happy that the duo survived.

All but one.

YOU IDIOTS! Sandbar's voice changed the mood drastically. We have a serious threat, and now we're down our best two fighters! Why did you do that?

S-sorry.

Apologize to anyone that dies because of your antics. Wind Jet turned towards his teammates. "Come on. We need to find Fluttershy."

"Oh, that's alright. You don't need to look for me. I can find you easily enough."

The four creatures whipped around. Standing there was their beloved teacher, looking very demented.

"I've got this!" Boulder charged forward, then rolled into a, well, boulder, attempting to smash into the Pegasus. Instead, she smashed into a tree.

"Where did that-" Wind Jet was cut off by Fluttershy's crazed laughter. "Duh. She controls plantlife."

"Well, in that case." Heatnix flew forward and shot a jet of flames at the tree. All she did was leave a few scorch marks. "Huh?"

"Did you sleep through class again?" Fluttershy moved around the tree. "Healthy plantlife has plenty of water in it. Sure, you could still burn it down." The mare caressed a low hanging branch. "But that would mean starting a forest fire. Are you sadistic enough to do that?"

Heatnix could only stand there in shock. Boulder was more active... and dove into the ground.

Fluttershy laughed. "Did you just run off?" She then dove into the tree right as Boulder popped out of the ground. The tree batted the Yak back to the ground. "Of course you didn't." Fluttershy stepped back out of the tree. "That would be too convenient for me."

Boulder got to her hooves, growling, only to suddenly cough and fall back down. She looked at her back and saw a small tree growing out of it.

"So you happen to be made of dirt. Convenient for me. After all, trees need nutrition to grow, and they don't care if it's from the earth, the sun..." Fluttershy gave Boulder a twisted smile. "Or some kid that happens to have the nutrition they need."

Boulder tried to get back up but lacked the energy to move. Heatnix tried to burn the tree up but only left scorch marks again. Fluttershy just laughed as Boulder sank into the ground.

"It looks like she just bit the-" An angry vine cut off Fluttershy's statement by smacking her in the face. "What the-" She deftly avoided another couple of swings. "What are you doing?"

"They're under my control," Everfree proudly declared. "Did you forget I was here?"

Another vine popped out of the ground and was about to strike Fluttershy, only to stop partway through.

Fluttershy glared at the Changeling. "Then I'll control your flora as well."

"That works for me." A concentrated blast of air knocked Fluttershy onto her back. "It leaves you open to my attacks."

Everfree winked at the pony. "Looks like that training is starting to pay off."

Heatnix scratched her head. "Training?"

"I'll explain later." Wind Jet watched the grown mare get back to her hooves. "We can't risk killing her. The others had a protective layer of their element, but it looks like she doesn't have that. We need to be careful."

"Then I'll leave the attacking to you." Everfree sent a vine and nuts spinning through the air like a bolo at Fluttershy, only for the mare to leap away well before it got to her.

"Then you're on support. Fair enough." The two creatures rushed forward, ready to fight.

Heatnix could only watch from a distance, her flames rendered useless for reasons she didn't fully understand. She didn't understand why Fluttershy didn't look like the other corrupt teachers. She didn't understand what her friends meant by "training". Of all the things she didn't understand, however, only one stuck out enough for her to question it.

"Why do I feel like I'm in a manga right now?"

Heatnix had no idea who was where at any given moment. Everything happening in front of her was a complete blur. She could tell when she had to dodge something, but that was about it. Whenever she thought she knew what was happening, the fighters were about two steps past her.

Up until Fluttershy fell to the ground.

Everfree and Wind Jet landed. "We have to be getting close."

Fluttershy struggled to her hooves.

Everfree started running forward. "Come on! Just a bit-"

Fluttershy suddenly reared up. "Enough!" She slammed her hooves onto the ground.

A tree stump shot into Everfree's stomach, sending her into the air, right as Fluttershy shot a bunch of branches towards her.

It was as if time slowed down, and everything went quiet. None of them could move fast enough. The target could only watch, her eyes growing wide. Her friends could only watch, their hearts sinking. Fluttershy's smile grew wide.

Once the branches pierced her body, Ocellus let out a shriek. A horrible, soul-crushing shriek. It only lasted a moment after she was pinned to the tree, but for Sandbar, even the start of it was too much. Ocellus tried to lift her head, but at this point, any movement was too much for her body.

"You're not dead?" Sandbar looked right at Fluttershy. "It's alright. That's easy enough to fix." She summoned another branch and shot it at the Changeling.

In an instant, Sandbar grabbed it out of the air with his mouth.

Fluttershy smiled. "Was that really a wise-"

Sandbar vanished.

Fluttershy's smile vanished as well. "Wait, where-"

*CRACK!*

Sandbar appeared right in front of the Pegasus and struck her across the face. Then in the gut. Then he struck her leg.

To Smolder, it was amazing and terrifying all at once. Sandbar wasn't just attacking her relentlessly, he was teleporting to do so, disappearing and reappearing at a rate that Smolder couldn't keep up with.

"Wind Jet!"

She had realized that, if he kept his beatdown up, he would end up killing the one they were trying to save.

"Wind Jet!"

But he wasn't responding to her words. She ran towards him.

"SANDBAR!"

Through all of his teleporting, Smolder somehow managed to grab Sandbar and throw him to the ground.

"SANDBAR! CUT IT OUT!"

The colt struggled against the Dragon. "Let... me... go! I'm going... to get..."

Smolder snarled in his face. "Our friends all put their lives on the line to save her! Are you going to make all of that worthless? Are you going to ruin what we worked so hard to do tonight?"

"I want..." Sandbar started crying. "I... I..."

"I get how you feel. Believe me, I do." Smolder's expression softened. "But you can't let your emotions control you right now. Revenge can wait for when there aren't innocent lives on the line." She lifted her friend into a hug. "Our friends helped us get this far. Let's finish it. Even if we're alone."

Sandbar went limp for a second, then returned the hug. "Right. I'm sorry."

Smolder broke off the hug and helped the colt to his hooves. "Good. Now come on. I think Fluttershy went this way."

"Oh, geeze, she ran?"

Ocellus stared as they rushed off. She took in a deep breath, then let it out, her eyes rolling back as she did.


Fluttershy continued to stumble as fast as she could. How did he do that? It's almost like he was teleporting... Was he? She stumbled to the edge of a ravine. The bottom was very far down. She turned around to see two creatures in hot pursuit.

Fluttershy growled and shot out three branches at them. The branches burned up mid-flight.

"I knew it." Heatnix kept her hand up. "Whatever you were doing to keep my powers from working, you're too tired to keep doing it. Give up, now."

"Let Fluttershy go. You can't win now." Wind Jet looked at the ravine. "And don't think about jumping. I can just use my wind to lift her out."

Silence...

"Ke... Kehehe... Kehehehehehehe..."

"What's so funny?"

Fluttershy continued to laugh maniacally for a while, then shot them a disturbing look. "Can you lift this out?" As soon as she said that, a tree popped out of the ground. Not a small one either; a full grown tree. Once it was out, a vine wrapped around it and the Pegasus. "Once this tree falls into the ravine, it'll take me with it. You're trying to save my life, aren't you?"

The two students froze up. Even with her cornered, Fluttershy still had a dirty move to play.

"Burn the tree or the vine, and I burn with them. And the vine is very thick. Cutting it won't be easy." Fluttershy started laughing again. "Give up yet?"

Heatnix and Wind Jet looked at each other. Their four friends were dead or near death, they pulled out every move they had, and even pulled new moves out of nowhere... And they were still about to lose?

"That's what I thought." Fluttershy talked over a sound on the other side of the ravine. "Now hold still."

Vines started weaving near their legs, winding up them without touching them.

"This will only hurt a second. Or not. I really don't know. It's not like I ever stab myself. I prefer to-" She stopped, her smile dropping, and looked around. There was a whistling sound getting louder and louder, and she didn't know what it was. She looked up... just in time for a large mound of dirt to slam her into the ground, causing the tree and all of the vines to vanish.

The two heroes looked on in shock. What just happened?

"Miss Fluttershy?"

Something started bulging out of the earth. The dirt started rolling away, revealing Fluttershy, unconscious, with her mane back to normal.

A face suddenly appeared just below her. "Professor... safe... yes?" As suddenly as they appeared, the mound and the face dropped back into the earth.

Both creatures reached towards the living earth. "Yona!"

There was no sign of her left. Tears started welling up in their eyes.

A rustling sound drew their attention behind them. A moment later, Gallus and Silver appeared from the bushes. They both looked around. There was no sign of Yona or Ocellus. Professor Fluttershy was either out or...

They both collapsed to the ground, falling into a bow. Smolder could only wonder what was going through their heads, especially with Sandbar yelling at them earlier.

"Get up." Sandbar's voice was cold. "We can't exactly feign ignorance with two of us missing."

Sandbar led the other three away from Fluttershy. A million thoughts, mostly dark, were running through his head, but one kept coming back.

Ocellus... are you alive?