PONYTALE

by Flutter-Spark

Chapter 6: Run Home, Twi

Twilight didn't dare to use her magic; Celestia's warning and the memory of the damage she had inadvertently done were too fresh in her mind. She had no way to fight back, and even if she had Flowey had already shown a great deal of power. All it would take is one mistake on her part or one lucky shot on the part of the flower itself, and she would be finished. She had no chance if she stayed put.

So she ran. She moved the cell phone so that she could grasp it with her mouth and ran, her four little legs moving as fast as they could go to propel her out of the hallway into the next chamber. She didn't get far before slamming into something soft and warm, and in her desperate state of mind she immediately latched onto it. She was a little surprised when this same something–a Froggit as a glance revealed–gently embrace her, stroking her back as it croaked in bewilderment and comfort.

"Twilight, what happened?! Twilight?!"

Once again grasping the phone with her hoof, Twilight held it to her cheek and whispered desperately, "M-Mommy, it's him! I-it's Flowey!"

"Flowey?" Celestia sounded confused, but there was a much stronger sense of concern to her voice.

"The flower–th-the one that h-hurt me–he's chasing m-me! Mommy, what do I do?!"

For a second there was silence, then Celestia's voice grew serious. "Twilight, listen to me and do exactly what I tell you. I need you first to calm down. You are going to need to be strong for me for a moment. Take out the map I gave you and look for a house marked on it to the east. Can you see it?"

Twilight fumbled with the phone, trying to both pull out the map and keep her shaking hoof pressed to the phone so it wouldn't slip. She sighed in relief and whispered a quiet, "Thank you," as the Froggit quickly unfolded the map for her and pointed to the described spot. "Y-yes, I see it, Mommy."

"I want you to head there as quickly as you can. Do you understand, Twilight? I cannot get to you fast enough to help so you must do exactly as I say. Follow the map until you reach that house. Whatever you do, you must keep heading for that house, and do not backtrack if you can avoid it. I will try to get to you as soon as I can. If any Monsters give you any trouble, remember what I taught you and find a way to resolve it peacefully or else flee the FIGHT. Can you do that for me, my child?"

As she shivered in the Froggit's embrace, Twilight slowly nodded, plotting the course along her map. "Y-yes, Mommy. I-I can do that."

---

"Go quickly now, my child," Celestia said into her phone, trying to keep her voice calm despite the shaking she was feeling. "Be careful and be safe, but whatever you do make sure that you put as much distance as you can between yourself and that flower."

"O-okay, Mommy," Twilight replied, her voice quiet and shaky. "I'll do my best."

"I know that you will, my child. I love you, Twilight."

"I love you, too, Mommy."

As the call ended, Celestia slowly returned the phone to her pocket. Feeling a soft touch on her leg, she glanced down to see the little white dog that had originally stolen her bag and then taken her phone staring up at her. If it's eyes were anything to judge by, it was trying desperately to show its remorse for delaying her as it had, and she found she couldn't resist giving it a gentle Preservation on the head.

"It is not your fault, small one," she murmured. "I should not have left her alone for so long."

Sighing, she bowed and shook her head wearily. "It seems I am far more out of practice in regards to being a mother than I had first thought. My instincts are sharp as they have ever been, yet I ignored them. I am truly a fool."

The dog softly whined and nuzzled against Celestia's leg, placing a paw upon her cheek as a tear began to slide down it. She looked at it again and stared, somehow seeing in those eyes a wealth of emotions she wouldn't have believed it capable of expressing or understanding. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she marveled at this, and even further back she realized it somehow understood exactly how she felt, and wished to contest her conclusion on the matter.

"Perhaps you are right," she said. "I acted based upon the situation as it stood, so the fault is not entirely mine but that of life itself. It is, after all unpredictable."

As the dog barked and wagged its tail happily, Celestia smiled and patted its head again. "I apologize for chasing you, little dog. And I apologize for leaving so abruptly, but I promised my child a surprise for when she arrived at home, and to go to her as quickly as possible. Perhaps we shall meet again, but for now I must say farewell."

The dog simply yipped happily at this, standing on the tips of its hindlegs to lick Celestia's face. As she laughed, it barked happily before running off, its tail wagging as it went. The Alicorn, in turn, smiled as she turned and began the journey back to her above with a brisk trot.

Though she couldn't help worrying, somehow she felt certain Twilight would be able to make it. There would be puzzles to slow her down, and she would undoubtedly attract the attention of several Monsters. But she knew the Monsters of the Ruins, and most were peaceful by nature, with very few actually desiring conflict at all. They would most likely spare and even assist Twilight if she were clever, and Celestia knew for certain she was. There was a keen mind and great potential in that little lavender filly, fueled by a thirst to learn and prove herself.

That form of DETERMINATION would see her daughter through, she just knew it.

---

After calming down and giving the Froggit a grateful nuzzle, Twilight stood and glanced around at the leaf-riddled corridor she had run into. Her phone and her map were once again tucked into her saddlebags, and the Froggit had even been kind enough to hop into a northern chamber and back with two pieces of Monster Candy for her along with a present of two more gold coins. She didn't dare to linger after that, however, knowing that Flowey could easily be just behind her, and so walked quickly into the next chamber through a southeastern exit.

As she entered the next room–a short one with cracks along the middle section of the floor–she found a new Monster confronting her in a FIGHT. Shaped like a sock puppet with wings, the Monster–a Whimsum as the name above it revealed–floated before her with a frightened look to its face, its entire body shaking. Realizing it was just as reluctant to attack as she was, Twilight said down and did her best to stay still to show she didn't want any trouble. As the Whimsum slowly stopped shaking and settled down lightly on its feet, Twilight cleared her throat.

"Um, excuse me, but, could you help me across the floor? My map says it's full of pit traps, and I don't really want to fall."

The Whimsum blinked, then slowly nodded, scooping the filly up and carefully depositing her across the room before departing, leaving behind a single coin. Twilight, grateful but still fearing for her safety, packed away the gold and moved on, finding herself entering a room with water running through the center with a single short bridge to cross covered in spikes. Before her was a large rock sitting on a path of darker flooring leading to a discolored tile in the ground. She glanced at the map and, after seeing it mentioned pushing the rock onto the tile, smiled and prepared to do just that.

Before she could, however, she jumped as her phone rang and quickly picked up the call. "Hello?"

"Twilight?" Celestia's voice was worried, but hearing it made a sense of relief wash over the filly. "How are you doing?"

Twilight smiled as she replied, "I've gotten through two more rooms so far, Mama. I'm at the rock puzzle now."

"The rock puzzle? Oh, good, that is perhaps the simplest of all. I am glad to hear you are making progress, my child. For no particular reason, do you prefer butterscotch or cinnamon?"

"I actually like both. Why do you ask, Mama?"

Celestia giggled quietly. "Oh, as I say, no particular reason. Still, it is good to know, dear."

Twilight's eyes suddenly widened and she gasped in excitement. "Is it part of my surprise?"

Now Celestia laughed, causing the filly to blush a little. "Oh my, you are such a smart little thing, my child! Yes, I suppose I can admit that it is. However, that is your only clue to what I'm preparing."

The call ended at that, and Twilight, still smiling excitedly, found it was very easy to push the large rock–easily almost as big and heavy as her own body–onto the tile before moving onward. At first, the massive chamber seemed straightforward, but a glance at her map caused her to pause, looking between the chamber, the map, and the clue on the map. According to the clue, the floor had pit traps hidden all throughout, and one misstep would land her in another room below this one, but she could avoid it if she didn't step on any leaves. As the pictures on the map showed the lower chamber had leaves covering most of the floor ahead, she made sure to glance between the room itself and the map until she had gotten through, and breathed a heavy sigh of relief when, just as one floor tile began to crack, she arrived at the exit and could move on.

In the next room, Twilight found three more rocks that needed to be moved onto weighted tiles, and she grinned happily as she eagerly raced forward, grateful for another break from difficult puzzles. But just as she approached the third rock...

"Eh, no ya don't, missy!"

The voice, emanating from the rock itself, made Twilight jump in shock, but she immediately tried to salvage the situation by saying, "Oh, I'm s-sorry, I didn't mean to bother you!"

The rock shifted ever so slightly, almost as if trying to shrug, and replied, "Eh, no worries, lass. I s'pose I were over reactin', but I dun'a like bein' touched, y'see."

Twilight smiled a little and nodded. "I understand. Personal space, right?"

"Aye, that be it exactly, lass!"

Twilight rubbed her foreleg for a moment, feeling both foolish for talking to what should have been an inanimate object and distinctly curious how something could speak without a mouth, and asked, "Um, then, could you maybe do me a small favor? You see, I'm trying to get past the spikes just ahead, but..."

"Eh? Oh," the rock shifted again, this time seeming to nod as it rolled just slightly back and forth despite its uneven shape. "Aye, ah think ah could manage that for ya, lass! Jus' be quick, now!"

Smiling and nodding her thanks to the rock as it rolled over onto the third pressure plate, Twilight walked briskly past the spikes as they lowered out of the way. Just as she entered the next room, she stopped as new FIGHT lines appeared, and a trio of blob-like creatures called Moldsmals came up towards her before going still, as if waiting for her to make the first move. Uncertain, Twilight decided to stay still as well, the filly eyeing the Moldsmals cautiously until they began shaking themselves, casting water droplets. Though she could tell the droplets were charged with the creatures' magic and would likely hurt, she stayed firm in her stillness, offering a patient smile as she settled onto her haunches. Seeming to realize her peaceful intent, each Moldsmals oozed forward and placed a gold coin in front of her before all three seeped into the ground and vanished, the FIGHT lines dissolving.

Encouraged, Twilight kept moving and passed quickly through a room in which there was only a single table standing off to the side, a piece of cheese sitting at its center. She glanced back at the sound of a squeak and smiled upon seeing a tiny mouse staring out at the cheese, and waved her hoof at it before continuing, feeling a little of her fearful tension slip away. Ahead, she spotted a patch of red leaves in the way and stopped, not to avoid the leaves but rather to avoid the ghost lying still upon them, apparently asleep.

Twilight, glancing back the way she had come, looked at the ghost in all of its simple, almost cartoonishly-shaped glory for a moment before smiling. She settled down on her belly beside the ghost and simply waited, resting her head on her fore hooves as she watched the ghost continue to snore. Gradually, she realized it was only pretending, and began to do the same as she shut her eyes, more of her tension easing away as she did so.

"Um, what... are you doing...?"

Twilight opened her eyes and sat back on her haunches as the ghost, Napstablook apparently, floated before her, FIGHT lines forming a border around them. "Playing pretend," she answered, saying it as if it were the simplest and most obvious thing.

Naptsablook blinked, seeming surprised. "You mean... You're really not afraid of me...? And you're not... gonna attack me...?"

"Why would I attack someone I want to be friends with?" Twilight asked.

"You... really want to be my friend?"

Giggling at Napstablook's disbelieving yet hopeful face, Twilight nodded. "Of course! I wouldn't play with someone unless I wanted to be friends with them."

Napstablook smiled at the filly's words, tears slowly dripping down his face to the ground. "Wow... You're... really nice... What's your name?"

"Twilight, and thank you," Twilight said, smiling warmly. "You seem really nice, too, Napstablook."

"Th-thank you... Say, would you... like to see a trick I can do?"

"Sure!"

Napstablook shut his eyes, and suddenly his tears began floating upwards, melding together and forming the shape of a top hat on his head. "I like to call it... 'Dapperblook'. W-what d'you think...?"

Twilight clapped her hooves happily. "It's so cool! I'm gonna have to ask Mama if she can teach me to do something like that!"

Napstablook smiled a little wider at that, and the FIGHT lines vanished. "You know, I usually come here because it's quiet, and nobody's around... But today I made a friend... I gotta go now, but... I'll see you again, hopefully."

Twilight stood and nodded eagerly. "Sure! See you then, Nappy!"

Laughing quietly, Napstablook vanished, Twilight's last sight of him being his cheeks turning pink. Giggling, the little filly marched onward, glad to have made yet another friend. She kept Celestia's words in mind, and so stayed focused on following the most direct route on the map to her house, but made sure to note the location of the "spider bake sale" so she could come back, and listened intently as, in a longer chamber, she found three Froggits who paused to give her advice she was sure would be useful later.

When she arrived in a new chamber the map claimed to be filled with pits with a switch in one, she paused, and wasn't entirely surprised as a new Monster–a roach-like creature with four limbs called a "Migosp"–took the opportunity to engage her in a FIGHT. As she needed to think through how to approach the pits anyway, she decided to sit and wait for the Migosp to make the first move, and smiled as it seemed to relax. It wasn't long before it left, leaving behind a pair of gold coins and a quiet hint: "There's more in pits than leaves."

Twilight smiled as she approached on of the pits, and her smile grew to a grin when dropping into it revealed a FADED RIBBON sitting amongst the leaves, the once red fabric turned a dingy pink from the passing of time yet still clearly usable. Eagerly, she picked it up and tied it into a bow in her mane, pulling it back into a little ponytail, before climbing up a chute leading back to the main chamber overhead. In the next pit, she yelped as she nearly landed on a carrot-shaped creature called a Vegetoid, which immediately growled and triggered a FIGHT with her.

"I-I'm sorry," she whimpered, cowering.

The Vegetoid seemed to hesitate, then blinked as the filly's stomach suddenly growled loud enough to fill the air. Both stared at each other for a moment, then the Monster laughed as Twilight blushed and tried to hide behind a foreleg. The Vegetoid, however, waved its hand airily and grinned before tossing a series of vegetables into the air.

"Eat your greens," it proclaimed.

Twilight gasped happily and jumped, snagging the only green veggie in her mouth before sitting and eagerly chewing it. When she had finished, the Vegetoid patted her on the head and placed four gold in her bag. Climbing back up again, she dropped into the next pit to find another Monster waiting for her, this one shaped like an eyeball with arms and legs. She smiled and waved at it, and the creature, a Loox, seemed to relax as it cast a wave of magic into the air which she easily dodged in turn. After that, it handed her five gold and departed, allowing her to climb up once more and try the next pit.

Naptsablook, as it turned out, was waiting there for her, lying on his back and looking sad. "Fell down here on my way back out... Now I can't get up..."

Twilight laid beside him and tried to nuzzle his side, passing through him instead as she asked, "Maybe I can help? I could try to carry you, or lift you up so you can float for yourself?"

Napstablook blinked, then smiled sheepishly as he slowly rose from the leaves and righted himself. "Oh, yeah... Ghosts float... Heh, silly me." He turned and passed through a wall behind him, then came back into view as a loud click resounded through the chamber. "I flipped the switch so you can move on. See you later."

Twilight beamed at Napstablook as he vanished, then quickly made her way out into the next room. Though there was supposedly a looping enchantment on the chamber itself, the gate ahead remained steadfastly locked until certain anchoring switches were pressed in a particular order, ensuring no one got themselves permanently trapped. More Monsters, each of them in forms she had already met, kept coming after her as Twilight worked her way onward, but with every encounter she simply fell back on the methods she had used to get past the others, and in not time the little filly was practically prancing her way into one final room where a large, leafless tree stood guard, a quaint little cottage-like home.

And Celestia, her face flooding with relief as much as tears, came trotting out to meet her. "Twilight!"

"Mommy!" Twilight immediately raced up to the snowy Alicorn, glomping onto her robed form before bursting into relieved tears of her own. The instant Celestia had sat and properly wrapped the little filly in her hooves and wings, every bit of anxiety and fear was completely washed out by a rush of love and joy at finally reuniting with her newfound mother. Twilight nuzzled as deep into Celestia's chest and neck as she could, pressing herself tightly to her mother's barrel with every intent of staying firmly affixed and never letting go. Here, she knew for certain she was safe and loved, protected from anything and everything that could or would seek to harm her. Flowey was a worry of the past now; all that mattered was that her Mommy was there, and would never let her get hurt.

Celestia's tears soaked into Twilight's mane as she whispered into her ear, "I am so very sorry I left you alone, my child. But I am so very, very proud of you for making it here all on your own. I would have called and checked on you again, but my phone lost power. I was just coming out to look for you when you came."

Twilight hummed happily into her mother's chest and sighed. "It's okay, Mommy... I made it, and I'm okay. I even made some friends, like Napstablook!"

"Napstablook? Oh, that one is such a kind spirit, even if he is so withdrawn and quiet." Celestia smiled as she pulled back and lightly kissed Twilight's forehead. "I am so proud of you, Twilight. Truly, I am."

Twilight smiled, bowing her head a little shyly, before feeling her eyelids begin to droop. Hearing her Mommy giggle, she looked up and yawned, long and loud, before blushing and once again burying her face in soft Alicorn neck.

"Tired, are you, my child?" Celestia asked knowingly.

"Mmhmm," was the filly's sleepy response.

Celestia giggled lightly and slowly stood, keeping one wing and one leg poised to cradle the filly against her chest and shoulder. "Would you like me to tuck you in so that you may sleep for a while?"

Twilight blinked and batted the air with her hoof tiredly, murmuring, "B-but... my surprise..."

"Will be able to wait until you are rested," Celestia said, her voice firm yet gentle, as she began to walk into the house. "For now, you have been through a great deal in very little time. Now is the time for you to rest and recover."

Twilight sighed and relented, resting her head against her mother's neck with a soft murr as Celestia's feathery wing caressed her back. She didn't pay much attention to the house itself as they entered, nor did she see the room into which she was carried. Yet her eyes opened as she was placed gently into a soft, warm bed and the sheets were pulled up to her neck. She smiled drowsily and settled herself comfortably, looking up into the eyes of her mother, as she yawned and whispered, "Good night, Mommy... I love you..."

As she drifted off to sleep, Celestia's gentle kiss and loving whisper of, "I love you, too, my child," filled her dreams with calm and peace as her heart swelled with both love and DETERMINATION.

Author's Note:

Whew! If my calculations are right, this is the longest one yet (please feel free to correct me if I am indeed wrong)! It was a chore, but a pleasure to write it. I'm honestly very happy how well this has been received so far, and I hope you all like this installment.
As usual, I appreciate any Upvotes or comments provided as a sign that you liked this piece. Unfortunately, next chapter is going to be short, but that's because it's going to be more of an "Interlude" than anything. It may be up later tonight, but we'll see. It may be going up tomorrow morning. Until then, see you later!

Comments

[Tatsurou]

This was wonderful. Well done.