Chapter 12: Fights and the Search for the Wicked Witch
Omby Amby led them through the streets of the Emerald City until they reached the room where the Guardian of the Gates lived. This officer unlocked their spectacles to put them back in his great box and then he politely opened the gate for our friends.
“Thank ya kindly,” Applejack said. “So, which road leads ta that Za… Zi… Zo… Zu…” She was struggling to pronounce the name.
“Zelena,” Sunset said.
“What she said,” Applejack said.
"There is no road," answered the Guardian of the Gates. "No one ever wishes to go that way."
“So,” Trixie began to ask. “How are we supposed to get there?”
“Well, since she’s the witch of the West,” Sunset said. “It’d make logical sense for her to live in that cardinal direction.”
“Guess ah shoulda thought ta say that first,” Applejack said, blushing sheepishly.
“Finding her will be easy," replied the man. "For when she knows you are in the country of the Winkies, she will find you and make you all her slaves."
"Perhaps not," said Bartleby. "For we mean to destroy her."
“Since that’s what Oz told us to do,” Starlight added.
"Oh, that is different," said the Guardian of the Gates. "No one has ever destroyed her before, so, I naturally thought she would make slaves of you as she has of the rest. But, take care, for she is wicked, fierce, and may not allow you to destroy her. Keep to the West, where the sun sets, and you cannot fail to find her."
“We’ll also keep our eyes open for an abundance of yellow,” Sunset said.
“Good luck,” the Guardian said. “All of you.”
They thanked him, bade him good-bye, and turned toward the West, walking over fields of soft grass dotted here and there with daisies and buttercups. Dorothy still wore the pretty silk dress she had put on in the palace, but, now, to her surprise, she found it was no longer green, but, pure white. The ribbon around Toto's neck had also lost its green color and was as white as Dorothy's dress.
“I wonder if the green was from the spectacles we wore,” Spike said. “Or if it’s from being in the Emerald City itself.”
“Maybe a little from Column A and a little from Column B,” Sunset said.
“Maybe,” Spike said.
The Emerald City was soon left far behind. As they advanced the ground became rougher and hillier, for there were no farms nor houses in this country of the West and the ground was untilled.
Chapter 12: The Search for the Wicked Witch, Sunset said internally.
Fluttershy began to feel somewhat uneasy. The atmosphere of this land was far different from the lands that they experienced before. “I’m not liking this,” she said.
“Neither do I,” Raw said uneasily. “But, we must do this.”
In the afternoon the sun shone hot in their faces, for there were no trees to offer them shade.
“Whew,” Pinkie said, wiping her brow. “Are you sure we haven’t reached one of those deserts surrounding Oz?”
“Not sandy enough,” Sunset said.
“How are you feeling, Dorothy?” Twilight asked. “Do you need some water?”
“I would like some,” Dorothy admitted. “I don’t suppose you can magically make some?”
Twilight scoped around the grounds, her horn acting as a divining rod. When she was able to sense that there was water underground, she dug away some of the earth and found a well of water. “I found some!” Trixie used her magic to transfigure a nearby stone into a teacup. “Thank you, Trixie.” Twilight then filled the teacup with water and gave the cup to Dorothy. “Don’t worry. The water was moving.”
Dorothy sipped the water and she felt better. It was cool and fresh. Sunset used her magic to make her horn spin like a drill bit, which she used to carve a rock into a bucket.
“Thank you, Sunset,” Rarity said politely. She then used her magic to fashion a handle for the bucket out of some of her own tail hairs woven together into a strong rope.
“My,” Dorothy said. “That was clever.”
“You should see some of the things Sunset made in Equestria,” Rainbow said. “She could make a computer out of a block of gemstones.”
“Com… pu… ter?” Dorothy asked. “What in the world is that?”
“Never mind,” Sunset said, magically zipping Rainbow’s mouth shut. “It’s nothing you’ll have to worry about anytime soon.”
Rainbow grumbled with annoyance for herself, remembering too late what Sunset had told her about Dorothy coming from a time long before their own.
“We better rest a while,” Starlight said. “We’ll need to keep our strength up.”
“Good idea,” Applejack said. “We’ll need ta be in good shape fer when we do face Zelena.”
So, the flesh-made travelers took a rest on the grass around them. Nick and Bartleby kept watch.
Now, Zelena had but one eye, yet that was as powerful as a telescope and could see everywhere. So, as she sat in the door of her castle, she happened to look around and saw Dorothy lying asleep, with her friends all about her.
“So,” she said to herself. “That child and her ridiculous friends think they can try to defeat me. Well, I shall soon see about that.”
They were a long distance off, but, Zelena was angry to find them in her country, so, she blew upon a silver whistle that hung around her neck. At once, there came, running to her from all directions, a pack of great wolves. They had long legs and fierce eyes and sharp teeth.
"Go to those people," said Zelena. “And tear all but the ponies, dragon, and phoenix to pieces."
"Are you not going to make the others your slaves?" asked the leader of the wolves.
“They are planning to destroy me,” Zelena said. “The ponies are fit to work, dragons are the most powerful beasts known to exist, and killing a phoenix is an exercise in futility. The tin man, scarecrow, lion, and little girl, you may tear into small pieces."
"Very well," said the wolf and he dashed away at full speed, followed by the others.
“The others, I feel, will be quite useful to me,” she said.
It was lucky Bartleby and Nick were wide awake and heard the wolves coming.
"This is my fight," said Nick. "So, get behind me and I will meet them as they come."
Bartleby had to comply, so, he stood behind Nick. Nick seized his axe, which he had made very sharp, and as the leader of the wolves came on, the tin woodman swung his arm and chopped the wolf's head from its body so that it immediately died. As soon as he could raise his axe, another wolf came up and he also fell under the sharp edge of Nick's weapon. There were forty wolves and forty times a wolf was killed so that at last they all lay dead in a heap before the woodman.
Then, he put down his axe and sat beside Bartleby, who said, "It was a good fight, friend."
“Thank you,” Nick said. “Though, there is work to be done. We don’t want the others to see all of this.”
Nick cleaned up the bodies all night. By morning, the others woke up and there was one decapitated wolf corpse left, but, plenty of blood. The blood alone made the others jump in shock.
“Holy mother of Celestia!” Rainbow exclaimed. “What the hell happened here?! We’ve been facing threats for like nine years and we’ve never seen a mess like this!”
“I saw them approach,” Nick explained. “And they looked like they were going to tear most of you to pieces.”
Sunset noticed that the last decapitated wolf was wearing a collar she recognized well.
“A slave collar,” Sunset said. “These wolves were following orders.” She scanned the collar. “From the Wicked Witch of the West! She knows we’re here!”
“So much for the element of surprise,” Trixie said.
“Even if she knows we’re coming,” Sunset said. “We can’t let her know we’re scared. That’ll just give more power to her.”
“Sunset’s right,” Twilight said. “With all of us together, there’s nothing we can’t overcome.”
Applejack’s belly gave a loud gurgle. “Ah reckon we should eat breakfast,” she said. “If’n we don’t keep our strength up, she’ll beat us anyhow.”
“Good idea,” Raw said. “It wouldn’t do us any good to fight on an empty stomach.”
“Nick,” Starlight said. “Could you do us a favor and clean the blood off your axe? It’s ruining our appetites.”
“Oh, yes, of course,” Nick said. He then went off to clean the blade that was on his axe.
Now, this same morning, Zelena came to the door of her castle and looked out with her one eye that could see far off. She saw all her wolves lying dead and the strangers still traveling through her country. This made her angrier than before and she blew her silver whistle twice. Straightway, a great flock of wild crows came flying toward her, enough to darken the sky. And the wicked witch said to the king crow, "Fly at once to the strangers. Peck out their eyes and tear them to pieces. But, leave the ponies, dragon, and phoenix unharmed."
The crows cawed and flew to follow the wicked witch’s orders.
The wild crows flew in one great flock toward Dorothy and her companions. When the little girl saw them coming, she was afraid.
But, Bartleby said, "This is my battle, so, lie down beside me and you will not be harmed."
Dorothy lied down beside Bartleby so that she was out of harm’s way. Bartleby stood up and stretched out his arms. And when the crows saw him, they were frightened, as these birds always are by scarecrows and did not dare to come any nearer. But, the king crow said:
"It is only a stuffed man. I will peck his eyes out."
The king crow flew at Bartleby, who caught it by the head and twisted its neck until it died. And then another crow flew at him and Bartleby twisted its neck also. There were forty crows and forty times Bartleby twisted a neck, until at last all were lying dead beside him. Then, he called to his companions to rise and again, they went upon their journey.
“That was intense!” Spike said.
“It was barbaric!” Fluttershy said. “All of those crows, slaughtered! How can you be so cruel, Bartleby?!”
“Would you have preferred to have your eyes pecked out?” Sunset whispered to Fluttershy. “They were sent by Zelena.”
“I apologize if it was gruesome,” Bartleby said. “But, it had to be done to ensure we didn’t fail our task.”
When Zelena looked out again and saw all her crows lying in a heap, she got into a terrible rage.
“Curse those beings!” she growled. She blew three times upon her silver whistle. Forthwith, there was heard a great buzzing in the air and a swarm of black bees came flying toward her.
“How may we be of service?” the queen bee buzzed.
"Go to the strangers and sting all but the ponies, dragon, and phoenix to death!" commanded Zelena.
The queen bee nodded and led her swarm to attack.
They flew rapidly until they came to where Dorothy and her friends were walking. But, Nick saw them coming.
“Don’t worry,” Nick said. “They can’t sting me. Get behind me, everyone!”
Bartleby covered the others with his straw.
“Thank you,” Rarity whispered.
The bees came and found no one but Nick to sting, so, they flew at him and broke off all their stings against the tin without hurting Nick at all. And as bees cannot live when their stings are broken, that was the end of the black bees and they lay scattered thick about the woodman, like little heaps of fine coal.
“Those bees pretty much brought that on themselves,” Sunset said as she got up.
Hopefully those bees weren’t pollinators, Starlight thought to herself.
The others got up and stuffed Bartleby again until he was good as new.
“That’s much better,” Bartleby smiled. “Thank you very much.”
Zelena was so angry when she saw her black bees in little heaps like fine coal that she stamped her foot and tore her hair and gnashed her teeth. And then, she called a dozen of her slaves, who were Winkies, and gave them sharp spears, telling them to go to the strangers and destroy them. The Winkie guard saluted and they charged after the traveling companions.
With the travelers, they heard chanting approaching.
“All we own, we owe~
All we own, we owe~
All we own, we owe~”
“Do you guys hear something?” Trixie asked.
They saw the Winkie Guard in their yellow and black suits marching towards them.
“Let’s let Raw handle them,” Sunset said.
“I shall do my best,” Raw said, gulping nervously. “I hope.”
Once the Winkies were close, Raw gave a roar and sprung out at them.
“RUN AWAY!!!” shouted the captain of the Winkie guards.
The Winkies dropped their spears and ran off as fast as they could.
“Boy howdy,” Applejack said after the Winkies left. “That wicked witch is plain dee-termined ta stop us.”
“At least nobody died this time,” Fluttershy said.
“Yet at least,” Sunset said.
“Well, no matter what obstacles that wicked witch throws our way,” Rainbow said. “They’re not going to stop us!” She then flew up to see where the Winkies were going and saw a castle, which she deduced belonged to Zelena. “You hear me, Zelena! We’re coming for you! If you don’t like it–” She turned her rear in the castle’s general direction and tauntingly shook it. “You can kiss my flank!”
Rainbow is going to regret doing that in three, two, one… Sunset thought to herself.
A bolt of lightning struck Rainbow’s backside.
“Yow!” Rainbow yelped. She came down, rubbing her singed flank.
“One of these days,” Sunset said to Rainbow. “You’re going to have to learn to control your impulsiveness.” She gave Rainbow one of the healing apples.
“Thanks,” Rainbow said. “I’ll try to tone it down and save it for something really important.”
The Winkies returned to the castle and were beaten by Zelena with a strap.
“You fools!” she snapped. “It seems that if you want something done properly, you must do it yourself!” She used her one eye to focus on Sunset. She found Sunset’s greatest fear, Moonrise Dazzle. “I’ll make her worst fear attack her.”
She then used her magic to create Moonrise as she was seen in the memory: a coat of pitch black, a mane and tail of brilliant phthalo blue with a grayish persian blue outline that flowed on an invisible wind, a Cutie Mark depicting a dazzling crescent moon with bloodstained points, blood red eyes, a horn as sharp as a spearhead, razor sharp fangs, and wings like that of a bat. She genuflected before Zelena.
“I understand that you answer to the name, Moonrise Dazzle,” Zelena said.
“Yes, I do,” the conjured alicorn answered. “And I’m aware that you summoned me from the depths of Tartarus.”
“Yes, I have,” the witch replied. “There is someone out there whom you know. I want you to go out there and make sure the rest of her friends don't come here.”
“Oh, I’ll gladly oblige,” Moonrise said. “Especially if Sunset Shimmer is involved.”
“But,” Zelena warned. “Should you fail, you will be sent back to oblivion.”
Back with the travelers, the sky turned black as the night.
“It’s getting late,” Twilight said. “I thought for sure we would have at least seen where Zelena is by now.”
“I thought it was the middle of the day,” Spike said.
Sunset checked her smartstone (a gemstone that functioned like a smartphone) and trembled as she saw that it was 12:15 pm. “It is,” she said.
“But, how could it be so dark?” Rarity asked. “Is there a solar eclipse?”
“Oh, Sunset~” echoed a voice that seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere at once. Sunset, Twilight, Spike, Fluttershy, Rainbow, Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie recognized the voice at once.
“No…” Sunset said. “I-it can’t be!”
“Oh, but, it is~” the voice said as a pair of blood red eyes pierced the darkness.
“Moonrise Dazzle,” Sunset said softly, trembling with fright as the vampire alicorn revealed herself to all present.
“That’s right,” Moonrise said. “I’ve been brought back from the pits of Tartarus.”
“That is the Moonrise Dazzle you told us of?!” Raw exclaimed.
Sunset steeled herself. “I’ve beaten you once,” she said. “I can do it again.”
“And we’re by your side, Sunset,” Twilight said with determination.
Moonrise just flashed her sharp fangs in an arrogant smile. “You have an invitation to try,” she said. “But, which one of me is real?” At that question, 39 more of her stepped out of the darkness.
“That’s going to be a problem,” Trixie said after a beat.
“Attack!” one Moonrise said.
Toto wriggled out of Dorothy’s hands and sniffed about. He sniffed and found the only organic Moonrise Dazzle. That Moonrise glared at him. “Get lost, you mangy mutt,” she said before kicking him aside.
“Toto!” Dorothy exclaimed. “Don’t you dare hurt him!”
The vampire alicorn seemed surprised for a second. She quickly shook her head with a small grin. “You’re no threat to me.”
Another Moonrise bore her fangs and jumped at Dorothy, attempting to bite her. The moment her fangs came in contact with the girl’s skin, however, Locasta’s kiss mark on Dorothy’s forehead shone like the sun, causing all the Moonrises to recoil, cringe, and hiss.
“Now’s our chance!” Starlight exclaimed.
The Guardians of Harmony channeled the power of their elements into Sunset, who rose above the ground and shone so bright, the darkness was dispelled and all the Moonrises dissolved into dust in the sunlight while screaming in agony. The Guardians of Harmony powered down and caught their breath.
“They’ve all turned to dust!” Dorothy said. “Just like the Wicked Witch of the East!”
“Since Moonrise was undead,” Sunset panted. “That’s to be expected. At least this time, my friends were able to directly help.”
“Is everyone alright?” Bartleby asked.
“A little exhausted,” Rainbow said. “But, we’ll live.”
The sky suddenly brightened up. Without Moonrise Dazzle’s presence, the midday sun shone brightly and warmly.
Zelena saw all of this from her castle.
“Impossible!” Zelena growled. “Now, I have to rely on them!”
There was, in her cupboard, a Golden Cap, with a circle of diamonds and rubies running round it. This Golden Cap had a charm. Whoever owned it could call three times upon the Winged Monkeys, who would obey any order they were given. But, no person could command these strange creatures more than three times. Twice already, Zelena had used the charm of the Cap. Once was when she had made the Winkies her slaves and set herself to rule over their country. The Winged Monkeys had helped her do this. The second time was when she had fought against the Great Oz himself and driven him out of the land of the West. The Winged Monkeys had also helped her in doing this. Only once more could she use this Golden Cap, for which reason she did not like to do so until all her other powers were exhausted. But, now that her fierce wolves and her wild crows and her stinging bees were gone and her slaves had been scared away by Raw, she saw there was only one way left to destroy Dorothy and her friends.
“I hoped I wouldn’t have to do this,” Zelena said as she put the cap on. Then, she stood upon her left foot and said slowly:
"Ep-pe, pep-pe, kak-ke!"
Next, she stood upon her right foot and said:
"Hil-lo, hol-lo, hel-lo!"
After this, she stood upon both feet and cried in a loud voice:
"Ziz-zy, zuz-zy, zik!"
Now, the charm began to work. The sky was darkened and a low rumbling sound was heard in the air. There was a rushing of many wings, a great chattering and laughing, and the sun came out of the dark sky to show the Wicked Witch surrounded by a crowd of monkeys, each with a pair of immense and powerful wings on their shoulders.
One, much bigger than the others, seemed to be their leader. He flew close to the witch and said, "You have called us for the third and last time. What do you command?"
“I command that you fetch the young girl you see out there,” she ordered. “Likewise of the lion, ponies, dragon, and phoenix.”
"Your commands shall be obeyed," said the leader. Then, with a great deal of chattering and noise, the Winged Monkeys flew away to the place where the travelers were walking.
Soon, the winged monkeys caught sight of the traveling group. Some seized Nick and carried him through the air until they were over a part of the country thickly covered with sharp rocks. Here they dropped the poor woodman, who fell a great distance to the rocks, where he lay so battered and dented that he could neither move nor groan.
“Nick!” Dorothy exclaimed.
Others of the Monkeys caught Bartleby and, with their long fingers, pulled all of the straw out of his clothes and head. They made his hat, boots, and clothes into a small bundle and threw it into the top branches of a tall tree.
“Bartleby!” Dorothy exclaimed.
The remaining monkeys threw pieces of stout rope around Raw and the Equestria residents and wound many coils about their bodies, heads, and legs, until they were unable to bite, scratch, or struggle in any way. Then, they lifted them up and flew away with him to Zelena's castle, where they were each placed in a small yard with a high iron fence around it, so that they could not escape. The fences of the Equestria residents were even topped with more iron bars.
“This is bad,” Trixie said, stating the obvious. “What do we do?”
Sunset experimentally tried casting a spell, but, nothing happened. “These bars are made of cold iron,” she said. “Our magic’s useless.”
“What a time to be without my hoof file,” Rarity said.
Meanwhile, Dorothy wasn’t harmed at all. She stood with Toto in her arms, watching the sad fate of her comrades and thinking it would soon be her turn. The leader of the Winged Monkeys flew up to her, his long, hairy arms stretched out and his ugly face grinning terribly, but, he saw the mark of Locasta's kiss upon her forehead and stopped short, motioning the others not to touch her.
“What is going to happen to me?” Dorothy quivered.
"We dare not harm this little girl," the monkey king said to the others. "For she is protected by the Power of Good and that is greater than the Power of Evil. All we can do is to carry her to the castle of the Wicked Witch and leave her there."
The monkeys chattered and followed their leader’s orders. Carefully and gently, they lifted Dorothy in their arms and carried her swiftly through the air until they came to the castle, where they set her down upon the front doorstep. Then, the leader said to Zelena:
"We have obeyed you as far as we were able. The tin woodman and the scarecrow are destroyed and the lion is tied up in your yard with the ponies, dragon, and phoenix. The little girl we dare not harm, nor the dog she carries in her arms. Your power over our band is now ended and you will never see us again."
Then, all the Winged Monkeys, with much laughing and chattering and noise, flew into the air and were soon out of sight.
Zelena was both surprised and worried when she saw the mark on Dorothy's forehead, for she knew well that neither the Winged Monkeys nor she, herself, dare hurt the girl in any way. “Locasta,” Zelena said. “I still remember when you overthrew Mombi.”
“What have the Winged Monkeys done with my friends?” Dorothy asked.
“The lion, ponies, dragon, and phoenix are still alive,” Zelena said. She looked down at Dorothy's feet and, seeing the Silver Shoes, began to tremble with fear, for she knew what a powerful charm belonged to them. “Those are my sister’s shoes.”
“They are frightfully comfortable,” Dorothy said. “And they are able to make a journey more than my old shoes did.”
At first, Zelena was tempted to run away from Dorothy, but, she happened to look into the child's eyes and saw how simple the soul behind them was and that the little girl did not know of the wonderful power the Silver Shoes gave her. So, the wicked witch laughed to herself and thought, I can still make her my slave, for she does not know how to use her power. Then, she said to Dorothy, harshly and severely:
"Come with me and see that you mind everything I tell you, for if you do not, I will make an end of you as I did of the tin woodman and the scarecrow."
Dorothy followed her through many of the beautiful rooms in her castle until they came to the kitchen, where Zelena bade her clean the pots and kettles and sweep the floor and keep the fire fed with wood. Dorothy, not wanting to be hurt, decided to follow Zelena’s orders. Dorothy went to work meekly with her mind made up to work as hard as she could, for she was glad the Wicked Witch had decided not to kill her.
With Dorothy hard at work, Zelena thought she would go into the courtyard and harness Raw like a horse. It would amuse her, she was sure, to make him draw her chariot whenever she wished to go to drive. But, as she opened the gate the lion gave a loud roar and bounded at her so fiercely that the witch was afraid and ran out and shut the gate again.
“You have nine actual ponies to choose from and you go with the lion?” Rainbow said. “That’s pretty stupid.”
“Rainbow,” Sunset said. “Would you rather be doing grueling back-breaking labor?”
“Your friend is right,” Zelena said. “And don’t think I’ve forgotten your crassness.”
“Like I said,” Rainbow said after a beat. “Why don’t you guys go and enjoy your ride together? Heh heh heh…”
"If I cannot harness you," said the witch to the lion, speaking through the bars of the gate. "I can starve you. You shall have nothing to eat until you do as I wish."
Raw did not like the idea of being harnessed, but, he disliked the idea of starving more.
“If it weren’t for these bars, I’d kick your ass!” Starlight said angrily.
“Yes, but, they’re here,” Zelena said. “Therefore, you’re not doing any such thing! In fact, all of you can suffer like the lion, too!” She walked off, laughing arrogantly.
“What can we do?” Fluttershy said.
“I think I have an idea,” Spike said.
“What’s the plan, Spike?” Twilight asked.
“All of our cages are on patches of earth, right?” Spike asked rhetorically.
Applejack considered this. She started to see where Spike was coming from. “Yer fixin’ ta dig us out through tunnels, ain’t ya?” Spike nodded.
“Go for it, Spike!” Pinkie said enthusiastically, before quieting herself and saying. “We believe in you.”
Spike went to work digging. As his cage was in the middle of all the others, Zelena was less likely to see what he was doing.
“Spike’s certainly a smart little guy,” Raw said.
“I’m not ordering you to speak!” Zelena snapped.
So, after that, she took no food to the imprisoned creatures, but, every day, she came to the gate at noon and asked, "Are you ready to be harnessed like a horse?"
And Raw would answer, "No. If you come in this yard, I will bite you."
The reason Raw and the Equestria residents did not have to do as Zelena wished was that every night, while the woman was asleep, Dorothy carried them food from the cupboard. After they had eaten, they would lie down on their beds of straw and Dorothy would lie beside Raw and put her head on his soft, shaggy mane, while they talked of their troubles and tried to plan some way to escape. But, they could find no way to get out of the castle, for it was constantly guarded by the yellow Winkies, who were the slaves of Zelena and too afraid of her not to do as she told them. The ones who could see Spike digging were too afraid of being beaten again to report this.
“Lucky for us, those Winkies are cowards,” Sunset said.
“Thank goodness,” Twilight whispered in response.
The girl had to work hard during the day and often Zelena threatened to beat her with the same old umbrella she always carried in her hand. But, in truth, she did not dare to strike Dorothy, because of the mark upon her forehead. The child did not know this and was full of fear for herself and Toto. Once, Zelena struck Toto a blow with her umbrella and the brave little dog flew at her and bit her leg in return. The witch did not bleed where she was bitten, for she was so wicked that the blood in her had dried up many years before.
Dorothy was surprised by the lack of bleeding and told the others of it that night. “It was most queersome.”
“It’s the same with Evanora,” Sunset explained. “Her blood dried up before we even got here.”
“I’ve been thinking,” Trixie said.
“What’s that?” Fluttershy asked.
“If their blood dried up so long ago,” Trixie said. “How is it they didn’t die before we got here?”
“They clearly used an Elixir of Life,” Sunset said.
“Oh~” Trixie said. “That makes sense.”
“Elixir of Life?” Dorothy asked.
“It’s a potion that makes its consumer immortal,” Sunset explained. “Drinking it can make you survive otherwise fatal situations. I’ve made quite a few batches of it myself.”
“I see,” Dorothy said. “But, doesn’t immortal mean they can’t die?”
“Yes,” Sunset said. “However, from my experience, the effects of the Elixir of Life are temporary, but, last long enough for the consumer to recover from otherwise fatal injuries. A perfected Elixir of Life has no time limit and would truly make the consumer impossible to kill. Since Evanora died, I don’t think she perfected it.”
“You don’t suppose Zelena perfected her Elixir of Life, do you?” Dorothy asked.
“I don’t think so,” Sunset said. “If she had, I doubt she’d go to such efforts to stop us from trying to kill her.”
“I suppose that’s true,” Dorothy admitted.
“Plus,” Rainbow said. “She retreated in fear when Raw tried to pounce her. I don’t think she’d do that if she perfected the Elixir of Life and was therefore immortal.”
“I wonder if Oz is aware of this fact,” Rarity thought. “He did say that since it was possible for Evanora to be destroyed, it would also be possible for Zelena to be destroyed.”
Dorothy's life became very sad as she grew to understand that it would be harder than ever to get back to Kansas and Aunt Em again. Sometimes, she would cry bitterly for hours with Toto sitting at her feet and looking into her face, whining dismally to show how sorry he was for his little mistress. Toto did not really care whether he was in Kansas or the Land of Oz so long as Dorothy was with him, but, he knew the little girl was unhappy and that made him unhappy, too. Her consolation was the company of the Equestria residents.
Now, Zelena had a great longing to have for her own the Silver Shoes which the girl always wore. Her bees, her crows, and her wolves were lying in heaps and drying up and she had used up all the power of the Golden Cap, but, if she could only get hold of the Silver Shoes, they would give her more power than all the other things she had lost. She watched Dorothy carefully to see if she ever took off her shoes, thinking she might steal them. But, the child was so proud of her pretty shoes that she never took them off except at night and when she took her bath. The Witch was too much afraid of the dark to dare go in Dorothy's room at night to take the shoes and her dread of water was greater than her fear of the dark, so, she never came near when Dorothy was bathing. Indeed, the old witch never touched water, nor ever let water touch her in any way.
“This little brat’s more clever than I thought,” Zelena said.
Unknown to her, Spike had managed to dig himself and the Equestria residents free.
“Whew,” Spike said softly.
“Don’t worry about me,” Raw said. “Go get Dorothy!”
Zelena was very cunning and she finally thought of a trick that would give her what she wanted. She placed a bar of iron in the middle of the kitchen floor and then, by her magic arts, made the iron invisible to human eyes so that when Dorothy walked across the floor, she stumbled over the bar, not being able to see it, and fell at full length. She was not much hurt, but, in her fall, one of the Silver Shoes came off and before she could reach it, the witch had snatched it away and put it on her own skinny foot. The Equestria residents arrived in time for this.
“This will work perfectly,” Zelena said to herself. The wicked woman was greatly pleased with the success of her trick, for as long as she had one of the shoes, she owned half the power of their charm and Dorothy could not use it against her, even had she known how to do so.
“I know what you did, Zelena,” Sunset said.
“So?” Zelena said.
“You placed a bar of iron on the floor and made it invisible so Dorothy couldn’t see it and trip over it,” Sunset said, making sure Dorothy heard.
The little girl, seeing she had lost one of her pretty shoes, grew angry and said to the witch, "Give me back my shoe!"
"I will not," retorted Zelena. "For it is now my shoe and not yours."
"You are a wicked creature!" cried Dorothy. "You have no right to take my shoe from me."
"I shall keep it, just the same," said Zelena, laughing at her. "And someday, I shall get the other one from you, too."
This made Dorothy so very angry that she picked up the bucket of water that stood near and dashed it over Zelena, wetting her from head to foot.
And the boot has dropped, Sunset said internally.
Instantly, the wicked woman gave a loud cry of fear and then, as Dorothy and the others looked at her in wonder, Zelena began to shrink and fall away.
"See what you have done!" Zelena screamed. "In a minute, I shall melt away."
"I'm very sorry, indeed," said Dorothy, who was truly frightened to see the witch actually melting away like brown sugar before her very eyes. The Equestria residents (minus Sunset and Phoebe) could only stare, slack jawed at what was happening.
"Didn't you know water would be the end of me?" asked Zelena in a wailing, despairing voice.
"Of course not," answered Dorothy. "How should I?"
"Well, in a few minutes, I shall be all melted and you will have the castle to yourself. I have been wicked in my day, but, I never thought a little girl like you would ever be able to melt me and end my wicked deeds. Look out--here I go!"
With these words, Zelena fell down in a brown, melted, shapeless mass and began to spread over the clean boards of the kitchen floor. Seeing that she had really melted away to nothing, Dorothy drew another bucket of water and threw it over the mess. She then swept it all out the door. It was at that point the shocked Equestria residents regained the use of their senses.
“Sunset,” Rainbow said. “Was that supposed to tell us it was THAT BUCKING EASY?!”
Sunset simply nodded.
“HOW THE BUCK DOES THAT MAKE ANY SENSE?!” Starlight shouted.
“It’s because Zelena had a very dry complexion and fire magic,” Sunset explained. “Plus, she was so old all of her blood dried up, remember?”
Starlight took a moment to consider this. “Yeah,” she said after a minute. “That checks out.”
“Same with Evanora,” Sunset said. “Both took an Elixir of Life to hold their bodies together. Evidently, not perfected. In her dried up state, when the water touched her skin, Zelena's old, withered body began to break down due to exposure to the H2O moisture, each cell soaking up the water like a sponge and pulling away from the rest of her body until there was nothing left to pull away from.”
“I can believe that, actually,” Spike said. “Of course, I’m a Fire Elemental, too, but, I’m too young and I haven’t had a potion like that.”
“It’s a horrible way to go,” Sunset said. “However horrible it was, it was a quick death nonetheless. Now, everyone in Oz can breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that her reign of terror is over for good. She’s in for an excruciating eternity.”
After picking out the silver shoe, which was all that was left of the old woman, Dorothy cleaned and dried it with a cloth and put it on her foot again. Then, being at last free to do as she chose, she ran out to the courtyard to tell Raw that the Wicked Witch of the West had come to an end and that they were no longer prisoners in a strange land.
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Love it
11748528
Thanks.
REALLY good work on the dialogue, characterizations, action and future chapter set-up. REALLY appreciated the Equestrians' reactions to the efforts the Witch went to stop the group (including using mind-controlled innocents who, unfortunately, needed to be put down AND summoning a version of Moonrise to help against the crew. And also Sunset calling Rainbow for accidentally mentioning technology that won't be available for several decades. Also appreciated the stuff about iron being used to capture the Equestrians as well as Spike digging under the cell to help the others escape. And, yes, even though it is common knowledge to US, the assorted reactions to water (actually a literal necessity for life when it comes to most people) being the Wicked Witch's chief weakness are also appreciated as well as Sunset's explanation why that was the case.
Anyway, really looking forward to more of this. Considering the Wicked Witch has already been defeated, I'm going to guess that we're just two chapters away from finishing the story - the general wrap-up for the story itself and then the epilogue after the Equestrians make it home.
11748546
There’s a little more. Also, cold iron specifically nullifies magic.
LUCI & MARA (In unison): Gruesome?! Understatement of the year!
LUCI (Looking green): Normally I'd be all for some bird, but this...
STORM:
Excellent job once again
Amazing!
The wicked witch has been beaten, and it’s getting closer to the end of the story and our heroes returning back home. Can’t wait to see how it all turns out
11748546
The book is 24 chapters long. In the book, after Dorothy defeats the Wicked Witch of the West, Oz can't help her get home, so they must head south to find Glinda. And Brandon's barely changed anything in this crossover, so...
11748564
BRANDON: The killing was in the book.
11748568
Thanks.
11748571
There’s a bit more.
11748572
Yeah.
11748574
MARA: Still gruesome. Hopefully I don't see that in my sleep tonight...
11748577
Ah, I see
11748582
Yep.
Pretty good, highlights being Rainbow Dash tempting fate with getting a shock in the flank as a result and the Moonrise battle.
So, does this indicate Moonrise will play an antagonistic role in season 4 (the fact Starlight and Trixie never encountered her personally indicates she was banished before they joined the Guardians in season 6), likely teaming up with Lord Tirek and Discord in the season 4 finale?
11750386
Moonrise was killed in a special that took place in season 4.