The Dragon, the Bunny, and the Pink Party Pony
Pinkie Pie trotted in the direction of Twilight's room, but that was just for show. She didn't want her friends to know where she was going, because then they'd try to dissuade her. The pink pony looked around when she reached the end of the hallway before jumping out the window.
She hadn't really understood what was wrong with Twilight, but knew that it could be fatal. The unicorn was one of Pinkie's best friends, and it really made her sad to think about never seeing her again. And, even more depressing, was the thought of how Fluttershy would feel. Those two had looked really cute together, though Pinkie hadn't known for very long.
Pinkie's main purpose in life was to make other ponies happy, and to make them smile. She had to make sure that she could keep that up, even though everypony was falling apart on the inside. At the very least, Pinkie had to keep herself together, and knew she had to pick up the pieces of her friends.
And she was going to start with Spike.
The dragon was still somewhere in Canterlot, Pinkie was sure, but he didn't know about Twilight's condition. Even though everypony didn't want him to know, the pink mare knew what it felt like to be left out of the loop because ponies thought she couldn't handle the truth. She didn't want Spike to feel that way.
Though she'd been really sad about what happened to Twilight, and blamed herself for it, she knew everypony would feel a lot worse had she been crying, too. If she were the same pony from years ago, before she met Twilight and the rest of their friends, she would have given in to that primal instinct to cry over it. But now that she had real friends that needed her to be strong, well... She couldn't let them down.
Pinkie Pie looked around once she landed on the ground. She wasn't sure where she would find Spike, but decided to check the castle first. As she got closer to Canterlot's proudest establishment, she saw Rainbow Dash flying away from Princess Celestia, only to turn around and enter through the castle's backside.
Initially, Pinkie was a little confused, but she shook her head and approached the main gate. Two guards that'd just returned to their posts were quick to stop her. They were a little flustered, for some reason.
"Halt! Who goes there?"
Pinkie smiled her friendliest smile. "I'm Pinkie Pie, one of the Elements of Harmony! Namely, the Element of Laughter. Anyway, is Spike here? Twilight Sparkle's dragon helper?"
At first, the pegasus guard was hesitant, but Princess Celestia had (finally) told them which ponies could enter the castle without question. And, as a matter of fact, that included the ponies who'd saved Equestria numerous times, the Elements of Harmony. The two pegasi slowly withdrew, opening the gate for her. The second one spoke firmly.
"You may enter, but do not disturb Her Highness, Princess Celestia. She wishes to be alone. Do you accept these terms?" Pinkie Pie nodded exuberantly, and was about to enter, but was stopped by the other guard.
"Wait! You must sign in, and wear this badge to show that you have done so. Also, the dragon you seek is in his chamber, second floor, first door on the right." Pinkie Pie wrote her name and the time in her barely legible hoofwriting, and pinned the badge onto her chest proudly.
"Okay, thank you!" At last, Pinkie Pie bounced through the gates and into the castle. She pushed thoughts of Dashie's random appearance to the back of her mind, opting to get to Spike's room as quickly as possible without running into her. Even though the pegasus was a great friend, she couldn't have her finding out what she was there for.
It didn't take long to reach the dragon's room. Pinkie knocked three times, then waited. When there was no response, she knocked another three times. Just as she was about to do it again, the door finally opened. A slightly annoyed Spike peered up at her, but his expression turned into one of surprise.
"Pinkie Pie? What are you doing here?"
Pinkie smiled, though it wasn't as happy as she'd wanted it to be. "Can I come in, Spike?" A little confused, the assistant stepped aside. The party mare walked inside as Spike closed the door behind her.
"What's going on, Pinkie? I thought Rarity was the only one here in Canterlot on business, or something..." He stared into Pinkie's cerulean eyes curiously, his eyes flitting toward her badge briefly. Pinkie's resolve faltered slightly, but she was determined to tell him. He needed to know.
"Spikey... It's about Twilight..."
Nopony had noticed Angel's sudden disappearance. The white rabbit had sympathized with Twilight, because he too had been ruthlessly attacked by the Sphinx. Initially, when his owner's mate had taken all the attention away from him and forced him to take his medicine, he'd hated her with a passion, along with that weird lion thing in the forest.
Speaking of which, that animal had been the weirdest thing Angel had ever seen. The only reason he knew the unicorn had been attacked by it was because of the scar she had directly over her eye. Even if the pony creatures thought differently, Angel knew for a fact the mare had been clawed at by the Sphinx. His own experience with that thing was probably the worst out of all the animals. For one, the monster had chased him throughout the entire forest, and when it did catch him, it broke his leg. Then, without mercy, it continued to twist it.
However, a pony, or rather, a zebra, had saved him. She distracted it with something, and Angel was able to pull himself away, and back to the cottage. He was hurting beyond belief, but he managed to get away. But even so, he passed out the second he made it into his home.
Angel shuddered at the memory, clutching his leg. He was a lot smarter than most animals. The rabbit hopped away from the hospital, hearing the anguished cries of both his owner, and her friends. Angel didn't care for the rest of them, but he did feel remorse for Fluttershy and the unicorn.
He knew he didn't have much time before somepony did notice his absence, but now, he needed to fix this. Fluttershy had always needed him to help her with all her problems, and in turn, she cared for him. She was the only pony he would ever even consider depending on in that way.
Angel blended into the crowds of the common ponies, making his way to the train station. He knew exactly where he wanted to go.
What surprised him, though, was the sight of the pink pony and the dragon, both of which were friends of his owner. They were both boarding the train to Ponyville. In confusion as to what they were planning, he quickly jumped onto the train after them. The dragon didn't look very good, but did have a determined glint in his eyes. When the train began moving, the bunny made his presence known.
"Angel Bunny?" Spike questioned in surprise, "What are you doing here?"
Pinkie Pie soon looked over, joining the conversation. "Woah! It's Fluttershy's baby rabbit!"
Angel rolled his eyes at the two clowns. He then pointed at them, and attempted to make a question mark out of his body, using his fluffy tail for the dot at the bottom. It was... an interesting sight.
"Um... Are you asking who we are?" Spike scratched his cheek. Angel face-palmed. He pointed at the pink pony, then the dragon, and then the floorboard of the train.
"Why are we on the train?" Pinkie provided, to which the bunny nodded rapidly at. "I love these games!" She smiled, before getting serious again. Well, what could be considered serious for Pinkie Pie. "We're going to go find the zebra we know might have a way to save Twilight. Zecora's always found a way in the past, and we know she'll have a solution for this!"
Angel took a moment to consider his options. One, he could lose these two and try to get to the zebra himself. Two, he could ban together with them and, with the help of their native speaking, could get the oddly-striped pony to understand their problem. And three... was to get away while he still could. He didn't even consider that train of thought. After thinking over the pros and cons, it seemed choice number two was the best of the three.
So, the rabbit thrust out his paw toward the two, averting his gaze. He still had his pride. Both Pinkie and Spike understood (for once) what he was trying to say, and Spike went ahead and shook his paw. They had a mutual understanding--to help save the unicorn by any means possible.
The train ride to Ponyville didn't take long, and the oddly matched trio made their way off it.
"So..." The dragon began shakily, wringing his claws thoroughly. Angel watched him curiously, though he was addressing the pink pony. "Pinkie... Could you tell me a little more about what's wrong with Twilight? We'll... We'll finish this up fast, right? I want to see her..."
They began their walk toward the other side of town where the forest began. "We are in a hurry, so it won't take too long!" The earth mare said, telling it to him straight, "And about Twi... She saved everypony from a Sphinx in the Everfree Forest, but she had to use a lot of magic. Then she had some kinda magic-related illness that could end up... making her leave. But that won't happen, because we'll find a way to get rid of it!"
Her trot became a lot more bouncier, and both Angel and Spike had to rush to keep up. The bunny just hoped he wouldn't twist his ankle in the process.
Eventually, they were standing in front of the Everfree Forest. All three of them gulped in sync, each having a bad experience in there. Though Spike hadn't met the Sphinx, he did run into the forest long ago after feeling threatened by Twilight's pet owl.
"Are we gonna run into the Sphinx thing, by any chance?" Anxiety was obvious in the dragon's voice. Angel rolled his eyes at the baby's cowardice, and already began walking into the wood. He wasn't afraid of it, and he wasn't afraid to prove it!
"Angel Bunny's right! We gotta get going, Spike." Pinkie answered, trotting after him. The dragon was then racing to keep up. Even though it was light outside, it was almost completely dark inside the forest. They instinctively stayed close as they wove their way through the trees. Pinkie was the only one who had explicit knowledge of where the zebra's home was, but Angel didn't trust the random ball of energy much. He'd never put his life in her hooves.
Luckily, they didn't come across any creatures or anything scary in general. And, also luckily, the pink pony was able to lead them to Zecora's hut. That was a relief.
But would that luck last?
Pinkie Pie raised her hoof and knocked three times as Spike glanced left and right, shivering. Angel could've sworn he'd never seen another pony dragon THING so cowardly in all his life.
At long last, Angel's former savior appeared from the door. Her hesitancy and tenacity was obvious.
"Pinkie Pie? I do not need you here to fill my head with lies." The zebra was closing the door in their faces, but Pinkie stopped it quickly.
"What? I didn't tell you a lie, nohow!" She exclaimed. Zecora let her own hoof fall back down to the ground, though her lips were still drawn into a thin line.
"You told me about the wonders of pranking. I tried it, but it left Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy aching." Pinkie giggled, despite everything that'd happened up to this point.
"Really? Haha, that sounds funny... Did you--"Angel stomped his foot into the ground in both impatience and disapproval, effectively getting Pinkie to shut up. The zebra's gaze was now lowered onto the rabbit, who nodded in acknowledgement of her deed.
"Why, if it isn't you! It seems your leg is brand new." Angel only stared.
"Ahem, anyway, we really need to talk to you, Zecora." Spike said, getting the subject back to where it needed to be. Zecora's eyebrow raised instinctively, but she opened her door wider.
"Come in, and then you may begin."
The three shuffled in, and Zecora watched them curiously. Pinkie decided to speak.
"We really really really need your help, Zecora! There's a Sphinx in the forest, and we had to stop him. But he was like, really strong, and Twilight had to use her magic, but then she passed out, and she's got something called the Magic Rebound Effect, and it could be fatal... We were hoping that you could help us out somehow."
Three sets of pleading eyes were now trained on the zebra. Zecora's mouth had dropped. She attempted to regain her bearings and hide her surprise.
"The Magic Rebound Effect? This is much worse than I feared..." She didn't even rhyme.
That was a bad sign.
"What do you know?" Spike questioned. The three leaned in to hear correctly. Zecora only shook her head.
"There is no hope. All you can do now is try to cope."
Pinkie's brow furrowed as she pushed herself into the zebra's face. She looked desperate. "Zecora! You know something--I know you do! Please, there's a way! I know it!" The pink mare stared into the other one's eyes. Zecora hesitated.
"There is a treasure in Equestria known only by the name given by its owner: the Crystal Antidote. It is said to be able to cure any illness and provide happiness forever more." It sounded too good to be true.
"But...?" Spike continued, sure that there was more to the story. Angel knew it, too.
"But that is the treasure the Sphinx is guarding with its life."
The realization crushed their spirits. There was something Spike didn't understand, though.
"What kind of pony would ever give something like that up? Surely somepony has tried to get it by now!" Zecora had the faintest hint of a smile at his cleverness, but her eyes held sadness.
"Yes, dragon, it is true. The original owner of the Crystal Antidote was a tyrant known as King Sombra, who knew of his fate. He sent his last loyal servant, the ever clever Sphinx, to guard it until he escaped his prison in the arctic. The Sphinx is loyal to the core, and has waited patiently for the day his master will return... Nopony knows of this tale, because nopony has lived to tell it."
"But you--"Spike began, but Zecora kept speaking through him.
"I've only recently learned of this. The Sphinx has been growing restless, perhaps sensing the rise of his master. It leads to his recklessness in harming the simplest of creatures, but the matter cannot be dismissed."
Angel didn't really understand all the chitter-chatter, but he could read their tones and expressions, as well as the simpler words. Pinkie Pie didn't really seem to get the big picture, either.
"Wait... Is it still possible to save Twilight with this antidote-thingy?"
Zecora nodded slowly.
"Then we have to do it!"
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Nice chapter. I really like how there are different schemes in place to save Twilight. I'm hoping the adventure for the antidote will be able to save Twilight, but that pesky tragedy tag has me worried.
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Thank you!
I appreciate all the feedback you've been giving me! As for the tragedy tag, well... It got replaced, but I know exactly how I'm going to end this. Despite the tag switcheroo, the original ending hasn't exactly been altered. (No spoilers!)
I figured everypony would want to try to save Twilight, especially Rainbow. Of course, they'd all have their own ideas for saving her, while others would be too overcome with grief.
Anyway, thanks for reading!
Another nice update! Yay, a way to save Twilight but it's dangerous!
Looking forward for more!
King Sombra's pet huh? ...I approve :3
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That's my favorite part of this story. Each pony wants to save Twilight and enact their own plan to do so. The strength of their friendships is so strong that it gives them the strength to face grave dangers to save the day.
I just started Reading this Story and couldnt stop... now im craving more..... MORE
.... I mean if you dont mind please