Moving On Part 3

Twilight panted heavily as she stopped at a fork in the path. She struggled to steady her breathing as she sat back on her haunches, ‘Did I really run all this way?’ the unicorn thought slightly pleased with her apparent athletic ability she had gained due to her determination.

*phew*

Twilight stared at the road for a time trying to recall which way it was, her mind was distracted and the directions seemed muddied in her pool of thoughts. ‘Now I think it was-’ The sound of something slithering behind Twilight froze her thoughts. Twilight knew this sound.... But from where? A low, angry cluck was heard. She knew what this was. She knew what it was and what it could do to her.

“COCKATRICE!” the mare yelled as she closed her eyes and ran, paying no heed to which path she chose, if any at all. Twilight ran as fast as she could, the adrenaline from her fear of becoming a statue for all eternity rushing away the feeling of exhaustion from her previously tired muscles. She listened intently for some sign that the monster was losing or gaining ground, or to see if she could hear it at all. All she heard was the sound of hooves pounding on a dirt path, with an occasional crack of dried flora stepped on along with the sound of her own heart pounding in her chest.

After Twilight felt she had created enough distance between herself and the sickening sound of the Cockatrice’s slither she slowed to a trot and opened her eyes, a bit stunned she had not collided with any trees. She found that she had apparently chosen a path and stayed roughly towards its center as she ran, the mare chuckled a bit embarrassed at herself as she realized she attempted no evasionary tactics as she ran. She ran hard and she ran in a straight line, only escaping due to her pursuer's mode of transport being much slower than that of a pony.

The unicorn looked skyward and saw the darkness of the EverFree forest’s mysterious abyss, empty of stars. ‘I escaped, but where am I now?’. As she stared into the darkness she found her answer, a light smoke could be seen rising higher and higher into the void from down the path, ‘Zecora’s!’ Twilight thought letting a relieved sigh escape her.

~~~~

Princess Celestia let an exhausted sigh out as she sat on her throne while what felt to have been the hundredth group of petition wielding ponies left her hall. ‘I love to help as best I can, but why must every single issue get drawn out into the most complex pattern possible before they bring it to me and demand change.’ she rubbed her tired eyes as she leaned back into the plush throne and sighed again. ‘Another party will be here in only minutes, no doubt.’ she grimly thought, her head beginning to pound at the idea. The goddess moved her hoof to her forehead as she tried her hardest to simply ‘focus’ the headache away.

Suddenly a ‘poof’ was heard and Celestia opened her eyes to another letter. “Twilight?” she unconsciously said as she opened the floating scroll.

Dear Princess Celestia,

It’s Spike, Twilight sent a note saying to tell you to search through Cloudsdale for Rainbow.

Your favorite dragon,

Spike

“Cloudsdale?” the goddess said. ‘Maybe Rainbow thinks Fluttershy is there.... I pray she isn’t.’, she thought, a frown adorning the immortal’s face.

“Guards?” the alicorn called as a small group of armoured pegasus entered. “I want two full search teams sent to Cloudsdale, now. I have reliable information that Rainbow Dash is there.” The small squad bowed and marched out of the hall. ‘I hope Twilight’s right.’

~~~~

Twilight approached the wooden door to Zecora’s hut and took a deep breath to make certain she was calm after her surprise along the way. The short walk to the hut had calmed her slightly, but with each ounce of adrenaline that left her bloodstream, the more her body began to ache and scream for her to just sit and relax her legs. Even with these ‘new’ aches she decided that being calm was more vital in the situation, she couldn’t hope to talk properly while shaking from her shock, and what if Fluttershy saw her shaking and stuttering with fear? With a final breath she knocked,  “Zecora! Are you home?” The door opened to show the striped zebra looking a bit surprised to have a visitor.

“Why hello Twilight my friend, how wonderful it is to see you again!” her voice was as cheery as usual and she smiled as she talked.

“But if I may, what brings you this way?” Zecora’s cheery disposition turned slightly to one of curiosity and confusion.

“Hello Zecora, I’m sorry to spring up on you but have you seen Fluttershy? She’s gone missing and I’ve been searching for her all day.” Twilight said with a small frown realizing she wasn’t completely certain how long that meant.

“I do not believe I saw her today, but why would I give such info away?” Zecora replied, her face began to grow serious as she eyed Twilight suspiciously. Twilight returned the look and continued, “Please Zecora, she really needs my help and- and I need to tell her something important...” Twilight blushed slightly but it went unnoticed against her lavender coat.

“You come with help and a message under claim, but how do I know this isn’t a game?

How could I know this is reliable, when the opposite seems equally viable?” Zecora raised an eyebrow and continued her stare.

Twilight was tiring of this game, and the striped one’s way with rhymes was beginning to sound like nails on a chalkboard to the still exhausted unicorn.

“Have you seen her or not!” Twilight nearly yelled, instantly regretting raising her voice. “I don’t mean to shout, I just need to know Fluttershy is safe...”

~~~~

Fluttershy stirred from her sleep and rubbed her still tired eyes with a hoof while trying to stretch her wings. She found this feat impossibly hard to do as she clearly hadn’t slept long enough and they were still sore from her night’s trek. The pegasus began looking around the room wondering where she was as she relaxed her wings with a wince of pain. It was cold and damp. And dark. Fluttershy felt herself begin to shiver as her eye’s adjusted. She was laying in a bed near a stairway, and the smell of herbs and spices was undeniable. She focused to see pots lining the wall nearby and recalled where she was-

~~~~

“The room might be a bit dank, luckily my cellar is built like a tank!

The doorway is hidden fairly well, and breaking in- hard as hell!” Zecora chuckled at her last rhyme as the latch under her rug was unlocked and they shuffled down the stairs.

“If you wish to go, the latch opens freely to those below.” Zecora smiled to the tired pegasus and motioned to the bed. Fluttershy smiled back to her friend and gratefully climbed in. She fell asleep before she could thank her hostess again.

~~~~

Fluttershy began to wonder what had awoken her when she began hearing muffled voices she couldn’t make out coming from upstairs.

~~~~

“You’re words are not fooling me Zecora, I know you know something about Fluttershy. Tell me.”

“I’m sorry my friend, but a promise I can not bend.

She is safe I will say, but her location I won’t give away.” Zecora frowned.

Twilight looked down at the ground as a tear rolled down her cheek. “I... I...” She wiped at her cheek and raised her head with a small smile, “Do you promise she’s safe?” she said quietly.

~~~~

Fluttershy gasped, ‘That sounds like Twilight, did she come to find me?’

~~~~

“That much I know, I’m more than certain so.” Zecora replied, glad to see Twilight’s response.

“Alright then,” The unicorn said defeated. “I still believe I know what’s best for her.” she said before quieting down “but if you say she’s safe, I’ll trust you.”

~~~~

Fluttershy laid back into her bed confused, the one thing she could clearly make out was the sentence “I know what’s best for her.” and she didn’t know what to make of it. ‘Does she mean that she wants to help me? O-or does she mean it as Rainbow does...’ Fluttershy frowned as her memories began to overtake her thoughts.

~~~~

“Why are you reading that smut Rarity gave you?” Rainbow Dash asked. “I like it, Rainbow, the romance is cute, and it passes the time.” Fluttershy said calmly as she turned the page in her new love story. The cyan pegasus frowned, “You think stories about some stallion coming in and lying his ass off to get into a mare’s bed is ‘cute’?” Fluttershy frowned now.

“I mean do you really think ponies act like that without a reason? Whether it’s for your possessions, your time, your well-being, or your body the only time somepony acts like ‘that’ is when they want something from you, and taking it would be ‘impolite’.” Rainbow continued as she took Fluttershy’s book into her hooves “A real friend is someone who doesn’t care about what you have to offer and simply looks out for you, like I do for you.” Rainbow leaned in and kissed Fluttershy, recklessly pushing her tongue into the yellow mare’s mouth.

As the kiss ended Rainbow finished her thought as she walked to the waste-bin, “Trust me babe, I know what’s best for you, and this isn’t it.” The book landed in the bin with a soft *thud* as the hardcover came in contact with the side of the plastic waste-bin. “Stuff like that will just get you walked all over and taken advantage of by the first pony to offer you help.” Rainbow smirked as her mind reeled with laughter at the joke she had unintentionally made at Fluttershy’s expense.

~~~~

Fluttershy looked back towards the stairway, hearing no more from upstairs. Her eyelids began to grow heavy as she felt her exhaustion overcoming her curiosity. She fell asleep making a mental note to ask Zecora what the conversation was about when she woke up.

~~~~

Twilight sighed as she looked to the sky of the early night. ‘I’m glad she’s safe but I really needed to talk to her, couldn’t Zecora have just trusted me enough to take me to her!’ she thought as she felt a wave of anger towards her zebra friend. ‘She has her reasons I suppose...’ with this thought the anger dissipated as her gaze fell back to the ground. Twilight raised her head once more to see where she was and found she was nearing the library. She began to put on a brave face so Spike didn’t suspect anything was the matter. As the unicorn approached the library she couldn’t help but smile as she saw Spike glaring at an injured, but in no way defenseless, bunny.

“Hey Spike, having trouble?” Twilight said giggling as she entered and assessed the baby dragon’s predicament. He was stuck sitting on the middle rungs of the ladder as Angel Bunny stood at the bottom waving a fork he held with his good arm.

“Oh, hey Twilight. Anyway you can calm this guy down? Ever since he gave me the letter he’s been glaring at me and throwing books at me whenever I turn around.” Spike said sticking his tongue out at the bunny, causing Angel to throw the fork at the dragon. “OUCH! Stop it!”

Twilight leaned down to the bunny and whispered in his ear, “Fluttershy is safe,” Angel gave a relieved smile, “Now would you mind cooperating a bit? I’ll get you some dinner if you’ll stop torturing Spike.” The bunny scratched his chin and nodded hobbling over to Spike’s bed and laying down. “Hey...” Spike moaned. “Oh relax Spike, it’s just for one night.”

“Oh, Twilight, a scroll came for you.” Spike said raising the scroll to the unicorn who picked it up with her magic and unfurled it.

~~~~

My Faithful Student,

I am so sorry to hear that Fluttershy has been abused by anypony, let alone a fellow element. I believe I can help you bring Rainbow Dash to justice if you are able to find Fluttershy and bring her to me.

I will send my guards out to search for, and apprehend Rainbow Dash, but to keep her we will need to have Fluttershy. In any case where the victim is still alive I am able to, under Equestrian Law, shortcut the process as long as the first-hoof victim can present themselves to me. I will use my magic to prevent them from fabricating information and they will be free to express their concerns and tell their story. At which point I am allowed to act as a jury of one. If Fluttershy can not be found or is found, and I’m truly sorry to say this, dead then we are forced to follow a conventional jury and judge. Sadly Fluttershy is the only pony to have real proof of what has occurred and only through her word. Such methods don’t work against the defendant  themselves as the magic forces them to speak the truth, not speak. While incriminating, they often sit silent and let others talk for them, which leads to wasted time and, more often then not, the pony getting off for free.

We would be lucky to tie anything to Rainbow Dash in such a case, murder would be suspected but likely impossible to prove.

If what you say is true, and Fluttershy has been abused by Rainbow Dash, then I can listen to her story and have Rainbow Dash imprisoned for what she has done.

As for your feelings, follow your heart Twilight, it will lead you the right way. I just hope you get the chance, given the circumstances.

Your Saddened Mentor,

Princess Celestia

~~~~

A tear fell from Twilight’s cheek onto the scroll as she leaned over it. Celestia had said to follow her heart, as she had half expected, if the letter had held any other topic then such a prediction would warrant a giggle from Twilight for having known her mentor so well. Tonight she felt no such small joy, with Celestia’s mention of death and how easily it seemed Rainbow could escape any conviction it was taking all she had for Twilight not to break out in heavy sobs in front of her assistant and animal guest. Twilight worried that Rainbow Dash might still find Fluttershy. ‘She could easily overpower Fluttershy and...and...’ Another tear rolled down her cheek as Twilight closed her eyes to the thought. ‘She could easily hide the evidence and get away from the punishment.’ ‘She could eas-’

“Twilight are you ok?” Spike interrupted her train of thought.

“Hmm... o-oh.. yeah I’m fine.” Twilight wiped her eyes quickly, “would you make us all some salad? Angel Bunny included of course.” she nodded to the bunny raising his head from Spike’s bed. She said it more as a command than as a question so Spike nodded and walked to the kitchen staring at Twilight along the way. He said nothing more than “Ok, Twilight...” much to the relief of the emotionally shaken mare.

~~~~

Fluttershy woke up to a gentle shake and a soft rhyming voice.

“Wake up young one, the day is almost done.

You shouldn’t sleep too long, besides you toss like some thing’s wrong...”

Fluttershy had indeed been having nightmares. She shook her body away from her hostess as the memories of the horrid dream filled her mind.

~~~~

Rainbow Dash walked past Fluttershy as the door was opened for her. She had a lighthearted smile on her face and was humming to herself as she approached the couch and sat down, folding her legs under her.

“Why you seem to be in a good mood Rainbow.” the yellow pegasus said a bit surprised, it had been a while since she had seen her marefriend completely at ease. “Well of course!” Rainbow said with a song in her voice as she reached her muzzle into her saddle bag.

‘Did she have that saddle bag when she entered?’

“You see, I was thinking about what you did last night,” Fluttershy’s eyes fell to the floor expecting some sort of punishment or yelling to occur. “and I figured I’d fix it myself so we could stay together. I’m happy because it’s all taken care of now!” She nearly yelled, still holding a song of excitement in her voice as she pulled her muzzle out of her bag with something in her mouth. She sat staring at the yellow pegasus who had yet to raise her head to see what was brought out.

Before Fluttershy could think any further on what her punishment was she smelled something dark, it was a smell that reminded her of death. Was it blood? It was stronger than that. It smelled almost earthy. It reminded her of decomposition, rotting, and death. As she raised her eyes from the rug they had fallen on during thought she began to think she could definitely smell blood along with it, but what was-

Rainbow Dash sat on the now stained couch with a huge smile on her face. In her teeth she held a bloody, hairy mass of varying shades of purple and red. As the timid pony’s mind collected what she was seeing she began to shake in terror as her eyes widened. The severed head of her dear friend was being held up by a mouthful of hair. Her throat had a rather sloppy tear to it as if she had been decapitated not by a blade but by sheer force as it was pulled from her body. Blood was still draining from her wounds and soaking into the couch. Her horn seemed to have been broken from her skull and it held on by a flap of skin that sickeningly sagged towards the deceased pony’s snout. As the horn hang near Twilight’s mouth, Fluttershy could see the sickening hole left from the horn’s forced removal. The sight made Fluttershy throw up on her rug.

Her heart ached and felt as if it were being clenched by rusted metal teeth.

~~~~

‘How could a dream come up with such images and smells...’ Fluttershy thought as she sniffed back tears.

Her mind began drift away from her hurtful dream as she recalled what she had heard earlier that day.

Fluttershy shivered and looked back to Zecora, “Thank you again for letting me stay Zecora. I wasn’t sure where I could turn...” Zecora smiled. “Zecora, what did Twilight want? I heard her say....” Fluttershy’s tone grew sad as she cut herself off.

“I didn’t think you were awake, Twilight came for you- to take.

She meant no harm and simply said, that you being unsafe she would dread.

She clearly wished to assist, and I sensed nothing amidst.”, the rhyming zebra said with an understanding smile on her face as she put a hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder.

“She wanted to help me?” Fluttershy asked partially stunned, her nightmares and thoughts before sleep still twisting together in her mind. She knew Zecora was a good judge of character and she felt her heart relax in her chest for a moment before it began to beat quickly for another reason ‘She cares! She cares!’ she thought happily, a smile growing on her face as the tears in her eyes began to flow anew.

“Zecora, would you please lead me back to town... I’m worried I might get lost again..” Fluttershy got quieter as the sentence finished but her companion understood her fears of the forest and simply nodded to her request.

“Thank you, I need to go talk with Twilight.” Fluttershy said with a determined look in her eyes, and a new hope in her heart. Next Chapter: Intermission Estimated time remaining: 39 Minutes