FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

We no longer had Spike, but we did have the trail Macidexia had left on her way to us - it was directly where Spike had been heading, so it was a good guess.

Along the way, we each held Terra and felt what it was like. Rarity felt she could just barely use the Life magic, and noticed that if she considered using it, she gained a special awareness of recently dead things - but a bird skeleton apparently wasn't even a candidate for resurrection. We guessed it was too long dead. Twilight Sparkle even checked to see if the more powerful life spell could have brought it back - and no, it couldn't. That it had limits calmed her somewhat, though she was still burned about wasting so much of her magical power. We also noticed that she, and she alone, continued to be aware of the spells while she was no longer holding the gem - though she couldn't cast them.

Whenever I wasn't holding Terra, I was partly focused on cheering up Cheerilee. She wasn't crying anymore - not where anyone else could see - but she still couldn't quite deal with what was going on. I didn't have words, but I stuck with her as best I could.

The sun, meandering about, did not help us with estimating the passage of time. Macidexia's tracks passed by the way to the blue valley, instead entering short but steep hills - essentially large rocks.

Our path went by a large flat boulder leaning against the hill-face. Twilight Sparkle climbed up to it, checked under, and returned, saying, "We should stop to rest. We're all fading, and if we're going to face Nightmare Moon, we need to be at full strength. Cheerilee, can you take watch?"

She nodded weakly, but Applejack said, "I can handle it."

Twilight Sparkle leaned towards her. "No. You rest too. I'd rather do without a watch than have any of us be this worn down."

I put in, "I can stay up with her. I just need a little nap, and your power doesn't rely on me..."

"Absolutely not. You're pivotal. If she trusts you, if you can get through to her, we can end this without a fight. If she doesn't, you'll be a major distraction. Either way, you can't be all worn out. Cheerilee..." She turned to the earth pony. "I know you had to leave Ponyville, and you don't want to be alone right now. But your being around is more likely to interfere than assist - particularly on tricking Nightmare Moon with Omar. So, can you hold watch for us, do this one important thing for us, and then run away? Or you can hide - behind those rocks, say - until we come back?"

Cheerilee swallowed. "I... can do that."

So we gathered around under the boulder large rock, and Cheerilee kept an eye out, and...

I was in the hospital where great grandma died, but it was now. She was there, and had her memory. The Life spell, and a great advance in anti-Alzheimers, and she was as good as new. At least, that's what the doctor said.

I knew there was something wrong about it, though. I crept around the corner. Great grandma was tied up like Cheerilee had been, snarling and snapping.

My dream strained under the inconsistency that I hadn't noticed that sound up to then, but before it broke, I was totally saturated with panic and dashed hopes.

A terrible pair of eyes flickered.

I was in New York's Battery Park, facing the harbor, and I knew there was about to be a tsunami. And I suspected my friends were here, in danger. I ran into Twilight Sparkle.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I can stop it."

She gathered magic, her eyes glowed like when she'd manifested the elements, then more, and more. It was like when Nightmare Moon had thrown her tantrum.

The wave approached. She gathered still more power, the glow from her brighter than the sun.

Then she exploded messily.

I was torn between the twin horrors of her death and my own impending doom. And her spinal fluid had gotten in my nose, blech.

A terrible pair of eyes flickered.

Cheerilee and I were making out heavily. She was saying something, but I couldn't understand it.

And then I understood: "No! Get off me!"

I was so confused that I froze. I remembered her vigorously consenting up to half a second ago, by her actions. But now I had, overlaid with that memory, memories of her kicking and screaming.

Thoughts of what would happen to me for having done this flashed alternating with thoughts of what Cheerilee would have to live with, and with a nagging insistent argument that this simply wasn't possible. This noticing the inconsistency shattered the dream, but it seriously took its time about it - and I was putting myself through hell.

I woke with a scream - and five others as well. We all looked to each other as we calmed down.

Cheerilee dashed around the rock. "What happened?"

"Bad dreams!" croaked Rarity. Her voice steadied as she turned to us, "Yours like mine, with those eyes between?"

Pinkie Pie giggled in her sleep, and Twilight Sparkle still appeared to be stunned, on the verge of tears - but the rest of us nodded. I was still having a hard time convincing myself that I hadn't in fact raped Cheerilee, so I couldn't meet her gaze. Anyone's gaze.

Twilight, finally recovered, said, "Outside of Pinkie it looks like Nightmare Moon is going to keep us from getting any more sleep until we've taken her down. Fabulous." She rubbed her forehead wearily. "How long were we out, Cheerilee?"- "About twenty minutes." - "Then we won't get anywhere this way. Let's just move and get it over with." She creakily got to her feet.

As Rarity gently woke Pinkie Pie, I forced myself to look to Cheerilee. Her expression was the proof I needed. Still, I couldn't move first. She came to me, took my hand in her hoof. A context-independent part of my mind thought this would be a wonderful time to begin thinking once more about the mechanism of opposable digits in Equestrian ponies. I managed to giggle at the absurdity of the timing of that curiosity, and sniffle at the same time.

"There you go. All better?"

I nodded. Getting there, anyway.

She went on, "Be careful. I..."

"... have high hopes? So do I."

She nodded. "Are you ready to go?"

"If you're ready to stay, alone."

She nodded, more anxiously this time. "I'll live. Go."

With a wave, we set off. When I looked back, she was already moving to a hiding place.

After several minutes, we came through a narrow pass, all strung out single file.

"Halt!" An unfamiliar woman's voice came from our side. It was high-registered, but hard and commanding. I looked up and after a few moments found a muscled blonde human woman in a white and green military uniform stepping out from behind a rock. She focused mainly on Twilight Sparkle.

Twilight Sparkle asked, "Who are you?"

"I am general Chere, of the Gestahl empire. You are surrounded, and your assassination attempt has failed." Glancing around, I could see brown-suited human soldiers rising from more hiding places among the rocks.

Twilight Sparkle ignored them, saying, "Assassination? We were tracking down a rogue demon princess named Nightmare Moon, whose aim is to plunge the world into eternal darkness. Whoever you are, you're best off with us keeping doing that."

The general raised an eyebrow. "Nightmare Moon? Hmm. Well, she is now our responsibility. To assist us in dealing with her, please cooperate with your interrogators. We may take you on as client state auxiliaries if your talents are necessary."

Rainbow Dash scoffed. "Client state?" To her friends, she said, "What do you think of some 'harmony'?"

The suggestion was met with immediate approval - the six began to power up the elements. There was a peculiar sensation of time as it did - I couldn't move away, even to give them a clearer shot. The general raised her sword in the air and focused on it.

The rainbow blast struck her, to no apparent effect - and the peculiar time-stretch sensation passed.

The general dusted herself off. "That certainly looked aggressive, so... Slimer!"

Before the elements could be brought to bear again - if that was indeed what they wanted to do, since it didn't seem to be working - a green ghostly figure swept across us, trailing green slime. My body softened and collapsed in on itself. I wobbled on my now round feet and looked down at myself - a smooth green sexless duckish humanoid with a ring of golden hair sticking out around my head.

"Imp imp IMP?" (What the FUCK?)

This thought was mirrored by the other six, except they all fell over from lack of experience with bipedality.