The Dangers of Stupidity

Chapter XI: Fluttershy`s Hall

"You ready, Fluttershy?" I asked her, stepping towards the door.

"I-I guess so. I`m just not sure if this is going to be a very good idea. There could be monsters in there."

"You do realize that if there are, I can get rid of them faster than you can say 'die'?"

"If you say so. But, could you please try not to kill them? If you don`t mind?"

"Sure." I said with a hint of sarcasm, smirking just a bit.

I stepped forward and opened the door, revealing a large almost throne room-like area with bright yellow flooring and walls painted with a butterfly motif.

"This is beautiful." She said, staring at the architecture with her jaw dropping.

A strange disembodied voice spoke from above us.

Greetings, young warrior. I hold for you a test of physical and mental fortitude. Defeat my monster, and I will grant you my prize. Do you accept?

"Bring it on!"

Good. Now, defeat my finest combatant. But I warn you, this battle will not be won by sheer force alone.

A wall of purple magic energy formed behind me, separating me and Fluttershy. The ground split and revealed a titanic monster that seemed to be a mechanical suit of armor with two weapons, one of them a club the size of a small tree and the other an equally sized sword.

"Holy fuckin` ass crackers! How the hell am I supposed to kill this thing!?"

You must find a way to defeat the Ultima Gemini, or you will die.

"Just fuh-reakin` great! I am officially screwed."

The monster slammed its club into the ground in front of me, sending out a large wave of electricity. I dodged the attack and tried to fly onto its back, but it knocked me away with a fluid motion of its club. The Ultima Gemini was deceptively fast.

Oh God, this hurts!

"Eat lightning!" I yelled, throwing Zeus` Thunder at the machine. It blocked the attack. Instead of my previous attack, I switched to something faster, throwing a flurry of lightning bolts at it. This time I hit home. The Ultima Gemini fell to its knees. I dove towards its neck and slashed with all my power, causing the metal monster to fall onto its back.

Yes! it`s working!

I flew as high into the air as the ceiling would allow me and fell back down, completely decapitating the beast. I heard a horrid grinding sound coming from behind me. Turning around, I saw the Ultima Gemini`s head reattaching to its body.

What the hell, man!?

"Damn you!" I shouted, flying around its body and slashing wildly. It kept trying to swing at me but was always denied by my Blades of Exile. Finally, I extended my blades to their full length (which was about thirty feet) and used a fully-powered Cyclone of Chaos to vertically bifurcate the Ultima Gemini, completely slicing its body in half from head to toe. It didn`t regenerate.

For about fifteen seconds.

"God-fucking-dammit! Why won`t you die!?"

It tried to attack me with its sword. From what I could tell, it was getting stronger and faster every time I killed it.

This might be a losing battle. Wait! A battle of physical and mental fortitude. I got it!

I stopped right in front of the Ultima Gemini.

"You will obey me, now!"

The iron beast looked at me quizzically for a moment before bowing to me.

Woohoo!

"I command you to leave!"

It turned around and walked away, breaking through the wall. The magic field dissipated.

"All right! It worked!" I exclaimed joyfully, pumping my fist into the air.

"How did you figure that out?" Fluttershy inquired. She looked genuinely curious.

"Well, when that voice said 'a battle of physical and mental fortitude', I realized that the only fortitude I had been using up until that point was physical, so I simply overpowered it with words instead of blades."

Excellent. You have defeated the Ultima Gemini. I now give you your prize.

A beam of light shone down on me and Fluttershy. In front of me was an orb of yellow energy, and in front of her was a bright yellow gem shaped like her cutie mark.

"I wonder what this is for..." We both wondered simultaneously. We looked at each other, then back to our prizes, picking them up and walking back towards the door. Before we left I noticed two things. First of all, the door was locked. Second, there was a strange glow emanating from the hole that the Ultima Gemini had made. I reversed my direction, the light growing brighter as I got closer. When it almost became too bright to bear, the light disappeared, revealing another gem identical to Fluttershy`s, but the same pink color as her mane.

"Interesting."

I ran back to her side. looking at her with a twinkle in my eye.

"Hand me that gem, please." She passed me the small quartz-like stone. I held the two gems up at the door. A beam of light shot from each one before converging on the door and unlocking it. As we continued through the door, the voice from before spoke again.

Place the orb against your blade.

I did so, and the orb of light was absorbed by my Blades of Exile, giving them a slight yellow tinge.

Now, place the pink gem within the door`s sigil.

When we exited the room I placed the pink butterfly stone in the symbol on the door, creating a bright pink outline of Fluttershy`s cutie mark where it was once black.