The Monument to All Your Sins.

Celestia opened her eyes slowly, through the window of her room she could appreciate the beautiful starry sky of the early morning, the princess of the sun could not help but smile as she settled into the fluffy sheets of her big bed, she felt full, not only because of the passionate night she had just had but also because of the fact that, before long, all the stress and worry she had suffered the last few months would soon be over, she just had to be patient and she was sure that, before she knew it, she would have that desperate unicorn's head and Twilight back.

All these pleasant thoughts were suddenly interrupted when she felt something moving on the other side of her bed, she knew what it was instantly and couldn't help but frown.

Celestia then stood up abruptly, pushing the sheets aside and waking the peacefully sleeping pony.

“Ah...uh..what?”

“I thought I told you I wanted you to get out of here, as soon as you were done...” said Celestia with a slight tone of annoyance in her voice as she walked over to her dressing table and began to fix her tousled mane.

The big stallion with white fur and electric blue hair, noticing the serious tone of his princess was quite taken aback, it was nothing like the carefree and seductive tone of voice with which Celestia had convinced him to accompany her to her chambers, neither did it resemble the violent moans and breathless whinnies his princess had been making as he rode her hard, the confusion did not allow him to work out a coherent response.

“Oh emm yes, I remember your highness, but...well I thought maybe...” his stammering was abruptly interrupted.

“Take your fucking armor and get the fuck out of my room” This time the annoyed tone was perfectly discernible accompanied with a touch of demand and sternness.

Somewhat intimidated the stallion stood up as quickly as he could clumsily grabbing his armor from the floor and hurrying out into the hallway.

Celestia recovered her smile when silence reigned again in the room, in other times she wouldn't have even thought of getting involved with such an inferior specimen as that guard, but, since Bek had shown his face before her, she had found herself wrapped in endless emotions and feelings that she thought she would never feel again in her life.
She had realized how much she had been repressing herself during the last centuries, how much of herself she had hidden behind her kind and solemn facade, she decided that, at least while she resolved this crisis, she would give herself the luxury of at least attending to her most basic needs.

The white alicorn walked to her private bathroom, shining her horn to turn on the lights and start filling the bathtub with hot water while humming the same song as always, Celestia still remembered where that melody came from, it was the one her mother used to sing to her on the nights she had trouble falling asleep, she had long forgotten the lyrics, but the tune remained engraved in her mind.
Once the bathtub was ready Celestia slipped into it, leaning back and letting the water cover her, the bath gradually filled with steam as the princess relaxed closing her eyes, she thought about how many things she had stopped doing since she changed her title and made a list of which were more and which were less possible to accomplish.

Obviously sex was at the top of the list, the recurring tingling in her crotch had become almost unbearable since everything started to get out of control, Celestia herself was surprised to realize that, she was a mare who had spent over fourteen hundred years without carnal companionship other than her own, second on her list was torture, a pastime she had become very fond of at the time, something more difficult to achieve considering the way things were going, but she was sure that sooner or later she would have the opportunity to take it up again, the alicorn bit her lower lip at the thought of that, and finally at the end of the list was something that she knew would not be possible, not for a while at least, in fact the longing for this again, was what had been bothering her the most, she wished with all her strength to see her face reflected in the mirror, not her mask of kind eyes and rainbow hair, but her true face, the one she had almost forgotten.

Celestia couldn't help but let out a melancholic sigh at the fleeting memory, caressing her face with her hooves, at that moment she realized that it was getting late to raise the sun, she quickly shone her horn, bringing her soaps and sponges closer so she could clean herself properly, she made sure to clean her belly area very well as she didn't want any trace of the stallion fluids on her fur, she couldn't help but let out a giggle at the memory of how the guard, while lost in the passion of their encounter, had begged her to cum inside her, “Poor idiot” thought Celestia, as needy as she was, and even though she knew there was no risk, she would never in a million years let herself be defiled in such a degrading way ‘Semen in the vagina is for whores and brood mares’ she thought to herself as she finished washing and levitated a towel to start drying herself.

Leaving the bathroom she quickly went back to her dressing table, seeing that on it rested both her crown and her necklace, Celestia looked at them deeply, those things had been the chains she had forced herself to wear in order to guarantee that her plan would be carried out and yet, right now she had mixed feelings, just the thought of having to wear them one more day made her feel disgusted with herself.
Finally she decided no, she wasn't satisfied with that option, maybe it was time to make a change, she turned around determined and headed for her huge closet.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Luna was, once again, on the balcony of her room, once again watching over the night of Equestria and its inhabitants.
It wouldn't be long before her work would be over and her older sister would raise the sun as she did every day, starting a day like any other, except that this was not the case, deep inside she knew that this was one more day in which Equestria was heading in free fall towards disaster.

She could tell perfectly during dinner with Celestia, the way she came on to that guard so lewdly, it was disgusting to watch, and even worse was being able to hear her sister's excited whinnies echoing throughout the castle all night long that, on the other hoove, was obscene.
She knew that her sister was losing control, not only of the delicate situation they were in with Bek, but of herself, it was only a matter of time before she lost the reins completely and started doing crazy things, even more than she had done so far.

Luna, on the other hoove, remained cool, trying to find a way to help Twilight and her friends with the enormous task that now weighed on her shoulders, she was already drawing a precise plan to provide support and keep a low profile for Celestia, she still had to test the ground a little more, but she was sure that she already had clear ways to help Twilight, she only had to make contact with her and she knew perfectly well how to do it.

At that moment the guttural, strange voice came to the back of her mind once again.

“You're being too far fetched...” the voice spoke in a mocking, mock tired tone.

“I'm being cautious,” Luna replied irritably.

“You shouldn't have to be...!” the voice exclaimed ”Let's just go and punch your sister's snout shut!”

“You know as well as I do that if we do that we'll end up dead...”

“Just the way you are now of course you will, just look at you, it will sound ironic, but you are a shadow of what you used to be, you can't even make a simple shadow dance anymore...”

“And let me guess do you have the solution for that growing weakness?” said Luna sarcastically.

“If only you would come back up here and join me again we wouldn't have to fear that bitch anymore...”

“The answer is still no!” exclaimed Luna with annoyance ”Besides she's not a bitch, she's our sister.”

“She's a sick sadistic whore, you know that as well as I do, her being in charge is a recipe for disaster...”

“Well, you and I are no different...” interrupted Luna ”If I come back to you I won't be any different from her...”

The voice laughed uproariously, with great guffaws that echoed in Luna's mind, causing her to get a slight headache.

“Hay honey, are you seriously still lying to yourself with that? You know perfectly well that has nothing to do with it, me, I'm just a figment of your imagination, a dream you had for so long that it became real, I'm not your selfishness or your envy or your lust and, much more importantly, I'm not your evil...”

Luna fell silent at this, she didn't know what to reply, she knew she was right, at her silence, the voice simply continued, this time with a kinder tone.

“All the aspects you fear about yourself are still in you, I am just a representation of your refusal to accept that fact...”

Luna let out a sigh as she closed her eyes, she could feel the voice fade and drift away, leaving her mind silent again.

At that moment the alicorn noticed a slight light hitting her face, she opened her eyes and found the night sky slightly illuminated, the sun was slowly beginning to rise on the horizon.

She knew that this was her cue to end her sleepless night, and, although at any other time she would be delighted by this fact, as it meant she could finally go to bed, she knew she had a pending appointment in the throne room, Celestia had summoned her and the pillars first thing in the morning to discuss the precarious situation in which the kingdom found itself.

This did not please her at all as it meant that her sister was already picking her chips, something that put even more on the table the idea that the calm before the storm would not extend much longer.

Luna then went back inside her room, she had to get ready, she flashed her horn by turning on the faucet above her large sink allowing it to fill quickly, levitating her crown and placing it to the side right with a necklace.
Levitating a small soap and dipping it into the water to lather, luna with her front hooves began to wash her face and neck in an attempt to look neat enough for the meeting and also in an attempt to wash away what little sleep she carried with her.

Her mind began to wander as she immersed herself in her labor, and as always, since she started this whole conflict, her ramblings led her mind to a single thought, Bek.
Images of the emaciated unicorn's face invaded her thoughts, her muscular body, her unkempt mane, her green eyes, Luna thought of the deep sadness and anger she had seen reflected in those beautiful eyes and remembered the first time she had seen them.

She remembered the fearless and devoted soldier she met by chance, with a look so full of courage and life, and she remembered, to her horrible thinking, how, at that moment, all she could think of when she saw her was that she wanted to break her until all she could see in her gaze was agony and sadness.
Luna was ashamed of herself every time she recalled that moment, she knew she was a hypocrite for thinking her sister was going too far, she had no right to judge her, she had been just as bad or even worse, there was no more forgiveness for her than there was for Celestia, she knew that, and she was willing to accept it with her head held high, but first, she would do everything she could to keep this kingdom from falling back into chaos.

Once she finished washing, she dried her face with a small towel, put on her royal ornaments again and left her room, while she tried to calm and serenity her mind.
The sun was already over the horizon when Luna entered the throne room and, to her surprise, the seven pillars were already there, all talking among themselves without noticing the arrival of the princess of the night.

“So does anyone know why we were called so urgently?” asked Rockhoof scratching his head.

“I don't know, but it seems to be something very serious...” began Mistmare ”At least it must be if she had us all come on such short notice.”

“With everything that's been going on lately I wouldn't be surprised, the princesses have been greatly outclassed” exclaimed Flash Magnus firmly.

“But, we have not received news about the situation at any time, if this has worsened I think we should have heard about it before” said Somnambula looking more intrigued than worried.

“Maybe the princesses didn't want to worry us, but now that everything has worsened they felt the need to ask for our help, more so now that the elements of harmony are gone” said exalted Mage Meadowbrook.

“Actually Mage has a point...” started little Stygar ”If Twilight and all her friends are gone, it is likely that Celestia would want help to replace them as protectors of Equestria, but, even so, if their whereabouts are not known, the situation is likely to be much more dire than we could imagine.”

“Please my friends calm down “Star Swirl began in a calm voice ”Please think about it for a second, we are talking about the princesses Celestia and Luna, they have faced multiple difficulties since even before we did not unite as the pillars, there is no situation or problem that they cannot solve and, in the case that this one is too much even for them, we should be here to offer our advice and support, it is our job, even retired and somewhat old we are the guardians of this land.”

Luna watched as Stars Swirl gave a pleasant smile to her old friends, calming their doubts and making everyone relax, talking about more banal things.

The alicorn couldn't help but feel a tightening in her stomach at the innocent optimism of Stars Swirl and her companions, she gritted her teeth before a fleeting thought of warning them, quickly dismissing such an unguarded action, instead she simply cleared her throat, announcing her arrival.

They all turned to see Luna slowly approaching as she gave them a forced smile.

“Oh Princess Luna, how nice to see you again!” exclaimed Stars Swirl.

“Likewise old friend, I apologize to you all for such an abrupt call.”

“No need to apologize princess, you know that if they need our help there is nothing to stop us from doing our duty” said Fash Magnus putting his foot down.

“Although, on the other hand, if we would like to know the reason for this meeting princess could you tell us why you and Celestia require our help?” said Mage Meadowbrook.

“Oh uh well...I, uh, this, I think...” Luna couldn't help but get nervous at the question, Celestia hadn't told her what to say “I mean, I think maybe we should wait for my sister to arrive, it seems to me that she could give you a better explanation of what I could do...”

Just then the great doors of the hall swung wide open, it was so abrupt that everyone was startled, turning around in exultation and gaping open-mouthed at the sight.

Before them stood Celestia, stunning as always, yet her presence was coupled with a sense of shock.
The white-furred alicorn wore a beautiful long bright red dress, it became darker the further down the fabric went, ending in a long tail of a dark crimson hue, it was adorned with golden details in conjunction with a pair of bracelets that adorned both front hooves.
The mane was tied in a long braid that hung and swayed hypnotically, finally the tail was tied in an elaborate bun that contrasted with the red of the dress.

Even Luna found herself surprised by her sister's appearance, not for nothing if not for the fact that her sister had always wanted to project a modest and humble image within reason to her subjects, this was a total contradiction to that idea.

“Princess Celestia...” began Stars Swirl.

“Be ve....” said Somnambula.

“Amasing!” Mistmare exclaimed.

Celestia waited a deliberate moment before responding.

“Thank you all so much, sorry if it's too ostentatious but, this morning I felt like trying something different.”

Celestia walked the length of the room in silence until she reached her throne, gesturing for Luna to do the same, meanwhile the others present found themselves extremely puzzled since, if the emergency were so serious, they didn't understand how Celestia had time to get all dolled up like that,not to mention that she looked extremely calm.
Finally both sisters were on their thrones, the pillars approached until they were right in front of each other, expectant of what was to come next.

Celestia took her time, sitting there in silence for several minutes, not only to perfectly order what she wanted to say, but also enjoying everyone's dumbfounded stares at her.

“Well, no doubt you are all wondering why such an unconventional meeting, from the urgency of my letters you must believe that this is an emergency, and you are not wrong...” Celestia said those words settling in everyone's ears, noticing how their faces went to a latent concern “Just now Equestria is going through what could be its most terrible crisis since the defeat of the Wendigos all those years ago, and it is all due to a simple pony, one that you will surely remember from coronation day, ill-intentioned and very evil who has managed to poison the hearts of our most faithful heroines...”

“Princess...” began Stars Swirl ”You're not referring to...?”

“I'm afraid so Stars Swirl, I still don't know how why but, this pony seems to have somehow convinced the very princess of friendship Twilight Sparkle and the rest of the harmony elements to reveal themselves in my hire and against all of Equestria...”

“But why would they do such a thing princess?” asked Rockhoof.

“Even I don't know the reasons for her actions, at first I thought it was just a pony suffering from her mental faculties, but now, and with everything that has happened, I have no doubt that we are facing an elaborate conspiracy plan...”

“But how is it possible that Twilight and her friends were convinced to do something so horrible? They would never do such a thing!” asked Meadowbrook in exasperation.

“I agree Meadowbrook...” replied Celestia ”Neither Twilight nor her friends in their right mind would agree to listen to let alone support the terrible ideas of a pony like that, so, I'm afraid, we are left with only one possible option...” Celestia feigns heaviness and sadness in her voice.

“Princess you're not suggesting...” said Stars Swirl worriedly.

“I fear so my friend, I believe they may be under the influence of a powerful control spell, it clouds their minds and makes them susceptible to manipulation, this only makes it clear that our enemy is more powerful than he let on at first glance and poses a much greater threat than I thought.”

“Tell us how we can help princess, please, we must save Twilight and her friends!” Somnambula was now hysterical, the idea that the defenders of modern Equestria had been corrupted until endless horrible scenarios came to her mind, each one more evil than the last.

“So we shall!” Flash Magnus exclaimed “No matter how powerful the enemy is we will defeat them!”

“You must only tell us what to do and we will comply...” Stars Swirl term.

“I thank you all very much...” began Celestia ”But alas, before we take any offensive action we must ensure the safety of Equestria above all else...” Celestia could see the confused faces of the ponies in front of her, she guessed they thought she, as Twilight's mentor and close friend, would take more drastic action to rescue her from the danger that cried out “You were once the guardians of this kingdom, until we manage to discover where this evil is hiding and what it plans to do, I must explain to you to resume that responsibility.”

Celestia's tone reflected desperation and deep sadness, this touched everyone's hearts, understanding how delicate the situation was, finally Stars Swirl spoke.

“Princess, if that's what you need from us, then we'll do it.”

Celesta held back her urge to smile, keeping a solemn expression and nodding.

“I thank you all very much, it truly fills me with peace of mind to know that even in adversity, I have the help of my oldest friend...” Celestia paused before resuming, now with a more serious and less sentimental tone of voice “Each of you will be assigned a battalion of the royal guard, you will become the commanders of the equestrian defense army, you remain in Canterlot until further notice, ensuring the safety of the castle, the commander Flash Magnus will update you with our situation”.

Quickly the pegasus took the floor.

“The most important problem we are dealing with now has to do with an irruption that occurred several days after the initial attack, some kind of winged creature infiltrated the castle, avoided the guards and ended up attacking a mare of the castle's medical staff...”

“We believe...” interrupted Celestia ”That that creature is an ally of the unicorn, we still don't quite know why she sent it, but what we do know is that the creature ended up wounded during the assault.”

“It escaped in the dark of night, but I'm sure it couldn't have gone far!” exclaimed Flash Magnus again ”My troops and I have scoured all the forests and villages surrounding the palace, and I'm sure we are close to capturing it.”

“We must understand that we don't know the extent of our enemy's power, that creature could evoke things never seen before in the pony world, we don't know what form it could take or if it would try to trick whoever confronts it...” Celestia had to make sure the conversation stayed on her terms.

“That is our first mission, we must find the creature and if possible capture it...!” Flash Magnus proclaimed.

“I really hope that is the case but...” interrupted Celestia again ”In the event that it isn't, you must take steps to ensure that monster doesn't hurt any other ponies again is that clear guardians?”

Almost all the ponies nodded in unison, except for Stygar who cleared his throat and asked timidly.

“Eh princess?”

Celestia then rested her eyes on the little unicorn.

“Yes Stygar, tell me, is there something troubling you?”

“Forgive me your highness, I wouldn't want to go against your designs but, you said that all of us will be in charge of a battalion...”

“Yes, exactly that I said, and, let me guess, you don't think yourself capable of fulfilling that task?”

“Princess all the pillars are warriors, great sorcerers and in general, very tough people, I, despite being the seventh do not possess any of those skills...”

“You need not fear for that Stygar.... “ interrupted Celestia “I know you think you are not powerful like your other friends, however you possess a kind of power that goes beyond any spell or weapon, you are an orator, the gift of the word accompanies you and you have always known how to use it, in these dark times that are approaching, more than ever a pony that speaks to the people is required, who knows exactly what to say and how to keep hope alive, that will be your work for Equestria Do you think you can do your part, as well as your friends will do theirs?”

Celestia's words embolden Stygar, who felt that finally his talent for something of great importance was recognized, he looked around, he saw the faces of his friends, all with expressions of courage, he couldn't let them down, no matter how insecure he felt about it, finally, he managed to gather the strength to answer.

“Of course I do princess!”
______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Once all the pillars had withdrawn, Luna and Celestia were left completely alone.
Luna, who had been silent the entire time, looked at her sister with an expression of disbelief.

“Celestia what the fuck?”

“What, you don't like it?” asked Celestia referring to the dress as she admired herself ”I know maybe it's a bit over the top but by Equestria how good my flank looks in tight clothes..”

“Why the hell did you attach them to the damn royal guard!”

Celestia looked at Luna in confusion, before letting out a mocking chuckle and speaking sarcastically.

“I thought I made it clear sister, to protect Equestria...”

“Don't patronize me Celestia! If what you wanted was to keep everything a secret, involving the pillars only makes things more complicated for you...!”

“When our friend assassinates Bek and brings Twilight to me the only thing I'll have to worry about is keeping order, I must prepare new symbols that the people will admire since we will most likely have to discard the current elements of harmony.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Luna please, you know perfectly well, now they all represent a risk, of course the ideal would be that they could all remain loyal but we have lost too much time, right now, the most feasible thing is an immediate discard”

“You're not serious...”

“Hey, look on the bright side, we now have the previous incarnations, stronger and more naive, should be enough to wait for the next reincarnation.”

Luna again found herself at a dead end, she needed to approach from another angle.

“And what about Fluttershy, if you send the soldiers after her couldn't she cause even more trouble?”

“Dear little sister, you really have forgotten the nature of the things that used to roam this world, what we know is that somehow Fluttershy became a kind of hematophage, but, one by infection, unborn, even if she managed to regain her original appearance, she wouldn't be able to withstand the thirst, even if she tried to ask for help from other ponies sooner or later she would end up succumbing, those are our advantage.”

“So you're hoping that, by sheer luck, the guards will find her in a frenzy so she won't be questioned because the creature they're killing looks like the element of kindness?”

“I know it's not the most convenient thing to do, but think about it Who is this innocent world, would lend their aid to a monster?”
______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Zecora was walking through a dense forest, her sore hooves were screaming for her to stop, but the zebra ignored them.

Ever since that night she had seen the monstrous Fluttershy shoot out from inside the castle she couldn't sleep again, she knew that what had happened had been her fault, the potion that was supposed to bring her friend wellness turned her into something horrible.
Luckily she had been able to follow a trail that led her deep into a forest east of Canterlot and just now, she felt she was close to finding her friend.

She walked with her face fixed on the ground, there was a row of irregular footprints on the ground, these looked like those of a pony but, instead of four hoof marks, there were only three, the more she advanced the more irregular the footprints were, as if the pony they belonged to was about to collapse.
Suddenly an unpleasant smell was present, when she felt it in her nose Zecora turned away instinctively, the smell was not unknown to her, but even so she did not expect it with such intensity, she looked up and came across a terrifying panorama.

Before her was a section of the forest completely covered with animal carcasses of all kinds, from small squirrels lying on the ground, through all kinds of birds of different sizes and even a huge bear lying on the branch of a tree, hanging like a rag doll.
Zecora felt her stomach rising up to her throat, vomiting uncontrollably on the ground, this was a massacre, most animals had emptied their intestines, filling the ground with waste and causing the bad smell, however, and despite this, the zebra could notice something extremely strange, above the stench of waste there was no smell of putrefaction.

For a moment she thought it was because the corpses were still fresh but as she got closer she realized that most of them seemed to have perished several days ago, inspecting even closer Zecora noticed that each and every one of the bodies seemed to be completely mummified, as if it had dried out under an intense sun, however she was in a section of the forest considerably dark, the trees were so lush and barely a few rays of sunlight could pass through their branches.

Zecora then noticed something else, there was a huge trail of blood that went deeper into the trees, the blood was dry and dark, made a huge crust on the ground.
The trail led her to a huge cave that sank into the ground, like a huge solitary rock, as she stood in front of the prominent entrance Zecora felt a chill, her already exhausted hooves suddenly felt revitalized, now screaming in the deepest part of her mind to run away, to run and not look back, the feeling made her shudder, the plea had been so clear in her thoughts, something she had never felt before.

She was about to obey her body, starting to walk backwards cautiously, but suddenly a sound came, one that broke the trance of growing terror in Zecora.
The sobs echoed, clearly coming from inside the cave, they were pitiful and weak but even so the zebra could perfectly recognize who it was, slowly she took a step forward, then another and so little by little she entered the cave, it was very dark, the zebra had to take several pauses to allow her eyes to adjust, having to grope the ground little by little to avoid stumbling.

Finally, as she rounded a small bend she came upon a figure lying on the ground, this one appeared to be huge, writhing slightly, during one of those movements Zecora could see a gigantic membranous wing stretch almost to the ceiling of the cave, so large it could easily wrap around an entire wagon, she could barely notice that, around the figure there were also more animal corpses in the same state as the ones outside, before this, Zecora could not avoid stepping back a couple of steps which caused her to accidentally step on the corpse of a small rabbit, making the animal's bones crunch which resounded in the cave.

Suddenly the figure's movements stopped completely, as did the sobbing, Zecora looked up slowly and felt her whole body tense as she noticed a bright glowing pink eye peering at her from the shadows, this eye had a dilated pupil, perfectly suited to the darkness of the cave, allowing her to see the zebra in front of her perfectly.

“Uh..uh...” Zecora was trying to say something, but the lump in her throat wouldn't allow her to structure words.

A sudden movement and the shadows danced until the figure stood taller than should be possible, now it was two eyes looking directly at Zecora, the figure was breathing heavily but, instead of advancing towards the zebra it retreated even further, moving deeper into what little was left of the cave until its back hit the wall.

At this Zecora finally saw an opportunity, swallowing her fear as best she could and finally speaking.

“Flutter....Fluttershy if that's you or even you still resemble you, I ask you please don't walk away...” Zecora could see that the sound of her voice made the figure tremble, which seems to wrap even more into itself, at this the zebra took a determined step forward and spoke to her friend again “Fluttershy I ask you for an apology, what is happening to you now is only because of me...” She could then see the figure relax its posture and both bright eyes looked at her strangely “The potion I made to cure your ailment...it seems that it brought a terrible consequence...” Zecora advanced until she was right in front of the figure, against all her instincts the zebra lifted a hoof and placed it on the figure, she could feel an icy skin, and dedicated a depression to her with tears welling up in her eyes “I am truly sorry for this I did to you, but you must let me try to remedy it or at least let me make up for it...”

At that moment a familiar voice was present, it was something different, it sounded hoarse and guttural, but it was undoubtedly Fluttershy's voice.

“Ze...Zecora...” the figure crouched down, perching on the zebra's head and seeming to gird itself over it.

Zecora instinctively jumped back, no matter how much she wanted to resist, there was something about Fluttershy that awakened something animalistic in her, a terror so deep and ancient that it was simply irrepressible.
At this action Fluttershy's eyes filled with tears, she collapsed back on the cave floor and started sobbing again, at this Zecora felt extremely bad trying to apologize.

“I'm...I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to offend you, it's just that something feels different.”

“I don't blame you for doing it...” said Fluttershy between sobs ‘They wanted to help me and look how they ended up...’ then the pegasus made a gesture with her hoof pointing at all the corpses around her ”I just...I couldn't help it, I could smell her inside each of them, throbbing, and I...I didn't want to...”

“Fluttershy please you must explain to me...” began Zecora confused ”What do you feel in your flesh?”

The huge figure was silent for a long moment, now that her mind was clearer a familiar feeling began to overpower all others and it, terrified the pegasus.

“It's...the blood Zecora, I can smell it, see it, hear it, and feel it inside all the beings around me, I don't want to consume it, but if I don't I feel like life is slipping away from me...” Fluttershy paused as she felt her mouth watering “Even now... smelling yours, it's all I can think about...”

Zecora swallowed saliva, tried to approach her friend again, but her body didn't move, instead she chose to comfort Fluttershy in another way.

“Fluttershy my dear friend, don't grieve for what now plagues you...” Zecora took out the small bottle with liquid she had made to light her way through the catacombs of the castle, beginning to shake it to light it “As horrible as your situation becomes, I believe that together we can find a solution...”

At that moment the light came on, illuminating the cave all at once, the flash only lasted a second before a swift movement of one of Fluttershy's wings destroyed the bottle, accompanied by a loud shriek of pain.

“NO!!!! NO LIGHT!!!”

Zecora fell backwards onto her back, frightened by the sudden violent reaction of the pegasus, she could only see her for a second but she seemed to have seen all her pale fur stained red.
Once Fluttershy's eyes recovered from the pain she realized how aggressive she had been, looking back at the zebra and noticing her frightened expression.

“I...I'm sorry, it's just, now no matter how dim it is, if it's not moonlight...it burns, it burns horrible...”

Zecora recovered from the fright, getting up and walking towards Fluttershy again, but was abruptly stopped.

“No! don't come closer, please...” started to say Fluttershy as she retreated to the back of the cave again ”I don't want to hurt you, I don't want to hurt anyone else...”

The zebra paused analyzing the situation, trying to devise a way to help.

“Fluttershy I understand the dilemma you find yourself in, but we must start devising a solution while...”

“I already have a solution...” Interrupted Fluttershy “I'll stay here and wait for the thirst to end with me, I can already feel it screaming inside me, soon I won't have the strength to move anymore and once there all...all this nightmare will be over...”

Zecora had to do something, she couldn't just let her friend be left to faint, after all, she had promised Twilight that she would save Fluttershy and she was completely willing to carry that promise to the ultimate consequences.
Finally and finding herself determined, Zecora advanced steadily towards Fluttershy, walked without the pegasus apparently noticing and without saying a word, she lunged and gave Fluttershy a tight hug.

Again the zebra noticed how cold Fluttershy's body was, her fur was parched and sticky, perhaps due to the blood that stained it, one of the wings was caught in the hug and Zecora felt the soft membrane that had replaced the beautiful feathers that once adorned the pegasus' wings, she could feel a rather prominent musculature and, what she found most terrifying, as she placed her ear against her friend's body, Fluttershy's heart was pounding, it sounded like a huge drum, which with each beat made the whole body tense up, she could almost hear the blood being pumped at high speed through the pegasus' veins.
The embrace comforted Fluttershy, at least just a little, but this feeling was quickly overshadowed by another more invasive one, the pegasus reminisced, remembered when the forest animals had approached her, worried about her apparently agonizing state, she remembered how they had helped her walk to the deepest part of the forest and she remembered how she had lost control because of thirst and had torn, bitten and sucked each and every one of them, she had done it out of simple hunger, the only thing in her mind at that moment was for the fact that she was hungry and weak, she felt nothing else, but, the thirst she felt now was different.

It was like the first time she had felt it, when she attacked the nurse in the Canterlot castle, it wasn't just the simple feeling or the need to feed no, it was accompanied by a very embarrassing, tingling in Fluttershy's crotch, having Zecora so close, rubbing her body against his filled her mind with unpleasant thoughts, thoughts that not only demanded her to quench her thirst but also to enjoy her friend while doing so, Fluttershy felt disgusted with herself, deciding to push Zecora away with a strong push.

The zebra fell back against a ground extremely confused, looking at Fluttershy who gave her back a look full of fear, before Zecora could say anything the pegasus spoke haltingly.

“You...really think...you can help me?”

Zecora didn't know what to answer, she wasn't sure if her abilities were enough to cure whatever had happened to her friend, still she couldn't give up, if she was here it was to comfort Fluttershy and give her hope.

“No...I'm not going to lie to you Fluttershy, your new condition intrigues me, but I'll do my best to help my great friend...” the zebra got up from the floor and took a couple of steps towards the pegasus but without getting any closer ”I'm not sure I can find a definite cure for your ailment, but maybe I can provide you with some treatment.”

“A treatment...?” asked Fluttershy confused.

“Yes, something to reduce the negative effects of your discomfort, maybe that will give us time to find someone who can help you...”

“And you...do you have any ideas for a treatment that can help me...?”

“Something occurs to me I can't deny it but you must give me a little time, to guarantee that it won't go wrong.”

Fluttershy hesitated, all this had been more than she could have ever endured, it was out of any parameters she had set, she felt confused, frustrated, angry, sad and heartbroken, she missed how things used to be, before Twilight's coronation day, before that mare came and ruined everything.
On the other hand Zecora seemed genuinely concerned about her current state and, if anyone could really treat her, it was certainly her zebra friend, she thought for a moment, trying to clear her tangle of thoughts, luckily the thirst she felt wasn't strong enough to quell her reason which allowed her to see the situation rationally, she couldn't let herself die, not yet, after all her friends were still in danger, she had to find them and make sure they were all right, finally and with no more thoughts to check Fluttershy stood up, taking a couple of steps towards Zecora watching her from above.

“Alright Zecora let's do it then...”

“That makes me very happy Fluttershy I have no doubt, you'll see I'll manage to provide you with even a little help...”

“Yes, I appreciate that but, just in case, for the time we'll be together, I recommend you to sleep outside the cave and...well, if I'm going to be sure I won't try to hurt you I think...” Fluttershy paused as she looked around, seeing the floor littered with corpses “I think, we'll need more animals...”

Zecora frowned slightly, she was going to need to work very fast, more than she ever had, but, at least, she was sure she knew exactly what would help Fluttershy, letting out a torturous sigh and still unable to relax her body Zecora answered quietly.

“You just...let me handle it....”