Fluttershy

Quinn

Nathan was carrying me by the time we made it out of the forest. He had been explaining what had been happening since I left.

"Here, take a rest." Nathan said, tossing me to a rock near the water. I coughed as he did, dust swirling around me as he dropped me on the rock.

"You know, I'm still a princess." I said, referencing to the way he had set me down.

"Sorry, I'm used to Zoe." Nathan replied.

"So how did you get that web on your neck?"

"Gideon poisoned the punch so that everyone who drank it would fall asleep. He told me this just before I fell, so I charmed myself to wake up earlier. When I woke, this was on me." Nathan took off the shirt and revealed the web.

"Mother Willow!" I said. It had grown in size, down to the middle of his abs. It had also grown into his shoulder and down his arm. "Please tell me it's going to stop!"

"I don't know. I'm sure it will though, Gideon said it wasn't deadly."

"Gee, the same guy that stole Zoe, poisoned my family and friends, and now is trying to kill Zoe and I said it wasn't going to be lethal?" I asked angrily. I put my hand over the web and tried to rub it out, but it wasn't on the surface of his skin. "Shouldn't your healing come in soon?"

"That's what I thought, but it looks like it's shutting down my healing. See? My cut isn't going away." Nathan said, pointing to his shoulder. It was still bloody and the Band-aids looked like they were almost soaked through.

"We have to know what's going on. I don't like this." I said.

"Well neither do I!" Nathan yelled.

"What's all the yelling about?" I heard someone say. I froze as I turned to see Seashell rubbing her eyes as she emerged through the water.

"Nothing. We're fine." I said.

"What's wrong, Zoe?" Seashell asked. I turned back to Nathan with annoyance.

"You told Seashell?!" I yelled at Nathan.

"Well, yeah, but you and I both know that she can't tell anyone!" Nathan said, pulling the shirt back on.

"What's going on?" Seashell asked. I huffed.

"It's Quinn, the real Quinn. We're trying to find Zoe, and both of us are in danger if we don't. Now that everyone is back up to speed, why don't we have tea and crumpets as we go around saying our favorite color?" I snapped.

"Seashell, do you, by any chance, know where Zoe would be?" Nathan asked, pulling me behind him.

"How would she know? She'd be underwater by the time Gideon and Zoe had passed!" I yelled. 

I was freaking out. If the web that was on Nathan was from the punch, that would mean that Zoe had one too, and if Zoe died, the DNA I gave her would die, and that would come to me and I would die as well. Not only was a terrified for Nathan, I was terrified for myself. If anything happened to Zoe, I would drop dead any second.

"Actually, I don't know, but I do know a way I can find out." Seashell said. "If you can do the weird voo-doo stuff with your hands, you need to grow to my size and hold your breath. The only way to see it is underwater."

Nathan nodded and Seashell went down. Nathan took my hands and turned to me.

"You need to calm down. I can feel your hands shaking."

"I can't calm down, Nathan! I have three lives in my hands right now, you, me, and Zoe! If I hadn't ran away, none of this would have happened. Can't you see that? It's my neck that's on the line, with two others right behind it!" I yelled, throwing down Nathan's hands. I pulled my fingers through my hair and started to pace back and forth on the rock. "I can't do this, Nathan. I can't stop shaking, I can't, I can't I can't......."

Nathan grabbed my arms and I saw his eyes glow. Purple dust trailed from his hands to mine. My body relaxed and I sat on the rock.

"There. Now stop it. This is partly my fault too. If I hadn't yelled Zoe's name in the castle, Gideon would have never known that she was Zoe." Nathan said. "Let's just get down there and find out where she is."

I nodded, the most I could do at the moment. With raised hands, Nathan scattered his purple dust between him and I. We grew exceptionally to the size I had been all these two weeks, and it didn't feel much different to me now than being as small again two seconds ago. When he was finished, he grabbed my hand and dove into the water.

We found Seashell sitting at the bottom of Mermaid Pond with a white ball in her hands. When we got down to her, I found that it was a large pearl the size of a basketball. She pointed to the pearl and started to rub it gently on the side. The pearl's surface was moving in all different shapes and colors, until a single image appeared.

Zoe was unconscious on a table where her wrists and feet were bolted to a table. As I had thought, a large black web was cast over her chest and neck. There were metal tables all around her with tools and weapons that displayed themselves over the metal frame. The walls of where she was were covered in stone, like a wall of a cave.

That looks like Quiverer's Cave. Nathan sent to me. I looked at him and nodded. We went up to the surface to breath some air in. Nathan helped me crawl out of Mermaid Pond, all the while I was coughing.

"Let's go." Nathan said, shaking his head like a dog to get the water off of his hair.

"Can't we wait a few more minutes?" I said, still coughing. I put my hands up to shield myself from the spray of Nathan's hair. Nathan sat down as his eyes began to glow again, returning us to our normal size. I couldn't stop coughing. I think I swallowed a gallon of water when we dove down. 

Nathan and I didn't say a word until Seashell emerged again after a few moments.

"Sorry that you had to come down. The pearl doesn't work if it's not underwater." Seashell said.

"It's fine. Thank you, Seashell." Nathan said. "We have to go now. We'll be back though."

"Okay. Good luck finding Zoe." Seashell replied. She reached over and grabbed my hand with her large thumb and finger. "Do well."

"I will." I told her. Nathan got up and pulled me to my feet.

"Can you fly or do you need help?" He asked. I shook my head and unfolded my wings, rising into the air.

"Thank you!" I called as Nathan and I flew off.