As Rainbow Dash, Serenity and Cassandra worked on getting the last of prisoners down and out of the dangling cells and lowered them to the ground, roughly ten of them, Elizabeth, AJ, Lucy, and Sunset checked the others out for any injuries. Malik stood guard to make sure no one was going to attack them again.
Spike stood next to Rachel. Rachel had a blanket from the girls that one of them packed draped over her to cover her body up. She was sitting on the ground, her bare feet dipped in the lava curiously.
Spike watched with a bewildered look. "Okay, a couple of questions. One: are you okay? And second: how are you not burning alive and losing your feet?" He asked as she moved around her feet as if she was in a pool.
Rachel snorted but kept looking at the lava. "I'm mostly dragon. Dragons are lava proof. I'm guessing the only reason I'm not a dog is because of what little pony I have in me. It's extremely complicated and is giving me a headache." She rubbed her belly.
There was a sense of relief when she felt something fluttering. As if the baby liked the feeling of lava. "I don't know if this kid will be 100% full dragon or will it have fur like me… with hooves?" She lifts her foot up out of the lava to look at her human toes. Wiggling her ten little piggies. "I hate my hooves, I can't believe I'm saying this but I missed having toes, actual toes. I'll miss these once I get back home." She then lowered them back down into the lava.
Spike was panting due to the heat before scooting a bit back from the lava. He licked his lips as he looked at her. "You didn't really answer my question."
Rachel sighed. "That man deserved to die for what he had done." She muttered. "I tried giving him mercy and he just didn't take it. It had to be done…I'm happy that I'm finally freed from him."
"But...? "
She waited a moment before saying, "The notion that in one way or another, both of my parents are dead, I had a hand in it. Don't get me wrong, I'm going to be celebrating once we get out of this temple. I'm glad he's dead, but it doesn't bring my mom back."
" You're at peace with it?" Spike asked.
Rachel nodded. "I am… and I know two other people will want to know the news."
"Back home in Equestria? "
Rachel smiled before shaking her head. "No actually. It's here on this side. I do have a few loose ends I need to tie up. Speaking of which," she turned her head and whistled loudly. "Yo Malik!"
The dark skinned man turned from keeping an eye out and gave her a wide grin.
Spike leaned in and asked Rachel,"is he really an old friend of yours?"
"Eeyup. Malik and I go way back." She said as she stood, making sure the blanket covered everything, grabbing her bow before approaching him. "You are really a sight for sore eyes, Malik."
Malik smirked before responding. "It's good to see you too, Rach. As you and I both see, we kinda changed since we parted ways," he motioned to his red eyes, sharp teeth and pointy ears to her similar features.
"Oh? The fact you look like a red-eyed piranha?" Rachel joked with a wide smile, exposing her teeth.
Malik let out his infamous crow-like laugh. "At least I haven't become a literal vampire with your bloody garlic allergy, you got the teeth to match." He joked back that caused her to giggle.
"Okay, jokes aside, yes, it's clear that both of us have changed since we last saw each other." Rachel said before pointing at herself. "I have a complex story about how I got my abilities and looks, what about you? Are you a Mother Cell too?"
Malik twisted his face. "Ew gross, I hate that damn name. I'll just stick to what we both are."
"The Mordi?"
Malik grinned. "The Mordi." He repeated before he looked over her head to see the other girls were beginning to lead the grateful prisoners out of the lava pits. "Alright you lot, let's go before we all but this lass here gets cooked alive." He playfully shoves Rachel, only to get shoved back.
Still all on high alert for any cursed Mordi to peek their heads around the corner.
They walked out and found themselves walking down an unfamiliar pathway going in an up cline.
"Hope we can finally leave this hell hole." One of the prisoners said as they wanted to find a way out.
The other girls in the group wanted this trip to be over with the fact they were battered and injured, and didn't think they could fight any more.
They did however look over to Rachel and Malik as they talked.
"She's engaged, right?" Lucy asked the group. Seeing how close the two were together.
"Still am." Rachel called out.
"And I'm married." Malik also called out from where the two were. "Happily married for five years now. And Rach you finally got someone to tie you down and got you pregnant?"
"That's a story and parts of that story coexist with how I got my abilities, which is a long one so you go first." Rachel said, rubbing her baby bump.
Malik blew air and hummed. "Well, it started when I was trying to stop smoking," he chuckled before shaking his head. "Nah, during the process of going back to Earth, the white suits did the whole procedure to make sure I was okay, ran some more tests and one of them came back saying that I had the Mordi in me. Naturally they wanted me to hang around so they could do more testing. Since I'm not a big fan of needles and being poked, I jumped ship."
Rachel nodded. "Being a lab rat is not fun, you did the right thing," she half chuckled and half groaned in remembrance of being a lab rat herself.
"Anyway, I left, I hung around the temple before flying back to Cardiff. However, after I left, I was feeling like I was missing something. Something urged me to come back to this death trap and I didn't know what it was. It bothered me for awhile but I didn't know how to find that something so I moved on. I finished and got my quantum physics degree, met and married my wife Garcia. World was falling to Hell and I didn't know what to do." He explained as he shined lights up at the ceiling and the large cracks and holes on the painted walls before the group came to a more leveled out corridor."Well, Garcia hated that I smoked so she nagged me to quit. I tried cold turkey, patches, nothing worked. While we were visiting her family in Mexico, she suggested that I go and see this Gitanos lady."
Rachel blinked at that term. "Okay, I may have only taken one Spanish Class and failed it when I was fourteen, my memory is kinda crap since it's been a long time ago but doesn't Gitanos mean gypsy?"
Malik smirked. "Sí," he said in Spanish but his British accent was still there in the pronunciation. "I knew magic existed in Equestria but I still had doubts about magic here on our side. Plus I don't know if you had noticed, but I don't know many men who would go see a traveling gypsy, or handle anything supernatural. Garcia heavily believes in that crap and since I didn't want to be assaulted by the chanclas, I went to visit the gypsy. So she does her thing, puts me to sleep and the whole hypnosis schtick. While I was under, in my mind I came in front of a rather large door with dragon runes. A voice called to me. I never heard this voice but I strangely recognized it. When I tried to open it, I woke up."
"She gets you to stop smoking?"
"Yes, but it opened something in me. More burning questions, that door right there and I couldn't get to it. So I went back to that gypsy, the old lady had packed her shit and left, no trace of her in sight. I traveled all over the globe, trying to find someone that can get me to that door so I could open it. I found it when I went to Asia, and came to a Shaman in a Tibetan village. He put me in a sort of a trance. Took a vision quest. Had enough push for me to be in front of that door. I finally got it to open, revealing who and what I truly am. In front of me was a man, my ancestor."
"Spiritually or physically?" Rachel asked, since she saw her ancestor.
"Physically." Malik looked at her. "He and the other Mordi who didn't escape, those who had children, implanted a piece of their souls in their descendants that did flee before everyone else was cursed. Physically, a piece of them is lodged in us, yours too apparently. They did it right before the dragons left."
Rachel placed a hand over her heart. Remember feeling Rùna physically touching her.
"So, my ancestor basically told me that since the rest of the old Mordi had failed, it's our turn to do our job. Do what they couldn't: Protect the Dragons. He touched my chest and this rush of energy took my breath away, this fire burned inside of me until I didn't feel any pain. I woke up and was a whole new man and a new look." He held a hand up, red flames sparked before consuming his hand. "I can handle this, lava baths is a no for me."
"It's quite refreshing really, like wallowing in a pit of liquid putty." Rachel shrugged before really taking in what he said. "We? Who we?"
Malik grinned big time. "Dorothy, you think you and I are the only Mordi who's awakened their powers? Naw girl, there's more of us. Which I hope you can meet before you leave or whatever."
" H-how many more of us are there?" Rachel asked with a gawk. "I get there's more Cells back in Equestria but still!"
"Eh around fifty currently. Those who've found a way to awaken their ancestral powers, we were drawn to each other and banded together to stop the United Nations from invading Equestria. It was my plan to dress like the soldiers and mess with their operations from within. Boss lady wasn't thrilled but it was working…"
"So part of your plan was working with my father?" Rachel grunted.
Malik coughed in his hand. "Hindsight, I didn't put two and two together. A lot of bloats have the same names. If I had known earlier, he would've died much earlier."
"Uh huh." She huffed.
"Okay, I told you my story, it's your turn to spill the beans. Quid Pro Quo."
Rachel sighed, thinking how to summarize events. "Long story short, I met my mate on a cruise ship, he's a dragon, a giant purple ass teddy bear that I'm going to knock some sense into when I do find and save him. Months into our relationship I touched an Equestrian artifact, absorbed some pony essence which was causing me to turn into a dragon, a terrorist group raised some hell, I got hurt and the magic in me was becoming unstable so the Guardian of the Dragonlord dumped more dragon essence in me, which in the process making me a partial Frankenstein furry. That dose wasn't enough to fully change me so I was in pain for a while until I changed completely. Got kidnapped by an evil unicorn who Freddy Kruegered me, both of us fell into an abyss in my head to a colosseum where I met my ancestor and she awakened the rest of my abilities."
Malik's eyes widened as Rachel explained. He was silent for a minute before speaking. "You ran with the dragons and got one as a mate and took in magic directly from the Blood Staff?"
Rachel sheepishly smiled. "My mate is actually The Dragon Lord. I'm having his baby."
"Like Queen Rùna?!" Malik gawked. But when he spoke, it was in Draconic.
Rachel laughs. "Exactly like her…" her eyes widened when realizing she was speaking in Draconic perfectly instead of the small terms she already knew. "How are we speaking perfect Draconic?" She asked in English.
"A combination of our powers awakening, learning about our ancestors' past and being in this temple long enough to understand the dialect." Malik explained with a smirk. "Damn Rachel, you've been busy since we parted ways… assuming you're here for the Blue Celestial?"
Rachel nodded. "Both worlds are in trouble. The Guardian is losing control of the dragons, my mate is missing and a war is going on. I need that staff to close this portal and get the dragons in line to help the ponies face what human squads are left in Equestria and that evil unicorn I mentioned earlier and his army. The ponies are not equipped for war."
"But the dragons are… wow you got a lot on your plate."
"On top of the potential fear and fact I'm going to be a single parent in all of this, yeah." Rachel sighed. "I have to get the staff in order to do anything and close this portal."
"Do you think you can close it before more soldiers come in? We got about an hour before more show up."
"We'll have to work fast."
She paused a moment before realizing something. "Does anyone hear that?"
The whole group stopped and listened.
There was nothing. It was quiet.
"Nope, don't hear anything." RD said.
"Nope, " AJ said.
"Just my thoughts in my head playing the xylophone in a funky beat." Lucy smirked, nodding her head to whatever music she was listening to.
Sunset was hesitant to even touch her and didn't.
"We don't hear anything." One of the freed prisoners said.
"Me neither." Rachel said.
Malik straightened up with his gun locked and ready. "Too quiet… not really a good sign."
"Maybe it's a good thing? The Dwellers retreated after that statue fell." Elizabeth mentioned.
"I don't think I have the strength to fight more." Serenity whispered.
"They retreated… the younglings I understand retreating but the adults..?" Rachel muttered as she saw the prisoners getting scared again.
"W-we can't be put in those cages again!" One of them cried out.
"I-it's going to be okay, everyone," Cassandra said, though she was scared herself.
"Everyone, stay close." Malik said as they slowly moved together.
When they came to a dead end, Rainbow Dash heavily scowled when she saw her green X painted on the wall.
"You had good intentions, Angel." Applejack said, rubbing the small of her girlfriend's back.
"Have I mentioned that I really hate this place?" RD grumbled.
The walls began to tremble once more and the wall in front of them began to move.
"Okay I really, really hate this place." Dash groaned loudly.
Everyone tensed up when the walls shifted around them. The walls around the group moved, opening paths all around them.
However, each time the walls fully opened up to the paths, they were met with a massive group of armed Dwellers facing them. Those with spears held out and pointed at them.
The group pushed into each other, all of them in fear as they were now heavily outmatched. Even with their powers, the girls knew that they wouldn't last with all this much against them.
Elizabeth reacted by raising her shields, covering everyone as they were bunched up together.
Rachel held her bow up and ready to pull on the bow. As she scanned, she realized that the Dwellers weren't full on attacking them. The way the spear welders were doing, they were shepherding the group.
"What do we do?" Spike asked as they were completely surrounded.
The prisoners weeped and sobbed, afraid of their lives.
As they waited for the Dwellers to make the first move, several of them began chanting.
"Varuta Volka, Varuta Volka, La Rúna!" They echoed around them. "Varuta Volka, Varuta Volka, La Rúna!"
"She's coming! Oh God!" One of the prisoners cried out as the chanting was getting louder and louder.
"These guys can talk?" Cassandra's eyes widened.
"Oh they can talk alright. " Elizabeth murmured but held the shield up.
Malik and Rachel scanned the Dwellers, holding their weapons up.
"I got unlimited arrows, you?" Rachel asked him.
"Not enough to head home here… " he grunted for his lack of bullets.
The chanting became louder and louder before the Dwellers began parting ways. Coming through was the Queen herself.
Rachel stiffened when she saw the cursed version of the one great warrior. Her eyes gazed at her looks, the horns before looking at the Blue Celestial. The one object she came all this way for.
The staff's pupil was looking right at her. Causing Rachel to feel tightness in her chest.
The Queen approached the shield and stopped just in front of Rachel. Rachel did stand much taller than her with the Queen herself standing roughly average height.
Queen Rùna grunted softly, her daggered claws raised up and dragged it across Elizabeth's shields. Leaving a white streak and a nails-on-chalkboard sound.
"What's she doing?" Lucy asked the group as they watched the Queen.
Rachel rubbed her chest, the feeling of tightness wasn't going away.
Queen Rùna made a low hissing sound before the staff glowed.
"We're protected, right?" Serenity asked Elizabeth.
"We should," Elizabeth assured them, though beads of sweat were coming off of her forehead. "No one has yet to break throu-"
She was cut off when the ground beneath Rachel's feet began glowing. Before anyone could say anything, Rachel was consumed in flames and disappeared from her spot, and then reappeared out of the shield.
"Oh shit!" Applejack cursed.
Rachel froze when she was now out in the open. Pressing the now holey, scorched blanket close around cursed Mordi all around her, getting harder to breathe, especially now in front of the ancient queen.
She had always planned on getting the Staff, but with how things were going now, she didn't have a plan.
Queen Rùna stared at her as she began circling Rachel. A hand up and touched her blonde hair as she examined her. Leaning close to her and sniffing her scent. Something peculiar about her caused the Queen's hardened gaze to soften as she circled back around in front of her.
With the staff still glowing, something within Rachel forced her to get on her knees, she couldn't resist it.
The gang didn't know what to do but watch.
Rachel stared at the ground before she felt the Queen's hand gently on her face and had her look up at her.
"Ka nata…" the Queen cooed. Causing Rachel's eyes to widen.
"Uh… what did she say?" Cassandra asked, looking at Malik, who also had widened eyes. "What's Ka nata?" She asked him.
"The Queen just called Rachel her daughter." Malik muttered.