//------------------------------// // Attack // Story: Love's Bloom // by Noble_Dreams //------------------------------// The girls arrived back at the everfree forest, now being more careful than last time. They make their way over to the clearing they were in last time, seeing Twilights bag undisturbed, they go over to it. Inside, it has twice as many flowers as before! “Umm... did it always spread that quickly?” Asked Twilight, apprehensive “No, it would almost always die soon after being picked. Maybe it grows better down here?” Rainbow answered, now speculating as to what could’ve happened. “Oh well, probably nothing.” The Girls start to fill up Rainbow’s Saddle-bags, nudging each other gently as they went, making it a sort of game. They eventually have both of their saddle-bags filled, and they start to head back to ponyville. When they get back to Twilight’s Library, they unload them into a box which previously had one or two of the flowers in it, but is now almost overflowing with them. “WOW, we got A LOT of them, didn’t we?” Said Rainbow, surprised at just how many they’d gotten “Yeah, I guess we did! There’s got to be what, like, 200 flowers in that bag?” said Twi, already trying to do the math on it “Well, what do we do with them now?” Asked Rainbow “Well, what’s the quickest way to have the effects take place?” asked Twi, blushing “I think if you eat one. I’ll be the guinea pig if you want” Rainbow offers, already leaning towards the box “Nope, I’ll do it. My experiment and all, if something goes wrong I don’t want YOU getting hurt.” Twi says, pulling Rainbow away from the box and taking one into her mouth “It tastes like… well, I'm not sure, it’s really sweet, but tart at the same time… it’s almost bitter, but it’s pleasant…” Twilight trails off, still chewing on the flower, letting the flavors of it seep throughout her mouth, almost overloading her sensory input of taste “Really? Let me try!” Rainbow quickly snatches one up in her mouth and begins to chew on it. “WOW, it’s REALLY sweet, and it tastes almost like Lavender! I love lavender salad you know. It’s almost like it tastes like what yo-” Rainbow says, beginning to blush as she trails off “Like ME? WHY would you eat me? I’m pretty sure cannibalism is illegal Rainbow, do I need to call the Princess?” Twilight says, teasing Rainbow again "Because you look delicious." Rainbow says while making a loud chewing sound "Oh, I do? well, I never thought I'd look delicious to a Rainbow!" Twilight giggles. they both spend the next few minutes teasing each other light heartedly and laughing, before going upstairs to Twilights bedroom, where Twilight lays down on the bed. "What're we gonna do on the bed, Twi?" Asks Rainbow "Sleep." Says Twi with a straight face. Rainbow Blushes, and climbs into the bed next to Twilight, embracing her in her arms. "Goodnight, Twilight, I love you." She whispers into Twilight's ear "I love you too, Rainbow." Twilight whispers back. * * * The girls suddenly awake, a loud crash followed by screaming coming from outside of the tree-house, light dancing across the inside walls. The girls quickly get up and rush outside, not even bothering to turn on any lights inside, there was already enough to see. What they see when they get outside astonishes both of them. There are Ponies running in all directions, some with their heads down and some with saddlebags on their backs, all look terrified. "What happened?" Twilight asks repeatedly, trying to find out "W-w-wereponies! From the Everfree forest! They came in the middle of the night and started to destroy buildings!" came a voice from behind them, they turn around, and behind them, is nothing. "Who said that?" Asks Rainbow, shaking slightly "i... I don't know." Says Twilight, her voice shaking, terrified. Suddenly, they here a loud roaring and growling, followed by screams of terror and the sudden sounds of ripping flesh. A large Pony, covered in gray fur all over its body breaks through a wall of a nearby building, causing it to collapse in on top of what are most likely the remains of its last meal. It roars loudly, before saying something in a language unknown to the girls. "Shunaak kytall, ingraak fyulaari!" It then roars again, this time louder than before, and a body can be seen materializing in front of it, taking on the shape of a large pony, made entirely out of the bits of rotting flesh and bone from the other dead ponies, whose bodies lie scattered around the central square the library sits in the middle of. The Werepony opens its mouth again, but this time what it speaks is coherent "THE DAY HAS COME FOR THE EXTINCTION OF THE PONY RACE. MY PEOPLE SHALL STAND UPON THE ASHES OF YOUR WORLD, AND WE WILL NOT BE OPPRESSED IN OUR LANDS ANYMORE! WE SHALL REIGN OVER THIS DOMAIN AGAIN! OUR ANCESTORS WILL BE AVENGED FOR THE WRONGS THAT HAVE BEEN DONE ON THIS LAND, FOR THE SLAYINGS THAT HAVE TAKEN PLACE!" Twilight and Rainbow look at each other at the same time, before they both pelt off in the direction of Canterlot, hoping to outrun the Wereponies. They here a squishing sound, they dare not turn back for fear of what could be chasing them. Twilight turns and quickly turns forward again after seeing what is following them. An almost amorphous blob of pony flesh and bone is taking shape behind them, forming a new pony out of the old pieces. It gurgles slightly, before collapsing again and the girls escape it. They continue to run until the roars and screams are faint in the distance. They gaze up the mountain Canterlot rests on, and their eyes widen as they see the Palace collapse down the side of the mountain, falling to the ground as time itself seems to slow, before it falls out of view and an audible ear shattering crash is heard, even from the distance they are at. A single tear runs down Twilight's face, as she remembers her brother and her parents, and the Princesses, all dead in less than a minute, but what felt like eons. She slowly slumps down onto her haunches, before falling to the ground completely, tears now freely flowing down her face. Rainbow wraps her wing around her shoulders, trying to comfort the heart broken Unicorn. She sits down next to Twilight, and gently nuzzles the nape of her neck, licking it as she does. "Maybe they made it out, Twilight" Says Rainbow, knowing what must be on her friend's mind. "I doubt it! I doubt any of us can escape this! It’s all hopeless, we're doomed, Rainbow, why don't we just head back to ponyville where it will all be over quicker..." cries Twilight, her fur on her face now soaking wet. "NO, IT IS NOT OVER YET. We still have each other, and while we still have each other we still have hope, don't you forget that. I will follow you to the ends of the earth, Twilight, even if I have to fight of wereponies to do it. What is a werepony, anyway?" Rainbow says, slightly agitated. "A werepony is a mythical creature that takes the form of a monstrous pony with the fangs and fur of a wolf, they feed on woo0dland creatures usually, but they will also eat ponies too. At least, I thought they were mythical..." Says Twilight, still crying, but the tears begin to ebb away. Rainbow rubs her back gently, trying to comfort her friend. She gently hums a tune that they both know, one that pinkie pie sang when they went in search of the elements of harmony. “♫♪You gotta stand up tall, learn to face your fears, you’ll see that they can’t hurt you, just laugh to make them disappear.♫♪” Sang Rainbow quietly, petting Twi’s mane as she sang softly. She nuzzles Twilight as she begins to stand, looking towards Canterlot. “We have to keep moving; otherwise they might catch up to us.” Says Twilight, a sense of urgency in her voice, “We’re too late to save the others, I’m certain.” “How do you know we are?” Asked Rainbow, legitimately curious “Because, I saw them get torn apart as we ran out of Ponyville.” Twilight replied grimly. She started to trot off towards Canterlot, Rainbow right behind her.