Chapter 49: Recover
All of Rainbow’s muscles had frozen on the spot. She just found Fluttershy’s location, but was then interrupted by a loud bang. It sounded like thunder shooting out very close by. Very hesitantly, she looked behind herself where Strike was. The moment she did, she gasped.
The twittermites… they had forcefully removed themselves from Strike’s devices. They hovered above his body, looking towards Rainbow Dash while sparking out small jolts of electricity in multiple directions.
Rainbow gulped nervously, wondering what they were about to do. In her condition, there wasn’t much she could do except try and not agitate them. But it looked too late for that already. Once they all gathered together, they all began flying towards Rainbow. Her eyes went wide. She quickly shut them and looked away in a wince when they reached her.
But… she didn’t feel them zapping her. Instead, she felt them circle her body, once, then suddenly started flying upwards. When she felt that, she opened her eyes and looked up. Every single twiitermite flew between the roaring flames, not a single one getting caught in them. They managed to break through the forest’s burning barrier.
Silence followed, but only for a moment. And then, Rainbow saw blue flashes behind the flames, along with hearing multiple thunder crashes. Rainbow gasped. Thunder clouds began forming, producing their own thunders. She couldn’t see those twittermites anymore, but now she understood what they were doing. They were creating rain by using the clouds above the forest.
Rainbow sighed in relief. She desperately needed some good news for a change. Now for her part.
“Come on, Fluttershy. Please still be there.” Rainbow turned around and started heading towards the location where she felt Fluttershy’s presence. Along the way, it started raining. If it weren’t for her injured leg, she’d have already reached Fluttershy before that happened. She wished that had been the case, because now with the rain pouring down, not only was it getting harder to see and hear, it was also harder to move.
“Nngh… Fluttershy! Can you hear me?!” Rainbow called out when she was getting close to her destination. “Where are you?” she asked again, desperately hoping Fluttershy was close by. With all this rain, she didn’t think she could listen in for her movements again.
About a second later, Rainbow heard a sniffle… behind her? A gasp escaped her as she quickly checked behind her. “Fluttershy?” she called again. The sniffling continued. It sounded like the sniffling was just barely able to let itself out. That had to be Fluttershy.
Rainbow moved closer to the sound. A sudden flash of lightning emitted from the storm. For that moment, Rainbow saw where Fluttershy’s body was. She quickly moved to that location. In moments, she found herself by Fluttershy’s side, her sniffling very clear.
“There you are…” Rainbow said softly. “Are you okay?” With all the fires put out, Rainbow could barely see Fluttershy’s body in this midnight sky. All she could tell was that Fluttershy was currently lying on her back, with her head against a bush. It sounded like she was having a very difficult time breathing while holding back sobs. Her eyes looked closed though, and she wasn’t responding.
“Fluttershy?” Rainbow looked closer, holding a hoof out to Fluttershy. Rain continued pouring down on their bodies, making it difficult to hear and see. But after that last response, Fluttershy looked up, and Rainbow could see one of her eyes open. Why wasn’t she saying anything though?
All of a sudden, lightning flashed once again, revealing Fluttershy’s entire figure. That flash… it was as if Rainbow’s life had flashed before her eyes from what she just witnessed. Fluttershy was holding both her hooves over her left eye. Her right eye was practically drenched in tears, tears that she seemed to be trying to hold back desperately, and failing.
But… there were no tears coming out of her left eye at all. And to make matters worse, Rainbow barely noticed the clear signs of magical burn scars just below the hooves covering her eye. The last beam that Strike fired… this was where it hit.
Rainbow unconsciously stepped back from the shock of witnessing such a sight. She stumbled on her injured hoof and fell onto her rump. But it didn’t phase her out of the shock.
“Oh… Oh no…” was all Rainbow could say. She wanted to scream, scream as loud as she could, louder than the storms were being right now. But the shock left her just unable to do so, like all the life in her body drained out of her. Nopony said anything for a long while. All they did was look at each other while the rain continued pouring on their bodies.
Seconds passed. Minutes passed. It felt like hours were passing by with none of them responding. In the distance, Rainbow could see Strike and the tatzlwurm’s body twitching from the rain. But not even that snapped her out of her trance. Only one thing managed to snap her out of it.
“R-R-Rain...bo-ow…” Fluttershy barely managed to speak. A gasp escaped Rainbow and her attention was quickly brought back to Fluttershy. She saw Fluttershy holding out a hoof to her, her left still holding onto her eye. Slowly, Rainbow grabbed onto Fluttershy’s hoof, gently pulling her up to stand, then brought over her shoulders until Fluttershy was comfortably lying on her back.
“Come on. We’ve gotta find a safe place for you,” Rainbow said. She glanced around for a moment, wondering how she was even gonna find a safe place. It was so dark. With all the rain pouring down, it would be so cold too. The few flashes of lightning was the only source of light she had. Every flash allowed her to see Strike and the tatzlwurm briefly.
Rainbow groaned. It looked like near the tatzlwurm was the only good spot she was gonna find. But it was too close to Strike to calm her nerves. Strike’s body continued to twitch, but no further responses were being made. After the damage she saw his body suffer, there’d be no way he’d be moving anytime soon, but…
Rainbow froze on the spot when a low growl made itself present. The tatzlwurm slowly began shifting its body slowly. She was relieved a little to recognize that the low growl came from the tatzlwurm. But what happened next, she wasn’t quite prepared for. A single flash of lightning illuminated the area long enough for her to see the whole scene.
That tatzlwurm… after it shifted enough, it opened its mouth and lashed out its three tongues at Strike’s twitching body. They wrapped swiftly around him, dragged him swiftly along the floor with water splashing about, then easily carried his body straight into the tatzlwurm’s mouth. The tatzlwurm clamped down instantly and swallowed Strike whole. It finished with a low cry of pain as its body went limp again.
Rainbow was gritting her teeth with her eyes stunned wide. She was unable to muster up a response. For that moment, she felt as if she felt the exact same fear that Fluttershy always felt whenever she witnessed Rainbow swallowing somepony. No wonder Fluttershy was so afraid of it even after how many times she witnessed it.
“R-Rainbow?” Fluttershy’s call snapped Rainbow out of her stunned shock. “What’s... wrong?” Rainbow took a deep breath, figuring Fluttershy must’ve noticed that she suddenly stopped walking.
“Nothing,” Rainbow answered as she continued limping towards the tatzlwurm. “I just found a safe place for us to rest.” It was sort of true. With Strike out of the picture, the only danger currently present was all this rain pouring down. When she reached the tatzlwurm, she very hesitantly and very carefully lowered her body down so that Fluttershy could slide off her back. Fluttershy was keeping both eyes closed, so Rainbow had to lead her to lay the back of her head against the tatzlwurm.
Fluttershy groaned, still holding a hoof over her damaged eye. Despite the conditions, the warmth allowed her to tell what her head was laying against. But when she opened her good eye, all she could see was Rainbow’s worried face staring back at her in deep darkness. When she tried to speak, all she could do was groan in pain.
“Fluttershy!” Rainbow gasped as she gently placed her hooves on Fluttershy’s shoulders.
“It… It huuurts…” Fluttershy sniffled.
“Just hang in there. I’ll help you get that treated.” When Rainbow said that, Fluttershy gasped painfully. Rainbow didn’t like the sound of that response. “What?” she asked, bracing for the worst.
“We… don’t have... a-anymore bandages.” Rainbow’s eyes widened at that. “The last I used… is on your head…” Looking up, Rainbow reached a hoof to the bandage that was still wrapped around her forehead. That wasn’t gonna be helpful at all.
“No…” Rainbow said. “Oh no. W-What about X’s bag. Did she have any?”
Fluttershy was in too much pain to respond much. But the look in her eye told Rainbow that a devastating realization came to her. A bad feeling came to Rainbow. She took a quick look around.
“W-Wait a minute. Where is her bag?” More glancing around and her anxiety increased tenfold. “Where is our bag?! Fluttershy?!” Fluttershy didn’t say anything. All she could do was return that frown of deep regret. A flashback came to Rainbow. The last time she saw those bags was after they were violently thrusted off their tatzlwurm friend through Strike’s attack. She must’ve dropped them and lost them both. And after that forest fire, there was a good chance that they were…
“AAHHH!!!” Rainbow shrieked. “What about the Alpines?! What happened to them?!” Fluttershy only responded in a painful whimper. The color and sounds left Rainbow’s world in that moment. “Oh… no…” she shuddered. Words could not describe how defeated she was feeling right now. They were alone in the Everfree Forest, injured beyond able to defend themselves, past midnight hours, in a heavy rainstorm, and with absolutely no supplies left for them.
Rainbow collapsed to her haunches. She could no longer hold it back anymore. This desperate feeling of hopelessness made her shut her eyes tightly as she began to sob. But the sobbing was inaudible due to the storm. Her tears were getting quickly wiped away from the rain. Nopony was around to hear how defeated she was feeling. Not even Fluttershy could hear it.
But, Fluttershy could definitely see it. She didn’t need the help of the flashes of lightning to see just how crushed Rainbow’s hopes were. Despite all they had tried, nothing was going to stop this toxin from spreading anymore. So she had to say.
“Rainbow… leave me.” It was like the words Rainbow tried giving to her earlier when Strike was attacking. Now she was giving them back. The words made Rainbow stutter.
“N-No Fluttershy. I-I can’t.”
Hearing Rainbow speak like that was heart wrenching, even more so than the pain she was currently feeling. “Rainbow, please…”
“I can’t leave you like this,” Rainbow continued. “Ponyville is still too far away. And the tatzlwurm is too hurt to move. If I leave you now…” There was a sudden pause. She squeezed her eyes, grunted and continued. “You’re too hurt for me to leave you alone right now. Even if we don’t have bandages, there has to be something that I can do to help you. Anything!”
Despite the darkness, the look that Fluttershy was seeing Rainbow give to her reminded her so much of that experience when they were swallowed by the tatzlwurm. Even after she had given up, Rainbow refused to do so. It was happening again. Only this time, Fluttershy decided not to go against it. Just like last time, Rainbow was only trying to help, regardless of how helpless the situation felt.
Fluttershy knew one thing Rainbow could do. So she began speaking. “There is… one thing. But…” A pause. “It won’t help with the toxin at all.”
“Forget about my toxin for now. Just tell me what I need to do.” Rainbow said.
Fluttershy thought about it for a while, then responded. “Okay. But when you’re done... you have to leave.” Rainbow didn’t answer. It was then that Fluttershy began to think about what she was saying. The more she thought about saying it again, the more guilt she felt about it. So she decided not to wait for an answer anymore. "Here's what you need to do."
___
Time seemed to be moving so much slower than usual. It felt like it had been a few hours since Rainbow started. With both forehooves, she kept firmly rubbing the stick she held against a leaf that was being held with the flat end part of her tail. Each rub was expelling more of that sap that Fluttershy was talking about. The motions were practically hypnotic to her. Fluttershy’s instructions kept repeating in her mind as she continued to work.
”Find the smoothest stick you can find, and a leaf large enough to cover my eye. After soaking the leaf with water, rub the stick firmly and slowly against the leaf on a flat surface to scrape up its sap. Keep doing that until you gather enough that you would apply like a bandaid. You’ll have to keep it out of the rain while you do this.”
The process was painstakingly slow. But Rainbow was able to power through it for Fluttershy’s sake. Keeping the rain out was the most difficult part though. There wasn’t any shelter to keep the rain out, so the best she could do was be positioned underneath the largest branch she could find from a tree that was still standing. She also had her wings above her body to cover herself from the stray drops. Normally, that would’ve been all she needed, but with all her missing feathers, she needed extra insurance.
Rainbow sighed a deep breath once she noticed that her task was finally done. She carefully picked herself up, being sure to stay off her injured hind leg, and began walking with it to Fluttershy. Her tail was able to keep hold of the leaf no problem, but she had to keep it balanced under her body so that the sap wouldn’t spill or be washed away by the rain.
“Fluttershy…” Rainbow said quietly when she reached her. Fluttershy was still breathing carefully. And her breathing became heavier when Rainbow appeared before her. The next part of the task made her and Rainbow really nervous. Despite how much time had passed, it was still fresh in Rainbow’s memory.
”Once you’re finished, you’ll have to place it on me as carefully, but as firmly as you can. The thing about this treatment is that it stings really badly. So you’ll probably hear me scream or cry. That’s why I need you to do it."
Fluttershy took a deep breath before saying her final instructions. “I’m… gonna count to three. When I say three, place it on me quickly, okay?”
Rainbow didn’t say anything and just simply nodded. It felt so much like that moment when they were swallowed by the tatzlwurm. But back then, Fluttershy was facing fear. Now, she was about to face pain. How much pain? She was probably about to find out.
Fluttershy began counting.
“One…” Deep breath.
“Two…” Sweat dripped from both their faces.
“Three!” As soon as Fluttershy removed her hoof from her eye, Rainbow covered it with the leaf, using the sap’s end.
Rainbow’s ears smacked themselves closed upon Fluttershy’s cringey, yet muffled scream. Fluttershy looked as if she clenched her teeth so hard, they nearly shattered. Her body was shuddering, but as she requested, Rainbow did not pull the leaf away. It took quite a few seconds, but she managed to settle down and place her hoof against the leaf. When she did that, Rainbow removed hers.
Fluttershy began breathing calmly again, There was a huge sigh of relief from Rainbow. She could only imagine how that felt. It’s no wonder no pony would ever think to use this method when far less painful types of medicine exist.
After taking a few moments to breathe, Fluttershy opened her good eye and looked at Rainbow again. There was something she wanted to say, but couldn’t. She didn’t need to say it. Rainbow already knew what it was. And yet, she still didn’t want to leave Fluttershy. There had to be more she could do for her. Looking up, Rainbow took notice of the creature Fluttershy was laying on, noticing the giant mark that Strike left on its head.
“It looks like you could use one too big fella,” Rainbow said, referring to the tatzlwurm that had protected them during Strike’s attack. She figured it was time to return the favor. Looking to Fluttershy, she simply closed her eyes and nodded in approval. Without another thought, Rainbow started walking away, but cringed when she took the first step. Her damaged hoof shot out in pain. “...It looks like I could use one…” It looked like she was gonna feel that sting Fluttershy felt after all.
___
A few hours had passed since the leaf bandage was placed on Fluttershy. The storm had been calming down significantly, making it a little easier for Rainbow to see and move, as well as easier to get these bandages ready for both her and the tatzlwurm. Hers was done without any trouble. But getting one ready for the tatzlwurm was a lot more time consuming. Not only did she need to find a leaf that was big enough for the tatzlwurm’s bruise, but it took that much longer to gather enough sap to spread on the entire leaf.
But after hours of work, Rainbow released a sigh and put down the giant stick she was using to spread it. She took a look up at the sky, trying to figure out what time it was. The moon was no longer in sight from where she was. Based on that, she could only guess that the sun would be rising soon. Seems that they had stayed awake throughout the entire night. Not a thought she was very comfortable with.
Rainbow looked down, turning to the leaf that she had ready to apply to herself. Her body heated up anxiously. Judging by Fluttershy’s reaction, she was not gonna be looking forward to this.
“Well… It’s now or never…” Rainbow took a deep breath. She picked up another stick she hadn’t used yet and placed it between her teeth. Next, she picked up the leaf and put her injured hind hoof out. As much as she wanted to close her eyes at this, she couldn’t. The sap had to be applied firmly on where the bruise was. Clenching firmly on the stick, she jabbed the leaf onto her hoof.
Rainbow’s groan was heavily muffled due to the stick. And biting down on it really helped her endure the pain. Actually, the sting wasn’t quite as bad as she was expecting it to be. Now that she thought about it, that was probably because for Fluttershy, her injury was on her eye. That was a huge difference compared to a hoof injury.
The sting was still really bad however. It felt about as bad as having coat hair being ripped off with duct tape. With the initial pain over, Rainbow calmly released her breath and reached for the vines she had found. She tied the vine around her hind hoof to keep the leaf in place. When it was tied, she stood up and tested her weight against it. Still a little painful, but manageable now. As long as she didn’t keep walking on it that is.
“Phew… Now for the big guy.” Rainbow took the giant leaf with her teeth and started dragging it out of her cover. Now that the rain stopped, she didn’t have to worry about the sap being washed away. She did have to start walking on her injured hoof though to get it moving. It took some time, but she managed.
Rainbow now reached Fluttershy and the tatzlwurm. All that was left was to apply it to the big guy. Thankfully, she had enough time to think about how she was gonna do just that. First, she left the leaf down and climbed the tatzlwurm’s scales until she was on its head. Next, using her three long tongues, she scooped the leaf up and brought it to herself, being careful not to spill any of its sap. She let it lie down on the tatzlwurm’s scales to take a moment to breathe. The tatzlwurm was still breathing, which was a good sign. But now for the moment she dreaded.
“Okay big guy. I have to warn ya that this is gonna sting big time. But please, try to keep cool.” Rainbow took one last look at the giant burn mark on the tatzlwurm’s head. With a heave, she lifted the giant leaf and splatted the sap’s end down on it.
As expected, the tatzlwurm began growling in pain. Its body shook massively, causing Rainbow to lose her balance and fall down, almost falling off the tatzlwurm. Fortunately, that was the worst of it. The tatzlwurm slowly calmed down, and Rainbow sighed in relief. Looks like it was gonna be okay after all. She slid herself off the tatzlwurm to check on Fluttershy again. Her ears fell.
“No…” Rainbow said. Fluttershy’s face had gone red and she was breathing rather heavily and painfully. This was how she looked when she fell ill the first time. Upon seeing this, Rainbow turned and began to walk away quickly in panic. “No no no…”
Rainbow looked frantically around the area. They were out of time. At this point, even if she left, she was sure that Fluttershy was not gonna survive on her own like this. The only thing that could save her now was one of the Alpine Flowers. But no matter how hard she looked, she just couldn’t find them anywhere. Not even when she was looking for the leaves and vines earlier did she see them. Maybe they did burn up in the blazing fire. All she could think to do was put some distance between herself and Fluttershy.
“I’m sorry, Fluttershy,” Rainbow said with one last look back. All she could was hope that maybe, just maybe she was wrong, and that Fluttershy wasn’t too infected yet. But that felt like a very desperate cling to hope. The only real reason she wanted to believe that was because she knew staying around any longer was only gonna make it worse. Regardless of how small that hope was, she clung onto it, and took her first step.
*Crunch…*
Rainbow’s eyes widened. She stepped on something that didn’t feel like a branch or a rock. At that split moment, her hope skyrocketed to the skies that the thing she stepped on was the flower vase jar containing the Alpine Flowers. But when she looked down, her hope plummeted and buried itself deep underground again. It wasn’t the flower vase she stepped on.
Actually… what she stepped on looked like one of the broken pieces of the brace that Strike was wearing. Rainbow picked it up with anger and hatred in her face.
“Stupid Strike,” Rainbow began. “It’s all because of you that we’re in this mess right now.” She wondered where he even got such a device. Looking back towards the tatzlwurm, she knew they weren’t gonna get that answer from him anymore. After tucking the device under her wing, she continued. “Hope you enjoy your new home, Strike. You’re never leaving it now. All because you wanted to get back at X, by taking it out on us?! Why? What did she ever-”
Rainbow’s train of thought suddenly stopped like another train had crashed into it at one hundred miles per hour. A huge, HUGE realization dawned upon her. The realization was the big answer to her hope, but at the same time, a huge answer to a guilty choosing. Something replayed in her memory.
“The only thing worse than feeling so much pain… is knowing that you’re unwillingly spreading it to others.” That was the voice of the Spellcaster, the one who turned her into a tatzlpony. More of it replayed to her. ”Am I wrong? Would you really feel worse that way? Maybe some ponies would. Maybe some ponies would gladly see others in pain. Relieved to be freed from their pain. Sacrifice other lives to save themselves.”
Those words were hitting her hard now. Rainbow just finally realized how she could save Fluttershy. But it came with a choice she did not think she would have to make, especially when they just dealt with Strike. After all, if Rainbow had just released X from her stomach during that battle, Strike might’ve stopped his assault in exchange for X. And now, it felt like that decision was being sprung on her all over again.
...Because X was still holding one Alpine Flower in her mouth.
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shuddering
settle
passed
either would be fine
its
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Thanks. They should be fixed now.
I didn't think the leaves we're a Dragon Ball thing. I'll have to look into that. Also, I'm very glad to see that things have calmed down at least a little. But now they need to get to Ponyville fast once they get that Alpine Flower.
Nice. I liked this at the beginning, and your writing just continues to improve.