//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: Tatzlpony // Story: What is a Tatzlpony? // by Skylight77 //------------------------------// Sitting in the center of a beautiful flower filled meadow, she looked to the skies smiling as her pink mane blew against the breeze. Humming in relaxation, she waited. She didn’t remember why she was waiting, she just waited without a care in the world. As she waited, the skies revealed the beautiful rainbow that decorated its beauty. Seeing Rainbow Dash already told her that this was what she was waiting for. As Rainbow flew down to her, she stood up to meet her best friend again. “Hey, Fluttershy!” Rainbow voice echoed. “Ready for our pet play date?!” Her smile faltered and she looked around. “Pet play date?” She looked for signs of any animals. There were none. Then looking back forwards, Rainbow’s body was changing. Red lightning bolts appeared next to the eyes and the tail stretched out, flashed, and became a long lizard-like limb. Her eyes shrunk as she saw Rainbow turning back into that creature. Before she knew it, Rainbow’s mouth opened and shot out three black tentacle-like tongues at her. They wrapped around her body, held some of her hooves, and entangled her tail. She screamed as her body was pulled towards Rainbow Dash. ______________________________________________________________________________ Fluttershy released a loud gasp as she shot her head up from her sleeping position. Quickly looking around, she realized that she was just in Rainbow’s bedroom. Why was she in Rainbow’s bedroom, and sleeping on the floor no less? Oh yeah, she remembered why. Suddenly, that reason why was now nuzzling the side of her face. Her eyes shrunk and she froze on the spot. Yet it kept nuzzling her. Ever so slightly turning her head, the first thing she saw was the swirling lizard-like tail filled with multicolored scales. And then her eyes made contact with the rest of its body, along with its eyes. Cyan coat, rainbow mane, strong pegasus wings, and magenta eyes decorated with red lightning bolts to the side. “R-R-Rainbow Dash?!” Fluttershy’s mention of the creature Rainbow Dash’s name caused her to squeal in glee, nuzzling further as Fluttershy was pushed back down into a lying position. “B-But, how?” Fluttershy asked. “We just had you cured. Didn’t we? I saw you-” Before she knew it, she was already petting Rainbow Dash by the mane. The petting was not only relaxing Rainbow Dash, but also easing up her own panic. She didn’t know why, but despite that dream she just had, Rainbow’s current presence comforted her. ______________________________________________________________________________ Fluttershy popped open another lid from a jar. This one was a jar of purple grapes. She set it down on the sofa next to where she sat. After taking out a grape, she turned her attention forward. Rainbow Dash was halfway across the living room, holding her stance down with her tail up. When Fluttershy tossed the grape towards her, she jumped towards it, stuck out her tongue and caught the grape in it. Fluttershy watched as Rainbow caught and ate her food. Seeing that black tongue made her mind both wary and fascinated. It seemed longer and much more flexible than a pony’s tongue. She took another grape out and chucked it again, this time high in the air. Rainbow Dash jumped up, flapped her wings, and let the grape score into her mouth before falling back down. A smile spread across Fluttershy’s face. She couldn’t help but giggle as she took a look at the rest of the empty jars decorating the floors. There were three empty jars, all of which used to be filled to the brim with fruit. One of them had sliced apples, another had pineapple tidbits, and the third held many cherries of different colors. Now they were beginning their fourth, and still going. She took out another grape and tossed it to Rainbow again. Fluttershy wasn’t sure what she was more surprised about. The fact Rainbow had such a big appetite right now, or the fact Rainbow had this much fruit in her kitchen in the first place. But the thought of treating Rainbow like this left a guilty twist in her stomach. Her mind wandered. ”It looks like the spell worked. Rainbow Dash is back to her old pony self.” Twilight’s words echoed in Fluttershy’s mind. And then, Rainbow came up to her, holding the last grape she threw. Rainbow moved her mouth to the sofa and laid the grape next to Fluttershy. She then looked up at her with a smile. It seemed like Rainbow was finally satisfied with all the eating. Fluttershy wanted to smile, but she couldn’t. Rainbow was still this creature, so clearly the spell didn’t work. But why? She saw it transform Rainbow back. But here she was, looking up at her with those pet-like eyes, and the adorable lightning bolts next to them… “Oh… Rainbow… I don’t know what to do,” Fluttershy sadly spoke. “I saw Twilight transform you back into a pony. She said when you woke up, your memory would be back. But none of that happened. It’s like I didn’t take you to Twilight at all. But I know I did! That’s why I woke up here, right? So why...” Fluttershy closed her eyes and put a hoof to her head. “Oh… I’m lost… I’m just so lost…” Rainbow’s ears fell hearing Fluttershy’s sorrow. She could see Fluttershy trying to cover her eyes with her mane. That feeling… it sprung a new memory to Rainbow, another new feeling. “I’m lost too…” A chilling warmth ran through Fluttershy’s body when she heard that voice. Releasing her mane from her eyes, she looked at Rainbow Dash very curiously. That voice no doubt came from Rainbow. It made her realize what she was doing wrong. She kept jumping to conclusions so quickly, it never occurred to her that talking to Rainbow was an option. Maybe all she had to do was ask her herself. “Rainbow…” Fluttershy started and the two locked eyes. “If you can remember anything, please tell me.” Fluttershy put her hooves on Rainbow’s shoulders, excelling a heavy breath. Rainbow looked at her curiously. “I want to help you Rainbow. But I don’t know anything about you. I mean, I know who you are, but…” She closed her eyes and sighed. After retracing her words, she continued. “What kind of pony are you?” Fluttershy watched carefully as Rainbow listened to her words. She really hoped she could get an answer. She saw Rainbow’s eyes turn down, and then she backed away. Fluttershy’s heart dropped. Rainbow’s mind went deep. For that moment, she could hear words echoing in her mind, words coming from a female voice. It whispered only one word. Tatzl, tatzl, tatzl. “T-T-... Tatzl… Tatzl...” she spoke the last two times. Fluttershy’s heart came back up when she heard the response, filling her with warmth. But her expression was still curious. “Tatzl? A tatzl...pony?” she asked. Hearing that name, Rainbow snapped out of her trance and nodded. It didn’t tell Fluttershy much, but it was definitely progress. “What is a… tatzlpony?” Suddenly, the front door opened. “Rainbow Dash! Hey Rainbow-” Fluttershy froze upon hearing that voice. It was Rainbow Dash’s practical little sister, Scootaloo. “Oh, hey, Fluttershy! What brings you-” When Scootaloo’s voice stopped, Fluttershy and Rainbow turned to look at her, Fluttershy being more nervous about the sudden visit. “Um… Scootaloo… I can expl-” Fluttershy was interrupted when Rainbow started walking over to Scootaloo. Scootaloo was also walking to her. “What happened to Rainbow Dash? What did she turn into?” The two stopped walking when they reached each other. Rainbow Dash’s staring into Scootaloo’s eyes made her confused. She looked to Fluttershy. “Why is she staring at me like this?” Fluttershy stumbled over her words, not sure how to say them. “She… lost her memory… but…” Examining Rainbow’s actions made her uneasy. Ever since Rainbow transformed into this… tatzlpony, she’s never taken an interest to anypony other than Fluttershy. Now she was showing interest to Scootaloo. This was good, right? This meant Rainbow’s memories were having an effect on her. She would never forget the little filly she took under her wing to be her sister, right? Yet Fluttershy couldn’t stop being so nervous about this interaction. “You remember me, right Rainbow Dash?” Scootaloo said as she looked back into Rainbow’s eyes. “It’s me, Scootaloo.” Fluttershy looked at the way Rainbow was looking at Scootaloo. She could see Rainbow’s eyes pulsating, like Rainbow had found something. This felt familiar. She saw this before, when Rainbow first saw her just inside the Everfree Forest. Her eyes pulsated back then too, like she had found something. And then… Fluttershy gasped at the same time Rainbow opened her mouth, lashing out her three tongues at Scootaloo. “AHH! RAINBOW, LET GO!” Scootaloo screamed as the tongues wrapped around her body and picked her up. "HELP! FLUTTERSHY!" One wrapped around the back of her head, one around her back, binding her wings, and one along one of her hind hooves. “Rainbow Dash! No!” Fluttershy yelled as she rushed over to them, but Rainbow didn’t stop. As Scootaloo struggled to get free, Rainbow pulled her tongues in, pulling Scootaloo with her. Scootaloo yelled until Rainbow closed her mouth over her head, muffling her screams. “No! That’s a bad tatzlpony!” Scootaloo’s muffled screaming could still be heard as her back hooves flailed around. Her front hooves could be seen poking from the inside of Rainbow’s stomach as her body was pulled in. The tongues slithered and wrapped around the back of her legs and tail, preventing them from squirming. As Fluttershy reached Rainbow Dash, she gave her a stern stare. “You spit her out right now!” Rainbow backed away in fear from those eyes, but her tongue still pulled the rest of Scootaloo’s body in her mouth. She swallowed hard, Scootaloo’s body visibly passing through her neck and going into her stomach, revealing a small lump. Fluttershy gasped loudly. “How could you?! Rainbow!” Fluttershy attempted to grab her, but she flinched away with a feared face. “Give Scootaloo back!” Another grab attempt, and she moved further away. Being frustrated, Fluttershy lunged at her, only to miss and hit the ground as Rainbow turned tail to the other side of the living room. “Stay still!” Rainbow found herself backed to a corner. Frantically, she looked left and right, putting a hoof to her pounding stomach as Fluttershy was running towards her. At the last second after Fluttershy lunged again, she cringed and jumped in the air, keeping herself airborne with her wings. Fluttershy grunted and flew to the air after Rainbow, missing again when she dashed off. “No! Come back!” Rainbow had flown outside of her Cloudominium. Fluttershy flew out as well, following after her as fast as she could. Her voice whined as she beat her wings, only thinking about the endangered life in her mind. Slowly catching up, Fluttershy’s eyes squinted from the winds blowing in her eyes. As she gave chase, she saw Rainbow bracing her hooves on the lumps that kept pounding within her stomach. It didn’t matter to Fluttershy where Rainbow was going. All that mattered was catching her. Fluttershy got within hooves reach. But just as she reached her hooves out, she heard a yelp before Rainbow's speed suddenly increased tenfold, making her hooves grab air once again and leaving her in the dust. Hopelessly panting, her eyes shrunk and her flight slowed to a halt. Rainbow had separated their distance to an impossible reach. “N-No…” Fluttershy excelled in a desperate gasp. Even with Rainbow’s flight training, she could never hope to catch up when Rainbow flew at top speeds. She was hoping that Scootaloo’s weight would slow Rainbow down enough for her to catch up. But it didn’t seem to slow Rainbow down at all. Even worse, Fluttershy realized where Rainbow was heading, and their flight had taken them very close to it. Rainbow had disappeared back into the Everfree Forest, back to where Fluttershy had found her. Fluttershy had descended back to the ground, panting in exhaustion and utter terror. “Why Rainbow…” she cried. “W-W-Why?” The events of Scootaloo being swallowed alive played again in her mind. Rainbow was a tatzlpony. What was a tatzlpony? An image of Angel being around during the curing spell played. Her mind wandered deeper into that. Angel’s fur was wet when he appeared. A painful gasp came from Fluttershy as it clicked in her mind. Rainbow had swallowed Angel back then too. That was how he was with them. “A tatzlp-pony i-is a m-m-monster…” her voice vibrated as her terrifying conclusion came. “A hor-r-rrible, pony-eat-ting m-m-monster!” She released a cry of pure agony. This must’ve been what her dreams were trying to warn her about, and she didn’t listen to them. It even explained why Rainbow Dash had such a big appetite. But even after all that, Rainbow wasn’t satisfied. It was horrifying. Who would do this to Rainbow Dash? Then, a thought of Angel came back. Her head sprang up as she remembered how he was saved. “There’s still time! I have to find them! Rainbow Daaash!” Despite all her fears, she engaged her flight, rushing to the Everfree Forest.