All five timberwolves roared and lunged. Rainbow yelped and immediately turned tail. The weight shift caused Scootaloo to fall again with an audible plop. She didn’t attempt to get back up this time. Lying down seemed to be the better option in here, for the stickiness of the belly was keeping her in place.
Rainbow Dash’s flight path was slowed down as she had to weave and zigzag between the trees and thorns. The timberwolves chased her down with no regards to the thorns. Their wooden bodies allowed them to feel little from them as they ripped through. Some of the timberwolves howled as they chased, calling in more wolves to their pack.
“RAAWWRR!!!” Rainbow yelped and halted her flight as a pair of jaws appeared right in front of her, nearly biting her. Scootaloo screamed from within her belly. The sound of that roar echoed within the belly and was booming to her ears.
Rainbow changed her direction, away from the timberwolf in front of her. More timberwolves appeared to her sides and lunged at her. Yelping, she weaved left, then right, and then left again as she nearly came in contact with a tree. One of the timberwolves slammed into the tree, causing its body to shatter into multiple pieces. The rest kept going.
This area of the forest was very dense with branches filled with thorns. If Rainbow wasn't careful with her flight, her speed going into those thorns would rip her feathers off. A large mountain came into view, causing her to stop. Looking up the mountain, she saw that they passed through the trees. The branches and thorns were very thick, too thick for her to pass through. She tried turning back, only to find the timberwolves right there, growling as they edged towards her.
“Why did we stop?! Rainbow Dash! What’s going on?!” Scootaloo tried calling, but there was no response. Rainbow pressed a hoof to her stomach as she shivered in place. Scootaloo could feel the shivers and felt the same amount of fear, shivering herself. It was more horrifying to her that she didn’t know what was going on. Something bad could happen at any moment and she didn’t know how or when.
Then, something clicked in Scootaloo’s mind. “Wait a minute! Rainbow Dash, you can take them!” A gasp could be heard from Rainbow. “You may not remember it, but you were the most awesome pegasus I’ve ever seen! And if you’re Rainbow Dash, you still are! I’ve seen what you can do, and timberwolves could never take you if you bring out those skills!”
Rainbow gritted her teeth, still backing away from the timberwolves and into a corner. She felt Scootaloo press her hooves against her stomach and plea desperately. “TRUST ME! Just fly towards them as fast as you can! You’ll see what I mean!”
With her eyes shrunk, Rainbow readied her wings as the timberwolves came closer. Her heart pounded in her chest, feeding a familiar adrenaline rush through her body. They rushed to her wings and her eyes became focused. She could count them. Five, six... seven. There were seven timberwolves in the area. One. Only one was in her way. When that timberwolf lunged, her wings ignited.
A rainbow streak had been left in her path. She flew like a speeding bullet directly towards the wolf that jumped. Upon making contact, the slam from both her hooves caused the timberwolf to shatter upon impact. She immediately skidded to a stop as the wood flew everywhere in her vision. Gasping, she looked around. That timberwolf was no more. There were six left.
“See?! I told-” Scootaloo was interrupted by a loud growl along with a weight shift. “Ah!”
Rainbow ducked to avoid the chomps, then leaped in the air to gain flight and turn tail. One of them nearly managed to bite her tail. Taking a look further ahead of the trees she passed through, she thought more into what Scootaloo was talking about. Her instincts allowed her to focus on one tree in the distance, increasing her speed towards it. When it came close, she outstretched a hind hoof and kicked it as hard as she could.
A large chunk of its trunk was split from the tree and came with her. As she grabbed it in her hooves, the rest of that tree toppled down behind her. It fell down on one of the timberwolves, shattering it with a loud slam. The timberwolves in front kept going while the ones in the back leapt over. Rainbow twirled herself around and threw the trunk she held behind her. Another timberwolf was hit and shattered. She saw four left chasing her as she turned back around.
But before she could see where she was going, her right wing slammed against one of the branches.
“Ah!” Rainbow yelped in pain as her wing was clipped, causing her body to go crashing towards the ground. Her body bounced once before skidding along the dirt and coming to a stop.
“Rainbow Dash! Are you okay?!” Scootaloo called from inside. Rainbow winced as she dug her hooves to the ground. A loud roar penetrated her ears. She immediately rolled to the left, barely avoiding the timberwolf’s teeth as they pierced in the ground. Scrambling on her hooves, another one lunged from her left side. It slammed into the other timberwolf as she jumped forwards, nearly losing her balance as she kept running.
Rainbow panted heavily as she kept running, putting strain in her body. Her speed was heavily decreasing. Scootaloo’s eyes shrunk, noticing the slowing movements. “What’s going on?! Why are you slowing down?!”
Rainbow excelled a few more pants before responding. “Ti-... *pant, pant* -red…” A snap at her tail caused her to yelp and push forwards.
Scootaloo’s ears fell further as her fear intensified. “Tired?! You can’t get tired now!”
Another snap and Rainbow avoided it by turning a corner when reaching a tree, halting the timberwolf. But another timberwolf cut her off by appearing in front of her. As she stopped, she tried another direction, only to find two more timberwolves.
“Nnngh!” Rainbow bit her lip hard looking at all her directions. To the right was a timberwolf, to the left was a timberwolf, and in front of her were two timberwolves. But behind her, was a very thick pile of thorns. Looking closer, there was a small opening. Without thinking, she jumped through, scraping her coat against the thorns. The timberwolves tried following after her, but could not fit through the opening. Nevertheless, they barked repeatedly, continuing to push themselves against the thorns.
Rainbow backed herself away and sat at the corner of her sharp security blanket. Shivering, she moved her muzzle toward her clipped wing and used one of her tongues to lick the wound, mending the pain.
“Ahh!” Scootaloo held her hooves on her head, weeping in agony as the barking echoed in her ears. “Rainbow! Do something! I don’t wanna get eaten! I mean… Nngh! You know what I mean! Ahh!”
The barking got louder and more violent. Rainbow could feel their saliva being spat at her. She winced back further into her shelter, still panting from the strain on her body. Her heart dropped deeply when the timberwolves resorted to biting on the thorns. Some of them were pulling on them. If they got through that, there would be nothing to protect them.
Rainbow darted her eyes around, quivering her lips. Her tongues practically tried to tie themselves from inside of her mouth. The thorns surrounded her entire vision, with nowhere else to run. Even if she could run, her body was too tired to outlast those wolves.
“TRUST ME! Just fly towards them as fast as you can! You’ll see what I mean!” Scootaloo’s words echoed in her mind, causing her heart to pound. She gasped her breath in a suffocation, dreading what she was thinking about.
“Scootaloo… I know what to do… but you might not like it,” Rainbow spoke to her belly in a desperate tone.
“If it can save us, do it!” Scootaloo screamed, still pressing her hooves on her head as the barking continued to sound.
Rainbow released a few pants of fear, watching as the timberwolves ripped a few thorns apart from their pulling. She looked back down to focus on Scootaloo. “Do you trust me?” she asked.
Scootaloo peaked an eye open and looked up. “Of course I do. You’re my sister.” She paused to recollect her words. “Well, not exactly my sister, but we practically are. You remember don’t you? I know you can remember. I trust you just like a sister would.”
Scootaloo’s words spawned something in Rainbow’s mind, making her eyes pulsate. “S-Sister…” she said quietly to herself. Looking down, she repeated. “Sister…” A strange, bonding feeling welled up strongly in her body. It must’ve came from Scootaloo. There was a spark in her mind, convincing her to swallow her fear.
“I’ll do it,” Rainbow said as she raised her tail. “Whatever you do, please try and stay awake.”
Both of Scootaloo’s eyes opened and she looked up. Still shivering, she slowly nodded. She wasn’t sure what Rainbow Dash meant, but it sounded serious.
Rainbow placed her hooves against the lump on her stomach and closed her eyes. “I’ll protect you,” she said quietly. “I’ll protect…” She allowed her tail to drop and plant itself within the ground, releasing a long breath.
There was a shift within the stomach, which almost sounded like a rumble, or a rough movement from an injured pony. Scootaloo could feel the atmosphere changing within the belly. It felt like... magic... which filled the insides of this stomach. The magic felt gentle and relaxing. She could feel her muscles and nerves loosen their stiffness.
Suddenly, her eyes started drooping. She was feeling very… sleepy.
Rainbow’s body started to glow as she felt the flow from Scootaloo within her. With her eyes squeezed shut as her magic activated, her body stood to all four hooves while her tail helped her stay in place. She breathed heavily as she desperately tried to control this magic correctly.
Scootaloo could no longer hear the barking from the timberwolves. Her eyes drooped further. They really wanted to close. “N-No… Rainbow Dash s-said… stay… awake…” She started wobbling back and forth, starting to feel like she had skipped an entire night’s sleep. One of her eyes had closed. While she rubbed it, her other eye stayed open, until the process switched.
Rainbow could feel the energy flowing through her body, most notably through her tail while it seemed to release from its ending fin. The strain on her body started to vanish. She opened her eyes and spread her wings. The timberwolves had almost made it through the thorns. Their movements started to slow down for her. Familiar instincts were kicking back in.
The glow in Rainbow’s body faded along with the flow of energy. Scootaloo was no longer getting more tired, but she could barely stay awake. All four timberwolves made one last pull on the thorns. As soon as they ripped, she released her tail from the ground and ignited her wings. Leaving behind a rainbow streak, she flew in between the thorns and the attempted bites from the timberwolves.
Scootaloo felt the sudden jolt in acceleration. Thankfully, the sticky walls in the belly kept her in place, but the movement certainly woke her up from her daze.
Rainbow Dash hovered just below the thorns of the forest, panting lightly as she looked down at the timberwolves. One of them stared up at her, growling while the other three moved for the trees and branches, looking for positions that would reach her.
No more running away. A memory had sparked. Rainbow’s eyes grew wide and she flew towards the largest open field she could find nearby. She flew circles around that field. Her speed increased, faster, faster. All four timberwolves changed their direction and charged for that field.
A tornado was forming. Despite being inside, Scootaloo was feeling nauseous from all the spinning around. Enduring the pain on her wing, Rainbow continued to spin. The tornado grew powerful. Leaves and dirt were being sucked in. Trees were bending towards her.
But more importantly, the first timberwolf that made contact with the tornado, yelped as its body was completely engulfed in the tornado. The other three tried to stop upon hearing that yelp, but two more were two late and were sucked in as well. The last one changed direction and tried to run away from it. Just like the other two, it was too late. Being too close to the tornado caused it to be sucked in as well.
Unfortunately just like everything else, a few stray thorns had been sucked into the tornado as well. As Rainbow maintained the tornado’s speed, stray thorns scraped against her body. Gritting her teeth, she endured the pain and continued. Seeing that all the timberwolves had shattered due to the force inside the tornado, she proceeded to the final step. The tornado sucked it’s top part inside. All of its captives were pushed to its top.
And then, the tornado spat, shooting its contents upwards with a massive force. The force was strong enough to break through the forest layer, making them fly very far from their location.
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Somewhere inside the forest, Fluttershy gasped hearing the sound of a distant burst of wind. Hope dawned upon her, and then fear took hold when she looked towards its direction. Up ahead, she saw that that part of the forest had trees that were covered in vines filled with thorns.
Fluttershy gulped fiercely while shaking. The sound of that burst of wind told her something was in that direction. She had a hunch at what it was, and hoped with all her heart she was right. With all her courage, she ran towards that area.
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The tornado was dissolving. Rainbow released herself from the tornado after her speed decreased enough. Landing within the open area, she panted heavily as the winds calmed down.
Inside, Scootaloo’s dreary eyes circled themselves as her body wobbled. Groaning, her cheeks bulged, covering her mouth as she felt sick from all the spinning. Darting her eyes around, she thought. ”Is it okay to puke in here?”
Scootaloo’s question was answered when she felt Rainbow’s panting stop. Not just stop, but freeze. It was like she cringed. With a struggle, Scootaloo took a heavy swallow, pushing down her own vomit.
Both Rainbow and Scootaloo sighed in relief. After recovering from her potential vomiting, it now dawned on Scootaloo that the timberwolves were no longer barking. That could only mean one thing.
“Rainbow Dash… you... You did it!” she said after excelling a pant. “You took care of those timberwolves! I knew you could do it! You’re awesome!”
But Rainbow Dash just stood where she was, continuing to pant as her eyes stared at the ground. Her body was in pain from all the scrapes from the thorns. Inside however, she was hurting more.
Scootaloo was confused by the response. “Um, Rainbow Dash? What happened?” Rainbow’s body started to lie down, her breath stuttering in a heavy force. “What are you so upset about? You did what you said you would do. You protected me and deserve to be proud for it! Go on! Pose dramatically with a cheerful, ‘Aw yeah!’ like you always do!”
Rainbow’s body only sunk more, her tail wrapping around herself while her eyes pulsated with guilt. She started licking the wound that was on her wing again, her mind wandering to why she felt so guilty.
Fluttershy. An image of Fluttershy appeared before her. And then, she heard her voice. ”Rainbow Dash!” it yelled out angrily, making her ears droop. She could see those terrifying eyes piercing into her soul again. Those eyes, when she saw them, were more terrifying than those timberwolves. Now those eyes were filling her with guilt.
”Rainbow Dash…” the voice repeated in her head, quieter this time. Or at least, she thought it was in her head. She felt Scootaloo responding to the call.
“Fluttershy?” Upon hearing Scootaloo call her name out, Rainbow Dash propped her head back up, seeing Fluttershy rushing towards them with a very worried face.
When Fluttershy reached them, she heard a muffled voice from somewhere. ”Fluttershy, is that you?”
Relief and worry spread on Fluttershy’s face. “Scootaloo!” She drew her face closer to Rainbow’s stomach. “Scootaloo! Don’t worry! I’m gonna get you out of there!” Just before she brought her attention back to Rainbow, the voice spoke again.
”Wait! Fluttershy! It’s okay!”
Hearing that voice made Fluttershy halt. “What?” she asked. That was when Rainbow Dash opened her mouth and the voice became clear.
“Rainbow Dash kept me safe in here,” Scootaloo said, then started panting as her eyes drooped again. “We were… we were attacked by timberwolves, and Rainbow Dash chased them away.”
Fluttershy gasped, now knowing why Rainbow’s body was such a mess with scratches, leaves, and thorns covering her coat. “Oh my goodness… Are you okay?” she asked.
“Well, I’m… okay… un...” Scootaloo’s voice wavered.
“You don’t sound okay,” Fluttershy replied.
“I am though… just a bit sleepy is all.”
Fluttershy cranked her head back. “Sleepy? How can you be-”
“Look, can we just get out of here, Fluttershy?” Scootaloo’s voice raised a bit desperately. “Rainbow Dash hasn’t made a response since those timberwolves left. Is she even awake right now?”
Fluttershy froze up, slowly turning her eyes to Rainbow’s. After Rainbow closed her mouth, her head drooped down as her eyes looked up to Fluttershy’s, pulsing with fear and guilt. Her tail was wrapped around her hind legs while her wings slumped to the side. She was not only in physical pain, but emotional pain as well. Seeing all this made Fluttershy’s mind wince.
"Fluttershy?" Scootaloo's voice alerted Fluttershy back. Scootaloo may have been trapped in the stomach of this tatzlpony, but she did have a point. They had to get out of here. And Rainbow Dash needed some treatment for her injuries.
“Okay.” Fluttershy pulled out a collar and a leash from under her wing and placed it around Rainbow’s neck. “We’re going back to my cottage where it’s safe.” She held the leash firmly in her hooves. Rainbow made no attempt to flinch away. She even started moving with Fluttershy before Fluttershy took her first step with the leash.
It was a bit surprising to Fluttershy that Rainbow’s obedience suddenly changed so drastically. Wondering what had happened, she worried for not only Scootaloo’s safety, but for Rainbow’s as well, especially after seeing the condition Rainbow was in.
At least for now, they were both okay, and that gave Fluttershy relief as they started exiting the forest.
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Unknown to Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Scootaloo, a silhouette had watched them leave. They were back at the site of the attack, where a thick bush of thorns had once grown. Thanks to the timberwolves, the thorns now scattered the area in a heap of mess. The silhouette stared at the center of its field, looking closely at the marking the tatzlpony left behind.
All that was heard, was a frustrated sigh.