1
The sun had risen over the Everfree warming the dirt upon the ground. The giant stood and turned his head down toward the filly beside his massive foot. He looked out into the tree line and around the forest floor. He knelt down and touched Sweetie Belle’s face lightly with one of his fingers.
“Rarity, I don’t want to get up yet.” she mumbled. The giant nudged her head lightly again. “Alright, alright, I’m getting up.” She grumbled. She slowly opened her eyes and jumped when she saw the giant’s metal face next to her. The giant stumbled back a little also startled. “What are you, how did I get here?!” Sweetie Belle yelled in fright. The giant made only low groaning sounds and high pitched whines. “Umm, ok.” Sweetie Belle took a deep breath and took a good long look at the creature before her.
She found all of the features that she had previously had a glimpse of. She examined every part of it this time. Perhaps the most notable and disturbing feature she saw of this creature was that it did not have any skin on the left side of its torso and what was there had been torn and burned. Its face did not have a nose or lips. All she could see were exposed black, shimmering teeth, All of its organs were exposed. Each organ had been grossly modified. The only thing protecting them was the cage of metal that appeared to be its ribs. Sweetie Belle could feel a storm brewing in her stomach. She felt her throat tighten slightly and a burning in her esophagus. When it reached her mouth she kept it closed and swallowed hard. Her face contorted and she fell to her knees. The giant knelt down and started to rub Sweetie’s back to calm her down. Sweetie belle looked up more confused than before.
“Why are you trying to help me? I thought all of the creatures of the Everfree Forest were evil.” The giant only stood and watched Sweetie Belle. The giant pointed to the ground after a few seconds. Sweetie Belle looked down and saw the long piece of gray cloth on the ground. “Would you like this back?” she asked while holding the scarf with her magic. The giant growled and swiped hard at the green aura causing Sweetie Belle to drop the scarf and duck for dear life trying to avoid the sharpened metal fingers. “What in Celestia’s green Earth was that for!?” she wailed at the giant. “Wait… you've never seen magic before have you?” The giant cocked his head slightly to the right. “You know…magic.” The giant did not move. Sweetie Belle thought for a moment and allowed her horn to glow. The giant let out a small growl. “It’s alright, I can control it.” She used her magic to pick up a small stick from the forest floor. She levitated it to the giant’s eye level. “See. It won’t hurt you. Magic comes naturally to a unicorn.” Sweetie proclaimed happily. The giant hummed and nodded with apprehension.
After Sweetie Belle gave her short lesson about magic she sat and looked at the masses of trees around them. She could only see the brown trunks of the trees around them. She eventually spied a mass of brown sticks, and red stains. She picked herself up and trotted over to the mass. She felt the storm again and this time could not hold it down. She covered the mass in an unrecognizable slop. She turned slowly coughing while the giant came, his steps making the ground vibrate.
“Is that the Timber Wolf from yesterday?” she asked, feeling queasy. The giant nodded. She stood in silence for a moment. “OK, well um, why don’t I get going? I need to find my friends.” she said uneasily. “Thanks for everything and uh, good luck to you.” She scrambled off in a hurry, her mind running wild.
2
Sweetie had run until she was certain that she had lost the creature by the tree. She slowed down to a trot and then into a walking pace. She hoped that it would be the last time she had to look at that abomination of a creature. She tried to banish the image of the Timber wolf from her mind after what she had seen of what remained of it. She walked along the dirt, cracking small sticks beneath her hooves and climbing over the large log like branches and felled trees. She kept looking behind her wondering if it was following. Why was she wondering if he was? What did she care? She had seen the Timber Wolf and what was left of it. Yet a small piece of her wanted him to be following close behind her. She shook her head to get her mind off of whatever creature had helped her and tried to focus on where her friends would be.
She called out for Applebloom and Scootaloo but never received a response, she only heard birds and other various animals around her. She continued to call for her lost friends when she heard snapping and other grunting behind her. “Applebloom! Scootaloo! Is that you?” she called, turning in the direction of the sounds. She saw a sight that nearly made her vomit again even though there was nothing left inside of her stomach to eject. She saw a pack of three Manticores walking to their cave when she noticed that they were dragging two bloodied fillies in their large lion like paws. One had red hair and a yellow coat while the other had a purple mane and orange fur. She recognized them immediately even though they were covered in red splotches. “Applebloom, Scootaloo.” She whispered, barely audible . One of the three Manticores stopped and turned to see that Sweetie Belle had been watching them. The Manticore without a filly in its paw ran at her and roared.
She screamed and tried to run away from her attacker when she was caught by its large paw. She struggled and tried to escape its grip to no avail. Despite her efforts to escape she was caught in the Manticore’s vice like grip. The Manticore had her pinned to the ground. He raised its Scorpion like tail ready to inject a paralysis poison into her body. Before it was able to bring down its tail it felt a pain in its paw and saw the small filly biting down on it. The Manticore roared and his paw released her as the Manticore brought it up to inspect the damage. He roared again and Sweetie threw a stick at it hoping to slow it down. It shot threw the stick as though it were a twig and rocketed toward Sweetie Belle. She could not move her body refusing to take another step even though her brain told it to turn and run.
3
The Manticore ran at top speed to catch his tiny prize when it felt something slam into its back. The Manticore’s stomach arced toward the ground and its spine had nearly collapsed in on itself, had it not been for the ground beneath him. His brain smashed around inside its skull causing it immense pain and the inability to see what was happening around him. When its vision cleared it saw a silhouette raised above its head watched as it came hurdling onto the top of its face.
Sweetie Belle opened her eyes and saw the giant in front of her once more, this time from his side. The Manticore blood stained his steel grey metal boot. Tears formed in her eyes and she tried to lunge at him to hug his massive leg but her body still would not move. The other two Manticores dropped their prizes and roared at seeing their comrade killed in front of them. They charged at the assailant. The giant turned his body and stood stone still and allowed his large blade to escape from his right wrist. He lowered his posture as the Manticores came closer.
The first Manticore lunged at the giant when it was in range. The Manticore was pushed to the ground by the giant’s hand and he brought the blade down upon the Manticore for the finishing blow, but the second Manticore reached the giant first and managed to slash him across the back. The giant let out a roar of his own and brought the blade to his second attacker in and upward sweep. The blade met flesh as the blade carved a gash into the Manticore’s side. The Manticore yelped in agony as blood rushed from the newly formed wound. The first Manticore sprang up and lunged once again and latched on to the giant’s back using his claws. The Manticore bit down into the giant’s neck. The giant groaned and jumped up slightly and flattened himself in the air. The Manticore could not get off in time and his lower body was crushed beneath the giant’s unmatched weight. With the first Manticore down with a mortal injury he could focus on the other.
The giant ran at the other Manticore. The Manticore charged at the giant in response and it let out a mighty swipe at the giant’s throat. The giant punched the Manticore in the face while blocking the Manticore’s attack with the other. The Manticore spun in midair. The giant’s sense of time slowed to nearly half. The giant spun around and brought his fist down into the Manticore’s back as it fell with great force. The Manticore’s spine shattered and blood rushed from the Manticore’s mouth as it slammed into the ground hard enough to crack stone. The Manticore remained still and breathed its last. The giant returned to where the first Manticore lay only to find it forever still.
The giant returned to where Sweetie Belle stood unmoving. She found that the giant’s shadow blocked out the sun above her. She looked into the giant’s face seeing only his glowing red eyes. Tears were streaming from her eyes and she sniffled and whimpered. She tackled the giant’s foot and sobbed into it. Her tears left small wet trails on his massive metal clad appendage. The giant knelt carefully as not to harm her. He scooped her up in his flesh covered hand and held her gently to his shoulder letting out a small whine of his own. Sweetie belle continued to cry into his shoulder while mumbling things about how she felt horrible about running from him and wishing that she had never left. The giant did the only thing he could do and that was to let her cry into his shoulder.
4
When Sweetie Belle had finally calmed down they went over to where Applebloom and Scootaloo were lying. Sweetie Belle looked at them in horror. Their bodies were covered in dried blood making their fur and manes look matted and unkempt. She nudged at them with her hoof, they remained still. Sweetie Belle did not want to lose her friends because of their dumb decision to go after a Timber Wolf as the Cutie Mark Crusader Everfree Forest Animal Catchers. Her eyes welled up again and she almost began to cry, except that her eyes could not push out any more tears. The giant was on his knee his eyes glowing unusually bright. The small display in his optical nerve began displaying information regarding the conditions of the small fillies.
Scanning…
Scanning…
Diagnosis of unknown horse like creature Complete: Spinal nerves constricted, Central Nervous System blocked. Brain-stem Status: Operational. Life not in immediate danger. Options for fixing issue: 1. Adjust Spinal Column 2. Remove Spine and replace via surgical intrusion. 3. Leave creature for dead.
He shifted his head from Applebloom over to Scootaloo.
Scanning…
Scanning…
Diagnosis of winged animal complete: Rib cage has been damaged. Blood flow slowed to almost nonexistent levels. Vitals dwindling rapidly. Estimated time to complete bodily shutdown Two minutes. Options for repairing damage with minimal repercussions: 1. Relocate damaged ribs to reinstitute blood flow. 2. End life. ….Only two options available, third unable to be found.
He brought his left index finger the still body of Applebloom and placed it on her back and pushed fairly hard. Sweetie heard a snap and panicked. “What did you do?! You broke her back!” she screamed. The giant let out a groan and moved on to Scootaloo. He placed his finger on her side and did the same. Sweetie heard another snapping sound also accompanied by a crack. She almost fainted like her sister normally would, though less graceful.
Moments later Applebloom began to lightly shift and her chest began to move up and down lightly. Scootaloo did the same her heart able to get blood to where it needed to go. Sweetie Belle was relieved but felt guilty about doubting the giant once again when she should have waited and let him conduct his treatments. The giant picked up Sweetie Belle in his covered hand and placed her on the back of his neck, her back hooves draped over his shoulders. He scooped up Applebloom and Scootaloo into his covered arm holding them lightly and began walking away from the incident. Sweetie Belle hugged the giant’s head with her front hooves and placed her cheek on top of his head, closing her eyes.