Before the creatures knew it, a fierce rainbow streak blew right past them, knocking them down. Rainbow Dash didn’t stop for anything. Many trees approached in her visions quickly. Her wings reacted accordingly, allowing her to slip past each and every one. Several creatures came in sight. Some moved out of the way in fright, and some attempted to catch her. None slowed her down.
Up ahead, a screeching wail was heard, followed by a loud snap. There was a tree falling directly in her path. She increased her speed so that she would pass under it before it fell. But just as she was passing under it, vines appeared in her path. A loud crash first, then a loud smack sounded. Her speed was suddenly stopped from the vines entangling her.
Rainbow grunted harshly as she managed to slip one of her wings away from the vines’ grips. Her other wing however could not escape their grasp. Those vines were trying to pull her in, pulling her to a monstrous plant. She could see saliva pouring like venom from its jaws. With her single wing, she flapped as hard as she could to attempt to escape its clutches. But it was failing her as she found herself being pulled in.
Rainbow gulped as her instincts led her to something she didn’t like. She lashed her tongues towards the vines to ensnare them in her own grip. The vines responded by letting go of her, but wrapping around all three of her tongues. They started pulling her in.
Rainbow’s eyes squeezed harshly from her tongues being pulled. Since her wings were free, she was able to pull back. Those vines were strong though. When it felt like she was pulling herself away, the plant shrieked and pulled harder. She flapped her wings faster, enduring the rough pressure her tongues were suffering. The plant shrieked louder and tried pulling back, but Rainbow pulled all her might into her wings to get away.
A massive shriek echoed in her ears, followed by a loud snap. She found her body being flung backwards as the pressure suddenly ceased. Her fling caused her to hit with a few tree branches along the way before tumbling to the ground. It ended by her body landing back first against the bottom of a tree. All three of her tongues stuck out, laying limp on the ground.
The impact left Rainbow dazed a bit. Her tongues twitched. After her eyes opened, her tongues were able to retract themselves back to her mouth. She had to do a quick rub of the tongue that was tied, making sure it was okay before returning it back to her mouth. When she looked ahead of her, she nearly freaked.
In front of her were the vines that were from that plant, now torn off and wriggling violently in front of her. The sight of that slime squirting about disturbed her, thinking that could’ve been what happened to her own tongues. They were just plants, but it was still a disturbing sight. She got up and looked away quickly, not wanting to see another moment of that.
And then she heard buzzing in front of her. She opened her eyes to see that the buzzing was being caused by a small insect with big eyes. Parasprite, was the name she remembered Fluttershy saying. It was just staring at her curiously, making her unsure whether to be relieved or nervous.
Suddenly, it opened its jaw massively. Rainbow flinched away as it lunged at her. At least, it seemed to lunge at her, but then she noticed that it was rapidly chomping away at the wriggling vines behind her. Those vines were gone in seconds. It disturbed her seeing all that slime vanish.
Recollecting her nerves, she looked away from the parasprite and continued on. She couldn’t waste anymore time. Fluttershy needed that flower and she needed it now. Her wings spread and allowed her to regain her pace. There was buzzing behind her. It seemed the parasprite was following her. That wasn’t important now, even if it sounded like there was more than one now.
Rainbow looked her surroundings over. The sun was starting to set, making it harder to see. Despite the fact that there was no path, she knew her instincts were leading her in the right direction. Now she was getting that confirmation. There was a clearing up ahead. In the center were the flowers she and Fluttershy discovered earlier. This was it.
Rainbow’s nerves settled a bit as she reached the flowers, having to take a moment to catch her breath. Before she went to pick them, the parasprite from earlier managed to catch up with her, followed by another, and another. Looking around, there was suddenly around six of those things buzzing around her. Annoying was all they seemed to be, until their attentions were set on the flowers.
All of them suddenly opened their jaws. Rainbow shrieked as the parasprites suddenly started chomping down on those flowers. Fluttershy needed those! She dove straight towards the flowers to cover them up from the parasprites feast.
Immediately this felt like a terrible idea. Now the parasprites were biting on her coat, her mane, her ears, and just all around creating a painful experience. She yelped harshly in pain and tried desperately to endure their bites, hoping they would back away.
The biting stopped abruptly for some reason. Rainbow wasn’t sure if she wanted to look up and see why. Then she heard some strange cries and shrieks above her. When she looked up, she instantly regretted it.
Spiders! Dozens of them! Their venomous fangs had caught and latched onto the parasprites. They were being pulled back up and taken to a web. More of them were coming straight for her. Some of them released themselves from their web.
Rainbow yelled a very loud cry as they attached themselves to her body. She flung her head from side to side to fling them off. Their venomous looking drools spread across the forest just as they did. More attached to her limbs and she wiped them off. The webs were getting stuck on her coat and mane. With one last cry, she flew the coup, taking whatever she was covering underneath her with her. To her relief, it was the flower Fluttershy needed, unfortunately probably the very last one left. It needed to be guarded with her life.
Rainbow didn’t stop flying up. With all those spiders below, her solution was to go above the forest. But going above the surface proved just as dangerous as below. When she reached above the trees, she was greeted to harsh winds beneath very dangerous looking clouds. They looked ready to strike lightning at any moment. And the worst part was, the harsh winds were threatening to blow the petals off this flower.
Rainbow looked in the direction she was sure Fluttershy was waiting. Keeping the flower close to her body, she flew through the storm as fast as she could. The rough winds made it difficult to fly fast, but she fought the storm as best she could.
Lightning struck. The jolt nearly made contact with her, making her eyes grow wide. She looked up to the storm clouds. More of her instincts were kicking in right there, but much stronger than before. It felt so familiar. Seeing a strange pattern within the lightning clouds really triggered her nerves.
Rainbow swerved her position as another lightning bolt struck. Had she not moved, it would’ve struck her. Another one struck and she moved away again before it could reach her. She wasn’t sure how, but her instincts were able to guide her through the storm quite effectively.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t doing the flower any favors. If she moved too much, the winds would blow away its petals. If that happened, she feared getting this flower would mean nothing.
More lightning bolts struck. She tried her best staying in a consistent path where the lightning bolts wouldn’t strike. But whenever it seemed like there was a pattern, it would suddenly change. Even worse, her strength was starting to give out. If this kept up, her strength would fail her before she reached Fluttershy. That couldn’t happen.
But of course, the Everfree Forest seemed determined to stop her from saving Fluttershy at all costs. The last lightning bolt didn’t go for her, but instead aimed at the top of one of the Everfree trees. It caused a massive roaring fire to emerge from the tree, reaching tall and wide in Rainbow’s path. Gritting her teeth, she immediately halted her flight so that the flower wouldn’t get burned.
This was really bad. If that fire spread, Fluttershy’s location would not be safe. She could probably put the fire out, but that would require a lot of speed, something this flower couldn’t handle. More bad news, the lightning strikes were getting more intense. Even if she could put the fire out, only more would probably follow its way.
There was no time to think. She dove straight back underneath the forest to protect this flower. Getting to Fluttershy was all that mattered.
She was close. She had to be. She could feel it. She had to make it. She just had to.
Breaking through any branches that blocked her path, she reached the ground and flew underneath the flames. Looking at that distance, if the fire spread, it would take quite some time before it reached Fluttershy. The creatures nearby seemed to be running away from the fire. Thorns were coming into her vision. Just a little farther now.
Rainbow panted heavily as she swerved around the thorns in her path. It was too dangerous to look back now. Her eyes had to stay ahead, else she’d clip her wings from the thorns. And with her remaining strength, she had to be extra careful.
Fluttershy’s resting spot was within sight. It just now occurred to her that something could’ve gotten to Fluttershy while she was away. Nerves intensifying, she put in one final burst of speed to make sure she was there, and more importantly, if she was okay.
The final stretch that came felt like minutes to Rainbow. She managed to reach the bush she hid Fluttershy in. Setting the flower down, she immediately started pulling the bushes apart, praying to somepony out there that Fluttershy was still here.
It seemed fate had answered her prayers, but only partially. Rainbow saw the hint of pink, making her nerves ease. She pulled the last of the bush away. Fluttershy was there, where Rainbow left her. And it looked like nothing had attempted to attack or reach her while Rainbow was gone.
But the problem was, Fluttershy wasn’t moving. Rainbow wasn’t sure if she was even breathing. It made her nerves skyrocket back into space. The flower… she picked it up with her mouth and moved to Fluttershy’s head. Carefully, she used her wing to slightly open Fluttershy’s mouth and place the flower inside. Then she moved her head slightly away to give space, but not to far in hopes of the worst.
Every second that passed felt like a minute to Rainbow Dash. Her heart pounded fiercely into her chest. It almost felt like it wanted to break right out. She couldn’t ease her nerves. It was all on Fluttershy. There just had to be a response. Something. Anything.
An answer came. Fluttershy’s mouth closed down on the flower and she began chewing. Rainbow continued holding her breath as she watched Fluttershy chew. It was gentle and slow. Witnessing Fluttershy suffering this much pain was painful to watch. Simply chewing for her must’ve been a task.
Nevertheless, Fluttershy managed to swallow. Rainbow looked away and released a huge sigh of relief from the breath she was holding. She slumped down next to Fluttershy to relieve her stress.
Just when she thought things were gonna get worse again, fate gave her the break she needed. Distant lightning storms could be heard, followed by rain. She had nearly forgotten about the fire that she was afraid would spread. But if it was now raining in that area, the fire would be put out. It hadn’t reached them yet, but it seemed like it would eventually.
All that was left now was waiting to see if that flower would eventually heal Fluttershy. For all she knew, the flower probably wouldn’t have any effect on her, let alone if a single flower would even be enough. She wanted to think of some way she could help more.
But it was difficult to even think straight. Every fiber of Rainbow’s instincts kept screaming at her to do the one thing she’s desperately been trying to avoid. Her strange hunger kept longing for Fluttershy. Without the food Fluttershy’s been providing for her, she wasn’t sure how much longer she could resist. But she didn’t want to leave Fluttershy’s side. She also didn’t want to give in to her hunger.
Rainbow began to wonder what exactly made Fluttershy believe that flower would help. Clang mentioned the flower during their encounter. But what did it mean? Her mind reeled back to the book Fluttershy was reading. Thankfully she still had it with her, in her stomach. Despite her hunger and those grueling experiences, she never felt that book give her any trouble with carrying it.
Sucking in her breath, she reached her tongues inside her stomach to pull the book out. Fortunately the cover had kept the pages safe from her saliva. She set the book down and turned the pages. There had to be a reason why Fluttershy believed that flower would work. More importantly, why that line from Clang stuck out. Flipping through the entries, one page stood out to her.
_
“This had to be it. The flower that appeared had an effect on my illness, an effect that all those treatments could never do. When I took those flowers, the illness was gone. I thought it had been for good. But the next morning, it came back stronger than ever.
Even worse, that creature from before had nearly found me. I thought I wasn’t going to make it. Whether it was from my illness or from the creature’s hunger, or even my own for that matter, I couldn’t tell. The only source of food I had left were these flowers. There weren’t many left though. Somehow, I did avoid that creature. But I was sure it would find me again.
And then, I discovered something. That creature, it was causing my illness. I don’t know how yet, but it was. Whenever I was near that creature, my illness became more harsh. But whenever I ate these flowers, the illness went away.
It was odd though. The other creatures in this forest didn’t seem to be affected by this toxin that this creature was spreading. Even as the days passed, I never saw them affected like I have been. Maybe it only affects ponies? Or maybe I’m just more vulnerable because it was an illness I was born with.
Whatever the case, all I know is that I must avoid this creature at all costs. I must also figure out where these flowers come from. If I could find more of them, I’m sure my illness will finally be cured forever. But that will never happen, as long as that creature is nearby.”
It was as if her heart had sunk within her stomach where the rest of her food had lied, and that food was ready to be barfed up like vomit. Rainbow could barely breathe after reading that. She just couldn’t believe it. But what other explanation was there? If Fluttershy believed that flower could save her, then that must’ve meant the same illness she was suffering, was the same one this book was talking about.
Which meant… Clang was right all along. The creature in this story… it must’ve been a tatzlpony, probably a different one. A tatzlpony was toxic somehow. It was affecting Fluttershy badly. Only that flower could save her now.
Fluttershy may have received that flower. But what now? How could Rainbow know if it would be enough to even work? According to this book, the only chance it had of working... was for her to leave Fluttershy, and stay as far away from her as possible.
Rainbow shed a tear as she placed a hoof on the book. She didn’t want to leave. Without Fluttershy, she would be lost and empty again. But if she didn’t leave, she could put Fluttershy in more danger than she already has.
Tatzlponies weren’t bad. That’s what she wanted to believe. Despite her hunger, she wanted to believe there was good in them, believe she wasn’t a danger to Fluttershy. Every time, her hunger got in the way. Fluttershy kept giving her faith. Now there was nothing she could do to deny that she was dangerous. Even now, her hunger was ailing her.
Rainbow extended a wing and reached for a feather. Steeling the incoming pain, she plucked one of her feathers, and placed it in the book that she read. She closed it just as her tear dropped, placing the book next to Fluttershy. After that, she covered Fluttershy up with the bushes and moved away. The sun had set. Rain could be seen. It would reach them soon.
This was it. Rainbow had to leave now. But where would she go? Those two ponies that encountered them earlier… they were being chased by timberwolves. Before that, they had been chasing her. Why? To capture her, to take her away from Fluttershy, to prevent the danger that a tatzlpony would cause.
Rainbow’s mind was set. She would search for those ponies. And after saving them, she would turn herself in, so that she would cause no trouble for ponies anymore.
Another tear dropped just as the rain had reached them. Rainbow squeezed her eyes shut and left without looking back. She only hoped the bushes would keep Fluttershy protected from the rain.
All the while, her belly continued to complain.