//------------------------------// // Wake; Time to Fly // Story: Ofolrodi // by Imploding Colon //------------------------------// "Rainbow...!" A fuzzy gray hoof shook the petite pegasus' shoulder vigorously. "Rainbow!!!" "Mrmmmff..." Rainbow Dash's ruby eyes flew open. All around her, bodies were shifting... squirming beneath the stars. "Nat'rdo...?" Ariel ignored that, staring into Rainbow's face. "Shhhhhhh!" She looked worriedly off the plateau towards Edgeside. "Something is happening!" Even the Dihmers appeared more animated than usual. Concerned, Rainbow Dash pushed her fresh thoughts on the dream aside and craned her neck towards a thunderous sound. A herd of blue-tinged creatures were sprinting towards the plateau. They were twice the size of ponies, with flaring bioluminescent spines that alternated between bright red and cool blue. Rainbow spotted narrow horns and long tails, but she couldn't spot any teeth or claws to suggest they were carnivores. "They do not appearr to be afrraid," Kepler could be heard commenting. "Can they not feel through the ground?" quipped Flynn. Wildcard hand-signed something in response, but Rainbow could see it. "Mrmmff..." Rainbow rubbed the sleep from her eyes and lowered her voice. "Girls? You there?" "Of course, Rainbow," Twilight said. "Fluttershy says they herded over here from Alpha." "Any idea what they want?" "Maybe they came to arrest us!" Pinkie said. "They ain't panickin' or nothin'," Applejack remarked. "I dun think they sense any danger." Rainbow looked towards Fluttershy. "The wyrm?" The ground beneath them rumbled as she asked this. Fluttershy gulped. "It's moving towards them." "There isn't much solid earth beneath the plain anymore!" Rarity remarked. "If it crosses its previous tracks too much, it'll cause a sinkhole!" "Maybe that's what it wants to do!" Pinkie Pie suggested. "Then it'll gobble up the creatures underground!" "... ... ..." Rainbow gazed Edgeside. Her eyes fell upon the loose backpacks and supplies that were left in the hurry to get to the plateau. "...how far away is the wyrm from our stuff?" "About a hundred meters and increasing!" Fluttershy said. "Now might be our opportunity, Rainbow," Twilight said. Ariel leaned in. "What's the plan?" "Better take advantage of the moment when it's at hoof," Rainbow said. She looked aside. "Psssst! Keps! Which pack is yours again?" "The one bearring patches of old wyverrn symbology." Rainbow squinted. "Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..." Kepler cleared his throat. "Look for loose white hairrs, my frriend." "Gotcha." Rainbow perched on the edge of the rock. "Gotta make this quick." "What'll we do once we have the stuff?" Logan whispered hoarsely from afar. "Bring it to Keps and have him do his magic." "I suggest we send our fastest flier," Seraphimus said. "Right." Ariel nodded. "I'll go grab it." Wildcard pointed at himself. "Negatory." Seraphimus shook his head. "The task should fall on me." "I'll get it," Rainbow grumbled, no longer whispering. Ariel grimaced. "But Rainbow—" "I'm the fastest friggin' one here," Rainbow's wings spread. "And don't you forget it." She looked over her shoulder. "Although... I could use a boost." Holding his breath, Flynn hopped over to Rainbow's rock. "At your service." "If the creature turns around..." Seraphimus' charcoal eyes narrowed. "...you will not have much time." "Don't worry." Rainbow threw a casual glance at Rarity and Fluttershy. "I've got my own personal radar." She looked at Flynn. "Alley zoop time?" Flynn got into position, horn glowing. "Don't you mean 'alley oop?'" "Let's not be lame, bro." "Of course." Flynn licked his lips and concentrated magic. "Here goes." Ariel gulped. "Be careful." "Thanks." Rainbow wriggled into position. "I won't." Her teeth gnashed. "Contact—!" FL-FLASH! Flynn propelled Rainbow with a burst of telekinetic energy. Logan, Wildcard, and Seraphimus watched as she sailed towards Edgeside in a prismatic streak. SWISSSSSSSSSSH! "H-Heeeeey!" Twilight grinned amidst the whipping winds. "That was an impressive utilization of force magic!" "Keep yer head in gear, sugarcube!" Applejack hollered, gliding alongside their anchor. "Rainbow—tell us what you need—" "Fuzzy fuzzy senses on the wyrm!" Rainbow angled her wings and began her dive towards the scattered supplies below. "I want to know the very instant that it turns—" "It's almost underneath the herd!" Rarity said. "I do think that a dreadful feast is about to happen!" "Oh goodness..." Fluttershy whimpered. "Stay focused, Flutters!" Pinkie insisted. "My senses aren't going nuts, so I think Dashie's safe!" "Works for me!" Rainbow dove towards the pack. "I think I see Kepler's stuff!" "You're right, Rainbow." Twilight nodded. "That bag in front of you has magical ingredients." "Then let's make this quick." Holding her breath, Rainbow stretched her front legs out and caught a loop of the bag. "Gotcha—" Twnggg! The bag caught on something. "Guh!" Grimacing, Rainbow was tugged back. She fell flat on her flank. Thap! Twilight and Applejack winced. "What happened?" "It's... it's..." Rainbow hissed and struggled to tug the satchel loose. "...it's stuck on something!" She froze in place, ears drooping. "Don't tell me the wyrm sensed that." "It's... it's..." Rarity squinted, staring off in the distance towards the unwitting herd. "What?" Rainbow breathed, still tugging at Kepler's bag. "What's it doing?" "Oh no..." Fluttershy paled. Off in the distance, Rainbow heard a bevy of alien shrieks coming from the otherworldly herd. The air lit up with the sound of limbs pounding against the ground. Speedy. Frightened. "Somethin' spooked them!" Applejack said. "I think they dun sensed the wyrm!" "She's r-right!" Fluttershy pointed as the stampeding bodies came closer, surging Curveside. "Now the tatzlwyrm is chasing them!" Rainbow's pupils shrank. "Towards us?" "Not... q-quite, darling," Rarity mewled. Rainbow squinted. She watched as the herd kicked up a cloud, roaring straight towards the plateau. The earth tore up in a channel behind them, exposing bits and pieces of the tatzlwyrm's furiously wriggling scales. "Th-that's the fastest its ever moved!" Pinkie yelped. "It's heading straight towards our friends!" "They have to move!" Twilight shouted. "Guys!!!" Rainbow hollered, but her voice couldn't pierce the bedlam that the wyrm was picking up. "Rrrnnngh!" She tugged and tugged at the satchel, gradually ripping it loose from the rock it was caught beneath. "Wildcard! Big Show! Move your friggin' flanks!" From a distance, she could spot the bodies of the Herald squirming. They still weren't leaving the plateau. "It's not stopping!" Fluttershy said. "At the speed the herd and the wyrm are moving..." Rarity grimaced. "...they'll pulverize that hill to pebbles!" "Hey! Heyyyyyy!" Rainbow flailed her forelimbs wildly. Gnashing her teeth, she brought a hoof to her pendant and shone a bright light in their direction. "Move! You have to move—!" A pair of goggled lenses reflected Rainbow's ruby light. Within seconds, Wildcard streaked skyward, pulling Flynn and Kepler with him. Moments after, Seraphimus and Ariel could be seen desperately tugging Logan into the starry sky. "Can..." Twilight rubbed her fetlocks nervously together. "...c-can they make it?!" "Too late—!" Pinkie hollered. Rainbow grimaced as... ...the stampeding creatures rushed straight into the high-placed forest of boulders. Within the space of a scream—"RAWWWWWWWWRSSSH!!!"—the tatzlwyrm burst out of the ground, its tripartite jaws spread wide. In a hungry rage, it smashed itself blindly into the top of the plateau. The Herald vanished behind a projectile cloud of shattered rocks and loose stones. The bodies of animals and Dihmers went flying Curveside, and all that was left in the wake was smothered by the thrashing girth of the furious wyrm.