//------------------------------// // Running, Jumping, and Climbing Trees // Story: Consequences // by shallow15 //------------------------------// “Okay, I think that's far enough, girls,” said Fluttershy, gripping Rainbow Dash's shoulder. “Maybe we should head back now?” The sun had set and the starts were coming out. The girls had broken out the flashlights and were making their way deeper into the woods. Twilight wa sin the lead, still consulting the magic detector. The LED was stong and pulsing steadily, indicating they were heading in the right direction. “Don't worry, Fluttershy,” Pinkie chirped. “Who hasn't been wandering in the woods after dark looking for a potentially killer monster that can uproot and break trees like toothpicks? It's like bing in a horror movie!” Fluttershy squeaked and gripped Rainbow's arm tighter. Pinkie grinned. “I know! Isn't this great?” Rainbow gave Fluttershy a reassuring smile then looked at Twilight. “Hey, Twilight? Fluttershy has a point. It's getting late. We any closer to finding anything?” Twilight didn't answer. Rainbow rolled her eyes and lightly bumped into her friend. Twilight let out a yelp and glared at Rainbow. “Earth to Twilight Sparkle,” the athlete said with a grin. “Anything?” Twilight adjusted her glasses. “Well, we're still going in the right direction, but you have a point. I'm sorry, girls. This was a bad idea. Obviously, this thing's lair is deeper in the forest than I thought. Let's head back. We can try again tomorrow after--” A thundering crash cut off the rest of Twilight's sentence. A moment later, there was another crash. The girls looked around, searching for the source. “What was that?” Rainbow asked. Beside her, Fluttershy trembled. “I think we know what that was,” she muttered. Twilight looked down at the magic detector. The LED was blinking on and off. As she watched, there was another crash, louder this time, and the light blinked even more rapidly. Twilight swallowed hard and looked at her friends. “It's- It's getting closer!” Another crash caused the girls to scream and they huddled together. A tree in the distance suddenly toppled over, causing yet another thunderous boom. The magic detector began emitting an urgent beep. Rainbow's fists clenched. Twilight and Pinkie shined their flashlights into the trees. There was a chilling silence. Pinkie and Twilight cast the flashlight beams around the group. “See anything?” Twilight asked. Pinkie shook her head. “Nothing. Maybe it decided to go some other way.” Twilight nodded and turned to face the group. “Let's get out of here.” The other girls made noises of agreement and they tuned to leave. They saw the flash of reflected light a split second before the roar came. The girls closped their hands to their ears and looked up when it ended. A gigantic shadow loomed before them, eyes glowing yellow in the darkness. For a moment they stood transfixed as the shadow lumbered forward, knocking another tress aside as it passed. “R...r... RUNNNNN!” Fluttershy shouted. The girls echoed the scream and dashed into the woods. Another roar and the shape began crashing through the trees behind them. “I don't suppose anyone ignored Sunset and brought their geodes?!” Twilight shouted. “Rainbow Dash?” “Left it behind!” Rainbow shouted from up ahead. She looked over her shoulder. “Anybody else?” Pinkie and Fluttershy, panting heavily, shook their heads. Another roar came behind them. The girls glanced behind them and screamed as the monster began gaining speed. Twilight's heart was pounding and her lungs were burning as she ran, adrenaline rushing through her system. She swallowed and tried to force her legs to run faster, all the while aware of the crashing noises behind her that indicated the monster was rapidly gaining on them. This is my fault. I'm going to get us all killed! You've led your friends to their deaths, Twilight! Her foot hit an exposed root and she yelped as she fell forward. Just before she hit the ground, a blur hand grabbed her and hauled her back to her feet. “Everybody grab everybody else!” Rainbow cried. Twilight reached behind her and grabbed Fluttershy's hand. Pinkie jumped forward and grabbed Fluttershy's other hand. Rainbow nodded. “Keep running and don't let go!” she cried. She poured on the speed, forcing the other three to keep up with her. The monster roared again and the ground began to shake as its rampage brought it closer to the girls. Twilight risked a glance behind her. She still couldn't see many details, but she could see sharp pale claws reflecting the moonlight. The glowing yellow eyes now had angry red irises. Another roar echoed through the trees, the force of it causing Pinkie to stumble and fall to the ground. “Pinkie!” Twilight cried. She pulled Fluttershy even with her and joined her hand to Rainbow's. “Keep going!” Twilight circled back and dashed toward Pinkie, who was getting to her feet. She grabbed Pinkie's hand and hauled her upright. “Are you okay?” “I think so.” Pinkie held up her casted hand. It had broken and the bandage surrounding it had started to unravel. “Uh-oh?” Twilight quickly wrapped the bandage back around Pinkie's hand,m then took her good one. They turned to run again when there was a loud thud and the earth shook, causing them to fall to the ground. The looke dup and screamed as the monster's shadowy form loomed over them. It roared again and they covered their ears, recoiling at the thing's fetid breath. The two girls cowered and hugged each other, certain of the end. A rock came sailing out of the darkness, cracking the thing in the head. It staggered to the side, giving Pinkie and Twilight a chance to get to their feet. The monster's head moved back toward them, only to get another rock across the snout. “Leave them alone you... you... big meanie!” Fluttershy's voice rang out. “How dare you?! Is this how you act when you're angry?!” Twilight and Pinkie blinked as Fluttershy stalked out of the trees, fists clenched. Even the monster seemed confused by this turn of events, raising its head and peering at her. Fluttershy put her hands on her hips and glared up at it. “Now, you stop this foolishness right now, mister, and go back to where you came from! You're just a big bully and I will not stand for this!” “Fluttershy?” Rainbow began, stepping behind her. “Maybe it's not a good idea to lecture the giant magic monster thing that wants to eat us?” But Fluttershy was on a role. “Do we have an understanding?!” The thing looked down at her. Futtershy returned the glare, unmoving. The monster's head came down and unleashed another roar, covering Fluttershy in saliva. When it stopped, Fluttershy blinked and plastered an embarrassed grin on her face. “Okay, I think you've learned your lesson so we'll just be going now! Buh-bye!” She broke into a run, her hear streaming wetly behind her. “RUN!” she screamed as she passed Twilight and Pinkie. Who briefly looked at each other and broke into a run, Rainbow Dash bringing up the rear. The girls ran as hard as they could. If she hadn't been so focused on not dying, Rainbow would have been impressed with how her friends were keeping up with the pace. She quickly glanced around, noting that the trees were beginning to thin out. She blinked as an idea came to her. “Scatter!” The other girls didn't respond, just following Rainbow's order. They split up, separating, but continuing to move in the same direction. The monster didn't slow down, charging through the trees, following Fluttershy. Fluttershy let out a scream when she realized it was still coming after her. “HELP ME!” Rainbow skidded to a halt and changed course. “Hang on!” Twilight and Pinkie Pie quickly caught up to her. “We've got to do something!” Twilight yelled. Ahead of them, the beast gained on Fluttershy. Rainbow looked ahead and saw a low hanging branch ahead of her. She glanced behind her. “Twilight! Slingshot!” Twilight looked ahead, saw the branch and smiled. She nodded, and Rainbow leaped onto the branch. Twilight and Pinkie jumped up and grabbed the end. The branch bent downward with the two girls' weight. Rainbow braced herself. “Now!” The girls let go and a branch swung upward, sending the athlete into the air. Rainbow somersaulted in the air as she passed over the monster and thrust a foot downward, managing to bring the sole of her foot straight into the monster's snout. It recoiled and roared again, taking a swipe with a massive claw. Rainbow screamed as it connected with her, sending her into the ground and sliding to a halt. She pushed herself upward, and blinked as Fluttershy grabbed her arm and helped her to her feet. They heard more trees crashing to the ground and looked up in fear, expecting the end to come. They blinked when the saw a path of destruction leading back into the forest. The sound of splintering lumber slowly receded into the distance. Twilight and Pinkie caught up to them and stopped, breathing heavily. “You... scared... it... off...” Twilight wheezed. “Of course I did,” Rainbow grinned. “I'm awesome.” She put her shaking hands behind her back. “I don't know about all of you, but I think we should get out of here,” said Fluttershy. “All in favor?” “Aye!” chorused the girls. “Let's get out of the trees and figure out where we are.” Twilight led the way through the trees, smiling widely when she saw the road cutting through the forest. “We found it! And I think w'ere only a mile or so away from the school!” “What are we waiting for?” Rainbow cheered. “Let's go!” The four of them charged out of the trees. There was another flash of light and they screamed as something roared toward them. The four girls let out a collective scream, which was drowned out by the scream of brakes and skidding tires as the car came to a halt in front of them. The driver hit the horn, causing the four of them to dash back into the woods. “Maybe we should stay to the treeline for a while,” Rainbow said, as they ran parallel to the road. She had a huge grin on her face. “Good idea!” Twilight returned the smile, the relief and adrenaline making her slightly manic. Soon, all four girls were laughing like lunatics as they ran through the trees, making their way back to Fluttershy's car.