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// Part: 1 - As The Crow Flies, So Does Time 
// Story: The Hanging Tree 
// by Chapter 13 
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Fluttershy held back tears. The sound of the poor wolf-pup’s cries of pain filled her mind, but she pushed them aside. She needed to focus. The small pegasus’s muscles strained. She put all her strength and weight into trying to pry open the bear trap. The poor pup had it clamped around one of its front paws. His father, Mr. Wolf, stood next to her. His face was filled with worry and concern. Fluttershy felt his pain, and the pups.

This wasn’t the first trap that Fluttershy had encountered over the past few weeks. The first time she had noticed one was by sheer luck. She noticed a slight glint not far into the cursed forest that bordered her home, and was horrified to find out it had been from a small jawed bear trap. Since then, she had taken time out of her day to patrol the outskirts of the Everfree. She had found, and removed, three already, but this one had been the first to claim a victim. Mr. Wolf had come frantically running to her hut, yipping and crying for help. It didn’t take much for Fluttershy to understand the situation, and had followed the concerned parent into the darkness of the Everfree forest.

With one final push down on the springs that held the trap shut, the jaws gave way just enough for the little pup to escape. Noticing this opportunity, Mr. Wolf sprang forward and grabbed the pup by the nape of his neck and pulled him free. With her job done, Fluttershy fell backward, the sound of metal slamming shut filled the air. Her tired eyes looked up at the dense Everfree canopy. Any bits of light that managed to sneak it’s way past appeared to be swallowed whole by the forest itself. It was dark, damp, and downright frightening. The only thing that had kept her from running strait back to her house had been her exhaustion, and the realization that she would need to search the area for more traps. 

Fluttershy could feel the cold underbrush against her back. Her chest rose and fell with each labored breath. A sound caught the pegasus’s ear, akin to a branch breaking. It was then she remembered that she still needed to tend to the little one's paw. “Oh, I'm so sorry, I almost forgot to–”  

Darkness.... and pain. Something had hit the back of the Pegasus's head, right as she was about to rise to her hooves. She fell, a horrible ring filling her ears. She hadn't passed out, but everything was fuzzy. Static. The world around her because a dance of colors. She wanted to scream, but she felt no voice. Only a gasp, which made her jaw hurt. 

"What… do… her?"

"... don't… remove… behind…"

She could hear voices. They were fragmented. She tried to bring her hooves to her head. It hurt, and it was warm. Her body moved like she was submerged in water as she successfully brought a hoof to her head. It stung. It was warm. 

"We can't just leave her here!"

The voices became clear. 

"She's probably the one removing our traps. Because of this stupid pony, we're behind our quota!"

At the end of that statement, Fluttershy felt pain erupt from her stomach. Her body shifted and rolled onto her other side. All the air in her lungs vanished. She gasped. Wheezed. Desperate, she tried to get air back into her. Tears stung her eyes. 

"Hey! Come on, Steal Trap! You don't have to kick the poor mare! Look, we can just drag her back to the edge of the forest and dump her."

"What if she saw us! What if someone else saw us! Like it or not, but ponies are gonna come looking for us the moment she calls the guards! Then, we're gonna lose our hunting ground. Or, worse, we're going to the dungeons!"

Fluttershy's vision cleared enough for her to see strait. She couldn't see much, her body too weak and disoriented to lift her head. She could see the bottom of what looked like cloak that almost fully covered two sets of hooves. 

"Well, what the heck else are we gonna do! We’re not gonna kill her!"

"No, let's just leave her here. Let the forest do the dirty work."

"That's just as bad as killing her!"

"You're not thinking! We're royally bu—Aaaaah!"

Fluttershy saw a grey blur past over her moments before the scream. Through the outline of her sight, Fluttershy could see something clamped around one of the hooded ponies hooves. The pony screamed and flailed. Realization stuck. That had to be Mr. Wolf. 

Had he come back to protect me? 

Fluttershy watched as the pony tried, and failed, to get Mr. Wolf to release his grip. He growled with a protective overtone. The pony’s partner stood there in complete shock. He shook his head and recovered. Fluttershy saw a faint glow from beneath his hood. Her eyes went wide as an arc of arcane magic shot from beneath the hood. It struck Mr. Wolf. A howl of pain filled the air as he was thrown backwards, his grasp released.

New strength filled the Pegasus. She stumbled, but rose to her hooves. She flew past the pair and over to her injured friend. His coat smoked. He whimpered softly. Fluttershy looked over the wolf in detail and noticed a large burn beneath singed fur. It was bad, real bad. But, she could treat him. A plan started to fill her mind. She would need to remove some of the damaged flesh and make sure he didn’t go into shock. Then, she would need to apply some ointment to the area and—

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Fluttershy cried out in pain. Something grabbed her mane and pulled her away from her injured friend. More tears stung her eyes from the pain. Her hooves moved on her own as she tried to make it back to Mr. Wolf.

“No, please, I need to help him! He’s hurt!” Fluttershy cried out, only to be thrown back into a nearby tree. Her vision swam again.

“You stupid pony!" A voice screamed. "You've gotten us in deep trouble, meddling in other people's affairs. None of this would have happened if you had just kept to your damn self."

The yellow pegasus couldn't see past her own tears. Fear, sorrow, and concern filled her mind. She curled up herself as small as she could and repeatedly mouthed, "I'm sorry."

"Come on, this is just cruel," another, less threatening voice spoke up. "I didn't sign up for this. Listen, let us just cut our losses and split!"

Fluttershy heard a loud smack.

"We can't just back out! If they get wind of that, we'll be the one's hunted!"

The argument continued. Fluttershy tuned them both out. Her mind was filled with fear. She wanted to curl up so small that no one could see her. She didn't have the will to fight. She didn't have the will to get away. She wished she was as brave as Mr. Wolf. Then, she could save both of them. But, she wasn't. She wasn't that kind of pony. She was a selfish pony who would curl up into a ball and hope that someone would come to save her. She was a coward. She was—

Fluttershy suddenly felt cold. So cold, she couldn't help but shiver. All her thoughts of self loathing vanished in a single moment—all that remained was an overwhelming feeling of fear. Fear that dwarfed all her previous feelings. It was the feeling prey felt when facing an overwhelming predator. The pegasus kept her eyes shut, still tucked in a tight ball. 

The air was filled with a crows death song.

"What in tartarus is that?!"

Fluttershy kept her eyes shut.

"G-get away!"

Something pounded against the earth.

"Run!"

Something snapped, like a wet log being broken in half.

"No, not me! I-I'll leave, I promise!"

A voice then cried out, before the same sickening snap.

The crows got louder. The thunderous steps got nearer. The fear and cold got coser. Fluttershy let out a low whimper—a cry for help. She flinched as her words were met with the loudest, thickest roar she had ever heard. It was like the thunderous crack of a falling tree. Her heart raced. Her body sweat. Her mind cried out for her to run. Her breaths became shallow as she began to hyperventilate. The sound of the crows became louder, as if an entire flock running rampant in her head. She went to scream—

But, everything suddenly stopped; the cold, the fear, the thunderous steps, the crows. Everything.

Fluttershy remained in her ball, the lingering fear rooting her in place. She went to let a pathetic whimper, but was met with the whimpered cry of another. The pegasus' eyes shot open. Her body, sore, rose as another instinct suddenly filled her system. To her surprise, and confusion, she wasn't in the forest anymore. No, she was just on the outskirts—dark, looming trees that marked the entrance to the cursed forest looked back at her.  Not far in front of her lay the injured form of Mr. Wolf. Her mind screamed for her to run, to flee, but her heart won out as she ran over to the injured wolf. Carefully, she lifted him onto her back with the assistance of her wings. Once he was secured, she turned and ran as fast as she dared back to her cottage.