//------------------------------// // Chapter 5- Everfree Venture // Story: My Little Pony: The Test of Friendship // by McThriller //------------------------------// Chapter 5- Everfree Venture It has been over a week since the race between Flamebolt and Rainbow Dash. The ponies of Ponyville, who witnessed the race, wouldn’t stop talking about how amazing the two pegasus were. There were many others who weren’t lucky enough to see the event due to being busy with their jobs or just not being at the right place at the right time. But those that did see it were nice enough to share their views of the race, even mentioning that they got to witness the Sonic Rainboom with their own eyes. Everypony knew how great Rainbow Dash was and they’ve already knew about all the accomplishments she made. No pony really said much about Flamebolt, they got to see how fast he was but besides that the only stories told were about his wild looks and aggressive attitude towards others but he quickly left town after the race so it was hard to say much about the mysterious stallion. Since their encounter with the hot-headed stallion, the Elements of Harmony decided to go back to their daily lives.With no friendship problems to fix at the moment it was best to just continue to live day by day until something new were to happen. Pinkie Pie still makes sweets at Sugarcube and still keeps that happy go-lucky attitude that everypony loves and is always looking to throw a great party on any occasion. Applejack continued her usual routine at the farm, helping her family make great apple flavored treats and beverages for all to enjoy. Fluttershy stayed by her cottage and took care of the animals like usual but would sometimes come to town whenever she needed supplies. Rarity continued to make amazing dresses at her boutique and find inspiration on a new fashion trend. Twilight decided to write a letter to Princess Celestia and give her the details about the events that had occurred with Flamebolt. She knew the task wasn’t going to be easy but she promised to help him when he comes back. Since it would take some time to get a response from Celestia she decided to go back to her studies. Spike continued to help as her assistant but would mention to Twilight now and then that they would be better off not helping Flamebolt. He didn’t like the way Flamebolt acted and would rather not see that stallion again. As for our winning competitor Rainbow Dash, she wouldn’t mind seeing the stallion again. It has been awhile since she had some competition like that and is always up for a rematch. She decided to go back to Cloudsdale for a bit and train with the Wonderbolts since she was their reserve. In one area of Ponyville, a schoolhouse filled with little fillies and colts would continue to spread gossip about the race like it was the biggest news to ever hit the town. Many of the little ones would add their own twists to the stories to make it sound really interesting. Unfortunately, none of them were close to being accurate since they never saw it happen and are only going off of bits and pieces of what they heard. The bell rang indicating that school was finished for the day and everypony ran out the doors in joy. It was the last day of learning for the week and they were excited to enjoy a few days away from school for some fun. As everypony was leaving, three fillies stuck together and waited for all their classmates to leave so they could come out last with no hassle.  These three fillies were consisted of a small bright yellow earth pony with a red mane and tail, a white unicorn with a purple and pink colored mane and tail, and an orangish pegasus with a more faded purple mane and tail.   The earth pony was Applebloom, who is the younger sister of Applejack. She helps Applejack and her family constantly at the farm but also makes time to go to school and learn. The unicorn was Sweetie Belle, who is the younger sister of Rarity. She like her sister, enjoys making costumes and props for her friends and has a natural singing voice. And finally we have Scootaloo, the pegasus with great skills on her scooter. Although her wings are tiny and has trouble flying, she makes up for it on her two wheeled ride. She doesn’t have a blood related sister like the other two fillies but she considers Rainbow Dash to be her big sister and also idolizes her.  Together these three formed a small group called the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Since they have yet to find their cutie marks, they have created this group and sworn to each other that they will find their cutie marks together. They are always trying new activities and coming up with ways to earn their marks. And today is no different as they walked away from school, wondering what talents to try next. “Alright Crusaders, what are we gonna try today to earn our cutie marks?” asked Applebloom, leading the group. They all thought for a moment, tapping their muzzles to try and come up with an idea on what to do next. Sweetie Belle was the first to chip in her idea, “Oh! Let’s try treasure hunting!” “Or kayaking!” Scootaloo added to the list. Applebloom liked both the ideas but wasn’t sure what to choose so she took the middle route, “Why don’t we do both!” Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo agreed in unison and were excited to get started with their plans. But before anything could be said and done, Applebloom realized something, “Shoot! I just remembered that I promised to help Zecora make some potions today.” She was disappointed in herself for not remembering this and telling her friends sooner, “I’m sorry gals...” Sweetie Belle placed a hoof on her back for comfort, “Don’t worry about it Applebloom!”  Scootaloo stood by her other side, “Yeah! We can help you out!”  Applebloom smiled from the support from her friends, “Thanks girls, but ya don’t have to do that.” “Well it’s not like we have anything else to do,” Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes, “Rarity is busy as usual with her boutique.”  “And Rainbow Dash is with the Wonderbolts, besides this could be a great chance to try and get cutie marks in potion making!” Scootaloo added. “Hey you’re right!” Applebloom’s smile brightened, “Then it’s settled! Let’s go help Zecora and get our cutie marks!”  The three raised there hooves into the air and cheered together. Applebloom told them that she was to meet Zecora by town hall, where Rainbow Dash and Flamebolt started the race, and they would walk together to her hut. On the way through town, they could still hear ponies talking about the race and decided to join in on the topic. “I can’t believe I missed Rainbow Dash’s race! She even did her Sonic Rainboom!” Scootaloo flailed her hooves into the air before dropping them and pouted, “Why did it have to happen during school.” “Well there's nothing we can do about that,” Sweetie Belle stated, then she decided to change the subject. “Did you hear about the pony she went up against?”  “Yeah a feller named Flamebolt, Applejack told me he was one angry pony. Even yelled at Pinkie Pie, and that he’s stubborn like a mule,” Applebloom listed. “Rarity said something similar, he’s obviously not a likeable pony,” Sweetie Belle mentioned. “Well no pony has seen him since that day. Where do ya think he went?” Applebloom questioned. “Beats me,” Scootaloo shrugged, “ Besides who cares, he’s probably long gone by now. Let’s focus on getting our cutie marks!” Scootaloo cheered. “You’re right, let’s get moving Crusaders! We should be at town hall right about now!” Applebloom shouted. The three fillies decided to hustle so they could reach Zecora sooner. Right on cue, they saw a black and white zebra standing by the water fountain. The zebra had gold rings wrapping around their neck and also around one of their legs. The zebra also wore a pair of gold earrings in each ear. “There she is now!” Applebloom pointed, “Hey Zecora!” The zebra turned towards the echo of her name and saw the Crusaders coming closer to her and smiled, “Ah Applebloom it is good to see, that you have come to assist me,” she commented in her usual rhyme. Applebloom rubbed the back of her neck, “Sorry Zecora, I almost forgot about today.” “There is no reason to fret, for I have not left Ponyville yet,” she replied. Scootaloo barged into the conversation, “Zecora can we come help?” Sweetie Belle followed suit, “We want to try and earn our cutie marks in potion making.” Zecora thought for a moment, tapping her muzzle before she looked at them and smiled, “I would be happy to have help from you three, we shall go now to the forest Everfree.” The Crusaders jumped in joy, excited to see if this was their special talent. They followed behind Zecora as she led them to her hut which resided in the Everfree Forest.  Usually the forest isn’t a safe place for ponies to go because of the wildlife that inhabits the area. Many strange plants grow inside the forest and dangerous creatures lurk within, but with Zecora around the forest isn’t as bad since she knows her way around and is very knowledgeable.  As they entered the forest, that warm, cozy feeling of the meadows that Ponyville brought shifted its course to a more dreary place. The green plains ended where tall , dark trees blocked out the sunlight, setting gloom and mystery to the path in front of them. The mist of the swamp beyond the woods rose and clouded their vision slightly, sending chills down all the fillies spines. Sweetie Belle was the first to speak up, “This place never gets any less creepier...”  “It ain’t so bad, with Zecora around I don’t feel as scared being here,” Applebloom puffed her chest out to look more brave. “Well what about all those dangerous animals like Ursas, the manticore or even Timberwolves?” Scootaloo asked with a little concern. “No danger will come to us here, the potion I use will drive away those that are near,” She informed them. “How can you be so sure?” Scootaloo questioned her. Zecora revealed a pouch she was carrying and inside were a couple glass containers with green glowing liquid inside each one, “These contained a gas so horrid, even Celestia would forbid.”  Knowing that Zecora was prepared made them feel safer as they continued along the path. Before they could reach her hut, they noticed a tree had fallen onto the path. “What the hay happened here?” Applebloom asked in surprise.  Zecora got closer to the fallen tree and inspected it. “It’s probably just an old tree that fell on its own,” Scootaloo suggested. “It is impossible for a tree to fall on it’s own, the truth here is clearly shown,” Zecora warned as she pointed at the cause. The Crusaders looked closely and were surprised to see the large claw marks that were left on the tree. The marks made a large enough cut for the tree to tip over and break off. “What kind of creature d-did that?” Sweetie Belle stuttered, feeling her legs buckling underneath her. “The tree leaves a foul smell, this makes it easy to tell,” Zecora backed away from the tree. “Timberwolves have been here, that much is clear.”  Scootaloo could feel herself shaking a bit, “S-so Timberwolves were here...” Applebloom looked around her surroundings. She changed her focus to the looming forest, checking to see if there were any other signs. She gasped upon realizing the sight she had behold, “It’s not just this tree...” The others looked in the same direction Applebloom was facing and terror appeared on their faces. There were more claw marks around them in the trees and the plants looked as if they were stomped on.  “Zecora...isn’t this close to your hut? Why would they be over here?” Sweetie asked, her face showing her freight. “The answer is pretty blunt, they were on a hunt,” she responded. “A hunt? For what?” asked Scootaloo. “The answer is hard to know, but tracks is what I can show,” She pointed to the ground to see some sets of footprints on the ground. There were paws indicating that there was more than just one wolf giving chase. The direction of the prints went farther into the forest, away from her hut. “What should we do? Who knows if they’ll come back this way,” Applebloom huddled close to Zecora, she knew it wasn’t safe in the forest right now. “This day will have to wait, I must take you back to Ponyville before it’s too late,” Zecora responded. The Crusaders didn’t refuse and stayed close to Zecora, even though they really wanted to get their cutie marks they knew it was not worth this type of danger. She lead them back the same way they came in just to be safe. She couldn’t risk them getting hurt under her supervision otherwise the Elements of Harmony may never forgive her. They quickened their pace and could see the opening of the forest in view, but stopped when something else came into view. Two shadowy figures stood in between them and the exit, their eyes had a faint green glow and they looked towards the group and growled. The growling figures approached them and revealed them to be Timberwolves. Their bodies covered in wooden branches and twigs with leaves also added to their features. They were emanating that same awful smell that was found on the trees.  The Crusaders gathered close behind Zecora for protection. Zecora was preparing to pull out her bottles when more growling could be heard from her right side. She turned her head and saw many pairs of green eyes staring at them deep in the darkened forest.  More Timberwolves revealed themselves as they moved in closer to the four. You could feel their intent to kill was strong.  “There’s too many of them,” Applebloom noted as she started trembling. Zecora quickly pulled out two bottles and chucked them at the wolves. The bottles shattered and created a giant green smokescreen. The stench from the smoke was effective against the wolves as they snarled, their vision was disrupted from tears in their eyes and lungs burning from inhaling the smoke. Zecora pulled out pieces of cloths and wrapped them around everypony's face, to filter out the gas, “Quickly Crusaders! We must flee from these invaders.”  Zecora pushed them through the green smoke and passed the two wolves that were blocking the path. Unfortunately the smoke was too effective, even against the little fillies as their eyes weld up with tears and couldn’t see that well.  Scootaloo couldn’t see a small rock in her way as she tripped and fell down. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle turned around to see Scootaloo on the ground, “Scootaloo hold on!” Applebloom called out as the two went back to get her.  Scootaloo looked up to see her friends come for her. She got back on all fours and tried to rush back towards them. But the sound of roaring was heard through the smoke and a Timberwolf jumped in between them. The wolf’s tail smacked Scootaloo, the force blew her away from her friends. As she landed she slid across the ground towards a big ditch, which wasn’t visible by the path and the bottom of the ditch was covered by branches and leaves so it was impossible to see how deep it was. She stopped right at the edge, luckily not falling down the ditch. The Timberwolf looked back at Scootaloo before turning it’s attention back at the other two. It snarled at the two, ready to attack but another bottle emerged through the smoke and shattered on the wolf’s head. Another green smokescreen appeared in its face as this angered the wolf, causing it to rampage through it’s blindness, smacking into trees and backing away from the two. Not knowing where it was going it backed into the ditch next to Scootaloo, without warning it tipped backwards and fell down the ditch.  As the Timberwolf fell, a small landslide impacted the edge of the ditch. Scootaloo had no time to react as the ground beneath her collapsed and she fell down the ditch as well. The only words she was able to speak at that moment were, “Woah!!!” Applebloom and Sweetie Belle looked in shock as their friend just fell with the Timberwolf.  They ran to the edge to see if their friend was okay but she already disappeared through the branches. Tears welled up in their eyes as they cried her name, “Scootaloo!”  Before they could do anything else Zecora pulled them away as more Timberwolves were about to clear through the smoke. She quickly chucked them onto her back and ran towards the exit. But the fillies started pleading with her, “Zecora, we can’t leave her, she needs us!” Sweetie Belle squeaked. “Please Zecora!” Applebloom pleaded. Zecora didn’t say anything and finally exited the forest. The sun shined as the luscious meadow field came to view and over that meadow was Ponyville. She got as close as she could to the town before putting them down by the entrance. “Zecora?! What are you doing?! Scootaloo needs us!” Applebloom bawled, tears still pouring down her face. “We can’t leave her! A Timberwolf is after her!” Sweetie Belle added, also showing the same sadness. “I am truly sorry, but you don’t need to worry. I will bring her back safe, just have faith,” Zecora said as she quickly hustled back towards the forest to save Scootaloo, “Fight through your blues and tell your sisters the news!” she echoed before entering the forest. Sweetie Belle and Applebloom dried their tears as best as they could, “S-she’s right! We gotta tell them quick,” Applebloom squeaked. “I’ll tell Rarity, you get Applejack and we’ll meet back at the forest,” Sweetie Belle reported. The two agreed with their plan and ran in different directions of Ponyville, to get all the help they need to save Scootaloo. As they were running only one thing was on their mind, hoping that Scootaloo was safe. (With Scootaloo) Back in the forest, Scootaloo was sliding down the ditch with the Timberwolf. They continued sliding until the wolf was the first to reach the bottom, but luck wasn’t on it’s side as it crashed into a tree and shattered into a pile of sticks and leaves.    She had more luck as she made it to the bottom and passed the tree the wolf hit. But she couldn’t control herself as she tripped which caused her to land on her face, “Oomph!” she got off the ground and stood on all four legs, “That was not an enjoyable ride,” she said while dusting herself off. “Where am I? Applebloom!? Sweetie Belle!? Zecora!? Can you hear me!?” She called out but there was no response, “Great...I’m all alone.” A faint green glow came from the Timberwolf pile as the pieces started floating into the air, piece by piece were sticking together and started rebuilding the fallen wolf. Scootaloo knew she needed to go before it put itself together. Scootaloo bolted away from the glow and didn’t stop. She could feel her legs growing weak in fear but was too afraid to stop and wonder if her friends were alright. She continued running, not noticing a root sticking out of the ground in front of her as she tripped and felt some strain and pulling in her back hoof. She fell on her face again and clenched her teeth in pain, she struggled to stand because of the pain she was feeling in her hoof but was able to get up. She tried to fight through the pain to run but the best she could do was limp, trying to fight back the tears in her eyes while feeling the pain in her hoof. She heard growling which meant the Timberwolf was back together and hot on her trail. She tried to move faster but the pain was still too much for her and the next step caused her to collapse to the ground.  The Timberwolf followed her scent and saw her in it’s sight. It howled as it continued it’s chase, when the filly fell, it slowed down and was almost 10 yards from her. It stepped closer and closer to the wounded filly, growling at her and stretched it’s claws out to prepare for a strike.  She saw it getting closer and closer as she started backing up on her flank until she hit a tree. She was cornered and had nowhere to go, terrified and all alone. Her friends were nowhere near her to help and Rainbow Dash was not there to protect her. The only thing Scootaloo could do was close her eyes and wait for the inevitable. Her life began flashing before her as she remembered all the good memories she had with the Crusaders, the Elements of Harmony, and Rainbow Dash. ‘Looks like I won’t be able to get my cutie mark...Applebloom, Sweetie Belle.....I’m sorry I won’t be around to get mine with you both, thanks for being such great friends...Rainbow Dash, thanks for being an awesome big sister...I wish I could fly with you one day...but this is goodbye...’ tears started falling from her face. Time seemed to slow down as the Timberwolf jumped at her, claws stretched out and mouth wide open showing it’s wooden fangs. The end of Scootaloo was drawing near, with no pony around to help her. She waited for it all to end but before she knew it, she felt a gust of wind blowing at the back of her head. The next thing she heard was a loud bang and the sound of twigs and branches smacking into a tree. She could feel a tug as her body was wrapped around something large, lifting her into the air. Suddenly she felt pressure as her whole body was pressed up against something. It felt soft like fur but also solid like a rock, and then suddenly a force of wind pressed her farther into the object. She tried to open her eyes but the wind was too strong for her so she couldn’t make what was happening and the wind was deafening her so it was hard to hear. Suddenly the sound of a deep and calming voice entered her ears, “Don’t worry kid, you’re safe now,” after hearing the voice she could feel her exhaustion kick in from all the panic and worry for her life. She could feel a heart beat against her body as it helped calm her down, the warmth from the fur relaxed her as she drifted off to sleep. (1 hour later) Darkness filled the air, nothing could be seen but sounds could fill Scootaloo’s ears with drops of water splashing, echoing in the darkness. She stirred around for a bit to ignore the noise but it was impossible since it was the only sound she could hear as she decided to wake up. The first thing she realized was that she was somewhere dark but her vision cleared and she was surrounded by rocks, “W-where am I?” she asked herself out loud as she lifted her head and scanned her surroundings, she noticed something was off as her body was lying on something soft even though she was surrounded by rocks. She looked down and was surprised to see that she was floating on a puffy white cloud.  The cloud was only floating a foot off the ground so she wasn’t up very high. She stood up to stretch out but felt something off as there was a tight squeeze feeling on her leg. She looked and noticed her leg was wrapped up in a dark cloth with sticks tied to both sides of it vertically. Surprisingly, the pain wasn’t as bad as it felt earlier and she was able to put some weight on the injured leg, “Wow, that feels so much better than it did earlier...wait a second...” she tried to remember the last thing that happened, she was about to be Timberwolf food but remember the voice she heard. Her memories came flooding back to her, she realized that somepony had saved her. She frantically looked around to see if the one who saved her was here but there was nothing. Then she noticed light reflecting off a shiny rock and could see there was an exit in view. She slowly climbed off the cloud and gently touched the ground, so as not to hurt her leg. She slowly took a few steps and could still feel a slight pain in her hoof. But since it didn’t hurt as much she pushed through that small amount of pain. The light shined brighter and brighter as she limped her way out into it, the first thing she noticed was a bunch of trees. She turned around and looked to see what she exited from, it turned out to be a fair good size cave. Around the cave was just more and more trees, with no sign of being anywhere near civilization, “Great...I’m still in the forest,” she sighed, hoping that she would be outside of the forest and near Ponyville so she could see her friends. “Is that the thanks I get for saving your life?” a familiar voice rang in her ears. She couldn’t pinpoint where the voice was coming from, “Who said that?” The voice replied to her, “Up here.” She looked up and saw a figure standing on top of the cave, she couldn’t make out exactly who the figure was but it seemed to have wings and was standing on them vertically, “W-who are you?” she asked hesitantly. The figure pushed off its wings, falling to the ground but was able to adjust itself so it could extend its wings and descend to the ground.  Scootaloo could see more clearly now that they were on the ground together and studied the strangers details. It was a male stallion with a somewhat dark shade of blue fur, a recognizable red and yellow mane and tail with crimson red eyes. There was sweat dripping down his body as he was in the middle of an exercise. “Just a pony who was at the right place at the right time,” he answered as he walked up to a rock and grabbed a dark cloak hiding in the crevice, wiping the sweat from his face.  Scootaloo looked at him and noticed the cloak was torn at the bottom. She looked at her leg and the cloth was the same color as the cloak, “Did you treat my leg?” she asked the stranger. He looked at her in the corner of his eye without turning his head towards the little filly, “.....you sprained your hoof, that makeshift splint should help keep it leveled without tearing anything...” She smiled knowing that he was taking care of her, “Thanks for this mister, it feels alot better now.” He didn’t respond to her thanks but continued his explanation, “It’s not gonna heal your leg, your gonna have to stay off it if you want to make a complete recovery.” “Wow, you seem to know a lot about this stuff,” she was amazed with the knowledge see learned from him. “It’s just from personal experience...I’ve had plenty of injuries and had to learn how to treat them myself,” he finished wiping all the sweat and dropped the cloak back on the rock. She decided to change the subject, “So....why are you in the Everfree Forest?”  “Just training...gotta get ready for my rematch,” he answered as he lay on the ground and used his wings to push himself off the ground like a pushup. He repeated the motion and continued to do many reps. “Rematch?.....” then it hit her, “Hey, you’re Flamebolt right? You raced Rainbow Dash!” He chuckled through his workout, “So ponies have been talking about that race huh? Yeah, that’s me then.” She smiled at him, “Thanks for saving me from the Timberwolf Flamebolt, I thought I was a goner...” He stopped his workout and stood back on his hooves, “You shouldn’t be out here in the first place. Don’t you know how dangerous it is to be out here?” he asked while ignoring the thanks he got. Her smiled quickly changed to a sad face, “I know...but I wasn’t alone,” she explained everything that happened and why she was by herself, then she looked to the ground and clenched her teeth. “Now I’m separated from my friends and they could be in danger!” He heard her situation but only gave her a vague answer, “Then why don’t you do something about it? You’re a Pegasus, just fly over the forest and look for them,”  he didn’t seem to really care. “I-I...can’t fly...” she whispered. He raised an eyebrow, “You can’t fly? How is that possible? All pegasus should be able to fly by your age.” Her body started to tense up as she was showing some anger, “Because of these!” She yelled in frustration and pointed at her tiny wings, “I’ve tried everything I could think of and nothing! I can’t even stay off the ground for a minute...” He could see how frustrated she was with the topic, the feelings she was showing reminded him of something in his memory, “...What about your parents? Did they try to teach you?” the tone of his voice seemed to be lower. “I don’t have any...” she quickly responded before looking away, “I never got to meet them, so I don’t know what they look like, who they are.....or where they are at?” tears were visible on her face as they fell to the ground. “What about a home?” he asked as he kept his focus on the crying filly. “*sniff*....I live in an orphanage, just outside of Ponyville...” she whispered. He didn’t say anything as he just let her talk out her emotions. She wiped the tears, “But...I have my friends and they have always been there for me. I also have Rainbow Dash who treats me like a sister,” the sad look she had slowly turned to a smile, thinking of her fond memories. Flamebolt finally spoke up after hearing a familiar name, “so you’re close to Rainbow Dash then...” Scootaloo nodded, “She’s the best sister I could ask for! And she’s the fastest flier in all of Equestria!” He started to stretch out, “She won’t be for long.” “You think you can beat her? No pony has ever beaten her!” she declared, clearly a fangirl. He couldn’t help but grin to her response, “Then I’ll be the first!” “You got a lot of confidence to say that,” she narrowed her gaze at him. He chuckled, “I just don’t give up.” “But what if you never beat her?” she asked. He paused for a second before giving her an answer, “Then...I’ll continue to challenge her.” “Why would you still race her if you keep losing?” she questioned his confusing logic. “Because it excites me, whenever I face somepony better than me I strive to push myself further. No matter what happens, win or lose, I’ll still train to be better than I was the day before,” his determination felt inspiring. “Wow...it must be nice to have a goal...and to fly,” she sighed and frowned. He could tell she was still upset with herself and he moved closer to her, “Here’s a tip kid...if you keep telling yourself you’ll never fly, then it won’t come true. But if you truly want to fly, then don’t ever stop believing it. Push yourself everyday to make it come true, even if you only see a small improvement, keep going and never give up.” Scootaloo looked at him in surprise, she never expected to get advice from a pony like him. “Wow....that’s some advice..did you-” Flamebolt turned away from her and quickly answered before she had a chance to ask, “Don’t bother asking questions about me, I won’t tell you about my life.” Her ears dropped by his response, “Sorry...I was just curious.” “Whatever, let’s just get you out of here. From what you’ve told me, my guess is that the zebra got the other fillies to safety before coming back for you. So we should just leave the forest,” he stated the situation. She nodded and tried to take a step but could still feel some pain in her hoof,  “I might slow us down...” Flamebolt came up to her and examined her hoof, “It’s not a major sprain but you’ll need to stay off it still...get on my back.” Scootaloo was hesitant to do as he said, after what she heard about him from his attitude and making Pinkie sad, she wasn’t sure what he would do to her. But right now he isn’t acting at all like what she heard about him. She finally agreed and slowly climbed up onto his back. She felt the same softness in his fur but also how solid his body was under the fur. It was obvious he was a competitor but the muscles she felt confirmed that he was strong. “I can’t risk going through these trees, could have sharp thorns in them and we could get badly cut with infections so I’ll have to find somewhere clear of branches before I can fly to Ponyville,” he warned her. She agreed and laid as flat as she could against his body, she wrapped her front hooves around his neck so she couldn’t fall off. He grabbed his cloak and wrapped it around himself and Scootaloo so she could stay on him.  He slowly entered the forest, staying cautious of his surroundings and scanning the area for any signs of an exit. Minutes went by and the two stayed silent, not speaking a word to each other. Scootaloo looked up at him, ‘He’s not as bad as the others made him out to be... I wonder why he’s acting like this.’ She finally decided to speak, “You’re a lot different from what the others said about you.” He didn’t look back at her but answered, “What did they say about me?” “That you were rude, arrogant, a jerk, impatient and really mean,” Scootaloo listed off. “Sounds about right...” he said without a care. “But I don’t see any of that right now, you’ve been taking care of me...which is really nice of you,” she pointed out. “Look kid, I am anything but nice,  you were in trouble and I wasn’t gonna let filly die out here...I’m not a monster, and don’t go thinking I’m gonna be your friend after this is over, once I get you to town I’ll come back here and train again,” he answered. “But why not? It’s great having friends who are always there for you,” she argued. Flamebolt clenched his teeth in anger but made sure she didn’t see it and calmed down, “I don’t need friends and never will...” “Why would you say that?” she asked in disbelief. “You wouldn’t understand...Why are we even talking about this? We need to get you home,” he picked up the pace and started trotting. “I’m just trying to make a conversation...” she pouted. “Well stop trying to pry into my personal life,” he demanded. “Sorry...” she decided not to say anything else , bringing silence back to the two. Flamebolt continued to search for an opening in the forest but all he could see was more trees. The branches were too thick for any pegasus to fly through and it was almost impossible to navigate through if they tried. He moved further ahead while Scootaloo was still holding on to him, he passed by many strange plants and smaller creatures stared at the two walking by. While he continued his search, Scootaloo was back into her thoughts, hoping her friends were alright and that they were waiting for her in Ponyville. The snap of some branches nearby broke her out of her thoughts. A foul smell followed suit, making the two aware of what was coming to them. Five pairs of green eyes were staring at them within the forest, they emerged from deep within the forest. Timberwolves started popping out one by one, each just as vicious as the other as they roared at the two. “Hold on tight!” he ordered Scootaloo as he galloped away from in the opposite direction, not taking any chances from them. The Timberwolves followed after them, howling to call in the rest of their pack. Flamebolt picked up his pace and turned it  into a full on sprint, avoiding branches, bushes, rocks and the Timberwolves that were trying to pounce him. One charged for his left side but he quickly converted his weight into his left side and launched himself to the right, he was just able to avoid the wolves first strike. Another Timberwolf opened his mouth and prepared to bite at Flamebolt’s legs. He turned his head to see the bite coming and jumped into the air to avoid the jaws and stomped down on its head to temporarily destroy the wolf’s head. With one of Timberwolves disposed for the moment he had a better chance of surviving the hunt. But the others were relentless, wanting to catch the prey in their view.  One of the Timberwolves decided it was time to go for Scootaloo on his back, with its sharp claws stretched out it reached for the filly. It didn’t care for its surroundings as its focus was solely on the filly in its sight. Scootaloo held onto Flamebolt’s back, her eyes closed not knowing the actions that were transpiring. She was too afraid to see the Timberwolf coming for her, so she couldn’t give him any warning. But Flamebolt was able to see the Timberwolf, he had to make a move quickly, otherwise she wasn’t gonna make it out of the forest unscathed. He unfurled his wings and hovered off the ground, before the wolf could get Scootaloo he shifted his body away from the predator and flapped his right wing down and his left wing up, causing him to do a barrel roll.  The Timberwolf missed Scootaloo but its claw still made contact with Flamebolt’s ribs. The claw tore through the cloth fabric and penetrated his skin, causing the stallion to clench his teeth in pain. The wolf was able to leave a fairly long mark on his body as it reached from his ribs to his hip joint, causing blood to drip from his body. His face showed anger as he successfully completed his barrel roll, he pulled his back leg in and launched a powerful kick to the wolf. The kick not only cracked its face, but sent the wolf flying into the rest of the pack chasing the two and shattered them into pieces. This gave the ponies a chance to get away for the time being, hopefully not dealing with anymore Timberwolves.  He ignored the pain as best as he could, using his wings to hover a few feet off the ground. He decided to stick with his wings since the pain would only get worse if he tried to use his legs. His blood was dripping on the ground below him, leaving a trail for anything to follow him, including the Timberwolves.  With the Timberwolf pile, all the twigs, leaves and branches began levitating with a faint green glow around them fusing together into a massive ball. It began pulling in other debris around the area,  increasing the size of the ball more and more. The ball began morphing into a Timberwolf, only the size of this wolf was much bigger than before as it kept growing and growing. Flamebolt could feel himself growing numb in the legs with every drop of blood leaving his body. He persevered through, not giving up on getting Scootaloo to safety as he looked back to check on her, “You...alright back there?” his breathing was slowly getting heavier as he asked. She finally opened her eyes and saw that they were still in the forest but couldn’t see any Timberwolves around. Her hoof slipped off his body as she tried to turn around and fell off of him. She landed on her side and luckily avoided landing on her bad hoof, but she wondered why she slipped off of him as she looked at her hoof and was shocked to see her orange hoof was covered in the color of red. She looked up and gasped in fear as she saw the large wound on his body, “Y-you’re hurt!” she quickly stood up and limped her way to him, inspecting his wound. He landed and grunted to the pain he was feeling, his wound was more severe than he thought as his legs start to shake, “It’s just a scratch, no big deal.....You alright?” She searched all over her body and failed to see any visible injuries, “No, I’m fine. But you are obviously not!” she quickly grabbed the remains of the cloth and tried to put pressure on the wound, “We need to get to the others quickly, you need medical attention immediately!” He could feel the pain get worse as she pushed against his wound but laughed it off, “I’ve been through worse than this....” his vision started to get fuzzy and he started to get a little dizzy. Guilt started eating at her as she stared at his wound, “....it’s all my fault this happened to you....” tears started to well up again, “I’m just dead weight at this point...” He started to get angry as he looked at the crying filly, “Don’t ever say that!!” his outburst caused her to stop her whaling and look up at him, “You want to give up and just let ponies push you around!? Don’t you have any goals in life you want to achieve!?” The words he spoke hit her deep as she thought about what she wanted, she remembered the promise to her friends to get their cutie marks together and to grow up and be like Rainbow Dash. She wiped away her tears and gave him as best of a determined looked as she could, “Of course I do!” He grinned at the look she gave him, “Then we’re getting outta here no matter what, you got it!” She gave him a firm nod, “Got it!” Soon after that, a loud roar could be heard behind them. The ground began to shake and in the distance they saw rows of trees falling over towards them. Something large was coming after them, most likely following the trail of blood Flamebolt left. Flamebolt prepared himself for whatever was coming, “Get behind me.” She did what she was told and scooted behind him, still scared but trying to be brave for him. The trees continued to fall one after the other as a giant pair of green eyes became visible. The creature emerged, revealing to be a giant Timberwolf. It was almost as large as a tree with it enormous body emerging from the shadows and each step it took would break a tree in half. It gave a loud, almost deafening roar that could be heard throughout the whole forest. Flamebolt noticed that the giant Timberwolf opened up the sky by knocking all those trees over, giving him the exit he needed. He had to figure out how he was gonna get passed this enormous beast while protecting Scootaloo. His body was getting weak so he had to work fast, he pulled Scootaloo and placed her on his back again.  She was surprised how quickly she got on his back but somehow her instincts told her to grab on as she wrapped around his neck, “W-what do we do?” “I’ll get us out of here, but I need you to hold on tight because I can’t risk having you fall off,” he ordered as he pushed himself to run away from the beast. He went back to using his wings so he could move faster as he avoided the trees. The wolf growled in anger as it chased after the two, knocking over more trees in its path and leaving nothing but destruction behind. Flamebolt looked back to see he was being followed, he pushed his wings to fly faster. He looked at the path in front of him for anything he could use against the beast and saw some nearby vines hanging on some trees. He grabbed the nearest vine and was able to rip it from the branches, with the vine in his hooves he needed to time his plan just right. The large Timberwolf was still a ways away from them but was slowly getting faster, shortening the distance between them. Scootaloo looked back to see it was getting closer, “You better do something now! Cause it’s catching up!” Flamebolt put his hope into this next move as he chucked a large portion of the vine while holding on to the rest at a large branch. The vine wrapped around the branch perfectly, giving Flamebolt enough space from the branch to execute his plan, “Here we go! Don’t let go no matter what!” he ordered as he wrapped around the tree each loop increased his speed as he struggled to hold onto the vine. With three quick loops he launched himself towards the beast, the amount of speed he created was almost as fast as his race with Rainbow Dash as his signature speed trail appeared behind him.  Scootaloo could feel the force pushing against her, she was close to slipping off but Flamebolt wrapped a hoof around her and pulled her into his chest. He charged straight for the Timberwolf and threw his hoof back, ready to strike. As he got closer and closer he pushed as hard as he could to build enough force to make this an effect attack. He saw the wolf open its large mouth, ready to strike back as well. Both sides got closer and closer, there was only going to be one winner out of this. Either the ponies escape or they become a snack, it was the moment of truth. Flamebolt could feel his body getting weaker and weaker with each passing second, his vision was close to fading and his speed was slowing down. But deep inside something was telling to keep going, keep fighting and never stop. A warmth filled his body, giving him the strength he needed as his body faintly glowed red. His speed increased exponentially and with a final push he charged into the beast and entered its mouth. The wolf was about to chomp down with its large jaws but felt the back of its head burst open and a large ball of fire exited its body. The wolf exploded into pieces and flew all across the forest, no sign that it was gonna put itself back together as that giant Timberwolf again. The ball of fire zoomed through the sky, leaving behind a trail of fire with bolts of electricity surrounding it. Flamebolt emerged from the fire as he opened his eyes to notice the clear blue sky and the forest below him, he looked at his body, which lost it’s glow, and noticed Scootaloo was still holding on to dear life with her eyes tightly shut. He sighed in relief and tapped the filly on the head, “You can open your eyes now scaredy-cat.” Scootaloo slowly opened her eyes, her vision was slowly coming to her as the blurry figure in front of her slowly became clear and saw Flamebolt looking down out her with his usual grin. Her eyes adjusted and looked around to see the sun shining brightly over the land, she got a great view of the forest and could see Ponyville in the distance. She noticed how high she was in the air and could feel the wind blowing against her. The feeling reminded her of all the times Rainbow Dash flew with her, she felt that happiness of getting a taste of what flying was like, “W-we made it?....WE MADE IT!!!” she couldn’t maintain her happiness from getting out of the forest. “Yup...we made it...” he could feel the exhaustion kick in as he started descending from the sky. Scootaloo noticed a couple ponies were by the entrance of the forest below them, she lifted a hoof over her eyes and squinted to make out who they were. There were two earth ponies and two unicorns with a zebra, this brought a smile to her face as she knew who they were, “Over there! Land over there!” she squeaked. He looked down and saw where she was pointing, “Alright I guess...” he couldn’t muster the strength to argue so he just descended to the group. (With The Crusaders) Applebloom and Sweetie Belle were waiting for Zecora to return with Scootaloo, they told their big sisters what happened and got them to come with them to the forest. Applejack and Rarity were informed of what was going on and agreed to help get Scootaloo back. They couldn’t waste time calling the other Elements of Harmony so they just left their daily activities and followed the Crusaders to the forest.  “Please be okay...” Sweetie Belle stared into the forest, concerned with her friends safety. Rarity stood by to comfort her sister, wrapping a hoof around her and holding her close to her body. AppleJack did the same for her sister, waiting as patiently as she could for their return, “Gosh darn it, I’m going in there! Zecora may be in trouble as well if we do nothing!” she took a step forward before seeing Zecora emerging from the forest alone. The Crusaders ran up to her in joy, looking around her to see if Scootaloo was behind her. “Zecora! You found her right? She’s okay?” Applebloom asked with hope in her eyes. Zecora’s face showed regret and sadness, she saw their hopeful faces before turning away and saying nothing. The silence said it all as the Crusaders were heartbroken, they collapsed to the ground and broke down into tears. Their sisters ran up and gave them a group hug, trying to comfort the pain they all felt knowing that Scootaloo may be gone. “Applebloom! Sweetie Belle!” the echoing voice broke them out of their sadness as the whole group looked to the sky and were surprised to see who it was. Flamebolt had Scootaloo in his arms while she spotted a giant smile on her face while waving at them. He gently touched the ground and placed her down for her to unite with her friends. “SCOOTALOO!!!” they both shrieked as they charged at her and tackled her to the ground. With tears pouring down their faces they all cried in joy for their reunion and held each other close. Applejack, Rarity and Zecora were happy at the reunion as they watched with small tears building in their eyes. “We thought we would never see you again,” Sweetie Belle bawled as she was squeezing the air out of Scootaloo. “How did you make it out of there?” Applebloom questioned with disbelief. “It was thanks to him,” she pointed to Flamebolt who just stood there and watched their reunion, “If it wasn’t for Flamebolt I might not have made it back here.” The Crusaders looked at him and were surprised to meet the aggressively angry stallion but  didn’t care, “Thank you for saving Scootaloo.....” Sweetie Belle’s voice trailed off. Flamebolt’s vision altered as the three fillies in front of him changed their appearances to three colts. Applebloom turned into a small brown earth pony with a black mane and tail and laughed, Sweetie Belle turned into a gray unicorn with a light blue mane and tail and was wearing the biggest smile on his face while Scootaloo turned into a familiar blue pegasus with the same colored mane and tail as him. They seemed happy and were laughing together, he could hear a voice in his head, “We’ll be best friends forever! Nothing will ever bring us apart!” the voice faded away as he shut his eyes and fell to the ground, the last thing he could hear before leaving consciousness was one word, “FLAMEBOLT!!!!”