Rainbow Dash held onto Baagh Raaja’s fur as he walked toward River Sand’s cave. Upon entering, she saw River feasting on a dead langur. River Sand pricked her ears and looked up to see Baagh Raaja walking in with Rainbow on his back. She stepped to the cave wall as Baagh Raaja walked next to the buffalo hide. He lowered himself to the ground, Rainbow Dash placed one foot on the hide, then slowly lifted her wounded leg off of him. River Sand walked to the other side of the hide as Rainbow lay down on the hide. “There ya go,” Baagh Raaja said before turning back around and exiting the cave.
River Sand looked at Rainbow Dash’s leg. “Don’t worry, I have just the thing,” she said before turning and grabbing a bottle made of bamboo with her mouth. She sat down and let go of the bottle. She sat still for a moment, pressing her front paws together and moving them side to side. Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow, but a small glimmer of green light began covering the catgirl’s arms and legs. Her legs became less muscular, then her front toes got skinnier, and her feet became flatter.Her dew claws turned to thumbs,her front paws were now hands, and her back paws were now human feet. Rainbow Dash dropped her jaw as River Sand poured a slimy green substance onto her hand. She smeared the substance onto the wounds, making Rainbow Dash grunt.
“What is that stuff?” Rainbow asked.
River Sand sealed the bottle. “This is Colongo sap. It comes from the Colongo trees.”
Before Rainbow Dash could react, she felt as if something was growing on her leg. Looking down, she saw the substance inside her wounds and the holes getting smaller. She widened her eyes as the bite mark disappeared entirely. Moving her leg up and down, she felt no pain. “Whoa…” She turned her head to River Sand.
“How...how does it do that!?” she asked with her eyes still wide.
River Sand grinned. “The Colongo tree sap has medicinal properties given to it by Karu, long before our ancestors came here. He originally placed the trees here to see how they would do before spreading them further out. But...he was killed before that could happen.” she replied.
Rainbow Dash scratched her head. “Speaking of history, do you mind telling me how you guys...you know...?”
“Are like this?” River Sand responded, pointing to her ear.
Rainbow Dash tilted her head. “Yeah…” she replied.
“A long time ago, before the great battle between the danger beasts and big cats, up in the north, there was a massive war between two tribes over land.” River Sand placed herself right in front of Rainbow Dash.
“Oh so you’re more recent arrivals?” she asked with her hand raised and her palm flat in the air.
River Sand nodded. “Yes. During the war, blood was spilled, spears sank into flesh, and homes were burned down. To escape the war, many families went south towards the jungle to keep their children safe from the rival tribe.”
Rainbow’s eyes widened. “Wait, kids were killed in the war?” she asked.
“Unfortunately,” River Sand said with her hands in her lap.
Rainbow scratched her head. “Yeesh.”
River Sand tightened her hands into fists. “Despite their efforts, the rival tribe caught up to them. They had won the war, and the families begged, thinking they’d be accepted into the tribe. It turned out that their rivals came after them to destroy any potential revenge plans and killed them. The children ran away before the adults were killed, but were being followed by the tribe. Eventually they found this jungle. The tribe couldn’t find them and gave up.”
“Whoa…” Rainbow Dash replied.
River Sand crossed her legs and unwrapped her hands. “After that, the children were on their own. At night they couldn’t sleep due to the animals that prowled. But then one night, one of them saw a white glow in the forest, and out from the forest came Karu himself. He had pity for them, and told them he would give them the abilities of a big cat so they could survive more easily, but the kids wanted to stand out, in that they didn’t want to look completely like cats. With a simple flick of his tail, a white light covered them, and their fur, tails, claws, and fangs grew and their ears changed entirely. The years passed and when they grew into adults, they began wanting kids of their own, but there was just one problem. They were all girls.”
Rainbow Dash waved her hands from side to side. “Wait wait wait wait. If that was the case then how come there are boys around here?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.
River Sand lowered her brows. “I was getting to that. On another night, Karu came again, and with a twitch of his ear something amazing happened. One of the girls became pregnant a week later, and then two more were expecting, and when they gave birth they had all boys. Then others became pregnant, and Karu visited them again, telling them that he had given them the ability to have offspring without the help of a boy. From there, the clan grew, and we’ve lived here ever since. To this day, we still have this ability. So under the right circumstances I can have a baby without a boyfriend. Although it would be a boy. We can only have girls with...you know...” she explained before getting up on her legs and taking the bottle away from Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow sat still for a moment. “...I...have no words for that.” she said, slightly shaking her head. She raised her brow once again. “But...how come all of you are teenagers? Are there any adults here at all?” she asked.
River Sand stood still, tightening her grip on the bottle. “There were. But one night they all went to the little waterhole they made...but they never came back. Night Sky and I went there, only to find them...dead.” she answered before two tears rolled down her face.
“Oh...I-I’m so sorry!” Rainbow Dash replied.
Outside the cave entrance, a pair of footsteps was closing in, making River Sand turn her head towards the entrance. Looking ahead, Rainbow Dash saw Applejack and Pinkie Pie entering the cave. Applejack took her hat off while Pinkie touched two fingertips together and moved them up and down.
“We’re...sorry for trying to avoid ya, it’s just…” Applejack raised her hat up closer to her chin.
Pinkie separated her fingers “Really scary how you wounded Wildfire,” she said while standing behind Applejack.
Rainbow Dash looked down. “It’s okay. I get it,” she said.
“So we’re good then?” Applejack asked, offering a fist bump to Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow fist bumped back. “Yeah.”
Applejack put her hat back on. “And if it makes you feel any better, you aren’t the only one having a hard time,” she said with a smirk.
Rainbow Dash got off the hide. “Well yeah, Wildfire’s-”
Pinkie laughed. “She’s not talking about her, I’m talking about Baagh Raaja.”
Rainbow chuckled. “No kidding. Him getting hurt and separated from us-”
“I’m not talking about that! I’m talking about the ladies,” Pinkie replied.
Applejack nodded. “We just saw him walk by that group of girls who were looking at him earlier. They were checking him out again, he blushed and trotted away quickly.” She chuckled.
Rainbow Dash lowered her eyebrows and clenched her fists. “They were what!?” she asked in a deep growl.
Applejack and Pinkie smirked. “Course then again, you two would make a cute couple.” Applejack said, rubbing her thumb and finger on her chin.
Rainbow Dash unclenched her fists. “Say what now?” she asked.
Pinkie bounced. “Yeah! You two would be great together!” she teased, winking.
“What!? No way that’s happening!” she said, crossing her arms.
Applejack smiled wider. “Really? Cause it sounds like you’re...jealous.” she said, pointing at Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow Dash slightly blushed and uncrossed her arms. “I am not jealous!”
“Then how come you didn’t like that other girls checked him out?” Pinkie asked.
Rainbow Dash was still for a moment, moving her eyes. “I...I just felt like I had to keep them away from him for some reason,” she answered, looking away and scratching her head.
Both girls giggled. “Yeah you’re definitely jealous,” Applejack said.
Rainbow’s face got redder. “No I’m not! I’ve told you guys before, I don’t want a boyfriend! A guy would have to be like Tarzan to get me attracted,” she asserted with her arms crossed again while looking her friends in the eyes.
Applejack smirked again. “But...Baagh Raaja’s like Tarzan, they both live in the wild and fight wild animals. Although Tarzan doesn’t turn into a tiger,” she said, pointing as Pinkie was giggling.
Rainbow Dash’s face got even redder and she looked away. “Guys, just shut up!” she mumbled.
The stars shone in the black sky above, the moonlight blanketing the treetops once again as an orangutan and her infant were sleeping in their nest in the canopy. A few feet away from the pair, a pair of glowing eyes peered at them. A black leopard crouched down and moved slowly towards the apes. The leopard stopped, just a few inches from them. It twitched its tail, claws unsheathed, and a shriek echoed through the forest.
A small fire burned in front of a large tree and was surrounded by nearly the entire group. Most were sleeping, but the girls, Wildfire, Night Sky, Talamba, Konda, Sulu, and Partak lay around the fire. Talamba twitched his ears and the girls looked in the direction of the cry. Wildlife was gorging on a wild boar she had killed. Her face was covered in blood and she never lifted her face off the carcass. She paused for a moment, and looked up to see Talamba and the girls looking at her. “What? I love pig meat.” she said before gorging on the pig some more.
Applejack placed her elbow on her knee. “Well where we come from we have different types of pig meat.”
Wildfire lifted her head. “So do we, wild boars and bearded pigs,” she replied.
Applejack shook her head. “What I meant was we do all kinds of stuff with pig meat, we turn it into sausage, bacon, ham, and so on. All from just one type of pig.”
Wildfire blinked and then shrugged. “Eh, I prefer more variety.”
Rainbow Dash looked around the group. “Say, where’s Baagh Raaja?” she asked.
“No clue,” Sulu said as he shook his head.
Partak shrugged. “I have no idea.”
Talamba frowned. “How am I supposed to know?” he asked.
“I think I saw him head that way,” Konda said before yawning.
Night Sky stretched her front paws. “If you go that way you’ll find a clearing, maybe he went there,” she said while tilting her head past the big tree.
Rainbow Dash got up off the ground. “Thanks, I’m gonna go check on him. Just to make sure he doesn’t get into any more trouble.” She touched her geode and dashed off through the jungle. She stopped and looked around. Hearing rustling through the foliage, she turned swiftly towards it.
The orangutan infant came running out from the foliage. Rainbow Dash got down on her knees and reached out her hand to the infant. The orangutan backed away slowly and shivered. Rainbow Dash smiled, and the orangutan began slowly walking up to her. Rainbow Dash felt as if the inside of her was warm, however, the orangutan shrieked as a reticulated python struck out at the young ape, pulling it back and began wrapping it’s coils around it. Rainbow Dash fell backwards and breathed heavily. She looked at the python as it squeezed the life out of the infant. Her heart was clenching, but she looked away and dashed off again.
“It’s how predators make a living. It’s how they survive,” she thought as she ran through the jungle.
Suddenly she stopped. Up ahead she saw Baagh Raaja sitting under a tree in human form, looking up at the stars. Rainbow Dash moved the ferns out of her way and approached him. “Hey” she said, making Baagh Raaja jerk his head up.
“Just wanted to make sure you weren’t getting into any trouble again.” Rainbow Dash giggled.
Baagh Raaja sat still for a little, and then frowned. “Rainbow Dash, why can’t you leave me be?” he asked in a snarky voice.
Rainbow Dash stepped back. “Yeesh, what’s your problem?” she asked with a raised brow.
“Tigers…” He looked away from her and to the ground. “. . .are supposed to be solitary.”
Rainbow Dash placed her hands on her hips. “Tigers aren’t anti-social ya know, Konda’s hanging with the rest of us and he’s a tiger.”
Baagh Raaja got up. “It’s not even just that, but you’re also so nosey!” he yelled.
Rainbow Dash crossed her arms “...Nosey? How?” she asked as her brows lowered.
Baagh Raaja flinged his arms up in the air. “You always ask me about stuff that’s none of your business, and frankly, it’s getting annoying!” he yelled once more.
Rainbow Dash’s fists clenched and unwrapped her arms. “WHAT?!” she screamed, echoing through the jungle. Baagh Raaja’s eyes were wide, and his brows were raised to the point where wrinkles formed on his forehead. “None of my business!? That’s what you think!? I literally just get concerned about you!” Rainbow pointed her finger at him. “Why is it so bad for me to worry about you? I was worried sick when you got separated from us! We all were. But you think it’s bad for me to worry about you!?” she yelled, getting in his face.
Baagh Raaja stepped backwards. “Well-”
“Do you not want a social life!? Is that it!, huh!?” Rainbow Dash yelled with her arms in the air.
Baagh Raaja rolled his eyes. “Can you just go already?” he asked.
Rainbow Dash growled. “You wanna be anti-social the rest of your life? Fine!” she replied before dashing off into the jungle.
Baagh Raaja turned and walked away from the tree before the blue aura returned and his tiger form came back. “Would it really kill them to leave me alone?” he thought before stopping.
Out from behind a boulder, he noticed Amber Eye walking though the jungle. “Amber Eye? What’s that coward doing out here alone?” he thought as he moved toward her.
He stopped dead in his tracks and looked away then shook his head. “Then again it’s none of my-” He paused, closed his eyes, and inhaled.
Baagh Raaja exhaled in a sigh. “Business...great. Now look who’s being nosey.” He walked past the foliage and found himself in another clearing full of sambar and rusa deer along with egrets.
He looked out at the deer, scanning for any signs of weakness. “Okay. In the morning, I’ll apologize to her. We'll work together on this thing better if we aren’t mad at each other. But I can’t tell her about my past. I just can’t.” He thought before noticing some foliage tumbling on the edge of the clearing. He hunkered down and waited, only for the buffalo bulls to walk into the clearing, and at the very front was the bull he attacked that now had scars on it’s back.
“Yeah...no, I’m not doing this again.” Baagh Raaja got back up and walked away from the clearing quickly. He walked slowly, moving his ears to the sounds in the night. While walking he stumbled upon a game trail and immediately began following it.
Following the trail, he saw some deer tracks going off the trail and followed them. Up ahead he saw a waterhole surrounded by trees. Peering into the water, he saw glowing eyes on the surface. Baagh Raaja rolled his eyes and walked down toward the waterhole. Looking at the eyes, he saw they sank below the water and he saw ripples going toward the opposite side.
At the waterhole, he lowered his body and started drinking. While doing so he noticed a v-shaped snout moving towards him. He snarled and stepped into the water and swatted at the reptile. The head of a saltwater crocodile burst through the water and nearly grabbed Baagh Raaja by the head. The crocodile, much longer than him, hissed while Baagh Raaja growled and stuck the crocodile’s face. The crocodile lunged again, only for Baagh Raaja to dodge again and sink his teeth into it’s leg.
The crocodile whacked his side with his tail, forcing him to let go. The crocodile almost bit his paw, but was met with claws in his snout. Baagh Raaja dodged the crocodile’s next lunge before leaping onto it’s back and biting into the back of the neck. The crocodile shook and thrashed through the water, but Baagh Raaja held onto the twenty one foot reptile with his jaws and claws, digging them into the unarmored sides. The thrashing began to slow down and only then did Baagh Raaja release his grip and got off. The crocodile swam back into the deeper water as Baagh Raaja walked back to the bank and continued drinking. Through the ripples of his drinking, he noticed yellow light gleaming off the surface. He looked over and his jaw slightly dropped “Huh?”
On the surface he saw a young woman surrounded by a yellow aura. Her skin color was similar to his own, her eyes were blue, and her hair was long and white. She stood there with her hands at her waist. “How...what the heck is happening!?” he thought as he stepped away from the water.
“Open up,” the woman said.
In a flash of white light, she vanished. Baagh Raaja shook his head rapidly. “What...just...happened,” he said to himself.
A female voice came from behind him. “You must open up.”
He turned around and saw the woman again, his jaw dropped and his eyes were huge. “...M-Mom?” he asked, stepping toward her.
The woman approached him. “This is the only time I’ll be able to talk to you while you’re alive, for I don’t have the magic of the great spirits. You must open up.” The white light began enveloping her.
Baagh Raaja rushed at her. “Wait! What do you mean!?” he asked before she disappeared again.
Baagh Raaja fell to the ground and looked down. His eyes began watering. “Mom...I miss you...why did you have to leave me so early?” he asked before tears rolled out of his eyes.
While the group was around the fire, Talamba saw Rainbow Dash zoom out of the jungle and into the group. “So...how’d that go?” he asked.
Rainbow Dash pouted. “Apparently Mr. Anti-social thinks I’m nosey for being concerned about him,” she replied before sitting next to Applejack.
“What!? Why?” Wildfire asked.
Rainbow Dash growled. “I don’t know! He won’t me!!” she answered.
Applejack patted her back. “Ah don’t worry Rainbow, all couples get into fights.” she said.
“But in a healthy relationship, they always make up,” Pinkie Pie said with her finger pointing at the sky as her elbow was on her leg.
Rainbow Dash raised a brow. “Wait, couple?” she asked.
Talamba, Konda, Sulu, and Partak got up and lined up together. “Rainbow and Baagh Raaja sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g.” they sang.
Rainbow’s face reddened. “I’m not in love with him! We’re not a couple!!” she yelled.
Konda smirked. “Are you sure? You sure argue like one,” he said.
Partak layed back down. “So if you aren’t a couple, when are you getting together?” he asked.
Rainbow Dash looked him in the eyes. “Never.”
Sulu rested his head on how paws. “Really? Because a little birdie told us you felt you had to keep other girls away from him,” he said before chuckling.
Rainbow’s enite face was now red. “Applejack!” she yelled.
Applejack giggled. “Sorry, ah couldn't help it.”