//------------------------------// // The Beast // Story: Rainbow Dash Around the World // by MagicS //------------------------------// There wasn’t really anything good about sleeping in a tree. Especially a dirty and bumpy swamp tree. Bright and early was also a bit of a misnomer. It may have been early but it definitely wasn’t bright. Rainbow Dash was woken up by the feeling of something prodding her leg and looked down to see Jules poking at her with a stick from his canoe. “You’re very colorful, I think you should also start using the mud and leaves here to camouflage yourself. The fact that I can see you so easily in this part of the swamp at this hour isn’t good,” he said to her. “Fair enough,” Rainbow yawned and crawled her way out of the tree, floating off it and getting to eye-level with him. She wasn’t looking forward to being covered in all that gross junk but she didn’t want to be a detriment to the hunting party. “It also covers your scent, so it really is pretty necessary,” Jules said. Rarity would have a fit if she had to do this… Rainbow Dash grinned to herself. “So what time is it anyways?” She asked Jules. It was pretty dark, but mostly because of the dense trees and fog, she could tell that the sun was at least partially out already. “Less than an hour after sunrise, Claude wants us to get moving as early as we can. He’s pretty sure we can track where the monster will be. At least generally,” Jules said. “Alright. Breakfast first?” “What? The outsider can’t go more than a few hours without eating anything?” The voice of Claude cut up from the water and he emerged from the low-lying fog, sitting in a canoe and paddling along. “Maybe you aren’t cut out for this.” “I have a name,” Rainbow Dash frowned as she flew over and dropped down into Claude’s canoe, rocking it. “And seriously, what’s your deal? Cause I want to help and I figured with something this serious going on you’d want to not cause problems with other ponies for no reason. If we’re about to go hunt a monster together, why don’t you get whatever’s on your mind off of it?” Claude allowed their canoe to drift a little further into the water as he stared Rainbow Dash down, until they had disappeared into the fog again. “I believe you want to help—fine—but you’re still just some outsider who doesn’t really respect us.” “What are you talking about? You don’t know me,” Rainbow Dash glared at him. “You’re all the same. Every Vissidian was the same too… you’re clearly not from there but I’ve known enough… I’ve been around enough to know how outsiders are. Our Elder may have marked you as a friend of Mile Moss Crannog… but let me ask you. What do you really think about our sacred mud? What do you think about the fact that I have three wives? That I believe my mother and father live on in the waters, the mud, and trees of our swamp? Hm?” Claude asked her. “Uhh...” Rainbow Dash awkwardly looked away. “That’s right… ever since I was a young colt and I traveled to Vissidia I knew. The laughs, the jokes, the disbelief, the pity. The way they looked at me like I was some backwards hick. I learned then what outsiders thought of our ways. How little they would ever care about us or our problems, the tough life we live, the connection we have to our swamp and our families,” he spat into the water. “Forgive me if I don’t care much at all for your help. You’re the same. You think what we do—what we believe in—is gross, or weird, or silly.” Rainbow Dash stood up and walked across the canoe, accidentally rocking it some more, and stared him dead in the eyes. “Alright, I’ll tell you this again; you don’t know me or what I think. I’ll give you one win, that I don’t believe the same stuff you do and I’m not sure what to think about all of it. But that doesn’t mean I’d ever laugh at you about it. That doesn’t mean I can’t respect what you believe in or what you do here in the swamp. And honestly? You wanna know what the biggest issue for me is when it comes to your way of life? It’s how you eat fish. So there. Deal with it.” Claude stared back at her, narrowing his eyes. But Rainbow Dash adamantly refused to back down. The leader of the hunting party at last gave a small nod. “Alright. I’ll call that fair enough, I can at least tell you’re being honest. And you don’t seem like the type to laugh or talk behind another pony’s back.” “I’m not,” Rainbow stated. “So fine then. You’re right that we’ve got something more important going on. So long as you carry your own weight, I’ll have nothing else to say. Now get back to Jules and get yourself camouflaged up, we’re going hunting soon,” Claude said. Rainbow nodded. “Fine, that works for me too.” A quick flight back over to Jules and then to the small floating island and Rainbow Dash was shortly being painted in mud. Regular swamp mud, not their blessed sacred mud. She was covered head to tail in it so much that her bright blue coat and even more noticeable rainbow mane and tail disappeared. She might as well have been a naturally all-brown pony when it was done. The mud was just the first part too, leaves and twigs were carefully tied into her mane and tail to make her look like a living bush or some kind of mud creature. It was cold and uncomfortable, and as it dried it became itchy, but she couldn’t ruin things for the hunting party by basically being a signal flare inside the dark swamp. If this made her difficult to see and impossible to smell, she’d just have to live with it for now. A smirk graced her face. That big alligator wasn’t going to know what hit it now with her around. Some of the hunting party members got into a few canoes and rafts and tied them to the floating island, once there were enough they paddled out and started ferrying the island through the swamp. Everyone was moving slowly, calmly, and quietly. Obviously Claude and the others already knew where a safe space to put their “island” was and as soon as it was secure they were probably going after the monster. Rainbow Dash, as she flew along with them, ducked down towards Jules and whispered into his ear. “Hey, so forgive me if this is a stupid question, but does gator powder not work on the big monster?” “It doesn’t like it but unless you throw a whole bag in its face it aint going to go away,” Jules said and briefly looked back at the island. “And we’ve only got a few bags left so Claude doesn’t want them wasted.” “You still need to use them for the regular gators too?” Jules shook his head. “Nope, they’ve all left this part of the swamp because of the monster. Same with the frogs, that’s why you don’t hear any croaking around here. Claude just wants to keep the powder for an emergency if it’s necessary.” Now in the early hours of the morning, the entire hunting party stealthily traveled through the swamp on the hunt for their quarry. Rainbow Dash saw many of the ponies in their canoes clutching spears tightly. They were really serious about this. To her surprise, none of them looked afraid either. Even though this monster had gotten the better of them so far, and had perhaps even eaten some of them, they were all putting on a brave face. These were serious ponies who were used to living tough lives. “So you’re sure it’s a real genuine monster too and not just some big animal?” Rainbow asked Jules. He looked at her with a dark expression. “We’re sure. You’ll see for yourself today.” “Have you ever hurt it? What do you actually do to hunt it?” “Its scales are hard like armor. Our spears can only hope to damage its vulnerable spots, but the monster is intelligent and faster than you’d expect something its size to be. Its great claws and tail can reach out and send waves through the swamp as well as knock over any boats or crush ponies. We’ve just barely been able to injure it a couple of times to make it flee and by the time it shows itself again its wounds have already healed. Claude is adamant that the only way to end the monster is to kill it in one go. First we used to draw it out with bait in trapped areas of the swamp, but then it quickly got wise to that, now we have to find where it swims and rests first and bring the fight to it.” Rainbow sighed. “So you’re definitely killing it? No chance of just catching it or trying to keep it in some far off part of the swamp where it wont bother anyone?” “Something like that can not be caught. And it’s proven ravenous enough to not be safe anywhere. Considering what you’ve said about fish and eating meat in the brief amount of time I’ve known you, I can understand why you might have reservations about this. But there’s no other way. And it is just a murderous monster. You’ll see, it’s… not normal. Those eyes...” Jules frowned and shook his head. “We respect the animals that live in this swamp, even the dangerous ones, we’re all part of a circle and we all came from the mud and will return there in the end. This monster is different.” Rainbow Dash looked ahead at the fog and the several canoes she could vaguely make out. “Guess I’ll see.” The darkness of the swamp and early morning lessened slightly as they went on until they entered a dense forest of reeds that came shooting from the water. Claude guided the hunters around and through it, the boats pulling the floating island then letting it come to a rest in the middle of the reeds. A few longer ropes were pulled out from it and tied around some of the natural trees around the reed forest to keep the island safely anchored in place. Claude, his mud covered face, looked out at the rest of the hunting party as soon as they were done with the island. “Alright everyone, we all know what we’re doing now. Follow me, keep your wits about you, and help each other. This monster dies today.” “Here,” Jules said and pulled an extra spear from his canoe and hoofed it over to Rainbow Dash. “You’re a hunter now and you’ll need this.” It felt uncomfortable in her grasp—wrong even, but Rainbow Dash accepted it for now. “Thanks.” Claude led them in a new direction now, south again deeper and deeper into the swamp. They must’ve been right in the heart of it. The deepest and darkest part of the swamp where this massive alligator monster made its home and hunting grounds. To not stand out or look unusual, Rainbow Dash stopped flying and hunkered down in Jules’ canoe with him. She had to be thankful that there was enough room for two. She sat at the front with her spear while Jules for the moment paddled through the water with the others. The paddling was slow as everyone was careful to not make any splashes. They pushed themselves through the water with practiced ease to send only a few wide ripples each time. It was silent and almost tranquil paddling as each canoe, boat, and raft made their way. A silent flock of hunters, like alligators themselves that hid under the water to strike at their prey without warning. Because of the slow pace and how everyone now kept completely quiet, Rainbow Dash got a little bored. But she was sure to keep attentive with how important this was. Claude had them eventually go into a part of the swamp that was slightly more open than the rest, but it wasn’t bright out. Overhead dark clouds had gathered to block out the sun. Just their luck, for once there should actually be sunlight reaching them and it was blocked off. The waters around were covered in moss and algae, broken and fallen over trees sat everywhere, a field of lilypads floated along to the east, and there was no sign of any animals. Everyone brought their canoes and such to a stop by the edge of this open area. Rainbow Dash could now feel the tenseness leaking from everyone as they sat quietly and waited. This was the spot. Quickly, Claude reached into a bag that sat in his canoe and pulled out several small rocks. He threw them as far as he could into the center of the open area, where they landed in the water with a splash. Then he threw some more towards the left, then the right, causing splashing wherever he threw. He was trying to agitate it, Rainbow realized. Let it know that something was intruding on its home turf. It may have been too smart for obvious bait but they could still provoke its territorial senses. Claude then took a much larger rock and chucked it hard into the distance where it landed with an audible plop. After that, everyone sat and waited. The lilypads shifted. A bulge appeared on the water. A shadow visible even through the murkiness. A drop of sweat broke through the mud on Jules’ face. The fluttering wings of birds taking flight reached their ears. Somehow the swamp was even more deathly quiet than it had already been in this area. The slightest ripples and bubbles appeared where the rock had been thrown. It was here.