//------------------------------// // Dancing with Dodos // Story: Cinematic Adventures: Ice Age // by extremeenigma02 //------------------------------// Dread… This was the core feeling coursing through the veins of Quill Cast, Curtain Call, Atalanta, and Jon Snow, as they stared toward the footprints in the snow. Footprints that showcased something grotesque, something monstrous. They knew exactly what creature made these footprints, the one they had followed to this world. As they studied the prints, they observed that they were heading towards a large, jagged rock formation… Half Peak. It was then that they had a clear idea of where this monster was going. “Well, now we know where it’s gone,” Quill stated. “What should we do now?” Atalanta asked. “Isn’t it obvious?” Curtain questioned. “We follow the prints, find the monster, and put an end to it.” Jon kneeled down, examining the tracks very closely. “They seem fresh enough,” Jon informed. “They’ve sunk deep enough into the ground, and they’re not covered in fresh snow. It must be close.” “Then what are we waiting for?” Quill spoke up. Quill proceeded to take the first steps toward the direction the prints were leading. Curtain Call and Atalanta began to trek behind him, anxious to get the task done as soon as possible. After only a few steps, Quill looked back noticing that Jon and Ghost still held their ground. “Jon? Are you coming?” Quill asked. Jon looked over his shoulder toward the remainder of the Neanderthal tribe who stopped for a rest. After a few seconds, Snow turned back toward his comrades. “I can’t go with you,” Jon informed. “Why not?” Curtain asked curiously. “I swore to help Runar find Roshan and I stand by my word,” Jon stated determinedly. “As long as that saber pack is still out there, I’ll hunt them down one-by-one until I recover the child.” Quill, Curtain, and Atalanta looked toward each other as somber looks spread upon their faces. They felt bad knowing that they had to tell Jon. But if he was truly their friend, he needed to hear the truth. Quill slowly walked toward Jon, sighing reluctantly. “Jon, I’m sorry to tell you this,” He apologized. “Nadia and Roshan… they’re dead.” Hearing the news had Jon Snow frozen in place, the truth of the scenario weighing heavily upon his shoulders. “What are you talking about?” Jon asked slowly. “We followed the saber chasing them and found them at the edge of a waterfall,” Quill confessed. “We tried to get to them as fast as we could, but we were too late. Nadia took Roshan… and jumped off the waterfall.” The words Quill Cast spoke rang through Jon Snow’s ears, as the man cast a downtrodden look towards the ground. “Are you sure… that they’re dead?” Jon asked. “The chances of falling down the falls without hitting any sharp rocks at the bottom are slim, Mr. Snow,” Curtain Call explained. “Even if by some miracle they missed, that water has to be frigid cold. They’d be frozen in seconds, dragged all the way across the ocean by now.” “Then… I’ve failed again,” Jon spoke, disappointed. “All I seem to do as of late is fail people. I swore to protect my family, only to have them all die. I swore to protect my homeland, only to have it fall to war. All I’ve ever wanted to be seen as a great warrior, yet it seems I can’t save anyone…. I’m a failure.” Giving off a low growl, Jon walked a a few yards away and took a seat upon a nearby rock. Quill, Curtain, and Atalanta looked toward each other once more before slowly approaching their companion. “Jon, you are many things, but certainly not a failure,” Quill assured him. “You’ve saved more lives than anyone else possibly could. You took back Winterfell from that Ramsay Snow jerk; you stopped an army of the dead. And for every failure you’ve experienced, for every person you lost, you’ve still accomplished many things most warriors can only dream about.” Jon merely shook his head, refusing to accept the kind words from his friend. All three equines took a seat alongside Jon, as they all looked upon him. “You are a great warrior, Jon Snow,” Curtain Call encouraged. “But even the greatest warrior can’t save everyone. You must stop putting so much pressure on yourself. You are a mortal man, and mortals can only do so much.” “I may not know much about you as these two, but in the short time we’ve spent together, you’ve shown great bravery and compassion for others,” Atalanta spoke up. “If that’s not enough to deem you a hero, I don’t know what else there is.” Quill stood upon his hind legs, placing his front hoof upon Jon’s shoulder. “We need you with us, Jon,” Quill told his friend. “If we don’t stop the Wendigo, who knows how many victims it will take? We might have failed to save Nadia and Roshan, and yes it will hurt for the rest of our lives, but we still have a chance to save every other creature and human in this world.” Jon slowly looked up toward his three companions as the truth of their words sank in. Though he acknowledged what they were saying, one pressing matter still weighed heavily on his mind. “What will I tell Runar?” Jon asked. “I won’t deny that it will pain his heart knowing he lost his family,” Curtain Call admitted. “But when that time inevitably comes, which may come very shortly, there’s no point to mince words. If you truly value this friendship you’ve shared, you must tell him what he ‘needs’ to know… not what he ‘wants’. Revenge against the sabers won’t bring his family back, but first chance we get they ‘will’ have much to answer for. “For now, we have a spirit to put to rest and we can’t catch him by ourselves. What do you say? Are you in?” After a few moments, the man slowly rose from his seat upon the rock and gave a shrill whistle. Ghost, his most faithful companion, immediately walked alongside his master. Now Jon dawned a more determined look. “Then, let’s hunt this monster down,” Jon declared. The trio smiled toward their comrade’s newfound determination and began to walk off toward the direction the footprints took. Jon and Ghost began to follow closely but stopped briefly for the man to turn his shoulder toward the tribe. His eyes caught sight of Runar, who stared at him for a moment. Whether or not the chief knew what was going on, he gave a small nod of acknowledgement somehow knowing what had to be done. Jon, in turn, gave a small nod of his own before he and his direwolf companion followed their friends. <> “I don’t know, but I’ve been told!” “I don’t know, but I’ve been told!” “End of the world be mighty cold!” “End of the world be mighty cold!” So many scenarios played in the minds of the Mane Six, including Spike, Gabby, and Gilda as they stumbled upon the insanity they waltzed into. They followed the dodo who took the melon they intended to give to the kid, initially hoping for a simple recovery mission. However, none of them expected to stumble upon this stirring discovery before them. The flightless bird that had stolen the melon had unintentionally led the group toward a rocky cliff side. Creeping up slowly, their eyes spotted a large number of these dodos. But what caught their attention was how they acted like some huge military unit, one of them leading a flock of dodos in a march. Which would’ve come off as impressive… had one dodo not tripped over himself, as the others walked all over him. As it turned out, that was only a fraction of the dodos they initially saw. All around the area were numerous amounts of dodos as far as their eyes could see. They were all performing various forms of drills and exercises, a form of preparation for what the future had in store. Whatever it was, they were committed to performing in tip-top form… despite their clumsy nature. “Prepare for the Ice Age!” One dodo announced. “Protect the dodo way of life!” Another proclaimed. “Survival separates the dodos from the beasts!” “Protect the dodo way of life!” “Prepare for the Ice Age!” Upon a nearby hill, overlooking the preparations, the entire motley crew of animals and the little human baby included observed the birds initially unnoticed. To suggest that a few of them were confused was a major understatement of the century. “Ice Age?” Sid asked, confused. “I’ve heard about these crackpots,” Diego replied softly. “It’s much like the story of Equestria’s founding,” Twilight Sparkle spoke up. “When the Windigos cast a blizzard upon the land, every pony feared this was a sign of the end of the world. That every pony would freeze… had they not learned to care for one another.” “Hold on!” Spike interrupted. “Sid, you really didn’t know about the Ice Age? What other reason did you think all those animals were migrating in the first place?” “I just assumed it was like one big trip to someplace warm until winter passes,” Sid admitted. “I didn’t think it be ‘this’ bad.” All at once, their gaze drifted toward the very dodo who stole their melon. The bird in question carefully placed the fruit next to two others on a flat rock. The dodo turned around only to find itself in the shadow of a mammoth and finally saw the animals eyeing him. “Uh… excuse us mister!” Pinkie greeted. “We were wondering—” But the bird cried out, startled, before racing around the camp crying: “AWK! INTRUDERS! INTRUDERS!” In the midst of the dodo’s panic, the leader of the dodos himself was giving a lecture to a group over a smoking crater. “Now, don’t fall in,” The leader instructed. “If you do, you will definitely…” “Intruders! Intrud—AAAAHHH!!!” Much to Gilda’s amusement (and subsequent astonishment), the dodo sprinted into the lecture not paying attention to where he was going. Within seconds, he tripped and fell right into the crater, a sizzling sound was herd and his brethren cringed as death took its toll in seconds. Suffice to say, the leader half-expected this scenario to happen. “… burn and die,” The leader concluded. It was then that the Equestrians and the others climbed their way down the hill into the valley currently occupied by the remaining dodos. Manny took the front, to address what seemed to be the most confident bird. “Hey, can we have our melon back?” Manny asked. “Junior’s hungry and uh…” “NO WAY!” The dodo said, bouncing forward. “This is our private stockpile for the Ice Age. Sub-arctic temperatures will force us underground for a million, billion years!” “So… your pile consists of three melons?” Gilda asked, amused. The dodos looked at their melons before turning back toward the group, offended by the remark. “If you weren’t smart enough to plan ahead, then doom on you!” The leader declared. Soon, all the other dodos proceeded to chant, ‘Doom on you, doom on you…!’, as they proceeded to advance toward the anxious group. “Get away from me!” Manny demanded. “You take one step closer, and you are chicken nuggets!” Gilda threatened. “Oh, sure Gilda, insult the birds that’ll solve everything,” Spike muttered. “Can’t we just be willing to negotiate?” Fluttershy asked hopefully. But these dodos wouldn’t listen, neither did they stop advancing. They just kept chanting over and over, performing a measure of psychological warfare against these outsiders while plotting their next move. Just then, the melon under the talons of the lead dodo rolled away. “OH NO! NO!” The leader cried out. All chanting stopped as the dodos watched the melon roll directly into Roshan’s arms. Seeing part of their food supply in danger, the leader sprang into action. “RETRIEVE THE MELON!” The dodo cried out. “TAE KWON DODOS! ATTACK!!!” The lead dodo leapt into the air and several dodos suddenly performed martial arts poses, attempting to be intimidating. Initially, the Equestrians took a defensive stance for the incoming attack… only to watch the birds kicking each other. “You’ve got to be kidding…” Rainbow Dash muttered. One of the dodos kicked another straight towards the group, inches from Roshan. The bird kicked the melon out of Roshan’s hands. All eyes watched as another dodo caught the melon with his head and tossed it to another. The dodos tossed the melon to one another, a process that continued until one dodo accidentally tossed it over a cliff. “THE MELON!!!” The dodo cried out. Several dodos started squawking, ‘THE MELON, THE MELON, THE MELON, THE MELON…’, as they raced to get the melon back. Unfortunately, the birds were paying much attention, as they pushed the dodo off the cliff, taking themselves with him. Vaguely, Gilda could hear one of the birds say, ‘There goes our last female’. “Well, they’re doomed,” Gilda thought, amused. Somehow, Sid and Fluttershy managed to sneak behind the tree stump and attempted to take one of the two remaining melons. Unfortunately, it took seconds for the dodos to notice them, and they charged after them. “FLUTTERSHY!!!” Rarity cried out, racing ahead. Together, the dodos took the melon out of Sid’s hands, and it was tossed about. Fluttershy tried to retrieve the melon, but the dodos kept tossing it toward one another from her reach. Rarity leapt into the fray, drawing several of the birds away to help Fluttershy and once tried to get the melon. But the attempt was foiled when one dodo kicked the fruit away toward the beaks of three dodos… standing right above the smoking crater. “GOT IT, GOT IT, GOT IT, GOT IT, GOT IT!” The dodos called, before they slipped. “… DON’T GOT IT!” All three birds, including the melon, slipped right into the geyser sizzling into a smoldering crisp. It was then that the birds realized the severity of the situation. “The last melon!” The dodos gasped. Sure enough, Gabby held that very melon in her talons as she eyed the dodos awkwardly. “Hi…” Gabby smiled feebly. But soon Gabby was mobbed by the entire Dodo group, when Spike emerged from the group and attempted to fly away with the melon. But Spike was ambushed by a hurled dodo, like a wacky video game, and the melon flew out of his hands into the grasp of Manny’s trunk. The mammoth held the fruit up high, preventing it from being snatched by the dodos. Adding insult to injury, to some degree, Pinkie Pie stood atop Manny waving a red cape while wearing a matador’s costume. “OLE!” Pinkie Pie shouted gleefully. “OLE!” But Pinkie Pie and Manfred were so busy concentrating on protecting the melon, they failed to notice one of the dodos directly behind the mammoth. The dodo leapt up and clamped its beak on Manny’s tail, causing him to release a high-pitched girl scream, crying in pain, and tossing the melon high into the air. The Equestrians saw the melon flying high, fearing the worst. “It’s going to crash!” Spike pointed out. “Come on, every pony!” Applejack called out. Applejack, along with Sid, Rainbow Dash, Spike, and even Gilda, raced to retrieve the melon as the other Equestrians helped a flustered Gabby to her feet. This motley group managed to dodge several dodos along the way. Even within reach, the melon bounced off the heads of several birds comically before it landed upon Sid’s hands. “Way to go, Sid!” Rainbow Dash smirked. “I wouldn’t celebrate so soon,” Gilda pointed out. The moment the group looked up, they noticed all the dodos beginning to close in on them, ready for the final assault to recover the melon. They found themselves surrounded, but their eyes were focused upon Roshan, who held his hand out, wanting the melon. Though they were outnumbered, despite holding some advantage against the birds, their focus was getting food for this boy and couldn’t risk anything happening to the melon. They couldn’t afford to give up this one chance, a fact confirmed as Spike and Gilda turned toward one another. “What do you say, skinny jeans?” Gilda asked, holding out her talon. “Truce?” “… Okay,” Spike nodded, shaking her talon. Spike and the other Equestrians took their positions, leaning down in a defensive stance in front of Sid who clutched the melon tightly. “BLUE FORTY-TWO! BLUE FORTY-TWO!” Spike shouted. “DOWN…” Time seemed to slow down as Spike kept his eyes on the approaching dodos, waiting to make their moves. The ponies and griffon prepared themselves for action. Rainbow Dash stretching her wings; Gilda clawing the ground with her talons. Applejack’s piercing gaze eyeing the dodos as sweat briefly dropped down her face. “SET…!” Spike called out. Spike turned to his left, then to the right, noting where all the dodos were positioned. He briefly glanced at Sid, who stood at the ready. Spike took a final deep breath, as he cast his gaze back toward the center. There was no turning back now… “HUT!!!!!!” One final shout, and Spike, the Equestrians, and especially Sid, race toward the dodos in their path in a scene much like a football game. The Equestrians formed a wall, as Sid bravely ran his way through the countless dodos still in their path. Some of the dodos attempted an offense, but Gilda and Rainbow Dash shoved several of the birds out of their way, leaving Sid racing ahead with Applejack and Spike. Spike and Sid used their hands/claws to protect themselves, pushing, shoving, and smacking all the other dodos in their path. Several dogpiled atop Applejack, while others inadvertently launched into each other. The remaining Equestrians fought their way through the flocks, till Spike spotted the remaining flock charging from all around. Taking a risky action, Spike skid upon the ground and held his claws out toward Sid. The sloth ran atop Spike’s hands and the dragon propelled the sloth up for a great leap, hurtling above all the dodos. Manfred, Diego, Gabby, Twilight Sparkle, the remaining ponies, and even Roshan watched Sid take to the sky. Roshan, along with Fluttershy and Gabby, closed their eyes fearing the worst. Sid managed to land on the ground, painfully yet managing to save the melon. Roshan and the girls looked and cheered, along with the others. Even Pinkie Pie, now in a cheerleader’s outfit, leapt up shouting, ‘WAHOO!!!’, while waving pom poms with her hooves. Twilight Sparkle smiled proudly toward Sid, seeing him save the food for Roshan. Sid and his team celebrated their victory, Rainbow Dash colliding into Applejack while Gabby lifted Spike up into the air pecking his face gleefully. The dodos mourned the loss of their food supply, as Gilda turned back and stuck her tongue out at the birds. Sid, and the others, weren’t paying much attention to notice. They were so busy celebrating, that amidst Sid’s joy… he threw the melon to the ground like a football player spiking the ball after a touchdown. “SID!!!” The Equestrians shouted. Everyone’s joy suddenly turned to shock in a matter of seconds. “AAH, Sid!” Diego snapped. “Now we gotta find more food!” But much to their surprise, the baby crawled over to the melon and began eating it. The group looked at the baby and whatever tension was built it went away just as quickly. “I think he likes it,” Pinkie Pie declared. “Right, more to the right. Right, right, right.” Suddenly, the group saw a couple dodos running about. They were standing on each other’s shoulders, while the dodo below tried to maintain some balance. “Look at that,” Manny remarked. “Dinner and a show.” “See, this is exactly what I was talking about,” Rainbow Dash remarked. The group shook their heads as they watched the dodos waddle about, right toward the edge of a cliff. “Left, left, left!” The dodos shouted. “LEFT, LEFT, LEFT, WAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!” Soon, the dodos slipped over the edge one by one, much to the amusement of one particular griffin. “Huh… I almost feel sorry for those little guys,” Gilda remarked. But one turn from Gilda toward Rainbow Dash, and their expressions said otherwise. “Almost…” <> Later that night, underneath a starry sky, Sid wandered the valley in search of food to celebrate his victory. His search led him towards a small, old tree as he pulled the branch aside to go around it. “Now to find a meal befitting a conquering hero,” Sid declared dramatically. The sloth released the branch only for it to smack him on the head, knocking him to the ground. Sid stared at the tree for a moment, glaring as he got up and looking to make a comeback. “What ho? A foe? Come on, come on. You want a piece of me?” Making karate sounds, Sid struck the hole in the tree. Much to his surprise, he found an acorn in his grasp. “Spoils worthy of such a noble—” Sid tossed up the nut, aiming to eat it when something flew right to his face and grabbed the acorn. It was none other than Scrat himself, who was not about to let a random sloth steal his only food supply. Sid gripped the acorn in his teeth, while Scrat tried to tug it out. After a brief struggle, Scratt pried the acorn out of Sid’s mouth and scurried away, but not before shaking his fist at Sid for nearly taking away his booty. <> Meanwhile, the ponies, griffons, and Spike finished setting up their tents again where the group would sleep for the night. Gabby and Spike had to help Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, and Applejack set the tents since Pinkie Pie was aiding Rainbow Dash with changing Roshan’s diaper… for ‘real’ this time. Apparently, the melon he ate made him make a, for lack of more appropriate words… a ‘boom-boom’. Manny was keeping watch for any predators and Sid when Twilight flew up to meet him. “The tents are nearly done,” Twilight informed, wiping her forehead. “Any sign of Sid?” “The triumphant went out to find some food,” Manny groaned. “Shouldn’t we go after him?” Fluttershy suggested worriedly. “Nah, let him go,” Manny shook his head. “He’ll never find anything out here.” “That’s for sure,” Gilda chuckled, till Gabby nudged her. “OW! Dude!” “Be nice, Gilda,” Gabby frowned, rubbing her elbow. “It’s not what he won’t find out here,” Fluttershy emphasized. “It’s what could find ‘him’.” “Please…” Gilda rolled her eyes. “I’m scarier than anything we’ll find in this valley. And you know it.” As they pondered over when Sid would return, Rarity took one sniff in the air and gagged. “Ugh! That smell!” Rarity grumbled. “Rainbow and Pinkie should’ve changed that diaper by now.” “Ain’t you a mother by now?” Applejack remarked. “Yer in such a hurry, why ain’t you doin’ it?” “Erik handles all the changes when it comes to little Gemstone,” Rarity admitted. “… Course he would.” Meanwhile, Diego was trying to sleep. But between the stench in the air and the babbling from the group members, getting some rest would be extremely difficult. “They’d better be done,” Diego spoke bluntly. “I can hardly sleep.” The others could hear Rainbow Dash groaning and whining within earshot. The group too wondered how long it would be till she was done. Deciding to check on her, they made their approach as Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were working with Roshan. The smell emanating from the child made Rainbow’s eyes water. “Ew! EW! So gross!” Rainbow complained. “Pinkie, why did I volunteer to do this?” “C’mon, Rainbow. Just pull the diaper off,” Pinkie Pie gestured. “You wanna make A.J. proud, do ya?” “Don’t remind me,” Rainbow whined sadly, feeling green. It was then her friends came to check their progress. “Hey poop checkers,” Manny inquired. “What’s the report?” “We’re working as fast as we can!” Rainbow snapped. “Don’t get your trunk in a twist. Jeez!” Pinkie Pie was beginning to feel green as well. But unlike Rainbow Dash, she was as bright and cheerful as usual. She waited for Rainbow Dash to drop the dirty diaper in a bucket, which she pulled out of her mane of course, and the like of which laid on the ground beside a shovel so they could bury it somewhere away from their campsite. The group watched as Rainbow removed the diaper, very carefully, all while she moaned and complained the whole time. Behind Rainbow’s back, Applejack grinned with satisfaction seeing her marefriend understand what being a parent feels like. Even Rarity was enjoying this, unable to stop a snicker from escaping. At long last, Rainbow removed the diaper off the baby, quickly tying it before dropping it in the bucket. “Now that wasn’t so hard, was it?” Pinkie asked smugly. “Whatever,” Rainbow scolded her. “Just finish the rest for me, please?!” “Okay, okay, I’m on it,” She giggled, pulling a garbage bag from her mane. “Hold this.” The Pegasus gripped the bag with one wing, staring with confusion. “What am I supposed to do with this?” Rainbow retorted. “Just keep it wide open silly,” Pinkie instructed, before glaring at her face. “And don’t fly off… I’m watching you.” Rainbow Dash timidly nodded with Pinkie’s request, knowing better than to make her mad. Pinkie proceeded to hum a little tune before putting two disinfecting gloves on her front hooves and proceeded to pull out a few supplies from her mane. With her eyes shut, she proceeded to wipe Roshan’s tushy clean with a wipe. She then tossed the now filthy wipe directly into the bag without once opening her eyes. Rainbow Dash tapped her hoof impatiently, turning her eyes side to side. “Will you hurry up, Pinkie?!” Rainbow complained. But her friend ignored her. Pinkie soon gently poured a bit of baby powder on Roshan’s behind and soon applied a fresh clean diaper on him. With his diaper completely changed, Pinkie carefully removed her gloves and tossed them into the bag. Rainbow quickly tied the small garbage bag before dumping it into the bucket. To her chagrin, the aroma of the stench still resided. “All done. You’re a good boy, aren’t ya little Roshan?” Pinkie cooed, nuzzling his nose. “Yes, you are. Yes, you are!” The baby started laughing along with everyone else, minus Rainbow Dash, Manny, and Diego. Rainbow waved her hoof, trying to get rid of the smell, but somehow it still got into her system. “Ugh! Yuck! Worst… day… ever!” Rainbow groaned, covering her nose. “That’ll do, Rainbow,” Applejack nudged her. “That’ll do.” “Aw, shut it!” Rainbow growled. “Great job, you two,” Manny approached. “Bury that thing good and deep now. We don’t need any cave bears sniffing around.” “Aye-aye, mon capitan!” Pinkie Pie saluted happily. Pinkie Pie picked up the shovel with her tail and sallied forth to find a good digging spot. Rainbow Dash prepared to pick up the bucket, but not before glaring accusingly at Roshan. “That’s it! No more fruit for you mister!” Rainbow frowned at Roshan, who only giggled. “C’mon, Pinkie. Let’s get this over with.” Rainbow proceeded to carry her bucket with Pinkie Pie hopping casually behind. As they watched their friends take off, Twilight Sparkle faced Applejack. “You know A.J., I never thought Rainbow would pull this off,” Twilight admitted. “Had to, Twilight,” Applejack chuckled. “Sooner or later, she’ll get used to it when we’re older.” “Alright. Bedtime, squirt,” Manny spoke. The mammoth proceeded to lift Roshan with his trunk, then proceeded to lay down to make himself comfortable. The others stared toward the saber, who was fast asleep. “I doubt this furball will keep his promise to us,” Gilda whispered. “We agreed to follow him to Glacier Pass,” Twilight sighed. “The sooner we get there, the sooner we return Roshan to the humans.” “Think we should keep an eye on him for a while?” Spike inquired Manny. “No, it’s fine,” Manny quietly mumbled. “I’ll take care of it.” “Get some sleep every pony,” Twilight quietly declared. “First thing in the morning, we continue our journey. I got a feeling it’ll start snowing by the time we wake up.” “Well, that’s a pleasant surprise,” Rarity sighed. “Here comes, Sid,” Gabby pointed. Sure enough, Sid had returned with a rather glum impression. “Poor guy,” Spike whispered to Gabby. “Guess he couldn’t find anything.” “Oh, the triumphant return,” Manny teased. “What happened, Sid?” Fluttershy asked worriedly. “Couldn’t find any food?” “Huh? Oh that. I’m so full,” Sid chuckled, rubbing his belly. “Where’s Rainbow and Pinkie?” “They’ll be back,” Gilda assured, with a smirk. “Just missed them changing the kid. But I tell ya, that kid’s the bomb.” “A stink-bomb, that is!” Spike added. To which that actually got Spike and Gilda laughing, when their gaze turned toward each other. But then things got awkward, and their laughing stopped, turning away to face the ground. Suffice to say, Gabby seemed happy to know that the two were slowly starting to find common ground. At least they hadn’t been bickering since earlier today, and who knows? This could be a good thing not just for Gabby, but for Spike himself moving forward with their relationship. <> While the group chatted the night away, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were a few yards away from the camp. They finally managed to find the perfect spot to bury the diaper and the bag of… unmentionables. Rainbow Dash proceeded to dig a hole in the ground, fuming heavily. All the while, Pinkie watched her dig with a smirk on her face. While she felt sorry for Rainbow, she was enjoying the fact that this was an important life lesson for the overconfident Pegasus. “So not cool…” Rainbow grumbled to herself. “Every pony always pushing me. ‘Bury this, bury that’…” “I’m waiting…” Pinkie sang smugly. This only increase Rainbow’s annoyance to her friend by tenfold. But it didn’t take long to finish digging, as Rainbow lightly flapped out of the hole and shook the dirt off her mane “Okay, Pinkster,” Rainbow sighed. “Drop ‘em in.” “Your wish is my command, oh master,” Pinkie replied jokingly. Rainbow just rolled her eyes as Pinkie emptied the bucket, dumping the diaper and bag respectively into the hole. Rainbow quickly dumped the dirt back in the hole with the shovel until it was perfectly buried. “That’ll keep the area clear,” Rainbow sighed, wiping the sweat off her forehead. “Could be worse,” Pinkie joked. “Roshan could’ve made a terrible—” “Don’t… say it!” Rainbow stopped her. “That’s it, I’m never changing the brat’s diaper ever again. You’re getting a ‘no’ from me. No means ‘no’.” “Okay, okay, I’m just kidding,” Pinkie giggled, then sighed. “But you know, A.J.’s right about you.” “What are you talking about?” Rainbow frowned. “You have to remember that raising a child’s a big responsibility,” She reminded. “Believe me, I know.” “Please…” Rainbow scoffed. “Raising a child’s not that hard.” “Says the pony who had trouble changing a human baby’s diaper,” Pinkie mocked. “If this is how you’re going to act around Roshan, what if you and Applejack decide to have a filly or colt of your own? You expect her to do all the work?” Rainbow Dash merely turned away, feeling annoyed enough. She looked away for a moment when she felt her friend place a hoof on her shoulder. “Look Dashie, I’m sorry you don’t enjoy being a poop checker,” Pinkie calmly stated. “But you said it yourself that you’d be a great parent when we met Grant and Ellie. All A.J. wants is proof that it wasn’t just talk.” “Yeah, well… maybe I take it all back,” Rainbow stared down, glumly. “Why do I kid myself? I’m not cut out for this. And when Applejack discovers the truth… she’s not going to want me around anymore.” Hearing Rainbow Dash being so hard on herself made Pinkie’s concern grow. Gently, she placed her hooves on Rainbow’s face. “Look at me, Rainbow,” Pinkie instructed. “Look at me.” Rainbow Dash opened her eyes and looked at her, the misery as plain as the muzzle on her face. “You and A.J. will be amazing parents when the time comes. Raising a child is hard, but it can be fun just the same. The important thing is that being a caregiver is way more responsibility than just being a playmate. My first day babysitting Pumpkin and Poundcake, I had so much trouble I almost gave up. But now I see you change Roshan’s diaper, and in that moment, I wasn’t having fun at your expense… I’m proud of you.” “You are?” Rainbow asked, shocked. “We all are,” Pinkie Pie emphasized. “When you really set your mind to it, you can be a great caregiver and an even greater parent. And it’s okay to ask for help too… something I should’ve learned when Twilight offered to help me.” “I suppose…” Rainbow Dash sighed. Maybe if I had realized that lesson when I was made the cheerleading coach, I could’ve had a far better time especially for those kids. But I’m so caught up on deciding what’s cool and what’s not, I nearly took the fun out of it.” “You know Dashie, maybe the actual reason that some activities don’t seem cool enough for you is because there hasn’t been a pony to make it ‘cool’. If any pony can make anything exciting, you can. That’s why Twilight Sparkle still trusts you… we all do.” A small tear slid down Rainbow’s eye, as she turned toward Pinkie. Suddenly, anything she may have thought about the most random pony in all of Equestria… now she was not only feeling sorry for Pinkie, but also to herself for being so judgmental. With a smile, Rainbow gently hugged her friend. “Thanks, Pinkster,” Rainbow said softly. “I guess I really don’t know much about parenting like you do.” “It’s okay to admit your own limits,” Pinkie smiled assuredly. “If you want, as soon as we get back, I can teach you how to take care of my Lil’ Cheese. What do you say?” Rainbow Dash pondered the offer for a moment or two. It slowly dawned on her that taking care of a child was more challenging than she thought it was. But then she saw the way her friend cares about her. Perhaps it wasn’t such a bad idea the more Rainbow thought about it. “I’d like that very much,” Rainbow smiled. “If it will make Applejack proud of me.” “We should probably get back,” Pinkie motioned. “This place is getting pretty spooky.” The two ponies proceeded to trot back to rejoin their friends. As it turned out, however, the ponies weren’t alone. Out in the distance were the two saber-tooth tigers Oscar and Zeke. As it turned out, they’d be trailing Diego while also keeping an eye out on the baby. The moment the pair reached the area, their nostrils caught the stench from the pile Rainbow buried. The littlest saber started coughing, as if he were about to puke. “Ew, ew, ew! What’s that smell?” Zeke cringed. Oscar took one whiff of the stench; to him, he had a hunch they were getting closer. “I think we’re on the right track,” He smirked. <> Eventually, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie made their back to the camp. Their friends looked upon Rainbow Dash with smirks on their faces. “So… how’d it go?” Applejack asked sarcastically. “Whoo! A lot of digging,” Rainbow sighed, stretching her wings. “I’m beat.” “Don’t you mean ‘pooped’?” Gilda joked. The girls, Spike, and Sid snickered which only made Rainbow frown. Pinkie merely placed an arm on Rainbow’s shoulder offering her a smile. Rainbow smiled back before returning her attention to Gilda. “Well… at least I’ll enjoy being a parent when we’re older,” Rainbow smirked. “And same goes for you too… big mamma.” This made the rest of the group snicker further, but not loud enough to wake the baby. Gilda’s face turned red and now it was her turn to be annoyed. “Typical,” She huffed. “Okay, that’s enough,” Twilight announced. “Let’s get some sleep.” “You guys are boring me anyway,” Gilda groaned. “Good night.” “Good night!” They all said, entering their tents. “Hey Sid!” Spike called out. “There’s room in the tent if you want to sleep with us again.” “Nah, it’s cool, Spike,” Sid waved off. “I’ll be sleeping under the stars tonight.” “Okay,” Spike nodded, closing the tent. “Night buddy.” Before joining her friends in one tent, Fluttershy fluttered toward Roshan and gave a gentle peck on his forehead. “Sleep tight, little Roshan,” She spoke quietly. Manny stared toward Fluttershy for a moment and started to feel slightly upset. It was as though it reminded him of something that happened long ago, something he truly didn’t want to talk about. But whatever it was, his friends were so fed up with his grumpy attitude they couldn’t understand ‘why’ he was this way. Fluttershy’s voice soon snapped Manny back to reality. “Manny? Are you okay?” She inquired. “Yeah,” Manny assured, trying to relax. “I’m okay.” “You seemed sad about something,” She wondered. “It’s nothing, Fluttershy. I’m fine, okay?” Manny scolded her, before sighing. “You should get some sleep. We need to be ready before the weather changes.” “Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it?” Fluttershy questioned. “I’m sure,” Manny nodded. “Now go to sleep. You need it.” “Well… okay,” She answered kindly. “But if there ‘is’ a problem, you can always tell us. We’ll understand. Good night, Manny.” “Good night, Fluttershy,” Sid called out, watching her enter the tent. “She sure cares about you, huh Manny?” “I guess,” Manny grumbled. “How about a good night kiss for your big buddy Sid?” Sid smirked. “Shh! He’s asleep,” Manny muttered. “I was talking about you,” Sid frowned. Manny gave a disgusted look toward Sid, as the sloth prepared to dust off the rock to sleep. “Fine, I’ll tuck myself in,” Sid complained. Sid proceeded to recline along the rock, moaning and groaning until he eventually assumed a more relaxing position. “Alright… good night…” Sid yawned. The sloth flopped along the rock, then turned over. As he turned over and over, the sloth started to moan about. Manny was slightly irritated as he watched Sid quirk around the rock, groaning. The Equestrians, having a hard time getting to sleep, heard Sid making those noises. Spike tried to cover his ears with his pillow but could still hear the sloth. Rarity heard it too and proceeded to remove her eye mask, her eyes lined with red. “What’s going on?” Rarity yawned. She, Gilda, Rainbow, Applejack, and Spike peeked their heads from their tents seeing who was disturbing their nap. “It’s just Sid…” Spike groaned. “I thought I kept every pony awake when I sleep,” Rainbow retorted. The group nodded in agreement, especially Applejack and Rarity, who recalled the time Rainbow made weird snoring noises that nearly frightened Scootaloo. So much so that she thought the headless horse had come to get her. All they could do now was watch Sid lay his head on the ground groaning, ‘Nah! Nah! Nah!’. He soon shuffled his body counter-clock wise towardsthe rock’s front, making fizzing noises with his teeth and tongue. He flopped to the side with an ‘Argh’ and suddenly jerked his arm and head up and down with loud moans. This was the last straw for Manny, Spike, Rarity, Gilda, and Rainbow Dash. “WILL YOU STOP IT!!!” They angrily shouted, startling Sid. “All right, all right, jeez…” Sid sighed sheepishly. “I was just trying to relax.” Eventually, the sloth found a very comfortable spot on the rock and began sucking his thumb just like Roshan. “Oy,” Manny groaned annoyingly. “Good grief!” Gilda grunted. “So uncouth,” Rarity shook with disgust. “Ugh, Sid… I want to like the guy, but still…” Spike mumbled, with a facepalm. Eventually, the group returned to their sleeping bags and went back to sleep, albeit unhappily. As for Manny, he looked toward Diego one last time and slowly closed his eyes, ready to sleep for the night. But with everyone dozing off to dreamland, Diego quietly opened his eyes. With the moonlight in his eyes, he quietly approached Manfred. He looked toward the mammoth and then at the baby, both of them fast asleep. Diego smirked, proud to have fooled them into accepting him into the group before turning back to the baby. Slowly he lifted his paw, attempting to take the baby out of Manfred’s trunk, but a noise stopped him as he quickly retracted his claws. To his relief, it was just Sid snoring. The tiger extended his paw again, hoping nothing would backfire. But then another noise stopped Diego and this time Manny moved his trunk, holding the baby tighter. Frustrated, Diego looked at Manfred before hearing a noise up on the nearby hill. He quietly approached the hill, noting the rustling of a dead bush. Crouching down, like he was hunting, he leapt into the air and tackled his watcher. Just as Diego prepared to attack, he saw that it was only… Zeke? “What the…?” Diego mumbled in shock. “Go ahead, slice me,” Zeke teased. “It’ll be the last thing you ever do.” “I’m workin’ here, you waste of fur,” Diego grumbled. “Frustrated, Diego?” Oscar approached. “Tracking down helpless infants too difficult for you?” “What are you two doing here?” Diego inquired. “Soto’s getting tired of waiting,” Oscar informed. “Yeah, yeah,” Zeke cackled. “He said, ‘Come back with the baby, OR DON’T COME BACK AT ALL!’ HAHAHAHAHAHA!” “Well, I have a message for Soto,” Diego exclaimed. “Tell him, I’m bringing the baby. And tell him I’m bringing… a Mammoth.” “A ‘mammoth’?” Zeke gasped. “Mammoths never travel alone,” Oscar spoke in disbelief. “Well, ‘this’ one does,” Diego replied, showing the campsite. “And I’m leading him to half peak.” Oscar and Zeke were surprised when they stared at Manny, seeing the sheer size of this creature. But that wasn’t all they spotted. “Hey, look at those tents!” Zeke pointed. “They don’t look like any tents I’ve ever seen before.” Oscar looked at the tents Zeke was referring to and that made him curious. “What’s going on here, Diego?” Oscar mocked. “Traveling with humans now? Not cool.” “No, I’m not, Oscar,” Diego snapped. “There’s something else I’m bringing to Soto, and it’ll last us a lifetime.” “And what is it?” Oscar wondered. “I’m bringing ponies, griffons, and a dragon,” Diego smirked. “Oh… wow! Okay…” Zeke laughed. “That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard; you must be crazy! HAHAHAHAHAHA!” Zeke laughed so hard that Diego had to shut him up with a bonk to the head. “Ow!” The little saber moaned. “I’m serious, Zeke!” Diego grumbled. “Do you really want to be a mangey little kitten for the rest of your life? I’m sick of your annoying attitude. Now, unless you want to starve to death, I suggest you wait. I’m bringing a huge buffet to Half Peak.” Zeke licked his lips, drooling when Diego said that. “A… buffet?” He spoke dreamily. “Oh please,” Oscar scoffed. “There’s no such thing as ponies, griffons, or dragons.” “That’s what I thought too,” Diego explained. “But they’re with the mammoth and the sloth. Together with six ponies, two griffons, and one dragon, they’re bringing the baby to the humans. But I’m making sure they never get to them. Just think: When Soto sees what I’ve brought to Half Peak, we’ll be able to feed ourselves for a whole year.” “A whole year, huh?” Oscar expressed intrigue. “Huh, I guess I could go for an extra meaty mouthful.” Zeke stared at the campsite, shaking his little body with excitement. The little saber’s hunger was growing higher by the minute. “Mmm… look at all that meat. We should kill them all before they least expect it,” Zeke said, preparing to run. “Let’s get ‘em!” But Zeke didn’t get very far when Diego jumped in front of him, moving him back. “Not yet! We’ll need the whole pack to bring this herd down. “Get everyone ready,” Diego ordered with a glare. “Now!” The two sabers headed out, unhappy with the decision but decided not to go against the order. With the two sabers spreading the word out, Diego soon returned to his sleeping spot and started to doze off. If all went as planned, it will all be over very soon. Soto will have his revenge, the pack will have a feast big enough to last the entire winter, and Diego will finally get the respect he rightfully deserved. No matter what, he couldn’t afford to allow anything to go wrong… nor let anything cloud his judgment. Above all else, Diego was a predator, through and through.