//------------------------------// // Touch // Story: Things Rainbow Dash Doesn't Like // by PresentPerfect //------------------------------// Touch Derpy Hooves and a tan and brown stallion galloped for their lives through the dark, twisting paths of the Everfree Forest. "Have we lost them?" he shouted back to her. "Not yet, keep running!" Behind them, a dozen beasts lurched and tumbled forward in a swarm, pursuing them tirelessly. What they lacked in grace they more than made up for in power and stamina. Each was vaguely pony-shaped, its outer surface haphazardly pocked and mottled in festering shades of red, pink and purple. Oversized veins and other protuberances marred their forms. They lacked eyes, nose, and mouth, each instead having a large black hole in its head, the position of which varied from creature to creature. From this orifice, they emitted a constant low moan, a dirge that pulsed and resounded like a chant. "What are those things?" cried the stallion, fearfully looking backward and nearly tripping over a raised root. "I thought you knew, Doctor!" Derpy replied. "They're Oonkla, from the planet Creepoe! And if they touch you, you'll be turned to stone and disappear forever!" The warped chanting increased in volume as more of the horrid abominations joined the chase. It seemed like the rhythmic sounds were beginning to form words, as if each monster were repeating one set of sounds just slightly out of sync with the rest. The ponies hadn't much time to think about it, though, as their path suddenly terminated at a stone wall. The cliff reached up above them, past the treetops, its summit hidden by dense fog. The sound of the Oonklas' chanting crept into their minds like a nail under skin, setting their psyches on edge as they put their backs to the wall, awaiting the inevitable. "Doctor," Derpy whispered, "shouldn't you be getting out your sonic screwdriver?" "I haven't got one!" Sweat poured down the stallion's face. "All my screwdrivers are at home, and anyway, they're all the normal sort!" "Oh dear!" Derpy pranced on her hooves as the Oonkla herd pressed in, taking their time in confronting the pair, their haunting, unintelligible chant never ceasing. "I wish the Tardis were nearby!" The stallion suddenly forgot all his fear and turned to Derpy with a look of annoyance. "What in blue blazes do you keep blabbering on about, you stupid mare?" He jabbed a hoof in the direction of the monsters shambling ever closer. "Have you noticed that there are alien things trying to kill us? What's a Tardis? And why do you keep calling me Doctor? My name is Time Turner, I make hourglasses, and I don't even have a Master's degree!" "Shh, Doctor," Derpy said, ignoring him. "Listen!" The chanting of the creatures was indeed beginning to form words. As they turned their attentions towards it, the terrible noise became clearer and clearer. Oonkla... Doonkla... Doonkity-doo... Turn you to stone, and then we'll eat you... "If they turn ponies to stone, how can anyone possibly know that they disappear afterward?" Time Turner muttered, shutting his eyes tight against the inevitability of a stony, dinnery demise. There was a shout, one might call it a war cry, and a crashing through the trees. Something bright and colorful flew in from the side and smashed into an Oonkla, knocking it over and taking two of its brethren with it. As they touched each other, they turned to stone and then disappeared. Forever. "Is that..." Derpy couldn't believe her one good eye. "It is! Rainbow Dash!" With a mighty roar, Rainbow Dash charged the herd again, delivering swift kicks and punches to the unearthly beings, who stammered and wailed, confused by the lightning-fast assault. Frantic, they began running into each other, and in less than a minute, all the Oonkla had been destroyed by their own dark powers. "Whoo-hoo!" cheered Derpy. "Go Rainbow Dash!" Rainbow alighted in the clearing and flexed her wings, shaking off the strain of battle. "How did you even know we needed saving?" the stallion asked. Rainbow Dash snorted. "I don't like when ponies touched Doctor Whooves," she said. "M-my name is Time Turner," Time Turner protested weakly. Then he thought better of it and fainted instead.