//------------------------------//
// The Birds 
// Story: Trapped 
// by Gylden Glor 
//------------------------------//

	I come out of the woods, shaking.
I can't tell the ponies here. They'd panic. And I don't want to cost them this camping trip.
And, besides, if Grendel has returned, he and I have an understanding. He doesn't hurt my friends, but is free to hunt.
However, after sealing him away, how do I know he won't want revenge?
Whatever. I can only hope that nothing happens during this trip.
I mean, yeah, maybe I should warn them, but...Even if I do, if Grendel wants them dead, what good would it do? May as well enjoy the last few hours of their lives, after all.
As I enter the campsite, I hand Applejack the knife, and lie through my teeth.
"I couldn't do it. I couldn't bring myself to end an innocent animal's life."
Applejack smiles as she accepts the blade. "That's nothin' to be ashamed of," she tells me. I shrug, still shaking, which is convenient, seeing as how it makes it more believable.
"Good," Rainbow Dash says with a sigh. I raise an eyebrow at her, and she simply walks away.
"Shall we, Applejack? I've been ready for this hike for the past half hour."
"Yeah," Applejack says. "C'mon, y'all!"
I nod, and sit down on the log. "Peter? What ever are you doing?"
I turn to see Rarity, standing by the start of a trail. "I thought you were staying," I remark.
"Uh, no, dear. But thank you for the offer, to stay with me."
I nod, and stand. I leave my bag, but put my iPod in my pocket and my headphones around my neck. "Alright, let's go."
With that, we're off, the Cutie Mark Crusaders walking together with laughter and chuckles as they converse with each other. As I walk, Rainbow Dash trots along next to me, suspiciously silent.
"Why'd you stay in the hospital with me?" She finally asks, in a hushed tone of voice.
I nearly trip over a rock as I turn to look at her in shock.
"What?" I breathe as I regain my balance.
"You heard me."
I flounder for a few moments, shocked by the question. "Well, I cared about you, Rainbow. And I still do. You know that."
She shoots a glance at me. "Then why were you going to stay with Rarity when all she did was bitch about hiking!?"
Everypony stops, and turns to stare at us. I cringe, and stare at Rainbow Dash, as well.
"Rainbow," Applejack says, studying her Pegasus friend, "watch yer' language," she commands, before turning back to the road. Rarity sniffles a bit, and holds her head high.
"Apologize to her," I tell Rainbow as we walk forward. She rolls her eyes, but does it all the same.
"Sorry, Rare," she sighs. "I'm just...strung up about things."
"Of course," Rarity responds, continuing to walk forward without so much as looking back. "I...I understand, my dear."
Rainbow nods, and turns her attention back to me. "So? Why?"
"Because she's my friend," I growl at her, clutching her close to me so nopony can hear our hushed voices. "And it was the right thing to do."
"So, is that the only reason why you stayed with me?" She asks. "Because I was your friend, and it was the right thing to do?"
I sigh, and pull her to the side. "No, I stayed with you because I wanted to be there for you," I tell her. Her questioning gaze softens somewhat as I cup the side of her face in my palm. "I care about you, Rainbow. And I cared about you just as much back then. And besides, it was only a month ago. Nothing has changed, alright?"
She smiles at me, and we hug. "Now, you've got to promise that you'll start trusting me more," I tell her as we part. "I would never cheat on you, babe. You know that. I wouldn't be able to bring myself to do that to you."
Rainbow smiles, and nuzzles me lightly on the cheek. "Thanks, Peter."
I kiss her on the cheek, and stand. "Now, enough of this sappy shit, eh?"
Rainbow nods. "Yeah, enough. It's time to get a move on!"
We leave the bushes, and find Applejack staring at us. "Havin' fun, you two?"
I look at Rainbow Dash, and shrug. "I dunno. With her being so damn annoying, fun is kind of hard to define."
Rainbow laughs, and punches me in the leg. I wince in pain, but continue on the path.
"Hi," I call out to the four ponies impatiently waiting for us. "Sorry 'bout that. C'mon, let's go. This trail is not going to hike itself. If it did, I'm pretty sure I'd be hiding under my bed right now."
This gets a small giggle from the three fillies, and I smile at them as we continue walking forward, Rainbow Dash gliding along lazily behind us.
"Guys, wait!" Applejack calls, her hoof pointing into the vegetation. "Look!"
We follow her hoof, and see that she's pointing at a rather beautiful bird that is preening itself on the side of the trail.
"I've never seen a bird like that," I remark, studying its odd plumage. I look around, confused by the odd stunned silence. "What?"
"Peter, that's an incredibly rare bird!" Rainbow Dash cries out. I turn back to it, and take note of its rainbow-colored feathers. "It lives only near the Rainbow Falls! Normally, it doesn't stray this far from them..."
"What's it called?" I ask, kneeling down in curiosity.
"The Rainbow Bird," Rainbow Dash responds, matter-of-factly. "Duh."
I roll my eyes, and approach the beautiful bird. It looks up to me, and approaches as I hold out my hand.
"Heya, buddy," I whisper as it nears me. It cautiously pecks at my hand a few times, and I struggle to keep my reactions under check. It then proceeds to flap its wings, and land right on my shoulder.
"Uhh, hi," I mutter as it continues to preen itself. I stroke the soft feathers on its head, and marvel at how beautiful it is as I slowly sit down by the edge of the path.
"Wow, Peter," Applejack breathes, her voice full of whimsy, "that's somethin' Ah've only seen Fluttershy do..."
I smile, and Rainbow Dash sits down next to me. "That's so awesome," she squeals. "Oh, man, I wish I could have one as a pet...But, Tank is fine..."
I smile, and extend my arm so that it's around Rainbow's shoulders. She leans into me, and watches in interest as the bird slowly travels down my arm, curious as to the new limb that has grown from its perch.
When it sees Rainbow's, well, rainbow mane, it immediately warms up to the cyan Pegasus, and hops right onto her shoulder, where it continues to preen itself. Rainbow gasps in excitement.
"This bird," she says, her voice shaking, "is the only bird that can travel as fast as me, if not a tiny bit faster. Of course, when doing a Sonic Rainboom, it's got nothin' on me, but just normally...it can go almost as fast as me!" She grins wide enough for us to see her gums. "It's so awesome!"
As she speaks, her high-pitched voice disturbs the bird, and it lets out a squawk before pecking Rainbow on the ear.
"Ow!" She cries, begetting another firm poke from the bird. "Hey, stop it!"
This continues for a few moments, and I begin to laugh, at which point the bird's fury turns to me.
It jumps over to me, and pecks me on the ear, before kicking Rainbow Dash in the mouth. It spins around, kicking the both of us repeatedly, leaving small scratches with its talons, before it spreads its legs out and catches us both on the nose. With a mighty screech, it spreads its wings, (effectively bitch slapping us both,) and takes off, a few rainbow feathers falling behind in its wake.
"Okay," I mutter, "so either that was a ninja bird, or I just really suck at dealing with wildlife..."
"Oh, no," Rarity squeaks. I turn back, and see that the Cutie Mark Crusaders are laughing boisterously, and that Applejack is snickering as well.
"Shut up!" Rainbow cries, wincing as the skin around her mouth stretches. She has a few scratches on the outside of her cheeks, and so do I. They sting like motherfuckers.
"Uh, everypony?" Rarity calls out, timidly. I raise an eyebrow, because nopony can hear her above the laughter.
"Everypony?" She repeats, urgency creeping into her voice. I wonder what it is that she sees, as Applejack struggles to breathe, and Rainbow Dash blushes.
And then, I hear it.
A thousand simultaneous battle cries.
"RUN!" Rarity shouts, before bolting away, faster than I've ever seen her go. I'm about to follow suit, when the horde of Angry Ninja Birds descend upon us.
I hear the five girls with me scream shrilly, and I curse as I get punched and kicked by birds. They fly away, only to start regrouping above us.
"Time to go," I say, before running after Rarity's trail of dust. The other ponies follow suit, and we're quickly ambushed by the birds again.
"Ah, fuck!" I shout as a bird hits me in the back. I falter, and land right on the ground.
"Peter!" Rainbow cries. I can see her fly into the crowd, but she, too, is downed by the birds.
"You three, get to safety!" Applejack cries. "Ah'll help them!" With that, she's promptly downed, as well.
Protecting our eyes, the three of us continuously call out to each other as we're beat up by Angry Birds. Within a half hour, they've finally had enough, and fly away.
But not before one of them poops on Rainbow's head.
Despite the pain wracking my body, I burst out in laughter as Rainbow Dash cringes. "Ffffffffffffuuuuuuuuuuuck..." She mutters.
I cringe as I stand, and Rainbow runs right past me, aiming for the lake by our campsite.
After helping Applejack up, the both of us begin to limp back to the campsite. I pick up my headphones, and observe the shredded wires mournfully. At least the copper wiring will give some of those fucking satanic birds some indigestion for a while, eh?
As we near the camp, I see that Rainbow Dash has been subjected to Rarity's furious cleansing techniques. I decide that it would probably be best to lay down, and limp over to the tent that Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo, and I will be sharing.
I flop down on the bed that Rainbow and I will share, and close my eyes, panting and cringing. After a little while, Rainbow Dash limps in, and flops down next to me, her recently-washed fur and mane smelling rather nice, and feeling ridiculously soft.
"What in the fuck," she mutters, "is going on in these woods?"
I shake my head, and close my eyes, holding Rainbow Dash close - but not too close, lest I aggravate my own bruises - and quickly fall asleep, my body shutting down as my brain assesses the damage.