//------------------------------//
// Chapter 3 
// Story: Maybe it... 
// by Fat1thatyoulove 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 3 - Tomorrow better have roses

"Alright, the coast is clear."

You give a cold shiver as the air being pushed down from her wings brushes up against you as she lands herself on the ground near the tree you lean up against. You give a sigh and instinctively nod your head which sends a little twinge of sharp pain through your body.

Rainbow looks you over as you painfully tighten one eye waiting for the shock wave to crash back down, "You ok?"

You push yourself from the tree as you stumble past her down the dirt path, "Ya, I’m fine..." You look around the path as you continue down it, you have only been down this path once and it’s a lot more overgrown than the other paths in Ponyville. The trees that grow here are not as thick as the ones around the Everfree forest but they still slightly cover the top of the trail in a canopy of leaves. But that’s not what makes it different than other paths, this path which you forgot about, gets steeper as you progress. Which is not good seeing as how every time you get to a steeper hill you instantly look up it and get hit with a pain that runs down from the base of your head through your spine?

Rainbow walks close behind you keeping her head on a swivel as she looks up and around the path, "Listen we're getting close to where I saw it when I was flying back from the weather meet, so don't make any loud noises."

You talk in a low voice as you lead on down that part, “Sorry I jumped on you...but the changeling was disguised as you...” You choke up a little as you try to not let your thoughts get the better of you.

She blows the comment off with a light hearted chuckle, “YA and sorry for slamming you on your flank.” She pauses for a moment before she continues, “Now be quiet we don’t wa...- Whoa!-”

You quickly jerk your head back to her high pitched fading squeal ready for anything, but don't see her just an empty path behind you. A jolt of pain shoots through your turned neck and you scream out in a shout unable to hold your voice down, "Rainbow!?"

A few leaves drop down in front of you and you hear a branch crack...oh shi-.....A loud branch crack is heard from above you and you bring your head up to see a Pegasus changeling jumping swooping down at you. Its red mouth hangs open in contrast to its slink dark colored fur. But your sight of it is only a blur as the fang creature takes you to the ground, you grunt as your head jiggles from the fall but you manage to stop yourself from hitting the ground head on...the moment of success is just that a moment..as you now hold your attackers chomping jaws only inches from your face.

"Rainbow!" You struggle your grip as you push the smaller pony bug thing from you, each chomp brings its sharp white teeth to a loud teeth banging followed by a growing hiss, "hhlllaaat hhhlllaaat hhhlllaaat"

With each bang of its teeth a little bit of saliva spraying on your face. The changeling’s bright blue eyes roll back into its head each time its neck snaps  forward towards your face.

"Fuckkkk!" out of a burst of energy you send the smaller pony off of you and fling it on its back.
Your moment of breathing is over as the creature quickly scurries to its hooves and charges at you before you can even roll yourself onto your stomach to get up. You find yourself in another ponified wrestling match with your life as you have to bring your hooves back to the creature’s chest to hold it away from you as it starts chomping away with its empty teeth banging smack, "hhhhlllaaat hhhlllaaat hhhhlllaaat!!!"

Your adrenaline is pumping and your heart beats in the insides of your ears in a fear for your life, but the crippling pain in the back of your head stops you from doing anything.

The changeling growls loudly like an angry dog as it starts to push itself closer and closer to you.
Your luck runs out as it smartens up and instead of trying for your neck or face it bites down on one of your legs that hold it away from you, "AHHhhh ffuufu!" You let out a cry of pain as you feel its two sharp front teeth bite into your leg. The changeling shakes its head a little as it releases you from its grasp and goes back to its old plan, this time with faster chomps and dangerously closer to you. "Hhhhlllaaat! Hhhlll---"

The changeling is knocked off of you in a cyan blue mid bite, your heart is still beating in your ears and the sounds around you now are engulfed by its battle drum.

You quickly bring yourself to your hooves as you look to see Rainbow holding the failing creature down, her Rainbow mane is messed up around her face as she quickly brings her head to you, "Look out!"

You turn with a side step to look behind you, good move for a change. Another sleek black figure skids across the dirt road in front of you. Its bright blue bug like eyes are fixated on Rainbow as it lowers its head. You waste no time in cutting off its intended target as you do what has always come naturally in situations like this, you charge into the changeling into a tree behind it.

The changeling gives a high pitched squeal as it must not had expected the side swipe, your charge is brought to an end as the changelings body is thrown up against the tree trunk. Its head bangs up against it and stumbles around for a moment as you back up and get ready for it to move. But the changeling looks dizzy and falls to the ground in a faint.

You breathe a sigh of relief at the victory, "YA!"

"Hey A Little HELP!?"

You bring yourself to a gallop as you run over to Rainbow who now is struggling to hold the kicking changeling down. You meet up next to her as the bug eyed Pegasus breaks free of Rainbows grasp, "Whoa!" Rainbow is thrown onto her flank as the changeling hisses at you and takes up off the ground.

You spring into action as you jump at the changeling and bring it down to the ground, it flails under you with a few more saliva drenched hisses. You Head butt it as it closes its mouth and the changeling flops its head back to the dirt path. You bring your hoof up to your head as you yell in pain, "Am I fucking stupid!?"

You sit on the dirt path holding your head for a moment until Rainbow nudges you to get up, "Come on, there could be more let’s go!" Her high pitched tomboyish voice rattles your head but you listen as you struggle to keep up pace with her as you both gallop down the path.

- - -

After a few moments Rainbow finally slows her pace down as she turns back to you with an out of breath voice, "Oh man....y-your bleeding! Are you alright?"

It takes you a few moments to catch your breath as you look down at the bloody fur that sits on your leg, you don't feel any pain but that’s most likely because of how shaky your body already is, “I’m not going to like turn into one of these things right?””

She shakes her head as she stares at it, “No, it’s not like there a werepony or something.”

You think over what she said for a moment but quickly ask another question, “Are they usually this aggressive?”

Rainbow squints at you and talks in a high pitched annoyed voice, "How the hay should I know?"

You swallow back your dry throat as you talk, "You guys do this stuff all the time?"

Rainbow shifts her eyes around as she stutters, "I only saw these things like once when we went to Canterlot for Shinning's wedding."

You calm your breath as a thought slams into your head, the only time you met changelings they were all laughing and calm...sure they were bug creepy ponies but they were not so crazy what would make them so...your mind is silenced as a fear driven thought bashes your center of think, "Rainbow we need to get Twilight now!"

You bring your tired body to a full gallop as you try to push the thought back in your head, if the changeling are out for a revenge th.... you hold your mind from it as you push your hooves harder onto the ground with each step.

"Wait, we need to go slow." Rainbow is flying next to you to keep up with your pace.

You talk through your shaking breath as you push your aching body forward, "No Rainbow we have to get there now!"

End of chapter 3