//------------------------------// // Vehemence // Story: Butterflies // by Ghosttown Brony //------------------------------// Rainbow Dash Chapter 11 She couldn’t think, she couldn’t breathe. Her head pounded with horrible fury. Thunder and lightning boomed and crashed around her, but that was all. Her only company was the trees, standing tall and sturdy in the winds. Dash knew what she had to do. The Timberwolves would find the mare she loved long before she did, at least on hoof. She tried to spread her wings and cried out in pain, as the thin, newly formed skin on her cut split. She kept trying, pushing stretching. Tears ran down her face, a combination of pain and intense fear. Every moment she wasn’t airborne, was another that Fluttershy was in danger. Unless they already got to her... The image of wooden teeth locked around her yellow neck flew into her mind. That moment, captured like a photograph, a photograph her mind couldn’t get rid of. It was all she could see. She shook her pounding head, trying to make the image leave, trying to spread her wings, but her left wouldn’t rise above half way, her body wouldn’t let her do it. The torrent of pain from the intense migraine, coupled with the hot stabbing pain in her side, threatened to render the mare unconscious. She wanted to throw up, she growled and yelled and beat her hooves on the ground. The pony she loved was going to die, unless she could take to the air, but all she could do was stand, lifting her wings to a tantalizing height. Why was she so useless? Her wings refolded, and she took a deep breath. New plan. On the count of three. Just like a Band-Aid. Thunder and lightning tore apart the sky, the relentless rain and wind tore at the unlucky denizens of the ground below, and trapped down were two pegasi. The blue athlete closed her eyes and breathed. One... Two... Somewhere, close but impossibly far, Fluttershy screamed. Rainbow spread her wings, with all the force and speed she could muster. She released a scream of her own, a howling cry of pure pain. Her cut tore open again, freshly bonded flesh and muscle torn open yet again, and this time the pain would not cease. But both of her wings were raised high, rain sliding down her feathers. Just as fast as she raised them, she forced them down, propelling herself into the air with speed few pegasi in the world could match. She soared fifty feet up before gravity began to best her and she knew she had to do it again. With a pained cry, her wings opened once more and beat down, granting her another twenty feet of air. It was the roughest flight she’d ever achieved, but she was losing the fight fast. Her left wing was extremely weak; the amount of energy she usually poured into speed had to be used just to keep her aloft. She was high above the tallest trees, but trying to hover proved the most excruciating maneuver yet. To remain at her fixed height required a constant and rhythmic flapping pattern. She couldn’t stop moving her wings, and each time she opened them brought a fresh wave of intense stabbing pain. Her insides felt hot, and her head still felt like it was being crushed. She grunted as she held herself up, scanning the forest in the direction she’d heard the cry, looking for any motion, any colour. She couldn’t keep her flight steady and every second she lost a bit of her hard fought height. The tears still rolled down her cheeks blurring her vision, but she couldn’t raise a hoof to wipe them away, she couldn’t let her balance shift with a weak wing. She felt like a fly with a broken wing, awkwardly buzzing about the great expanse of trees below. Her eyes darted frantically about the muddy ground, but she couldn’t spot the mare. Rainbow poured her power into another great flap of her wings, a gamble, giving her more area to survey but making it more difficult to pinpoint the yellow mare. Dash never imagined she could resent flying so much. All she wanted was to return to the soft mud ridden ground. Lightning arced all around her. She was hundreds of feet below even the lowest cloud, but she wasn’t beyond the reach of the rampant electricity. She used to love flying past lightning. She cried and made no attempt to stop. Her body was in agony, her vision flickered and blurred, the knife in her side was hot and twisted with every motion of her wings. Adrenaline pumped through her veins, each painful flap gave her a new surge of energy. She swung her head about, searching frantically. Pain had become her world, her accepted reality, but still she fought against it, determined to do whatever possible to keep this from becoming her nightmare. But how could she help a pony she couldn’t find? Her tears of pain were becoming tears of despair, when a flash of movement caught her eye. Fluttershy ran as fast as she could, frightened, her basic instinct to flee taking over. From the moment Rainbow told her to go, she was gone, off like a bullet, but it was hardly enough. The Timberwolves were on her, so close she could hear their paws strike and tear up the ground, snarling and snapping their jaws; she couldn’t pause for a second, they wouldn’t let her. She sobbed as she ran. Not because of the burning in her lungs, or the strain on her legs. Not even because death followed her only a few feet behind, waiting for her step to falter. She cried because she had left her love behind. The last time she saw Rainbow, she crashed head first into a tree. Disoriented she took a huge left turn, taking off into darkness, away from the yellow pegasus. And Fluttershy didn’t follow. She wanted to, but her fear riddled mind wouldn’t let her hooves stop moving. She left Rainbow Dash to be torn apart by wolves and now she was alone. The trees were just a teary blur, a mesh of darkness. She was getting tired. Just breathing was a labour, her legs felt like they would fall out from under her. She hoped Rainbow was somewhere safe, far away from all this chaos that the day had wrought, but at the same time, she wished the blue mare was beside her, telling her to carry on, giving her a reason to take one more step. Fluttershy felt herself slowing and tried to turn away, but suddenly the Timberwolves were running at her from the side. She turned again to see yet more wooden beasts, their eyes glowed maliciously. They were on all sides, surrounding her, tightening like a noose around her, taking her breath away. And in that moment, she knew she was going to die. It was a sudden somberness, like someone had just told her terrible news, so terrible it was impossible to react. She got herself lower down, to a fighting stance. She didn’t know what she would do, she doubted she could even hold her own against a single wolf, but she knew it was what Dash would’ve done. She hoped her lover would be proud. As the wolves tightened their trap around her she was struck by how she felt. She wasn’t afraid, not in the slightest. She was ready, ready to fight, and die, alone in the woods. In place of fear she felt only sadness. She wanted to see her one last time, to kiss her, run her hoof through her rainbow mane, to get lost in her eyes just one more time. How long had it been since she told Rainbow she loved her? She could smell the wolves now, the foul stench of death that followed them. They stopped, a little more than five feet in front of her. The wolf that stood before her bent its forelegs getting ready to pounce. Her muscles tensed, she prepared for pain. She felt the rain drizzle down her coat; she could hear the thunder in the sky above. It was a dark night. But in the midst of the storm and gloom, faster than a pony could blink, a rainbow appeared. Time seemed to slow as her blue savior slammed into the ground with a fury, all four hooves tossing dirt and mud high into the air. The shocked wolves had been momentarily silenced. Her breathing was heavy, her mane and coat were matted, but she was still the most beautiful mare Fluttershy had ever seen. But her heart stopped at the sight of an all too familiar shade of red dripping from her exposed cut. In a low, raspy voice that challenged the growl of the wolves she said. “Back off!” The wolves quickly carried on with their growling, they would not be denied their meal. Rainbow crouched low just like her lover. Fluttershy only heard one word before the insanity broke loose. “Run.” When the first wolf lunged at her, Rainbow was ready for it. The timber wolf flew through the air, mouth open, but even in her crippled and pained state, Rainbow Dash was far faster. She drove her hoof into the beast’s wooden skull knocking it to the ground. She brought her hind leg down on its head for good, measure. But that was only one, and even as she incapacitated the first, over a dozen more converged on the two mares. Rainbow’s cut burned and her head was filled with a ceaseless rhythmic pounding, but all the pain just fueled her fury. Several came at her at a time, but her speed could not be matched, she leapt away from the snapping jaws of the monsters, and when one got to close, she used her hooves, breaking their wooden limbs. But the wolves weren’t only after the blue mare, and after noticing how little of a fight the other mare put up, a smaller group of wolves went after Fluttershy. Despite her warning the shy mare did not move, rooted to her spot, frozen in fear. Rainbow had to keep all the attention on her. She leapt at the wolves preparing to attack her lover distracting them from the easier meal. “Fluttershy run!” she shouted before three wolves jumped on her in unison, knocking the athlete to the ground. She felt teeth connect with her skin, but she fought and kicked her way out from under them, breaking two of them apart completely. The yellow mare still refused to leave, and Rainbow shouted to her as several wolves jumped on Fluttershy. Without a second thought, Rainbow’s wings flew open again, and she propelled herself forward, battering the wooden creatures off of her. Fluttershy seemed fine; she hardly had a scrape on her. Two wolves ran at Rainbow from behind, but the blue pegasus noticed them long before they got to her, and by the time they did Rainbow bucked them, crushing their heads. She turned, to see at least ten more wolves prowling towards the two mares. Before the assault resumed Rainbow turned to the other mare. “Fluttershy you have to get out of here.” “What about you?” she asked crying. “It doesn’t matter you-” one of the beasts leapt at Rainbow from the side, digging it’s wooden claws into her newly opened cut. She nearly blacked out from the sudden shock of pain, and she let out a horrible cry. The wolf and the mare rolled through the mud, one snapping and tearing, the other throwing mad punches. Dash came out on top, lifting herself from her broken opponent, but the wolves knew her weakness now and just as soon as she rose, she was tackled down again from the side by another two. She fought one on her back, but the other pressed its paw into her cut as it fought. The pain was too much, she couldn’t get either of the animals off her, and her grip on consciousness was failing fast. They fought until all the mare could do was hold back the biting maw of the wolf sitting on her chest. Its mouth came ever closer to her face; all Rainbow could see was snapping wooden teeth. Just as the mare prepared herself for what was to come, the wolf was torn from atop her. Fluttershy tossed the beast to the ground with a heavy grunt. She rose up on her hind legs, bringing her front hooves up then forcing both of them down on the head of the beast, flattening it’s brittle head. She had an unrecognizable anger in her eyes. Free of her immediate danger Rainbow swung her hoof around connecting with the wolf trying to expose her wounds. The monsters shoulder exploded into thousands of splinters, sending it back. Just as the wolf regained its balance, Rainbow put her hoof through its head. She turned to see the yellow pegasus circling with another wolf, neither taking their eyes off one another. To the surprise of the wolf and Dash alike, Fluttershy jumped on the wolf, literally tearing it apart, twigs and branches were tossed about as Fluttershy hammered down on it with her hooves. A couple of wolves turned tail and ran back into the darkness, unwilling to fight further. But five wolves remained, unwilling to retreat. Four of them were attempting to box in the yellow mare. Fluttershy became the aggressor yet again, jumping on the wolf closest to her, before the other three piled on top of her. Rainbow sprinted towards her, between the two of them, they might be able to win this. But as she ran, a Timberwolf lunged at her from the side, sinking it’s teeth deep into her left foreleg. She fell to the mud on her cut side. Her vision flickered and distorted as the pain threatened to rob her of consciousness. Even in the mud, the impact stole the breath from the blue mare. Fluttershy had bested two of the wolves but the others were quickly overtaking her. Rainbow tried again to help her, but her attacker was unrelenting, giving her no time to do anything but defend herself from its razor teeth. “Fluttershy!” she screamed at the sight of the pony she loved under such brutal attack. The yellow mare rolled onto her back and drove her left hind leg into one of the beasts, sending it sprawling away from her, but the other wolf saw its chance and clamped its jaw around her leg. The shy pony was swift to react, free of her other attacker, she used all of her power to beat the animal that bit her. It released her leg, but the bite was savage, long trails of blood poured from the puncture marks. Fluttershy lifted herself but began to stagger and nearly fell again. The remaining wolf the mare had kicked off of her was back, and began to circle the yellow pegasus. Fluttershy mimicked, but her hind leg could hardly handle her weight. Rainbow fought desperately against her own wolf, rolling to try and gain the advantage. When Rainbow achieved a position atop her opponent, she swiftly dispatched it before spreading her wings again. Fluttershy’s rage had finally failed her. It was rare that she ever let her anger take control of her, but she never felt it so powerfully before. The sight of Rainbow being overtaken because of her negligence filled her with a violent fury the like of which she had never before experienced. And the surge of power she felt when the first Timberwolf fell before her was... unexpected. She truly wished she hadn’t enjoyed it so much. But it was all gone now, her anger, her drive, defeated by the sharp pain in her leg. She could hardly push on it at all, making each movement awkward and painful. And now it seemed her green eyed attacker had the edge. She could practically see the beasts hunger. They circled, waiting, anticipating. But after a few moments of circling, she rested too much weight on her hind leg, and she gave a small cry as it buckled. She didn’t fall but the wolf had seen its moment. The beast bent it’s legs and lunged for her throat. But just as the monster was about to connect, a multicoloured blur shot past, faster than anypony could blink, and tore the Timberwolf out of the air. Rainbow and the wolf tumbled across the ground, and before she lost her momentum, she stood up on her hind legs and threw the wolf at a tree. As the final beast struck the trunk it shattered to pieces, wooden splinters covered the ground. Finally rid of her shock, Fluttershy got up from the mud. They had survived. Two mares had fought back a pack of Timberwolves. She stared at the blue mare, trying to find something to say, but coming up empty. Even ten feet away, she could hear Dash’s heavy breathing, see her legs trembling. “Rainbow?” Fluttershy asked softly. Dash gave a half-hearted laugh “Well that was fun.” She said with obvious sarcasm before the cyan pegasus crumpled and fell to the ground. “Rainbow!” She ran over, hissing as she forgot about her leg. The blue mare lay on her side, her chest was heaving with every breath. Fluttershy lifted Dash’s muddy wing to look at her cut. She’d done a pretty good job keeping the wet earth out of it, but it might not have mattered much. Her cut bled even more profusely than the day she got it, and the strain this night had caused her widened the cut by about an inch. She had to act fast; Rainbow was losing too much blood. Fluttershy ran around, ripping the branches off trees, then shearing the branches of their leaves. She nearly tripped over the many lifeless wooden husks the two pony’s had left littering the ground. Once she had a decent amount, she ran back to the sleeping pegasus. She bunched up the leaves and pushed them against her wound, trying to staunch the flow. She refolded her blue wing against it for good measure. Then she turned her attention to her hind leg. A massive bite mark scarred her just about her hoof. After a moment of contemplation, she tore the strap she’d been using for a cast off her wing. As it came free she winced at the pain, she carefully folded it back and tried to remember not to move it. She wrapped the strap around the mares leg. As she worked she noticed Rainbow started to shiver. She finished wrapping then climbed atop the blue mare, much the same way Rainbow had done for her in the cave. She used her own foreleg to ensure the unconscious kept pressure on her wound. Dash was emitting heat like a furnace, Fluttershy tried her best to keep her from shivering. Her breathing finally began to slow, and Fluttershy could feel her heart beating. It was startlingly faint. She touched her neck to check her pulse, and gasped in fear. The cold rain poured down her back, but she hardly noticed, staring intently at the sleeping pegasus, waiting for her to wake. Fluttershy’s body ached with pain, but she couldn’t imagine what Rainbow had put herself through to keep her safe. “I love you.” She whispered softly, kissing her slightly parted lips. Rain, thunder and wind raged around them, a dark night in a dark forest, but they had survived. But Rainbow had gotten even worse, and town was still two days away at a brisk walking pace. Rainbow had lived through this night, but how many more could she last?