//------------------------------// // The Roc's Talons! A Blind Monster? // Story: My Little Pirates: Luffy's Adventures in Equestria // by Fullmetal Pony //------------------------------// “Twitchy Tail!” Pinkie screamed. Both she and Fluttershy ducked as the manticore ripped its claws through the air above them. “P-please Mr. M-manticore!” Fluttershy yelled. “W-we’re not tasty at all!” A roar responded to her. “Runny Nose!” Pinkie coughed. Both ponies jumped off the ground, their hooves just barely clearing a thick root hidden in the foliage. The manticore tore through it like it was tissue paper and continued after them. “Itchy left hoof!” Pinkie shouted. Fluttershy veered to the right while Pinkie veered to the left. Both of them managed to avoid the thick tree that had popped up along the path, but the manticore wasn’t so lucky. A deep krunk echoed through the forest when the manticore smacked into tree. A shower of dust and leaves coated Fluttershy and Pinkie along with most of the surrounding area but they kept running. It was only when they reached a wide river that they came to a halt. Fluttershy took a deep breath and hefted Pinkie up into the air. Pinkie’s hind hooves skimmed the water as they crossed river before they collapsed on the other side. Both of them laid there for some time, just catching their breaths and staring up at the sky. “That… wasn’t fun,” Pinkie said between gasps. “N-no,” Fluttershy replied. After a little more time resting there, Fluttershy managed to pick herself up and wobbled over to the river. She plunged her head into it and gulped down some water. When she drew her head back up, she saw that Pinkie had joined her and was sipping up some of the water through a twisty straw. “Ah!” Pinkie said after a few more gulps. “I really needed that!” “T-thanks, Pinkie,” said Fluttershy. “That c-could have been bad.” “No problem!” Pinkie draped one leg over Fluttershy’s back and flashed her a smile. “Just glad my Pinkie-Sense and your wings got us to safety.” Before Fluttershy could say anything, Pinkie yawned deeply into her other hoof, somehow managing to stay balanced on just her hind legs. “All those doozies wore me out a bit though,” she said, smacking her lips. “I think I might need a nap soon.” Fluttershy’s pupils shrank a little. “N-nap? I-in the Everfree? Oh my, Princess Luna didn’t say anything about sleeping here. I… I’m sure we can get good at Haki before then, right?” “Might be a good idea to find a safe place first.” Pinkie yawned again. “Sooner rather than later.” Fluttershy’s eyes darted away from Pinkie and took in the surroundings. Clouds, far blacker than anything a pegasus could create filled the eastern horizon while mountains obscured the western view. To the north were plateaus covered in fog, but with the sun already curving towards the mountains, it would be dark before reaching them. Fluttershy turned to the south. The forest went all the way to the horizon with only the river’s path providing a break in the sea of trees. She locked onto the wooden behemoths that speared through the canopy, their massive branches shading large swathes of the smaller trees below. A great shadow emerged from one of the titanic trees and flew high into the air. It hovered for a moment and spread its wings wide, allowing the sun to glisten off its wings and claws before it launched itself over to the mountains. “Oh dear,” Fluttershy murmured. ~~~ The pitter-patter of water on rock echoed out of the cave’s mouth and into Rarity and Applejack’s ears. The entrance was a gaping maw that swallowed up all the sunlight after only a few feet, leaving the cave’s inner structure in complete darkness. The thick smell of wet rock and mold assaulted Rarity’s nose while Applejack took a big whiff of the scent. “It smells absolutely dreadful!” said Rarity. “And with all the darkness we’re sure to trip on something and get mud everywhere.” Applejack kept staring straight into the cave while her ears shifted back and forth. “I hope mud is the only thing we have to worry about. If the Princess said this was a part of training, I’m betting any advice she gives ain’t gonna be free.” “You think she’d deceive us?” Rarity gasped. “If it’s a part of this training, yes.” Applejack tapped a hoof to her chin. “I just don’t get why we couldn’t do some drills or something. Anypony can do that… no offense, Rarity.” “Just a little taken,” Rarity sighed. “Well… I suppose we could at least stock up on water.” “Might even be some fish in there too.” Rarity’s face gained a shade of green. “Y-you’re not honestly expecting to eat meat are you?” “Granny told me stories how the old settlers used to eat it. She even kept a few recipes.” Applejack shifted her back, hitching up the pile of branches she’d collected on the way to the cave. “Everfree can be tricky with what you can and can’t eat when it comes to plants. Now enough standing here talking. Let’s light up and head in before something finds us.” “O-okay,” Rarity murmured as she cast a spell. One of the branches flew off of Applejack’s back and over to Rarity’s side while another floated over to Applejack’s face. She bit into one end of it while a spark ignited the other end. A similar flame sprouted out of Rarity’s branch. Applejack nodded and took a step forward. Rarity watched Applejack advance into the darkness, gulped, and followed after her. The cave’s shadows quickly engulfed the both of them, leaving only the small area around their torches illuminated. Every couple of steps, Applejack would come to a stop and swivel her head around, her torch throwing a bit a light on the surroundings. Both ponies felt a chill go through them one time when a sweep of Applejack’s fire revealed that she was on the edge of a massive chasm. The further they ventured into the cave, the hotter it got. The torches’ flames danced off of the cave’s slick walls. Occasionally, a hoof would splash into a muddy puddle. All the while, the sound of running water grew louder. Rarity’s face scrunched up when she noticed that a part of her mane had flecked away from the rest of her hair. “Oohhh,” she muttered, “this humidity is destroying all the measures I took to keep my mane okay. Now I’m going to look like some dis—” A harsh glare from Applejack silenced her. They continued without a word for a bit with more sudden drops popping up here and there. A startled bat or a camouflaged spider would sometimes cause Rarity to jump, her hooves echoing against the rock or sending up a splash of water. Applejack would just slowly back away whenever she encountered one of the cave’s denizens. Even she couldn’t keep completely silent though, and the sound of her hooves would resonate against the walls from time to time. Eventually, they rounded a corner and were met with the smell of fresh air. A shaft of light shimmered down from further within the cave. That light refracted off of what looked like a stream of water falling down into the cave. Rarity sighed a little seeing it. “Finally,” she said. “I was beginning to think there might not be any water at all.” She looked over to the opening again, but paused when she spotted a few crabs clambering across a nearby wall. Under her gaze, they came to a stop, but unlike the earlier creatures she had stumbled upon, they did not look back at her. Their lack of eyes ensured that. Rarity shuddered staring at the blind crabs and turned her attention back to Applejack, who was steadily moving over to the light. The cavern housing the hole in the ceiling had a slight tilt to it so that the water pooled on one side of it and flowed off into other parts of the cave. The light shining down from above helped show that the cave branched off into multiple routes, some of which were filled with water while the others led only into more darkness. Rarity and Applejack drew close to the tiny waterfall. A few hardy plants and an abundance of mushrooms surrounded the water. Deep blue flowers also dotted the water’s path. Applejack carefully moved to an part of the lake bereft of any foliage save for some brownish-green moss and set her torch down. “Well, we can at least rest here for a bit.” “And get something to drink.” Rarity made her way over to the water and scooped up some of it with her magic. Her aura grew brighter for a moment before fading, leaving the water a shade clearer than it had been. The orb Rarity had formed it into split into two and a half floated over to Applejack. “There, all nice and purified with a hint of lemon added.” “Didn’t know you knew those kinds of spells,” Applejack said before gulping down the water. Rarity was in the middle of drinking of her own water, so she didn’t immediately reply. After a grateful sigh upon finishing, she turned to Applejack and started walking over to her. “Well, I never thought I’d use them for this, but when I accidentally mix dyes, they’re life sa— Eep!” Rarity yelped as one of her hooves slid out from underneath her. The stone she had stepped on sprung out from under her hooves and careened over the lake and smacked into the wall. The strike echoed across the cave as Rarity fell on her side. Applejack sprung over to Rarity’s side, but almost as soon as she did, she screeched to a halt. Rarity didn’t noticed and gave pained groan. “Ow, ow, ow!” She wobbled back to her hooves. Her breath caught in throat at the sight of her coat bespeckled with mud and moss. “I was at least hoping to make it through one day— one day without getting my coat ruined!” She turned to Applejack, who was still rooted in the same spot. The pale cave light highlighted the bit of color that had drained from her face. “Well,” said Rarity, “glad to see you know how bad this is. Mud is enough of a pain with a full spa available. I know, I know, Applejack, it could’ve been much worse. Could you imagine having a sprained hoof on top of a ruined coat. I really would die then.” “Rarity.” Applejack pointed to where Rarity had fallen. “It is much worse.” Rarity gazed down at a crushed Poison Joke flower surrounded by crumpled petals. Her face paled and her eyes widened while her breath quickened “Now don’t panic, Rarity. There’s nopony here to notice and your reaction isn’t that bad.” “But…” “It’ll be fine!” Applejack smacked a hoof down, sending up a tiny splash of water. “For Celestia’s sake, at least you could actually function! I might as well have been a bug!” “Applejack!” Rarity screeched. “I don’t care! Look behind you!” “What no—” Applejack froze. Across the lake, a part of the wall had flaked away from the rest of it. What had initially appeared as a rough craggy surface had pressed down into a fat cylinder of jagged scales. The snake-like body filled nearly all the opposite side of the lake, but its true size was hidden by the shadows and the water. Every couple of seconds, its body expanded when it took a breath and then contracted back down. “W-what is i—” Rarity was silenced by Applejack nearly smashing a hoof into her mouth. “Close your eyes,” said Applejack. “Now.” Rarity nodded and followed the order. The uneven crash of the waterfall filled the room. Applejack tried to keep her breathing low, but it kept coming out as small gasps. She felt every bead of sweat on her face as her eyes searched the dim cavern, but she dared not linger on one area for too long. Some sweat stung her eyes and forced her to blink. On the other side of the lake, the creature’s body had vanished without a sound. She strained her ears and eyes but could see nothing but rock and shadow and hear nothing but the water and her own shaky breaths. She didn’t even notice her hoof was still firmly over Rarity’s mouth or the quiver running through her friend’s body. Hiss! Rarity suddenly flew away from Applejack and screamed. The sudden shift in balance sent Applejack to the floor, but she instantly jumped back up. She glimpsed scales rise up to the hole in the roof and then darkness filled the cavern. Something brushed against Applejack’s legs and she stomped on it. There was another hiss and a hot rancid breath blasted Applejack in the face. Instinctively, she spun around and reared up her hind legs. Sparks rocketed out the darkness to her left, revealing Rarity dangling upside-down with her horn shooting out blazing pieces of magic. A massive tail was wrapped around one of her legs and holding her high in the air. She screamed again when the tail unclenched and she went to the ground. Applejack had already sent her legs out by the time Rarity unleashed her spell. The few seconds of illumination allowed her to glimpse massive fangs and clouded golden eyes. At the last moment, she veered her legs up away from the gaping maw and struck the monster on its nose. A sharp snap rang through the cavern and Applejack felt something warm drip onto her leg. The creature’s body spasmed and slammed on the ground, allowing light to fill the cavern again. Applejack jumped over its twitching body and over to Rarity. Just as she reached her, the creature shook its head and licked its fangs with a slobbering forked tongue. Applejack hoisted Rarity up with a single hoof and pulled her forward. “Run!” she screamed. Applejack went into a full gallop while Rarity raced to keep up. They sped into one of the cavern’s many exits and darkness once more surrounded them. Hisses and the scrapes of scales against stone echoed behind them. At some point, Applejack let go of Rarity, but the two continued to race forward all while the creature’s sounds rang in their ears. The duo accumulated a share of scrapes and bumps racing through the caves, but the creature’s sounds eventually grew fainter. Just as Applejack caught a whiff of fresh air, she slammed into Rarity. The two of them went into a tumble, but Applejack managed to push Rarity off and the two untangled onto the ground. “What the hay are you doing Rarity?” Applejack called out as she whipped her head around trying to find where Rarity had landed. “I was…” Rarity paused to gulp down some air. “Just getting some air.” “We can worry about that after we get out of these caves!” Applejack swiped at the air to find Rarity, but, feeling nothing, gave a huff. “That basilisk could be right on our tails and we’d never even see it down here!” “Applejack…” Despite gasping for air, Rarity’s voice was little more than a whisper. “What does a basilisk do to its prey?” “Nasty critter. Looking them in the eyes can do all sorts of things to you,” Applejack said as she waved a hoof in front of her, trying to find either Rarity or a wall.. “Darn it, Rarity! Where the hay are you? I know we’re just a bit away from the exit. You can feel the breeze, right?” “I… I can feel more than that.” Rarity reached out a hoof and gently grasped one of Applejack’s forelegs. “Basilisks… do you know how long they can effect a pony?” “Consarn it, Rarity! I can tell you all about them when one isn’t trying to eat us! We just need to get out of the cave!” “Applejack! We’ve been out ever since you bumped into me!” With a few tears rolling down her face Rarity stared straight at Applejack’s eyes. Both of their pupils and irises had become glassy and white. Rarity’s murky image reflected off of them as did a bit of the trees around them and the sun that was steadily sinking to the west. Taking a deep breath, Rarity tightened her hold on Applejack. “Now I need you to tell me how to fix this.” ~~~ The sky was a deep red with purple overtaking the eastern horizon as Fluttershy lifted Pinkie up over the trees. They climbed parallel to one of the titanic pine trees they had spotted from afar. Up close, they could see that just its branches alone could have passed for regular sized trees. Its actual trunk was its own ecosystem within the forest. Animals of all shapes and sizes skittered around its bark and scurried in and out of hovels they had dug into it. When she had scouted the tree, Fluttershy had taken so long staring at all the animals living on it that she’d found Pinkie asleep by the time she’d flown back down to the ground. To her right, one of the giant birds she had spied from earlier returned to its nest atop one of the massive pines. In its talons were boulders of varying shapes and sizes, but they all glittered with raw gems and metals. Three barely feathered heads popped up from the nest and cawed at the adult bird and the cargo it towed. As soon as the boulders were laid down in the nest, the chicks pecked at it, loosening a few pieces of it, which they eagerly gulped down. A cry from the adult bird caused the chicks to freeze. They watched in silence as the adult brought its shimmering beak down on one of the smaller boulders in three precise locations. The boulder split into rocks about half Fluttershy’s size which the adult bird then took into its mouth and crunched down on them. The chicks began cawing again as the adult shifted over to them and bent its head down to theirs, allowing them to gulp down the slurry that came out of its mouth. Fluttershy watched the feeding session as she continued to climb up to one of the higher branches. A glance down sent a chill through her and she tightened her hold on Pinkie. “A-almost there,” she huffed. With a few more flaps of her wings, she managed to make it onto a branch and gently set Pinkie down near its base. The branch alone was wide and its leaves, even though they were only “thin” needles were numerous enough and clumped together so that falling off would be highly unlikely. Fluttershy collapsed beside Pinkie and took in the view. In the fading light, the forest below seemed all the more treacherous. At least before when she’d gone into the Everfree, Fluttershy had been with everypony else, but now it was just her and Pinkie. She could feel her heart speeding up thinking about all the monsters and other dangers lurking down below or even in the tree, but she took a breath and held it in. Twilight had told her about this trick on the way to the Shining Armor’s wedding. Thinking back to the party after everything had been cleared up that day, Fluttershy exhaled and let the day’s toll wash over her. As her eyes grew heavy, she looked back over to the bird’s nest again. All the chicks had been fed and the adult bird was now breaking up the biggest of the boulders and eating it for itself. Despite the bird’s size, watching it act like any one of her own birds made Fluttershy smile as she drifted off to sleep. ~~~ A massive gust of wind startled Fluttershy out of her slumber. She nearly let out a shriek but clamped a hoof over her mouth at the sight of one of the giant birds perched on the branch. In the pale moonlight, most of its body was a great shadow, but its beak and talons now glowed with a prismatic light. There was a moment of silence before the the bird corked its head down at Fluttershy and Pinkie. Fluttershy inched up against the treetrunk, trying to stay as still as possible while moving one of her legs over to Pinkie. The bird continued to swivel its head at them as Fluttershy desperately tried to reach Pinkie. “Pinkie, P-pinkie!” she whispered before looking to the bird. “M-ms. bird, w-we’re not r-rocks. We d-don’t taste good.” The bird brought its head forward. Fluttershy felt her heart in her mouth as the bird nudged Pinkie with its razor sharp beak. “Muuu,” Pinkie muttered. “Be ready in a minute.” The bird brought its beak up and this time gave Pinkie a light peck near her neck. Fluttershy couldn’t control her breathing anymore and started gasping for air as the bird nudged Pinkie again. “S-stop,” said Fluttershy. “P-please stop!” The bird didn’t notice her pleas and instead brought its beak up again. This time, its strike had the same speed Fluttershy had seen it use on the boulders from before. Time seemed to slow down as Fluttershy’s eyes sharpened and gained an animalistic gleem. “I said, st—” Crack. The bird pulled its head back and gave a shriek that rattled the upper branches of the tree. A series of cracks spiderwebbed across a small portion of its beak. Fluttershy’s eyes widened and lost their gleam as they went from the bird over to Pinkie. Pinkie’s eyes were still shut but her mane had gone completely straight. What drew Fluttershy’s attention more than that though was that Pinkie had somehow extended a leg up and smashed it into the bird’s beak. The leg had a similar sheen to the bird’s beak as well, only it was completely smooth and a singular pink color while the bird’s beak was angular and multi-colored like cut gem. “Rock candy,” Pinkie muttered as her leg lost its sheen and flopped back down. Her tongue ran over her lips and her mane suddenly poofed back up again as well. A screech made Fluttershy turn back to the bird. It shot its wings out and sent up a gale that was like a miniature hurricane. Fluttershy clasped some bark while extending a wing over Pinkie. The wind tore across the branch, sending a storm of wood, and pine needles flying all around Fluttershy. She closed her eyes from all the dust, but opened them again when the wind suddenly shifted. The bird raced at them with its talons full extended and ready to come down on them. Fluttershy gritted her teeth and puffed up her chest. “Stop!” she screamed. Blasting off of the branch, she zoomed up to the bird’s face. The full brunt of the Stare reflected off the bird’s eyes. Its wings clenched up against its sides and it fell back onto the branch. Fluttershy landed on its beak but continued to glare down at it. “We don’t have any food for you!” she said. “Now you go back to your nest and leave us alone!” The bird wasted no time and spread its wings out as Fluttershy jumped off its nose and landed on the branch. She watched with her glare never faltering as the bird flew back to one of the many nests around the tree. It was only when it was settled down and bringing a claw to its damaged beak that Fluttershy relaxed her Stare and rushed to Pinkie’s side. “Pinkie! Pinkie!” she said as she shook Pinkie lightly. “Huh? Wuh?” Pinkie rubbed one of her eyes while half-opening the other one. “Fluttershy? Is it breakfast?” “Oh thank goodness you’re okay!” Fluttershy pulled Pinkie into a hug so tight that she fully woke up and started looking around. “What happened? Did you have a bad dream?” “Oh it was awful, Pinkie!” A few tears formed in the corners of Fluttershy’s eyes. “One of the birds came over and it… it…” Pinkie patted Fluttershy on the back. “It’s okay. Everything’s fine now… that does explain a bit of my dream though. It was a doozy!” “H-huh?” “Oh! I’ll tell you about. It’s so silly that you’ll have to smile by the end of it.” Pinkie got out of Fluttershy’s hug and sat down opposite of her. She extended a hoof and arced it over her head as she spoke. “So there I was, back at home with my sisters. I was having a really fun time making a rock candy mountain. Usually we only make enough for small necklaces like this!” Pinkie reached up to her neck and pulled off a circular set of colorful transparent rocks. Pinkie’s eyes widened and a frown momentarily marred her face at the sight of two chipped and cracked stones on the necklace.” “Aww,” she sighed, “I brought this for good luck! Now I’ll have to make my next one extra special!” “Pinkie,” Fluttershy said. “What else happened in the dream though? The bird… it pecked you, but then your mane… and your leg. You… you cracked its beak.” “It was after my rock candy!” Pinkie gasped. She then brought a hoof to her chin and nodded. “Hmmm, the explains a lot though. See, in the dream, one of the rock candy boulders started moving on its own, but I really wanted to make it the right size and shape, so gave it a good smack! I’m just surprised I still got it in me. I haven’t rock farmed in years!” “Oh… okay then.” Fluttershy stared down at the branch. “W-well, why don’t you get back to sleep now then?” “Uh-uh!” Pinkie shook her head back and forth. “Too awake now. I can do some midnight party planning while you get some sleep!” “B-but.” “No buts!” Pinkie grabbed Fluttershy and laid her down. Fluttershy suddenly found a pillow pressing up against her head while Pinkie pulled some quilted covered over her. “Now you get some sleep and when I get tired I’ll wake you up, okay?” Pinkie smiled at Fluttershy and excitedly tapped her hooves up and down. “Oh, this is super great I get to test out my party survival skills!” A flood of words started to pour out of Pinkie’s mouth, but they all started to mesh together. Fluttershy’s eyes were heavy and her throat hurt a bit from screaming. Before sleep fully overwhelmed her, she thought back to the bird and hoped its beak would recover.