//------------------------------// // Ultimate dare // Story: How Lily got her "creepy" super strength // by Hyper44 //------------------------------// The vines grew right up against the trees in some places and even a little beyond them. This provided Lily with the cover to slip out of the patch on the other side with no creature noticing her. She was still shaking from both fear and excitement. After the chaos with the timber wolves she had found herself near the changelings. She had chunked a rock at the legs on one of them and it had had the desired effect. They had scattered out of her way. She now breathed a sigh of relief and began searching again. It didn’t take her long to find the tracks of her pet again and she began following them. They lead her a little distance from the berry patch where the trees thinned out and boulders stood here and there. The tracks led right up to the largest one and into a little hole leading beneath it. "Please don't be stuck." Lily muttered and rushed over. She lay on the ground and peaked in. "Prickles?" She called and was answered by a tiny hedgehog voice. As her eyes adjusted to the dark she made out his beady eyes staring back and his juice stained muzzle. "Prickles Pricklebutt come here," She commanded. The little hedgehog squirmed and pawed at the ground but stayed right where he was. "Come on! You were able to back in there," She called but as Lily looked at his stained mouth she realized the facts. He had squeezed in there with a load of berries and then ate all of them. This had caused his little belly to swell up and trapped him inside like a cork in a bottle. "Oh, Prickles," Lily sighed heavily and laid her head on the ground. * * * The mini dragon searched the forest with a plan. His encounter with the larger member of his species had given him an idea. The filly had kept going in the same direction the last time she had tricked him into leaving and he was pretty sure that she was going after the berries. Of course she would, greedy filly. And she had told him some lie about rescuing someone. PPtthh! Sure enough as he got closer to the berries he saw her hoof prints heading that way and oh, she had even gone right past the cave. He landed outside and listened. He could hear the deep breathing echoing out. He was home. Perfect! The mini dragon took flight and headed in the direction of the berry patch. He winged out of the trees to hover above the patch. He saw no pony below just a few Everfree creatures, a pack of timber wolves and a chimera. The chimera looked like it had just been in a fight and sat sullenly in the middle of the vines. He wondered just what it had battled with for it looked like it had had a hard time. The timber wolves were acting a little odd. They stayed right on the right edge of the patch. They nipped at the berries that they could reach from there and took great care not to place even one paw in the vines. This didn't make any sense to him but he didn't care. What mattered to him was who he didn't see. That little pony. He was starting to worry that something out here had eaten the pony and ruined his revenge. He wasn’t about to give up though and began circling above the trees. His keen eyes quickly picked up a splash a familiar color that didn't belong in the forest. He quickly winged over and landed in the trees above it. There she was crouching on the ground and trying to dig under a boulder. Lily was very frustrated. The ground was hard and a boulder half the size of her house was not going to budge. Eventually the berries would pass through his system but one does simply wait around in the Everfree. Its black gates were guarded by more than just timber wolves. There were things here that do not sleep. Namely that mean little dragon. She kept calling to Prickles and encouraging him but the little guy gained no ground. Things got worse when Lily heard wing beats and a shadow fell over her. "You’re out here for some stupid crawling animal?" The dragon hissed. Lily glared up at him. "He is not just some stupid animal!" She snapped. "He's my pet hedgehog!" The dragon snorted back. "Whatever. I have the ultimate dare now." Lily's vision was suddenly blotted out for a second with a flash of light and when she blinked she found herself sitting outside of the cave that she had passed earlier. The deep heaving breathing was still emanating out. Lily’s ears fell back. She was pretty sure that she was not going to like where this was going. "The biggest and meanest manticore in the forest lives in there," The mini dragon explained. "When he goes to the berry patch all the other monsters clear out until he's gone. Your dare, should you choose to accept it, is to sneak inside while he sleeps and pluck a whisker." Lily definitely didn't like it accepting it. "Well...you have to be willing to do it as well because that is the rule of a dare." "I'd do it just for fun," The dragon snorted. "But would you?" He said crossing his forelimbs and leering at her. I don't believe you." Lily stated. "Prove it." She gestured in the direction of the cave. "Oh, no you don't," The dragon growled. "You'll simply take off again while I'm in there." "And you'll do the same to me." Lily replied. "I'm not about to let you fool me again." "And I'm not about to let you fly off and leave me in there to get eaten....wait a minute. How about this. We both go in there together, side by side. That way we both prove that we would do the dare." The dragon eyed her a moment and then nodded. "Fine." He took one step towards the cave and looked over at Lily. Lily also took a step and waited for him. Slowly they walked into the cave with each one making sure that the other did not bail. Because the trees blocked out much of the sun it became pitch black quite quickly. Both had to tread carefully to avoid tripping. "I hope you’re not frightened of the dark." The dragon taunted in a whisper. "Shh. We're going to have to stop talking because he might hear us. Even whispers," Lily replied. "Funny thing for you to say," The dragon replied. "Your hoof steps are louder than your voice." "Don't worry, I can tread so softly that even you won't hear me at all but let's be quite now." "Yeah right." "Ssshhh." "Fine." The dragon whispered back. He was surprised though. She was treading so softly now that he could not hear the sound of her hoofs on the stone at all. She apparently was pretty good at stealth. Oh well, she was still a stupid pony. After a few minutes he could hear the snores of the sleeping manticore ringing in his ears. He could even feel the breath tickle his wings with each exhale. He wanted it to be Lily to pull the whisker. It was not like he wanted to get any closer to that huge maw. He reached out to find her and direct her to the manticores' face. He was quickly confused because all he felt was empty space. He felt around for a while with the same result and then dared to whisper, "Pony?" There was no answer. He decided to try to give just a little light in order to see where she was. She was probably cowering against the cave wall or something. He raised the set of claws of his right forepaw. The claws for a mini dragon were the conduit for magic just like a unicorn's horn. A low, soft glow was emitted, illumining the cave just enough to see that she was gone. The mini dragon clenched his teeth in anger and in the next second the manticores’ eyes snapped open. * * * Lily's steps being too silent to hear were the results of no steps at all. She had simply stopped and waited until the footfalls of the dragon faded. Then she had backed out of the cave. Once out in the light again she hurried back towards the steep hill that would lead her to the berry patch. Now she had to sneak back past the monsters again. It was even worse now. The manticore could very likely be woken up by the dragon and bring more danger. She didn't like leaving him alone in there because she was not too sure how well he could escape but he was there by his own choice of trying to put her in danger and there was not anything she could do against the manticore anyway. The dragon was more capable than her in that situation. A massive roar echoed out of the cave. The dragon came shooting out with his wings pumping as fast as they could go. He had no idea that he wasn’t being chased. The manticore was growing fat off berries this time of year and didn't want to waste energy chasing a small scalely meal when he had a feast of berries so close by. The min dragon never looked behind him though. He flew out of the cave both scared and angry. The moment that he was outside he spotted the little filly trying to climb up the steep slope. It was a treacherous climb in which one could not go too fast or risk bringing the rocks tumbling down. All that the dragon could think about was being tricked again. He was so angry at that little filly that he didn't think at all. He simply acted, wanting to keep her from running away once again. He flew at the steep hill with his claws starting to glow. He slammed, talons first into the middle of the hill a ways above the filly and sending a shockwave through it. Rocks began tumbling down. With a triumphant grin he looked down the steep slope as the rocks began to cascade and spread his wings to fly. Before the first flap he felt something hard slam into the back of his head. He had been so focused on the filly and his rage that he had put himself in danger. He tried to fly or teleport but his vision was blurred and his head was swimming. Quickly everything went black as the rocks continued to tumble down the slope. * * * When the dragon awoke he was a little surprised that he had woken up at all. Even more surprising was that he was not covered in rocks or had any other real injuries save a large lump on the back of his head. That and his right wing felt like it had been bitten near the base. Even stranger was that he was at the bottom of the hill hidden in a mound of high grass. He slowly got up while clutching his head. Did he crawl here in a daze? He looked out of the grass stalks. He could see where the rocks had tumbled down and from there a set of hoof prints leading to and from his patch of grass. That little filly had grabbed him, by the wing from the feel of it and had yanked him out of the way or something. She had probably hidden him her to hide him from the predators that roamed the forest. The mini dragon snorted. "Good at least that filly recognizes what she owes me for what-" He growled at his own ungrateful response. "Yeah, but she tricked me all those times!" He snapped out loud at his own convicting feelings. Something she would not have done if not for you making her play pointless games. The dragon's pride cringed at that inner voice. "She left me alone with the manticore!" After you tried to make her go in alone and all for your pride and bitterness. "It's not my pride and bitterness! It's because of what ponies are!" What are you? It went this way for some time with the mini dragon arguing with concepts and those thoughts that just would not go away. Why would they not go away and leave him alone? After a while though he sat there and just felt ashamed. His pride and habitual self rebelled against feeling shame but he let it overtake him anyway. Sometimes it was good to feel shame. He knew that he could keep fighting it down and talking over to where he would never hear it again but he knew that that was a terrible place to be. He knew because he had been on its edge for so long. His mind still argued but after opening the door a bit but those arguments suddenly didn't mean so much anymore. Especially as he stared at the prints leading to the grass patch and away. He sat for some time just thinking and staring at those prints. Finally, he got up and stretched his wings. He decided to go home and finally leave her alone. What a waste of time and trouble he had provided for the both of them. He wished that he could do something for her. After all, saving the life of a creature that gave you so much headache and nearly got you hurt or killed deserved something in return. He hadn’t really intended to harm her but in his rage he very well could have. Part of it was that he knew that if he didn't do something this would not leave him alone but he also genuinely wanted to repay her somehow. He could go and apologize even though the very thought made his stomach tighten and his throat gag. He would go and do it though if it didn't seem so empty in measuring up against the bad he had done. She probably didn’t want to see his face anyway. At least he could completely leave her alone as she had requested. He could at least give her that one wish. That one wish! Well there was something he could do for her that he always swore that he would never do for anyone, especially a pony.