Blue Angel

by V-Pony

The Running-Pt 11: I Won't Back Down

BIG WARNING: STRONG LANGUAGE, DARK THEMES, AND GORE AHEAD!

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Chapter inspired by this song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8i5NLyXZdc&feature=related

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September 11th, Afternoon

“Tree!! Tree!!”

“OOF-I know, I see it-agh!”

“Dodge it, Volare!”

“Since when did you become a-OW-backseat driver, Scoots?!”

“Bush!!”

“Crap! AGH, son of a-!”

“Blech-leaves…oh holy hay, BOULDER!!!”

“Oh fuuuuuuuuuuuuuu-BAM—Owwhaaahaaaowwww!”

BANG
CRUNCH
SLAM
BAM
THUD

“…………….agh, dammit…that really could have gone better,” Volare hissed under his breath as he gathered his aching hooves under himself and staggered upright, shaking his head to clear the ringing in his ears and massaging a loosened tooth with his tongue. He drew in a ragged lungful of air that made his ribs ache, but as of yet, he didn’t seem to have broken anything serious. His crippled wing had become untied in the fall and hung limply at his side, full of dust, leaves and sticks. “You still back there, Scoots?”

“Yeah, barely,” the Pegasus filly groaned and patted the back of his head in confirmation, though she dropped a sizeable chunk of his mane in the process. “I think I ruined your mane, dude.”

“Heh, forget it,” the pilot panted and gazed up towards the top of the embankment that towered over him, just now realizing how high the damn thing was! In a stroke of brilliance (or stupidity, time would only tell), he’d backed up away from those two Cryhenas and at the last possible moment, he’d stepped backward off the ledge, flipping over on his rump with Scootaloo hanging onto his neck for dear life. Together, they’d slid/fallen down the steep incline, jumping and tumbling around rocks, ledges, and brambles, finally coming to a rest at the base of it in a cloud of dust and curses. He could feel blood running from the briar scratches on his flanks, and was aware of the dry and rocky dirt that crusted his body from head to hoof, but they were alive and well away from those two things…for now.

He then focused on the snarling duo nearly 100 feet above them and grinned. “What’s wrong? Scared of heights ya bastards?!” It wasn’t until after he’d shouted that he realized that he wasn’t at that moment. That he’d put his fear of it aside for Scootaloo…for his little sister. He felt her nuzzle his raggedy mane before standing up on his back and putting her own two bits into the conversation.

“Yeah! Who’s the bad-flanks now, huh?!” the filly hopped slightly as she crowed, causing the Cryhenas to snap and screech at the empty air between them before pulling back over the edge. “You think they gave up?” Scootaloo asked before Volare noticed the pebbles falling off the edge of the incline as the predators raced back down the rise towards the fork in the road.

“No, they’re just not crazy enough to take the fast way down!” He said as he turned to run in the opposite direction, intent on circling back around the base of the mountain and finding help before those things caught up to them. But as he stepped to run, his right forehoof threatened to buckle under him, and he hissed in pain before forcing himself to limp as fast as he could.

“You ok, Volare?” Scootaloo asked fearfully.

“Yeah, I’m good…think I tweaked my leg worse in the fall,” he forced a smile that became more of a rictus-grin every time the hoof hit the ground. “Scoots, you’re faster than me now…get outta here and go get help!”

“No, I’m not gonna leave you behind with those things!” she protested and hugged his neck tightly, listening to the far-off cries and arguing of the Cryhenas behind them. “Besides, I dunno where to go!”

“Heh, great, neither do I,” Volare muttered as he willed his aching legs to keep pumping up and down. I wonder if those damn things planned this…it’s like they knew we’d be tired after climbing that hill…why did that seem so familiar, dammit?! He quickly crammed any thoughts that didn’t involve running as fast as he could away in a dark corner of his mind, knowing that his and more importantly, Scootaloo’s survival rested on him thinking clearly and staying focused. Applejack’s drill-sergeant-esque shouts came flying back to him full-force: C’mon Volare…move them hooves! Dig it out!!! Dig-dig-dig!!!

…………………..

“I can’t believe that fool of a Pegasus did that!” Ray growled in disbelief as he and Jill sprinted down the backside of the hill, nearing the arrow marker they’d switched to trick the two Pegasi.

“No kidding,” Jill snarled angrily. “What if he’d gotten that brat killed, huh? Then we’d really be deep in it with the Boss!” They reached the bottom of the incline and skidded to a halt, listening for anypony that might have heard the commotion running down the trail. But after hearing nothing but the near-silence of falling, fiery-hued leaves, the duo turned their attention to the direction of their prey, which they could just barely hear crashing through the woods in the distance. They jogged almost leisurely around the base of the embankment, pausing again once they reached the place where the Pegasi had crash-landed, littering the ground with orange and blue feathers.

“You can run, little ponies,” Jill grinned wickedly, sniffing the shreds of yellow and black mane hair that sat in a small heap in the dirt. She followed the scent into the air and gave a cackling howl in the direction that the two Pegasi had fled.

“But you can’t hide!” Ray growled in his throat and sounded a snarl that echoed that of his sister.

“Oh Ray, it’s been forever since the last hunt!” Jill flexed her claws and gnashed her teeth, working herself into a blood-mad frenzy. “Let’s run these two down like the cowards they are!!”

“Right behind you, sis!” Ray roared and they took off, tearing along the easily-defined trail of broken sticks and the occasional spot of blood that Volare had left as he ploughed ahead through the scratching and grabbing brambles, trying desperately to outrun their pursuers.

………………

“Scoots *gasp* I dunno *huff*,” Volare gasped audibly as he ran, nearly tripping on a rock in exhaustion and just barely catching himself before dodging a tree he would have hit head-on otherwise. “I’m running out of gas here!”

“C’mon, Volare!” Scoots pounded her hoof lightly on his neck like a jockey urging her mount on. “They’re right behind us!” She looked back to confirm that, sure enough, the Cryhenas were hot on their trail, their evil cackling, croaking cries getting closer every moment. Soon, the filly thought she could see their glowing green eyes shining in the shadows of the trees, and imagined she could hear their sharp fangs clashing together as they chased them. “Faster, Volare!”

“Scoots, this isn’t gonna work-AGH!” the blue Pegasus yowled in pain as a tree branch caught at his crippled wing, nearly tearing a hole clean through it while ripping out a number of his down feathers in the process. His lungs burned, his eyesight blurred, and his forehoof screamed in agony every time it pounded against the ground. As much as he wanted to keep fighting it, he felt it in his bones that sooner or later he was going to trip on a root or a rock, and before he’d make it to his hooves, those things would be all over him!

Soon, he heard and smelled the water of a flowing river before them, along with a possible waterfall in the near-distance. As they burst through the tree-line and ran down a gentle embankment, the actual sight of the river confirmed what he’d sensed, and his heart fell when he saw how rough and deep the current was as small whitecaps curled up and crashed down over rocks and tree branches that stuck up from the riverbed. If he wasn’t so tired, he might’ve been able to swim it, but Scootaloo…no, she was too young to even attempt such a feat. She’d be beaten to death on the rocks or drowned by the current. There was no place else to flee, unless they ran parallel to the river bank. But as he tried to lift his hooves from the mud that covered the ground from the riverside to the tree-line, he knew that wouldn’t work either, that he’d run himself ragged just trying to move quickly, making him easy prey for the Cryhenas. And they certainly couldn’t go running back into the woods, right into the waiting jaws of those things. They were well and truly trapped.

“Shit…shit, shit, shit,” Volare growled and muttered, glancing up and down the river, hoping he’d overlooked something. But no, there was nothing but the river and the mud before them, and the predators behind them. The time for running was over…the time for dying was at hand… But no, a little further down the riverbank, he spied a willow tree leaning out over the water, with branches just low enough for Scootaloo to reach if she stood on tip-hoof on his head. There’s no tree-climbing involved in the Running of the Leaves, Pinkie’s words returned to Volare, who never thought fate could be this damn ironic! It wasn’t perfect, but he’d take it.

“Scoots, I need you to listen to me,” he said as calmly as he could despite the approaching crashing and cackling. “Scoots?!”

“Huh, yeah?” the wide-eyed filly looked back into Volare’s steely-blue gaze as he hurried towards the willow tree, his hooves making a sucking pop noise every time he lifted them from the mud.

“Climb on my head and get up in this tree,” he indicated the lowest branch he could reach, and stood up straight and tall. “Scoots, right now!” he barked.

“O-ok!” she nodded and did as he instructed, barely able to reach the branch and pull herself up. “Come on, I’ll help you up!” she reached a tiny hoof down in a gesture of assistance so brave that it made Volare grin despite the desperate situation.

“You know those branches won’t hold me, kiddo,” he shook his head grimly. “Now you climb up where those things can’t reach you and you stay up there!” He put his tail towards the tree trunk and faced the tree-line above him, awaiting their pursuers.

“But what about you!?” Scootaloo cried in fear as she reluctantly obeyed, though she had a sickening feeling she knew what he was going to say; that premonition didn’t help ease her concern even when he finally answered her as the two Cryhenas cleared the trees and halted at the top of them embankment.

“Don’t worry about me, Scoots,” he looked back and gave her an encouraging smile. “If I can hold them off long enough, somepony is bound to miss us and come looking.”

“B-but…Volare, they’re gonna hurt you...they’re gonna get you!!” she said in anguish.

“But they’re not gonna get you, Scoots,” he gave her a solemn nod and blinked away a tear. “I promise they won’t get you…if it’s the last thing I do, you’re gonna grow up to fly and be Rainbow Dash’s personal trainer and everything.” He smiled sadly before straightening his face and glaring at the two predators as they slinked down towards them, taking their time now that they knew they had their prey cornered.

“Give her up, freak!” Ray snarled as he approached. "You're on the wrong side of the mountain for anypony to hear you call for help, so why don't you make this easy, eh?"

“Uh, how about no?” the Pegasus shot back and stomped his hoof in the cold mud, though he knew the predator was right.
Heh, never thought it'd come to this, eh Volare?

“Look, this whole thing is bigger than you or us!” Jill growled. “And we know exactly what you are; where you come from, but that doesn’t make you special in the slightest! Our Boss is more powerful than you can ever imagine, and he desires this child for a reason, so give her to us! Now!”

“I don’t give two shits and a flying fuck about your boss!” the blue Pegasus snorted and stomped his hoof again, hard enough to splatter mud into the air. He was right: the time for running was over…it was time to stand and fight! “As long as I’m breathing, you’re not gonna lay a claw on that innocent little girl!”

“Oh yeah, and what’re you gonna do to stop us, huh?! You’re not exactly in a position to make threats!” Jill cackled and crept forward. To her surprise, Volare lowered his head, his ears splayed back, good wing flared wide, and remaining mane hair standing on end as he bared his teeth and glared fiery blue daggers into her own eyes. His face contorted into the most fearsome and angry expression he could muster as he tried to stare her down like he’d done to Shae.

“Oh, I’m not making threats, bitch,” he snarled through clenched teeth. “I’m making promises! Get the hell away from Scootaloo or else!”

But the female quickly recovered and laughed sardonically. “What, you think we’re just some wild animals that spook when somepony stares at them, huh?!”

“That’s enough!” Ray swiped at his sister with a growl. “You’re saying too much as it is!”

“Well, pardon me if I’m trying to teach him the error of his ways before I rip him to pieces!” she barked back before turning back to Volare. “Looks like you have something in your eye there, you staring freak…my claws!” She leaped forward and slashed at Volare’s face, but the Pegasus quickly backed up a step, leaving her swiping at empty air. Ray then tried his chances, but as he snapped at Volare’s fore-leg, the pony kicked at him instinctively, connecting with his jaw in a glancing blow.

“So, he’s not so helpless after all,” Ray growled and rubbed his face before circling to the left, Jill going to the right as they attempted to flank him. Volare did his best to keep an eye on either attacker, but soon they had him twisting his head left and right to keep from being surprised.

“Look out on your left!” Scootaloo shouted as the male Cryhena lunged forward, grabbing for Volare’s forehoof again. But just as before, the Pegasus jerked the leg out of range and brought his hard hoof down on the predator’s thick skull with a loud crack, making it back off, whining as it did so.

“Grrrr, lemme show you how it’s done!” Jill roared and leaped into the air, aiming for Volare’s head this time. But again, the Pegasus’ strength and endurance training with his legs came into play, and he quickly side-stepped the attack, slamming a foreleg against the Cryhena’s ribcage as it flew past, sending her splashing into the mud with an angry growl.

“Yeah, get’em, Volare!” Scootaloo cheered wildly as the two predators regained their feet and circled around the larger pony again. The blue Pegasus grinned fiercely, his fighting blood up and boiling, causing him to pull great snorting breaths as he whirled, dodged, and countered; sweat poured down his face and flanks as he fought with every bit of determination a big brother would fight for his little sister with. After the initial engagement, the three battlers feinted and pulled back like prize-fighters feeling out each others’ weaknesses, mud slinging and splattering every which way with every quick and jerky movement; the only sounds their gasping breaths and quiet snarls contrasting with the relatively peaceful noise of the river that formed the border of their battleground. But the attacking duo knew that as tired as he already was before he took his stand, he couldn’t keep this up forever. Sooner or later, he’d make a mistake…

That mistake came quickly as Volare got a little too aggressive with a counter-attack, actually attempting to bite Ray as he sprinted past him, slashing at his shin with a claw as he did so. But it was merely a diversion as Jill quickly struck from the opposite flank, grabbing his back hoof in her jaws and yanking his unbalanced legs out from under him. Instantly, Ray dove to the ground for his face, slashing at Volare’s forehead and opening up a deep gash that stretched from above his left eyebrow all the way down his face to his cheekbone.

“Agh-shit!” Volare cried as Jill raked her teeth along his back leg, attempting to hamstring him as her fangs tore through the fur and skin with ease, popping several strands of muscle as they sliced along before being stopped by a kick of his leg at her throat. She hopped out of the way of the desperate strike and resumed her position next to Ray, both animals uttering their trademark moaning cackles as they stared up at him, shiny green eyes full of murderous intent and unabashed ecstasy at the pain they were causing him. The Pegasus staggered to his hooves, blinking away the blood that ran into his eye while trying to keep track of his two attackers. Wait, where’d the male go?!

“Gotcha!” he heard him growl at the same time he felt teeth bite down on his back leg again. With a strong wrench of his neck muscles, the male twisted Volare down to his knees before slinging him sideways through the slippery mud and slamming him up against the willow tree. Before he could recover, he pounced on his right forehoof, grabbing it in his powerful jaws and grinding down. Volare screamed in agony as he felt the bone splinter between evil chuckles that sent hot breath panting over the limb. The Pegasus bashed him in the head twice with his left hoof to free himself-but it wouldn’t let go!!

“Bite me eh, mother fucker?!” Volare growled and in desperation leaned forward and grabbed Ray’s left ear in his teeth, biting it clean off with a rubbery snap. That did the trick as the male let go with a shriek of pain, dabbing at the blood that trickled down the side of his head while Volare spat the severed ear into the river with a growl of disgust. Mike Tyson, eat your heart out!

“How’d you like the taste of your own medicine, huh?” But he barely got a chance to regain his hooves before the pair grabbed him again, this time on both forehooves, and together, they hurled him to the side, sending him flying head-first into the mud of the riverbank. He staggered up and wiped the grit from his eyes to see Jill attempting to climb the tree, claws scrawling deep slashes in the tree trunk as she did so. But Scootaloo was giving her a damn hard time of it as the small filly angrily hurled sticks and biting insults down onto the Cryhena’s head, keeping her from getting a good grip on the slippery willow bark.

“Ugh,” Volare groaned and forced himself to his hooves again, limping towards them and half-dragging his broken leg through the cold river mud. “Get…the hell…away from her,” he gasped and kicked a glob of mud that splattered all over the side of Jill’s head. She snapped her face around and cackled, baring her blood-covered teeth as Ray turned to oppose him.

“Ha! What’re you gonna do-bleed on me?” she laughed as Ray circled around to Volare’s left, intent on breaking his other forehoof.
It’s just a flesh wound, bitch!
“You’re a broken wreck of a wannabe Pegasus! Why don’t you just make things easier on yourself and just lay down and quit?” She spat a wad of phlegm into the mud and resumed her attempts at climbing the tree.

“He’s not a wannabe!” Scootaloo cried as she hurled a rather sizeable chunk of tree bark right into Jill’s gaping mouth, nearly choking the predator as she was forced to slide back down and hack up the fibrous material as Ray snapped at Volare’s left hoof, missing when the Pegasus leaped to the side and kicked at him with a back leg, knocking Ray to the ground. “He’s better than both of you combined!”

“What a disgustingly heartfelt sentiment,” Jill snarled and spat out the last chunk of bark. “Ray, stop dancing around and get rid of that guy!”

“Well, I thought we agreed that you wanted to take the big guy-agh!” Ray yelled and rolled out of the way as Volare attempted to stomp on his sprawled form. The male Cryhena jumped back a half step before springing forward again, jaws agape and aiming for Volare’s throat. But the Pegasus snapped his good hoof up and caught Ray in the eye, knocking him back down with a yelp and making him crawl on the ground, rubbing his face in the cool mud to try to sooth the pain that radiated from his eye socket. Volare stepped over him, intent on finishing the Cryhena off before a scream from Scootaloo reached his ears. He snapped around to see that Jill had finally gotten a grip on the tree trunk and was swiping at Scootaloo, forcing the filly to climb up to the higher branches to get away from her. “Volare, help!” she cried, her fear-widened eyes staring into the toothy oblivion that was the Cryhena’s jaws.

“Get away from her!” Volare shouted and half-limped, half charged at the tree. But Jill saw him coming at dropped down to the ground, growling deep in her throat.

“Ray, you’re useless!” she spat at her injured brother and rushed towards the Pegasus, diving under his flailing kick and knocking his injured back leg out from under him. Wheeling about, she grabbed his tail in her jaws and dragged him towards the water’s edge, hurling him into the shallows before turning back to Ray, who’d staggered to his feet, his right eye blackened and swollen shut. “Kill him, Ray!!!!” she shrieked and loped back to the tree, resuming her attempts at the climb.

“With pleasure,” Ray snarled and blinked the mud from his good eye before rushing to the downed Pegasus and grabbing him by the throat and flipping him over onto his back by the shore, sitting on his chest and forehooves, pinning him down in the mud. “What was that you said earlier, Volare? Something about ‘as long as you’re still breathing we won’t touch your dear little Scootaloo?’”

“Fuck you!” Volare tried to jerk away from the predator, but he held him down, hot spittle from his fangs dribbling onto the Pegasus’ neck and face.

“Well, I say it’s time to rectify that situation!” And with that, Ray placed both claws on Volare’s neck and forced his head under the surface, trying to drown him. Volare yelled in anger and fear, his voice muffled and bubbly by the river water as his legs thrashed uselessly in the mud. He could vaguely hear the Cryhena’s cackling laughter over the rushing water that flooded his ears, but soon that began to fade away. His lungs began to scream for air, threatening to relent and pull in a breath of water that would surely end him. His vision began to darken as his thrashing slowed. Ray’s face and the tree above the water began to dissolve into nothing but brown and grey shapes that shimmered above the water’s semi-reflective surface, backlit by the Autumn sky they’d helped to bring in. But through it all, he still retained the clench-tooth expression of fury on his face, still reaching for Ray’s face with his good hoof…still fighting…still…fighting…can’t….quit……..for…….Scoots……I’m sorry….

As he began to finally lose consciousness, the pressure on his throat suddenly shifted as the grey and brown shape above the water turned a half instant before a second shape, this one small and orange and purple, came streaking over the surface of the water and struck the brown shape with a loud yelp audible even over the rushing river water. The pressure on his chest lifted, and he instinctively raised his head above the water in a blast of stale air and sputum, blindly lashing out with his hoof over the orange shape and connecting with Ray’s head, sending the predator spinning into the mud.

Volare heaved great lungfuls of air and looked down through his water-logged vision, seeing that the orange and purple shape was none other than Scootaloo, having glided down from the tree, over Jill’s head, and kicked Ray in the jaw with all her might before splash-landing in the shallows on Volare’s chest. Her little wings buzzed fiercely and sent water droplets flying everywhere as she growled as loudly as she could, emulating the older Pegasus in nearly every detail. In any other situation, Volare was certain his heart would have burst in pride at the little filly’s act of bravery, but his attention soon turned to Jill, who was churning through the shallows towards them, her eyes shining with murderous fury.

“That’s it, you’re really starting to piss me off!” Jill roared, so angry that she was beginning to foam at the mouth. “Die, you freak!!” she screamed and lunged at Volare, but the Pegasus rolled out of the way, leaving the Cryhena with nothing but a snout full of water and river mud. The blue Pegasus ducked his head and heaved Scootaloo onto the back of his neck, limping as fast as he could towards the tree again. But before they could get more than halfway there, Ray came sprinting up behind him and hit him in the ribs with his shoulder, knocking the wind out of Volare and sending him splashing into the cold mud.

Scootaloo attempted to turn to protect her big brother, but Jill was already upon her, grabbing up the little filly and grasping her wings in her claws and forcing her to lay chest-down in the ooze. “Now then, stay the hell down!” Jill crowed as Ray onto and held Volare’s mane in his jaws and stood on his crippled wing, holding the left temple of his head in the grime at an angle that forced the Pegasus’ eyes to roll up towards his forehead to keep Scootaloo in sight. They were beaten and out of breath…they were done.

“S-scoots,” Volare managed to gasp between crushed and bloodied lips. “Why didn’t you stay in the tree?” What the little filly said next very nearly did cause his heart to burst.

“Because,” she said through a crooked little smile in a voice barely above a whisper. “The Cutie Mark Crusaders look out for each other…no matter what.”

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Near the Finish Line…

“Well, well, looks like there’s gonna be an upset this year, folks!” Pinkie Pie called out over the loudspeaker as the balloon hurried to keep up with the prismatic lead runner, who was way out in front of the pack and grinning her head off “At this rate, Rainbow Dash will almost certainly knock Applejack off her pedestal as this year’s Running of the Leaves champion!”

“Oh yeah, that’s right!” Dash called up to the balloon between breaths. “Gotta hoof it to my training program and dedication to”-

“Whoa, hold on a second here, ponies!” Pinkie suddenly paused and look down at her tail. That was weird…she could have sworn it just moved on its own…huh, oh well! She shrugged and shook her head. “Nevermind, false alarm!”

“What was that, Pinkie?” Spike asked curiously. “What false alarm?”

“Oh, I thought my-whoa, there it is again!” the party mare glanced down and held up her tail, which was twitching and flicking like crazy for a few moments before settling down again.

“Hello, I thought we were talking about my training technique here?” Dash waved a hoof, jumping over a small crack in the ground as she yelled up to the balloon.

“I know we were!” Pinkie called back down. “But my tail is-OH MY GOSH!” her back legs twitched madly, nearly pitching her against the side of the basket. “This is really, really, really rough!” she moaned, her hooves on either side of her face.

“Is it your Pinkie Sense?” Spike asked, shooting the sky a wary glance. He didn’t think anything could fall on him way up here, but you never knew… Shae on the other hand, was very agitated by all this, and she flapped her wings and cheereeked, curious as to why Pinkie had suddenly become even more animated than usual.

“Yeah, and it’s going c-r-r-r-r-ra-a-a-a-a-az-z-z-z-z-y-y-y-y-y!” She stammered as all four of her legs shook back and forth, threatening to wobble her completely out of the basket before Spike grabbed her forehoof and held her down.

“W-w-w-w-w-e-e-e-ell, w-w-w-what’s c-c-c-causing it?!” the dragon queried as he looped a rope around her middle, tying her safely to the basket.

“What’s going on up there?” Dash asked, an inexplicable feeling of unease growing in her gut as the loudspeaker picked up the conversation above her and announced it to all ponies present at the finish line that was rapidly approaching. “Pinkie?!”

“It’s her Pinkie Sense! She’s really freaking out!” Spike yelled, causing Shae to screech and take flight away from the feedbacking megaphone.

“What about?” Rainbow Dash called back, her eyes flitting between the finish line, the basket, and the group of racers that had been trailing her but were now nearly on her hooves, Applejack the foremost among them. “Pinkie Pie!!!”

“I dunno!” she finally managed to answer, holding herself up on the rim of the basket with a shaky hoof. “It’s never been this bad before!” She then looked down on the group of runners and allowed her eyes to follow the northward-curling path behind them until it disappeared out of sight under the trees that covered the base of Canterlot Mountain. She strained her eyes for any flashes of a blue or orange Pegasus, but she didn’t see anything! “Uh, Dash…where’s Volare and Scootaloo?”

“Huh, I left them behind at the starting line!” Dash recalled with a shake of her head. “They’re probably bringing up the rear by now, why?”

“Cuz I don’t see them anywhere,” Pinkie’s tone indicated a rising panic in the back of her throat as the wobbles returned full force. “Oh no, you don’t think…”

Rainbow Dash’s gaze shot from the finish line, to the balloon and back again twice before she uttered a growl of disbelief, her traits that made her the Element of Loyalty kicking in at the worst possible time. “Grr, you gotta be kidding me!!” Abandoning the race, she took off into the air with a rush of wind, soaring over the crowd and doing a quick looping turn before zipping off over the trailing racers and headed back the way she’d already ran. Seeing this, Shae took off after the Pegasus in a streak of black and white feathers. Something in her gut told her that something was very wrong…where were the two Pegasi that had been staying at Fluttershy’s cottage? Where were Volare and Scootaloo?

“Uh-oh,” Iron Will uttered softly as he saw the osprey follow after Rainbow Dash. “I’ll, uh-be right back!” He shot Fluttershy an apologetic smile and took off down the race path as well, forcing the runners to split around him like a river around a giant blue sprinting boulder.

“What’s going on?” Was all Fluttershy managed to ask before the thundering hooves of the arriving racers obscured her cry.

Flying low over the race path, Rainbow Dash muttered under her breath that Volare had better be dying, otherwise she was gonna kill him herself for making her forfeit the race to search for his dumb flank! And if he got Scoots lost in the woods….oooh, he was soooo in for it when she found him! Dash soon reached the northeast turn of the race path, and still no sign of either of the flightless Pegasi! “Darn it, where the hay did you guys go?!” the prismatic Pegasus growled and bucked a pile of leaves into the air, looking up as Shae landed next to her with a soft chirk.

“Whoa, what the hay-?” Dash, muttered in surprise before Shae took off again, nodding at the Pegasus to follow her. “Oookaay,” she muttered warily as the black and white osprey flew just above the surface of the dirt trail, her sharp golden eyes searching over every nook, cranny, and ripple in the dust, looking for any sign of the two Pegasi. Soon, they reached a fork in the trail that Rainbow Dash recalled fondly as the spot where she’d switched the arrow marker, making Applejack take a wrong turn up the hill that rose to their right. But as they paused in front of the sign, Dash noticed something about it: it was flipped around again and pointing up the hill!

Motioning for Shae to follow, Dash galloped up the hill a ways before she encountered a flat paper square on the ground with the number 16 printed on it-Volare’s race number! “Volare?” she called a bit more softly than she intended to as she hurried up the hill, noticing the small hoofprints alongside the larger ones. “Yeah, you definitely went this way…but why? And who the hay switched the…” she trailed off as she turned the corner of the hill where it became rocky and noticing the strange scrawling marks etched in the stone walls and ground. “…sign?”

A sensation of sickness began to rise in her chest as the normally cocky Pegasus slowed her pace, not sure what she was about to see around the corner. As she rounded the turn and came to the edge of the precipice, she stopped dead in her tracks and looked down to see a trail of broken sticks, bushes, and tree limbs leading down the steep incline, at the bottom of which was a small pile of something bright and colorful laying in the dust.

“What the…” Dash shook her head as she and Shae floated down the hill, landing near the pile. But as she approached, a hoof involuntarily flew to her mouth in a way that she’d never do in public, nevermind the bird of prey perched next to her. She reached down and picked up a scrap of the pile before realizing it was a chunk of Volare’s spiky mane. She then looked around and noticed other flecks of color on the ground: blue down feathers, a few un-developed orange primary feathers, and…
“Oh no…oh bucking hay, no!” Dash gasped in comprehension of what the fresh red spots were: blood. Her eyes, usually slightly lidded in a confident, laid-back expression, grew wider in worry as they followed the path of red spots to the point where the disappeared into a path that had been recently crashed through the underbrush. And running right alongside those spots was a pair of prints of a creature that the Pegasus didn’t recognize. All she knew was that the claw tracks attached to these prints matched the marks etched into the stone up on the hill.

“Aaaaahhhhhhhh!!!” a distant, tiny scream reached Dash’s ears, causing her to bristle in apprehension and Shae to clack her beak in concern. “Aaaahhhhh!” the scream came again, shorter this time-a cry of pain, and Dash recognized it. Scoots…
“…mother fuckers!!!!” a grating roar of rage and agony crashed over Dash and the osprey, galvanizing them into action.

“Oh my gosh, that was Volare!” The Pegasus said to Shae, who cheereeked in anger and took off in the direction of the noise at tree-top level. “Oh buck that, I’m going first!” Rainbow Dash growled and shot off over the autumn-hued trees, the rush of air following her blasting the remaining leaves off the trees in a fiery mini-hurricane led by a worried-to-death, enraged prismatic blur of gritted teeth, raw emotions, and the most terrifyingly-infuriated rose-colored eyes anypony had ever seen!
Hang on guys, I’m on my way!!!

-------------------------------------

“Aww, that is sooo damn sweet,” Jill cackled as held up Scootaloo by her wings, pinning them together at an unnatural angle with her claws and making the filly yelp in pain. “Remind me not to puke next time…that is, if there is a next time! Oooh, I really hope there is, because I haven’t had such a delightful day in years!”

“Ugh-wish I could say the same,” Volare snorted, trying to get his breath back and lunge at Scootaloo’s assailant, but the weight of Ray on his back and wing kept him pinned to the ground. The Cryhena dug his claws into the back of Volare’s neck, punching through the skin and fur and dragging long, slicing gashes all the way to his shoulder, making the blue Pegasus roar in pain and strike uselessly at Ray’s hip with his good wing.

“Stop it, you’re hurting him-agh!” Scootaloo cried, reaching for Volare with a hoof before Jill slapped it down out of the air, repeating the action twice before wrapping a claw around the filly’s body, crushing her forelegs against her sides and holding her still. The Pegasus responded by swatting Jill in the snout with her wing before the Cryhena held her at arm’s length, a slow-growing grin of pure evil spreading across her features.

“So, you still wanna fight, eh?” the female snickered and reached forward towards Scootaloo’s right wing, pinning the base of the buzzing limb with her thumb-claw before leaning forward towards the back of her neck with a whisper that sent chills of fear down the orange filly’s spine. “Poor little Pegasus…never gonna grow up and learn to fly, now. If only you’d just given up,” she cooed nastily before gripping a primary feather between her front fangs. With a jerk of her neck, she popped the pinion off of Scootaloo’s wing, making the filly let out a squeal of pain that absolutely shredded at Volare’s heartstrings and soul. The small orange feather, a drop of blood dripping from the end, was then unceremoniously spat into the mud and crushed under Jill’s claw like a piece of trash.

“No, p-please,” Volare groaned, his body tensing and trying to throw Ray off, but to no avail as Jill simply grinned sadistically and snickered at his feeble efforts.

“Please what? You gonna beg now, big guy?” Jill clacked her fangs and reached for another feather, plucking it off with the same motion and making Scootaloo shriek. “Better ask for a cherry on top and maybe I’ll thank about it!”

“Aaaah, no, stop!” the filly cried, struggling to escape, her back legs kicking in mid-air and her tail thrashing uselessly in distress. She tried to curl her body up to get away from the pain as Jill yanked out another feather, this one an even longer primary, but the Cryhena squeezed her midsection, threatening to crack her ribs in her claw and forcing Scootaloo upright again.

“Hee-hee, having fun now, aren’t we?” the predator giggled in evil glee to the point that even Ray was getting uncomfortable with this. He raised an eye to the sky, knowing that their time was growing short here.

“Jill, stop this,” he ordered her, knowing that there were certain lines ponies just didn’t cross, and he was damn sure this was one of them. Nothing good could come of this; he felt it in his gut. “That’s enough!”

“Oh come on, just a few more, Ray!” the female beast pleaded before pulling out another feather and drawing another squeak of agony from the little orange Pegasus. “Besides, the Boss said we can experiment if she resisted us. And she can obviously fly when she means to; I’m just taking precautions against her getting away!”

“No…stop it…stop it!” Volare pleaded softly, squinting through the blood dribbling into his eyes. “Just let her go…take me instead…please.” Jill suddenly reached forward and grabbed his face in her claw, squeezing his cheeks and giving his head a shake.

“D’aaaw, so cute and loving,” she flicked a claw across his muzzle, splitting the skin and opening another cut that began to turn the cratered grey mud beneath him a dark crimson. “But it’s not you who we’re here for, freak!”

“Just stop hurting her…please!” the Pegasus gritted his teeth against the fresh ache of the cut on his face and growled. “Stop it right now, goddamit!” But Jill ignored his pleas, stared him right in the eye, and yanked another feather out of Scootaloo’s wing with a wide-mouthed grin.

“I-it’s ok, Volare,” the little filly grimaced and put on a brave smile, trying to hide the pain just like she had the first day Volare met her. “It doesn’t-agh-hurt that-ugh-bad. I’ve had worse…I-I’ll be ok,” she assured him as a tear trickled from her eye and ran down her face. “Promise.” The look on her face and her tone of voice, full of reassuring hope to give Volare solace that he hadn’t failed her…it broke his heart. Tears squeezed from the older Pegasus’ eyes as well as he scraped a shaky hoof through the mud and feebly reached for her small form as if to offer her what little comfort and protection he could...to let her know it truly was going to be alright…

“No, Scoots…I promise,” Volare rasped, again trying to stand before being forced back into the cold quagmire…but a fire within him had been sparked…and it was growing rapidly with every moment. “I’m not gonna let them take you.” He growled far back in his throat, and once again, he attempted to lift his body from the grime, this time making it to his knees and straining his crippled wing even further than before, gritting his teeth against the pain so hard that they squeaked. “Put her down, you bitch,” he snarled in a strained tone that actually made Jill take pause.

“Why do you keep fighting, huh?” she snapped, pulling another feather from Scootaloo. But this time the little filly didn’t cry out…she only continued to smile bravely; only allowing another tear to leak from her purple eyes, once so full of life, now only looking forward to the forthcoming darkness that surely awaited her. It was that stoic look of false hope that gnawed at Volare’s soul and made him strain even harder against his captors, reaching for Scootaloo with every fiber of his being. He wasn’t going to let her real hope be replaced with false ones! He wasn’t going to let her give up her hopes and dreams like this!!

Amused, Jill allowed Scootaloo to free one of her hooves and reach for and comfort Volare, but the Cryhena held their hooves just inches apart, cackling with evil glee as she did so. “Oooh, come on, you’re so close! Oops, too late!” she jerked Scootaloo out of Volare’s reach. “Come on, be a good sport and try again-oops, too slow again! Hee-hee, one more try”-

“Jill, I said that’s enough!” Ray growled before being met with a withering stare from his sister.

“Lemme have my fun, Ray! It’s been too damn long since I have, so you just sit down and be quiet!” her exclamation sent a string of spittle flying onto Ray’s leg, and he immediately backed down; there was no sense talking to her when she was like this. Jill gave a satisfied snort and went back to holding Scootaloo just out of reach of Volare, relishing the groans that rose from the blue Pegasus’ throat as he forced himself up despite the claws that bit deeper into his neck the higher he pushed and reached, trying desperately to at least touch Scootaloo’s little hoof and let her know it would be ok…that he wasn’t giving up. Jill finally grew tired of this little game, and leaned down into Volare’s face and snarled in frustration.
“I just don’t understand it; why don’t you just lay down and give up and die!? What’s this brat to you anyway, huh?! You’re not even from this world!”

The little orange filly, finally hearing those fateful words, turned and looked into Volare’s eyes for confirmation. He couldn’t hide the truth any longer, nor could the tears that spilled from his eyes...at this point, what did it matter if she hated him for it anyway? But to his surprise, instead of disappointment or confusion, Scootaloo simply gave him a soft smile and whispered: “It doesn’t matter…I love him cuz he’s still my brother.” Volare’s heart exploded, and the growing fire within him threatened to burst its bindings and roar forth.

“What was that?” Jill snarled and shook Scootaloo roughly. “What did you say you little orange road-apple?!” That did it…the chains that held back the inferno snapped, the sound of their shattering echoed through his aching soul.

Volare made a growling noise in his chest that sounded like grinding gravel. He looked up into Jill’s face, his steely eyes seeming to blaze with the volcanic blue fire that raged in his heart, and snarled in a tone so full of anguish and remorseless fury that it put Ray and Jill’s hair on end. “She’s my sister…you filthy, cowardly, heartless, shit-eating mother fuckers!!!!!” As he glared at Jill, he was vaguely aware of his vision shrinking in radius, centering on her grinning, fanged mouth like the targeting computer of his jet. That’s what it was now: a target. His mind began to shut down his senses as it focused itself on what was important now: his objective, his mission, his purpose: save Scootaloo…and now it was time to fulfill it. He took a deep breath…blinked once…and exhaled slowly as time slowed to a crawl.

All of his self-doubt…all of his insecurities…all of his failures, past, present, and those he feared he’d make in the future…they all faded into the background, for they didn't matter right now.
For an instant in time, nothing held him back anymore!
He suddenly didn’t care about the blood that trickled into his eyes and tinged his vision red…
He didn’t notice the rushing of the river’s current somewhere off to his right as his ears shut down…
He didn’t care about the ripping and popping sensation coming from the back of his head as another piece of his mane unzipped itself from his scalp, the spray of feathers from his crippled wing as he pulled loose from under Ray’s grip, the raking of the claws down his neck and shoulders, or the pounding of his hooves in the chilly mud as his sense of touch dulled…
All he cared about was the mental target he’d placed on Jill’s mouth: a simple tree knot.

The female Cryhena had enough time to halfway gasp before Volare closed the gap between them with swiftness that one as injured as he was had no business possessing. On three legs, he covered the short distance and slammed his good foreleg into the ground, pivoting his strong back legs around and taking aim at his target with an almighty double-hoofed buck that he put every last bit of his remaining strength behind. He felt the tree knot give a satisfactory crunch before he felt his right hoof continue on through it, blowing shards of teeth and globules of blood into the air and causing Jill to drop Scootaloo as the predator was sent flying across the mud, slamming into the base of the willow tree and slipping to the ground with an agonizing moan.

Volare collapsed to the ground with a lop-sided grin, his strength spent as Ray sat in stunned silence at what had just happened. He looked down at the blue feathers and fur that fluttered from his numb grasp and landed silently in the mud where he’d just held that Pegasus completely at his mercy not ten seconds earlier. How? He had him and he just…he just…Jill?! The male Cryhena scrambled past the two Pegasi to help his sister.

“Jill, are you-AGH!” he recoiled with a yelp as his efforts were met with slash to the snout. Jill staggered halfway-upright and growled in an anger that went beyond wanting to have her fun anymore. She just wanted to kill this bastard of a Pegasus and get on their way before something else ridiculous happened!

“Stupid-ass!” she snarled and limped towards the fallen blue Pegasus. Scootaloo, free of her captors for the moment, again tried to valiantly take a stand in front of her exhausted big brother, but Jill simply grabbed her by the mane and jerked her off of her hooves before turning back to her own brother. “Ray, get your useless flank over there and finish this-NOW!”

“You finally done with your fun, Jill?!” Ray shook his head in irritation and approached Volare, who barely had the strength to lift his head off the ground. The male Cryhena bent down and grasped the Pegasus’ neck in his paws, feeling the life-giving flow just beneath the short blue fur as his own blood from his severed ear dripped down on his fallen foe. He positioned a claw to tear open the largest vein in his neck and end this once and for all. He turned the Pegasus’ face towards his own, and squinted down at him with his un-blacked eye. “You fought well, off-worlder. But you should have listened…you should have given up while you could…I’m almost sorry to do it like this.”

“W-why?” Volare croaked, causing Ray to halt momentarily, not sure if he meant why he was almost sorry or why they were going through all this trouble at all.

“I promise it’s nothing personal…as a fellow brother who would obviously do everything he could to help his little sister, I hope you understand,” Ray snorted with a sense of finality and lowered the claw to tear Volare’s life out. The blue Pegasus looked with pleading eyes into Ray’s own, full of pity but also a purpose as determined as his own had just been. Volare then looked over at Scootaloo, dangling in Jill’s grasp and spoke his likely final words:

“Scootaloo, I’m sorry…I failed you…I failed my little sister again,” he closed his eyes and felt the warm tears flow down his bloodied and grime-crusted cheeks as he hitched in his last ragged breath. “Please forgive me…”

But just as Ray pressed the claw to his neck, a high-pitched whistling sound began to fill the air, making the Cryhenas halt and look up. “What the hay”- Ray managed to speak...

BLAM!
A multi-colored missile suddenly came blasting over the treeline and smashed into Ray, launching the Cryhena into the top branches of the willow tree and allowing Volare to land freely in the mud. The yellow and blue Pegasus opened an eye and beheld the most unbelievable thing he could possibly imagine. If it weren’t for the whooshing wind flowing off her wings and caressing the fur on his face as she hovered next to him, he’d swear he was dead or dreaming.
“D-Dashie?”

But Rainbow Dash didn’t so much as glance down at him. The fighting blood of the Pegasus race boiled in her veins as she took in the scene before her:
Volare lying on the chewed up battleground of the riverbank, the orange and blue feathers littering the ground, and said feathers missing from both Volare’s and Scootaloo’s wings. It was somewhat difficult for other ponies to grasp the significance of a Pegasus’ feathers, as they lacked their own, and Ray and Jill (being Unicorns) were no exception. But for something to pull the feathers out of a Pegasus’ wings before it was their time to be shed; to ruin their ability to fly and fight, their livelihood, and in the case of foals, their development, was one of the worst things one could do to a Pegasus. It was no better than maiming a warrior so he couldn’t fight anymore, and to the proud Rainbow Dash, that was the most cowardly, insulting thing she could possibly imagine a Pegasus enduring, nevermind the fact that Scootaloo was a filly and Volare a friend caught up in this; that simply added fuel to the raging inferno. If she thought she’d been angry before, now she was positively furious!
“Oh…you buckers are dead where you stand!!”

Ray tumbled from the tree and splashed down in the mud before staggering to his feet, spitting teeth and rubbing his head before getting a clear look at his assailant and gasping in honest-to-goodness fear. “Jill, buck the kid! Let’s get outta here; we can’t fight her!”

“Pah, she’s just a single Element,” Jill growled in anger, obviously too angry to be in her right mind anymore. “Besides, we’ve got a hostage here,” she grinned down at Scootaloo wriggling in her grasp and looked back up at the snorting Rainbow Dash. “Hey, Element! Looky who we got!”

“Drop Scoots before I tear you apart!” Dash snarled, pounding her hooves together with an audible crack for emphasis.

“Ha! I’ll rip this brat’s throat out before you get halfway over-AGH!” Distracted, Jill didn’t see the black and white shape come diving out of the sky before it was too late. The ripping black talons of Shae the osprey met Jill’s already mangled face, tearing at her eyes and forcing her to drop Scootaloo in the mud before retreating back to her brother’s side. Shae crouched down over Scootaloo, spreading her wings protectively and cheereeeeking shrilly as if daring Jill to come closer again.

“It’s Fluttershy’s damn attack bird!” Ray shouted and stomped a claw in frustration at how quickly this situation was getting out of control. If only they’d stopped messing around earlier! Suddenly, the ground around them began to quake as if a freight train were approaching. “Oh great, now what?!”

“YOU HURT MY FRIEND, I’LL BE YOUR END!!!!” a voice roared as something massive and blue came smashing through a tree horned-head-first and cleared the riverbank in a single bound, landing with an earth-shaking crash and standing to his full, towering height. Iron Will’s yellow eyes blazed with righteous fury and his heavily-muscled arms and hands flexed so hard that his knuckles cracked, ready to break these two Cryhenas to pieces for daring to harm Scootaloo and Volare!

“Holy hay, a minotaur!” Jill shrieked. “Let’s get the buck outta here!!” And with that, the predatory duo broke and ran for the underbrush as fast as they could, their tails tucked squarely between their legs as Shae took off in pursuit.

“I hate to say I told ya so, but”-

“Shut the buck up and run, Ray!” Jill growled and ducked a final swipe of Shae’s talons before they disappeared through a natural hedge flanked by thickly-growing maple trees that halted the osprey’s pursuit. The bird of prey quickly doubled back and returned to the battlefield to see Rainbow Dash finally fluttering to the mud with a squelch, instinctively trotting over to check on Scootaloo first.

“I’m fine, I-I’m ok,” the orange filly insisted, a little shaken up, but no worse for the wear save for a few missing feathers and a scratch on her left cheek. She grinned up at her idol for a moment before her eyes trailed over to her fallen adoptive brother. “Volare!” she scampered over the mud and collapsed by the blue Pegasus’ side, hearing Dash’s soft gasp as she finally got a good look at how badly Volare was hurt as she too knelt down next to him. The brash rainbow Pegasus couldn’t help but force her hooves into her mouth to keep from crying in front of Scootaloo.

“Heh-heya Scoots,” Volare smiled weakly before turning to their savior, who was doing her best not to burst into angry tears. “Dashie-ugh…we gotta stop meeting like this…”

“Shut up,” Dash growled softly, a tornado of emotions whirling through her as she tentatively caressed the remnants of his black and yellow mane with a hoof, fighting the urge to hit him out of sheer frustration; partly at him getting hurt again like this, and partly at how mad she knew Twilight Sparkle was going to be once she found out. “Just s-shut up you idiot. Why’d you have to go and get hurt again?” her voiced cracked.

Volare wasn’t sure if it was a rhetorical question, and answered in the only way his traumatized mind could: “S-sorry…you win the race?” he asked, trying to cheer her up. But instead, this time she actually did swing her hoof down at him, changing its course at the last moment so that it hit the mud with a splat instead.

“No, I didn’t,” she shook her head and blinked away the tears she was fighting so badly to hold back in front of everypony. “I forfeited, but that doesn’t matter right now, ok?” She grabbed him under his forelegs and hauled him up onto her back, steadying him with her wings before momentarily nuzzling his face that hung limply against her neck before taking control of the situation. “Now hang on! Iron Will, bring Scootaloo to Ponyville Medical Hospital as fast as you can; it's on the north side of town! Shae, let Will take her,” Dash barked, and the osprey, who’d been hopping after Scootaloo in concern, seemed to nod in understanding and allowed the huge minotaur to pick up the filly, nestling the tiny Pegasus protectively in his massive arms as he gave Dash a quick salute.

“You got it, Ms. Dash!” he called up. “I’ll make sure those things don’t touch her on the way back to town. Now you get Spike-head to the right kinda help, and I’ll meetcha there pronto!” And with that, the benevolent creatures vacated the riverbank in two groups, one racing through the trees, and the other jetting above them and disappearing over the rise within seconds. On the other side of the natural hedge they’d taken shelter behind, Ray and Jill gathered their wits and tried to make sense of that had just happened and why things had gone so wrong.

“I don’t get it,” Jill kept shaking her head as she and Ray ventured back onto the riverbank once the coast was clear. Her scarred Cryhena features began to melt away into that of her natural Unicorn state as she plucked up the fallen teeth scattered around on the shore and smooshed into the mud. “I just don’t get it…what the buck was that…thing he did!?”

“That,” Ray said solemnly as he too turned back into a Unicorn and went about picking up his misplaced teeth, frowning at the number missing and knowing he’d likely be gap-toothed for the rest of his life now; the healing spell was powerful, but it didn't regenerate what was permanently lost. He grimaced in pain as he touched his still-swollen eye; apparently that one was going to take a while. “Was the power of the love of a brother for his sister, Jill. It’s something I hope you respect now.”

“Yeah, whatever,” the female Unicorn spat blood and snorted. “Next time I see that guy, I’ll finish him off myself!” Ray shook his head sadly as his sister growled, disappointed that she hadn’t learned anything from this…and scared that he was losing her faster than he’d originally thought. Oh buck me…the Boss is gonna be pissed when he finds out about this…horseapples!

--------------------------------

Everypony down by the finish line wanted to know what the hay was happening and why Rainbow Dash had suddenly left the race and shot back into the woods, followed by Iron Will. “Everypony calm down!” Pinkie pleaded through her megaphone, despite the fact that the balloon had already landed. “My Pinkie Sense was going off and Dashie went to go check on Volare and Scootaloo, that’s all!”

“Yeah, well Ah ain’t never known Dash ta give up a challenge with a lead like that without a darn good reason!” Applejack replied warily, clicking off the loudspeaker and rubbing her ringing ear with a hoof. “Now, what’d your Pinkie Sense say?”

“I can’t put it into words, really,” the party mare said sheepishly. “All I know was that I started shaking like crazy all over the place; and that usually means something not-so-good is happening. Huh, I guess it does make sense that Dash would think it involved Volare and Scootaloo, cuz I haven’t seen those two since the start of the race!”

“Oh no,” Fluttershy gasped, hooves held to her mouth in a near-panic. “What if they fell and got hurt or eaten by some wild creature?!”

“Relax, Fluttershy,” Spike said, trying to calm the jumpy mare. “The Whitetail Wood has been under pony control for years now, and is one of the safest places a pony can go in Equestria. I’m sure they just took a wrong turn or something. You’ll see: Dash’ll fly back over those trees, all mad that she gave up the race to save the Blue Blunder and Scootaloo from being lost in the woods”-

“Look, there she is!” Sweetie Belle squeaked, pointing a small hoof at the sky and the fast-approaching prismatic Pegasus…who seemed to be carrying somepony with her. She streaked over the finish line and towards Ponyville without a word and so quickly that the ponies below barely got a good look at the limp and bloody Pegasus she was carrying on her back, but they'd recognize those blue and yellow colors anywhere: Volare.

Within the next half-minute, the confused ponies were treated to the sight of Iron Will thundering down the path, the small blob of orange that was Scootaloo cradled in his arms. “Will, what in Equestria is going on!?” Rarity shouted in a near-panic as he ran past, also headed in the direction of town.

“No time to explain, Rarity!” he called back over his shoulder.

“Meet us at the hospital!” Scootaloo shouted before the minotaur lumbered around the bend and was gone, Shae flying right behind them. The remaining ponies stood there in shocked silence for a moment before a mint-green Unicorn leaped to the head of the group and took charge.

“C’mon guys! I dunno what happened, but Volare and Scootaloo need our support!” Lyra Hearstrings pounded a hoof on the ground. “Now let’s gooooooo!!” And with that, she galloped off down the path to town, followed closely by a near-stampede of curious and worried ponies of all shapes and sizes. Pinkie and Spike took off in the balloon, with the dragon scrawling and burning a hastily written, worried note to Twilight before focusing on speeding the balloon along as fast as possible. Down below, Sweetie Belle, riding on Rarity’s back, looked over at Applebloom with a curious expression as the yellow filly hung onto Big Mac’s neck while the huge pony raced along with the herd.

“What is it, Sweetie?” the yellow farm filly asked.

“Is it supposed to rain today?” the white Unicorn cocked a light-green eye to the blue sky above them, nearly devoid of clouds of any sort.

“I don’t think so, but that’s a mighty weird sorta question ta ask when your two fellow Crusaders just got carried past ya to tha hospital!” Applebloom exclaimed. “Why?” But Sweetie shook her head in mild confusion before replying.

“I dunno,” she glanced up at the sky again before shrugging. “It’s just that when Rainbow Dash flew over, I could have sworn I felt some raindrops hit me in the head…I hope Volare’s ok…”

“Ah think ya speak fer all of us there, sugarcube,” Applejack spoke up, trying to keep up her composure for the sake of her sister, but somehow, someway, knowing that something really bad must have happened out there in the woods…and she didn’t need a Pinkie Sense to know that!

…………….........

Up in the air, above the crowd and away from the prying eyes of her friends, the proud Rainbow Dash finally let her worries out as she rushed Volare to the hospital. She didn’t fight the hot tears that dripped from her eyes and fell to the ground below…nopony would ever see them and the cold wind blowing past her would dry them long before she reached the hospital.

“Dashie…?” Volare managed to groan.

“Save your strength, flyboy,” the rainbow Pegasus tried to hush him with a hoof to his mouth, but instead, he did something that took her completely by surprise. He gently kissed her hoof and whispered:

“I’m sorry if I made you lose the race, Dash…If I'd only been stronger, I'd have been able to keep up with you...a-and Scoots and I wouldn't have-” But she pressed the hoof firmly against his lips, shaking her head softly and letting him know he didn’t have to say anymore. With a soft smile pressing against her hoof, he nodded his thanks and closed his sorrowful eyes, falling completely limp on her back as he finally succumbed to his exhaustion. The tears flowed anew and turned to frost on her cheeks in the wind as she put on a fresh burst of speed, determined to get him to the emergency room in time.

Flyboy, I swear if you die after making me forfeit…I’ll kill you myself...you big-hearted, brave idiot!

------------------------------

20 Minutes Later...
The speed with which Luna's dark gothic chariot covered the distance between Canterlot and Ponyville utterly stole Twilight Sparkle's breath away, and it had been all she could do to hang onto the iron railing lining the inside of the car being pulled at the maximum pace by Princess Luna's dragon-winged dark Pegasi. Shining Armor held fast to the railing as well as the countryside below them past by in a blur of fields, rivers, and scattered buildings, while Princess Luna herself stood proud and tall in the saddle, so to speak, leaning into the wind and sticking to the steel floor of the chariot as if her whole body had become magnetized with magical energy.

"Hold!" Luna cried suddenly, and the chariot quickly slowed to a halt and whooshed down over the town of Ponyville, circling Town Hall before rapidly descending to the ground and landing in the Market Square. To the three ponies' surprise, the sight of Luna's chariot didn't quite bring the fearful and panicked reactions it had caused the last time she'd arrived in the village like this on Nightmare Night; it was quite the opposite in fact.

"Where is everypony?" Shining Armor inquired, looking left and right down the empty and silent streets as he got out of the chariot with somewhat wobbly legs.

"I-I dunno," Twilight replied, having re-composed herself on the flight there, but not faring much better than her brother as she stepped down and nearly went stumbling into a food stand due to the rapid change in pace. Princess Luna steadied her with her magic for a moment before quickly observing the silent town. All around the Market Square were empty food stalls, most still full of food, though one or two were inexplicably overturned, spilling their contents all over the cobblestones.

"Perhaps they are all still at the race ground?" the Night Princess mused out loud before a grey and dull yellow flash of color between two buildings caught her eye. "Halt, citizen of Ponyville!" The pony in question turned, saw who it was, and stopped with such a sudden yelp of surprise that she tilted forward and fell over a cabbage cart. Twilight, Luna, and the Captain hurried to help the pony up before realizing who it was.

"Derpy Hooves!" Twilight exclaimed, dusting Rainbow Dash's Weather Patrol teammate off. "Where is everypony?"

"Well, that's a good question," the blonde mare tapped the ground and thought for a moment. "I just got back in town myself and I was saying to myself 'hey Derpy, where'd everypony get to?' Then I said: 'oh duh, you silly mare, today's the Running of the Leaves,' so I flew over to the race grounds to see how things were going. But then you know what I saw?"

"Please tell us with haste, Ms. Hooves!" Luna urged, her patience wearing thinner with each passing moment.

"You won't believe it: a big ol' minotaur carrying little Scootaloo in his arms and shouting all kinds of crazy rhymes went running across the Square and knocked over a buncha stalls as he went. He musta made everypony mad, cuz he was being chased by the racers themselves! Huh, apparently the finish line is at Ponyville Hospital or something cuz that's where everypony went," Derpy reported, not noticing the growing looks of concern exchanged between the three mages. "Heh, but you know what-they all lost cuz Rainbow Dash beat'em there by a mile! Did you know she had a race partner too?"

"A race partner?" Twilight asked, a sick feeling in her gut.

"Yeah, lanky blue and yellow guy, but I guess he was sleepin' on the job, so Dash just carried him the rest of the way to the finish line. Crazy, huh? ...guys? Princess, Twilight, where ya going?!" But the three magic users had heard enough, and they quickly galloped towards the western side of town. Apparently, a minotaur had foal-napped Scootaloo and had been chased to the very same hospital that Dash had taken Volare to. Could this day get any weirder?! Twilight thought as they approached the large building marked with a red medical cross sign on the neatly-clipped front lawn. Sure enough, milling around the front doors of the building were the racers as evidenced by the paper number markers adorning the flanks of a hoof-ful of them, their supporters, and what looked to be half of Ponyville.

"Ok, Princess, you take the minotaur and get Scootaloo; Twilight and I will find Volare and Rainbow Dash," Shining Armor laid out his strategy. "No major spells; this is a hospital and there are enough injured ponies inside as it is. We get in, we find them, and we get answers. Sound good?" The two mares nodded and the trio approached the front walk leading to the door.

"Please stand aside, citizens!" Princess Luna ordered, making the ponies turn in surprise; at the sight of the Moon Goddess, the gathered crowd parted like the sea, permitting entry to the doors for the three mages.

"Wow, I gotta learn that trick one of these days," Twilight muttered as the Princess halted in front of the door and addressed the audience, who were rather stunned to see Luna here of all ponies.

"Citizens of Ponyville: Fear not, for Twilight Sparkle, the Captain of the Royal Canterlot Guard, and I have the situation in hoof. Now, please stand back!" She lifted an armor-clad dark blue hoof and placed it against the door. "On the count of three."

"One," Twilight said, ready to do what she had to do.

"Two," Shining Armor breathed, hoping things weren't as bad as they seemed at the outset.

"Three!!" Luna shouted and pushed the door open, allowing the three mages to leap inside, ready for anything! But what they saw inside completely shocked and flummoxed the trio into gape-jawed silence.

"Alright, what in Orion's Belt is going on here?!" Twilight demanded.

---------------------------------------

Notes: Did Dash get Volare to the hospital in time?
What will Twilight say when she gets there?
And just what the heck are they looking at!?
Tune in next time to-*SMACK…THUD*
Volare: I swear, the things you put me through…

Comments

[Anubis Nox]

YES YES, finally some action. Wait I haven't read the story yet...... I edit this after....

K Edit time: You and your goddamn cliffhangers...... now I have to wait longer thanks alot. Very well done, but how could this be rated mature??? But 9/10 You will not get 10/10 cause of that goddamn cliffhanger. I wanna see their reactions. You know what i'll give you 10/10 still annoyed at that cliffhanger though but who isn't? :P

[Setton]

DAMN THE CLIFFHANGERS! <(INSERT CLIFFHANGER MEME)> But amazing chapter, can't wait for the next one! Archangel out.

[LightningDashes]

awesome more blue angel, but damn cliffhangers

[nicknicknico]

yay, another chapter, me gusta

[Assasin_Asha]

I'm not entirely sure why you wondered about putting a mature tag here. I'm pretty sure I read more violent/dark/gore fics that weren't rated mature at all. And this here wasn't so graphic. Oh well, that's just me I suppose.
Anyway, you know I pretty much squeed when I saw it updated? Yeah...
Keep up the good work!

[clonezero]

It’s just a flesh wound, bitch!

YEAH JILL YOU CAN"T TOUCH HIM, HE'S FUCKING INVINCIBLE!
------------
Damn Shae you awesome!
-----------
Anyway considering the amount of violence you get yourself into Volare, would you consider getting a bodyguard. ... I think I already said this before ... anyway if so repeated because is so freaking true.

-----------

Anyway senseless rambling aside, MAN I really loved this chapter! Volare really showed what he is made of and damn you've got balls! I salute you for your valiant performance soldier, and hope things (finally) turn out for the better for you!
modified extremely senseless rambling, to something that is a bit more legible XP

[ocbaker]

I hope they get whats coming to them!
And if you don't give it to them I'll do it myself.

I had this stuck in my head the whole time: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JrLRawqcbA

[HeyClassy]

“YOU HURT MY FRIEND, I’LL BE YOUR END!!!!”
30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m1zjjpDPLs1r2ahfqo1_400.gif

[LtCWest]

Oh my that was ........
Oke, there is no word to describe how this was.
I shall hold the line till the next part!

PS: That big boss is now officialy on my Kill List, Jill and Ray shall be judged later once all info comes together.

[Lord Frigus]

I'm with Volare on this one: Why do you keep putting him through such shit!?
Better be worth it for him on the end...

All cliffhangers and character tormenting aside, brilliant chapter and can't wait for the next one.

Have a

[FyreSD]

Awesome chapter! Obligatory MOAR.

[Tie RoamingHooves]

AAAAAAAAHHHHH CLLLLLLIIIIIIIIIFFFFFFFFFFFFHHHHHAAAANNNNNGGGGGEEEEERRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/misc_RageFace.png dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/misc_RageFace.png dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/misc_RageFace.png
*explodes in a bout of fury leaving a crater the size of Canterlot*

[jplsnake252719952012]

i hope you get the next chapter out before wensday

[Pia]

Amazing.
All I can say.
I eagerly await the next chapter.

[djthomp]

1056675 Yeah, what this guy said. There are plenty of teen rated fics here that are way more gore filled. Did you end up toning it down or something?

If I hadn't been at work when I read this I would have stood up and cheered when the cavalry arrived. Volare standing up for Scoots was pretty epic as well.

[Assasin_Asha]

1056866
About cheering. Dunno why, but when Will jumped in with that phrase of his, I couldn't stop laughing. But I think it was this dark kind of laugh... as in: oh you are so dead now!

[djthomp]

1056879 I may have kept the cheering in, but I know I was grinning pretty widely.

[Android]

While the shit has hit the fan, I Foresee more shit and a bigger fan farther down the road

[Ledomare]

Iron Will one-liners. Always adding comedy and badassery to any situation.

[Triv_]

Awesome chapter, I feel bad for Scoots and Volare getting beat like that.
Good thing Twilight's back in town she can fix it right?....Right!?!?!?!

[Alaborn]

V-pony: What did Volare ever do to you?

[Big-X]

Oddly enough, reading about the tearing injury to Volairs leg made me hungry... mmm chicken.

[q97randomguy]

Awesome chapter!
Does Volare have any blood left?

[Tyrannosaurus_Tux]

Not as bad as expected.

[YorkBrony]

Volare just can't catch a break can he?

[Beyond the Horizon]

If anything. . . permanent were to happen to Volare and/or Scoots. . . I will hunt those two down to the ends of the earth. I will drag them down to the very depths of hell itself. I will rip their bodies apart, take their souls out. I will drop them into the river of souls, and watch as it burns away their identity and life.At the very last second, I will pull them out. . . only to scatter whatever is left to the farthest corners of the universe, forever doomed to eternal torment and suffering.

Buuuut thats just me. Awesome chapter!

~With regards, the Current Student of the Second True Magic.

[TacoTown]

GIVE ME MORE OR YOUR NUTS ARE FOREFIT.

[Aziraphael]

......You're gonna let Ray and Jill get redeemed later aren't you......can this be the one time the villain DOESN'T get redeemed? Please, please, please, please, please? Jill just straight up needs to be euthanized like the animal she is. And Ray.....I ALMOST felt a little sorry for him. Almost. Sure he can make the claim that he does what he does to protect his sister, but there is no way he can justify letting her torture innocent ponies like that. Killing Volare and kidnapping Scootaloo....sure, maybe he could claim that he had no choice. But he had the choice to stop what Jill was doing and he didn't, which honestly makes him even worse than her. She might have been driven mad by the magic she's using, but his was a conscious choice. I honestly hope they both die painfully.

Ok, ranting aside, yet another fantastic chapter. <<insert cliffhanger rant here>>. Now I want to know what Luna, Twilight, and Shiny walked in on....

[RainingDash]

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
DAMN YOU CLIFFHANGERS!

[Astarea]

cdn.memegenerator.net/instances/400x/20366038.jpg

AND ILL KILL THE BOSS, RAY AND JILL!

[city street]

This chapter had me going
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Go Volare, you bad-fass muthubucka! Kick 'em in the face!
And now I really want Ray and Jill to die. Violently.

[Dancing Dead]

[BadLuck_Derpy]

I can see lots and lots of Fanfics coming how Ray and Jill get dismembered... And slowly I start to think I could really enjoy them

V-Pony, what did we ever do to you so we could deserve all these cliffhangers???

Keep up that (can't say it any other way) AWESOME work!

[Man Of War]

Woo! Another awesome chapter. Dang, I'm surprised Volare didn't cave Jill's skull in with that kick, even in his weakened state. Man, I hope they both make it through this... what am I saying, of course they will, they are basically the main characters. Wait, y-you wouldn't kill off a main character... w-would you?
And what did Lyra discover? Hopefully we find out in the next chapter. Anyway, as always, can't wait till the next chapter!

[GuyFace]

Hot diggety damn! Well, this was epic. Although, now... Jill and Ray?

I wish to
eviscerate them.
stab them in the jugular.
tickle their necks with a knife.
shove large doses of castor oil down their throats.
Buy them a puppy, wait for them to get attached to it, then murder it.
Strike them down slowly with the glorious wrath of the eight gods of Tamriel.
Hug them.

Wow, aren't I creative?
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[DrakeRenar1]

More Monty and the Holy Grail references woot!
Also another great chapter!

[TG divet3]

You let Scoots get touched. Period.
I cannot believe you have the NERVE to put THE SECOND BEST pony directly into harm.
Unforgivable dude.
And now you're going to get the worst punishment ever.
And I'm gonna wait till you reply to tell you so I KNOW you're seein' it.

[V-Pony]

1056451Heh, trust me, this is MUCH more light-hearted cliffhanger than the last one

1056551 I'll be workin' on it!
Thanks for ze compliments!

1056616 I think you'll like what happens next

1056661

1056675 I was just worried the language and the plucking of Scoots' wings would bother some folks
But she's a tough kid and bounced back pretty quick. Volare however...

1056697 Things will DEFINITELY start looking up for Volare from here...but it won't be how you think

1056763 They will...trust me
And epic PMV!

1056766 Oh my god that made me laugh so hard!

[V-Pony]

1056767 Heh, I hope ya liked it all the same
And yeah, he's not a nice person AT ALL

1056779 It's hard to appreciate the good things, even the small good things, without something bad to contrast them with
Thanks for the 'stache!

1056783 Workin on it!

1056786 Jeebus, it's not gonna be THAT bad

1056799 Heh, but it was about time Volare showed what he was made of, though...strange that he couldn't do it for himself, but his true strength surfaced when fighting for others

1056816 You mean NEXT wednesday, right?
I should

1056829 Thanks!
Imma workin' on it right now!

1056854 LOL, oops

1056866 Nah, I was just worried it might offend younger readers because of the language
And I nearly made you cheer? Wow, I'm flattered
Thank you!

1056879 Exactly!

1056903

[V-Pony]

1057134 You'd be fairly correct

1057142

1057146 Well, it certainly strengthened their relationship. (Dash had better pick it up on her end or Scootaloo may serious make that Volare fan club )
As for twilight helping...how? They couldn't find the right spell to help (and apparently the only ones in possession of it are the twin psychos Ray and Jill)

1057170 Now that'd be tellin'

1057216
Volare: Author, you attract the most savory of people
Me: I wouldn't say that after he was talking about chicken
Volare:

1057283 Oh yeah, plenty. This wasn't NEARLY as bad blood-loss-wise as when he lost his wing. This was more of a traumatizing, getting one leg broken and your other leg half-hamstrung kinda thing

1057334 Perhaps I over-reacted?

1057384 He will soon
Remember: one good thing DID come out of this-he gained a little sister in Scootaloo

[HeyClassy]

1061527

Get rid of his number crap, I don't know who you're replying to! But seriously the end of the fight, I was cheering!

[V-Pony]

1057418
Volare: Hey, can we hire this guy to take out those two freaks?
Me: Nope
Volare: Aww come on! Dude, I'll pay you double!
Me: You have no job or money.
Volare:

1057522 Thanks!
And yeah, I was just being careful and testing the waters, so to speak

1057753 On the double!

1057906 Trust me, he NEVER expected to have to do something like that. And now he's caught between his psycho of a sister whom he still loves dearly, and this Boss guy whom he couldn't hope to stand up to and say "f**k this, we're out", because then his sister won't get the help she needs. This Boss is quite the manipulative bastard, ain't he?
And as I said, he knew there was no talking to her when she was on a rage-binge like that. The only way to stop her would be to hurt her, and he couldn't raise a hand against his own sister
Thus his conflict with the situation. Just trust me when I say he's getting less and less comfortable with the Faustian Deal he made to help his sis out
As for them getting redeemed later...you'll see
And as for what the trio walked in on...THAT is already WAY too much fun to write at the moment

1057956

1057993 No kidding....just wait though...if you wanna kill that guy now...

1058427
And NOW you want them to die?
What about earlier when they were stalking everypony?
J/K

1058505 Oh yeah!

1058515 LOL, don't kill them just yet, for they are important again soon!
Thanks for ze compliments though!

[V-Pony]

1059539 I think it was only his weakened state (and the fact that he hit her in the teeth instead of the skull) that saved her. Suffice to say, she learned the power of a brother's love for his sister the hard way today!
Nope, neither Scoots nor Volare are gonna die in the hospital, you can quote me on that one
As for what Lyra discovered...I believe it'll blow Volare's mind once he reads it.
Oh and Lyra still has yet to personally confirm that Volare is human...how that happens is ALSO interesting

1059770

1060089 I hope you don't hate me too much

1060357 LOL yes!

1061263 What can I say? It's an easy movie to quote in weird situations

1061277 I'm sorry if I offended you. But trust me, Scoots is a tough kid. She'd be the first to tell you to not worry about her, but to worry about her brother Volare instead.
(also, that book Lyra found may also help Scoots quite a bit too)
Again, sorry if I offended you, but this needed to happen to snap Volare out of his fear of self-doubt

[V-Pony]

1061617 Just scroll over the blue number and you'll see who it's replying to
I dunno why it's doing this!
And I'm having to split my replies up like this otherwise the emoticons won't work for some reason
...and right after you said to get rid of the numbers, some of them changed to names...wtf?!

[HeyClassy]

1061682

Sorcery!
Also.... MAH PHONE AINT GOT NO MOUSE!
It's not a huge deal that I can't see when you're replying to me, it's just like receiving 12 unlabelled letters with only one being for you

[V-Pony]

1061779 Aha

1061946 Heh, you'll see

[Tyrannosaurus_Tux]

It's funny to see how everyone (and I mean ev er y one) thinks that potty mouthing is always a appropriate response to a tense situation.

[asdfabaeradjargasdfasd]

Is Volare's name pronounced in the Latin form like Vo-lar-eh, or is it the "newer" way, Vol-air?

Either way, AMAZING FANFIC!!!!!!

[Beyond the Horizon]

1061635

Ohh don't worry. Consider it a favor from a friend. Thats not even the worst way I know how to kill someone. . . or the most creative. That stuff I reserve for. . . special occasions. If you get my meaning. Might as well add the "Boss" guy to the list as well. Hmm. What to do for him. . .

I suspect massive amounts of "D'awwwwww" in the future to compensate for this. Or explosions. Explosions make everything more fun. G'luck with writing the next chapter~♫

~With regards, the Current Student of the Second True Magic.

[city street]

1061635
Any pity I had for them vanished the moment they attacked Volare and Scootalo.

EDIT: Comment #1337?!?!?!?!?
Not surprising, considering I had this for breakfast.
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