Irreplaceable

by La Barata

Chapter 5 - The Hunt

Irreplaceable
Chapter 5: The Hunt

“Okay. Applejack, did you bring the can opener and the garden hoe?”
“Right here, sugarcube”.
“Excellent. Fluttershy, have you got the can of silly string and the spoons?”
“Um... Yes, they’re right here”.
“Perfect. Rainbow and Rarity, I assume you’ve got the paintbrushes, the telephone wire and the sunglasses?”
“You know it!”
“Of course, darling”.
“Alright. Looks like we’re set. Let’s do this!”
Armed with a strange assortment of odds and ends, the group left Fluttershy’s cottage, heading into the Everfree Forest. However, this was not the same group of the past three weeks. This was the old group, the true carriers of the Elements of Harmony. In high spirits once again, the prospect of once again getting out and doing what they did best, fixing the world and helping their friend, had given them new life, almost. Twilight, almost completely back to her old self, absorbed herself once again in the finer details of her plan. It did her friends’ hearts good to see her like this, after having endured three weeks of the mopey, depressed Twilight. As they followed the trail left by the two foals, they almost didn’t need the map Fluttershy had prepared. Applejack sighed, shaking her head.
“Not the hardest trail t’ follow, eh? Poor li’l mites, they was runnin’ scared”. Rainbow chuckled, hovering slightly ahead.
“C’mon, can ya blame them? They were convinced they were being chased by a couple of dragons. Hay, even *I* might think of running in that situation!”.
“They were runnin’ from Spike, sugarcube. They were runnin’ from Spike ‘cause he gave ‘em cause to. Just think o’ that fer a sec before ya go laughin’ about it”. Momentarily sobered by that thought, Dash fell back, silent. However, seconds later, she sped forwards with a laugh.
“Ha! I know where we are! This is where I found Brig last night!”. They approached the rock pile which, the night before, held captive a young pony. Twilight’s curiosity caused her to pause, to inspect the pattern into which they had fallen.
“...This doesn’t make sense...”
“Whaddaya mean, Twi?”
“Well, look at this. These few off to the side, you moved them there, right, Dash? But before, they would’ve been over here. But.. That’d mean...”. Rarity rolled her eyes.
“Twilight, dear, if you have a point to make, could you kindly make it? We ARE in a bit of a hurry, after all”. Twilight snapped out of her reverie.
“Well, just look at this. If they fell like this, trapping him, he’d have to be standing right over here, and they would have to be balanced over here”. Twilight gestured with her hoof.
“But if they were balanced there, there’s no way-” Twilight paused, her eyes going wide. Dash, deciding she’d had just about enough of Twilight’s sciency rambling.
“Come on, Twi, spit it out!” Twilight turned, looking at her friends with all seriousness.
“There’s no way he couldn’t have known. If he moved the rocks he did to get Sapphire out, there’s no way he wouldn’t have known where they’d end up. He knew that if he got her out, he’d be trapped instead”. The friends stood silent, stunned by the news.
“Well I’ll be. That lil’ colt’s got guts, I’ll give ‘im that”.

Approximately ten minutes later, the six had reached what was undoubtably the dragons’ cave. Quietly, they crept up to the entrance. Peering inside, Twilight whispered to her friends.
“Alright. You all know the plan. We’re only gonna have one chance at this. Any questions?”.
“Just one. What’ll you do if there’s nobody inside?”.
“Well, in that case, we can just-” Twilight stopped. Slowly, the six ponies turned. Behind them, its great bulk framed by the sun coming through the trees, stood the great green dragon. Twilight swallowed.
“Well, in that case, we’ll probably RUN!”. She shouted the last word as more of an instruction to her friends than as a legitimate answer. Immediately, the six ponies scattered. Oh no no no no NO! This can’t be happening, this CAN’T BE HAPPENING! I had it all planned out, it was going to work, it HAD to work! Twilight shook her head, clearing her thoughts. There was only one thing left to do. Rounding on the dragon she called instructions to her friends.
“Rainbow, keep its attention! Applejack, Rarity, try to- GAH!” Twilight stopped suddenly, forced to dive away from the swing of a monstrous spiked tail. As the ponies spread out through the trees, Rainbow dash spread her wings and blasted off, racing at full speed in a blurring figure eight around the dragon’s head. With a roar, he snapped at her, bursts of flame and smoke coming forth from between his teeth.
“Ha! Ya can’t catch what ya can’t-Unh!” Rainbow’s boast was cut short as a lucky swing from his clawed hand knocked her from the air. She hit the ground hard, rolling to a stop with a grunt. As she tried to stand, the great beast chuckled, lifting her still form with two giant claws.
“It’s been many a year since I’ve had the pleasure of dining upon pegasus.”
He opened his mouth wide, far wider than necessary, and lifted her above his head, obviously planning to simply drop her into his cavernous maw. Suddenly, Rainbow’s eyes snapped open. With a quick burst of speed, she pulled something from its place tucked behind her wing and hurled it into the waiting mouth below. Dropping her with a roar, the dragon fell back, clutching his throat. Rainbow Dash fell once more, wings trailing limply behind her, her left wing at an awkward angle. This time, she didn’t move. Still roaring out its wrath, the dragon staggered, slumping down to all fours before collapsing to the ground, blinking slowly.
“Oh WOW! Dash, that was AWESOME! He was like ROAR, then you were like ZOOOM, and then he was like NO WAY, and then you were all YES WAY! That was SO COOL!” Pinkie Pie gushed, clearly enthused at the excitement, as she bounced over towards her friend. The rest of the group, satisfied that Pinkie was helping the fallen Dash to her feet, cautiously approached the dragon.
“Oh my, what WAS that?” Rarity asked, puzzled.
“Dragonsbane” Twilight replied, mentally cursing herself for not coming up with the plan herself. “It’s an herb with a rather pronounced effect on dragons, thus the name. It causes lethargy, dizziness, loss of coordination, and contraction of the flame canals in the back of the throat, with the general-” Applejack cleared her throat.
“Um, Twi? English, please”.
“Oh, sorry. Basically, it messes up dragons in a big way. Nothing permanent, just makes them sleepy and stops their fire. What I want to know, however, is how Dash got some”. Fluttershy looked at her feet, shuffling awkwardly.
“Um... That would be from me. After the last time we had to deal with a dragon, back up on the mountain, she came by and asked me if there was anything you could stop a dragon with. I... I’ve always had... issues with dragons, so I gave her some of mine. She made me promise not to tell anyone, though, so I didn’t...”. Twilight nodded understandingly.
“That makes sense, I guess. She WAS a bit... wary of them after that, I guess”. Their deliberation was cut short by Pinkie’s voice, its tone shifting from annoyed to terrified.
“Come on, Dashie, just get up. This isn’t funny anymore. Seriously, just get up... Dash? Rainbow Dash, GET UP! PLEASE, JUST GET UP ALREADY! SAY SOMETHING!”.
But Rainbow Dash did not get up.

~TO BE CONTINUED~

Comments

[StraferElite]

(Ok first one to say something in the comments. Gotta make it cool.)

Ah hemm. When life gives you lemons

Make clop.