Waning and Waxing

by Calliope Pony

Chapter 17

Well, pulling the cliff out from under them didn’t work. I fly on ahead of them and cast about for some other opportunity. Deep in the undergrowth I hear a rustling and growling. Those sounds are familiar; I know what they are.

Weaving my smoke body through the branches I see a manticore. This could be the perfect way to attack those ponies. Despite their fierce appearance, manticores aren’t really vicious unless they’re provoked. I learned that a long time ago.

I remember Melvin seemed so ferocious at first, but once we got to know each other he was such a sweet friend.

I shake my head to dispel such thoughts.

I just need to provoke it so that it will be ready to attack them as soon as they draw near. That should be simple enough. I split off a small portion of smoke and transform it into a thorn. Aiming carefully, I send the thorn flying into his paw, which results in a satisfying roar.

The trap set, I fly back to watch the ponies. The blue pegasus is boasting about how she flew when the cliff fell.

“I bet if the Wonderbolts had seen my moves back there they would have been begging me to join up.”

Applejack rolls her eyes. “Sure thing, Rainbow Dash. The greatest flying team in all of Equestria would be at yer doorstep because ya caught somepony who fell right on top a’ you.”

“It was more than that! Did you see how quick I was catching Pinkie and getting her down to the bottom? I’ve got speed and muscle.”

She turns to nudge the purple unicorn. “I was so quick you didn’t even see me until we caught you, didja? The cliff just fell, and we had about two seconds to catch you guys. But I swooped down and lifted her right into the air to carry her down. And once Pinkie and Rarity were safe, WHOOSH! Me and Fluttershy looped –the-loop around and wham! Caught you right in the nick of time!”

I don’t know if I can take much more of her blathering, and fortunately the unicorn seems to feel the same way as she cuts her off.

“Yes, Rainbow, I was there. And I’m very grateful, but we gotta-“

She is interrupted by a loud slam. Right on time.

“A manticore!”

The manticore comes roaring and charging at them. The white unicorn kicks him in the face, but gets frightened off when he roars at her. Applejack leaps up on the manticore’s back and holds on tight as he tries to dislodge her. When he throws her off she recovers her balance perfectly, and the blue pegasus flies in. Beating her wings furiously, she creates a whirlwind holding the manticore in place. It looks like it’s working until a blow from his tail sends her crashing to the ground.

“Rainbow!”

The ponies set themselves to charge at manticore, and he looks ready to meet them. This should be good. Running in like that, the manticore will be able to take them all down with one swipe-

“WAIT!”

The charging ponies screech to a halt as the yellow pegasus blocks their path. Then she turns and walks calmly up to the manticore. What in Equestria does she think she’s doing? I’m as surprised as her companions when she begins cooing over the manticore like a kitten. After just a few moments he shows her the thorn, and she pulls it out. He roars at the momentary pain, and the ponies cry out, “Fluttershy!” For a moment I hope he’ll claw her, but he only picks her up and begins purring and licking her mane.

I’m disgruntled as I realize that, like me, she must know that manticores only attack when provoked. The manticore licks and nuzzles her once more as the ponies continue on their way.

Something about the way those two ponies, Applejack and Fluttershy, dealt with my traps strikes me in a manner I can’t identify. I feel like there’s something significant about how they got past me. Stranger still, I have this niggling feeling in the back of my mind that I don’t understand.