Chapter 24: Trust
Fluttershy was gasping for breath after yelling like that. Strike and X were about to take Rainbow Dash away, and Rainbow was allowing this to happen. She couldn’t have that happen.
“You again?” Strike asked. “How did you manage to catch up with us?”
Fluttershy didn’t answer and turned to Rainbow. “Rainbow Dash, please! Don’t do this! You’re making a mistake!”
“A mistake?” Strike snorted. “The only mistake she’s made was what she did to you. These creatures are nothing but dangerous.”
“Rainbow Dash isn’t dangerous! She may be a tatzlpony, but she wasn’t always one. I know because she’s my best friend! We’ve known each other since we were fillies! She would never hurt me on purpose!”
There was an audible yet stuttered gasp that silenced the conversation. Surprisingly, it came from X. Rainbow could see Strike turning his eyes to look at her, so she did the same. X’s mouth hung open while she shivered. Her eyes were focused on Fluttershy. The awkward silence tensed Fluttershy, wondering what just happened.
“Almond Clang never told you, did he?” Strike suddenly responded, making Fluttershy’s heart sink.
“Told me what?” she asked.
Strike seemed to hum to himself in deep thought. It was like he learned something he wasn’t expecting to learn. But why would it be that shocking?
“Let me ask you something,” he said to Fluttershy. “You called this creature a tatzlpony. Why is that?”
Was that the reason? Did they not know what Rainbow was? Confused, Fluttershy looked down and tried to come up with her answer.
“It’s… because…” She thought back on when she first learned the name. “Rainbow was speaking a single word when I asked her what she was. ‘Tatzl’. That was the word. It must’ve meant she was a tatzlpony. Right?”
Strike appeared to be thinking for a few seconds. It sounded like he hummed. “I see.” He seemed to turn his eyes slightly towards Rainbow. “Then that means, everything you know about a tatzlpony has only come from her, hasn’t it?” His voice sharpened at the end, making Fluttershy tense up. So they did know? “And you claim a tatzlpony isn’t dangerous.”
“Rainbow Dash isn’t dangerous!” Fluttershy defended and stomped her hoof.
“Do you need a reminder of the sickness you experienced earlier?”
Fluttershy stumbled back from that comment. Learning about that really hurt, and remembering it put a damper to her confidence. But she didn’t let up.
“No. I already know.” Rainbow gasped internally when Fluttershy said that. Regret could be seen in Rainbow’s eyes.
“A tatzlpony is a creature capable of swallowing ponies whole." Strike continued. "But the thing that makes them so dangerous is their toxic presence. Now here’s a question for you. Our client told us specifically to keep the tatzlpony away from you. Why is that if you two are as close as you say?”
Fluttershy’s heart was starting to beat fiercely. The way Strike asked that made it sound like a threat. But what scared her more was that Rainbow didn’t react to it like she usually did.
“I… I…” Fluttershy couldn’t find the words to respond. X appeared to be gritting her teeth in response to Fluttershy’s stuttering. Strike decided to answer.
“Tatzlponies are attracted to those they like or deem friendly. They respond to that friendliness by feasting on their prey, keeping them trapped in their stomach. Why do they do that? They have a better taste for those they are close to.”
Fluttershy’s eyes widened from what Strike was saying. “If they were to trap somepony they didn’t like, they would be met with a terrible taste.” A flashback played in her mind. When Rainbow spat Clang into the cage back at her cottage, she remembered Rainbow spitting in disgust. “Sounds natural, doesn’t it? But then you remember their toxin. They’ll swallow their prey and keep them trapped in their stomach. Meanwhile, their toxins will slowly infect you, taking away your life. And you’ll have nowhere to escape while they stick to you like glue.”
Fluttershy started gritting her teeth. The more Strike explained himself, the more it made sense why they say Rainbow’s so dangerous. “You’re starting to get it now, aren’t you? The closer you are, the more tempted she’ll be.” Strike pointed to Rainbow, who was looking away in shame. “That is why our client requested to keep her away from you! Else you’ll meet the same fate they had!”
Fluttershy excelled a nervous moan. She thought about the last comment Strike made. “Somepony very close to your client. Friend or family?”
Strike nodded. “I'm sure Almond told you about the life that was lost.”
Fluttershy gave a retort. “But that wasn’t Rainbow’s fault!” Rainbow’s eyes were directed back to Fluttershy. “Rainbow told me herself what happened. She remembers!” It made Strike raise an eyebrow. She put a serious face and continued.
“Rainbow Dash was turned into a tatzlpony. I don’t know who did it, but somepony tried to rescue her. Whoever they were, they sounded like a mare.” Fluttershy pulled back and started frowning as she recalled the event she was told. “While they were running away, something bad happened. Some horrible monster found them and caught Rainbow’s rescuer. She wanted to help them, to save them. But…” She grunted at the next part. It just didn’t sound like Rainbow, but it sounded like this was what happened. All she could blame was the memory loss. “They convinced Rainbow… to leave them behind. They said that she would only attract more of them. Following her rescuer’s orders, she left, and she never saw that mare again.” With more confident eyes, she looked back to Strike. “Rainbow Dash didn’t take anypony’s life away! They sacrificed themselves to save her! Your client is mistaken!”
Fluttershy finished and started panting heavily. She had so much to say, some of it being painful to recall. But it was the truth she knew and she had to let it out. All that seemed to produce was silence in the air. Nopony was responding. Strike just looked like he was waiting for Fluttershy to continue. Rainbow was still looking away and frowning.
There was suddenly a response that came from X. A shivered gasp escaped her as she looked to a bag sitting next to her. The bag was starting to shake. Rainbow looked at it and tensed up. Fluttershy gave a fearful moan as she felt a thick change in the atmosphere. Green magical auras spread across the air. They were coming from the pieces of wood scattered across the clearing. All of them were shaking.
The timberwolves… they were pulling themselves back together. Fluttershy’s eyes shrunk as she took a slight step back. She couldn’t leave now. Rainbow Dash still needed her. But what could she do?
“Is that all?” Strike suddenly said. The tension took a turn. Fluttershy released a quick gasp as she looked to Strike. She noticed a change with the pieces of wood scattered around. Their shaking slowed to a stop as well as their bag. The green aura dissipated. Rainbow’s tense softened and returned back to its frown. X didn’t take her eyes off the bag, moving a shaking hoof towards it to nudge it.
The bag… Were their timberwolf parts inside that bag? Was that why they couldn’t pull themselves back together?
“I never said Rainbow Dash was the tatzlpony that took their life,” Strike continued. The sudden news startled Fluttershy.
“W-W-...What?! B-But, wasn’t that the reason-”
“Our client wants us to capture this tatzlpony because of her toxic presence. She's dangerous! If she's left alone, her toxin will spread and the tragedy will repeat. After all, it almost just did with you. We don't need any further risks.”
“Nnngh…” Fluttershy gritted her teeth. She had to find a way to reason with them. “It won’t happen again... I just know it won’t. Besides… even if it does, we now know how to cure it. The flowers… back at the campsite. They can repel the toxin. They can-”
“No, Fluttershy…” Fluttershy’s breath froze upon hearing that response. It didn’t come from Strike. It came from Rainbow Dash, in a very defeated tone.
“W-Wha…” was all Fluttershy could make as a response.
“They’re gone, Fluttershy…” Rainbow continued. “All gone… Every last one… eaten… by the parasprites.”
Fluttershy’s mouth hung open in shock, breaths stuttering in a way that sounded like she would choke. Strike had even turned his attention away from Fluttershy to listen to Rainbow Dash, while simultaneously listening to Fluttershy’s defeat.
“No… T-That can’t be… Rainbow?” Rainbow just turned her eyes down. She could feel X’s hooves trembling more violently in the grip of the leash. Fluttershy continued. “Rainbow, please… Don’t do this…” It hurt a lot more hearing Rainbow be the one to push their reasons. “Trust me Rainbow Dash. We can find a way to stop this. You won’t be a danger. Trust me.”
X had taken a closer look at Rainbow, her shivering halting for a moment, then resuming. Rainbow brought her eyes back to Fluttershy. Even now, Rainbow felt that strange hunger. It may not have looked like it, but she was severely fighting her instincts. Her instincts kept telling her to lash her tongues out at Fluttershy and swallow her. The fact that it was Fluttershy specifically really didn’t help. They really were just targeting the one she cared for the most.
“I trust you, Fluttershy,” Rainbow said. The words were there, but the tone wasn’t very promising. She closed her eyes and turned away. “I don’t trust… myself…”
X’s breath stopped upon that response. She quickly looked to Fluttershy, who wasn’t faring any better. The world around Fluttershy collapsed as her colors faded. All feelings in her body went numb like the painkillers were responsible. But they weren’t. This feeling all came from the defeat she felt of hearing Rainbow giving up. Not even her heartbeats could be felt anymore.
A whining cry escaped Fluttershy as her body collapsed in defeat. She closed her eyes as tears started spilling out of them. It was over. How could Fluttershy convince Rainbow if Rainbow no longer believed in herself? There was nothing she could do now. Rainbow had been convinced, all to protect her. But she was the one who wanted to protect Rainbow.
“AAHHH!!!” Fluttershy suddenly felt something blast against her stomach. It felt like a magic blast that flung her backward. Her back slammed into a tree. She opened her eyes with a gasp. Strike darted towards her, slamming some sort of handle that went right between her neck, trapping her as it wedged its bars against the tree. X’s head sprung up and gasped. Rainbow’s eyes grew a bit and her attention was shifted back to Strike.
“Now that we understand each other,” he said with a seriously mean expression. It terrified Fluttershy.
“W-W-What are you do-oing?!”
Strike didn’t answer and turned his attention to the other two. “X!” he shouted, causing her to flinch back. “Toss me that bag.”
Fluttershy tried to pry the handle away from her, but it was proving useless. The handle was gripped too tightly on the trunk of the tree. Not to mention Strike's hoof was keeping it there. Meanwhile, X did as she was told, slowly bringing her hoof to their bag to pick it up. When she raised it in the air, she threw her hoof to toss the bag.
Everything went silent when the bag plunged to the ground. For some reason, X only managed to toss the bag halfway to Strike’s position. Both Fluttershy and Rainbow gave a questioning look when they witnessed it. It somehow made the tension drop. X shy’d away with a shameful moan.
“Seriously, X?” Strike said with an unamused face. He used his magic to levitate the bag the rest of the way. “I know you’re not that strong, but that’s just embarrassing.” His head turned back to Fluttershy with a serious scowl on his face. It made Fluttershy shiver. Whatever it was, he was not happy.
“The plan was supposed to be simple,” he stated as he moved the bag next to him. “Lure you out of the cottage, then capture the creature.”
Fluttershy’s breath hiccupped a few times. “L-L-Lure?” she asked. Rainbow took a step forward, her curiosity piquing. This change of tone was making her heart drop.
“While you were taking care of that tatzlpony, we were preparing our capture plan. We had X here deliver a letter at your place. She said she saw a filly leaving the cottage just before she arrived and asked her to deliver it instead.” Strike snorted. “A filly being in the presence of that thing.” His tone was dark there. “I’m sure you know by now, that letter was to send you to our third member Almond Clang. While you were distracted by him, we could sneak into your cottage and capture the tatzlpony without your notice.”
Fluttershy’s eyes shrunk upon hearing this plan. The breath that she inhaled was getting more difficult to breathe out as Strike went on. He unzipped his bag rather roughly with his magic as he went on.
“But of course, the tatzlpony decided to follow you! Your bond with such a creature was already too deep. And while we did have a backup plan, it was only because he wanted to let out some steam, well, steam because something really irritated him. But you STILL somehow stopped his plan too!”
Some sort of device was swiftly pulled out of the back. It looked to be shaped like a small tuning-fork, but with two clear cylinders. He levitated it towards Fluttershy, who tried flinching back further against the tree. “Ahh! W-What is that?!” she asked desperately. Rainbow lightly gasped. Seeing Fluttershy’s fear was starting to bring doubt in her mind. A button was pressed on the device. Fluttershy saw something flowing within it. Inside its two clear cylinders, many small insects swarmed into view. Each one sparkled a blue electric current, which resonated along and outside the device's cylinders. That electricity flickered a blue glow so intense, it illuminated Fluttershy’s fear clearly. Her mouth was wide open and her pupils shrunk to pea-sizes. The flickering glow was bright enough to blind.
“Tw-... Twi-... TWITTERMITES?!” Fluttershy shouted in agony.
“Yes,” Strike answered. “Over one hundred of these little buggers which will send a coursing shock through your whole body. You’ll live, but you’ll be out like a light.”
That didn’t ease Fluttershy’s nerves. She thrashed violently, trying to escape Strike’s clutches. “N-N-NO! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?! AHH!” Rainbow’s ears raised hearing Fluttershy’s torment.
“Like I said. A tatzlpony is more dangerous to those they are close to. I know your kind. You’ve already demonstrated the sort of bond you have with her from your repeated resistance. Even after everything I’ve said, you’re still gonna try and take the tatzlpony back. Because she’s your friend. And you would never abandon a friend, would you?”
The last thing Strike said echoed in Rainbow’s mind. She could practically feel the torment and pain Fluttershy was feeling right now. What Strike said to Fluttershy, was that what she was doing? Was she abandoning Fluttershy? No. That’s not what she was doing. This was to protect Fluttershy, right?
Protect Fluttershy… How was this protecting Fluttershy? Rainbow’s head shook as she started realizing what sort of logic she was believing. Maybe she was poisonous, and maybe her presence endangered Fluttershy’s life. But right now, if something wasn’t done, Fluttershy was gonna get harmed. Strike said she would live, but could he be trusted?
That was the word she needed. Trust. Her head lowered as she started to growl. She trusted Fluttershy, but couldn’t trust herself. However, there was far more trust in herself than she had with these ponies. A tug could be felt on her collar. That snapped the last straw.
Fluttershy whimpered fiercely as that device inched closer to her face. She couldn’t deny what Strike said. Even after all he said about Rainbow being dangerous to her, even after she accepted defeat, there was still a part of her that wanted to save Rainbow. Now, Strike was gonna make sure she didn’t get that chance. There was nothing she could do to defend herself. Tears poured from her face like a fountain out of sheer fright.
“We’re saving lives here, so this is for your own good.” He inched the device closer. “Don’t worry. You’ll wake up in a few hours. Plenty of time to get our task done.” As the device inched closer, Fluttershy’s whimper turned to screaming. Every inch increased the volume. She was screaming louder and louder, more than she thought her lungs could handle. Her eyes shut tight, waiting for the zap.
A loud pound penetrated her ears, followed by a yelp from Strike. Her eyes flung open to witness Strike getting tackled by a pony’s body. It bounced off him, making his body plunge to the ground while his device was thrown astray, colliding against the ground with a large spark.
Fluttershy gasped as she saw the pony’s body plummet to the ground. It was X. Her body had slammed face first against Strike’s body, bouncing over him and colliding with the ground. She wasn't moving, and her wings were sprawled out.
Strike released an angry and painful growl as he picked himself up. His eyes turned behind him with a frustrated ‘grr’. He was looking at Rainbow Dash. Rainbow… she was furious. Her teeth were gritted against each other so hard. They looked like they would crack from their own force. It scared Fluttershy. The leash she had was now on the floor, ripped off of her collar.
“X!” Strike extended her name as he looked at her body. “You were supposed to be holding her back!” X didn’t respond. Her body remained motionless. It made Strike give an angry scowl. “Darn it! She’s out cold!” Another grunt as his eyes quickly turned towards Rainbow. Rainbow lowered her head and intensified her glare. His eyes went back to the device.
“This was NOT how things were supposed to go!” he yelled as his magic gripped the device again. The ring on his horn was glowing menacingly. “Take back the tatzlpony without attracting attention. Nopony would have to get hurt. But now?!” The device came to his side with the spark running faster. “Fine! Your struggles leave me no choice! We’ve had to capture tigers that took the lives of family all because of this blinded bond. You think I’ll hesitate to do the same to you?! Any harm that comes to this pony will be because of your actions! You understand?!”
Rainbow ignored his threat. The only thing she focused on was his movements with that device he levitated. He looked ready to use that thing recklessly. He even brought it closer to Fluttershy’s neck as a threat. It didn’t matter what Strike said next. All that mattered was his actions. And right now, those actions were threatening Fluttershy to the point of releasing tears. She only needed to say one thing, one thing that would seal Strike’s fate if he disobeyed.
“Get away from her you FEATHERHEAD!”
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he done fucked up...
I think the closest related thing to the device you're describing might be shaped like a tuning fork?
More chapters...
Yeah...you threatened fluttershy. Now get wrecked.
8346938
Looks close to what I was describing for the Twittermite Device. Thanks. I think I'll edit that in.
8347025
Chapters come every 2 weeks if my schedule holds out.
'bout time she started kicking his ass. I can't stand his self-absorb preaching.
8359009
If you mean Strike, he's kinda just following what his client wants.
8360152
It's one thing to do a job, it's another to be so passionate about it that you'll torture someone who disagrees with you.
8361444
Who's the bigger one at fault though? The one doing the actions? Or the one who hired and ordered the actions?
8361702
Both.