What is a Tatzlpony?

by Skylight77

Chapter 25: Poison

Rainbow Dash left behind a rainbow trail as she dashed towards Strike in all her fury. Strike left Fluttershy alone and ran towards Rainbow as well. He used his magic to throw his zapper device at Rainbow. She had to dodge out of the way, else she’d get zapped pretty harshly. Both ponies collided hoof to hoof with each other, but Strike still had his magic. The ring on his horn glowed as bright as his horn did. An electric buzz could be heard, signaling Rainbow to release contact, for Strike had sent the device their way.

Strike caught the device in his hoof when it reached him. He growled. “Hold still you slippery beast!”

Strike jumped at her with the device. With a quick flap of her wings, Rainbow dashed backward to avoid the zap. She had to do something about that device, otherwise, she couldn’t even get close to Strike. Its electric currents zapped a wide area in the air every time he swung it. Backing away towards one of the trees, she decided to turn herself and extend a hind leg to kick one of its branches. The branch snapped upon impact, allowing her to grab it in her hooves. After seeing what Rainbow was up to, Strike lit up his horn again as well as the ring. A beam fired from his horn. Rainbow gasped and hid behind the tree to avoid being hit.

Off in the corner, Fluttershy moaned in fear watching the battle progress. Strike was firing more beams towards Rainbow as she zigzagged from tree to tree to close her distance with Strike. When she did, she swung with her branch while Strike swung with his zapper. An intense spark shine resonated from their collision which reflected off of Fluttershy’s eyes. She worried for Rainbow Dash. But with Strike distracted like this, she had to use this chance to escape from her imprisonment.

"Be careful, Rainbow," Fluttershy said softly as she placed her hooves on the bar handle that was between her neck, grunting as she attempted to pry it away.

Rainbow moved from tree to tree, using them as cover from Strike’s magic. When she closed the distance, Strike prepared to lash his zapper using his hoof. Reacting swiftly, Rainbow lashed her tongues out. Her coils wrapped around his hoof, preventing him from completing the swing. She then swung with her tree branch, retracting her coils just as she smacked the device out of his hoof. He gave off a raging grunt as the device bounced against the ground, releasing bright sparks. Before Rainbow knew it, Strike had turned himself around and kicked with his hind hooves. A painful blow was struck on Rainbow’s face, knocking her backward.

Strike’s horn, as well as the ring, started glowing brighter as he frustratedly groaned. Rainbow had her hooves on her face, rubbing off the pain from the blow she took. She put them away just in time to notice another beam from Strike heading straight at her. With a yelp, she pulled her head backward, barely avoiding it as she watched it go right over her, singeing a piece of her mane. The beam continued on and struck a tree, causing an explosion that tore the tree down.

Looking back to Strike, Rainbow’s eyes widened with gritted teeth. Strike was preparing another one, looking really serious on hurting somepony. As Strike fired again, she dropped down and lunged herself behind the nearest tree she could find. Her eyes turned to the zapper device on the floor.

“Mmm… Come on! Mmm!” Fluttershy moaned as she pressed her ears to her head. Her moans grew more painful from trying to pry the bar handle apart. It was really wedged. She was starting to feel pain in her forelegs. Every time she pushed and pulled, the handle felt like it clipped between a small bark on the tree, feeling closer to being released every time. But the loud noises from the battle kept spoiling her concentration.

Another loud bang as Strike fired a blast at the tree he saw Rainbow hide behind. Two more blasts were released for good measure, leaving behind a thick magical scar. He turned his head with a growl toward the zapper device. It was quite a distance away, but he made a beeline for it. His horn and ring were glowing brighter with fury. It seemed he really wanted to put an end to this.

But Rainbow would be the one to do it. When Strike got close enough to the device, he lowered his horn toward it. That was when Rainbow emerged from her hiding spot inside a bush. She flipped her body around and kicked upward with a hind leg directly on Strike’s ring. A loud clang of hoof and metal colliding sounded.

“AAAAGGHHH!!!” It was a deafening yell that frightened Fluttershy severely. The sudden startle, however, allowed her to finally pry the handle apart, making her face fall to the floor.

The ring on Strike’s horn was kicked off, releasing massive sparks of magical energy. It was practically impossible to tell where the ring went. But if Strike’s power was coming from that ring, it wasn’t anymore. His body flew backward a few yards before he aligned himself to land on his rump, sliding some distance.

“Grrr… A-AAaaRrRGH!” Strike’s voice became very unstably frustrated. It sounded like he was in a lot of pain, squeezing his eyes tightly. He was bracing his head with a single hoof while his horn continued to release magical sparks. They were growing harsher as well as Strike’s yells.

“WhAaAt… hAve YOu d-Done?!” The magical sparks severely grew, making Rainbow grit her teeth in surprise. Fluttershy, startled by the light, covered her eyes with her hoof. It continued growing, larger, and larger...

“I… c-CAn’T L-l-LeT M-mY CLi-I-ieNT!!! UUwWaahHH!!!”

Rainbow and Fluttershy cried out a yell as the magic sparked lightning in an aggressive explosion. It spread across the entire clearing, making its light visible very deep in the forest. The sound and flash alerted many animals in the forest to its presence. Most, if not all of them, predator or prey, immediately fled the scene in fright.

The flash’s light soon settled, leaving behind a thick cloud of smoke from the dirt. Heavy breaths could be heard in the middle of that smoke. When it settled enough, Strike’s silhouette could be seen. There was a vibrating flash emitting from him, revealing the condition of his body. Unsteady magical energy swirled around him like electricity. He looked severely scarred from magical burns that came from his own magic. His inhales and exhales lasted a full two seconds each with his body rising and falling each time.

The dust fully settled. Fluttershy was dropped to her rump while pressed against a tree. She slowly opened her eyes to find the grounds near her covered in magical scars. The very sight of them all frightened her. Who knows what could’ve happened if she had gotten caught in the crossfire? But that led to another question.

“Rainbow? Rainbow Dash?!” She looked around the clearing. Rainbow Dash was nowhere in sight. X’s body was nowhere to be seen either. All she could see was Strike in the center of all those scars looking deep in pain. The sight terrified Fluttershy.

“T-There…” Two more huffs of breath came from Strike. “Agh…” A long pause. “Are you... nng-happy now?” His head turned in different directions, looking like he was looking for Rainbow. “You… b-brought this on yourself.” He stopped looking for a moment and raised his hoof towards his mouth. “The lives you willingly put in danger is unforgivable.” After licking his hoof, he jammed it against his horn with a fierce grunt. A loud sizzle emanated from his horn as he did, settling the sparks coming from it.

Fluttershy’s pupils shook to the point of popping. Many emotions filled her head. Her lips trembled and struggled to speak words. “D-Danger…?” she forced out as she looked down. Strike slowly turned his eyes towards her. “Y-You… call her a danger… b-but…” Her hooves and head trembled in fear and worry, but more importantly…

“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!” Fluttershy shouted in all her rage at Strike, making him flinch back. “If anypony is a danger to us, it is YOU! All you have done is attack us, threaten us, and for WHAT?!”

Strike took a step back, looking away and squeezing his eyes shut. “Gah… N-No! Not that look! Grr!” He forced himself to look back to Fluttershy. “Almond told me about this look. A look worse than a devil’s eyes. But... i-it has nothing to back it up! You know nothing!”

Strike began charging for Fluttershy. Or at least, he attempted to. For some reason, he found himself unable to move from his spot. He was forced to stare down Fluttershy from where he was.

Fluttershy, who had nearly lost her composure from Strike’s resistance, returned her argument full force, slowly walking towards him. “I may not know what a tatzlpony is, but I don’t need to know everything to know what they want, what Rainbow wants! And she does NOT want to go with you, so LEAVE HER ALONE!”

“S-Shut up!” Strike growled harshly and raised a hoof in the air. But when he tried to swing it, it froze in mid-air. “Nnngh!” He tried all his might to force it to move. For some reason, he couldn’t get it to. “W-What’s… going on?” Fear drew from his eyes. “Don’t you understand?! If we leave her alone, lives will be lost!”

“What about HER life?!” Fluttershy’s eyes grew as wide as they could, releasing her Stare full of confidence without a shred of fear. “What do you plan to do to her when you capture her?!” She could see Strike’s pupils shaking while his teeth gritted. “Will you torment her?! Keep her locked up?! What does your client want with her?! Tell me!”

Fluttershy was inches within Strike’s face now. He tried to flare up his horn again to blast her away, but it fizzled out a split second after trying to charge it.

"Ahh... A-Aaahhh!" Words could no longer form from Strike's mouth. Sweat poured down his face as fear took him over. There was nothing he could do. Every time he tried to fight this devilish look, his body refused to move. His limbs were practically restrained behind him, unable to fight the demon that he was staring down.

“Leave... us... alone! And NEVER bother us again!” The fear overtook Strike. His limbs became free, but he closed his eyes and screamed, running in the opposite direction in terror. He ran deep into the forest and didn’t come back.

The chains that were holding Strike in place had let go the moment he decided to flee. But Fluttershy knew what those chains were. They didn’t come from her Stare. No. That came from her bond with Rainbow Dash. Literally. She saw Rainbow’s coils dangling down from the trees above her. Every time Strike tried to attack, they would hold his attack in place. His fear had made him unable to realize what was really holding him back.

Fluttershy looked up, smiling as she watched those coils retract back up in the trees. Moments later, her tatzlpony, Rainbow Dash, dropped down from them with a big smile on her face. She hadn’t been harmed from the explosion and was okay. It made Fluttershy smile in glee.

“Oh, Rainbow Dash! Thank you thank you thank you so much!” Rainbow Dash opened her mouth with a bright smile as well, holding her tongues slightly out, including the one with a knot. Oddly enough, their presence hadn’t made Fluttershy nervous at all. It seemed she was finally getting used to them. They went for a hug.

“D-Don’t mo-o-ove!” a high, desperate voice suddenly made itself present, followed by a clicking sound that hissed. Fear struck both Rainbow and Fluttershy instantly. Their hug was halted before it started. The voice continued. “Tur-rn aro-ound, a-a-and don’t mo-o-ove!” Slowly, Rainbow and Fluttershy turned to the sound of that cracking voice. What they saw made them gasp silently as their fear grew ten-fold.

It was X. That was who the voice belonged to. They could see her bright yellow eyes filled with cracks that could only be described as a fear somehow more intense than what they were feeling now. She was gasping and shaking harshly, like she would suffocate at any moment.

But what drew their fear was what X was holding. She was standing on her hind legs. Her wings were spread to keep her balance while she pointed a device towards them with her forehooves. The device she held looked like a small cannon-like crossbow, but a snake was strapped inside its barrel. Not just any snake either. A rattlesnake. It seemed to be shaking its head violently, clearly raged and trying to get out of the barrel, ready to bite anything it made contact with.

Fluttershy’s pupils shrunk to pea-sizes. The rattlesnake… there was a rag strapped all across its face, rendering it unable to see or hear. All it had was its mouth. It didn’t care what it was gonna bite. The moment X pulls that trigger, that rattlesnake would seep its venom into whatever poor soul it was shot towards. And right now, they were the ones being targeted.

“W-W-What a-are yo-ou…” Fluttershy was too afraid to speak properly.

“T-The tatzlpony… COME HE-E-ERE!!!” X’s voice broke into a whine. Fluttershy found herself shivering, slowly twisting her head to look to Rainbow Dash. Rainbow was already looking at her. The look in Rainbow’s eyes told her that Rainbow was just as afraid as she was, or worried just that much for her sake.

Rainbow turned her eyes back to X. If her previous actions were any indication, she cared far more for Fluttershy’s sake than her own. She started walking, making Fluttershy’s heart sink further.

“N-No… Rain-”

“Aa-a-ahh!” Fluttershy silenced herself when X cried and turned the device toward her direction. She was too afraid to try and talk Rainbow out of her decision. With that amount of fear she was seeing in X’s eyes, any sudden movements could set her off. Would she really fire that thing? Both Rainbow and Fluttershy were too afraid to take that chance.

Whimpers were coming from X’s voice as Rainbow was closing the distance. Fluttershy desperately wanted to say something that would stop Rainbow from doing this. But her mouth refused to voice words. With that snake snapping violently in her direction, only fear crossed her mind.

Suddenly, an even greater fear crossed Fluttershy's mind. What if… what if X was planning on using that on Rainbow?

“AHH!” As soon as that crossed Fluttershy’s mind, she gasped, which made X release a terrified scream that startled Rainbow. The next thing they knew, X shut her eyes and twirled herself. Another device appeared in her other hoof, which she immediately thrusted to Rainbow’s forehead.

Rainbow shrieked as her body suddenly illuminated in a bright blue flashing zap. It was the Twittermite Zapper Device. The sight made Fluttershy cry out as if she was the one in pain.

“NNOOO!” Fluttershy ran to Rainbow.

“St-Stop!” X cried as she pointed the snake device back at Fluttershy. The fear grew on Fluttershy again, but Rainbow was being zapped right now. She ignored her fear and continued running. But that didn’t stop X’s fear. Her cries of terror only grew louder seeing Fluttershy’s resistance.

“You’re hurting Rain-”

...There was a firing snap.

The entire forest was suddenly drained of its colors as that snap echoed in Fluttershy’s ears. X had fired the snake at her. The firing caused X to recoil back violently while the snake was shot towards Fluttershy. Seeing it made the whole world slow down in her mind. Her eyes shut tightly as she spread her wings and dug her hooves in the floor to stop her running. With a quick thrust, she jumped to the left, attempting to avoid contact with the snake.

The rag… it came loose when the device was fired. With the snake rapidly darting its head and chomping down, the rag flung off. No longer blinded, the snake turned its head to the first living target it could see. That was Fluttershy. Its body darted, changing its direction to lunge straight at her change of path.

Fluttershy’s eyes slowly grew wide as that snake slowly approached her side. Her mouth dropped slowly. Everything in her mind played slowly. But the actual events happened so fast. The snake closed the distance. She shut her eyes tightly. When they fully closed, the snake’s fangs dug into the side of her body.

A bloodcurdling scream echoed across the area, making the world’s color return as time regained its proper motion. Fluttershy’s body plummeted to the ground. She could feel the snake’s venom coursing through her body. Her feelings were going numb and her sight blurred.

She saw Rainbow Dash’s body dropping to the ground with an electric current. She saw X’s hooves shuffling around in some way. She saw a bright light flashing near her. She felt the light somewhere around her flank. She saw it flashing around Rainbow Dash too. She saw X hastily flying towards her. She saw a green aura forming above X. She could hear yelling coming from X. She heard a violent rustle behind herself.

And then… she felt a stab on her back. That was the last thing she felt before her visions went black.

______________________________________________________________________________

Meanwhile, somewhere in the void of deep darkness, two ponies stood. At least, that’s what this place felt like to her when she was in the presence of this pony right now. She was terrified. The pony staring her down was filled with unbound rage.

“You, LIED TO US!” the pony yelled as it lit up its horn fiercely. But even that horn’s light could not illuminate the area for her. She backed away, sweating, suffocating her breaths, and tears dripping from her eyes.

“N-N-NO!” she tried saying as the pony drew closer to her. “I-I’M SORRYYY!” Her breath hyperventilated as her eyes practically stared at Tartarus’s doorstep. As she braced a hoof to her chest, she knew she was about to meet it.

A loud magical flash could be heard all across Ponyville, followed by a mare’s bloodcurdling scream echoing a number of times. It silenced the whole town.

Author's Note:

Here it is... the chapter I dread everyone will hate. All I'm gonna say is...

Tags spoil everything.

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Feed back and criticism are appreciated.

Thank you all for reading, and I hope you enjoy.

Comments

[The Wind King]

8361702

There are these little things called the Nuremberg Trials that had to deal with the same problem.

Look 'em up, it's pretty enlightening stuff.

[Marine Delight]

No! Fluttershy! But... what happened afterwards? I'm so confused, and the anticipation is killing me! I'm so nervous-cited!