Lightning and Stitch (#2)

by LightningStar626

Chapter 11: Forest Ambush

Chapter 11: Forest Ambush

~The next hour, having gotten dressed back into their original attires, now fresh and spiffy, and leaving Camp Everfree behind as planned; the Rainbooms, Lightning, Stitch and Spike set off together on their fifth day's trek. The sign on the path led them straight to the city.~

"You stay safe now, girls," said Farmer Bonsai. "Travellers who go that way- and there have been very few- are said to have good luck. Nothing to worry about."

Pinkie Pie waved him goodbye. "Thanks for everythinggg!"

"We sure appreciate ya lookin' out for us an' our friend." Applejack said happily.

The farmer raised his head. "You will do great. I hope we meet again sometime in the mere future."

~With that, the girls departed, as Farmer Bonsai, Gloriosa Daisy and Timber Spruce waved goodbye and walked away, back to the camp to earn their living. Whisking the summer leaves up with a kick and letting the air catch them again, the girls slipped carefully between the trees and shrubs once again.~

---

~All was quiet as the journey towards the city began. Only the sounds of bronzed leaves that had not yet rotted away left horrible crunches below the girls' feet. Although it was summer, the ground was still littered with flurries of them. Not much else grew, though their track was clear to see. There were no further landmarks to guide them into the correct direction.~

~As Lightning admired the ceiling of branches and leaves, she found herself walking next to Fluttershy. She was holding her arm in her hand directly where the burnmark was located. Lightning could tell she was uncomfortable. In fact, all of the Rainbooms besides Sunset were feeling that way. They didn't know what happened this morning, and still thought Lightning was in a bad, untalkative mood. So, she spoke up.~

"How's your arm, Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy didn't reply at first, and simply squeezed her arm, continuing to hold it tightly as they walked onwards, taken aback by the jolly-sounding question. Finally, she mustered a response. "It's okay."

Even Applejack was taken aback. "Funny," she said surprisingly. "You seem to be in a better mood despite last night's grouse."

"That's because…Lightning and I settled our differences early this morning." Sunset explained.

"You did?" Rarity said.

Lightning smiled weakly. "Y-yeah. We realised our mistakes, and I had a panic attack about it." she explained before sighing. "It's just… I'm sorry to everyone that saw me. My anger just- it can't be controlled very well. And I think that was the reason my magic became unstable too. So that's what I need to learn. For now though, I'm relieved it's over."

"...So am I," said Twilight. "I'm glad to see you've seen through your ways, and thankfully, figured out the issue."

"Me too." Rainbow added, chuckling. "And here I thought we'd have to give you a big, old lectern about the importance of magic and friendship."

Sunset laughed. "Technically, we do. It's just learning how to control it when feeling emotions." Sunset put her hand on Lightning's shoulder. "I'm the one who's supposed to teach you about the magic, so how about we start a little bit with what you can do now? We still have a little while before we reach the end of the forest."

~Lightning smirked and gripped onto her geode firmly, and raised her head up high to get a good feel to it. Hitting the low-lying branches and contorting weeds out of the way, her inner raccoon hovered above the ground as she bolted ahead.~

---

~Flipping through the gaps of the tall, boding trees, Lightning kept on soaring as the Rainbooms and Spike and Stitch could hardly see where they were going. All were disturbed by the sudden darkness balancing in their visions, except for Lightning, who didn't seem to be bothered at all by the darkness. It only seemed to happen when she was always in her raccoon form.~

Sunset shook her head. "Wow. It's sure gotten dark all of a sudden."

"Yeah, that can't be right. It's, like, the middle of the day still." Applejack said.

"I guess the farmer just never told us this side of the forest got so dark," said Pinkie Pie.

"It's 'nough ta make ya fur bristle, though." Stitch shuddered. "Do we really 'ave to go this way?"

"We've got little choice." Twilight answered. "There are no other paths and, if this does lead to Karly, and the way home, we must follow it. Whatever happens."

~The crowded branches of the thick oak wood trees hung over them menacingly. Now the girls were seriously in the depths of the forest once again. It felt as if the trees were tightening together into a pack the further they walked, almost ganging up on the octet and their two dogs. Lightning halted to a stand still on the ground and began to ponder on her atmosphere.~

"Hmm… If I know Karly well, which I do, she would take an unfortunate wrong turn and panic." whispered Lightning. "But I know, afterwards, that she will remember the first rule about being lost."

"What's that?" asked Stitch.

"Stop, sit down, and think." she replied.

~Then again, sitting still would be a hard idea, Lightning thought. But if Karly was dead, she would have been discovered, and then there was little anybody could do except grieve. If, however, she was still alive, and had been taken prisoner perhaps, then it was possible that her captors would remove her to a place of hiding on the far side of the woods, near the mountains where Devil's castle used to lay. All she knows is that she was still not home, because Steven would have notified her on her wrist watch gadget.~

~Eventually, the path they were following petered out, and there was still no sign of an ending. They had no option but to walk in a straight line as the forest would allow, and they started weaving in and out of thick clumps of trees, coarse carpets of stinging nettles and other more creepy looking areas they did not dare to go near. Gradually, the woods began to thin and, with a golden light improving massively ahead of them, they realised that they were near the outskirts. The ground grew partly stony underfoot. Then, Lightning spied a building.~

She cried out excitedly. "There it is. Canterlot City! There's home!"

~Forgetting the tangled knots below and vast trunks around her, Lightning darted as fast as she could towards the light. Then, with the warmth welcoming them, the girls peeked out from the leafy greens to see the reflections of the several glass windows from their school catching the sun in the distance. And as the tension of the forest momentarily slipped away, they relaxed in these surroundings, and bustled into cheers.~

Twilight drew an X in her notepad along with a simple map. "Now, we just need to find Karly."

"And since the farmer directed her here, like us, she must be close," Sunset said.

~Lightning got all giddy and excited. Not wanting to spend another minute wasting time, she ducked underneath the bushes, still in her raccoon form, and began crashing around in them. The Rainbooms laughed at how much of an animal she was when doing that, when they noticed the sun gazing inwards from behind a few ominous storm clouds. That was an unfortunate harbinger. But then, what made matters worse, was that Stitch and Spike were watching strange shadows in the depths of the forest. Swarming and squirming around them, making them feel like they were under constant surveillance. And every time one of them stood on a dead branch, and made a crunching noise, they both shot around, hackles raised, to see if anything was by them. The last thing that happened was Spike yelping at a leaf that touched his behind.~

"Is everything okay, Spike?" Fluttershy asked.

~He didn't answer. Instead, he and Stitch grew even more alarmed and began running in small circles, sniffing the ground for all they were worth.~

"Easy now, boys," Applejack urged. "There's no need to panic."

I-I'm not panicking," Spike squeaked. "I'm just terrified, that's all!"

"Of what?" asked Lightning, peeking out from the bushes.

~In all honesty, the forest behind them did not look so chilling anymore to Lightning nor Applejack this time around, they could hardly see anything as they peered in and it was the unknown factor that they found rather unnerving. However, if Farmer Bonsai said there was nothing to worry about, then they trusted his judgement. Everyone stopped. Stitch strained his eyes into the gloom. Then, he saw it: a faint shadow fitting between the trees ahead. Moving with caution, he began to follow from tree to tree. He had a sense that this particular shadow was goggling at him- like the behaviour of a ghost. He frowned grimly.~

"I'm not movin' any further." he prompted.

Lightning frowned. "What? But, Stitch- we are so close to getting home! We just need to search this area for Karly, then we can- "

"No." he interrupted. "I don't trust this area."

~He spun around and the others followed his gaze in confusion. There, they saw the lustrous eyes. About five of them. Deep claw marks buried deeply on the bark of the trees, too, and this caught the others' attention and they saw what Stitch saw.~

Lightning could not make sense. "Stitch, I can't…see…why…"

"What's happening?" Rainbow panicked.

~A wailing noise emulated from the creatures. Thunder flashed perfectly in sync with the blinking, and everyone got a glimpse of the owner's full bodies. There was silence once again, then in a heartbeat, a chanting of words they understood were heard.~

~Song: Howling- (Original song)~

Mysterious voice: Whether it's night, or whether it's day…~

You're never getting out, we come to play,~

We are creatures of the dark, and creatures of the deep…~

We never tire, we never sleep,~

In this forest, we wait all day…~

For the chance to hunt down our prey!~

Howling!~

~It was coming from all around them but at the same time, it felt as if it was in their minds, echoing around them eerily. Clearly spoken with menacing words, it sent a chill through the eight girls. Lightning felt her raccoon ears twitching in the air, then her nose firmly picked up a horrid scent. When she opened her eyes, her pupils shrunk down to pinpricks.~

"Girls. Run." she muttered.

"What?" said Sunset.

"GO! RUN! NOW!"

~Rainbow Dash sped off at the speed of light and Lightning promptly shoved the rest to move back into the shadowy forest. As soon as they took off, timberwolves came thrashing out of their hiding spots, pursuing after them, their barking just as powerful as their thundering footsteps. The chanting started again, fiercer and more threatening.~

Mysterious voice: We are gonna get you…~

We're coming for you now,~

We're creatures of the dark…~

We seek and plough,~

You can run, but you can't hide…~

No way for you to change this tide,~

We never tire of what we do…~

And what we do is scare you through!~

Howling!~

~The girls felt their pathway heading off uphill. Very uphill. They were climbing up to the base of a stony hill that was just as high as a mountain. With snaggy cliffs, and a very long way down, back into the tree branches. It'll be a nasty fall if no one was careful enough. Lightning turned back to face the wolves, and was horrified. The timberwolves were now horribly deformed, with disgusting dark mattered moss for fur, and faces masked by the piercing shadows. They moved with beating chests, making them more monkey-like instead of wolf-like. Fluttershy screamed.~

"Timberwolves." Lightning panted.

"TIMBERWOLVES?!" Pinkie shrieked.

"DON'T LOOK BACK!"

~She couldn't help herself. The party girl kept turning her head back every three seconds as she scrambled around the forest. Rarity was sprinting after her, but once onto flat ground, a blur sped in front of them and blocked their path. The timberwolf grinned, showing off its jagged stone teeth to their faces. The girls skidded to a stop and circled up. Stitch approached them from behind while more timberwolves emerged.~

~Only Spike set off faster, running off hither and thither among the trees, getting further and further away from the Rainbooms all the time. All of a sudden, there was a faint hiss followed by a high-pitched cry shooting around the air.~

"Spike!?" Twilight called, but there was no answer.

"What's happened?" shouted Lightning.

~She felt something rush past her like a cold wind and swung herself around. Nothing was there. Twilight darted forward to where she thought she had last seen Spike. She called the dog's name as she went, yet however hard she looked and however keenly she listened, she could find no trace of her companion.~

"Is Spike okay, Twilight?" Lightning called.

"No… He's…he's gone. He's not here!"

~More wind-like sensations rushed past Lightning and the Rainbooms, chilling them through. Shaking violently at this sudden terror, Fluttershy screamed. All she, the girls and Stitch could do was huddle together and let these monsters of the forest ring around them, until they were trapped.~

~Stitch hid behind everyone's feet. Rainbow Dash tried to find a way to escape, but the wolves showed up surrounding them at their legs. If one foot stepped out of the ring, the wolves would gnaw it right off.~

"The dog is safe," said a loud, bone-chilling voice. "For now."

"What? Who's there?" demanded Sunset. She couldn't tell where the voice had come from.

~Before they knew it, the timberwolves crouched down formally, but kept their guards up, as three men wearing wolf masks sprung out from the tangle of trees and stood looking at them.~

Their disguises could not fool Lightning. "YOU!" she exclaimed.

~There was nothing to hide as the one man slanted forward and removed his mask. Familiar purple eyes opened up in front of Lightning's bewildered ones, and he frowned upon her face, along with his cronies, who revealed their eyes, too, shot with a thirst for blood.~

Applejack frowned. "Great. Done in by three rustlers and their pack of timberwolves in the middle of a creepy forest."

The rustler sneered. "Four, actually." he corrected harshly. "Somebody is looking forward to seeing these dogs eaten alive, and it's not going to be us."

~Twilight and Fluttershy tried to escape the circle but were prodded with spears and snapped at by wolves.~

"Where's Spike?" Twilight demanded. "Where's my dog?"

~The man gestured behind the girls, who all turned around immediately and, with a gasp and a jump, spotted Spike in the tight grip of another timberwolf, who was large and exceptionally darkly. He was being pressed down against the floor with only his head sticking out. The timberwolf grinned inanely as Spike squirmed under his paw.~

"Get off him! Let go o' him!" Stitch cried.

"Not a chance!"

~The masked man cursed and spat. Stitch leapt upon Lightning's arm and shoulders as she stretched it out as a makeshift platform. Then, growling from behind his teeth, his mouth erupted in rage like a truly sadistic wild animal. He needed to fight. The timberwolves laid their eyes on him.~

"You think you scare us, little dog? Expect us to…run away?" The high, cold voice filled Stitch's head as if it was coming from inside him.

~The creatures leered then let out sharp, ugly laughs. That was the mark. Stitch leapt and attacked with his fangs. The laugh quickly became a bloodcurdling wail on one of the wolves as Stitch crunched into the bark of its leg. The other wolves started laughing and wailing as they pressed in on the Shiba. The sounds of them were unbearable this close and rang harshly through Stitch and the Rainbooms' ears, bursting their minds and filling their whole bodies with fear. In a sweeping movement, the timberwolf that Stitch was biting whipped with its paw and sent him bouncing into a tree. Lightning cried his name, but could do nothing as the ring of monsters around her closed.~

~Before he knew it, Stitch was being lifted off the ground and held in the huge jaws of a wolf, slobber was drooling down from its fangs, all over Stitch's body. The timberwolf's eyes glazed. He tasted delicious.~

"Wh-What are you going to do to them? "Fluttershy demanded.

"That's for Whitey to decide." the lead rustler answered. "But, I don't think many theories need to be crafted. Our dark leader requires lunch for his hungry, hungry timberwolves."

"WHAT?" the seven Rainbooms chroused.

"You monsters!" Rarity screamed.

"Hey, it's just nature. Wolf's gotta eat." the rustler grinned under his brows. "Don't worry, though, we'll let you girls go. As long as you don't try to stop us…that is."

But Lightning wasn't having it. With a tingling sense of anger, and glaring through the gaps of her hair as it brushed all over her face, she shouted. "Give. Them. BACK!"

~Suddenly, Lightning roared and swung her tail forward. Timberwolves viciously moved in on her, but her super equestrian strength blew them all away fiercely. She almost pulled Stitch free, but was counterattacked by a rustler charging forward, and grabbing Stitch by his hindleg. He pulled him back before recapturing his other leg until he was pinioned again, this time in his arms.~

~The other rustlers engaged in battle with Lightning after that. One went in for a punch, but was blocked by what appeared to be a wall of hard diamond that they were conjured out of nowhere. The rustlers were far from baffled, however. Instead, they advanced on the one, who conjured up the diamonds, Rarity, and cornered her and the others towards the standing edge of the mountains large cliff. Just then, Rarity was pushed back by the force of her diamond shield in between after the rustlers shoved it, and she was flipped backwards, stumbling off the cliff. Narrowly catching the lip and clinging for dear life, she shrieked like an out of tune bird at the top of her lungs as she dangled dangerously down below.~

"HANG ON, RARITY!" Rainbow cried over the rushing wind.

"LIKE I HAVE A CHOICE IN THE MATTER!" she cried back.

~But the power in her already injured hand could not hold on. However, before she could slip off, Fluttershy quickly caught her by the hand. Then, as she started slipping, Rainbow jumped in and caught her by her hand. Pinkie held onto Rainbow next, then Applejack held onto Pinkie. But, all they succeeded in doing was dragging each other down.~

~Finally, it came to Sunset, Twilight and Lightning. But as they were about to appear to the terms, the three were shoved by timberwolves, forcing them into Applejack just as her feet teetered on the edge. They all fell at an alarming rate, but Lightning clutched on the edge quickly. Sunset had her arms firmly wrapped around Lightning's legs, while Twilight was holding around hers, then Applejack. Like that, there was a chain of eight Rainbooms swinging from the ledge, with Lightning being the only one gripping on with her weak hands. The weight of all seven girls was pulling her down, but she was determined not to let go, despite the painful stretching she felt in her arms. They were about to rip off any second.~

Pinkie Pie began screaming. "PANIC, PANIC, PANIC, PANIC, PANIC! SOMEBODY PANIC WITH ME!"

Lightning yelled and flexed up and down in her position. "Pinkie, pull yourself together! We'll find a way to- "

~She stopped when she noticed the wolves and the rustlers standing atop the cliff, staring at her and the girls underneath them at their mercy. They had the option now to decide whether they should abandon them here and just leave with their dogs, or make the heartless choice of putting them out of their misery. Nobody had to guess what choice they went for.~

"- OWW!"

~One of the men ferociously stomped on one of Lightning's hands, forcing her to loosen her hold on the ledge completely, and letting her and the others only dangle with a few of Lightning's fingers on the other hand left hooking on.~

Pinkie shrieked. "WE'RE ALL GONNA DIEEE!"

~Slowly and painfully, the rustler pressed down on Lightning's other hand with his foot, as she held back tears of terror. The Rainbooms didn't dare to look down at what awaited them, but the burning curiosity wouldn't listen, and it got the better of them. Fluttershy screamed. The view was dramatic. They saw nothing but green darkening down in the distance and the atmosphere heightening in their vision the longer they looked, feeling like it was much further down than it actually was. Vertigo struck them all, and Fluttershy closed her eyes, trying and failing to keep her nerves calm.~

Stitch growled, his black eyes swelling. "No! Leave them ALONE!"

~The Shiba barked, bit and wriggled for all he was worth, but his captor clamped his hand tightly over his snout. Fluttershy and Rarity looked through with tears and begged with their eyes. But the men remained emotionless. Eventually, Lightning's sweat made her fingers start peeling off by themselves. The man pressed down harder. Finally, she was unable to take it anymore. Without anymore fighting, Lightning let go.~