Chapter 15: Standing For Everfree
While Gloriosa kept working on fixing the tower, Micro Chips and Rara stood by, looking for any more Timberwolves in the area. But things only got worse when Fluttershy, Pinkie, Autumn, and Sandalwood all left without warning to go towards the loud thumping noises deeper in the woods. Suddenly, the atmosphere turned from calm and quiet to creepy and eerie. Every sound they heard, every sight they saw... it was enough to start to make them feel even more on edge.
Rara wasn't so sure if she should have been holding the paintball weapon. She had never used such a primitive tool (at least she had been prohibited by her manager, Svengallop), and wanting to play with something like that was deemed 'unprofessional' for her image. But professional or not, she was less than prepared for it. The paintballs were all primed and ready, and as far as she knew, all she had to do was keep her hand on the trigger without worrying about reloading.
Her eyes lingered as she looked around, and when she smelled a particular foul stench, she turned and gasped in horror. Somehow despite making any sound, a Timberwolf had emerged from the woods, facing her. It bared its teeth and dug its claws into the ground, walking towards her.
Rara pumped the gun and pointed it at the snarling Timberwolf.
“Don’t come closer… I really don’t want to shoot,” Rara whimpered, shaking as she stood there.
The Timberwolf barked and charged straight at her. Out of instinct, Rara pulled the trigger and didn’t let go. Arsenals of paintballs came flying through the air, pelting the Timberwolf. A few pieces broke off an an accidental shot in the mouth made it slow down until it keeled over and collapses into several little pieces.
Two more of them were coming near her and the camp counselor, and so on instinct, Rara shot as fast as she could. She took out the kneecaps of one of them, and blasted another one in the face, getting it to halt in its tracks. The wolf that was hit in the face was taken aback, but not down. At least, not until the paintballs started chipping away at its legs, which forced its weight down and crumbled.
Rara was about to shoot more, but she heard the gun started to click. Quickly she tried to reach for the last bit of ammo she had left, but two more wolves emerged from the woods to trap her. She almost obtained the last piece, but a smaller Timberwolf planted its foot on the ammo piece, preventing the celebrity from getting it.
Rara felt herself backed into a corner, seeing nowhere to go. The monsters were ready to chomp her up into pieces and make her into supper. But just as their gaping maws was getting closer—
Bam!
One of the wolves felt a paintball hit its side. Turning its head and furling its leaf eyebrows, it looked at Micro Chips who was shaking, but still put on a brave face as he held the gun.
“Leave her alone!”
The wolf turned its head around, taking notice of a trembling, but firm Micro Chips. He pumped the paintball gun in hand, trying not to be scared, even though he had every right to be.
"I'm only going to say it once... leave my friends alone."
The wolf growled some more, this time at Micro.
"Don't make me shoot... I don't want to, but if I have to, I will..." Micro whimpered.
The wolf was about to turn right back around and attack Gloriosa, until a powerful pellet snapped through a piece of it's driftwood skin. The wolf froze, ears perking up and leaf-brows furling. Turning around, the Timberwolf's breath hissed from its gaping maw, but Micro Chips didn't hesitate.
He gripped the gun tightly and fired straight at the wolf. Now the sentient logs were raging mad as it leaped up to try and pounce on the poor teen. But chance it never got, as Micro Chips fired underneath the belly and past its body in a state of panic. The shots however did the deed as the wolf exploded into broken pieces. The rest of the wolves nearby however didn't like this at all. One by one they tried to get near Micro, but the rapid-fire of the paint pellets were hurting them.
"How do you like that!? Huh!? Is that fun!? You like being hurt!? You like being terrorized like you've been doing to us!? I'm done living in terror because of you freaks!" Micro Chips was screaming at the top of his lungs as he laid waste to the Timberwolves. "Come on! Come on! Get some! Get some! You like that!?"
Pulling the trigger, he held on tight as the rest of the paintball ammunition came firing at the giant, breaking several pieces off its body, piece by piece.
It drew closer and closer, until a few of the paintballs went straight down the Timberwolf's gullet. The wolf stopped and hacked up it's lungs, like a cat about to hack up a hairball. But the damage was done and the Timberwolf keeled over, exploding into destroyed lumber.
But against all odds, the paintball guns had run out of paint. Both Micro and Rara kept clicking on the triggers, but nothing happened. Worse, only one Timberwolf was left, and they had nothing left against it. Realizing it had a chance, the monster slowly paced towards them, cornering them against the tower. The two students knew they were goners, but without hesitation, they stood in front of Gloriosa to protect her.
"Micro Chips... if this by any chance is how we go out... I wanted to say I thought you were really brave when you stood against them," Rara said quickly, still whimpering.
"Thank you!" Micro squeamed. "And if this is how we go out, I just wanted to say I always loved your music and I thought you were really cute!!!"
The wolf's legs lowered like he was ready to jump--
BAM!
A paint pellet fired at it's snout. And then another towards the eye. And two more at the ankles of the Timberwolf which finally did the trick. Without any more balance, the wolf let out a confusing growl before slamming on the ground and exploding into several pieces. Both students cowered from the flying sticks that smacked against their bodies, but luckily they weren't hurt.
The Timberwolves in the surrounding area were finally gone... but who made that shot? All three of their heads turned to gaze at the porch of the dining hall, and were shocked at the sight in front of them. A bandaged leg painfully trying not to move, while a stable leg planted firmly on the porch floor. Leaning her weight against a beam for balance, two steel grips were holding onto a spare paintball rifle, with an angry/determined glare from the principal of the school.
She was panting heavily, mainly out of fear when she saw how close that thing was to her students. But she was just happy to see they were okay.
"You can twist my ankle... you can pin me down... but if you ever come near my students, you will not live see the next day," she said with grit. "Agh... should have brought a wheelchair for emergencies..."
"... We just got saved by a school principal," Gloriosa realized. "I... don't know how to handle that."
"Not the first time. You don't ever want to cross her," Micro advised.
"Now...", the principal declared as she looked to her two students. "I want the truth, and I want it now. Where did the rest of my students go?"
The campers slowly started to back away from the Alpha as his lumber feet started to send tremors into the ground. It’s teeth smacked and clapped as it zeroed in on the group, like it was ready to pounce on them.
“Twilight, I’m not sure how well we can do against that? I mean the small ones are bad enough, but this guy?” Rainbow gulped.
“Am I the only one annoyed that there’s always some big bad monster whenever Canterlot High deal’s with magic?” Applejack questioned, still keeping her stance.
“Oh come on, Applejack, it’s not that much! It’s only, uh… oh wait, giant monsters are all we’ve dealt with at Canterlot,” Pinkie quivered.
The Alpha roared at them, making everyone scream and shriek.
“What do we do now!?” Derpy panicked.
“We can’t run back to camp, it’ll find us, and kill our friends!” Thunderbass yelled.
“Wait, where’s Fluttershy!?” Rarity panicked.
The Alpha wolf took another step, when suddenly he froze. His log-like ears twitched and raised up, like it was hearing the presence of something from far away. The glowing green eyes looked up at the trees, seeing something rustle and rumble deep within the forest. The land suddenly went quiet. Rarity’s eyes gazed over at a small puddle, and she saw it ripple. And then it rippled again. And again. But something else caught her attention. The ground was shaking. No earthquakes were happening, but it felt as if something big and massive was walking.
Everyone’s eyes looked back up to notice the Alpha wolf had not moved an inch. If the Alpha wolf was not making the stomps, then who was it?
Applejack, out of pure curiosity, slowly marched her boots to the open field where hikers and cars could drive through. It was completely dark, and she could barely see a thing. It wasn’t until she pulled out her lighter which only provided a small glimpse of light. It turned out to be pointless as the tremoring force slowly emerged from the trees. The sight made her gasp, and she dropped the lighter.
The creature’s taloned feet made massive footprints in the trail it walked on. It’s hands while small still looked deadly enough to claw a poor animal that got close. Its jaws were large enough to engulf an entire human being, and its growls made the campers shrivel even more. Autumn Blaze quickly moved out of the way, allowing the creature in the dark to finally reveal itself.
It jumped, and its feet crushed the rotten picnic tables that were once used for family meals. It let out a powerful roar, echoing throughout the land and sending thousands of birds flocking from their trees. Right before the campers was a towering, mighty Tyrannosaurus Rex. The dinosaur let out a mighty roar, making everyone's hair fly back and forcing them to cover their ears from how loud the roar was.
The alpha wolf roared back and dug its claws into the ground, both front and back. It stood in a defensive position as the Tyrannasaurus planted its feet firmly, several yards away with some more snarls. The entire group was still in complete awe, especially as they saw the rest of their friends from the camp approach them.
"Hi guys!" Pinkie chirped as she swung from a tree via whipping hair. She stood next to Autumn and Sandalwood who were both armed with paintball guns to fight. "Are we late?"
"No, you're just in time Pinkie," Twilight grinned. "By the way, I know it should be obvious but uh... is that--"
"Yep!" Pinkie confirmed, not needing Twilight to finish that sentence.
The confirmed friend roared at the alpha wolf again, planting her feet firmly into the ground. The alpha wolf growled lowly, grinding it's back legs against the ground some more to fight. Knowing what was going to come, everyone quickly moved themselves out of danger and moved out of the open clearing where the chances of their brawl going near them would be less than likely.
The two monstrous beings kept grinding and firmly planting their feet, waiting for the other to make the first move. Well it didn't take long before the alpha wolf made the first move by charging first. The dinosaur charged next, ramming her powerful head against the alpha's face and pushing it down. It was temporary, but the alpha wolf got back up and snapped at Fluttershy's face, missing her a few times. Fluttershy, still thinking like a dinosaur, used her teeth to take a bite into the alpha's shoulder, ripping off pieces of the wood without difficulty.
The alpha tried to bite back, but with no luck. It snapped it's jaw at her again, forcing her to back up. One of the alpha's front paws swiped up, swatting at the dinosaur face, making her growl even more. Raging mad, she bashed her head against the alpha again, trying to remove more of the wood off the body. She wasn't about to lose to this, this, unholy abomination of nature. Animals were one thing, this was a monster, no other way to put it in words.
"I don't know about you, but I'm not sure how long Fluttershy will last. She's strong, but not that strong!" Rainbow worried.
"Anyone want guns?" Autumn Blaze offered, holding the spare paintball guns in her arms.
"I do, I do!" Pinkie squeaked. Her hair whipped one of the guns and tightened around it, holding it above her head like a cannon. "Maybe if we get it's attention, Fluttershy can weaken it some more!"
"I don't know if it'll work, but at this point I'll try anything. Fire!" Twilight instructed.
Pinkie pulled the trigger, hitting a few shots on the alpha's side, but it wasn't enough to get it to turn around. Pinkie shot at the head, still nothing. The paint pellets weren't inflicting any damage to the alpha's exterior. And they needed to act fast, the alpha wolf swatted at Fluttershy again, and even clawed at her body, making her cry out in pain. She didn't back down, but she was getting lesser punches in with every attack.
"We need something heavier!"
"I got this!" Applejack declared.
She grabbed a nearby boulder, lifting it up with a mighty grunt. And using all of her strength, she threw it in the air and punched it straight towards the alpha wolf. The boulder ran right through the alpha's stomach, breaking and snapping more pieces in the process. The alpha stopped moving, ears suddenly lifting up. The monster lowly growled, and stomped it's feet around, turning the attention back on the campers. The leaf brows furled as it's half-cut log of a tongue licked it's teeth.
The distraction proved to be enough as Fluttershy rammed her head into the alpha's snout, making it howl in pain from the attack. And whipping her tail around, she slammed more pieces of wood off the monster's body. The monster kept trying to stand, grinding it's paws into the ground, but it was quickly losing the match.
One more punch with her tail did the job as the alpha wolf finally fell to the ground, and exploded before them, reducing into nothing but a massive pile of twigs and lumber to be broken down and used for fire fuel. Fluttershy slowly turned around, snarling some more as she glared at the pile. And in triumphant, the dinosaur shaped girl let out a loud roar into the night sky, declaring her victory.
"Whoohoo! Yeah!" Rainbow whooped. "Now that's what I'm talking about! No one takes on Canterlot High!"
The rest of the students started hollering and cheering, seeing the beast finally laying down as a bunch of broken branches and twigs. They had finally beaten the monster! Twilight however, was not cheering. She looked at the piles, sensing something wrong.
Without seeing it, the twigs behind Rainbow started to shake and rattle, pulling themselves together. The moment there was movement, everyone stopped cheering. Everyone's arms slowly went down and they became petrified. Rainbow noticed they weren't cheering anymore, and she heard the creaking noise as well. Her eyes peered behind her, and then her whole body.
"No... you can't do that..."
All of the pieces of the alpha wolf were slowly merging back together, along with the pieces of the other Timberwolves that had been destroyed. The alpha was resurrecting, only this time it was looking much more monstrous than before. Several pieces of wood were now jagged and sharpened like thorns on a bush, or on a hedgehog. More teeth, much more beefy legs and claws. It towered over everyone again, growling.
"That's not fair!"
The resurrected alpha let out a powerful roar in the air, making everything shake much more violently. His leaf brows furled, and he focused back on Fluttershy, ready for a rematch. Fluttershy stood her ground, still willing to try and fight again; she won before, she could win again!
She tried to use her tail to slam into the beast, but missed by accident, resulting in her tail whipping at some loose concrete and bricks from the shambling cabin in the area. Trying to get back in control, the Alpha Wolf rammed into Fluttershy, biting into her side and making her scream from the pain. Realizing she needed help, Rainbow flew up into the air to draw the monster's attention. She made spitting noises and obscene faces to make it angry enough to want to snap at her, and thankfully the alpha moved away from their friend.
"Twilight, we need your magic to grab hold of it! It might be our only chance to stop it for good!" Pinkie Pie cried as she tried to find a place to whip her hair and grab hold of the beast.
"But... I can't! What if she--"
"--She can't hurt you anymore," Pinkie Pie reassured, holding her friend by the shoulders. "We're here for you. I promise!"
Twilight still wasn't sure, but right now her friend needed help, and she had to act now. She had to use that magic again, and she had to use much more than before. Slowly opening her palms, she breathed in and out, trying to think of a plan.
Fluttershy wasn't hurt too badly, seeing how she got back up with a bit of a stumble. But now, she was raging mad. She was dead-set on ripping that unholy abomination apart, twig by twig. She charged again, ramming into the alpha wolf's side and she bit into the wood, trying to rip it's shell apart. She did get a part of the chest off, showing the glowing energy that was emanating from within.
But when Fluttershy backed off, the girls could see something inside of the alpha's chest. A bright green glow kept flowing throughout the body, but there was someone floating in there; Timber Spruce! Floating like something straight out of a Rated R horror flick, unconscious and hovering. The gem around his neck was releasing energy that kept the beast moving.
"The heart... Timber Spruce is the heart! We gotta get him out of that beast!" Rarity said, putting two and two together.
"We're not blind, Rarity! We all can see that!" Rainbow argued. "Twilight, we know..." when Rainbow looked back to her friend, she stood petrified. "T-Twilight?"
Fluttershy was pushed back again, but this time the alpha wolf hit her hard enough that it sent her falling onto her side, sending a massive tremor into the ground. In a flash she morphed back into her real self, stumbling as she tried to get back up. Rarity managed to help bring her to safety, using her skin to shield herself in case.
The alpha, raging mad, tried to charge forward only to suddenly stop. The alpha's eyes locked onto Twilight, and it stepped back, lowering in fear. Twilight kept shaking and trembling like crazy, a powerful aura surrounding her entire body. She was holding onto her head as if she had the biggest migraine on the planet, screaming and moaning from the pain.
"No! NO!" Twilight started to hyperventilate. Her eyes opened, showing a bright shimmering blue glow. "GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"
A blood-curdling scream echoed as a massive glowing bubble surrounded not only herself, but the Rainbooms. No one could see if they were in there, and they had no idea what was going on within...
--
Twilight looked all around her. She was now floating back inside the void that her nightmares constantly projected. Beyond her was nothing but dark magenta and red light, an empty space where nothing familiar or physical for her to see or feel. But as Twilight floated in the glowing void, her eyes saw something else around her vision. Hovering with metallic armor and wings, fused together with electricity bolts. She gasped out of fear, seeing her presence again. Why did it have to be now, of all times?
"You can't stop him. You don't have me. I gave you the power you desired. I made you who you are. Now you're nothing!"
The she-demon turned into glowing green energy, phasing right into Twilight's body. Her eyes were glowing and she felt wings starting to form on her back. Twilight's eyes closed shut and she held her head from the pain, screaming from the agony. "No! Get out of my head!"
"Twilight!"
That voice. That familiar voice... everything went quiet. She looked behind her, a glowing specter; in the form of Fluttershy.
"Don't listen to her! You are in charge!"
Another specter appeared; Rarity.
"You are the light that shines from within!"
And another; Rainbow Dash.
"You're stronger than her! Kick that she-demon's butt!"
And Pinkie.
"We promised we would always be there for you!"
And last of all; Applejack.
"And that's a promise we'll keep. We've got your back!"
"You are not Midnight Sparkle!" Rarity chimed.
Twilight tried hard to fight, still groaning from the pain. Her eyes opened... but they no longer glowed. Her eyes were back to her normal vision, now with a glare of determination.
"No. I'm not. I will never be Midnight Sparkle." She looked forward, seeing the physical form of Midnight Sparkle return once again. This time however, she was fearful, and terrified.
"No... no! No! I made you!"
"You never made me. And I will never be you, ever again!" The wings on Twilight's back shattered like glass, and one powerful magic blast from her palms made Midnight Sparkle completely vanish into thin air like dust in the wind. With a prideful stance, an aura began to radiate around her body. Pony-like ears and a long pony-tail manifested out of thin air, and she opened up her arms to embrace the magic.
--
The magic orb that contained the girls briefly vanished into thin air, revealing the Rainbooms and Twilight still okay; though now they were sporting pony-like ears, long pony-tails, and Rainbow and Fluttershy showed they had wings. All of them stood together, hovering on thin air as they faced the alpha wolf. The alpha itself didn't show any fear, instead baring its teeth to try and snap at them.
"I don't care how powerful you are. You've hurt my friends. You may have the power of a dozen timberwolves combined in your body, but I have something stronger than you."
The alpha didn't care. Instead, it leapt up to attack, but Twilight struck back. With a powerful blast, the alpha was pushed back away from her. The blast was strong enough to break some of the branches on the chest, still showing Timber trapped in limbo inside. Reaching out with her magic, she grabbed onto the log formations, trying to keep it open long enough to try and get Timber out. The alpha didn't back down, which only made it harder for them to save him.
Sword-sized teeth were about to snap at Twilight, but it didn't. It tried to move forward, but it couldn't. Applejack and Pinkie Pie were moving towards the alpha's legs to restrain him. Applejack grabbed one of the hind legs, and Pinkie's hair whipped at the other leg to try and grab hold. An additional support by Fluttershy who had morphed into a triceratops helped push the monster back. Despite the severe pain the alpha wolf had inflicted on her, she was still standing strong, and she was using all of her strength to push back.
Rarity threw herself onto one of the front claws and her diamond-covered skin manifested, the weight pressing down against the claw. Lastly, Rainbow Dash flew up into the air, making crude noises at the alpha above, trying to keep its attention. Now that she had a chance, Twilight used her magic to reach forward to grab Timber. The alpha roared even more, feeling Twilight's power rupture into its heart. She finally got a grip of Timber, and she had to move fast.
She pulled him out of the alpha's heart, but it didn't bring the wolf down. Noticing the gem attached to Timber's neck, she grabbed it, ready to yank it off his necklace and end the alpha's power.
The monster looked down, and the leaf eyebrows lowered in fear. It knew what was about to happen, and it couldn't stop her.
"The magic... of friendship."
The combined magic of Twilight and all of her friends overwhelmed the magic from Timber's stone, and crushed the gem into little shards. Finally, without warning, a big powerful glow started to rupture from inside the alpha wolf. Cracks of green energy pierced out of it's body, making it scream in agony. That same glow appeared in its eyes and jaw, and the glow just got bigger and bigger!
A hot blinding light was flashing before everyone's eyes, and before they knew it, a beaming ball of energy exploded around them, sending green specters flashing across the forest and then they vanished into thin air. Then, there was a long, deafening silence.
Everyone's eyes could feel the hot blinding light finally dying, along with a calm sound of silence. When their eyes opened, the alpha wolf was no longer there. Now all around them were scattered piles of twigs and logs, all from the Timberwolves finally being destroyed. The entire forest had reverted back to its calm and quiet nature, as it always was supposed to be.
"Did she... is it...?" Rarity asked.
But their attention was first drawn to a poor girl who was trying to stand back up; Fluttershy.
"Fluttershy!"
All of her friends quickly helped her up, and embraced her in a big hug which nearly took her by surprise.
"Agh! Girls, I'm okay, I promise!"
"We thought you were a goner!" Pinkie almost cried, hugging her even harder. Fluttershy didn't fight against her friend's hug. She warmly smiled, and embraced her back, along with everyone else. "Fluttershy, that was the coolest thing I've ever seen! Where did you get the idea to turn into a T-Rex?" Rainbow was shaking from excitement, she couldn't contain it.
"Umm..." Fluttershy thought. "Lucky guess?"
"Good enough for me!" Applejack chuckled. "I'm just glad you're alright."
"But what about Twilight?" Fluttershy questioned.
The Rainbooms turned their gaze towards the center of the mess. A bright glow was flashing again, but it slowly died; revealing Twilight kneeling down. She had pony-ears and a long flowing mane just like they did, but her sudden change in sparkly clothes had vanished and she was back to the camp outfit she was wearing the entire day.
The ears and mane didn't faze her, she had other priorities. She kneeled down to help Timber get back on his feet.
"I... wh... what happened?" Timber asked, rubbing his head from the massive headache. "I remember a monster, and he ate me, and... nothing," he moaned. Then he looked at Twilight. "Wait... I remember now. You saved me."
Twilight's smile was warm and friendly, and she pulled Timber in for a much needed hug. Timber embraced her back, holding her tight and not wanting to let go.
"Twilight, I am so, so, sooo sorry... I should have told you and everyone from the start, I... no amount of wanting to get out of this camp excuses the danger I put you in," Timber apologized when he got out of the hug. "If you don't want to forgive me, you have every right to--"
"--I forgive you," Twilight interrupted.
"... I'm sorry, you're what?" Timber processed. "You're actually forgiving me? Even though I almost got you killed, and trapped you in a cave?"
"Yes," she said straightforwardly.
"... Okay, don't take this the wrong way, but who are you and what did you do to Twilight?"
"Timber, I'm serious. I made the same mistake last year. But you know something? You're not alone. I'm here. We all are. And I learned a long time ago when you have friends, and as cringe-inducing as this may sound... you'll be able to get through anything," she said. She looked around, seeing all of her friends standing side by side with warm expressions and demeanor, more calm now that the battle was over. "Without them... I don't think I'd be standing here today."
Timber was still trying to process all of this, but he just gave his friend another hug. "Thank you. All of you."
"Hey, it's not the first time we've had to handle Equestrian magic," Applejack shrugged, rubbing the back of her head. "Though it may not be the last."
"I don't understand, why are you all acting like you've dealt with giant monsters before?"
"That similar mistake I just mentioned? I might have, sorta, absorbed energy from six girls who all had powers and turned into a tyrannical she-demon," Twilight said, bashfully.
"And we were converged into a five-headed Hydra monster and fought against a three-headed monster made out of three immortal sirens!" Pinkie piped up.
"... I'm sorry, I'm still not understanding any of this," Timber apologized.
"Come darling. Let's go back to the campgrounds, we'll explain everything," Rarity offered. "Oh, and by the way, if you ever come into contact with any sort of supernatural energy..."
"--Tell us before something like this happens," Fluttershy asked, being oddly polite this time instead of her typical snarky self.
Twilight offered a hand to Timber, gesturing him to take it. The teenage boy accepted it, and the two of them walked along with all of their friends (and Spike) back to the campgrounds. Timber was still trying to process it all, but he was just happy the nightmare and misery was over. For once in his life, he felt something he hadn't felt in a long time.
Happiness.
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This was a nice climax, Four. Maybe a little rushed in the resolution at the very end, but still, really nicely done - I quite liked the moment of Twilight rejecting the memory/fear of Midnight Sparkle. And I'm never gonna turn down Fluttershy as a freaking T-rex either!