• Published 5th Jan 2012
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Deeper Than Friendship - JustaninnocentPony



Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy's friendship is slowly reaching a new level, but will it work?

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Danger

A/N: Enjoy the new chapter everypony. In the future i'm going to be switching from '-----' to '***' for scene changes/Cut aways. On a side note. I AM BUCKING TIRED *facedesk and sleep*

Chapter 6
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Twilight closed her eyes as a tear graced her cheek; she had not thought about her loss for a long time, she had tried to push it to the furthest corner of her mind. All the heartbreak and sorrow she had felt on that day wasn’t good for her to keep in her memory. But she knew now that there was a chance for the same thing to happen again, and she couldn’t let it happen. She couldn’t bear the thought of loosing Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, or even worse, all of her friends to this relationship. If one of them were dating a colt or mare outside of their circle of friends Twilight would mind it. But if something happens too deep into the relationship, the heartbreak will directly affect everypony she holds dear.

Twilight paced around her dimly lit library deep in thought. She had to do something that would work, but what could work? She didn’t know any colt of mare that she could have come in and she knew neither Fluttershy nor Rainbow would cheat on one another. Neither would believe her if she said the other one didn’t love them anymore. And she certainly didn’t want to take things too far, she had to be subtle.

Twilight yelled in anger and threw her quill at the wall. She couldn’t think of anything! Every second she wasted was another second things could get worse. She opened her eyes and began to search for where her quill had landed. As she came upon the small writing utensil she discovered it had left a streak of black ink where she threw it.

“Great, another mess for me to clean up” Twilight murmured as her eyes traveled up the line of ink that was splattered on the wall. Her focus came upon a certain date on her calendar where the quill had dispersed the most ink. The purple mare carefully lifted the calendar up, letting the ink trickle off of the date and drip on the floor. It was smudged but she could make it out.

“Friday The 6th…that’s tomorrow, isn’t it” Twilight brushed it off as if it were nothing as she casually tossed the calendar in the waste basket. As she was walking away from it something hit her, every other Friday Rarity and Fluttershy got together at the spa! The pink maned Pegasus would be gone from noon until 2 in the afternoon; leaving her animals unmanaged.

Twilight rubbed her hooves together in glee at her new idea. She would strike tomorrow when Fluttershy left for her spa date with Rarity.

“When it is over there will be hurt feelings but much less so than if it continues for too long.” Twilight stated factually to herself. She didn’t like having to do it; but if it was better than loosing all of her friends in a similar manner of which she lost Lyra so long ago.

***

Fluttershy quietly flew from animal nest to animal nest, dispersing food at each one. The Badgers got fish, The Birds got worms, The Squirrels got birdseed, and The Bunnies got carrots. After awhile, Fluttershy finished her rounds and flew down to the stone walkway outside of her house, wiping sweat off her brow as she stretched out her muscles out. As she was about to open the door to her cottage she heard a gush of soaring wind above. When she looked up the oddly familiar sound was followed by a rainbow colored blur of a cyan colored Pegasus flying to the ground and landing gracefully, fluttering her wings to ease her speed and making soft contact with the concrete.

Fluttershy smiled and pushed her mane back lightly, ensuring it looked good when Rainbow saw her. Rainbow picked up on this and gave a light chuckle.

“You don’t have to try and pretty yourself for my ‘Shy, you’re already amazingly awesome with the way you look” Dashie said in a reassuring tone. Though she didn’t like using adjective deeper than ‘awesome’ she meant every word of what she said. Fluttershy blushed and smiled her big, gorgeous, smile. Dash was token aback by it as she felt herself staring into the yellow Pegasus’s deep, blue eyes that looked like sparkling diamonds floating through a vast ocean.

Fluttershy was equally amazed by Dash’s cyan colored eyes. They were like perfect round amethyst jewels that twinkled when you looked into them. Dash’s gaze was comforting and loving, like she was a mother caring for a young foal. Both of them quickly snapped out of it and found themselves blushing redder than AppleJack’s red apples during bucking season. Fluttershy averted her gaze to the ground until her eyes crept upon an impatient Angel Bunny.

The furry little creature was tapping his foot and giving both Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash a stare that said ‘Can you two stop gawking at each other and give me a carrot?’ Fluttershy shook her head and apologized as she flew into her home and quickly came back with a plump, orange carrot. Angel Bunny took it selfishly and began eating as he stayed on the ground near the two.

“You know you could be less rude” Rainbow chastised as she stared down the bunny with a disapproving look. The small creature gave it no mind as shrugged his soldiers and returned the stare with an uncaring, innocent look. Rainbow stared more viciously and was about to get into a full fledged argument with the small thing when Fluttershy walked up to her and nuzzled her lightly. Rainbow blushed and eased into it as she closed her eyes and returned it. She had to admit, she couldn’t be happier than she was right now. Everything was perfect; she had the mare of her dreams, their friends had token it well with little judgment and no names such as “Filly Foolers”. Well, all but one of their friends had taken the shocking news well. But other than that one detail, everything was looking in her favor for once.

Hopefully it could stay that way.

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash retracted, smiling at each other once more. As Fluttershy was about to move in for a kiss she felt a distinct thumping on her flank. The pink maned mare blushed and turned to see an impatient Angel Bunny tapping a silver watch. She gasped and her peaceful smile turned into a worried look.

“What wrong ‘Shy?” Rainbow asked curiously as she watched the frantic Pegasus look around and freak out.

“I’m late for Rarity and I’s get together! Oh I hope she isn’t mad!” Fluttershy spoke with worry as she began to gallop towards the spa. But she stopped and ran back to a confused Rainbow Dash. Rainbow put her hoof on the shy Pegasus’s soldier and gave her a kind look that made her melt. Her wings involuntarily spread out again, something that hadn’t happen for a long time. Fluttershy eased down and closed her eyes to explain.

“I usually let the critters take care of themselves during these days but it always worries me so much when I leave them here alone. What if a bear came by and killed them, or they got trapped or hungry or… What I’m asking is Would…Would you mind watching it for me until I get back Dashie?” Fluttershy begged as she stared into her best friend’s eyes. Although Rainbow Dash didn’t want to sit around and watch a bunch of dumb animals for two hours that stare got the best of her. She couldn’t resist; she’d do anything for Fluttershy. She lightly nodded and Fluttershy sighed in massive relief.

“Oh thank you thank you thank you!” Fluttershy said relieved as she started for the spa again. But she quickly came back and gave Dashie a peck on the lips, thanking her before heading off. Dash stood there blushing as she watched the yellow pony fly away into the distance. She stayed still for a moment before she felt a sharp pain in the back of her head. That little furry bastard hit her with a carrot!

She angrily spun around to an innocent looking Angel Bunny who just shrugged.

“You little-” Dash said between gritted teeth as she began to chase the small thing around the outside of Fluttershy’s cottage.

***

Twilight Sparkle trotted down the streets of Ponyville towards Fluttershy’s cottage; ready to put her plan in motion, she knew exactly what to do. When she arrived at her friend’s house she would let loose the bunnies. They’d hop off into the Everfree Forest; Twilight would tell Fluttershy that Rainbow had purposely let them loose as a prank. Fluttershy will be hurt when looking for the bunnies and argue with Rainbow later. It was a full-proof, provided everything went according to plan of course. It wasn’t like Twilight to do this; but deep down inside she knew it was necessary. She couldn’t afford to let her friends to get hurt, it was her duty to protect them.

***

“Got yah!” Rainbow shouted triumphantly as she tightened her grip on the now struggling bunny. It had taken awhile, a long chase around the whole garden and house but Rainbow Dash had finally caught the small thing. She was sweating and she was certain her mane looked terrible; but it didn’t matter, she was victorious. Rainbow Dash beamed with pride as pushed her chest out, cocked her head up, and posed with her eyes closed. Angel rolled his eyes and gave a look to Dash that said ‘Congratulations, you caught a small, helpless bunny. You truly are Equestria’s top flyer’. Dash brushed it off and laughed with boastfulness.

“You’re just lucky your Fluttershy’s pet or you would be fox food” Dash threatened as she stared down the creature in her hooves with a smirk. The bunny squirmed around and hopped out, standing on the top of her hoof. He crossed his arms and starred back ‘I’m telling her you said that’. He hopped off and back into the house, slamming the door behind him.

“Hey!” Dash roared angrily as she knocked on the door “Open up!”

After a good ten minutes of knocking and shouting the cyan mare gave up and sighed. She figured if she wasn’t going to get into the house she might as well check up on the animals. As she zoomed by each nest all of the critters retracted and hid. They weren’t used to seeing somepony as fast as Rainbow Dash fly by. Rainbow groaned and tried to check on them by forcing her way into their nests and homes with little success. The only thing she seemed to accomplish was frightening the poor creatures more than she initially had.

“Come out you stupid animals! I’m not going to hurt you!” Rainbow pleaded rudely as she flew up to the squirrel’s home only to be greeted with another scared reaction. Rainbow continued to fly from nest to nest to nest. Always receiving the same result; after the fifth time it happened she gave in and flew off. She wasn’t cut out for this job like Fluttershy was.

Rainbow was about to test to see if Angel had unlocked the door yet when she heard light hoof steps behind her. She turned to see who it was that had come by and was thankful it was a friendly face.

“Hey Twilight, what brings you here?” Rainbow Dash asked, happy to get a break from the animals. Twilight’s eyes opened instantly in shock; she had not expected to find anypony else here while Fluttershy was gone. The shy mare usually let her animals govern themselves during the day but today was obviously different. Twilight’s mind went into critical thinking mode. Just like all great ponies in history, when her plan doesn’t go how she wants it to, she adapts.

“Oh nothing just came by for a visit. What are you doing here?” Twilight asked innocently. She had to think of a way to get rid of the rainbow maned Pegasus so she could exact her plan.
“You know she’s at the spa right now, right? She asked me to watch over her stupid animals until she got back” Rainbow replied as she scratched her mane and shook it out. Twilight thought this made sense. She couldn’t count her many times she’d seen her shy friend worry and fuss over her animal’s well beings.

“So do you not want to be here then?” Twilight asked curiously, hoping for a yes. She didn’t think she’d get a no considering how stressed out and frustrated the Pegasus looked.

“Yeah, but, If it’s for Fluttershy I can deal with it for awhile.” Rainbow replied earnestly. Twilight began to think; What if they weren’t going to leave each other or get into some big fight? She then quickly shook her head and dismissed it; she could never count out possibilities of things that could go wrong in experiments, so she wouldn’t count them out in real life either. It was better this way anyhow. The pain would be much less severe. She began to think when she got something; Rainbow always loved a good nap.

“Hey, I can take over for awhile if you want to take a break” Twilight suggested, keeping a fake smile planted on her face. Rainbow Dash didn’t want to let Fluttershy down but… A short nap would be nice to have. Maybe she could work in a bit of practice as well.

“Uh…You sure Twi? These animals are pretty hard to deal with” Rainbow responded worriedly. Twilight nodded and put a hoof to her chest.

“I’m sure I’m more than able to handle a few rambunctious animals for a bit. Go on, take a break” Twilight persisted as she once again hoped to hear a yes from the rainbow maned pony.

“Well…Thanks!” Rainbow didn’t wait around for Twilight to change her mind as she dashed off to a nearby cloud. She rested on it and closed her eyes. Clouds always made great napping places. They were as smooth and as soft as a Filly’s bottom. As Rainbow slowly drifted off to sleep she felt bad for anypony who couldn’t experience the joy of sleeping on one.

***

That was one obstacle out of Twilight’s way. Now all the purple mare had to do was find the area the bunnies were kept and let them loose. That part wasn’t hard by any means; Much to Twilight’s surprise and satisfaction the animal homes were well organized and she found it easy to tell which critter lived inside which home. With little difficulty she managed to find an area where five bunnies were encaged. Twilight figured Fluttershy had them there because they were more likely to run off. That was bad news for Fluttershy but good news for the purple unicorn. She lightly trotted over and used her magic to break the lock off and open the gate. The bunnies stood in confusion for a second before sniffing the air and hopping out, exploring the land around them.

The bunnies began to expand their exploration radius but at a painfully slow rate. Twilight decided to speed it up by quickly rushing inside and coming out with fresh carrot slices. She carefully made a trail, being precise with where she placed each slice of carrot. She made sure the trail leaded to the Everfree Forest and then whistled for the bunnies’ attention. The furry little creatures turned around and instantly caught the whiff of their favorite vegetable in the air. They slowly but surely bounded off in the direction of the forest, much to Twilight’s satisfaction.

Her plan was not complete yet though; she now had to go inform Fluttershy of what had happened, but she had to do it in the way she devised. Twilight took one last look at the furry creatures as the bounded off into the distance until they were no more than specs in her vision. She then turned around and galloped off towards the spa, making sure to use every minute of her time as if it were her last.

***

Fluttershy sighed a deep, relaxing sigh as she laid back into the hot tub and let the hot water engulf her. She cocked her head up as a smile slowly grew on her face. She loved the spa; it was the perfect place to unwind, relax, and think. Every time she went she came back feeling fresher than she could ever be when relaxing at her cottage. The water soothed every part of her aching body after the intense massages and manicures. Not to mention it was always a fantastic stress reliever.

Rarity was sitting across from her in the same rather large hot tub she was in. Rarity too loved the relaxation the spa always could provide. But she used her spa visits with her shy friend for more than just relaxing. Every time they went there was always at least one topic of gossip; although, it usually ended up being several by the time it was over. Being the over-obsessive fashionista she was, Rarity was always on top of all of the hot and juicy gossip stories in Equestria. Today was no different, other than the fact that the gossip topic of the day was Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.

“So?” Rarity asked eagerly. Fluttershy’s eyes popped upon as she turned her attention to the white mare. The yellow pony did not have the slightest clue as to what her friend was talking about.

“So what?” Fluttershy asked in deep confusion. Rarity facehooved and groaned in frustration.

“Isn’t it obvious dearie?” Rarity sounded short and impatient.

“No?” A still confused Fluttershy responded curiously. Rarity sighed and leaned forward a bit.

“Tell me about you and Rainbow Dash” Rarity explained as if Fluttershy was clueless. Fluttershy squeaked and blushed, trying to hide her face behind mane as she sunk deeper into the water.

“I-I-I-I’d rather not” Fluttershy managed to stammer out as she continued to shrink, her eyes the only part of her body visible above the water now.

“Come on Fluttershy Dear, you know you can trust one of your best friends.” Rarity nagged persistently. Fluttershy did trust Rarity, but she didn’t trust Rarity’s gossip-like nature. Not only was she scared of having the reputation of being a Filly Fooler, but she was even more afraid of Dashie having that reputation. Dash always had a big ego and was always boasting to her Pegasi co-workers. She would be a laughing stock if the secret got out.

“Please no…” Fluttershy whispered out. This only caused Rarity to lean in closer.

“Pleeeeeease?” Rarity begged childishly. Fluttershy sighed and gave in; she figured with Rarity already knowing about Rainbow and her together in the first place was bad enough. More info on the subject wouldn’t really hurt anything.

“As long as you promise to tell nopony outside of our group…” Fluttershy said reluctantly

“Pinkie Pie Promise” Rarity confirmed reassuringly as she held up a hoof in honor and closed her eyes. Fluttershy closed her eyes and took a deep breath in, exhaling it out shortly after.

“Okay, what do you want to know?”

“Do you love her?”

“Of course”

“Have you two kissed?” Rarity continued. Fluttershy paused and pondered for awhile if she should lie or not about that detail.

“…Yes”

“Have you…done anything more?” Rarity dug for information. Fluttershy blushed and gasped. The thought of her and Dashie having… It hadn’t even crossed her mind yet.

“Oh no, no, no” Fluttershy replied hastily. Before Rarity could ask another question both mares heard a faint galloping in the distance. The peculiar sound was increasing in volume by every second until they were both sure someone was running into the spa. The stomping increased further in further until it reached the room they were in. They turned around to see who had bursted through to find a stressed and frenzied Twilight who was desperately trying to catch her breath. Her mane was in a mess and she was sweating profusely. Neither Rarity nor Fluttershy (Or any of their friends for that matter) had seen the purple unicorn like this since the day she forgot about her letter to Princess Celestia. The two exchanged a worried look before turning their focus back to the stressed mare.

“Twilight, what ever is the matter?” Rarity asked with a mixture of confusion and worry in her voice. Twilight was not looking stressed by accident. She had purposely made herself appear like this for the lie she was about to tell. The more believable she seemed, the better.

“I…Bunnies…Forest…Escaped” Though this made good for the lie, Twilight was actually out of breath from running so far to the spa.

“You’re not making any sense darling, here, have some water” Rarity stepped out of the hot tub and left the room. She came back shortly bearing a glass of water in her hoof which she held forward to the breathless mare. Twilight took it and chugged it down before taking a very deep breath.

“Now tell us what happened” Rarity said soothingly.

“I was going for a visit to Fluttershy’s house and…” Twilight paused for a moment as her heart lurched. She hated lying; she hated lying to anypony, no matter who they were. “And I saw Rainbow Dash-”

“Yea, I told her to watch over things until I was back” Fluttershy confirmed

“But what I saw her doing is why I came…” Another pause as Twilight considered if she should back out now or not. The purple mare took a deep breath and made her decision. This had to be done. “I saw her letting loose the Bunnies you had fenced in…And she baited them into the Everfree Forest with carrots. When I confronted her she said it was a prank” Twilight finished unconvincingly. She felt an immense amount of guilt fall upon her soldiers as she uttered the words. Then something she hadn’t considered crossed her mind; what if the others caught on? Twilight nearly facehooved at her own stupidity to have spaced such a massive flaw with her plan. The only thing she could do now however was follow through, even if it required more lying. She couldn’t back out now.

“W-What?” Fluttershy was in shock from the news. She knew Dashie loved to play pranks but she also thought that Dash knew about her sensitivity. The shy mare could feel tears forming in the corners of her eyes. Why would her friend do that to her…?

“Common, we have to go find them!” Twilight continued with the lie; she wished that in she would have come up with something better under her pressure the last day. She couldn’t even believe the fact that she forgot about a detail like that! Twilight shook her head and decided to deal with it later.

“You mean go through that icky forest to find a bunch of bunnies?” Rarity asked as if Twilight were requesting that she stomp her hooves in cow manure. Twilight rolled her eyes and looked to Fluttershy.
“You and I will take care of it then” Twilight said crossly. She beckoned Fluttershy to follow her as she ran back out the spa. The shy mare quickly dried herself off and flew after Twilight, leaving Rarity alone in the spa. The white mare shrugged and figured she might as well head back home and wait to be updated on what happens.

***

Twilight eventually arrived at Fluttershy’s house and was soon joined outside by the shy mare herself. She was sweating buckets and looked more tired than she had ever looked in her entire life. Fluttershy, however was fairing quite well since she didn’t have to gallop all the way there. Though the yellow colored pony wasn’t psychically tired it was clear to Twilight that she experiencing a fair amount of stress and worry. The purple mare earnestly laid a hoof on her shoulder and gave her a kind look.

“Don’t worry, we’ll find them. I’m sure of it” Twilight said soothingly. Though she was concerned deeply for her friend she could feel her heart sinking. She felt horrible lying like this, knowing that she was going to have to hurt her friends to save them. Twilight was sure that if she didn’t hide her facial expressions Fluttershy would sense something wrong with her as well; and she couldn’t risk that.

“T-Thank you Twilight…” Fluttershy didn’t sound too well herself; A mixture of heartbreak and worry in her voice. This only served to increase the remorseful mare’s guilt as she looked to her hurting friend. Fluttershy didn’t know what to think; she didn’t know if she should blame Dashie or not, she didn’t know if she should talk to her again after this either. She had to decide some other time, it wasn’t important right now.

The two mares reached the outskirts of the Everfree Forest, its dark and grim atmosphere radiating immensely. Fluttershy cringed in fear and gulped, she needed to be courageous, and she needed to find her bunnies before something awful happened.

Twilight turned to Fluttershy, a worried look on her face. “Fluttershy, I only saw them go into the forest; I didn’t see where they went. We need to split up so we can find them faster. Can you handle that?” Twilight’s words were genuine this time though she kept how they got into the forest a secret still. She was worried about her friend, after all. If she wasn’t she wouldn’t have even pulled this crazy stunt in the first place.

Fluttershy’s felt her heart skip a beat as she looked to the forest again. She could feel her legs wobbling like jelly as she cringed in fear, beginning to shake and jitter rapidly. She felt the cold and evil aura emitting from the forest and creating an unsettling feeling in her stomach.

“Fluttershy?”

The shy mare closed her eyes, breathing in deeply as she stood back up. No matter how much the forest petrified her she couldn’t let her animal friends down. They were probably cowering in fear somewhere in that terrifying forest right now, not knowing what to do or how to get home. They could have run into a big scary monster! Or they could’ve been eaten by a Manticore! Fluttershy could feel a slight shaking in her being as she took a step forward.

“I’m ready” Fluttershy said with distinct determination in her voice. Twilight nodded as she too took a step forward. In one sudden motion both mares bounded into the Forest’s boundaries, beginning their descent into its inner walls in separate directions.

***

Fluttershy slowly crept around the unsettling forest, its odd sounds and strange figures engulfing her in a deep and fearful paranoia. There were so many unknowns in this place; Creatures and animals she had never even heard before were chirping and fluttering all around her. Every now and again she could hear a small twig snap or a bush rustle. Maybe she’d recognize what she’d thought to be a bird soaring in the sky or a squirrel scattering about the ground, but nothing more. No bunnies, no rabbits, no animals that belonged to her at all.

Fluttershy gulped, closing her eyes tightly before reopening them again and continuing on forward. She hated to be in the Everfree forest, the only times she’d ever entered were when she had to chase after those crazy fillies and the time she had to fight Nightmare Moon. Other than that her only entrances were into her clearing at the baseline of the forest. But those didn’t quite count considering the clearing is very small, very safe, and very close to her home. She had even let some of her animals explore it once, knowing they wouldn’t get into too much trouble there. Thinking of her animals brought a crippling fear to her heart. What if her bunnies had actually been killed or eaten or murdered or stomped on or…

SNAP SNAP SNAP SNAP

Fluttershy cocked her head to the side, searching around in the limited distance she could view for what had caused the new and frightening noise; she couldn’t see anything but it sent an eerie chill down her spine as she began to shudder again. It wasn’t like the other twigs she heard break before; those ones were obviously stepped on by some small or curious animal stalking her. This one however, this was a massive cracking, earsplitting, jaw dropping snap that rattled in her ears. Based on her vast knowledge of animal and pony behaviors, Fluttershy decided it could be only one of two things.

A normal pony, perhaps Twilight. Or…

“M-M-M-Manitcore!” Fluttershy blurted out as she stumbled back hastily. The sound increased rapidly as a large lion like creature bounded through the trees and landed in the path the shy Pegasus had been walking on. The large monster stared the startled pony down and roared viciously. Spit stringing in-between its open jaw as its head pulled to the sky to let out the massive sound.

Fluttershy squeaked and cringed in a paralyzing fear as she looked up to the massive beast. It was easily ten times her size and twenty her strength. Fluttershy shake more and more as she unstably rose.

It’s okay Fluttershy, its okay. You’ve dealt with one of these before. Just show it some kindness and it will love you.

Fluttershy moved shakily towards the beast in front of her. Its expression of anger had not changed; becoming more and more enraged with every step the mare took. When Fluttershy was face to face with it, she leaned forward lightly. The Manticore kept a confused and angered look on its face as she drew closer and closer. She leaned in more and lightly nuzzled the beast, attempting speaking kind and gentle words to it.

The Manticore sat still for a second, feeling the warm head of the Pegasus brushing up against its neck. Fluttershy’s kindness had not worked how she wanted it to however; in fact, it only seemed to increase the rage that was brewing inside of the humongous monster. The shy mare slowly pulled back, expecting to see a look of joy and pleasure in the lion-like creature’s eyes. Only to be met with a stare of pure animosity from it. Fluttershy felt a cold terror run up her spine, chilling every bone of her body before alerting her brain. She was in trouble now.

***

Twilight calmly roamed her side of the woods. Her horn was alit, emitting a vast spread of lavender colored light that expanded around her where ever she walked. So far there were no rabbits or bunnies in sight, Twilight figured they’d be hiding behind a bush or in a burrow somewhere. Even though she wasn’t finding what she had set out to look for the purple mare was still having a fantastic time. She rarely ever visited the Everfree forest during the day, nature walks weren’t really her thing. But at this time of night, the forest was an astonishing and breath-taking place. Twilight could see all kinds of animals moving about; resting on tree branches and nests that they made THEMSELVES, in burrows, bushes, holes, they were everywhere. The purple mare had only ever read about some of these animals, the ones that took care of themselves and their families. She knew some of them belonged to groups called ‘Prides’ by her book; It was where there was a dominant male who ruled over a large area of land mated with all the females and brought forth the new generation of cubs. It was amazing how animals outside of Ponyville and any other pony occupied city behaved.

As Twilight was exploring she came across a peculiar gap in the trees. The purple mare curiously approached it, noticing how far apart the trees were compared to the rest; So much so that it almost looked as if another path had opened where the two trees split. The curious mare cautiously entered the gap and moved forward gradually.

The new path continued on for a long ways into a spacious clearing. Twilight cursed herself, believing she had just circled around and found her way into Fluttershy’s clearing by mistake. But upon second glance, the purple mare discovered something. This one was much larger than her friends. Not only that, but the grass was horribly untamed and weeds grew out of every corner and crack in the ground. Giant tree leaves were laid down in the center, creating some sort makeshift bed for what ever rested upon it. As Twilight moved towards the object placed upon the small bed of leaves, she noticed something else

It was breathing…

Twilight shrieked, jumping back and landing harshly on her rump. It was a Manticore! The purple mare continued to back up quickly, hoping to Celestia she had not just awoken the monster. Or rather, awoken the monster’s cub. Panic ensued in Twilight’s heart as she frantically looked around for the giant beast itself.

If a Manticore cub is here and not the Manticore that means… oh dear Luna and Celestia no…

Just as the thought crossed the unicorn’s mind an abrupt scream entered her ears and shocked her to the very core. The scream had come not far from her. The voice was familiar; no…not just familiar. She knew who it was…

And she was in danger.

END