Valley Of Rainbows: Seeking Solutions

by Sparx

Lost In The Forest

Lost In The Forest

“Why did you say that?” Rover shrieked to Lyra, pointing to the creature now salivating over them in the tree.

“You asked,” Lyra returned nonchalantly. She turned her attention back to the beast. “Looks like I was right about that too. You are a peryton, aren’t you?”

The monster chuckled. “Of course I am, though if you wish to name me in the few seconds I generously give to you, then you may call me Tanzick.” His face was that of a wolf, sporting large, sharpened antlers like a stag’s, coated black with blood. His front legs also resembled those of a stag, with talons for his back legs, coated in black feathers that crawled up his back and covered his massive wings.

“Fascinating,” Lyra smiled. “You are truly hideous and horrifying!”

“Flatterer,” Tanzick hissed through a smile. He spread his avian wings, bringing himself down to the forest floor. He stepped closer the gang, walking upon his talons and bringing the dogs to take steps back. Lyra didn’t budge though, keeping her interested smile as the beast advanced upon her, looming above her. “Brave as well it would seem… or stupid.”

“Some would definitely vouch for the latter,” Lyra returned. “Me, I’d like to think it’s the former with a touch of crazy. That’s how Bon Bon put it at least.”

Tanzick wasn’t amused. “Are you even aware of what I’m going to do?”

“I have an idea,” Lyra insisted. “Though isn’t it odd for your kind to forego an ambush opportunity when it’s available?”

“Thought I’d come down and savor what I can,” Tanzick answered, motioning a hoof towards the dogs. They were all huddled together, shaking and holding their weapons out.

“Ah yes, the quivering fear of your prey. No doubt I’m proving a disappointment in that regard,” Lyra observed.

“Yes, you are a lot more talkative than I had expected. It’s no matter though, you’re still decently entertaining. Perhaps I may find some use for you?” Tanzick’s sickening grin brought unrest to the dogs' stomachs and a similar grin to Lyra’s face.

---

Applejack and Rainbow Dash continued to walk through the woods, fire burning above their backs.

“You know, I haven’t seen a single animal since we’ve gotten here, at least not in the actual forest. Why would Fluttershy ever come here?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“No idea, Sugarcube,” Applejack answered. “Ah’m sure she’ll tell us when we find her though.”

The two tried to continue acting natural, keeping the trolls from moving any quicker. They had begun walking closer to one another in case of attack.

“So…” Applejack started. “Been a while since we got a chance ta talk. How things workin’ out for ya?”

“Well, I’m currently on a world trip to find all my friends in order to stop a war that could claim the lives of thousands upon thousands of ponies and griffons and whatever else gets involved,” Rainbow answered. “And yet… I’m enjoying it.”

Applejack smiled. “Ah think ah know what ya mean. This whole adventurin’ thing is pretty inspirin’; rewardin’ in its own right too.”

“Exactly!” Rainbow Dash agreed. “I’ve met a lot of cool folk around too, places I’m going to have to return to, and I feel like I’m making a difference out here too.”

“Not just savin’ the world, but makin’ it better’n before,” Applejack added.

“Exactly!” Rainbow cheered, flaring her wings.

Applejack chuckled. “That’s the reason ah decided ta take up exterminatin’ varmints when ah headed out.” She warmed up talking like this with Rainbow Dash, her best friend for so many years. They had missed one another, and now they were talking just like they had before one another left.

“Hey… Sugarcube?”

“Yeah AJ?” Rainbow Dash turned to meet her friend’s gaze. What she wasn’t expecting, was Applejack’s eyes closed and lips pressed against her own.

AJ? Wh-wh-wh-what’s going on? I-I-I don’t… Her thoughts were racing as Applejack kissed her. However, when the act wasn’t returned, the earth pony pulled away, confused.

“Uh… ah think ah may have read that wrong…”

Rainbow didn’t reply.

“Ah just thought, y’know… you came lookin’ fer me first and all,” Applejack blushed.

“Wh… I came looking for you because you’d be the biggest help to start with,” Rainbow Dash retorted, off guard and confused.

“Don’t be givin’ me that, Rainbow. You an’ ah both know that if’n we were gonna choose the most useful out of the five of us in a trip like this’n, Fluttershy would be it. Her talent fer animals, medical knowledge an’ such would hold out the longest. You done came after me because you wanted to.” Applejack frowned, blushing as they continued to walk. She brought the brim of her hat down low.

“That’s…” Not entirely false… Rainbow thought to herself. In all honesty, she did want to find AJ first. What she said about Fluttershy being the handiest in this situation had passed her mind as well. “Yes, I wanted to come and look for you first, I won’t deny it, but you are incredibly helpful, don’t doubt that! You saved our asses back there with that Foki freak, right?”

“An’ if’n ya came out here to find Fluttershy first, ya’ll wouldn’t have even been in that mess an’ woulda had Fluttershy with ya to help.”

“We would’ve been there eventually! And how would Fluttershy help against a bunch of goblins? She’s not a fighter, you know that!”

“Would you just accept that we have somethin’, Rainbow?”

“I would but I’m with Spitfire!”

“Then why ain’t she here? Why did ya come lookin’ fer me?”

“Because Twilight said so, and you’re my friend! Maybe there was something before, maybe we could have done something about it, but it’s me and her now, AJ! Why did you leave?”

“’Cause you weren’t there!” Applejack cried out. Rainbow could see tears welling up in her eyes.

“Applejack…” Rainbow felt all the words in her mind disappear. She had thought before that maybe AJ had felt that way, but never was it confirmed. She made to comfort and apologize to the earth pony, before she realized that they had been very loud in a place they shouldn’t have been so.

The single set of eyes that was watching them had grown closer, standing halfway up one of the taller trees and joined by dozens of friends. The trolls had drawn close upon the two of them while they were distracted.

“Shit…” Rainbow spat.

---

“Truly something to be admired though, don’t you think?” Lyra offered to her hungry host. Tanzick had a hold of Spot in one of his talons, the poor dog sweating and shaking in fear while his fellow dogs looked up with similar horror on their faces.

“The song was satisfactory, bard,” Tanzick returned. “You have earned a few more minutes of life yet again, for you, and for this one.” He dropped Spot to the ground and the dog scurried off next to the others.

“Right, now it’s your turn in our little game,” Lyra continued. “Those are the rules right? I entertain you, you entertain me? When you finally get bored, then you attack?”

“Indeed,” Tanzick returned. “What would you have of me?”

“Some more information, if you would be so kind,” Lyra levitated her journal and quill before her again. Tanzick nodded and she cleared her throat. “Your kind are especially hungry for the hearts of intelligent creatures, correct?”

“Of course,” Tanzick began drooling once again.

“Is there any reason for this? Some ritual or draw that commits you to seek them out?” Lyra’s voice sounded as if she were giving the creature a sort of interview.

“The flavor,” Tanzick slurped. “The scent of prey running away, sweating and pouring fear, the very sound of that trophy pumping precious blood through their veins. It is the center of life, so I guess there is a ritualistic draw to it… consuming the very life of a creature. Of course, the very finest we find, we offer to a female we may find ourselves lucky enough to woo.”

Lyra scratched against the paper feverishly, loving whatever she could learn from this exotic beast. “Have you ever wooed a female? Is there a Mrs. Tanzick?”

The monster laughed with a bellow. “Have I ever? Foolish horse, have you ever met a peryton bitch? The damned things hold no care for ones like me. If I were to try and win myself a mate, I’d have to take her! Separate one of the weaker females from her mother, father and sisters, and steal her away. But then again, that’s implying I want to start a flock… why would I want that?”

“For companionship?” Lyra offered.

Again, Tanzick laughed. “Surely you know more of my kin than that!” His face fell to a serious frown. “We hate… everyone, even one another. You’ve heard about a peryton feud no doubt?”

“Where two males meet in the wild and attempt to destroy each other?” Lyra answered.

“Not just each other, but if it’s an alpha male and a loner, then the loner will attempt to destroy the entire family, possibly taking the bitches for his own. If they refuse however, he may simply offer them each other’s hearts one by one; if still no takers, then they die.” A satisfied smile spread across his mouth. “Even the alpha bitch.”

Lyra paused from her scratching for a moment, and looked back to their bestial host. “You’ve taken part in one. Haven’t you?”

“Just for the fun of the kill,” Tanzick chuckled. “I’d never be fool enough to mate. Half the time, the male would die anyway. I’m not giving my own life to let some bitch raise a pup in my place.”

“Then why did you offer her the hearts of her own children?” Lyra questioned. “You did say you did so, correct?”

Tanzick stopped. Perhaps he had gone a bit far in his story, made it sound too personal. He snarled, leaping down from his tree and standing tall over Lyra once again.

“You loved her didn’t you?” Lyra pressed on, unflinching. “As much as a beast like you can at least. She was taken from you?”

“I think the extra time you’ve earned is up,” Tanzick hissed.

“Ah, won over. Some other male came and offered her a bigger, better heart than the one you had won her with and she broke yours, didn’t she?” Lyra continued.

“How are you doing this?” Tanzick was angry, his teeth pressed hard against one another.

“I can see it in your eyes; have seen it in others’. You wince when I answer correctly,” Lyra returned. She tried her best to keep a straight face, but finally burst through with a laugh, forcing Tanzick to pause in confusion. “No I’m not a witch!”

He snarled again, and even the dogs backed up a few feet. “Then how can you call that something in my eyes?”

Lyra smirked. “Not a very wise move to have a unicorn bard play you a song.” She turned her most recent journal entry to Tanzick so that he could read it. His thoughts had been scrawled there, not what he had said. “I’ve taken your story, my friend. Truly tragic, and you have my sympathy. Your kind are decently intelligent for beasts, but obviously not very wise to notice when a song is more than a song.”

“You hexed me!” Tanzick gnashed his teeth in Lyra’s direction, but she managed to duck underneath his jaws.

“No hexes, just a simple spell to tell surface thoughts,” Lyra smiled. “Should last long enough for us to prove too much a challenge and avoid all you can throw at us.” She tucked away her journal and quill, drawing Emerald and crouching for battle. “Rover, he’s gonna try for you, your sword scares him!”

Rover’s eyes opened in surprise before he saw Tanzick attempting to rush him with his antlers pointed forward. Rover drew and swung the flaming sword in front of him, facing the flats between the two of them and placing his pad to the steel, catching the monster against the weapon and pushing back. He had to force his waist back as Tanzick began biting furiously for his legs, causing the dog to panic.

“Spot, mount him and cripple the wing! He’s gonna fly away!” Lyra ordered.

Tanzick heard the order and attempted to retreat, but Rover saw the attempt coming and grabbed hold of his antlers, keeping him down to the ground as Spot came running.

The smaller dog leapt on top of the peryton, drawing one of his daggers and shoving it in the joint of the wing, forcing a roar out of the beast.

“Drop to the ground, Fido!” Lyra ordered again.

Fido followed, ducking under a swipe of the beast’s talons. They instead smashed into a nearby tree, tearing out a large chunk of wood with it.

In fury, Tanzick began flailing and thrashing, forcing Rover and Spot to fling from him. His speed was greater than they had expected for a creature of his size, though with Lyra’s spell in effect, they were able to dodge and deflect every attack he made. The savage was looking in far worse shape than any of them as they had yet to suffer a single swipe or bite. As they continued to fight, Lyra noticed that Tanzick seemed to favor his teeth and talons, only attacking with his antlers when he felt most confident. That confidence had yet to pay off however, still missing with each attempt to gore one of the gang.

The longer they fought, the angrier Tanzick grew. He roared and screamed, bursting through trees and kicking up dirt, unable to fly away with his crippled wing.

He swung out with his talon again, aiming for Lyra, and—“Augh!” He hit.

“Missuss Lyra!” Rover called.

She frowned with pain as blood trickled from her forehead, Tanzick smiling for once. “Time’s up it seems.”

---

Rainbow Dash and Applejack were running, as fast as they could manage, trying to get away from the trolls on their backs. The large monsters attempted to lurch out with their massive green claws to grab the smaller ponies.

One of the trolls hopped out in front of the two of them, ready to grab hold of them. Rainbow flicked her blades out and sliced across the monster’s stomach, cutting open a path as the halves fell to the ground. She took no comfort in the kill though as she knew that it would simply pull itself together and keep up the chase in a few moments. The creatures would never stop unless every scrap of them was burnt, but with only two torches at the moment, they could hardly pause and start bashing an army of trolls.

“Where the hell is Rover!?” Rainbow cried out angrily.

Another troll attempted to cut them off, but Applejack was the one to strike this time, leaping up and coming back down, flattening the beast’s skull under her thick, steel boots. They continued to run as the troll already began to push itself back up.

“Ah don’t know, Sugarcube,” AJ answered through gasps. “But we can’t outrun ‘em forever. We need ta find somewhere or somethin’ to help us out.”

Rainbow tried her best to think while the two of them ran. “We could set the damn forest on fire!” she cried. “Though I doubt how successful we’d be in finding Fluttershy if we did that.”

“Still works fer me!” Applejack brought her neck around and clutched her torch in her teeth.

“What’re you doing?” Rainbow yelled.

Applejack ran towards a cluster of fallen trees, quickly bashing her hoof-hammers into a few others nearby to add them to the pile. She then dropped her torch onto the dry wood, setting it ablaze.

“Was yer idea,” AJ chuckled back to Rainbow as they stayed close to the flames as its heat kept the trolls at bay.

“I wasn’t being serious! Are you insane?” Dash questioned in a panic, floating over the fire. “You’re gonna burn the whole place down!”

“Not likely. The marshes wouldn’t catch.” Applejack kicked hard into one of the more courageous trolls that tried to draw close, punishing its attempt at bravery as it fell into the fire. It caught instantly and was reduced to smoldering ash in seconds. “That’s where we’re wantin’ ta go anyway, deeper in. Thinkin’ that’s where Fluttershy will be too.”

“She isn’t gonna be happy about this.” Dash frowned. “But I guess it’s the only idea we have right now!”

The two of them took up arms behind the burning pile of trees, hordes of trolls closing in. Any that tried to come around the burning wood were met with a blade or a hammer, crippling them long enough to be thrown into the fire where they met their last seconds.

The trolls caught fire quickly, their flammable skin proving to be their greatest weakness. One of the more foolish of the creatures attempted to leap over the fire to catch them off guard. He tripped, catching aflame and toppling into one of his allies. In panic, the two attempted to retreat, bumping into yet more trolls and setting them on fire as well. Dash couldn’t help but laugh at the spectacle, but in the seconds of entertainment, she cried out in pain as one of the creatures raked his claws against her back.

“Augh! Fuck that hurt!” Dash whipped a hoof back, slicing off the creature’s arm from the wrist then kicking his ribs and forcing him into the fire. It seemed almost useless, however, as even more trolls took its place. Dash’s anger grew to a boil however, confusion from earlier mixing with the pain and anger of her current situation. She sliced through the trolls as they tried to advance, burning them away as ash and blood began to spread across her coat.

Applejack continued to crush anything that approached as well, blunting their claws with well-timed blocks, countered with a smashing blow to the head or ribs that crippled the monsters. She would allow the pained trolls to fall atop one another, slowly regenerating their bodies as she would drop only more of the monsters on top of them. Before the one on the bottom would ever make a full recovery though, she would bring her way around, taking the offensive against her attackers, and take a moment to buck a few of the sparks onto her pile, setting the entire group ablaze.

The fire grew and spread, forcing the ponies to sweat and cough through the smoke. It was proving to be too dangerous to stay here and fight, the trolls didn’t seem to come in any smaller numbers either.

“C’mon, Rainbow! We gotta get to the swamps!” Applejack called.

Dash coughed as she nodded in agreement, cutting the head off of another troll before retracting her blades, running after her friend. They could hear the trolls still pursuing them, and Dash could feel an ache in her right wing, keeping her grounded as they ran.

One of the burning trees threatened to fall onto them. Applejack brought up one of her hammers and smashed through the trunk, forcing it to fall to either side of them as they continued to run, and leaving another obstacle for the trolls to contend with. With the fog still thick, the only indication the two had as far as direction was which trees had caught fire or not. Behind them, fire blazed uncontrolled and forced the howling screams of trolls, while ahead, trees still burned, but to a lesser extent.

It wasn’t long before Dash and Applejack could feel their hooves getting wet. With mud trying to suck them in, they knew they had made it to the swamps. Still though they heard the pursuing roars of the trolls, and they almost panicked, tired and without an advantage anymore.

“Least ah got ta see ya again, Sugarcube,” Applejack said, breathing deep to try and calm herself for what was coming.

Dash gave a laugh through her pants. “What, you giving up? I don’t know about you, missy, but I’m gonna cut through as many of these things as possible before going dow—Augh!” The pain in her wing pressed down again, forcing her to grunt in pain. She shook her head and unlatched her right blade. “Before going down! I think one of ‘em broke my wing, and that means they don’t get to live!”

Applejack smiled at her friend’s confidence. “Spoken like the reckless nut ah know ya are. Let’s see who gets the most points then, we’ll compare when we meet in the promised land!”

“Sounds like a plan,” Rainbow smirked.

The two readied themselves as they saw the green monsters sprinting madly towards them. The earth around them began to rumble, and they assumed it was more trolls approaching, a final onslaught of every one of the foul forest creatures coming to feast. They cried out and charged ahead to meet the army, bashing and chopping into the monsters with powerful blows. They fared much better than any other pony in their position could have managed, proving overwhelming to the trolls. They ignored the painful claws and bites that actually managed to rake across their coats, splashing themselves in troll blood as they made their way into the center of the group.

Eventually though, their bravado proved useless to the invincible army, and they were held down as the beasts poured in around them, hungry and ready to tear them apart.

The rumbling of the earth became more violent however, as the very trees began to swat at the creatures, clearing a path to Applejack and Rainbow Dash. The two looked up in awe from their backs in the mud. The trolls attempted to retreat as they were crushed under the roots of the walking trees, being picked up by the living wood that tugged the beasts apart like fragile dolls.

It seemed as if the two were saved, but some of the trolls were not as willing to give up on a meal. A select few of the beasts leapt at the trees, sinking their claws into the wood and trying to tear at them. It did little to the towering plants, but when the other trolls witnessed this, they joined in, and their numbers began to rival the strength of the trees.

Dash and Applejack felt dread rip through them again as they saw one of the mighty wooden giants fall under a wave of the trolls. There was a howl that silenced all the other noises, and attracted the attention of both trees and trolls. It sounded vaguely like that of a wolf. A much larger tree became visible, charging into the scene as the source of the howl leapt from its head.

It was like a blur as the shadow of the howl darted into the group of trolls. The beasts fell to pieces as they met with the howler, the cry still echoing and forcing the monsters to shake with each bellow.

With renewed morale, the trees fought alongside the shadowed figure, tossing aside the trolls and forcing them back to the woods where they had come from. Dash and AJ cheered on their unseen savior as even the severed pieces of troll tried to retreat, leaving only the shadow and trees nearby. However, their cheers slowly began to stop as they witnessed the trees turning towards them, surrounding them with stern gazes as the larger tree approached, gathering the shadow back onto their head.

As the tree grew closer, the duo’s mouths dropped open in shock as they watched light reveal their savior. A pony with long vines wrapped around their front legs sporting absurdly large thorns, curved like scythes. Her yellow coat and feathers were revealing, but in the mess her fur and mane were in, paired with the dark glare in her eyes, they almost didn’t believe it was

“Fluttershy?”

Author's Note:

Dun dun DUUUUUUUUUUNNNN!

Comments

[Kamen rider yokai]

Again holy beast core!literally this time flutters have gone poisen ivy on us this time! What in the world turned the timid pegasus into this. If she wasn't timid and shy it wouldn't be fluttershy at all. Gah I'm getting a headache from the shock. Well played dark well played. Did not see that coming. You better give rainbow and applejack time to explain to her otherwise I'm going into the story so they have a chance I would not be effected by the stare as while I'm kind I don't think flutters has ever faced the infamous Irish temper. What I'm dutch-irish dispite the fact I'm born in the states. And trust me when I'm ticked run for the hills. how dare you make fluttershy act like a certain villain from batman! And make her feral in the process!

[Sparx]

4192954
...wut?

[Kamen rider yokai]

4193811 I'm talking about fluttershy's enterence near the end of the chapter and her description with the plants. It is so out of character of her there.

[Sparx]

4193869
How? How is it out of character? She hasn't SAID anything, and you haven't waited for an explanation of what is going on. You're jumping to conclusions and not waiting to know if it's right or not. You're going off of the assumption that nothing has happened to her in five years, but she's standing in a forest that people tell terrifying legends of, so obviously something is up.

Also, you are aware there is an AU tag up under the title right? Meaning that this isn't the same thing as the show or your own headcanon? Just be patient and let the story tell itself.

[Kamen rider yokai]

4193927 well think fluttershy was not acting with the shy part of her name. She's usually timid remember. That and with the description you gave her I was reminded of a certain plant controlling villianess from batman and with the howls I thought she had gone feral. That was how she was out of character in the chapter. I meant what I said as remember iron will's seminar flutters took. This is like that incident. Anyone agree with me on this?

[Sparx]

4195799
Awesome, you have an opinion, just realize that that's what it is.
Bit of a spoiler, SHE ISN'T controlling them, you assumed that. Here look:

Not a foreign concept.
True, she isn't acting shy, but is she really acting sociable either? Not really! She didn't drop in and have a conversation with them, she's defending her friends, which is VERY in character for her. Dragonshy, she walks right up to a goddamn red dragon and bitches him out for causing trouble. The cockatrice, same thing.
Basically, let her DO SOMETHING before you start screaming 'out of character'. For all you know, it could be a changeling or doppleganger. She's been through five years away from her friends, she has changed, grown up, and it will be explained.

I apologize for getting harsh, but I absolutely HATE it when people go off like that. You haven't seen her do or say anything yet, calm down. Besides, weren't you so excited about her coming in and saving them, and going all Flutterbat? Flutterbat was pretty damn feral.

[Kamen rider yokai]

4195864 only thing off is that flutterbat has obviously bat wings, rose eyes and fangs with her butterfly mark replaced by a trio of pink bats. This version you have is not exactly because it looks like flutters is ticked at applejack and rainbow for setting the Forrest on fire. That's a bit out of character for a friend they haven't seen in a while I mean ever hear of the phrase while some things change the more they stay the same? I will wait until she speaks but I make no promises if she sounds like a jerk to her friends that's betraying her element after all.

[Kamen rider yokai]

and no I didn't I just said the description reminded me of the villain poison ivy from batman I didn't say she's controlling the ents. You jumped to conclusions there.

[Sparx]

4196076
You know, I dunno about you but if two people ran into my home and set it on fire, I'd be a little bit pissed off too, even if they DID look like my friends. We recently got an episode about not mistaking kindness for letting yourself get pushed around. She hasn't seen them in years. She has hardly been described outside of a messy pegasus with thorns on her legs used like weapons.
Again, what is the issue here? She hasn't DONE anything, and said even less. You don't have a problem with Applejack being a bounty hunter with big metal boots, or Gilda becoming a sailing captain, or even Rainbow stepping up as a leader and maturing, but Fluttershy pops in for a second, in a way not tailored specifically to your wants, and you begin freaking out and screaming that she's out of character. That's not cool.

4196089
There is no indication of Poison Ivy, at the very least nothing worth getting angry over. She has wrapped vines around her forelegs with thorns on them as a weapon.

End line, she hasn't done enough for you to make the 'out of character' claim yet. Show some patience before firing shots man. Besides, I'll write the way I like to, and you can keep your own headcanon and thoughts to yourself.

[Literature]

with long vines wrapped around their front legs

Fluttershy is only 1 pony, I believe.

And so our party is ~60% complete! Only Rarity and Pinkie left at this point, all that's left is which one to get first!
My bet's on Pinkie.