Everypony's got skeletons in their closet. Fluttershy's just happens to take the form of illegally-gotten furry animals. And she needs help sneaking them out of the country. Needless to say, sounds like a job for Rainbow Dash.
Fluttershy’s got a teesy-weensy bit of a secret. Nothing too bad, mind you. She’s not a psychotic killer, and she definitely doesn’t do anything…dirty. Unfortunately, what she does still teeters on the rather…frowned-upon side of the law. And to make matters worse, with the Royal Guards clamping down, she needs somepony to help her out.
And that’s where Rainbow Dash comes in. Of course, soon she’ll realize doing a friend favor sometimes isn’t all that easy. Especially when that friend runs an illegal animal smuggling operation out of the country.
But hey, if she gets caught…she’ll still look pretty darn good doing it.
Princess Celestia plodded through her quiet castle, casting a long sigh into the bleak night. Magical curlers were strewn throughout her ethereal mane, and visible bags protruded underneath her normally sprightly eyes. She was still dressed in her royal bathrobe, her golden crown hanging loosely on her head. And to make things worse, she was in a mood that matched her appearance. Old, tired, and sour. Unsurprisingly, the normally benevolent sun goddess wasn’t much of a night pony.
It wasn’t usual for her to be woken up in the middle of the evening, and like most ponies, Celestia didn’t exactly leap for joy for having her slumber suddenly cut short. And whenever she was woken up, it was usually due to either one of two things. The kingdom was under attack, or Luna had some random question about how to work the stove or something. Usually, it was the latter.
Finally, the sun goddess came up to her throne room doors, throwing them open with her magic. “Yes Luna, what is it this time?” she uttered condescendingly, rolling her eyes. “It’s not the stove again, is it?”
To her surprise, it wasn’t just Luna waiting by the throne, but another pegasus as well. It was one of the Royal Guards, and a high-ranking lieutenant judging from the markings on his golden armor. For a moment, Celestia glanced down at her garments with raised brows. But she quickly regained her regal composure, and said, “Oh, I’m sorry lieutenant. If I had known we’d have a guest, I’d have put on something more…appropriate.” Then turning to Luna, she added through clenched teeth, “What’s this about?”
“I am afraid something important has cometh up, sister,” Luna replied, her eyebrows creased in worry. “Something I thought you should know about. Sergeant, please repeat what thou told me.”
Giving a slight courteous bow, the guard said, “Well Your Highnesses, my squad was stationed out by Equestrian borders. We were doing routine patrol near Cragslane Rock around midnight when we found…this.” With his wing, he pointed to a small purple bag sitting at the foot of the throne. It had no markings on it, just a small metal clasp on the front. It was also unusually big for a saddlebag, and Celestia could have sworn it was…throbbing.
“What is it?” the princess asked, walking up to examine the mysterious bag. “Food? Gems? Weapons? Opiat-?”
Suddenly the clasp burst open, and to Celestia’s surprise, it was not food, gems, or illicitly gotten substances. Instead, a cluster of furry creatures scuttled out, crawling and playing all over the marble floor.
“A bag of…ferrets?”
With his head low, the guard replied quietly, “I’m afraid so, Your Highness.”
The sun goddess could only stare at the odd little animals carelessly climbing all over her regal throne. One actually tried to climb up and become very good friends with her leg, but Celestia quickly shook him off with a disgusted scoff. She was clearly not amused, narrowing her tired eyes and curling her lips into a pout. And even more surprising, Luna seemed to be the complete opposite, pacing around the room with her eyes closed in thought. “I-I’m sorry Luna, am I missing something? This isn’t another one of your pranks again, is it?”
“No, I can assure you I am being completely serious…this time.”
Pointing to the animals with one clasped to her hoof, Celestia muttered, “Then why is there a bag of ferrets defecating on my pristine castle floor?”
Somehow ignoring the last part of her sister’s sentence, Luna began with a sigh, “You see sister, this is the third bag filled with wild animals in three weeks. At first, it seemed somepony had left them there in the wild. But last week, we found three more weasels inside of a crate. And as it would turn out, they matched the description of three weasels that were being taken to a zoo down in Manehatten before they were reported missing. They, like these ferrets, were found near the border. And a mile away, guards found a fire pit still glowing with embers.”
“Are you trying to tell me that…”
“Somepony is snatching animals and smuggling them illegally across the border into Veneighzuela?”
Princess Celestia stood in silence for a moment with a blank stare before quickly replying, “…Yes. That’s…exactly what I was thinking.”
“Doesn’t thou see it, sister? We cannot let this sort of thing get out of hand! Think of all the poor foals who look forward to the zoo, only to have their dreams cruelly crushed when they find their favorite animals missing! It is unacceptable! It is inconceivable! It is diabolical!” Princess Luna exclaimed, a ferret nibbling on her ear.
“And what exactly do you plan on doing?”
Smacking another ferret off her snout, Luna replied, “I hath already sent guards to be on the lookout for anypony wandering about the wilderness at night. Patrols are guarding the borders, scouring the land to make sure nopony gets through. I believe we hath everything under control.”
“Good…good…I don't even know why I'm needed...” Celestia began, her head slowly nodding off. “Now can you please clean up this mess? It’s starting to smell like a petting zoo in here.” And with that, she slowly crept out of the throne room with one of the brown animals hitching a ride on her back.
With most of the critters levitating in the air or clasping onto her head, Princess Luna said with a determined look in her eye, “Whoever is leading this—ouch!--must be the most cunning, devious, sneaky mastermind we have seen in a long, long time. But I will get you—ow! –you hear me! Mark my words fiend, those foals will get their zoo—ow! Mother of me, that hurt…”
That very next day, in a very familiar apple orchard in a rural village, a blue pegasus and a yellow cowpony were chatting. They each wore a warm smile on their faces, holding mugs of cold cider in their hooves, while standing on front of a smoldering pile of what used to be a barn before it was mercilessly demolished.
“Soooo….when do we get to blow up more stuff?” Rainbow Dash said, taking a slurp of her ice-cold cider.
“I swear, sometimes I feel like the only reason y’all come around is to blow stuff up and take mah cider,” Applejack replied playfully.
After chugging the rest of her mug, Dash added, “Yup, that basically sums up our friendship in a nutshell.”
“An’ what about all those times savin’ Equestria an’ whatnot?”
“Ehh…I guess that too. And kickin’ your butt at some random competition we make up.”
Raising her eyebrow, AJ took a swig of her own drink, downing it just as fast as her pegasus friend. “Puttin’ that little insult aside, I’m really thankful you could come by an’ help me take down this barn. As it’d turn out, mah relatives ain’t too good at making buildings. Who’da thunk?”
“Yeah, no problem AJ. It isn’t every day I get to pull out the sonic rainnuke.” Rainbow Dash took a seat on a piece of wood from the pile of wreckage of her own creation. She leaned back and took in the scenery around her, the lush orchard filled with succulent red apples, the rolling hills that seemed to go on into the horizon.
And of course, the first thing that came out her mouth was, “I wonder what would happen if a buncha rainnukes went off all at once. I probably could do that too. It’d be the craziest explosion ever.”
“But you wouldn’t do that, cause that’d be wrong. And…’cause yer a big softie.”
Shooting up and puffing out her chest, Dash cried indignantly, “Softie! Ha, not me! I’m the roughest and toughest, fastest and brashest pegasus in all of Equestria! If there’s one thing I’m not, it’s a softie.”
“Whatever you say, Dash.” Applejack turned around to mask the grin she held on her face. She ended up gazing at a spot in the field where the grass was flattened, as though somepony had been through there not too long ago. The cowpony’s brows furrowed as she was reminded of something that happened last night. Something extremely odd. “Hey Dash?”
“Yeah?”
“Mind if I ask you a favor?”
“No prob, AJ. What’s up?”
Applejack pointed towards the spot in the field and began, “Pretty late last night, probably around ten, I was wrangling up some cattle that got loose of the pens. But when I was by the barn, I saw somepony carrying some pretty big bags wandering in the fields.”
“Was it a thief? You want me to go rough him up?” Rainbow answered, hopping into the air, throwing mock punches.
“No…I could recognize that mane anywhere. I think…I think it was Fluttershy.”
Dash immediately ceased her mock-fighting, a dumbfounded frown spreading across her face. “Wait, Fluttershy? Our Fluttershy? The one that still gets startled by her own shadow?”
“Exactly! Which is why I thought it was odd that she was out so late.” Taking off her hat, Applejack motioned her head towards the direction of Fluttershy’s cottage, saying, “Listen, since you’ve known her longer than I have, I was hoping you could talk to her and make sure everythin’s okay.”
The pegasus gently let herself back onto the ground, seemingly taken aback. After mumbling a bit to herself, Dash asked, “Well…what do I say?”
“Just ask her how she’d been and if anything weird’s been goin’ on in her life. Think you can do that?”
After staying silent for a few seconds, Dash began to vigorously nod. “Y-yeah, okay. Okay, I can do that.”
Giving a warm smile, Applejack replied, “Yer a good friend Rainbow. Tell me what happens when yer done.”
“Wait, you mean now?”
“Yes, now.”
“Like, right now?”
“Yeah.”
“Like…right, right, right no-?”
“Fer pete’s sake, Rainbow. Just go!” the cowpony answered forcefully, giving a firm stamp of her hoof. Jolted, Rainbow hastily took off, headed towards the tiny cottage on the edge of the Everfree. And although she’d never admit it, the pegasus was a tad bit worried for Fluttershy. She was basically her best friend after all; she couldn’t help but worry.
As she watched her usually cocky friend fly off, Applejack gave a small smirk and whispered, “Ya big softie.”
xxx
Rainbow stood erect outside of Fluttershy’s cottage. In truth, she’d actually been standing there for a quite a few minutes, thinking about the facts Applejack had told her. And she was also giving herself a pep-talk, trying to psyche herself up.
Okay Rainbow Dash. I know you’re not the best at this lame ol’ comfort talk crud. But gosh darn it, if you can break the sound barrier without breaking a sweat, you can ask your friend about some weird intimate things she was doing in the middle of the night…wait. That came out wrong.
But before she knew it, her hoof was knocking on the door, seemingly by its own will. Dash could hear a tiny yelp coming from inside, followed by a muffled, “I’m coming! J-just hold on a minute!” A few more sounds came from the cottage, and Dash could have sworn it sounded like a bit of a scuffle.
Finally, the door swung open to reveal Fluttershy’s face, looking quite uncomfortable. Making an equally uncomfortable face, Rainbow Dash greeted, “Um…’sup Flutters?”
“O-oh. Hi Rainbow Dash. What are you…doing here?”
In her mind, Dash told herself, Ask if she’s alright. Ask if she’s alright. Ask if she’s alright…
“Applejack saw you stalking in the fields last night carrying a bunch of bags!”
The sentence had blurted out so lightning fast that neither pegasus knew how to react. Rainbow Dash seemed to be just as surprised as the pegasus across from her, and after processing what she had just blurted, put her hoof to her mouth.
Fluttershy’s eyes widened, and she retreated back into the cottage while mumbling, “Oh no…oh dear…”
Her curiosity now piqued, the cyan mare waltzed into the room, chirping, “What? What is it?”
“This isn’t good. This is not good.”
“Fluttershy, what’s wrong? Why were you out in the fields so late, and why did you have those bags?”
Flutttershy came up to a closed door, one that Dash never actually noticed before. Some sort of high-pitched noise was coming from behind it, but it was too muffled for Rainbow to figure out what it was. With a look of urgency plastered on her face, Fluttershy uttered, “Promise me you won’t tell anyone, Rainbow. If word got out…”
“I won’t tell anypony, I swear!” Rainbow Dash quickly replied, putting up her hooves in a salute.
Placing a leg on the doorknob, Fluttershy let out a deep breath. Her friend stood there watching the knob, her magenta eyes wide with both wonder and fear. “O-okay then,” Fluttershy reluctantly whispered. “But you might want to sit down. This is going to be….unbelievable.”
Then, holding her breath, the shy pegasus turned the knob and pushed in…
Then, realizing the door swung outwards, she pulled out…
xxx
Rainbow sat on her haunches on a ragged old couch, her mouth pulled into a huge scowl. To her left was Fluttershy, sipping mildly out of a juice box. And on her right side, as well as her front side, her backside, her hooves and her head, was a multitude of furry creatures that saw her as a chew toy. While an otter tugged on her ear, she uttered, “What the flying buck?”
“Rainbow, language please. You’re going to scare the animals.”
Plying the otter off her ear, Dash hovered upward and cried, “Scare the animals? What about you scaring the crud outta me?! I knew you cared for animals, but I didn’t know you do that!”
“I’m sorry for scaring you Rainbow,” Fluttershy apologized quietly, holding her juice box up to cover her face. “But this…is what I do.”
“So let me get this straight. What you do…is steal animals from captivity and smuggle them out of Equestria?”
Scuffing her hooves along the ground, the yellow pegasus said, “Well actually, I’m not the one who steals them. I just…get them away.
“Jeez Flutters, this is illegal!”
In a sudden burst of confidence, Fluttershy swept up the otter Dash had thrown to the ground, and with a stern tone, she replied, “But what they do to them in zoos and wildlife preserves is even worse! These aren’t just animals. They have feelings and dignity, and those zoos take that away from them. I’m just trying to take them to where they rightfully belong. In the wild, with their brethren.” Then, giving a fake cough, she added under her breath, “And…also I…could use the money. Caring for wildlife isn’t very cheap.”
Smacking her hoof to her face, Rainbow let out a dejected groan. “Oh gosh Flutters, what am I gonna do? I…have to tell somepony”
“But you promised not to tell anypony!”
“Then you have to turn yourself in, Flutters. This is...so bad! I can’t believe you of all ponies would do something like this. I mean just look at us! If I’m the one doing the scolding, you know we’re in serious trouble!”
Fluttershy’s eyes began to widen, a sense of urgency starting to finally sink in. “Rainbow, I’m so sorry I had to drag you into this, but I’ve had nopony else to turn to. Princess Luna has begun to put more security by the borders, and it’s been getting harder and harder for me to do this by myself. So…I was wondering…maybe…”
Fluttershy didn’t need to finish that sentence. Dash was already shaking her head violently, sending a baby phoenix flying out of her mane and onto the carpet, which began to smolder. As Fluttershy began to stamp out the flame, Dash shouted, “No! Noooo way! I am not going to help you on your runs. No way. You gotta turn yourself in, Flutters, ‘cause I’m not gonna help you out.”
Hearing Dash’s fiery ultimatum seemed to send a jolt through the yellow pegasus. Her ears flattened, her head drooped, and her wings hung limp at her side. “Okay, fine. You’re right Dash, this is wrong,” Fluttershy whispered, slowly turning around with an otter and a phoenix on her back.
Pouting in the air, Dash watched as her friend despondently crept over to a pair of crates which held other animals. Seeing her friend so depressed made Dash feel…well frankly, she didn’t really know how she felt. Her pout had begun to soften a little, her icy stare starting to show signs of cracking.
Then suddenly, Fluttershy began to speak to the animals as she put them back in their spots, as though Dash wasn’t even there. Her voice was quivering, and her sentences were pierced by sniffles and hiccups. “W-what’s that Mr. Otter? Y-you don’t want to go back to the zoo were they make you sleep in dirty holes and mucky water? You too little Phoenix? I-I’m sorry, but you have to go back. Rainbow Dash says it’s the right thing to do. Even…even if it means starving to death in a c-cold, messy, smelly enclosure—.”
Finally, Rainbow Dash couldn’t take it anymore. Heaving a reluctant sigh, the cyan pegasus muttered, “Alright, alright! I’ll help you on your stupid run.”
Suddenly, Fluttershy whirled around with a huge smile on her face shining on her otherwise tear-less face. She raced to her friend and swept her up in a big hug, saying, “Oh, I knew you’d help me out!”
Never taking her eyes off the furry creatures scuttling all over the room, Rainbow Dash replied anxiously, “You’ve been hanging out with Discord too much, you know that?”
“I’m so sorry for making you do this. If there was any other way…”
Backing out of the cottage, Dash waved her hoof smugly and dismissed, “No, no, it’s cool Fluttershy. That’s what friends are for.” She shut the door behind her and began to tread down the walkway, her held high. Her face was emotionless, calm, as if she totally didn’t care that she was heading home to get ready for smuggling furry contraband.
Then, when she was safely out of view, Rainbow Dash began to awesomely freak out.
Pouncing behind a bush, the pegasus began to hyperventilate, her eyes bulging out, her legs flailing every which way. She eventually rolled onto her back and buried her face in her front legs, uttering, “Ohmygosh, ohmygosh, ohmygosh. This is so not cool.” She began to teeter back and forth, curled up into ball, repeating the same words over and over. This continued for only a few more minutes, even though to her it felt like an eternity.
Then suddenly, she propped herself up on her haunches, her face pulled into a scowl. She slapped herself across her cheek numerous times, telling herself, “Pull yourself together, Rainbow! What was that old saying? Friends help friends sneak live animals into other countries or something? It can’t be that hard. If Flutters could do it all by herself, then this should be a piece of cake!”
Her pep talk was untimely cut short, however, by somepony whispering behind her, “Rainbow? I thought you’d gone home to get ready.”
“Fluttershy!” Dash cried, quickly scambling to her hooves. “What are you doing here?”
“This is…my house?”
The two pegasi continued to stare at each other for an awkwardly prolonged period of time, neither saying a word. Finally, scratching her mane while looking at Fluttershy out of the corner of her eye, Rainbow Dash said, “I…should probably get going.”
“Yes.”
So with a flourish of her wings, Rainbow Dash left Fluttershy’s cottage behind, and this time for real. But of course, being the kind of stand-out pony she was, Dash didn’t get very far. The pegasus had just flown into town when a voice behind her shouted, “Rainbow Dash!”
Just ignore her, Rainbow. Maybe she’ll go away, Dash told herself, continuing to fly on.
“Rainbow! Hey Rainbow! Where ya headed off to?”
Okay then, she’s not going away...just act normal Rainbow. Act cool.
The pegasus swung around to find herself face to face with none other than Applejack. Applejack, on the other hoof, was greeted by a mildly unsettling smile that could also be mistaken as a grimace of pain. But despite the enormous set of pearly whites Rainbow Dash was showing off, the cowpony said calmly, “I was wondering where ya went off to! You were gone fer a bit longer than I thought!”
“Hi…AJ. What are you doing around here?” Dash asked, feigning innocence.
“Umm, mah farm’s just down the street.” Applejack pointed behind her towards a large painted sign that screamed the words Sweet Apple Acres in bold red.
Well shoot, Dash screamed in her head, mentally kicking herself.
While she continued to scold herself, Applejack continued, “I was waiting fer you to come back an’ tell me how yer talk with Fluttershy went!”
“Oh yeah, that! Yeah I just got done talking to her, y’know. I went inside, we had some coffee, we talked, we stopped talking, and now I’m on my way to do some important….weather patrol business.”
“But it’s Sunday. You don’t work on Sundays.”
Despite the fact that she was saying a few unsophisticated things in her mind at the moment, Dash put on her best smile, adding a small shrug for good measure. Putting on a good show of knocking her forehead with her hoof, the pegasus said, “Oh right, I forgot! Guess I oughta head home and fix my schedule.”
She started to fly away when she felt a sudden tug on her tail. Applejack had it clenched tightly in her teeth, pulling the pegasus back to the ground. With her eyes narrowed, the cowpony stated, “Jeez, Speedy, ain’t you the jittery one? It ain’t like you got anywhere to be. Yer actin’ like Fluttershy told you she was some kind of wanted criminal or something.”
Every muscle in Rainbow Dash’s body suddenly tensed up, causing her to stand erect. Her heart began to beat faster, and her pupils started to dilate as AJ’s words sank in. Applejack gave her a stern glare, and the pegasus could have sworn she had seen a twinkle in her friend’s all-knowing eyes. Oh crud, she thought, biting her lip.
Then without warning, Applejack burst into laughter. “That’s crazy talk! Fluttershy? A criminal? Ha! That’s funnier than Granny Smith wearing lingerie in the middle of a sweaty hot day.”
“Heh, fuuuuny,” Rainbow replied, letting out a secret sigh of relief.
“No, no it’s not,” the farmer added, for some reason still chuckling. “But anyway, what’d she really tell ya?”
“She actually…uhhhh...” Rainbow Dash started to glance at things all around her; the sky, the ground, the grass, anything that wasn’t directly in Applejack’s hardened eyes. After licking her lips for what seemed to be the hundredth time, she blurted, “Dropped one of her contacts earlier and passed by to try and find it! Yeah….that’s it.”
For a second, Rainbow Dash caught glimpse of Applejack’s eyes. And for that one split second, she could feel those eyes glaring at her, drilling into her, piercing her very soul. Those eyes made her tremble; she was ensnared in a web of her own lies, trapped by those green orbs of terror.
“Aww shoot, I hate it when that happens!” Applejack responded, her head actually turned towards the field, not even looking at her pegasus friend. “Big Mac loses his contacts all the time, an’ it takes forever to find ‘em. Not to mention he’s gotta put ‘em in with them big clunky hooves of his. I hope she found ‘em.”
“Y-yeah. I think she did. Everything’s all good,” Dash assured, slowly backing away.
“But wait…then why would Fluttershy be in the field earlier?”
This time, the cyan pegasus didn’t wait around to give an answer. She sputtered, “Yeah, ‘kay, gotta go, bye!” and rocketed off into the sky, her wings pumping as fast as they could.
Applejack held tightly onto her hat as the gust from Dash’s wings hit her. She looked up at the speck in the sky with raised brows, muttering to herself, “Since when did all my friends turn into wierdos?”
xxx
The day soon passed into night, the moon hanging over Ponyville like an ever-watching eye. Fluttershy stood in her backyard, looking up at this glowing eyeball, a slight frown prevalent on her hooded face. For some reason, there was something about this moon, something that made the pegasus uneasy. And yet she couldn’t put a hoof on it, no matter how long she stared at the sky.
The cottage was surrounded by darkness, the only light coming from a tiny torch held in Fluttershy’s hooves. Being so far from town, the only sounds were rustling leaves and faint growling coming from the nearby Everfree. And even after living here for so many years, Fluttershy still hadn’t gotten used to it.
Suddenly she heard the crunching of a twig, causing her to jump. She peered into the darkness, only able to make out the faint outline of an unknown creature. Fluttershy drew in a breath, shakily shining her torch in the creature’s direction.
“Calm down, crazy. It’s just me.”
Rainbow Dash stepped out of the darkness, and Fluttershy slowly began to settle back down. Pulling back her hood, she whispered, “Oh Rainbow. You scared me.”
“Yeah, what else is new?” Dash mumbled, leaning herself against a fencepost. She wore a black beanie over her colorful mane, letting only the tip of her forelock hang out. “So are we gonna get going now, or what?”
“We’ll leave soon Dash. But first, I’d like you meet the animals.” Fluttershy made her way over to a tree stump where she had put their living contraband. She picked up a satchel bag, out of which popped a trio of tiny otter heads. They each had a silver stripe running down their backs, and they shoved each other, vying for some space.
“These are the otter triplets: Giovanni, Anton, and Francesca. Don’t worry, they’re fraternal.”
“Yeah…right,” Dash replied, staring at the bickering otters, trying to figure out which one was which. They all look like stinkin’ otters to me, she thought, already giving up on remembering their names.
“This is the Phoenix Family. Mama Phoenix, Papa Phoenix, and Chibi,” Fluttershy said, leading Rainbow to a birdcage holding three docile-looking phoenixes.
“Y’know, it kinda looks like Spike’s old bird. You don’t think-?”
“Nope, probably not, okay moving on,” Fluttershy interrupted, quickly shuffling over to a small glass box containing a small blue rattlesnake.
“This is Fang,” she began, as Rainbow began to lean in and inspect it. She caught a glimpse of the snake’s eyes, bright red slits contrasting against its blue scales. That was when Fluttershy added, “Don’t worry, he doesn’t bite as long as you don’t look him in the eye.”
Rainbow’s eyes widened as the snake suddenly lunged forward, baring its surprisingly long venomous fangs. Suddenly, there was a loud thunk, followed by the sound of angry rattling. Dash had been saved by the inch of glass between them, and she made sure Fang knew it, closing her eyes and blowing a raspberry. “Nice try, Fang,” the pegasus taunted before following Fluttershy along.
They soon came upon another small cage, this time containing two white mice. “What about these lil’ guys?” Rainbow asked, gingerly picking up the container.
“Those two are Martin and Mathias.”
“They just look like regular mice,” Dash said with a smirk, putting her face right up to the bars.
“Yeah. Except they spit poison.”
Fluttershy had said this just in the nick of time, and Dash swiftly moved her head out of the way just as a blob of poison sped past he face. The tip of her mane sizzling, she carefully put the cage down, never taking her eyes off the two creatures.
However, Fluttershy didn’t even seem to notice, continuing her spiel as though nothing had happened. “Oh, and there’s one more animal. I call him Fluffy. He’s pretty feisty.”
Rolling her eyes, Dash replied, “Fluffy? Sounds terrifying.” Fluttershy went up to a container akin to a dog cage, with a cloth draped over to hide the contents. Giving a quick glance at her friend, the pegasus gasped the cloth and gave a swift tug.
The first thing that Dash could register was the deep guttural roar that shocked her from her thoughts. Then the tiny cage started to thrash about, bouncing and turning as though Fluttershy’ had managed to contain a twister. Then the creature lunged forwards, propelling the cage towards Rainbow, allowing her to see its ferocious feline face. The creature’s red mane surround its face, which held long pointed teeth that could easily shred an animal’s skin. But when Dash saw the pair of small bat-like wings, and the pointed, scorpion-like tail, she let out a small shriek. “Sweet mother of Luna, what the buck?!” Rainbow cried, leaping into the air.
“Language!”
But Rainbow wasn’t listening. She flew above Fluttershy, ranting, “A…a manticore! We’re taking a manticore with us?”
“Oh come on, Dash. He’s only a kitten,” the caretaker answered, somehow able to drape the cloth over the cage once again. “Mature manticores get to be four times his size!”
Dash’s mouth hung wide open, a look of disbelief plain on her face. “Y-yeah, but…but…aw forget it,” she muttered, waving her hoof dismissively. “J-just run the plan, Flutters. Before I decide to back out.”
Giving a little nod, Fluttershy whipped out a large map seemingly out of nowhere. She spread it across the ground, and grabbing a twig, she recited, “I used to take them through the forest north of here, but Luna has since placed a slew of Royal Guards on patrol. So this time, we’re going to have to go around, through the swamp. We’re going to follow along the edge, keeping an eye out for any guards that stray away from the forest. If we see any, we’ll be able to hide in the foliage.”
“Or fight ‘em,” Dash muttered under her breath, only half-serious.
“Err...okay...once we get past the swamp, we’ll make our way into the plains. There’s a lot of tall grass that we’ll be able to hide. Then, we’ll cross Deep Crevasse…”
“You’d think they’d come up with a cooler name than ‘Deep Crevasse’,” Rainbow interrupted, giving a small chuckle. However, Fluttershy didn’t look too amused, to the cyan pegasus added, “Sorry.”
Smiling politely, Fluttershy continued, “After that, it’s a clear shot to Cragslane Rock, which marks the border between Veneighzuela and Equestria. Once we get across that border, we’ll be home free. Do you…um…understand?”
“Yeah. Whatever.”
“Good,” Fluttershy said, slinging a pack over her bag before placing the large map inside. “Then it looks like we ought to get going as soon as possible.
“Well, I still can’t believe I’m doing this,” Dash uttered, picking up her own little bag Fluttershy had packed for her, complete with juice boxes, granola bars, and apples. “But on the bright side, I’ll look pretty cool doing it.”
Far out in wilderness of Equestria, a pair of shadows flew further from society under the cover of the darkness. The night was still new, the stars beginning to twinkle high above the earth. A few of the animals, mainly the otters, stared up at the sparkling lights in wide-eyed wonder. Then suddenly, the bag they were in jolted forward, causing them to fall on top of each other.
They began to squeak angrily, to which Fluttershy whispered, “Sorry.” She had been lagging behind, flying tepidly across the plain, scanning her surroundings with a cautious eye. The sound of a rustling bush had caused her to suddenly stop, shaking all the animals she had in her possession.
A little bit further ahead, Rainbow Dash flew backwards slowly, weighted down from carrying the phoenixes and Fluffy. She rolled her eyes and muttered angrily, “Come on ‘Shy, it’s just the wind! We’re not gonna get anywhere if you keep stopping every ten seconds.”
“R-right. Sorry,” she apologized again. Grabbing hold of Fang and the mice’s cages, she sped up to her rainbow-maned friend.
“Honestly Flutters, I’m carrying the big ones here and I’m still flying faster than you,” Dash told her, grunting as she pulled the two containers along.
Fluttershy tried to give a small smile, replying, “Well…I suppose it’s better to be safe than sorry.”
Snorting, Rainbow resumed her nonchalant flapping, floating above the ground with two heavy cages dangling from her hooves. It was clear from her jagged flight path that the heavy load affected her, especially since she was a pony who preferred to fly light. Eventually, the constant shifting caused a quiet growl to emit from the manticore cage. However, Dash kept moving straight ahead, paying no heed.
Finally, Fluttershy said, “Dash, Fluffy says you’re shaking his cage too much.”
“Huh? Oh,” the cyan pegasus replied, looking down at the tiny snout sticking out of the bars. “Well you’re a manticore, deal with it. You don’t see the phoenixes complaining.” Fluffy responded with another growl, this time a bit louder.
“That’s because they’re sleeping. Manticores, on the other hoof, are nocturnal. The more you know.”
Trying tonkeep the cages steadier, Dash rolled her eyes and uttered, “At least I learned one thing outta this trip.”
And so they moved on through the wildly rolling grass hills of Equestria, their furry contraband in tow. The moon was still casting its watchful gaze, and Fluttershy still couldn’t help but cast a glance or two skyward. Lucky for them, all was peaceful so far; they had not seen a single other pony yet. It was just two friends—and a band of random woodland creatures hanging on their limbs.
By now, their eyes had adjusted to the extreme darkness of the frontier. Squinting, Rainbow Dash peered ahead, the outline of trees starting to appear over the horizon. “I think I see the swamp up ahead already, Flutters. This ain’t too bad,” she whispered, a slight smirk playing on her lips.
“That’s because we haven’t seen any guards yet. But now that we’re at the swamp, we need to be extra cautious. This is probably where they’re patrolling,” Fluttershy answered. The duo made their way to the tree line, gazing up at the tall foliage with wide eyes. Fluttershy gingerly landed in the soft dirt, carefully balancing the mice and Fang on her back. “We have to go on hoof from here, Dash. The trees are too thick to fly through.”
Heaving a sigh, Rainbow reluctantly touched down as well. She eyed her two cages for a second, giving a look that said, You’ve gotta be kidding me. Then, placing the lighter phoenix cage on her back, she lifted Fluffy’s cage with her teeth. Feeling more like a pack mule than a companion, Dash led the way into the dark foliage, with Fluttershy meekly following behind.
Moonlight struggled to shine through the dense trees and hanging moss, causing the swamp to be even darker than the field. The duo could barely see the ground they were walking on, which was basically mud with a few puddles of dank water strewn about. Once, Dash tripped over a hidden root, and she almost stumbled into the thick grime. In her spin, she accidently banged Fluffy’s cage against a mossy tree, and the manticore let out a low growl. “Hey Fluffy, no offense, but could ya stand to lose a few pounds?” the pegasus said, trying to wipe the dirt she had splashed on her coat. To this, the manticore let out an even longer growl, baring its long white fangs.
Smirking, the mare replied, “Calm down, Fluffbutt. I’m just joking. Fluttershy, when do we….Fluttershy?” Rainbow Dash glanced back, only to find that it was just her and her animals. Peering into the darkness, quite a bit away, Dash could make out something protruding from the mud. It was no tree root, however. This thing was colored yellow, and was wriggling about.
And it was slowly sinking.
“Fluttershy!” Rainbow cried, immediately flicking her wings out. Placing Fluffy and the phoenixes safely on a tree stump, the pegasus shot forward, leaving a faint rainbow streak in her wake. She nimbly maneuvered around the tall trees, somersaulting and gliding her way toward the sinking hoof of her friend. The swamp was incredibly dense, and it was difficult for Dash to squeeze her wings past the trees’ thick trunk. But sure enough, the veteran flyer managed them with grace, soon finding herself hovering over Fluttershy hoof.
Rainbow Dash grasped her friend’s leg, beat her wings, and began to tug. Inch by inch, Fluttershy began to rise out the muck. First her ears, then her mane, her eyes, her snout, and then finally her whole face was free of the suffocating mud. After that, it became much easier for Dash to heave her free. With a loud shlurp, the mud had relinquished its vice grip on the timid pegasus, who began to cough.
Rainbow Dash took her to a tree trunk at the side of the deep mud, behind which the mice and the snake were busy trying to kill each other from behind their cages. Dash also spied an empty saddlebag, which was just that. Empty.
Finally, once the coughing had subsided, Fluttershy weakly said, “The otters…save the otters.” She pointed a shaky hoof towards a clearing, where Dash could make out the shape of three otters fighting each other…while gradually descending into the brown goop.
Blowing her mane out of her face, Rainbow uttered, “Oh boy.” Then she raced towards the tiny critters, which were totally oblivious to the fact that they were near death.
Luckily, they were much closer than Fluttershy had been, so Dash easily zoomed up and grabbed up the triplets in one single scoop. They seemed very peeved, chattering and smacking at Dash’s chest, their paws balled into a little fist. Taking them over to Fluttershy, Dash told them, “Jeez, don’t you guys ever stop complaining? I know you don’t like this and all, but sheesh.”
Rainbow let the triplets down into Fluttershy’s caring (and grimy) hooves. As the last one scurried off, Dash said, “There you go, Giovanni.”
Placing the otters back into their pouch, Fluttershy stated quietly, “Umm, that was actually Anton.
“That one?”
“No, that’s Francesca.”
“So that one’s Gio?”
“No, that’s Anton. Can’t you tell?”
The pair locked eyes. Dash shot a laser-glare at her muddy friend, unsurprisingly not amused about the fact that her friend almost drowned in a sea of quicksand. Fluttershy responded by giving a timid smile….revealing a set of teeth coved with a layer of mud and moss.
And despite what had just happened, the sight of her dirty friend caused Dash to burst out into laughter, and Fluttershy couldn’t help but join in. The two friends shared their laughter and pointed at each other for a few minutes, until Dash said between giggles, “Okay, hahaha…let’s just get out this freakin’ swamp, yeah?”
“Agreed,” Fluttershy replied, a slight smile playing on her lips. Maybe there’s still some hope for you yet, Dashie.
xxx
A growl pierced the silence of the night, causing Fluttershy to jump. “Now Fluffy…”
“Um, acshually that wash me,” Rainbow sheepishly said through the manticore cage’s handle, much to Fluttershy’s chagrin. “Whah? I didn’t have anyfin’ ta eat before I left! I wash bushy fusshing over this bucking smuggling advenshure!”
“Language.”
“Yeah yeah, I know.”
Giving a quiet sigh, Fluttershy sat atop a tree trunk and said, “But…since you’re hungry, I suppose we can take a bit of a break. But not for too long.”
Rainbow Dash took no time plopping herself down, dropping her cages into the mud. She began to massage her hoofs, wiping the muck that coated her fur. Then she whipped off her beanie and began to fix her prismatic mane, uttering, “There’s muck everywhere. On the ground, on the trees, in the air. I’ve got mud inside my beanie; how does that even happ—?” She let out a cough, and a fly fluttered out of her mouth. “Oh that’s disgusting…”
Fluttershy flipped open her pack and tossed a granola bar over to her friend, who licked her lips and hastily tore open the wrapping. She took a bite of the Sweet Bar O’ Celestia, happy to finally have something to eat.
But when Dash looked to her left, she found Fluffy eyeing the delectable treat. At first, she ignored the manticore and continued to glance down at the ground. But soon, her eyes wandered back to the cage and the manticore’s big black longing eyes. Her attention was soon caught by a long drop of drool descending from his hanging tongue and down his fur.
Taking a final bite, the pegasus muttered reluctantly, “You want one, Fluff?” Dash could have sworn she saw it nod, so she tossed the rest into the cage. The animal happily gobbled up the treat and let out a soft purr before curling up into a ball. Dash couldn’t help but chuckle at the cute feline, and she whispered, “Yeah, well, don’t get used to it, buddy.”
She stood up and made her way over to her smuggling companion, who sat with Fang on one side and the acid-spitters on the other. “So the snake and the mice are awake, huh? They’re not nocturnal too, are they?”
“Nope,” Fluttershy replied, finishing up the last of her bar. “I’m surprised, actually. Usually their kind stays sound asleep.”
The rainbow pegasus could hear a faint rattle droning in her ears, so she whispered, “You should probably tell Fang to stop rattling.”
But Fluttershy only gave a confused look, and she turned around only to find Fang curled peacefully in his cage. “That’s not Fang.”
Dash listened more carefully, the sound seemingly getting louder….closer. “Your stomach?” Fluttershy asked.
“Shhh,” Rainbow whispered, perking her ears. Finally, the rattling sound was close enough for Dash to realize that it wasn’t rattling at all. It was the sound of rustling leaves and low murmuring.
“Where are ya leading me now, huh? We’ve been scouting this swamp for hours.”
Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash immediately tensed up as the faint glow of a unicorn horn began to pierce the darkness. Grabbing Fang and the two large cages, Dash whispered, “Oh shoot, we need to hide!”
One of the voices said, “But seriously, I heard something over this direction. It was like some kind of growling, like a big hungry animal!”
Fluttershy narrowed her eyes towards Dash, who pointed an accusing hoof at Fluffy and muttered, “It was him!”
But there would be no time for Fluttershy and berate Dash for her insatiable appetite. A bright light flashed towards the two, and another duo of silhouettes wearing golden armor peered out of the bushes. At first, the light blinded the smugglers. But Rainbow Dash was still able to react quickly, screaming, “Run!” She quickly took off with her animals, once again nimbly weaving through the dense trees. Fluttershy did her best to follow Rainbow’s lead, while at the same time trying to keep the otters from falling out of her pack.
“Hey, get back here!” a voice yelled behind them, followed by the sound of hooves sloshing through the muck. Despite the lack of wings, the athletic Royal Guards we able to gallop through the deep sludge and keep up with the two pegasi, who were having difficultly steering.
Rainbow Dash whizzed through the swamp, not even daring to look back for a single second. All she knew was the sound of rapid sloshing behind her, and the sound of Fluffy being bounced around in his cage. “Sorry, bud!” Dash shouted while swerving back and forth, dodging the incoming trees. She had been so caught up in her flying, in fact, that she hadn’t realized that Fluttershy was no longer following behind.
xxx
Fluttershy had constantly kept bumping into tree trunks, and she soon lost sight of her companion in the dark night. However, the guards we still close behind her, their splashes getting louder and louder with every second. Her eyes darted around the forest, and her chest rapidly rose up and down as she took in sharp breaths. “Oh no, oh no, oh no,” Fluttershy muttered, searching hastily for some kind of escape.
Finally, one of the otter triplets pointed toward a large tree branch jutting out above them, covered by some low-hanging foliage. With wide eyes, the pegasus wasted no time springing up and latching onto the branch, dangling upside down. And at that moment, the two guards popped out of the bushes, stopping right underneath the branch.
“Did you see were they went?” one of them asked, checking one of the shrubs.
“Naw, but they can’t have gone too far,” the other responded, dimming his horn. “We’ve got two others scouting the place up ahead. They’ll catch up to ‘em sooner or later.”
As the two conversed, Fluttershy did her best to not tremble, or breathe, or do anything that could alert the two muscly stallions below. Please don’t look up, she thought, sweat starting to pool on her brow. Fluttershy could have sworn she had felt something move in her pack, but she was too frozen by fear to even look down.
And that was a terrible, horrible, extremely fatal mistake.
The glass box that held Martin and Mathias was slowly sliding out of the upside down pack. By the time she looked down, the box was out of the bag, falling towards the ground, set on a collision course with one of the guard’s head.
The box seemed to move in slow motion. Time seemed to crawl. Fluttershy’s heart seemed to stop. The mice tumbled about their glass prison, watching the guard’s golden helmet get bigger and bigger. All the pegasus could do was utter a peep and watch helplessly as the glass container descended towards its—and Fluttershy’s—doom. She shut her eyes, and waited for the flash of the guard’s magic to reduce her to ashes.
But unfortunately for doom, it would be forced to wait for a bit longer. When Fluttershy realized she wasn’t a pile of ashes yet, she reluctantly opened her eyes. The box had been halted just a few inches above the guard’s head, caught by a chain of otters swinging from the open saddlebag.
Fluttershy let out a silent breath of relief as the trio of deft critters climbed back up into the bag with the mice in tow. And if it wasn’t for the fact that she was clinging on for dear life, she would have gladly kissed each one of their furry heads.
xxx
Okay…I lost Fluttershy, but don’t panic. Gotta worry about myself first, Dash thought as she trekked through the marsh. I’m sure Fluttershy escaped. I know she’s not the best flyer…or runner...aww crud.
The pegasus touched down in the mud, surveying the dark crowded swamp. All was silent; the guards seemed to have fallen behind. Dash took this time to catch her breath, leaning against slimy rock, not even caring about the grime that coated its surface. After carrying five fairly large animals while trying to somehow weave through an army of trees, she certainly felt the wind knocked out of her wings.
Rainbow checked the family of phoenixes, who were actually awake for the first time during this trip. The little chick was nestled in the protective wing of its parents, whose heads seemed to jerk in every direction. “Sorry for the rough ride, folks,” Dash whispered. “What about you, Fluffy? You a’ight?”
The manticore responded with a gruff growl, his scorpion tail flicking back and forth irately. “What’d you expect? We’re smugglers, not the Royal Escort Service.”
Their moment of calm was soon cut short when Dash spied a bright light out of the corner of her eye. It was still quite a ways away, but Rainbow could tell it was the same light the came from the guards. “We gotta go,” the pegasus uttered, picking up Fang. She wheeled in the opposite direction, ready to gallop away.
However, the mud concealed an evildoer who would put a damper on her escape, an evil that came in the form of a large root. When Rainbow tried to pull her hoof out of the muck, it caught on the root, and she tumbled straight into the mud. As she fell, the glass box flew out of her hooves. Rainbow Dash caught a face full of muck, and she could only watch helplessly as Fang was flung straight toward a tree trunk. The glass box shattered, and snake plopped into the mud, rattling furiously.
And so, Rainbow Dash was submerged in mud with glass pieces scattered everywhere, sludge inside her mouth, and a pair of angry guards behind her saying, “What was that?”
Dash did her best to regain her footing, but her wings were too weighted down by the mud to fly. So she was forced to place Fluffy and the phoenixes on her back and waddle away with the stallions quickly closing the gap. Rainbow snatched up a hissing Fang as she passed, making sure not to look down at its red eyes.
The cyan pegasus knew she wasn’t going to get far with the mud and the animals weighing her down. She glanced back to see the light bouncing through the foliage, much closer than it had been a few seconds ago. Realizing it was no use, her eyes darted around the swamp, looking for someplace to hide. They lighted upon a small nook in a tree covered by some hanging moss. She brushed the moss aside only to find the alcove much too small for all of them to crawl into.
Heaving a hesitant sigh, Dash placed the two large cages inside the nook, whispering, “You guys better say quiet.” She placed the moss over the opening, hiding them perfectly from sight. Then, drawing one final breath, she pulled her beanie over her face and ducked into the mud at the base of the trunk. Letting out a groan, she plopped the mud atop her body, doing her best to cover every spot of blue. She held her breath and lay motionless, just as the two guards passed.
The stallions rushed by, not even stopping to inspect the area. But despite this, Dash stayed in the same position for a full minute, not even daring to risk moving. She probably would have stayed there longer too, if it wasn’t for a tingling sensation on the back of her neck.
“Fluffy, is that you? Stop poking my neck,” she whispered, keeping the beanie pulled over her face. But the tickling continued, even after she swatted a hoof angrily at the spot.
“Fluffy, I said quit it!” Dash commanded, sliding the beanie off her face. But when she opened her eyes and turned her head, she didn’t find a bright red lion's mane in front of her. And by the time those red, serpent-like eyeballs registered in her mind, it was too late.
After waiting motionless for ten minutes, Fluttershy carefully lighted down when she was sure the guards were gone. The stallions had gotten very peeved when they realized they had been searching a smelly swamp for what seemed to be nothing, and had long since headed back to the forest.
The timid pegasus was now creeping through the muck with her trio of otters and duo of mice hitching on her back. Sure, the guards were gone. But there was an even bigger task ahead—finding her companion in this huge dark murky swamp. And for all she knew, Dash could have been captured already.
Peering behind every bit of moss and tree, Fluttershy whispered, “Rainbow Dash? It’s me, Fluttershy. You can come out now.”
Luckily, she wouldn’t have to trek very far. She found herself in a small clearing when a droning sound echoed throughout the swamp. Fluttershy couldn’t help but jump and glance around carefully, her eyes wide with terror. “W-who’s there?” She backed up, only to trip over an odd bump covered by mud. She fell on her bottom, getting more muck all over her fur, while muttering a quiet, “Ow…”
Glancing down at the thing she had tripped over, she saw a patch of blue covered by a layer of grime. To her surprise, the droning sound was now right behind her, and Fluttershy was able to make it out as a groan of pain. Whirling around, she found herself face to face with her rainbow friend.
“Rainbow Dash. Oh I’m so glad you’re fine,” Fluttershy said happily. “I see you hid in the mud. Very clever.” But oddly enough, Dash didn’t respond, still making that weird groaning sound. Upon closer examination, Fluttershy saw some drool hanging from Dash’s mouth. Slowing moving up, Fluttershy found some snot running from her nose, a pair eyes rolled up into her head, and a mane half-covered by a dirty worn-out beanie.
And that was when she saw the serpent clinging to the side of Dash’s head with its fangs.
xxx
And only an hour later, Rainbow was vomiting by the side of a tree. “Bleargh! I-I’ve never felt so bad in all my li…li…Bleargh!”
“Oh it’s okay, Dash,” Fluttershy replied calmly while shielding the animals’ eyes.
“It’s okay? I got bit by a snake and almost died. And now those meds you gave me is making me even more sick!” Dash was able to shout before spewing even more of that Sweet Bar O’ Celestia on the ground.
“You must be having a teensy-weensy allergic reaction. Don’t worry, I‘ve seen this happen before. Luckily, that should render Fang’s venom useless.” Fluttershy held the snake across her back, which looked much more content than it had been on Dash’s head.
“O-okay. I think…I think I’m good now,” Rainbow uttered, wiping the remains of her lunch off her mouth. “Thanks a lot, Fang.”
“It’s not his fault. It’s only his instincts. I mean, you did, well, break his cage.”
“Well it’s not like there was a sign telling me there was a root,” Dash replied, injecting a bit of her own venom into her words. “What was I supposed to do, let Fang lay there in the mud we’re we’d lose him? Jeez…I knew this was a bad idea…”
Fluttershy’s eyes flickered, and her lips were pulled into a worried frown. Picking the larger animals, the kind pegasus said, “If it’ll make you feel any better, I’ll be glad to take the big cages while you can carry the small ones.”
“Thanks, I feel so much better.” Rainbow dizzily swept up the otters, who were unsurprisingly quarreling in their inane otter language, and the two mice, who were acting like the otters’ polar opposites. With Fang draped around her neck like a scarf and the two larger cages in tow, Fluttershy led the way through the swamp. Rainbow staggered close behind, trying to keep her green-tinged face from plummeting forward into the mud once again.
Her mind was all jumbled at the moment, concentrating on one thing: trying not to lose anymore of her lunch. She was focused, in fact, that she didn’t realize the triplets had crawled out of their pack and dug themselves into her multicolored mane. They began to swing to and fro due to Dash’s erratic movements, letting out small squeaks of joy. Fluttershy looked back to see the circus act behind her, and she couldn’t help but giggle.
Finally, one of the troublemakers—Anton by the looks of it—ended up latching onto one of Dash’s ears to get himself steady. The pegasus recoiled her head in pain, finally feeling the multiple tugs on the back of her mane. “Alright, that’s enough! Can’t you see I’m sick?”
One of otters remained wrapped around her neck, so she demanded, “That’s means you too, Gio.”
“That’s…um…actually Anto—.”
“Whatever!”
xxx
After about thirty minutes of quiet marching, Fluttershy was able to make out an opening in the foliage out of the blackness. “Good news, Dash! It’s the edge of the swamp!” she called out happily.
“Thank Luna!” Dash muttered.
“I don’t think you should say that, Rainbow. I think Luna was the one who sent those guards after us.”
“It’s just an expression, ‘Shy,” Rainbow replied, just as the moon started to peak through the ceiling of leaves and branches. They stepped out of the swamp and its suffocating stench, and into the clear air of the plains. They glanced up to see the starry sky for the first time in forever—or so it seemed. Both pegasi let out a sigh of relief before taking in a gulp of fresh air. Their hooves were no longer perpetually sunken into the mud, and they took great happiness in feeling the hard dirt below them. A forest of tall grass stood before them, swaying in unison to the soft breeze.
“I’ve never been so happy to be in the middle of nowhere in all my life,” Rainbow Dash said, sitting on her haunches to rest.
“I know you want some rest, Rainbow, but I really think we should keep moving.”
“Hey, as long as we’re out of that swamp, I’m good.” And with that, the duo continued on into the grass, leaving the swamp behind them.
The grass was a few inches above their head, easily providing cover for whoever could be searching for them. It was surprisingly easy to maneuver the thick blades, which were a lot lighter than they looked. Dash inspected the blades more closely to find tiny exotic bugs clinging onto the undersides with not a care in the world. And oddly enough, she found herself envying them.
But suddenly, she was snapped out of her brush with nature by a scorpion tail lashing out and snatching one of the bugs from its perch. She watched as Fluffy flicked the creature into its mouth, devouring it with a resounding crunch. “Dude, not cool,” Dash whispered, to which the manticore let out a purr of satisfaction.
“You know, I think he’s starting to like you,” Fluttershy remarked.
Dash gave a short glance at Fluttershy, then to the baby manticore curled up in its cage. For a moment, their eyes met, and Rainbow gave a tiny half-smile. But then she shook her head and replied hardily, “Probably ‘cause I gave him food or something. Animals are suckers for that stuff, you know? By the way…okay, are you just going to wear Fang around your neck like that? Because it’s kinda distracting.”
The snake hung rather limply around Fluttershy’s shoulders, and she just acted like, well…like there wasn’t a long venomous reptile wrapped around her windpipe. With a nonchalant smile, she simply replied, “Yep.”
With a snicker, Dash uttered, “So kinda like a…feather boa?”
“No, he’s a rattle-snake.”
“I know, but he’s like a feather boa. Get it? Get it? Huh? Get it?”
After staring at her friend blankly for about five seconds, Fluttershy replied matter-of-factly, “No, boas are much larger and less venomous. Fang is a special kind of rattlesnake.”
“See, I’m trying to make a pun because he’s wrapped around your neck like a—oh never mind.”
Thus they continued, for another hour of so it seemed, quietly contemplating the night and the solemnity of the nature that surrounded them. After a while, the animals started to become antsy. Fluffy had started his incessant growls, seemingly conversing with Fang’s hisses. The phoenixes had begun to skirt about their cage, still awake ever since leaving the swamp. And of course, the mice were doing absolutely nothing.
“Hey Anton! Quiet poking your sister!” Rainbow commanded, tired after a full minute of wrestling between the two otters.
Dash’s eye flashed with a subtle surprise as well, but with a smirk she answered happily, “I guess I’m getting good at this.”
“I’m so glad, Rainbow. You’re really starting to-.”
Fluttershy never got to finish that sentence. To Dash’s horror, Fluttershy suddenly flew backwards, sending her cages toppling down. When Dash went to help her up, she found the yellow pegasus frozen in place. Her legs were extended into a rigid position, and her mouth was still paused in mid-sentence. A faint glow exuded from her eyes, and Dash realized this was the work of some kind of magic. Suddenly, there was a loud rustling to her side. Rainbow quickly jerked her head around to see a Royal Guard galloping toward her, crashing through the tall grass like a runaway train.
But amidst the sight of her paralyzed friend and the stallion rushing towards her, one thing stood out to Dash above all. There was a certain stench in the air, a smell she had become all too familiar with from dealing with lightning and forests all her life.
She turned to find that embers had shot off the phoenixes’ wings when Fluttershy dropped them. And unfortunately for her, she was about to see why fire and dry brush don’t exactly mix.
Xxx
Two hours earlier…
Many, many miles away from that grassy plain, Princess Luna sat comfortably on her throne, stroking her new pet ferret which sat on the armrest. A knock resounded on the throne room door, followed by a Royal Guard scuffling inside. While a smile, the moon goddess said joyfully, “Ah, there you are, Lieutenant. What news from the western front?”
“Umm…east, princess,” he quietly remarked. Luna only responded with an odd look, so the stallion just cleared his throat and relayed, “Errr, well, we received some reports from the patrols that they spotted some strange figures trekking through the swamp on the far end of the forest. Unfortunately, when they went to investigate, they found nothing except a few prints. The water had covered up whatever tracks they might have left.”
Stroking her chin thoughtfully, almost the same way she had been stroking her pet ferret, Princess Luna began, “I see, so they’ve decided to cut through the swamp. That means they’ll come out into the tall grass fields then.” Waving her hoof theatrically as though she were sweeping it across the grass, Luna commanded, “Station some patrols in the fields as soon as possible. Then put the others at Deep Crevasse, so we can intercept them at the bridge if they manage to slip by. Even if they’re peg-ow! Jeffrey that hurt!”
The ferret in question chomped a bit too hard on Luna’s ear, and it didn’t seem to want to let go. With her magic, the princess pried the creature off her earlobe, leaving a tiny little bite mark to go along with the dozens of others already there. Holding the ferret in front of her face near her snout, Luna stuck out her lip into a pout. “What did I say about nibbling?”
The stallion raised a brow, muttered, “Ahem…you were saying, princess?”
“Oh yes. Even if they are pegasi, they’ll have a difficult time carrying their animals across the gorge. We should be able to trap them there.”
“I’m on it, Your Majesty.”
Before he could scurry away, Luna added, “Oh, and one more thing. Tell your guards that if they come across the smugglers, do not vaporize them. Only stun them. I want them brought back alive. That should be all, Lieutenant. Dismissed.”
“Yes, princess.” Giving a quick salute and a quick glance at the ferret hanging off Luna’s snout, the guard ran off shaking his head.
As the door slammed shut, Luna leaned back in her throne, stroking her pet sinisterly. “Soon…those smugglers will be in the hooves of justice. There will be no escaping the moon’s gaze. I will find them soon enough. Isn’t that right, Jeffrey?”
Suddenly, a voice from down the hall echoed into the throne room. “Luna, are you talking to yourself again?” the low voice said.
“No…Perhaps.”
“And please tell me you didn’t keep one of those ferrets, did you? “
“No, of course not, sister! Why would I…ever…do something like that?” Luna replied, slowly placing that ferret behind her back.
“And did you clean up the floor?”
Princess Luna sniffed once, and then curled up her snout in disgust. Trying to breathe through her mouth, she muttered, “Erm….yes.”
The moment she saw that first blade of grass ignite, Rainbow knew she only had a few seconds to react. The raging orange inferno quickly began to spread throughout the dry brush, a massive chain reaction that was ready to wipe out everything in sight. The bright tongues of fire lit up the night, almost giving it the appearance of daytime. Dash could already feel the dry heat closing in on her, causing the ends of her fur to shrivel up.
Luckily for her, the guard that paralyzed Fluttershy was startled by the flames and had quickly galloped away. Unfortunately, that still left one stunned pegasus lying at her hooves in the middle of a firestorm. Moving quickly and urgently, Rainbow Dash managed to scoop up all the small animals and stuff them all into one pack. The otters began to chatter among themselves, to which the cyan pegasus shouted, “This isn’t the time for arguing, you guys! Could you shut up for just a minute?” The critters shrank back quietly into the bag, forced to snuggle with a scaly reptile and a box of mice.
As the flames got hotter and brighter, Dash found herself standing in front of two very large cages, realizing she simply didn't have the strength to carry both cages and her stunned friend. She turned her eyes to the manticore’s cage, and saw Fluffy looking like a frightened little kitten for the first time, his eyes watching the licking flames in fear. Heaving a sad sigh, Dash whispered, “Sorry, ‘Shy.”
She scooped up Fluffy’s cage onto her back, and with a swift kick of her hooves, she broke the birdcage holding the three phoenixes. The parents wasted no time flying out, their little chick in tow. By the time Dash looked back, they had already soared into the inferno, gone from her sight.
Wasting no more time, Dash grabbed Fluttershy’s tail in her teeth and began to drag her along. The frozen mare was about as useful as a boulder, dead weight that only served to slow Dash tremendously. Fortunately, the flames had burned a small path through the grass, leaving only a few glowing embers in her way. But the wildfire still carried on around her, the heat stinging against her flesh. Rainbow trudged slowly through the plain, trying to use her wings to give her as much lift as possible. But the weight of her load was too much, and she quickly began to tire as the smoke began to burn her lungs. It certainly didn’t help that the animals were panicking as well, ultimately making it too difficult for Dash to escape.
She soon realized that if she kept going at this pace, she, Fluttershy, and the animals would surely perish. The flames seemed to stretch on forever, and the only way out was straight up. And so, desperate and tired, Dash turned to her stunned friend and uttered, “I’m sorry for this, Flutters. But it’s for your own good!”
Digging in her front hooves, Dash reeled back her hind legs just as Applejack did. Then, with a shout that pierced her burnt lungs, she lashed out with all her strength, bucking her stunned companion straight in the face. After a few seconds of no response, Dash was ready to try again when a timid voice whispered, “—get the hang of…oww…why does my jaw-?”
As the splitting pain and double vision cleared up, Fluttershy began to focus on her bright red surroundings. But it wasn’t until she felt the searing heat blasting against her face that she realized what was going on, and needless to say, it wasn’t quite what she had expected. Her eyes widened, and she was about to scream something when Dash shoved her bag of animals into Fluttershy’s face and ordered, “No time to explain! Take the bag and fly!”
“W-what happ-.”
“Just fly!”
Dash quickly shot up into the air with Fluffy’s cage, surrounded by black ashes and smoke. Fluttershy, still in partial shock, swiftly followed suit, trying not to lose her friend in the chaos. Even though they were safe from the inferno, the smoke still threatened to wrap its hands around their throats and suffocate them. Already feeling lightheaded, Dash shot upward, putting as much strength she could into every beat of her wings. Fluttershy was somehow able to keep up despite the blurred vision from the Royal Guard’s spell, flying in a jagged path behind her friend.
Finally, just as the burning in their lungs became unbearable, the duo spied the clusters of stars in the night sky. They had finally broken out of the smoke cloud. They each took giant gulps of fresh air, breathing out sighs of relief. Rainbow Dash looked extremely disheveled, her rainbow mane darkened by soot and her ears drooping from exhaustion. Her head was pounding, and whether it was from tiredness or adrenaline (or both), Dash didn’t know. All she knew was that she was glad to be safe, and that her friend was safe too.
Fluttershy looked about the landscape in horror, the flames reflecting in her frightened eyes. Her mouth agape, she whispered, “What? How did we…what happened here?”
“I saved your butt, that’s what happened,” Dash replied tiredly. “I’ll be happy to tell you the story once we’re actually safe.”
“Rainbow, are you…okay?”
“Okay as I can possibly be considering the circumstances.”
Checking the animals in their possession, Fluttershy asked, “Wait, where’s the phoenixes?”
Dropping her chin to her chest, Dash gave a long sigh and replied, “Like I said...once we’re safe.”
xxx
It was a long while before the duo found a suitable place to touch down. The grassy fields expanded for miles, and the scorching inferno gladly ate up every inch of the dry plants. Luckily, a bit of a ways east, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash spotted a line of guards casting water spells on the flames, trying to contain the wildfire. The smoke allowed the pair to sneak by undetected, perhaps the only good thing Lady Luck had in store for them that night.
Finally, they came to the end of the grass plains, where the landscape slowly transitioned to rough dirt and gravel. By this time, the sun was beginning to peak over the distant mountains, providing a sliver of light amidst the dark sky. Their surroundings still smelled faintly of smoke, but the air was clear enough for them to light down onto the crunching rocks.
Rainbow Dash immediately fell onto her back, her chest heaving as she gasped for air. Fluffy was set down next to her head, rubbing his soft mane against hers. “Gosh, I feel like something crawled into my lungs and died,” she uttered, unconsciously petting the manticore’s head. “I don’t think my lungs have hurt this badly since Pinkie’s cinnamon fiasco a year ago.”
Fluttershy remained standing, kicking up dust as she rubbed a hoof timidly across the ground. She too was gray with soot, and parts of her long pink mane were singed black. She couldn’t take her eyes off the direction they had come, still able to see the faint glow of the flames over the horizon. That moment of waking up was still fresh in her mind, and she said quietly, “I’m so sorry you had to go through with that. I never thought…w-what happened?”
Still on the ground, Dash recounted, “One of the guards stunned you, and the phoenixes ended up causing a whole brush fire. I tried to carry you guys, but the fire was just too big. So I had to, well, whack you really hard to get you to wake up.”
“Oh, okay,” Fluttershy replied, rubbing her hoof against her bruised cheek. “Where are the phoenixes now?”
Rainbow Dash let out a sigh, sitting herself up on her haunches. “We...we lost them.”
“Oh my goodness!” the timid pegasus answered, starting to tear up.
"What? Oh no no! They didn't die! They just...flew away."
"Oh..."
For the next few minutes, the two stayed put in silence as the sun continued to poke its head over the distant mountains. With nothing else to do, Dash began to scratch Fluffy’s chin, the manticore seeming sedated after the excitement. Fluttershy was still visibly shaken, her mind still stuck on that moment when she woke up to the sight of bright tongues of fire crackling around her. She was so deep in her thoughts that she hadn’t noticed Fang digging into her mane, or the otters playing tug-of-war with her tail.
Finally, after an unbearable period of awkward silence, Dash asked, “So…how’s your face?”
“It’s…it’s okay I suppose, considering it got bucked really…really…hard.”
“Sorry about that Flutters. I had to wake you up somehow.” The duo descended back into silence, with Rainbow giving a fake cough for good measure.
Ultimately, Fluttershy couldn’t bite her tongue any longer. She jolted up and began to pace around, dragging the otter triplets along the gravel. With grave sincerity, the pegasus muttered, “This is my fault.”
“What?” Dash answered, going up to put her hoof around her friend’s shoulders. “No, no, no. Don’t say that!”
“I should have been more careful. I knew there were guards around, and I didn’t do anything about it. I let myself get paralyzed, and I made the grass catch fire. Not to mention I was practically dead weight for you.” She shrugged Dash’s hoof away, and began to wallow about.
“’Shy, really, it’s not a big deal.”
“But it is! I put you and the animals in danger, not to mention we lost the phoenixes as well! We could have…you know…in the fire…” Fluttershy turned to the west, towards where they had come from, towards the smoke. After a long pause, she added solemnly, “Maybe…maybe we should turn back before anypony gets seriously hurt.”
Dash’s maroon eyes widened from the mere mention of such an option, and she immediately flew over to her pal. Hovering between her friend and the faraway flames, she insisted, “What? No! We can’t go back now! Heck, I got bitten by a snake and I’m still trucking along. We’re not going to let one teensy-weensy fire stop us, are we?” After receiving an upset glare, Dash waved her hooves and continued, “Okay, it was a huuuge fire, but you get my point. We’ve come this far together, there’s no reason to stop now.”
“I…I thought you’d want to go home.”
Giving a slow exhale, Dash gently descended onto the gravel. “Uh…well, a little I guess,” she admitted quietly. But then, thrusting her chin to the sky, she gave a dazzling smile and added, “But I’ve decided…we’ve gone through so much already, how could things possibly get any worse?”
“Considering our luck…”
“Yeah? Well, we’re just going to have to keep pushing on like we’ve done so far! After all, these animals gotta get outta here somehow.”
Dash pranced over to Fluffy’s cage, leaning against it with a sappy grin. Fluttershy ran her eyes over the remaining critters, all of whom seemed to watch her anxiously for her reply. But most of all, she could see a new-found spark in her friend’s eyes, something she hadn’t seen so far on this trip. With a tiny but sure nod, Fluttershy whispered, “Okay, Rainbow. Thanks.”
“There ya go, ‘Shy. No prob.” Being the first to pick up her cage, Dash called over her shoulder, “Let’s just try not to set anymore ecosystems on fire, yeah?”
The ever-watching eye of the moon was no longer floating above Equestria, having been replaced by the bright yellow rays of the sun. Yes, morning had finally risen over the mountaintops quickly and quietly, with no fanfare, and no lavender unicorn to greet it with a song. No, there was just a duo of pegasi and their animal companions, journeying across the flatland with the fresh morning wind blowing at their backs. With her chin held high, Dash was trekking across the flat plain with a bit of spring in her step. If somepony didn’t know any better, one might have even called it skipping. But of course, this was Rainbow Dash, the fastest pegasus in the world, and the fastest pegasus in the world definitely did not skip. Of course, that didn’t stop from Fluttershy letting out a small giggle behind her friend’s back.
Already feeling ecstatic that she had made it through the night without dying, Dash felt the sun’s warmth on her skin, heating away whatever anxiety she had left. She and Fluffy had started to take advantage of the peace and quiet and have some fun. The manticore started to rhythmically tap his scorpion tail against the bars of his cage. Bobbing her head up and down, Dash pursed her lips and the words began rolling off her tongue.
“Listen up everypony this is Rainbow Dash And her manticore MC, Fluffy da Flash Breakin’ all the rules, yeah, defying the crown Not even an army of guards can keep us down And that wildfire ain’t even bringing the heat not like Dash n’ Flash’s brilliant beat, yo!”
Letting out a snicker, Dash gave a friendly tap on the cage, much to Fluffy’s delight. However, the pegasus still felt just a tad bit off, probably because she also felt about ten pounds lighter. The loss of phoenixes was still fresh in her mind, leaving it difficult to just shrug things off . But Dash simply put on a cocky grin and continued hovering on, with Fluttershy daintily trotting behind.
Being daytime, Fluffy had soon fallen asleep, and so Dash decided to walk with the cage balanced on her back. On the other hoof, Fluttershy’s animals were still up and attentive despite the fact that most of them didn’t get any rest. The otter triplets seemed to be on an infinite cycle of energy, as they were chatting along in the bag and causing a bit of ruckus. They had started sliding the box of mice inside the bag to pass the time, their little whiskers twitching mischievously. And as for Fang, he had made himself home inside Fluttershy’s long pink mane, almost blending in the flowing locks.
“Looks like you’re becoming a zoo yourself, Flutters,” Dash remarked.
Giggling, Fluttershy replied, “To be honest, I’m quite used to this sort of thing.”
“Yeah, ‘cause that’s totally not weird. Like at all.”
As they continued their trek across the rocky terrain, they began to spy something far ahead. At frst, it looked like a tiny dark sliver at the spot where the ground met the sky. But as they got closer, that sliver expanded towards them, getting wider and wider. Soon, they realized the ground to opening up before their very eyes. By the time they reached the edge, they were looking upon a huge canyon, the sides of which sharply dropped down into a black abyss. Dash nudged a rock off the edge, watching it disappear into the darkness. There was no sound.
Whistling, Dash glared down at the bottomless chasm and said, “So I'm guessing this is Deep Crevasse, huh?”
“Yes.”
“And we’re going to have to cross it?”
“Yes.”
“With a bunch of restless animals hanging precariously off our bodies?”
“You’ve got it.”
Heaving a sigh, she cracked her neck and uttered, “Okay then…let’s do this chizz.” Leaning down so her eyes were a few centimeters from the ground, Dash pointed her hooves to the far edge and lined up her gaze with them. “Let’s see, using the skills from the weather patrol, I’d say that gorge is about…”
“Twenty-eight kilometers,” a voice behind her replied.
“What? How’d you know?”
Dash turned around to see a large piece of paper at Fluttershy’s hooves. Giving a shy smile, the yellow pegasus replied, “It’s on the map.”
“Twenty-eight kilometers, huh? Alright, no big deal. Come on Fluffy, let do this thing!” Dash shouted. She grabbed Fluffy’s cage in her mouth and leapt off with reckless abandon, waking up the animal inside. It jolted its eyes open only to watch in horror of the black bottomlessness spanning below him.
“Wait!”
Dash stopped herself in the air, jerking Fluffy’s cage which caused him to let out a terrified screech. Rolling her eyes, Rainbow rotated around and asked, “What do mean ‘Wait’? We've gotta go, ‘Shy. The other side’s waiting!”
As her friend hovered above what seemed to be certain death, Fluttershy softly pointed out, “Umm, well there’s a bridge a bit of a ways down if you want to…um…use it.”
Fluffy seemed to nod at this idea, but Dash simply replied, “Why would we use a bridge if we got wings?” But as she took a closer look at her friend, she realized Fluttershy was slightly shaking and her eyes were wide, unable to take her eyes off the bleakness that waited below. Frowning, Rainbow Dash crossed her hooves and conceded, “Ugh…fine. If it’ll make you happy, we’ll use the bridge.”
When she finished the sentence, it sounded like Fluttershy and the rest of the animals let out a collective sigh of relief. And as Dash put her hooves back on solid ground, Fluffy let out a sigh too.
Moving along the edge for a few minutes, the duo soon came upon the bridge Fluttershy had mentioned. Unfortunately, in this case, the term 'bridge' applied very loosely. It was more like a row of two-by-fours strung together by some rope and glue. The boards were crooked and bent, leaving small gaps strewn throughout the bridge. But somehow, the span seemed to defy gravity, despite its rickety and rotted look.
“This is the bridge?” Dash asked, pressing down on one of the boards, causing it to creak. “This thing looks like something I made in third grade…with toothpicks.”
“Don’t worry, it’s safe. I’ve used it before,” Fluttershy reassured.
With a scoff, Rainbow Dash muttered, “Really? Were you temporarily insane?”
“Apparently, whoever built this bridge put a spell around it so it would last for years to come. Despite how…unstable it looks, this is actually one of the safest in Equestria.”
“Let’s hope you’re right, Flutters.” Dash took her first step onto the bridge, letting her weight slowly press down on the board. When it held, she took another tentative step, then another, until she was slowly treading along, trying her best not to look at the ground. However, that didn’t stop Fluffy from staring down at the crevasse, mesmerized by the infinite drop below. When it was clear the bridge wasn't going to collapse, Fluttershy cautiously stepped across, keeping one hoof clasped around the rope.
Suddenly, the fearless otters decided to cheat death, hopping off Fluttershy’s pack and onto the skinny rope. The resulting bounce caused Fluttershy’s heart to stop for second, a look of terror plain on her face. “Now, now. Let’s not…fool around, okay?”
Fluttershy’s plea only made a rascally smile spread across the otters’ whiskered lips. They began bounce harder on the ropes, causing the bridge to wobble even more. Fluttershy tried to stop them, but she was too occupied with trying to keep a firm grip on the rope. Finally, after one particularly strong jump, the rope undulated upwards in a vicious jolt. Two of the otters managed to hold on, but another was launched up over the bridge. It tumbled throughout the air, headed towards the side of the bridge. The otter began to fall, with nothing but the dark abyss below. Down and down it went, while the siblings could only watch in horror.
There was the sound of hooves clopping against wood, followed by a grunt and a thud. A yelp of a manticore echoed across the chasm, and the bridge began to teeter back and forth. Fluttershy couldn’t help but shut her eyelids, just as something slid by her legs. When the swaying subsided, and the screeching and hissing died down, she opened her eyes, and was greeted by a remarkable sight. Rainbow Dash had somehow dived behind her, stretching her body under the rope and over the side of the bridge. Only her hindlegs remained on the wooden pathway; the rest of her body was hovering over the crevasse, held there by her strong wings. Two of the otters had hitched a ride and her back, while the one that had been flung was gripped by its tail, safe in Dash’s nimble hooves. And throughout all that madness, Fluffy’s cage had somehow stayed locked in Rainbow’s jaws.
Breathing out a long breath, Fluttershy said, “That was…amazing! How did you...”
Once Rainbow safely had all four of her hooves on the walkway, the otters let out a squeaky cheer. She told the trio sternly, “Yeah, yeah, thanks. But maybe next time, you should listen to Fluttershy. Especially you, Frankie. Wouldn’t wanna go flying again, right?”
Still shaking, Fluttershy remarked, “And you got her name right too! You...you’re really getting the hang of it.”
“Guess so. But they still look pretty much the same.” Dusting herself off, she continued to walk across the chasm with Fluttershy taking the lead. The otters had scrambled back into their bag, quieted from the stern scolding given to them by their caretakers.
They were about halfway across the bridge when Dash commented, “So I've been wondering, how long have you been doing this again?”
“Umm…about five months I think,” Fluttershy replied.
“Five months? How have you been doing this for five months by yourself? I’ve already been almost killed, like, six times in the past twelve hours!”
“Well, I haven’t this much trouble before. This is the first time the guards have come after us. Maybe you’re just a bad luck charm.”
“Pssh, yeah right. I’m the bad luck charm that saved your butt.” Rainbow Dash looked up to see her friend staring back, her head peering over the rope. “Fluttershy? What are you looking at?”
With wide eyes, she asked, “Remember when I said this thing was…um…safe?”
“Please tell me you weren’t lying,” Dash answered.
“N-no, that was true.”
“Oh good.”
With a frightened gulp, the timid pegasus uttered, “But I’m not sure how well that statement would hold when there’s somepony cutting the ropes.”
Rainbow Dash turned around, focusing her gaze on the far away edge of the canyon. And just as Fluttershy said, there was a tiny golden speck standing by the bridge, and a red laser beam shooting straight at the rope holding them in place.
“Oh, you’ve gotta be kid-.”
Before they knew it, the planks they were standing on were no longer there. There was a loud snap, followed by a whiplash, and before they knew it, they were standing on air. Gravity took hold, and the black maw of Deep Crevasse awaited them.
xxx
Fluttershy had no idea how long she had blacked out for. It could have been for a few seconds or a few hours; it didn’t really matter. What mattered was that she felt the wind rushing by her face, and there was only blackness below her.
When her vision focused, she realized the blue sky was still visible, and the bridge was still swinging down. Fang was still wrapped around her neck, hissing madly as they fell. Regaining control of her limbs, Fluttershy spread her wings to slow herself to a complete stop. Above her, she spotted an object rapidly falling right on top of her. Extending her legs, the satchel landed safely in her hooves. The trio of otters had heeded Dash’s advice, as they had stayed tucked inside throughout the entire free-fall.
Meanwhile, the aforementioned pegasus had reacted much more swiftly than her yellow friend. The abrupt jolt of the snapping rope actually smacked her in the face, causing her to lose her grip on Fluffy’s cage. “Fluff!” she shouted, jetting towards the tumbling cage. Flattening her wings against her body, Rainbow Dash glided faster towards her target. The gap between them got smaller and smaller, until finally…
Clank!
The nimble pegasus wrapped her hooves around the bars; Fluffy was safe. He let out a purr, licking Rainbow’s hooves tenderly. “Aww stop it, little guy,” the pegasus said softly. “Uh, no really, you’re gonna make me drop you.”
It was at this time that Fluttershy realized her pack was lighter than it had been before. Looking inside, she realized there were three otters, but no mice. She scanned the darkness below. At first, she couldn’t find anything among the overwhelming dimness. But then, at about eye-level, she spotted the clear glass box, with two furry little creatures inside.
“Rainbow! The mice!” Fluttershy called, pointing towards the falling cube. But Rainbow was further from the box than she was, and with Fluffy dangling from Dash’s hooves, Fluttershy knew she’d never reach them in time. All she could do was watch the innocent little rodents plummet to their doom. Again.
And once again, as if it was a gift from the gods, her prayer was answered. But this time, it wasn’t the otter triplets saving the mice. A bright red object blazed through the air with odd orange flecks following it, catching the mice on its back. It took Fluttershy another look to realize that those flecks were embers, fluttering about the air like petals. As the objects got even closer, she saw that there were two, and that they weren’t objects, but animals.
The duo of phoenixes flapped over to the awe-struck pegasus, and she couldn’t do anything but give a relieved smile.
xxx
When they all landed safely on the opposite side of the gorge, Fluttershy immediately plopped her satchel on the ground and trotted over to family of phoenixes standing at the side. Both stood upright with their heads held high, looking absolutely regal, as though they were saying, Yeah, I know you missed us. Tucked within the mother’s wings was little Chibi, who had a little smile spread across his cute little beak.
Scooping up the mice, Fluttershy said, “Thank you so much. I can’t believe…the way you swooped down so fast!”
Then a pair of cyan hooves popped over the edge, and Rainbow clambered over with her manticore in tow. “Hey…what about me? I had a pretty good catch too.”
“Rainbow! The phoenixes! They came back!” Fluttershy exclaimed, practically bouncing with joy.
“Oh hey, yeah. That’s pretty cool. Welcome back.” Leaning tiredly on Fluffy’s cage, she added, “By the way, what about that guy back there? The one who-.”
“That was some pretty good flying you two. You saved the mice,” Fluttershy thanked, almost patting the duo on their heads before realizing she’d burn her hooves.
Rolling her eyes, Dash said, “Yeah, I guess that was pretty cool. Y’know, for a couple of phoenixes.”
And so, the duo of smugglers and their furry contraband gathered together, a full party once more.
xxx
Seeing as though day had once again risen, Princess Luna had been relegated to her usual post, the highest tower in the castle as far away from pesky servants as possible. Her pet ferret lay snuggled on her back, and the duo stood in that windy balcony where Celestia could not bug them. Suddenly, a magic portal began to form over the ledge, causing Luna to jump back in surprise. Soon, the face of an armor-clad stallion was floating in the air, with Deep Crevasse in the background.
“Ah, you must be Sergeant Buttercream,” Princess Luna exclaimed, propping herself up on the balcony edge.
“Um, princess…my name’s actually-.”
“Oh cut the formalities, Sergeant Butterworth,” the princess interrupted. “Just tell me, did you catch those smugglers?”
Scratching the area underneath his helmet, the stallion stared at the ground and muttered, “Err, well, not exactly.”
“WHAT?” Luna cried in the Royal Canterlot Voice, startling the creature on her back into grabbing onto her ear. Clearing her throat to compose herself, she shook her head and said in a much more subdued tone, “I mean…what do you mean?”
The guard, whose eyes looked abnormally wide, began to explain, “We tried to meet them at Deep Crevasse like you said, Your Majesty. We saw them travelling across the bridge, so in order to stop them, we tried cutting the ropes. And as it would turn out, they’re actually pegasi.”
“And your point is…?”
“Uhh…they…flew…across?”
Princess Luna’s eyes lit up as though something had clicked in her mind, and with an unusually wide grin, she said, “Oh! So what you’re telling me is, the smugglers got away, you destroyed the only way to get our soldiers over the chasm, and with our soldiers already spread thin containing the wildfire, we’re going to have to think of another plan to stop them?”
“Y-yes.” By now, the stallion’s face looked five times smaller, as he had backed away from the viewing portal as though he were afraid Luna would reach out and grab him.
But to his surprise, Luna shrugged and added, “Well, if you put it that way, things could be worse.” Taking her pet ferret and levitating him so his snout touched hers, Luna said in a high-pitched voice, “Well Jeffery, what shall we do now?”
The sergeant simply stood there silently for a minute, watching the princess rub noses with her pet while making baby noises. He felt the urge to avert his gaze, and yet the sheer oddness of the situation compelled him to keep watching. Finally, after giving an awkward cough, he stated, “Oh wait! Princess, I almost forgot. We did manage to find a map a bit further down the cliff side. It had Cragslane Rock circled. I think the smugglers are headed towards the border crossing near there.”
Pausing her antics, Luna turned her head towards the portal and remarked, “Well that’s excellent news, Buttermelon! And if that’s the case, I think I have a plan to stop those dirty thieves once and for all. Send for all your remaining pegasus guards to amass at the border east of Cragslane. I shall send some of my batguards as well. “
“Yes princess,” the stallion said with a salute, breathing a sigh of relief.
“Oh and one last thing, Sergeant Buttermouth Cupcake.”
“Yes?”
“You’re fired.”
And with that, Princess Luna zapped the portal shut with her magic and pressed the ferret to her face lovingly. Wearing the animal like a beard, she whispered, “I’m so excited, Jeffery. It’s not every day I get to use the Immovable Object Protocol! In a few hours, Plan Trap-Those-Nasty-Rotten-Animal-Smugglers-Once-And-For-All will soon be put into effect.”
Turning to head back into her quarters, she raised her eyebrows and muttered, “Huh, that last bit sounded a lot better in my head.”
With the infinite drop of doom safely behind them, the duo and their shipment of animals continued on. Fluttershy cast a weary look back, seeing a few tiny specks on the horizon. It must be just a flock of birds, she thought, paying no other heed to them.
While Fluttershy remained comfortable on the ground, Rainbow Dash had decided to take flight, carrying Fluffy with her. And now, the phoenixes were flying on either side of her, forming a trio of looming shadows on the ground. Small embers flew out of the phoenixes’ wings, and Dash couldn’t help but be mesmerized by the glittery specks floating to the ground. “Hey, sorry for losing you guys back at that fire,” the pegasus said, not really expecting a response.
However, to her surprise, the birds suddenly began to veer dangerously towards her. They had turned so quickly and violently, and Dash’s eyes widened at the thought of a fiery collision. As they got closer and closer, Dash stammered, “Whoa, whoa, what are you guys doi-?”
But just when it seemed the phoenixes would slam into her, they stopped, and out of Mama Phoenix’s plumage hopped little Chibi. The baby bird had been helped onto Dash’s back by her mother. At first, Rainbow was afraid the tiny chick would burn straight through her fur. However, Chibi only gave off soft warmth that simply radiated into her flesh. The chick began to rub its head into the crest of Dash’s neck, giving off a soft coo. And, when she realized the parents were making the same sound, Rainbow smiled and said, “Aw, thanks guys.”
“How’re doing up there?” Fluttershy called.
“Just chillin’,” Dash replied, rolling the chick up and down her back playfully. “What about you?”
Pointing to the otters sleeping in her pack, Fluttershy responded, “I’m okay. Especially with these rascals all tuckered out from the bridge fiasco.”
“So what’s up ahead?”
“Well, if I remember correctly, from here it’s a few hours of marching until Craglane Rock. From there, it’s a short walk until the border. Then we’ll be home free.”
Dash raised her brows, repeating quietly, “Home free?”
“Yes! Can you believe it? We’re almost there. Our little journey is almost over!” When she got no response, Fluttershy glanced up and asked, “Aren’t you happy we’re almost there?”
Rainbow silently looked at the adult phoenixes at her side, then to the baby chick burrowing into her back like she was his mother. And finally, she cast a solemn glance down at the scorpion tail hanging out of the cage dangling from her hooves. Frowning, the pegasus simply looked off into the distance and muttered, “Yeah…I’m totally happy.”
So the hours progressed, and the team moved across the plains with the sun beating down on them. Now, a few random trees were scattered across the way, providing welcoming shade for the tired duo. Dry tufts of pale green grass popped out of the gravel, showing signs of life in the otherwise barren plain. For two or three hours, it was nonstop marching, and they were forced to bear through the heat of the day. Even the breeze was warm, whistling through the blades of grass like an eerie ghost. Sweat began to form on the pegasus’s brows. Every now and then, they would stop to take out some water from their bags and drink. Then, with a relieved sigh, they’d continue their cycle.
Finally, just as Fluttershy had predicted, an odd shape began to form in the distance. Cragslane Rock was actually not just one rock, but a group of rocks arranged in a crooked oval, jutting out of the earth like bent fingers. From the tallest, there was a long outcropping sticking out of its side, forming a sideways T. For some reason, the area around the rock seemed to thrive with vegetation, looking much greener and healthier than the dry grass from earlier. Clusters of trees could be found nearby, as well as a small muddy pond complete with reeds and cattails.
“Shall we stop here for now? Maybe rest for the night?” Fluttershy suggested softly, realizing the sun was already starting to set.
Landing next to her, Rainbow Dash answered, “Yeah, why not? I’m pretty pooped out, anyway.”
They decided to set up camp underneath the large outcropping so they could be shielded from the sun. Dash lay on her back with her posse of phoenixes perched beside her and Fluffy’s cage sitting a little further away. Fluttershy left the otter triplets to play—and toss the mice’s box around—while she got to work making a small fire.
The stench of smoke began to fill the air, and at first, Dash thought there was yet another fire burning nearby. However, seeing that the orange flames were safely contained by Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash returned to her spot on her back, observing the cragged rock face above her. With her head cushioned by her legs, she began to hum to herself. For once, she actually felt relaxed. For once, she could actually lay around and do absolutely nothing.
“Gotta make this escape… leave no notice, just take… off to any ol’ place, long as it’s far away from where ya are today,” she began to sing under her breath. “Gotta make this escap—huh?”
The sound of a faint but audible metallic scratching caused her to pause. Lifting her head, she turned towards Fluffy’s cage to find the cat pawing at the cage lock, giving a sad purr. “Hey ‘Shy,” Dash called without hesitation. “Can I let Fluffy out of his cage for a little bit?”
“Okay…but make sure he doesn’t get out of contr—ack!” Fluttershy replied before sucking in a cloud of ashes from her slowly rising fire.
While her friend hacked away, Rainbow flipped the cage’s lock and quickly opened the door. The moment that door was open, Fluffy came rushing out with his scorpion tail wagging like a dog’s. He began to pounce around the shaded area, even running into the otters’ game of catch. His big tail swept through and managed to trip up a few of them, while Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but laugh heartily. Then, the little manticore leaped right into the cyan pegasus, knocking her over. He began to purr and rub his mane tenderly on Dash’s face. Still giggling, she said. “Now there ya go, little guy. You don’t like sitting in that cramped ol’ box do ya? You’re like me. I can’t stay cooped up either. I gotta roam free, stretch my hooves, flap my wings, all that awesome stuff.”
Sitting up, she asked, “Say, why don’t we play a lil’ game of tag?” Dash began to trot off with her faithful pet at her side, calling out to the other animals, “Hey, you guys can come too if ya want.” After casting reluctant looks at each other, Anton the otter gave a shrug and scurried off, and his siblings followed right behind. Even the phoenixes wanted to join, following the little parade.
Picking up the box of mice, which had been thrown into a bush, Fluttershy called, “Oh, be careful! Watch out for each other!”
“Yeah, yeah, okay mother,” the brash pegasus replied sarcastically. She took her band out to a grassy knoll, with a single tree standing in the middle. “Alright then felines, birds, and aquatic mammals…the game is tag. It’s like hunting, only you don’t eat others, you just tag them. This here tree’s safe, but you can only stay here for ten seconds. And to make thing’s fair for you guys, I’m not even gonna use my wings.”
Arching her back like a lion ready to pounce, Rainbow stamped her hooves on the ground shouting, “I’ll be ‘it’ first. On your mark…get set…”
On ‘set’, the animals began to scatter about the verdant field. A mish-mash of roars and squeals filled the air, as well as the sound of stamping paws and flapping wings. Witnessing the glorious chaos before her, Dash let out a small smile before yelling, “GO!” And with that, the wild game of tag had begun.
Rainbow threw herself towards the crowd of animals with reckless abandon, yelling a battle cry at the top of her lungs. Dust and dirt flew everywhere as the rag-tag band chased each other around the field. The phoenixes usually were able to stay out of reach, their fiercely burning plumage lighting up the dimming sky. The otters somehow managed to slip away from their hunters a few times, somehow appearing all the way across the field when they had been in one spot just moments before. Even Fang, who had somehow slithered into the battlefield, joined in on the fun. But the most intense chase came between Rainbow Dash and Fluffy. One always leaped after the other, pouncing about in a flurry of laughter and roars. And whenever one tagged the other, they always ended up wrestling each other to the ground, sometimes running over other critters in the process.
And so, this tumultuous game to tag continued for another hour or so, until the sun had long since gone. And even then, they continued chasing each other around that big tree, almost like a chaotic dance lit only by the pale moonlight. The whole time, Dash wore a tremendous grin on her face. For a while, the pegasus forgot she was on a dangerous smuggling mission, running around with her so-called contraband. Instead, she was simply enjoying the beautiful night surrounded by a couple of furry friends.
Finally, the group collapsed into a tired heap together, each creature gasping for air. At the bottom was Rainbow Dash, whose continuous giggles were punctuated by bouts of coughing. Fluffy was right above her, breathing his foul-smelling breath directly into her face. “Oh gross, Fluff! Get off!” Rainbow shouted, playfully shoving the manticore away.
Suddenly, a voice from the campsite called, “Everyone! I made some supper!”
Those words sent a giddy quiver down Dash’s spine, and it was then that she realized that her stomach was practically howling for food. Apparently the other animals shared her sentiment, as they had swiftly clambered off Dash and made their way toward the campfire.
When she found her way back, the animals were already in their cages, munching down on their meals. And sitting by the campfire was a large steaming bowl of soup, cooked and prepared by none other than her timid friend. The smell of freshly boiled broth wafted into the air, and Rainbow couldn’t help but let out a sigh of pure happiness. “Wow, ‘Shy! How’d you make this?”
“I found some leeks and onions growing by a small pond a little ways down,” Fluttershy answered, sipping meekly out of her own bowl.
“Looks delicious!” Licking her lips, Dash took a hasty sip of the broth. Then, after seriously burning her tongue and spitting the soup back into her bowl with a yelp, she blew on it a few times before taking another one. This time, the tasty concoction delighted her taste buds instead of burning them, warming her insides and relaxing her stomach. Closing her eyes, she added, “Oh my gosh, this is so great. Considering all I’ve had to eat was those Sweet Bars O’ Celestia, this is like heaven in my mouth.”
“I’m glad you like it,” Fluttershy responded, with a slightly smug smile.
After dinner had been finished and all the animals had been put away safely in their places, the duo of pegasi sat atop the rocky outcropping, the perfect balcony to look up at the stars. “As much as I enjoyed watching rocks and stuff, I think the stars are a bit more cooler,” Dash joked.
“Wow, look at them. Don’t think I’ve even seen them like this before,” a wide-eyed Fluttershy whispered, her mouth hanging open in awe.
Rolling onto her back, the cyan pegasus remarked, “See, that’s one of the good things about the weather patrol. Sometimes, you get to fly to places where it looks like this every single night!”
“I wish I could do that…”
Fluttershy soon found herself lying down as well. The duo lay there in the tranquility of the wilderness, where all was quiet except for the gentle crackling of the fire below. The moon cast a beautiful glow upon the shadowy figures, and the stars’ reflections caused their eyes to shimmer. The air was fresh and cool against their faces, and yet the warmth from each other’s bodies kept them from getting too cold.
After a few minutes of star-gazing, Rainbow Dash whispered, “Hey Fluttershy. You mind if I tell you something?”
“What is it, Rainbow?”
“Well, I just wanted to…apologize for being… kind of a mule yesterday. Umm…” Dash paused, her eyes darting around the sky as she searched for the words to say. “It’s no secret that I didn’t want to do this, ‘Shy. But I gotta admit, sitting here, looking up at the stars, playing with these little guys…I think I’m actually having some fun. Y’know, once I look past getting poisoned, covered in muck, and almost dying on a consistent basis. Oh, but still…I’m sorry.”
Fluttershy began to blush, hiding it underneath her long mane and the dim light. She replied shyly, “Oh it’s okay, Dashie. I’m just glad to have a friend with me, that’s all.”
“But you know what else surprised me above all?” Rainbow asked with a chortle. “You!”
“Me? W-what do you mean?”
“Not in a million years would I have thought you—of all ponies—would do something as crazy as this. It’s risky, illegal, dangerous, and a buncha other stuff that basically describes the opposite of you. And yet…you’ve been taking this whole thing head-on, probably sometimes better than I have. You’ve been showing some thick skin lately, Flutters. And to make that even better, you’re fighting for your morals, and I totally get that. Much respect,” the brash pegasus said, ending with a friendly punch on Fluttershy’s leg.
Rubbing her leg to ease the slight pain creeping into that spot, Fluttershy whispered, “I’m surprised you were surprised, truthfully.”
“Okay, now it’s my turn to say ‘What?’”
Speaking slowly and quietly, the timid pegasus said, “Well…you were the one who taught me those things. To have thick skin and fight for what I think is right. You were always the one who was never afraid and strived for greatness, even saved lives! I guess…I guess this is like my chance to do something like that.”
Rainbow Dash turned her head toward her friend, her eyebrows raised in surprise. Fluttershy’s head was still facing the sky, and her long flowing mane obscured the side of her face nearest to Dash. And it was exactly what Fluttershy wanted, because she didn’t want Dash to see that her eyes were glistening with tears. Finally, after a long pause, Fluttershy stated shakily, “So…I want to thank you, Dash. N-not only for coming with me, but for giving me the courage to do this in the first place, even when you didn’t realize it.”
“Hey.” Fluttershy slightly tilted her head, so she could see her friend out of the corner of her eye. She found Dash still staring back with her big maroon orbs, a mixture of shock, pride, and warmth. And secretly, although she’d probably complain about how sappy it was, Rainbow was glad Fluttershy had seen it. “You’re welcome,” the rainbow-maned flier whispered sincerely. “And even though I complain a lot, I’m really glad that I’m here.”
With that, Dash slowly got up, stretched out her back, and slowly crept off the outcropping. Fluttershy remained up top, never taking her eyes off the stars and the luminous orb that was the moon. And this time, when she gazed upon that pale white face, she couldn’t help but smile.
From below, she could hear a faint purr, followed by Dash whispering, “Whaddaya think, Fluffy? If I didn’t do this, I never woulda met you!” After another round of purrs and a short giggle, she added, “Under those razor sharp claws and pointy teeth, you’re just a big softie.”
Closing her eyes, Fluttershy replied for the final time, “Like you?”
“Softie? Me? Yeah right. I ain’t…I ain’t no…”
But when morning came along, Fluttershy never recalled Rainbow finishing that sentence.
Xxx
"I know you are out here, thieves. You will surrender to my guards, or we will take back those animals by force!"
"I’d like to see you try and stop us…"
That was all Fluttershy could remember from her dreams when she woke up. She was surprised to see the sun high in the sky, and the heat bearing down on them once more. It appeared to be almost noon, which meant they had overslept. Scrambling to her hooves (and feeling a little burnt from being out in the sun), Fluttershy smoothed out her mane and hovered down to the campsite. To her bemusement, she found Rainbow’s head resting on Fluffy’s torso, both of whom were sound asleep. Dash’s snores seemed to reverberate around the small camp; it was a wonder the manticore was still sleeping. Drool crept out of the pegasus’s mouth and onto her pet’s side, bearing a striking resemblance to the slobber coming out of Fluffy’s maw.
Holding up a hoof to stifle a giggle, Fluttershy said. “Okay, time to wake up.” When she received no answer, she kicked the pot hanging over the fire pit with a resounding clang. Fluffy quickly shot out from his position underneath Dash, giving an instinctive growl. With nothing else supporting it, Rainbow’s head smacked against the dirt. Her eyes shot open, and she muttered something along the lines of, “But I always dress in style…”
Rubbing her temple, the cyan pegasus uttered, “Oh…hey Flutters. You didn’t, uh, hear that did you?”
Grinning, Fluttershy picked up her pack and said, “Glad you’re awake, Rainbow. We slept a bit too much, but that’s fine. The border should be only an hour or so away. We’ll be there before sundown.”
“Wait, no breakfast?”
“You can eat an apple if you want.”
Rainbow caught the apple tossed toward her, and with a scoff, she muttered, “Can ya believe this, Fluffy? First I hit my face on the floor, and then there's no breakfast!” She took a bite, holding out the fruit in her limp hoof. Before she knew it, the apple was gone, disappeared into the vicious mouth of her feline friend. Giving a spiteful glare, the mare ruffled Fluffy’s mane and uttered, “Not cool.”
“Good morning,” Fluttershy greeted as she picked up the otter triplets. “Did you all get a good sleep?” The three sleepily nodded their furry heads in reply. With the rest of the animals in tow, Fluttershy and Rainbow departed from their meager campsite, leaving Cragslane Rock at their backs.
After an hour of walking, lush trees and vegetation started to spring out of the terrain, no doubt a sign that Veneighzuela was in sight. “Almost there,” Fluttershy called, her eyes wide with excitement.
Dash, on the other hand, lagged behind. Surrounded by Fluffy and the phoenixes, Dash replied meekly, “That’s…great.”
Glancing behind, Fluttershy remarked, “Soon, it’s just a simple hop over the border and into Veneighzuela. Then we’ll be safe.” But Rainbow didn’t seem to be paying any attention to her yellow friend, staring far off into the distance. “Are you okay?” Fluttershy asked, puzzled.
Raising a shaky hoof, the rainbow-maned pegasus uttered, “Shy...I don’t think it’s gonna be that easy.”
When Fluttershy turned around, she dropped onto her haunches, her eyes and mouth wide in shock. For unbeknownst to them, while they had been sleeping, Princess Luna had played her ace in the hole.
Fluttershy stood there, staring in despair at the monstrosity Luna had left for them. Suddenly, there was a sharp tug on her tail, and she was pulled behind a boulder, away from the Royal Guards’ view. Glancing over the edge, Fluttershy whispered fearfully, “W-what is that?”
“It’s a buckin’ wall Flutters, whaddaya think it is?” Dash replied. And this wasn’t an exaggeration either. Despite how impossible it seemed, there it was: a giant wall separating them from Veneighzuela, complete with barbed wire, spotlights, and a slew of guards patrolling the perimeter. Rainbow was in just as much shock as her friend, although she preferred to show it through puffs of anger. “Of all the...A wall? Seriously. That wasn't here last time, was it?” she demanded, scanning the Great Wall of Luna, which had to have been at least thirty feet tall.
“N-no. They must have conjured it up or something,” Fluttershy replied. Clutching her otters near her chest, she asked, “What do we do now?”
“I don’t know! I didn’t even know it was possible to make walls like that out of thin air! Isn't this a just a little bit overboard? I mean look at it! That wall's got tighter security than Canterlot Dungeon! Not that I'd ever been…”
Looking down the seemingly endless barrier, Fluttershy added, “And it looks like it goes on for miles…”
Everywhere they looked, there seemed to be a group of sentries marching along. And since the sun was beginning to go down, searchlights scoured the field, as well as the sky above. Basically, there was absolutely no way of escape in sight. Rainbow Dash saw this, smacked her hoof against the rock, and uttered, “There’s no way we’re going to get through unnoticed. It’s almost like every buckin’ Royal Guard was sent over here. Don’t they have anything better to do? Like, I don’t know, guard things other than a stupid wall in the middle of nowhere? What the hay…”
As Dash continued her ranting, Fluttershy never took her eyes off the stone abomination separating them from freedom. They were only about one hundred yards away, and yet they were helpless to anything about it. When this revelation hit Fluttershy, she froze up, her breaths becoming shakier. She sank to her haunches, whispering, “We came so far…” Then, resting her head on the boulder, she closed her eyes and let the tears flow.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Fluttershy, what’s wrong?” the colorful pegasus whispered, trying to hush her friend’s squeaky sobs. She put her foreleg around Fluttershy’s shoulder comfortingly, but the timid mare’s weeping only continued. Even the otters tried to help, placing their tiny paws around her in a furry embrace.
Her voice unsteady, Fluttershy replied, “Everything we did…the swamp, the fire, the bridge…it was all for nothing! I’m so sorry Dash, for dragging you all this way just to be rounded up like this. The only thing we can do...is run.”
As those words slowly began to sink in, Dash’s eyes widened, and she let out a sigh of disbelief. With her mouth slightly agape, she took her friend in a tighter hug and uttered a single word. “No.”
“D-Dash?”
“I’m not going to let you do this, ‘Shy. I’m not going let you throw in the towel after we’ve accomplished so much. Even I didn’t think we’d come this far.” Looking straight into her friends eyes, Rainbow declared, “Listen, if you told me we were giving up two days ago, I would have gladly turned these guys in without missing a beat. But now…these little creatures are our friends. And I never go back on my friends. Their lives are in our hooves, Shy. And if we’re going to get caught, then heck, might as well go down fighting, right?”
She paused for a moment, letting her words linger. Then, waving her hoof across the gallery of fuzzy companions before them, she finished, “You said I stuck up for you when you needed it most. Well, now who’s gonna stick up for them?”
The pegasus stood up, and extended her foreleg for her friend. “I’m tired of running, Fluttershy. This time, we’re hunting them.”
Fluttershy gave a teary glance at Dash’s hoof, then up to her face, then back again. Rainbow had that glint in her eye, the very same she had after the sonic rainboom, or during the battle with the Changelings. And with the orange sky as a backdrop, she looked almost god-like.
Finally, after swiping away her tears, Fluttershy took that hoof and replied, “Okay. I’m with you.”
“Heh. Awesome.”
With newfound and desperate resolve, the pegasi stuck their heads out to the side. “So what’s the plan then?” Fluttershy asked.
“Plan? I was thinking we just go in there and beat the snot outta ‘em.”
“That’s…not a good plan at all.”
Rainbow snorted and muttered, “Fine. You got any ideas?”
“Um…if we could somehow draw them out in smaller groups and then incapacitate them-.”
“So we are going to beat ‘em up, right?”
She flinched at the notion of such an idea, but Fluttershy nevertheless affirmed, “Well…yes. But only in a controlled way. That would make a small area where we could fly over and escape before they can catch up.”
“As long as I get to kick their butts, sounds like a plan!” Rainbow exclaimed, a mischievous smile bursting from her lips. “I’d say there are about three or four guards for every section of the wall. And it looks like we’ll have to clear at least eight sections to barely get through. So whaddaya say? I’ll take the left four, you take the right?”
“A-all by myself?” the shy mare whimpered.
“Oh you ain’t by yourself! You’ve got the animals to help you out! See?” The two looked back to see their band of creatures waiting valiantly for instructions, like their own little furred brigade. Acting like a general, Dash barked, “Fluffy and Fang, come with me. But the rest of you, help out Flutters.”
To their amusement, the otters actually saluted, and clambered onto Fluttershy’s back. Apparently while the pegasi had been planning, they had filled their bag with stones, twigs, and the box of mice. And with the phoenixes also at her side, Fluttershy gave a brave nod.
“Our final stand, the final stretch, where we settle this once and for all! Aw, this is gonna be totally sweet!” Rainbow exclaimed, crouching low. “You ready ‘Shy?”
“I think so.”
“Alright then, mares and gentlecolts. Let’s do this!”
Then, with a young manticore on her back and a snake dangling off her hind leg, she zoomed away from the boulder with her course set on the wall. And Fluttershy, after a brief moment of hesitation, took off in the opposite direction.
xxx
In the meantime, another pair of ponies stood at the base of the wall, doing what they usually did on sentry duty. Gossip. “So the story goes like this. Cadance gives him a carrot, a box of hoofwipes, and banana-scented lotion. Then she says, ‘Shining Armor, the garden needs some pruning’…”
“Hey. TMI. Anyway, we’re supposed to be on lookout.”
“Oh please. We’ve got this buckin’ thing to protect the border. Besides, it’s not like trouble’s just gonna start raining from the sky or anything!”
Suddenly, there was a loud thud behind them. They turned around to see a moaning stallion lying on his back, his armor dented and his face bruised. “Oh hey, it’s Brick,” one of the guards said nonchalantly. Then, after a few seconds, a light switched on in his head. “Oh shi—,” was all he could get out before he received a flying kick in the back of his head, sending his helmet flying.
The stallion fell to the ground, dazed but still conscious. In his blurred vision, he could only make out a light blue figure, with odd patches of color attached to it. It wasn’t until the figure snagged his armor and pulled him close that he realized he was staring into the eyes of a very pissed mare.
The other guard was ready to blast her with a spell from behind until Fluffy popped out of nowhere, tackling the stallion to ground. Hearing the growling behind her, Rainbow let out a quaint little smile before head-butting her captive right between the eyes.
After hiding the three unconscious stallions in some bushes, Dash dusted off her hooves and remarked, “Well that was easy.” Using the rapidly approaching night as cover, she took her manticore companion and swiftly headed for the next section.
With a single guard atop the wall in her sights, the pegasus began to accelerate. With Fluffy barely snagging onto her tail, Rainbow stuck her forelegs out, turning her into a bright blue missile. The guard never saw her coming until it was too late, the air being knocked out of his lungs as Dash propelled straight into his side. Then, skillfully whirling back around, she ended her assault with an uppercut that sent the unfortunate soldier careening over the edge.
There was a commotion down below her, followed by a shout of alarm. Rainbow peeked over to see a duo of guards watching her with angry, narrow eyes. Their horns were glowing and ready to fire.
“Oh no. Looks like you found me! I must run!” she cried in a fit of mock horror. Pushing off the wall, she began to fly towards the foliage, with the guards in pursuit. However, one guard was so caught up in the chase, he hadn’t noticed his partner had disappeared along the way, nor the scorpion tail that wrapped around his partner’s legs.
Finally, Dash came upon a cluster of dense trees, unable to fly through them. Realizing she was trapped, she immediately whipped around…only to find the guard waiting for her.
“Whoa, hey buddy! Let’s just calm down for a second, alright?” she said, gently fluttering down into the dirt. “Now this is hardly fair…you’ve got magic, I don’t, come on now!”
A bright fireball careened through the air, narrowly missing her head. She could feel her mane sizzling, so she quickly stuck up her hooves and said, “Okay, okay, jeez, let’s not be hasty! How about we settle this a different way, huh? How ‘bout…how ‘bout a staring contest or something? Yeah, that’ll do. Here, I’ll count us off. One…”
Her hoof began to slowly lower. “Two…”
The guard dug in his hooves. A slight grin began to play on Dash’s lips.
“Three!”
Another fireball flew, and this time Dash quickly lunged to the side. She tossed something towards the guard, landing right on his snout. The projectile began to hiss, and for just a split-second, the stallion realized he was staring straight into a pair of red reptilian eyes.
Then he dropped to the floor, paralyzed. Rainbow Dash walked coolly over to the frozen guard, carefully plucking Fang off his neck. Realizing his eyes were still wide open and following her, the pegasus smirked and told him, “Don’t blink.”
xxx
While Rainbow Dash did her work with reckless abandon, Fluttershy did business much differently. For the most part, the phoenixes have been doing the brunt of the work, clearing out the first section with ease. They gracefully swooped down in an arch of flame, pecking and clawing at the poor guards below. And as they preyed on the stallions, Fluttershy stood quite a bit back, trembling in horror. She preferred to stay hidden in the shadows, not wanting to lift a hoof in violence, even towards guards who have been ordered to use lethal force.
But soon, she heard somepony behind her yell, “Stop right there!”
She turned around to find three guards staring at her, poised to fire. One whispered, “Are you sure this is the one? I mean look at her…she’s so cute and harmless.”
After trying to swallow with a dry throat, the mare said quietly, “I-I’ve got otters… and I’m not afraid to use them…”
“Uh, excuse me?”
“I-I said. I have otters, and I’m not afraid to-.”
Suddenly her bag burst open, and out leapt three ninja-like critters, each wielding large stones in their paws. Letting out squeals of rage, the unmerciful beasts let out a barrage, pelting the guards with their makeshift projectiles. Anton tossed a rather large stone high up into the air, landing right on top of an unfortunate guard’s head. He crumpled to ground with a grunt, completely knocked out. Then the three scurried over to another and began to bite and claw at his legs, and the stallion began to yelp and dance wildly.
However, this left one with a massive bump on his snout to set his sights on the timid pegasus. With steam blowing from his nostrils, he charged toward Fluttershy, his horn pointed straight for her neck. Her eyes widened, and she let out a cry of terror. Time seemed to slow as the brute charged nearer and nearer.
Somehow, as adrenaline took over, her muscles seemed to move on their own. She shut her eyes, wheeling her body around without thinking. Then, just as Applejack would do to a tree, she lashed out her hindlegs with all her might.
The first thing she realized was that she wasn’t dead. That was good. The second thing she felt were her hooves connecting with something squishy, and then she heard a thud. When Fluttershy decided it was finally safe to open her eyes, she welcomed by the sight of the magnificent phoenixes drawing flaming circles in the night sky, proclaiming victory for all to see. And then there was the significantly less magnificent stallion lying at her hooves with a few missing teeth.
As the ruckus of squeaking otters and a yelping stallion continued in the background, Fluttershy cast her gaze on her work and muttered, “That…that felt...good.”
When she searched for the triplets, she saw them jumping happily on the torso of the guard they had attacked. The trio of otters slipped onto her back, and Fluttershy told the groaning stallion, “Take that, you…big fat meanie!”
A pair of voices shouted simultaneously, “We got you now, miss!” It was two more guards, pegasi this time, hovering high above. The two landed on either side of her, trapping her in a vicious showdown.
In a fit of instinct, Fluttershy reached into her bag. The guards flinched, only to see that instead of some kind of deadly weapon, she was pulling out a box of mice, quite the opposite of deadly. “I wouldn’t do anything if I were you. Y-you wouldn’t want to make these angry,” Fluttershy muttered, pointing the box from side to side, shaking up the rodents within.
“And what’ll they do, huh? Nibble us to death?” one particularly stupid guard remarked. He let out a chortle that sounded like a gerbil had crawled inside his throat and chomped on his vocal cords.
As it would turn out, that was exactly what Fluttershy had hoped he would say. “Would you like to find out?” she asked mischievously. Then, shaking up the glass box for good measure, she slid open the door. “HAH!”
But Fluttershy’s shouts of triumph quickly faded away, because instead of the guards falling to the ground in pain, they were doing the exact opposite. The mare stood there awkwardly with a box of mice, while the guards watched in silence. At first, it seemed like they anticipated something would happen. But, after a moment of unusual silence, one of the guard said, “So…is that it?”
“Umm…that’s not…it was supposed to,” Fluttershy stammered, bringing the box close to her chest, examining the white rodents sitting complacently inside.
“Alright, stop fooling around miss. I’m scared of rats as much as the next guy, but this…this is just embarrassing.” Walking slowly towards Fluttershy, he commanded, “You come with us, now, okay?”
“No, you don’t understand. I—.”
Suddenly, there was some sort of short, squirting sound, followed by loud screaming and the sound of somepony toppling over. In the space of a single second, one stallion was on the floor, clutching his face and yelling bloody murder, and two mice with their purple mouths wide open. And then there was Fluttershy, trying to take in what just happened with wide eyes.
Hearing the sound of shuffling hooves behind her, the mare instinctively whirled around. In doing so, her long tail wrapped around the other guard’s legs, causing his to trip and fall…right on top of his acid-burned friend. The two’s heads collided with a knock, and the duo simultaneously fell unconscious.
With not one, not two, but four Royal Guards scattered around her, Fluttershy began to timidly poke the bodies, making sure they were all knocked out. “That was…easy,” she muttered. With the help of the phoenixes and the otters, she dragged the unconscious victims to a shady spot away from the wall. Tucking the mice back into her pack, she said, “Goodbye. Sweet dreams, I suppose.”
She started to tiptoe away, paused for a moment to look back bewilderedly, and then continued to move along. After all, there was still much more to do.
Xxx
Thirty more minutes later and Rainbow Dash was still toying with the guards, flying around with at least fifteen on her tail. A few pegasus guards had taken up chase, but their heavy armor combined with Rainbow’s superior flying skills made evading them easy. On the ground, the rest of the stallions tried shooting fireballs at her, but to no avail. Suddenly, she made a loop-de-loop, quickly turning on a dime. Before the front guard could slow down or react, Rainbow Dash slammed down on him with her back legs. Then, giving a coy wink to the rest of the pegasi, she continued on her flight.
“Come on, fellas. It’s no fun unless you fight back!”
She soon spied Fluttershy trying to tiptoe by the side of the wall. Letting out a sharp whistle, which startled the sneaking pegasus, Dash called, “Hey Flutters! Oh, hold on a sec’. HYAH!” She unleashed a killer right hook into a guard’s jaw before continuing, “So what’s up?”
The guard fell at Fluttershy’s hooves with his tongue lolled out of his mouth. “I…um…I cleared out my side. But I see you’ve…still got some work to do.”
Motioning her head towards the guards, who were apparently really terrible shots, Dash replied nonchalantly, “Oh this? Don’t worry, I’ll be through with ‘em soon. Just step aside and watch the master go to work. Ahem… Fluffy!”
A small lion-head poked out of some low bushes a few yards down. Clicking her tongue, Rainbow called, “Sick ‘em.”
Right on cue, the manticore leapt out of its hiding place and began to wreak havoc on the guards on the ground. Not wanting to miss out on the fun, Rainbow Dash swooped down and unleashed a flurry of head-butts on the unfortunate stallions. The two worked in tandem, almost as though it were rehearsed. Fluffy would toss a guard towards Dash with a roar, and the poor unicorn would be met with a swift buck to the face. Then, Rainbow would smack another across the cheek, and Fluffy would hop over her back and finish the devastating combo. For one short minute, the wall was a flurry of hooves and claws and fireballs and magic. But Fluffy and Dash were a dynamic duo from the air and the ground, and the Royal Guards simply did not stand a chance.
The rainbow-maned flier picked up her pet manticore by its hind legs. Fluffy extended his knife-sharp claws, and Dash began to spin around, creating a vortex that literally cut through the air like blades. When it was all over and the shrieking subsided, they were the only ones still standing. “That’s my boy,” Rainbow Dash remarked, stroking the feline’s head.
She made her way towards her timid friend, who had taken to cowering behind a small rock. “Welp. I think we’re clear.”
“G-good. I’m not quite sure how many unconscious ponies I can take before passing out.”
“Aww, don’t be such a whiner. Besides, you don’t need to see any more of ‘em.”
“Why?”
Flying towards the top of the wall, Dash shouted, “Because it looks like we’re home-unh!”
Rainbow was cut off mid-sentence when she smacked head-first right into…nothing. Rubbing her head and staring at the dark Veneighzuelan landscape, Dash tried going forward again. And like last time, she bumped her forehead against an invisible wall, this time letting out a grunt of anger.
“What the hay? A force-field?” she yelled, tapping the glass-like barrier. She began to punch it angrily, each time making a small ripple, but the force-field would remain intact. “What’s the point of a wall if they’ve got a freakin’ force-field?”
Fluttershy hovered up to where her friend was, asking, “What’s going on?” As she said this, the family of phoenixes spattered against the invisible wall, sliding down the side with a squeak, answering Fluttershy’s question. “Oh no…this is not good. Not good at all.”
“Shoot, Flutters. What the hay are we supposed to do now?”
“Do you think we can fly over it?”
“Worth a shot…”
The cyan pegasus began to fly higher, until the air became cold and thin. She reached out, and still there was the barrier, and its tell-tale ripple. Descending back down, still facing the field, she said, “Nope. This thing goes waaay up there. Any higher and I’d be in orbit. Heh, orbit. Good one.”
“Um, Rainbow?”
“Yeah, what is it?” Dash asked, feeling around the barrier.
“I think they’ve called in some reinforcements…”
With wide eyes, Rainbow whirled around to see Fluttershy with the exact same expression. Through the darkness, she could see a gang of guards approaching from either side of them, getting ready to sandwich the two smugglers.
“Buck me, we gotta find a way to burst through here!” Knocking her head on the field, she muttered quickly, “Uh…think, Rainbow, think! What would Twilight do?” The Royal Guards were still quite a ways off, but with every second the duo wasted pondering, the closer they came.
“Uhh…ummm…” They were even closer now; they would surely spot them soon.
“Celestia-dammit, what do we do?” Dash could see their armor now, and the glowing horns pointed straight at them. Their eyes were burning with anger; no doubt they had seen the destruction the smugglers had left in their wake. Rainbow couldn’t help but wonder if they’d be annihilated on the spot.
Suddenly, Fluttershy blurted, “Well, usually when Twilight casts a force-field like this, a large amount of pressure usually shatters the whole thing. But what can possibly deliver enough force to break something this big?”
And just like that, something clicked inside Dash’s mind. Her eyes wide with joy, she kissed her companion on the cheek, shook her happily and cried, “Fluttershy, that’s it!”
Blushing in the pale moonlight, Fluttershy replied, “W-what’d I say?”
But instead of an answer, Rainbow shoved her furry luggage into Fluttershy’s hooves, saying, “Take the animals and try to get as far away as possible.”
“But what about-.”
“I’ll draw their attention. Just go!”
Without hesitation, the normally-reserved mare beat her wings like she never had before, zooming away from the wall with her animal friends in tow. Once Fluttershy seemed a safe distance away, the other mare cracked her neck and limbs, whispering, “Let’s get this show in the road.”
“Hey Royal Snotwads! Don’t you got some royal flanks to be kissin’?” she yelled at the top of her lungs. Despite the fact that eighty or so pairs of eyes were staring at her with the intent to kill, Rainbow Dash wore a smug grin on her face. She let them get a little bit closer, all the while slowly floating upwards.
When the flurry of fireballs started, that was when she decided to take off. The pegasus pointed herself towards the sky, with flames chasing her tail. Higher and higher she climbed, ‘into orbit’ as she put it.
“Where’s she going?” one of the stallions inquired.
“Doesn’t matter, she can’t go too far.”
Little did they know, that was not her intent. Once she was at a sufficient altitude, the mare came to a slow halt. Then, pointing herself towards the ground head-first with her forelegs leading, she accelerated.
Her wings started to beat faster, just as they had done numerous times before. Her speed rapidly picked up, and soon enough her lips were being pulled back by the intense wind. Tears began to roll from her eyes as she shot through the air like a bullet. Everything was just a crazy blur now; the wind roared in her ears, and the only thing she could make out were the bright flames shooting up at her. The fireballs never touched her, however, deflected by the cone of air forming around her body.
The ant-like figures below started to get closer and closer. She was going practically at super-sonic speeds now, and if it wasn’t for the fact that it was night, the guards would see a bright streak of color making its way towards them. With her goal in sight, Rainbow Dash started to utter to herself.
Fluttershy had simply flown for her life, distancing herself from that stupid wall, never even faltering for one second. Suddenly, there was a bright flash behind her, and when she wheeled around, everything was almost as bright as day. She only caught a glimpse of the rainbow-colored mushroom cloud before she quickly ducked behind the nearest boulder, holding the animals close. Then, the loud explosion, followed by a shockwave that nearly sent the otters flying away. And finally, just as quickly as it had started…silence.
Panting heavily, Fluttershy peeked over the rock. The rainbow cloud was beginning to dissipate, and she could barely make out a thin trail of smoke rising into the star-laden sky. Shakily stepping out, Fluttershy slowly trudged toward the impact site, with a group of animals crawling by her side.
When she finally arrived, the first thing she noticed was the bodies of numerous guards thrown far from the explosion. They were still alive, albeit very scratched up and possibly (okay, probably) possessing multiple broken bones. However, for some reason, the colorful explosion caused them to look oddly happy despite the injuries.
After some time of inspecting the unconscious stallions, the mare came upon the wall, or at least, what was left of it. An entire mile-wide section of the wall had been completely obliterated, leaving only small chunks of concrete littered everywhere. Fluttershy came up and stuck her hooves out, happy to find that the force-field was gone as well. And just a few feet away, she saw the source of the plume of smoke: a small cyan pegasus covered in soot, lying on her side.
Fluttershy rushed to her friend’s side, kneeling down. “Rainbow?” No response.
She lightly tapped Dash on the head and tried again, “Rainbow?”
This time, Dash opened her mouth extremely wide and groaned, “Uuugh.”
“Rainbow!”
“Uuuuuugh.”
“R-rainbow?”
“Uuuuuuuuuuuuuugh.”
“Rainbow.”
After giving another groan, Fluttershy shook her crossly and said, “Rainbow, stop being so dramatic.”
Sighing, the cyan mare rolled over on her back, opening her eyes into narrow slits. She glanced around her surroundings with a confused scowl on her face. “Oh man…d-d-did I do it?”
“Oh you did it alright! You blew up.”
“Oh yeah…how ‘bout that?” The rest of the animals came up to Dash and began to smother her in their furry, feathery, scaly embrace. “Hey little guys. You enjoy the show?” she muttered with a faint grin.
Fluttershy took a quick gaze around, hearing multiple groans sounding through the night. Helping her friend to her hooves, she said urgently, “We can discuss you being a weapon of mass destruction later, but for now, we need to go!”
Fluttershy slung Dash’s leg over her shoulder, and the duo limped away with a line of animals behind them. As they crossed the border into Veneighzuela, Rainbow let out a final statement. “That’s the sonic rainnuke...oh gosh. I think I’m gonna throw up again.”
Luckily, she was able to keep it down, at least until they were much farther away from the ill-fated barrier. They made their way through a lush, dark forest, so dense that the canopy of trees completely blocked out any light. The group soon came upon a small clearing, where to their surprise, it had begun to drizzle. Popping out of the foliage, Dash immediately limped to a spot behind a rock and promptly expelled her lunch. Meanwhile, Fluttershy tilted her head to the sky, and felt the cool droplets on her face. It was somewhat refreshing, both the rain, and the fact that they were truly safe and sound.
Creeping from behind the rock, Dash ran her hoof through her damp mane and remarked, “Boy, I am pooped. That wall looked like a freaking meteor hit it.”
“I’ve never seen you do that before, Dash,” Fluttershy replied.
“What, vomit?”
“No, silly. The explosion!”
“That ol’ thing? Nifty little trick, ain’t it?”
“Trick?” Fluttershy said in disbelief. “You turned yourself into a bomb.”
“Yeah. A colorful, powerful, supremely awesome bomb!” Dash cried, a cocky smile evident on her face. She sat on her haunches, not really caring about the wet leaves she planted her flank on. Fluttershy sat down next to her, and the friends watched their animals frolic in the rain (except for Fluffy, who looked very unamused).
“It really was something else…” the yellow pegasus whispered, looking at her companion. Dash’s mane was wet and matted, her face had patches of dirt and ash, her eye was bruised, and a fresh cut could be seen across her lips. But despite that, those lips just kept on smiling, and those bruised eyes still shone with confidence. Fluttershy found it amusing that she probably looked the same.
Finally, Rainbow Dash asked, “You don’t think I overdid it, do you? I mean, I didn’t hurt anypony too bad, did I?”
“Nope. Actually, the guards looked really happy for some reason. It was odd.”
“Probably ‘cause they were in awe of my sheer coolness.”
The two let out a tired laugh, then Fluttershy inquired, “Aren’t you worried those guards will identify you? I mean, you don’t exactly blend into a crowd.”
The cyan mare simply shrugged, responding, “I’ll just convince Twilight to take care of it or something. She’s a princess, her brother’s captain of the Royal Guard…I’ll figure it out. This isn’t my first time dealing with the law.”
“What?”
“N-nothing.”
Fluttershy turned her attention to the group of critters prancing around the clearing. They had become so close with each other…and so close to her and Rainbow as well. They had spent so much effort into getting to Veneighzuela, but now that they were here, Fluttershy couldn’t help feel a twinge of sadness. Letting out a sigh, she whispered, “Rainbow… it’s time.”
Dash sighed as well, and Fluttershy could tell she was thinking about it too. “I guess so, ain’t it?” Dash responded quietly.
“Would you like to go first?”
Rainbow nodded. Then, drawing in a deep breath, she slowly righted herself and made her way to the playing creatures. She whistled, and the animals immediately stopped their antics and turned their attention to the battered mare. Rainbow kept a smile on her face, but her sad, maroon eyes told an entirely different story.
With her voice low and gentle, she said, “So guys…this is it I guess. We’ve come a pretty long way, huh? It’s been a crazy few days. I never thought a bunch of little animals could be such a hassle, but…” Her voice trailed off, as though she had choked on something. Clearing her throat, she continued, albeit a bit shakier, “That doesn’t matter. What matters is that it’s been a heck of a ride. You guys…you guys are awesome, and it’s been a p-pleasure…to have you guys around.” Wiping her eyes, she uttered, “This rain, huh? It’s getting in my eyes…”
She first turned to the trio of otters. “Gio, Anton, Frankie…you clowns look out for each other, alright?” The triplets each bumped paws with Dash’s hoof.
Next was the phoenixes, who despite the rain, still radiated light. Winking to the chick snuggled in his mama’s wings, Dash said, “You be good to your parents, now. They’re a pretty cool pair of birds. And heck, they’re pretty good fliers too.”
She came to Fang next, and trying not to look (which was easy since she was already looking away, trying to hide her reddened eyes), she commented, “Fang, my man. Later bud. And no hard feelings for the bite earlier, ‘kay?”
Dash almost passed over the glass box buried underneath a pile of wet leaves. Picking up the mice, she said jokingly, “And you boys, causing the most ruckus out of all of us…Try not to keep the neighbors awake with your partying now.” Not surprisingly, she was greeted with silence, so she chuckled and said, “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”
Finally, placing down the rodents, she came upon the final animal. He sat up when Dash walked over to him, his ears sagging like his wet mane. The manticore’s eyes were big, and his head was slightly tilted to the side. Rainbow sat herself across from him, and began to stroke his mane tenderly. The young creature closed its eyes and purred, which brought a smile to his handler’s face. “Goodbye, little guy. It’s been real fun. We made a good team…Dash n’ Flash, remember?” she uttered, scratching behind his ears.
Suddenly, Fluffy thrust himself forward into Dash’s chest and curled up into a ball, purring sadly. Dash could feel his warm head rubbing against her torso, and his scorpion tail wrapping around her as though it never wanted to let go. It was then that Rainbow began to cry, her tears mixing with the rain that was now picking up strength. She wrapped her hooves around her furry companion and whispered through her sobs, “I’m gonna miss you too, bud. M-maybe I’ll come and visit you sometime. Y’know, after things calm down a bit. O-okay Fluff?”
Fluffy licked her cheek, which only made her squeeze him harder. And so, the two stayed in their loving embrace, paying no heed to the rain starting to pound against the trees around them. In that moment, both creatures realized that they forged an unbreakable bond throughout this short, remarkable journey. They were locked in a bond not of “master and pet”, but of “friend and friend”. And since they were the most loyal companions there ever was, neither one wanted to let go first.
Ultimately, Dash knew they couldn’t stay like that forever. Planting a kiss on his soggy mane, she whispered, “You’re just a big softie, little guy. I guess…that makes me one too.”
xxx
Fluttershy said her own goodbyes, taking each of the creatures in a caring hug. The otters were especially upset, clambering onto her back and planting tiny wet kisses on her neck. When all was said and done, the two pegasi started to back away into the shadowy forest, watching their forest critters scatter away for the final time. Fluffy hesitated at the edge of the clearing, looking back at Dash. The pegasus nodded solemnly, and the manticore pounced off into the forest and disappeared out of view.
The animals were gone, and for the first time, the duo of pegasi was truly alone. It was like a burden had been lifted off their shoulders, and at the same time, it wasn’t.
The two strolled through the forest, finally reaching the end of the foliage. Rain was still falling hard, so they stayed underneath the canopy of leaves. Gazing at each other’s faces, they saw that both of their eyes were puffy and red, and both looked like they had been to hell and back. And perhaps, in some ways, they have.
“Yo, ‘Shy?” Dash uttered.
“Yes?”
“Thanks.”
“It was nothing.”
“It was far from nothing, 'Shy,” Rainbow asserted. “It was something. Maybe even everything. I don’t know for sure, but it was definitely more than nothing.”
Fluttershy returned a meek smile. “You know, I couldn’t have done this without you,” she whispered.
“Yeah?” Rainbow patted her companion’s shoulder and continued, “Well, I couldn’t have survived this without you. We make a pretty good team, Flutters.” Pausing for a moment, Dash added quietly, “And if ya need any more help…you know who to call.”
“Always.”
The rain had stopped, and the orange sun was starting to rise over the lush land of Veneighzuela. However, the pegasi didn’t really notice. Fluttershy nestled her head against Dash’s firm shoulder, and the duo sat together in each other’s company, miles away from their own homes.
For now, for this moment, it didn’t seem to matter.
A Hero's Tale: The Divine Comedy (Also Called the Epilogue)
In this wild, unknown, untamed territory, a lone figure crept through the night, under the cover of the bushes. His heart pounded as he slowly trekked through the darkness, barely able to see two feet in front of him. The trees loomed overhead like evil phantoms stretching their crooked limbs to pull him into the darkness. A cold wind whirled past, chilling his tough skin. But nonetheless, the brave soul continued on.
Suddenly, a shout pierced through the darkness. It was faint at first, and the figure strained his ears to try to make it out. He started to crawl in that direction, the sound getting louder and louder. For all he knew, it could have been some wicked being luring him towards his doom. But if he was scared, he certainly didn’t show it.
As he made his way closer, he began to make out what the voice was saying. “Stop! Stop!”
A cry for help! the noble hero thought. And what’s more, he recognized the voice. A sweet, familiar voice, a female friend in desperate need for a savior. And lucky for her, there was one already on his way.
The champion kicked it into high gear, making his way through the forest as fast as he could. The voice was slowly getting clearer, and more desperate. “Stop! Stop it!”
Don’t worry, my friend! I’m on my way! he thought, every step of his feeling heavy. He maneuvered past large trunks, almost colliding with them due to the swathing darkness.
Finally, he came upon a large boulder. Behind it, the voice could be heard screaming, “Get off me! Stop!”
The hero rounded the rock, coming upon a small clearing. And to his surprise, he found an unbelievably large, foul beast growling ferociously as it clawed at the small, helpless, pony-like figure underneath it. The two struggled on the ground, the brute showing no signs of letting up. Its maw was filled with razor-sharp teeth, inches from the victim’s face. Terrible, black claws jutted out from its paws, which constantly came down on the small figure. And the tail…it was something that seemed to come straight out of a horror movie! She kept trying to push the beast off, but to no avail. It was only a matter of time before he would sink its teeth into the poor pony and feast on her flesh.
Not if I have anything to say about it!
With lightning-quick reflexes, the hero came out of the shadows, his sights set on the foul creature. He was out for blood…
“Stop it Fluff! That tickles!”
The wrestling duo unlatched from each other. Rainbow Dash lay on her back with a huge grin on her face, laughing uncontrollably. Fluffy, who was now a fully grown manticore, started pouncing around the clearing, obviously happy to see his old friend. Then, purring, he latched onto Dash and began to furiously lick her face.
“Aw hey buddy!” Rainbow exclaimed, running her hooves through his mane. “Oh I missed you too, I missed you too!”
The two sat up, and Rainbow looked up and down her feline companion. He was now at least three times as big as her, and yet he still had that playful heart Dash knew so well. “Jeez, you’re so big now! You're like a buckin' giant, holy crud! And I bet twice as much trouble as before, huh?” she said, playfully punching Fluffy’s arm. The manticore scooped her up and took her in a warm embrace, much to her delight. “But you’re still a big, ol’ softie, Fluff! And I wouldn’t want it any other way!”
While she was buried in Fluffy’s fur, Dash noticed a small green reptile crawling out of the foliage out of the corner of her eye. It seemed to be making its way towards the two, albeit painfully slowly. “Hey Tank!” she called, beckoning him to come with her hoof.
“Come and meet your cousin!”
A Couple More Weeks Later (Also Called Epilogue Number Two)
Somewhere in Equestria, the sun was shining, giving way to a brand new day. Somewhere in Equestria, ponies were happily going about their day, in a place where despair was nothing but a distant memory. Somewhere in Equestria, animals roamed free, frolicking in the green pastures they called home. Somewhere out there was happiness.
But that place was not Canterlot Castle.
A dark cloud loomed over the palace, and not the kind that tossed lightning around and blasted thunder. It was a dark presence caused by a bunch of furry critters miles and miles away. It was a thundercloud brought upon the castle by a pair of pegasi who just so happened to have friends in high places. This thundercloud had its sights trained on one pony in particular—Princess Luna.
The orange morning light had just broken over the horizon, which meant it was time for the night princess to relinquish her duties and scurry off to bed. Her elder sister came into the throne room, casting a skeptical glare. With a smirk, Celestia said, “Good morning sister. Didn’t run into any furry trouble last night, did we?”
“Ha, ha. Very funny, Celestia,” the younger sibling replied, slouched on the throne, her head nestled on her hoof.
“Is there anything I can do? Maybe send a whole battalion to stop some earth ponies from smuggling bread into the next county?”
“Really, thou art hilarious.”
“I do hope some walls haven’t popped up randomly in the middle of the night…”
“Okay, I get your point. No need to rub it in.” Luna quickly stood up, relinquishing the throne to her older sister, but not before sticking out her tongue defiantly. As she made her way out the door, she called out, “But in my defense, that zoo did have to close down for two weeks. Think of the foals!”
“Go to sleep, Luna—.”
“Foals!”
Princess Luna began the long trek back to her bedroom, her face pulled into an exaggerated grimace. She passed a couple of servants and guards, all of whom gave her the same amused stare. A pair of guards even had the gall to snicker behind their back, which resulted in their hindlegs being frozen to the floor and their forelegs frozen in some…private places.
With a smirk, the princess slinked her way into her quarters, locking the door shut. She spread herself upon her bed with sigh, glaring up sadly at the starry ceiling. A tiny furry head poked out of a drawer, scampering onto Luna’s belly. Levitating the creature up to her face, she muttered, “They are never going to let me live this one down, Jeffrey. Even after two months…they still make fun of me! Me! Perhaps I shall bring the moon closer, cause a tsunami or two…”
The ferret began to squeal angrily, waving its paws. “Oh, I’m just joking, Jeffery,” Luna replied, setting the animal down on a pillow. Sitting herself up, she continued, “No need to get too worked up. Back in my day, it was a serious crime to smuggle things out of the country. Sure, the wall may have been a bit excessive, but it was for a just cause!”
Princess Luna didn’t seem too convinced with her words, her normally sprightly eyes downcast. But Jeffrey crawled up her shoulders and hugged her neck, rubbing its fuzzy head against hers. The princess couldn’t help but let out a giggle, a smile once again appearing on her face. Stroking her pet, she said, “Oh well. What is there to do but suck it up? Thanks for listening, Jeffery. I can always count on you. Now come, why don’t we—ow! Mother of me…Jeffery!”
Luna levitated the ferret by the scruff of its neck, touching the tender spot where he had nipped her ear. Slowly getting off her bed, she walked to her drawer, placing the animal back inside.
“Ah, besides, we haven’t had a smuggling problem since then. It seems it’s all died down...”
That very same evening…
In the dim light cast by a small lantern, Rainbow Dash was curled up on her bed. Unsurprisingly, her wide eyes scanned the pages of the newest Daring Do novel, her mouth agape as her hero escaped yet another perilous trap. Her snout was almost touching the page. Adrenaline pumped through her veins. Slivers of drool hung from her slip.
She was so immersed in her tale that she failed to notice the hissing sounds coming from just outside her window. Nor did she react when a couple of tiny pebbles smacked against her cheek. Finally, she shook her head and put the book down, but only after receiving a rock the size of a melon to her jaw.
“Ow, what the f—ow, jeez!” She turned her head toward the window, seeing a pair of yellow ears poking from the top.
“Psst! Rainbow. Hey, hey Rainbow. Rainbow!” somepony whispered from outside. Rolling her eyes, Dash slid out of bed, poking her head out the window.
“Fluttershy, what do you want?” she asked, seeing her timid friend hovering just outside.
“Code Blue! Code Blue!”
“Fluttershy, I don’t even know what that means.”
“Elphay Ethay ritterscray!”
Shaking her head, Rainbow replied, “Nnnope, still making no sense.”
“There’s trouble brewing down in my cottage, if you know what I mean.”
“No! No I don’t know what you mean!” Dash yelled angrily. Then her eyes widened, her mouth pulled into a grimace. “Oh gosh…’Shy, that’s disgusting!”
Smacking her hoof to her head, Fluttershy whispered, “I need your help with the animals!”
“Ohhhh, you need me to help you smuggle them again, don’t you?”
Fluttershy thrust out her hoof, plugging her friend’s mouth. “Shh. Don’t say it so loud!”
“Fluttershy,” Rainbow began, her eyes narrowed and hooves crossed. “Thish ish my housh.”
The two stared at each other for a rather prolonged and awkward period of time. Fluttershy’s eyes darted around the cloud home, taking out her hoof and wiping it on her fur. Blushing, she mumbled, “Oh…right.”
In a few minutes, Dash and Fluttershy were already soaring toward the cottage, covered by the darkness. Rainbow had a bag slung over her back, a special pack always kept prepared in her closet. With a smirk, she asked, “So what’re we smuggling this time around? Gerbils? Deercats? Those weird monkeys with the huge eyes?”
“You’ll just have to wait and see,” Fluttershy answered with a wink.
“It better not be a buncha ants again. I don’t wanna have to keep counting to 1,834…”
“Don’t worry, Dash. No ants this time. But I think you’ll be pretty happy this time around.”
“Heh. You know I can’t wait.”
Eventually, the duo lighted down in front of the cottage, a sense of déjà vu flooding Dash’s mind, bringing along a shining grin rivaling the luminous moon. She began to chuckle. Fluttershy inquired, “What’s so funny, Dashie?”
“I’m just excited, ‘Shy. Excited to go on another awesome adventure with you.”
After a short pause, the timid pegasus replied, “As am I.”
With a firm hoof, Fluttershy grasped the knob and pushed in.
Then, realizing the door swung outwards, she pulled out.
