AN: BACK FROM THE DEAD!
But seriously, between a wedding and work, I've been busy. Here is the long delayed chapter.
And, as always, I don't own My Little Pony, and to Fairy Tail and Skyrim for their obvious influences.
Chapter 16: Into the Woods
Discord had not made it far into the forest before Twilight Sparkle had caught up to him. He laughed loudly as he dipped and dived out of each of her shots, watching as each spell hit anything and everything that was not her intended target. Behind him lay a path of destruction as anything from stasis bubbles that froze random forest creatures to full transformations on the plants that changed into random inanimate objects like chairs and beachballs. It was every few spells that he truly had to watch for. Discord watched as another red tinted spell flew by his left horn leaving a scorch mark that smoked lightly on a tree. Yes, the unicorn seemed to have trouble deciding whether it was better to use the harmless spells to trip him up or these more destructive ones.
Discord was no fool. He knew that the unicorns, especially those with strong magical abilities, could cast very powerful and destructive magic. He had seen the whole Crystal Palace episode, had watched it happily from a small dimensional screen in his small castle cell, or what Princess Celestia liked to call a "bedroom." He had seen the dark magic that Celestia had shown the small Twilight Sparkle. The dark magic that was used to successfully solve the problems of the Crystal Empire and claim it for Equestria. It was dangerous and destructive, though it could be very powerful and seductive. Just look at what happened to King Sombra!
"Ah, but Discord," a smaller clone of himself appeared on his shoulder as he floated through the tree branches, "You really should stop reminiscing upon your unicorn trivia and concentrate on the present!"
"Quite right, you devilishly good looking fellow," Discord smiled down at himself as his small doppelganger blushed and waved off his compliment with a theatric flare.
Another spell flew at him, making the draconequus dive to the side. A small cry made him turn and look to spot his small clone caught in a small bubble, "Discord! Help me!"
"Ah, my apologies. But I do have places to be. Ponies to evade, a pegasi to find, ice cream storms for small townships, tea parties to enjoy...you know, the usual! Ta-ta!" Discord formally bowed to his double, then turned and slipped off into the woods like a piece of paper upon the breeze.
"And to think I helped get you out of an inner monologue!" the mini-Discord cried out as true Discord flew further into the forest.
Twilight arrived a few seconds later, cursing softly to herself as Discord vanished once more. Looking to the side, she spotted the mini-Discord. As she eyeballed her catch, the rest of her group finally getting a chance to catch up to the unicorn.
"Did we get 'im!" Rainbow asked as she flashed into the air above them. Applejack arriving right behind her gave the forest around them a calculated look before landing on Twilight.
"Thanks for leaving that trail for us, Twili!" Pinkie hopped into view.
"Wait up!" Rarities voice huffed as she stumbled out of the bushes behind Pinkie, "Really, does he have to keep running?" she paused for a gasp of air, "I'm all out of breath!"
Rainbow Dash shook her head at the white unicorn's antics while Applejack took the time to explain the importance of daily exercise and endurance. Spotting the glowing orb by Twilight, Rainbow flew close, poking at the containment bubble that held the small duplicate, "Is that really him?"
Twilight glanced at it for a second before she shook her head, "No. We need to keep moving."
"What do we do with this then?" Applejack stared at the duplicate that had taken to walking on the walls of its bubble with movements that mimicked that of a lizard.
"Can we keep it as a beach ball?" Pinkie Pie asked in an excited voice.
Rainbow Dash grinned darkly, "I like that idea. Hey Pinkie! Catch!" The pegasus tossed the "ball" into the air to serve the small bubble like a volleyball.
The mini-Discord cried out, "I'm not paid enough for this!" and vanished into thin air.
"Eek! Where did it go!" Rarity picking up her hooves nervously as she glanced around the surrounding area.
"It was a magical double," Twilight explained as she began to move forward again, galloping in the direction of Discord's booming laughter, "He won't be captured until we catch the original."
"Do you really think that your spell will hold him?" Applejack gave Twilight a worried glance out of the side of her eye.
The unicorn in question hesitated. "I really don't know," she admitted, "But that last spell held his double until the magic dissipated. So in theory it should work on him as well."
"So what's the plan then Twilight," Applejack asked, giving her a determined grin.
Twilight paused to look over at her friends, seeing only support and determination written on all of their faces. So far she had been so focused on just stopping Discord that she hadn't thought about planning. Which was silly now that she thought about it. She really was good at planning. Looking at the group before her, her mind started to devise a way to try and trap the Chaos Lord.
"Rainbow, Pinkie! I need you two to go ahead to try and stop Discord. Anything you can do to try and slow him down!"
"Got it," Rainbow said with a smirk before she disappeared, leaving only a rainbow trail behind to mark the path of her flight.
Pinkie Pie donned an army helmet and saluted, "Roger that!" Her pink form dove into a nearby bush and vanished, only to reappear seconds later in another shrub further down their path in an attack pose. Seeing that there was no Discord she ducked back down and appeared even further ahead in an overhead tree, hanging upside down from a branch. Once again seeing no sign of her target she dove up into the leaves before appearing even further ahead seconds later.
"How does she do that?" Applejack drawled out the rhetorical question as she watched the small earth pony vanish once more and reappear in inexplicable locations that nopony could honestly reach by normal means in that frame of time.
"Come on," Twilight looked at Rarity and Applejack, "I need you two to help me try and trap him."
"With what?" Rarity asked in confusion.
Twilight looked back at the other two that were accompanying her. They were too far from the balloon to honestly be able to use any of those supplies for a trap, so that left what they had on hand. Applejack had her lasso on her, and she and Rarity had their magic, but would that be enough? Twilight wasn't so sure. With a frown, Twilight took a moment to glance around the area she spotted some vines hanging from a nearby tree.
"Think you could make a net out of these, Rarity?"
"Well, it'd be a bit rough, and quite rustic looking," Rarity offered, studying the plants intently, before turning to look at her friends faces, "Just give me a few minutes. I will weave for you the most magnifique net ever seen."
"You have one," Twilight said.
Rarity gave a shocked look before nodding. Glancing at the collection of vines before her she began to use her magic to weave them together. They were running out of time, and she recognized the need to keep moving.
Discord laughed softly as he kept floating through the forest. It really was too much fun to mess with those ponies. They got so upset over the smallest of things. Was it really so mind boggling that he had a gingerbread house with a hot chocolate moat? And was it so bad that he liked to summon giant tornadoes as a defensive mechanism? You'd think ponies would just relax and learn to laugh already.
But now was not the time for laughter. Discord's face turned serious as he focused on the path ahead. Fluttershy had run off into the forest and needed help in one form or another. If timberwolves had gone after her last time, who knows what other creatures would be interested in a small, injured, if not slightly insane pony. He needed to think. If he was a pony who wanted to see a group of betrayers for himself, where would he go?
As he paused in his flight to muse over what his decisions would be if he spent his life as a pony versus a draconequus, Rainbow Dash finally appeared.
"Discord!" she cried out, wrenching him out of his thoughts, "What did you do with Fluttershy!"
"Ah, Shutterfly!" Discord smiled as his new nickname for the pony just seemed to rile her up more, "Here to fly right at me again? Perhaps a punch to the face? Or maybe you are here to drop rain clouds on me?"
"Shut it!" Rainbow growled out, "All I need to know is what you did to my friend! Give her back and I promise to make your beating quick and slightly less painful."
"Now, now, now," he tsked, "Is that any way to spread the word of friendship around? I thought your little gospel was supposed to be spread by going door to door with biker gangs that wore button-up shirts and khakis. Not through fist fights and back alley brawls."
This did not help the pegasus's mood at all, making her scream out as she flew straight in. Pinkie Pie arrived on the scene just in time to watch as Rainbow Dash flew around Discord's like a mosquito. And like a mosquito, only succeed in annoying the Chaos Lord.
"I do believe that we have gone through this song and dance one too many times," he said, his eyebrows twitching at the rainbow trails that were being made around his body. With a flick of his tail, he summoned a giant fly swatter and slapped Rainbow Dash to the ground.
"Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie called out, to the dazed pony trapped under the swatter, "Don't worry! Pinkie is here to help!"
"Ah, Miss Pie," Discord grinned at the bouncing pony, "It is lovely to see you again. I still leave the open offer of ice cream and candy ponds open."
"Really!" Pinkie asked in excitement before shaking her head, "I mean-Discord! What have you done with Fluttershy?"
Discord laughed at the conflicting emotions inside the pony, "Perhaps we can make a deal? You can-"
"Nothing you can offer is worth the price of my friendship," Pinkie gave him a hard stare.
"Finally decided on a side then, eh?" he frowned, "Well, it was worth the attempt."
"Give us our friend back or else!"
"Or else what?"
"Or else this!" Pinkie cried out as she pulled out her party cannon and fired. Discord was thrown back with the contents of the cannon, slamming into a nearby tree. Looking down, he saw his body covered in some form of a sugary concoction.
"Cake?" he asked as he tasted the confection that had hit him, "Cake?! CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKE!"
"And streamers and balloons!" Pinkie chirped merrily, bouncing around him over to her fallen friend. With a quick shove, she removed the bug killing device from her friend and helped her up.
"Indeed," Discord observed as he studied everything further.
"And for the afterparty," Pinkie cried out, revealing a giant red button that she happily pressed, "Ice cream!"
Buckets from the trees above dumped entire containers of the frozen treat on top of Discord's head, complete with whipped cream and a cherry on top.
"Pinkie," Rainbow stared at the mess in confusion, "Has anyone told you that you are one crazy pony?"
"Hmmmmm," the earth pony really considered her answer, "Maybe once or twice, but not very much. Why do you ask?"
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and looked at the goopy mess that now cluttered the clearing, "Where'd all this come from?"
"Well, you already know that I always have my party cannon ready in case of a party emergency," Pinkie informed, "And the ice cream from the balloon was melting anyways, so I thought what better time to use it since we couldn't have our "Welcome Back Fluttershy" party or even the afterparty in the time frame I had originally anticipated."
"Wait, you brought ice cream in the balloon?" Rainbow questioned, trying to remember when they had packed it on the balloon.
Shaking her head, she looked over to the pile that hid Discord from view, "Come out and surrender, Discord! We know you're in there!"
The pile of ice cream remained still, showing no signs of a living creature actually living within its depths. "Maybe he partied too hard," Pinkie muttered with a serious face. Rainbow gave her a long look before her gaze was brought back to the pile that started to shake.
"Get ready," Rainbow whispered, preparing to rush forward and tackle the monster.
Everything stopped shaking for a minute. All was still and quiet, when with a loud burst the ice cream exploded outwards with a small army of mini-Discords.
"Wha-" Rainbow gasped in shock before she was swarmed and tackled to the ground.
"Woo! Ice cream party!" Pinkie called out in laughter as she and a group of Discords began to play in the melting mess.
A few minutes later Twilight Sparkle walked in on the chaos. Studying the clearing, she could only wonder what had happened as Discords the size of her leg ran about everywhere. A small group worked at tying Rainbow Dash to the ground, while another skied down a hill that seemed to be made of ice cream. Pinkie Pie sat nearby having a serious discussion with one of his duplicates on the finer points of how vanilla could trump creative flavors like mint chocolate chip, especially when toppings were considered.
With a sigh, she gathered her magic once more to collect the Discords from Rainbow Dash. "Do I even want to know?" she questioned the weather pony.
"No," Rainbow started before she paused and looked at Twilight with a serious face, "Did you see Pinkie put ice cream on the balloon?"
"Wait. She brought ice cream?" Twilight asked, shaking her head in confusion, "Doesn't matter. We have a plan."
"About time," Rainbow smiled as she was helped up.
Twilight turned her focus from her friend to the packs of Discords all around them using her magic to sweep them up, adding to her now growing collection. A small group that sat at a table having a tea party, each in their own dress that only a pony like Rarity could appreciate, all shouted their protests at the interruption. Another that swung from a tree whined like an imputent child at the end of a trip to the park.
One by one they were collected, Pinkie Pie adding her own objections as the ones that were eating ice cream and supplying the variety of toppings were all removed.
"Now what," Rainbow asked, looking at the giant squirming pile of Discord's with distaste.
With a flash, the hundreds of duplicates vanished to reveal the true Discord, who laid upon his stomach looking down at the small group. "And I was having fun," he whined at them, "You really are a spoil sport, Twilight."
"Discord, get down here!" Twilight demanded like an impatient mother.
"Make me," he spit his tongue at the group.
"Rainbow Dash," Twilight signaled. The pegasus in question grinned as she began to swoop and dive at Discord like a sparrow trying to protect its nest from a hawk. Discord frowned, diving back as he tried to avoid the strikes to the back, all while attempting to remain out of reach of the ponies on the ground below.
"Rainbow!" Rarity's voice rose through the air, making her glance in her pause for a second in her attacks to spot the pony in question.
Applejack's lasso appeared in the air that Rainbow Dash occupied not even moments before, wrapping around a surprised Discord. He didn't even get time to comprehend what happened before he was pulled out of the sky. The sudden yank to the ground pushing the air out of his lungs with a soft huff. The downed draconequus tried to jump up and take back his position in the sky, only to crash back down as a net made out of forest vines wrapped around his body with a ghostly blue glow.
"Magnifique!" Rarity happily trotted into the clearing, "I said I could do it."
"And indeed you did," Applejack smiled at the unicorn, while turning back down the path where Twilight and Pinkie Pie were making their way over, "We got 'im, Twilight!"
"Good!" Twilight called back as she ran to catch up. She didn't even give it a second thought as she once more used her magic. With a purple flash, Discord found himself inside a purple bubble, cutting him off from the outside world.
"Now Discord," Twilight smiled at the squirming Chaos Lord, "I do believe that we asked you a question."
Discord opened his mouth to snap a witty comeback but wasn't able to get a sound out before he was interrupted by a scream pierced the air. Everyone in the clearing froze at the terrified sound. It was too familiar and too well known to be anypony else.
"Fluttershy," Discord whispered, his eyes widening as he struggled more with the netting. It was only random vines and weeds that were weaved together in a very rough, if not, in his opinion, very stylish way. What had these ponies added to this thing that it would not break?
"Was that Fluttershy?" Pinkie asked, her eyes twitching to each of her friends in fear. The rest of the group had the same look of shock upon their faces.
"You-you MONSTER!" Rainbow Dash cried out as she flew right at Discord's prison. She hovered like a hornet, wishing she could punch him in frustration, "What did you do!"
"Rainbow Dash! Calm down!" Applejack scolded, trying to get the furious pony down before she did something foolish. They still needed Discord, and she wouldn't put it past Rainbow Dash to say or do something that would give the draconequus reason to not cooperate.
Rainbow looked at them with a ferocious glare, "HE left Fluttershy, alone, probably defenseless, out here in these woods! I refuse to calm down until she is safe!"
"If ya don't simmer down we won't be able to find her because we will be too busy keeping you from doin' anything stupid," Applejack stepped forward, giving the pegasus a strong look.
"This is all well and good," Discord's voice interrupted their conversation with an air of nonchalance, "But I do have places to be that are not here. Or with you. Or in ropes, or vines, or whatnot. So if you would not mind…." As Discord gave an expectant shrug at the netting around him and a nod to the force field the rest of the group looked at him as if he had grown a second head...which he hadn't done since last Tuesday, so they would just have to deal with it til he had a better time to do so!
"How do we not know that you put her in this danger to begin with!" Twilight glared at the draconequus.
"Oh, please," Discord rolled his eyes at the group, "Like I would remove someone I was trying to protect from your group and just put them in a dangerous situation on purpose? I like to cause havoc, but I'd prefer it if there was less blood and a teaspoon more insanity."
"Then why is Fluttershy out in the woods and not back at your precious cabin?" Rainbow shot back with an accusing glare.
"It's a cottage!" Discord objected, looking away with a huff, "And not that it's any of your business, but we happened to have a disagreement on a particular topic of conversation and she ran off right before your little group of "harmony" invaded. Thanks to your interference, I was unable to stop her from disappearing into the woods. And now she is once again in danger thanks in no part to you."
"Right...she "ran away." And we are supposed to believe you?" Applejack gave him a long look, the others nodding in agreement.
Another small scream pierced the air, prompting Discord to sit up straighter and give them a long look, "Believe me or not, your friend is still running around out there; alone, injured, and going a little insane from a certain somepony's spell. Let me go so I can go save her!"
"Can we really trust him, Twilight," Rarity asked softly, glancing at her friend, "He doesn't exactly have a track record of being trustworthy."
"Of course not!" Rainbow Dash added her opinion, "I say we leave him here and go find Fluttershy."
"But he could be useful," Applejack reasoned, "If we let him go, he could stop whatever this thing is that has Fluttershy!"
"True," Pinkie pointed out in a moment of clarity, "And then we could swoop in and just take Fluttershy away while he's busy!"
"I don't know," Rarity frowned, "That does not seem very sporting. Not to mention it would just make Ponyville a target all over again!"
"Sporting?" Rainbow rolled her eyes, "He's the monster that took our friend away and was trying to brainwash her into being his personal best friend forever. I don't think he has been playing fair to begin with!"
"Well at the very least we could prove ourselves to Fluttershy by taking part in fighting this beast that is after her! Anyways, I just don't think it's right to leave him out here like this," Rarity offered.
"Not to mention that he'll probably find a way to escape after we leave," Applejack muttered. At the looks the rest of them gave her, she defended herself with a, "Just bein' honest! He'll probably be followin' us within a minute after we leave!"
Twilight took all of her friends words into consideration. They were all right in their own way. Discord could not be trusted. Period. There was no way they could trust him to be left alone or to help them rescue Fluttershy from this unknown danger without becoming the danger himself afterwards. But he was resourceful and would make a powerful ally. Discord had to know these woods and its inhabitants to some degree if he was willing to live here, and that could make a good guide. And no matter what they all thought of him, Fluttershy had been able to reach out and find some semblance of sanity in his insane mind. Twilight had the distinct feeling that Fluttershy would never forgive them if they left Discord for dead out here in the woods once they got her back to normal.
"How about this, Discord," Twilight finally put her attention back on the draconequus, who immediately poofed away the nail file he had been using to cut the vines, as well as all the broken files on the floor of the bubble from the previous failed attempts, "We let you go-"
Interruptions spouted from all around her as her friends made various levels of protests.
"We just captured the guy and you're going to let him go!" Rainbow fumed, summing up what all the others were thinking. Twilight gave her a look, begging the pegasus to trust her. Rainbow just sighed and muttered, "Fine, but if we lose Fluttershy due to this, it's on your head."
"As I was saying, we will let you go and we will both fight whatever this thing is. Then, once our battle is over, we'll let Fluttershy choose who she wants to go with."
"I don't know," he hummed, wishing that he could stroke his chin in contemplation. Seriously! What had they made this net out of! Adamantium?
"Listen, Discord," Twilight looked him directly in the eye, "I don't like you and you don't like us. And that's fine with me. But no matter what we think of one another, Fluttershy is a friend to both of us. Neither of us want to see her hurt in any way. I know that Fluttershy was able to see past all the suffering and chaos that you caused ponies over the years and made you see what true friendship could be like. All I am asking is for you to put aside your dislike of us so we can all rescue Fluttershy and make sure she is safe. Whatever happens later will happen later. For now we should focus on our friend."
Discord felt conflicted. While Twilight Sparkle was right, he really didn't like them, he couldn't deny that this was not what Fluttershy, sane or otherwise, would want. Oh! And here he had wanted to destroy them in the most chaotic fashion possible and bring them over as a welcome home gift for Fluttershy!
"Is this really what Fluttershy would have wanted, Discord? Her friends fighting against one another?" Twilight pushed as she watched him turn thoughts around inside his head.
"Confound you ponies with all your friendship and reason!" Discord muttered before looking back at the group, "Fluttershy would not want this-this infighting amongst her friends. Fine. You have yourself a deal Twilight. We will work together to rescue our...friend. But once this is all over, I promise you that she will go with me."
"Whatever you say, Discord," Twilight said in disbelief as she ended the spell on the protective bubble around him. The draconequus smiled wide before he face planted into the ground below.
"A little help here," he mumbled into the ground as he struggled against the netting.
Pinkie Pie hopped forward once more, "Only if you still have your offer open from earlier!"
"Fine," Discord huffed as he twisted his head backwards to look at the pink pony, "We can negotiate later! Just get me out of this thing!"
Pinkie squealed in joy before she started tugging at the netting only for it to snap back into place. Each tug brought a note of complaint from its victim as they were unable to remove the netting.
"What did you do to this thing, Rarity!" Pinkie called in frustration.
"Give it to me," Applejack sighed, walking over and trying to undo the net. A minute later she stood there confused at the whole mess of vines. "What did you do to this thing!"
"Oh really," Rarity rolled her eyes at their antics, "You weave together three different types of vines to make flower patterns across the whole net and you act like you cannot get it apart." The blue glow of magic surrounded the net and seconds later it fell away from the downed draconequus.
"How did you do that!" Pinkie looked around in amazement.
"Must be crazy proof," Rainbow quipped above the group.
"Hey! Who you callin' crazy," Applejack frowned up at the pegasus.
"Yeah," Pinkie defended, "I can understand those two! But me?"
"Crazy? Moi?" Discord smirked, "Why? That would be...madness!"
"Well this bonding time is great and all," Twilight gave everyone a frown, "I do believe we have somewhere to be?"
"Ah, yes, my apologies Miss Sparkle," Discord bowed low, "Your orders?"
"Rainbow Dash, Discord," Twilight looked at the two, "I need you both to take to the skies and see if you can spot either Fluttershy or whatever this thing is that is chasing her."
"You want me to go with me to go with the pony that distrusts me the most?" Discord asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Exactly," Twilight gave him a hard glaze, "She is least likely to fall for your tricks. Not to mention we will be down here watching you! So don't think you can just run away at any time!"
"I still have my net," Rarity added with a smirk.
"Ah, I see what you mean," Discord blinked with a serious expression before giving a wide grin. Grabbing the blue pegasus close, he shouted out, "Come here buddy! We have a job to do!"
Shouts of protest fell upon deaf ears as they shot out above tree line.
Twilight watched them before sitting down in a huff.
"You doin' ok there, Sugarcube?" Applejack asked as she watched Twilight's exhausted form taking deep breaths.
"You've been casting a lot of spells, darling," Rarity looked at her with concern, "Are you sure that you can keep going?"
"I'll be fine," Twilight gave her friends an exhausted smile, "Just a little bit longer, right?"
"Hey, guys!" Rainbow Dashes voice floated down. Looking up they spotted the pegasus hovering above them.
"And here I thought they were all girls?" Discord's voice oozed a false innocence from over the trees.
Rainbow glared over her shoulder, "You know what I mean!" Settling her gaze back on to the group below, "We spotted something moving up ahead, but it's a ways off. We need to get moving if we want to catch up!"
"Lead the way," Twilight nodded at her as the group ran off into the woods once more, each hoping that they were not too late.
Fluttershy ran as fast as her hooves could take her. She had initially tried to calm the large beast with a small joke and an offering of balloon animals, before she remembered that all the balloons were left back at Discord's cottage. Her mind began to think of all the items she had been forced to leave behind, distracting her from her immediate surroundings. It was only when the creature began to make deep rumbling growls that she saw that it had moved from its initial spot and was now hulking above her small form. With a shake of her head she tried to remove the stray thoughts of party supplies and finally let survival instincts take control. She turned and began to run, trying at first to stay along the small creek's shore, before she realized that the creature would be able to follow her without any issue, even if it stopped for a break. She had to make a choice, stay on the path that could lead to salvation and other ponies with risk of never being able to hide for the creature that would most certainly kill her if given the chance, or run into the woods to maybe hide from this-this jumble of animals yet possibly get lost in the forest in the process. She juggled both thoughts for a minute before she finally dove back into the bushes that lined the shore area.
Branches and barbs from the various plants bit into her skin as she ran, cutting into her coat and catching her hair and bandages on occasion. Occasionally they would brush against her wings, making her wince in pain. Worries flooded her mind of what sort of injuries she might have been adding to her already extensive list. Each burst of pain from her wing brought about this inner fear that she might never be able to fly again. Was it not already good enough that she couldn't even fulfil her destiny as a pony of laughter and parties? Was she doomed to be a flightless pegasus too?
Shaking away all the dark thoughts, Fluttershy tried to look at the changed landscape around her. The terrain was beginning to go from that of a lively green of a garden to the rough grey of rocky boulders as they neared a small mountain. Even the trees had seemed to have sacrificed their bountiful green leaves to match the dreary landscape. Their long branches desperately reaching for the sky as if to beg to be removed from this harsh reality, asking for one more chance at life and to sprout new blossoms. But whatever deity may have watched down on them at one point seemed to have had other ideas in mind, as the only growth that came for them were the thorny vines that hung all over their fallen figures, as if they were working at consuming their ghostly forms.
If Fluttershy had the time to really see the place she would have steered well away from its nightmarish landscape. But she did not have the liberty of time for that now. She needed to run!
And run she did. She dove under low hanging branches and ran under small openings in the fallen trees, hoping to lose the large beast that could not follow her through the narrow paths. But the Manticore would navigate around these obstacles with ease, or worse, just fly over them almost crushing the small pony under its mighty form each time. Looking over her shoulder she saw that the Manticore kept pace with her, it roars becoming more frantic as it saw it's prey getting away. Fluttershy let out a small shriek as she tried to run faster, almost losing her footing as she slid across a moss covered stone. She internally scolded herself at her lack of concentration and pushed herself onwards.
Ahead she finally spotted something that could work. A small hole in mountain revealed a cave just small enough for a pony of her size, if she could reach it before the Manticore spotted it. With a burst of determination, the pegasus jumped into a large hollowed tree trunk, running through its depths to get closer to her goal. The Manticore gave out what sounded like a whine as its claws scraped at the fallen tree. Fluttershy just kept moving, emerging from the other end and slid into the small opening of the cave.
Taking a few deep breaths, she slowly leaned her head around the corner of the cave to see what had happened. She could only stare in confusion when she spotted the Manticore still out by the log, giving out long, crying mewls as it stared at her from outside the cave. It sounded almost...sad. Why would the creature that was chasing her and hunting her down be sad? Because it lost its meal, her inner voice tried to reason, yet she couldn't be so sure. The large lion eyes that tracked her seemed to look at her with familiarity, as though it were trying to convey some message that she just couldn't understand.
Fluttershy shook her head. This was giving her a headache. It was as if one moment she could hear it and understand what the creature was saying, and the next her mind would dive back into laughter. It was confusing and conflicting. She was tired, oh so tired, of all of these emotions and this constant laughter and drive to make others laugh, it was deafening.
As she got her thoughts back in line again, she realized that she needed to move. The Manticore might not be after her right this moment, but she didn't know when it might just work up the courage to chase her once more. With a sigh she stood up and began to walk further down the narrow path. It wasn't long before the path opened wider, giving her more room to move.
It was a few minutes later, as she was moving down the tunnel, that she realized that she could still see. And that everything seemed to have a blue-green shimmer to it. Glancing to the side she saw some sort of cave fungus that gave a light blue luminescent glow. It was giving just enough light to make footing possible for about a foot from the plant itself, but not enough to explain the green hue all around her.
As she went around another bend, she spotted a rock that was covered in the green glow. Hesitantly she moved closer to it, finding it was covered in some sort of slime. The soft sound of something gelatinous dripping and falling caught her ear, making her gaze up.
Breath froze in Fluttershy's chest as her gaze remained upon the ceiling of the cave system. No wonder the Manticore had stopped chasing her.
Fluttershy had run straight into a changeling nest.