Chapter 5:
Pegasi Are Turning The Tables
Hours later, up in the mountains, a group of humans was at their camping grounds. But for the leader, however, it was a special night for him because his little son had come out with his mother to meet his father. The mother placed the baby down on the ground on his feet and already the baby was standing. The father leaned down on the ground and reached his arms out for his son.
The baby was about to take his first step, but then he tripped and almost fell as his father luckily caught him. The father held his son up and smiled at the giggling child. They rubbed each other's noses playfully and laughed as the father then tossed his son in the air and caught him again, much to the infants' delight. They embraced each other and played, blissfully unaware they were being watched.
A mile away from the camp, two Pegasi were standing on top of a hill, overlooking the valley and the village, as they watched the humans go on about their lives below them. But what they are mainly focusing on is the Human Leader, his wife, and his child.
"Awww, look at that cute little baby, Dash," the sea-green Pegasus said.
Lightning Dust is a light turquoise pegasus mare with a brilliant amber mane and tail with brilliant gold stripes, and she has a cutie mark of a bolt of lightning and three stars. And her eyes are a brilliant gamboge.
"Isn't it nice he'll be joining us for breakfast?" Lightning Dust asked, turning to the cyan pegasus, who is her second-in-command, with an evil smirk.
Rainbow Dash is a pale, light grayish cerulean pegasus mare with a mane and tail that are every color of the rainbow. Her eyes are a moderate cerise and her cutie mark is a cloud with a rainbow-colored lightning bolt.
"It wouldn't be breakfast without that kid," Rainbow Dash said casually with an emotionless expression and in a cold voice. Not caring what happened to the child.
"Especially ever since his daddy wiped out half of our flock. And wears our feathers and skin to keep warm. An eye for an eye. Don't you think, Dash?" Lightning Dust asked with intense anger and hatred burning in her vengeful gaze.
Rainbow narrowed her gaze at the camp and answered in agreement, "I say it's time that we Pegasi start turning the tables and show that little human who really deserves to be at the top of the food chain,".
Lightning Dust nodded and took on a more commanding posture, "Alert the guys! We'll attack them at dawn," She ordered as Rainbow nodded and turned to leave to carry out the order she received.
She was about to take off until Lightning Dust spoke again, "And Dash, I'm leaving you in charge to bring me that baby alive. If I want us to ascend to the top of the food chain. I want it to be fresh ," She said before turning back to her attention to the tribe below to keep track.
Lightning Dust watches as the Mother and Father go into their hut with their son resting his head on his father's shoulder.
Meanwhile, it was beginning to turn into night, and a faint glow remained. On the other side of the valley, it has been a long day for Twilight because she was hauling a lot of logs with her magic to build herself a shelter. Pinkie was behind her carrying a single stick, acting like it weighed a ton, as she dropped her stick and hunched over with a long breath.
"Whew, I'm wiped out," Pinkie complained before she grabbed her stick again.
"Really, That's your shelter?" Twilight asked, looking at the stick Pinkie was carrying with a raised brow. She really didn't understand the earth pony. That small stick wouldn't be any kind of shelter.
"Hey, come on, you're an Alicorn and you got a lot of wood with your magic. I'm just an Earth Pony," Pinkie said, waving her stick.
"And you only got half of one stick," Twilight said, pointing out as she went back to building her shelter.
"True, but with my little stick and my highly evolved Pinkie Pie brain-Ow!" She poked her eye before continuing, "I shall be the first Pony to create Fire!" Pinkie declared.
"Really? Fascinating," Twilight said sarcastically as she leaned a log on a pile of rocks that could easily hold an Alicorn with her magic while reading a book on how to build a shelter.
"Oh, we'll see if non-magic brains triumph over magic brains tonight. Now, won't we?" Pinkie said as she snapped the stick in half and grinned. She knew she was going to get a spark.
Later at night, after Twilight had built her shelter and gone inside, the logs covered the roof leaving no open spaces. Dark thunderclouds loomed in the distance and lightning flashed as thunder rumbled and rain poured down heavily. Pinkie sat outside in the pouring rain, soaking wet and chilled to the bone, rubbing the two sticks together still trying to make a fire as her mane was flat.
Twilight watched the soaked-coated pony sitting outside from the comfort of her shelter with a bored expression and decided to troll with her.
"Hey, I think I saw a spark," Twilight joked with a faux smile.
Pinkie looked hopefully at her sticks, but no fire. Then she looked at Twilight with a hurt look on her face as she stood up and walked towards Twilight and asked feebly, "Any chance I can squeeze in there with you, Twilight, old buddy, old pal?".
Twilight groaned, "Oh, isn't there anybody else you could annoy? Friends, family, angry Dragons?" She asked, remembering the two bullies from earlier.
Pinkie just looked down sullenly before tossing her wet sticks aside and answering, "Nah, my family ditched me while I was asleep. And sorta migrated without me. You should've seen what they did to me last year," Pinkie then tries to find a way to fit in Twilight's shelter with the alicorn.
She began to settle down in Twilight's hooves like a kitten in a mother's paws, "You know, they woke up early, and they quietly tied my hooves with licorice and gagged me with a cupcake and barricaded the front door. And covered their tracks with water, so I lose their scent and…and…who needs them, anyway?" Pinkie said as she got comfortable, her sentence was breaking as she got shifted around, or she was trying to hold back.
Pinkie then grabs one of Twilight's wings and puts it over her like a blanket as she started to sleep. But Twilight would have none of it so she pulled back her wing and used her magic to put Pinkie back outside of her shelter as she got soaked again.
Instead of being annoyed or saddened, She puts on a more casual posture, "So what about you, Alicorn? You got a family?" Pinkie asked.
Twilight flinched a bit as she didn't know how to respond to that question. She just looked at Pinkie Pie, and it was rather difficult for her to read the sour expression because Twilight's face looked angered before she silently turned around, adjusting herself, and facing the other side of her shelter with only her tail showing at Pinkie, before going to sleep.
"Okay, okay, you're tired. I see we'll talk more in the morning, right?" Pinkie said, taking the hint as Twilight fell asleep.
For Pinkie, being left out in the rain would've been somewhat tolerable. Then the rain turned into hail and the ice pellets fell from the night sky and started pelting on Pinkie's head.
"Ow, ow, ow, ah! Ow, ow!" Pinkie shouted as hail kept bonking her head and her flanks.
"Hey, Twinkle-Light? Twinkle-Light? Can you scooch over a drop, please?" Pinkie asked, but Twilight didn't respond.
"Oh, come on, nopony can fall asleep that fast! TWILIGHT!" Pinkie shouted as hail kept hitting her head.
But it was plain to see that Twilight wasn't waking up at any time, or she was just ignoring the Earth Pony, hoping she would take a hint. Seeing that Twilight is asleep and not waking up, Pinkie decides to head over and holds up Twilight's tail over her head as a makeshift roof until the rain and hailing stops as the night slowly drags on.
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the sleeping duo, Scrabbit, the long-eared, rat-snouted, squirrel-tailed, Rabbit from earlier, was climbing up a nearby tree pushing his carrot to the very top. It was true the rain was making it difficult for the little squirrel, rat, rabbit hybrid to climb, especially with the carrot atop his head. He even had to stop and pant a few times as he pushed himself along the tree.
At one point, his carrot nearly slipped off his head and the squirrel, rat, rabbit hybrid quickly caught it with the tip of his nose before grasping it with his teeth. Even after all that, Scrabbit wasn't giving up. He was not losing his meal again.
Scrabbit's goal was to find a place to hide his carrot so he would know where to find it.
Balancing his carrot along the top of his face, Scrabbit pushed his way to the highest point of the tree. Finally, he reached the very top of the tree and stood tall as he tapped the hollowed-out treetop with his foot. Thinking he'd found the perfect place to store his carrot for winter, he raised it up high ready to plunge it into the tree.
But as Scrabbit was about to put his carrot in the tree…
BOOM!
He was struck by a bolt of lightning. Now he was a burnt crisp on the spot. He stood there, frozen in electrical shock as his carrot was sent flying until it came down and hit his head again as it fell down the tree. Scrabbit then gave a small whimper in pain, both from the electrocution… and the pain of losing his carrot… again.
Dawn has come upon the camp and the humans are sleeping peacefully in their huts, unaware of an attack that is about to happen and come to them. Lighting Dust, Rainbow, and the rest of their flock stood on a mountain as they watched the human camp below. The humans are still sleeping silently.
Rainbow Dash walked up to Lightning Dust, both were wearing black flight suits with green and yellowish-gray stripes and yellowish-grey goggles above their eyes. Rainbow turns to her leader and as they share a glance and the blue pegasus nods.
Then the Pegasi put on their goggles and started creeping down the mountain towards the camp as quietly as they could. But unfortunately, they accidentally knocked some stones loose.
The dogs at the camp heard the sounds of the Pegasi approaching and started growling as the intruders got closer. The canines started barking like crazy trying to scare them off.
The leader of the humans heard the barking and looked out his hut to see five disguised Pegasi coming and ran, grabbing a spear along the way. The rest of the humans woke up and joined their leader. The moment they got out, the attack had begun!
Lightning Dust ran ahead and jumped at the leader as she landed in his spear, but was then deflected off his spear.
Short Fuse, a short red Pegasus with a yellow mane and tail, and a cutie mark of a flame of fire bites down onto a human spear.
Bulk Bicep, a muscular light gray Pegasus stallion with a light amber mane and tail, and a cutie mark of a dumbbell swiped his hoof at a human with metal claws.
The Pegasi battle furiously and the humans are having a hard time defending themselves. As it would turn out, all of this was playing in favor of the flock.
Seeing everyone distracted, Rainbow Dash, however, crept around the fight while spears hit the floor, growling filled the air, and fabric was torn as metal claws slashed toward the enemy as she sneaked silently around the camp and out of sight of the battle.
Soon, Rainbow Dash eventually reaches the main tent, enters the leaders' hut, and spots the baby sleeping peacefully in a bundle atop of its bed. But Rainbow Dash knew this was no ordinary child; this was the chief's son himself.
The Pegasus slowly prowled towards the child, her growl vibrating the air as she smirked, thinking this would be an easy snatch and grab. All she had to do was grab the baby, not to kill but to bring him back to Lightning Dust and the rest of the flock. Soon, all that time spent plotting their revenge and ascending the top of the food chain would be complete.
But as the cerulean Pegasus moves to grab the baby, the child himself blissfully unaware of the danger, the Mother comes quickly and takes the child first.
Rainbow Dash approached the Mother ready to attack. The woman grabbed a stick and smacked it at Rainbow's side, knocking the Pegasus aside, and ran outside as Rainbow shook her head.
The Mother looked around and saw the battle between humans and Pegasi, as she ran out of the camp to carry the child to safety yelling in fright for help as Rainbow Dash emerged quickly, caught sight of the human with the baby, and gave chase after them.
The Leader heard his wife yelling and saw her running away with their son in her arms and Rainbow on their tail. Trying to go after her, he was blocked by Lightning Dust and Rolling Thunder, a dark purple pegasus with a white curly mane and tail with gray streaks.
The Mother ran fast, carrying her child, and wasn't looking back. She saw a waterfall and crossed a stone bridge. But Rainbow Dash, being the quick and fast Pegasus she was, was a step ahead of her as she swiftly appeared in front of her and tried to grab the child. But the Mother jumped back, and Rainbow Dash only grabbed the necklace tied around the bundle. Rainbow looks at the necklace and snorts before slamming it on the ground.
The woman then ran back under the bridge where Rainbow Dash, once again, cut her off and the Mother started running across the water as Rainbow continued chasing her.
The Women ran to a rock looming over the falls and stopped at the edge of the waterfall. It was then she realized there was nowhere to run, and she turned to face Rainbow, who smirked. Thankful that the chase was over, and seeing her target was trapped, as she was slowly getting closer.
As she backed up slowly and felt the edge giving way, the Mother looked around desperately but realized no matter where she'd run by now, she was too tired and there was no way to outrun a Pegasus like Rainbow Dash. She looked toward the baby, her most precious treasure. Just a tiny new beacon of life she brought into the world, so much promise to grow into a strong man like her husband. And now this fast-flying animal was threatening to take that away from her, she couldn't bear it.
The Mother looked at her child and then made one last look at Rainbow.
"Just give me the kid, and you can go back to your pack," Rainbow Dash said, slowly stalking her way toward her.
The mother couldn't understand Rainbow, but she knew it was the child she wanted. But instead of giving the baby to Rainbow Dash and seeing that she has no choice, the Mother held her baby close to her and…
JUMPED OFF THE EDGE!
Rainbow's mouth dropped open as she galloped to the edge, looking down toward the falls, but saw no sign of where the woman nor the child landed or if they survived. They just vanished down the rushing rapids miles down the falls.
Rainbow clenched her teeth in anger. She failed to get the baby. She then flies back to the camp to help her flock.
Back at the camp, Lightning Dust and the flock were off to a good start at first, but the tables turned on them when the dogs were released and started attacking them. Rolling Thunder was pounced by one of them and none of Lightning Dust's flock were seriously injured, but it wouldn't be long before their luck ran out. The wolves were protecting their human companions from these disguised ponies.
The Pegasi Flock was on defense until Lightning Dust then saw Rainbow Dash on the hill up ahead, "There's Rainbow! Fall Back!" She ordered and the rest of the Pegasi gave up the fight and ran towards Rainbow Dash.
"Rainbow Dash, where's the baby?" Lightning Dust demanded seeing Rainbow come back empty-hoofed, not a trace of the baby on her.
Rainbow Dash hesitated and as she looked at the ground, she admitted, "Sorry, I had it right in my grasp, but I lost it when its mother jumped over the falls with him,".
"OVER THE FALLS?!" Lightning Dust shouted as Rolling Thunder watched Lighting Dust's reaction curiously.
Suddenly, spears were thrown beside them, piercing the ground, causing the Pegasi to stop and turn as they saw four humans, including the Leader, and two wolves running toward them, who were outnumbered, while throwing spears.
Seeing they had no choice, the Pegasi flock flew up a hill with the humans right behind them.
"I want that baby, Dash!" Lightning Dust shouted, expressing her frustration.
"And I'll get it!" Rainbow promised back.
As soon as they were far enough from the humans, the two Pegasi stopped flying as Lightning Dust turned to Rainbow Dash. "You'd better…unless you want to serve yourself up as a replacement," She warned.
"We'll go up to Pegasus Peak!" Lightning Dust announced to the rest of the flock.
"Meet us there, Rainbow. I don't care about the mother but the baby had better be alive!" Lightning Dust warned Rainbow as she flew off, leaving Rainbow Dash staring after her.
Rolling Thunder stopped in front of Rainbow Dash, "Can we trust you with that, Rainbow Lost The Baby?" She mocked in an aussie accent with a smirk.
Rainbow Dash just looked at Rolling Thunder with a stern look and growled as Lighting Dust yelled, "Let's move!".
The flock split up, and the rest of the flock headed to Pegasus Peak while Rainbow Dash could only watch the backs of her flock mates for a moment before heading the other way, racing off down the river to find the baby.
Whether the woman survived or not was not of Rainbow Dash's concern. She needed to hope that somehow, she could still catch the baby; otherwise, it would do her no good if he already drowned. Retrieving the child was her top priority.
The dogs picked up a scent and found the necklace from the baby, the Leader picked it up, and it slowly dawned on him what happened and why those Pegasi showed up. They came for his family; they came for his wife and child. He looked ahead and saw the Pegasi flying away from the valley. Thinking they may have killed his wife and taken his son, The Father grunted in anger and charged after them as the rest of the humans ran after him, shouting war cries determined to hunt the flock to the end, with the wolves taking the lead.
By the end of the morning, the camp is deserted.
Author's Note: Hey y'all, it's me Dinoman213. Sorry for the long wait I have hit a few bumps on the road. Anyway, here's the 5th chapter of EQUESTRIAN AGE...
In the fifth chapter of the story, for those who have made it this far, we see that Lightning Dust and Rainbow Dash are watching the humans going about their normal lives, actually they were mainly focused on the leader and his family. And the two Pegasi have decided to attack them at dawn, not just for revenge for half of their flock, but to also ascend the top of the food chain since Pegasi have been hunted for centuries now and then.
And Lightning Dust appears to be leaving Rainbow Dash in charge to bring her the baby...alive.
Back with Twilight and Pinkie Pie, Twilight appears to have built herself a shelter with the logs she has gathered with her magic while Pinkie only has half a stick because she wants to be the first Earth Pony to create fire, which Twilight finds "fascinating" in sarcasm.
Then a rainstorm came down pouring. While Twilight was warm and dry in her shelter, Pinkie was soaked and cold still trying to be the first Earth Pony to make fire. Eventually, she gave up and asked Twilight if she could squeeze in with her, which Twilight groans in annoyance. Pinkie then explained to Twilight why her family abandoned her, including recalling what happened last year, while she was trying to get comfortable.
But as Pinkie was getting comfortable, Twilight puts her back outside. When Pinkie asked Twilight about her family, the Alicorn Loner somehow didn't answer her question and just turned away and fall asleep, leaving Pinkie to cower under her tail in the freezing storm.
As for Scrabbit well, let's just say he has been struggling to accomplish his goal before he got shocked by lightning.
Back at the camp, at dawn, The Pegasi have readied themselves to attack the humans. While the humans were busy fighting Lightning Dust and her flock, Rainbow Dash has managed to enter the leaders' hut and has found the baby. But the mother quickly grabbed her child and started running with Rainbow Dash chasing behind her. Even though Rainbow Dash has managed to corner her at the edge of a waterfall, there was a sudden turn of events for the mother jumped off the edge with the baby.
When Rainbow Dash returned and told Lightning Dust what happened, her boss was furious and ordered Rainbow Dash to go and find the baby and bring it to her at a place called "Pegasus Peak". Rainbow Dash set out on her mission while Lightning Dust and the others flew to Pegasus Peak.
But as the Pegasi flew to Pegasus Peak, the humans began to follow them, thinking they may have something that belongs to them, leaving the camp in ruins.
In the next chapter, Rainbow Dash will find the baby but she will also find something that will change her life forever.
Stay Tuned.