The Mare and the Manticore

by DashReborn

Rating: everyone
Tags: Romance, Tragedy, Adventure, Alternate Universe
Length: 1209

What started out as a simple campfire story quickly turns in to reality, how will Rainbow Dash deal with living the very story she thought was once just a tale?

Rainbow Dash and her friends are getting ready to come back from a few days camping, on the last night Rainbow decides to tell a story she heard from her grandmother called The Mare and the Manticore, a story of an ancient King of Equestria betrayed by his subjects, thought to only be a fillies tale but soon Rainbow Dash finds herself face to face with a hideous beast that captures her and she must find a way to escape, or will she be to interested in the beast to try?

<This is my first Fan Fic, I really hope you all like it!>

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2013-12-03 16:00:02 UTC

Campfire Story

Long ago, before the sister princess Luna and Celestia came to power, even before the Lord of Chaos, Discord, ruled over Equestria, there was a prince who watched over the land.  He was a brave earth pony and he was strong willed and kind.  He was beloved by all of his subjects save for one.  A jealous unicorn who thought little of earth ponies and saw them as lesser creatures than that of the magical unicorns.

One day, while on a weekly trot through the castle grounds, the prince happened upon a mare who had sprained her hoof.  She began to walk with the prince, talk with him and eventually he fell in love.  He proposed marriage on the anniversary of their meeting. The wedding was to be the most glorious in all of Equestria, one fit for only a king and queen.

The wedding ensued and the couple became king and queen and ruled together for many years.  They had children, two daughters, a pegasus and a unicorn, that would live happily for only a few short years.  The queen and king began to fight day in and day out, the king never understood why.

One day the king went for a walk in the gardens where he was greeted by a sickly old unicorn.  She looked at him through her rags and asked, "why are you not happy, m'lord?"

The King having faith and trust in all of his subjects answered in earnest, "the Queen is not happy and I fear I have forgotten how to make her smile."

The unicorn grinned, "oh yer majesty, even in your old age you are so young.  Couples will fight until the end of time.".

The elderly unicorn circled the King, " allow me to offer you a solution, a remedy from my travels."

The king watched with trusting eyes as the unicorns horn lit up and from under her cloak floated a spherical stone.  Upon seeing the stone the king was filled with joy, so much so he almost burst out laughing and crying at the same time. Holding his composure, the King spoke, "what price is such a trinket?  All magic does not come without a price!"

The unicorn hovered the stone closer, "all I ask is that the King be at peace....."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rainbow Dash reared up, jumped and hovered right above the campfire, “And before they could strike the deal a great beast came from nowhere and struck the King, leaving him unconscious!”  Rainbow then spun around as fast as she could causing the fire to slightly spread in all directions causing her friends and the fillies to jump back is suspense.  “The elderly unicorn had also vanished from the scene, so by the time the Royal Guard had arrived there was only a wounded King and a mysterious stone.  They say afterward the stone only brought despair and regret to the king causing him to lock himself away only to come out every hundred years to look upon the kingdom which had betrayed him and curse all those who live in it!!!!”

She flared her wings and flew straight up, causing the fire to streak after her for a moment then disappearing into the night.  Rainbow circled for a moment when she finally found her targets, dropped a hundred feet and silently hit the ground right behind the three fillies Scootaloo, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle and whispered between them, “Boo!”

The Three fillies let out a piercing shriek of pure terror and bolted in every direction, Apple Bloom to Applejack, Sweetie Belle to Rarity and Scootaloo managed to fly fifty feet straight up before her wings stopped and began to fall.  Rainbow flew up and caught the still screaming filly, laughing, “Hey, hey, I got you it’s okay.”

Scootaloo looked at Rainbow Dash and hugged her tight, “Holy cow, Dash, that was super scary... HOLY COW!!”

Scootaloo was now looking down seeing the ground so far away, “Did I really jump that far?”

Rainbow Dash chuckled and winked, “You sure did kid, nice job!  Now do you think you can lower yourself back down on your own?”

Scootaloo looked down and back at Rainbow, “I can sure try!”

“Remember slow and easy, no need to rush,” Rainbow Dash slowly let go of Scootaloo making sure to stay near her as she made her descent, “you don’t get as fast as me by running head first into the ground a lot, you gotta take your time, practice, you will get the hang of flying sooner than you know!”

Rainbow and Scootaloo made their slow descent to the campsite where Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy and the other crusaders were.  Twilight seeming the most unfazed by the story greeted the cyan pegasus saying, “You do know that story has many endings all of which no one really knows if they are true, your’s is just a more scary version for the fillies.”

“Blagh. blagh, blagh, egghead stuff and history, you know all I care about is how cool that story is right,” snorted Rainbow Dash, “besides how do you know mine isn't the true version I mean I heard if from my grandma and she from hers, same story told every time!”  Rainbow sat down on a log close to the fire and Scootaloo joined her friends coming back out from behind their sisters.

Twilight began to shuffle through her bags and Fluttershy spoke up, “Well you know, I heard that story once before, I heard the King didn't lock himself away but he instead is tapped by and evil magic that loses is magic every 100 years and he tries to escape.”

“That makes more sense,” Twilight said through her bag, “Magic does tend to have that effect but according to this,” she pulls out a book enveloped in her signature magic hue, “It’s just an old fillies tale about a prince and a princess that fall in love and have turmoil in their lives but learn to live happily together.”

“Eggheads... always ruin a good story,” Rainbow snorted.

Scootaloo yawned causing both Fluttershy and Sweetie Belle to yawn as well, “Oh boy, its getting late.  I have to get Angel in to his bed or he will be cranky on the way home tomorrow.”

Fluttershy when off to her small tent and could be heard apologizing to her pet bunny.  Applejack and Apple Bloom followed soon after, Rarity and Sweetie Belle made an effort to stay and have a few more s'mores, mostly Sweetie, but eventually went into Rarities dulux apartment tent and fell asleep.  Twilight and Rainbow continued to argue the logic versus coolness of the story known as the Mare and the Manticore before Scootaloo interrupted, “Hey Rainbow, I’m getting kinda sleepy I am gonna head off to the tent.”

“Oh yea, right behind you kid, g’night Twi!” Rainbow sped off after Scootaloo.

Twilight was left alone for a few moments to pack up and put out the fire. She was slightly troubled not knowing the true nature of something put her on edge, was it really a childrens story or was it a true point in history in Equestria?  Twilight decided she was to tired to think clearly, tomorrow she would have spike send a letter to Celestia on the issue but not of any urgency as it is a children's story.