Flutterspry

Chapter Four

By Gerard

Twilight watched the egg closest to her; the creature’s long finger like legs carried it out from inside the egg. In an instant, as it fully emerged from the egg, it leaped onto twilight’s muzzle.

“AHHHH-mmmmrmrmrphphppgsdf!”

Her cries were muffled by the creature, as its body covered her mouth. Its legs wriggled around, trying to find solid footing on the sides of her head. As Twilight struggled to pry the creature off, a feeler protruded from the creature and crept into her nostril. As quickly as the situation escalated, it resolved itself. Apparently dissatisfied with its potential host, the creature loosened its grasp a fell to the floor. The other creatures followed it as it scurried up the path leading out of the cave.

“Twilight! Are you alright?” Applejack asked.

“I think so,” Twilight replied, “I don’t think it really did anything, and they don’t seem interested in us now.”

Rarity interjected, “Hmph, I would never let that grotesque…thing violate my face and get away with it.”

“Maybe the poor little thing was grumpy and looking for its mother, it is just a baby that just hatched.” Fluttershy was quick to defend the freaky critters.

“OOOOORRRRRRR maybe….it was an alien parasite that was trying to implant an embryo of a bigger alien into Twilight but then it realized that ponies wouldn't make good hosts so now they’re all looking for someone else’s mouth to shove their proboscisesesssese down!” Pinkie added.

Twilight regained control of the situation, “Something tells me General Zaroff might have something to do with this.”

The mane six galloped out from the cave, ready to confront the hunter.

“There you are! I thought I’d never find you!” Zaroff beamed with delight, as he eyed Twilight. “I’ve always wanted a purple ushanka.”

Rarity was quick to defend her friend, “You monster! I will not stand idly by and let you turn my dear friend into a hideous crime against fabulousity!”

“I don’t get it Zaroff, there’re plenty more dangerous creatures out there than us ponies, why are you so interested in us?” Applejack inquired.

“Oh, I don’t suppose you’d appreciate the finer points of a good hunt,” Zaroff explained, “ It wouldn’t be very sporting of me to hunt the more “fearsome” creatures out there. Logic will always conquer instinct.”

Twilight pondered and quickly processed Zaroff’s answer, “You’re not interested in game that will put up the most fight, but one that puts up the best fight against your crazy plan.”“You see, my little pony! That is exactly why you are worthy to be my game” Zaroff remarked.

“But what do those creatures in the cave have to do with your plan?” Twilight asked.

Zaroff answered, “I assure you, I intend to savor the pleasure of this hunt myself.”

Rainbow Dash finally stepped in, “Alright then, you wanna take on the most dangerous game in Equestria? Get ready to taste the painbow!”

Rainbow Dash soared toward Zaroff, hooves first, ready to tackle him. In an instant, Zaroff quickly summoned his rolling office chair and gyrated out of the way. He spiraled around the ponies, contemplating his next move, like a shark caught in a Spirograph. He held a peculiar interest in the purple one, she was different. These ponies were indeed far cleverer than any other game Zaroff

encountered; their cognizance rivaled any human.

The mane six looked on and waited for Zaroff to make his move. Zaroff swooped in to take another shot at Twilight, but Pinkie had her party cannon ready and trained on Zaroff. She unleashed the party payload, but the streamers and confetti did little to slow Zaroff. Twilight knew it was up to her to win this fight; she focused and channeled magic through her horn as it began to glow and crackle. As Zaroff closed the gap, Twilight discharged the magic she had accumulated in her horn. A magenta beam struck Zaroff knocking him off his chair. Much to the ponies’ surprise, Zaroff recovered gracefully from the forced dismount, uppercutted Twilight, knocking her slightly into the air, and then to the ground, in a single motion. He readied his rifle and peered down his sights. As he exhaled, the crosshairs fell between twilight’s eyes. At the bottom of his breath he squeezed the trigger.

The thunderous bang from Zaroff’s rifle echoed through the air. Every pony jumped and instinctively grasped their ears. A moment of silence passed.

Applejack frantically rushed over Twilight, “Twilight! Are you hurt?”

“My jaw is a bit sore, but I think I'm fine. What happened to Zaroff?” Twilight responded.

The mane six looked over at Zaroff who was now lying on the ground. One of the creatures from the cave was now clasped onto his face, its tail wrapped around his neck.

“Is…he still alive?” Fluttershy asked, sounding almost concerned.

“I think so,” Twilight replied, as she noticed his chest rising and falling.

“So…..now what?” Rainbow asked.

Twilight took a moment to consider their situation. “He’s certainly not from Equestria. I’m willing to bet he’s been camping out somewhere in the forest while planning for this hunt,” she hypothesized, “if we can find where he’s been hiding out, I think we get some answers as to what’s been going on.”

“And what about our newest friend? Can we keep him Twilight? Can we? Can we? Can we? Can we? Can we? ” Pinkie asked as she hopped up and down with excitement.

“You can’t be serious!” Rarity gawked. “After all this, and with that thing attached to him, why on earth would you possibly want anything to do with him?!”

Twilight chimed in, “Actually, if he’s still breathing, he may come around. Since he’s incapacitated now, we can be ready when he wakes up and get some information out of him.” She rummaged through Zaroff’s pockets, looking for anything that might be of help.

“Ahhhhh, I think I’ll hang onto this for now,” Twilight remarked as she pulled out Zaroff’s wand.

The ponies traveled deeper into the forest, following what seemed to be a fresh, yet distinct, path. Twilight and Rarity dragged Zaroff along using their magic. After what seemed like hours of wandering through the woods, they finally stumbled upon a small

bamboo hut. Twilight nudged the door open slightly, then stopped.

“Well, what are we waiting for? “ Rainbow Dash asked impatiently.

Twilight paused for a moment and backed away from the door, “Zaroff wouldn't just leave the front door unlocked for anyone to just wander in. Get back.”

As the others backed away, Twilight used her magic to open the door. As she carefully moved the door into its fully open position, something creaked, followed by a loud snap; a bent sapling with a knife on the end of it would have impaled Twilight as it flung into the door way. Twilight entered the hut.

The others followed and spread out in the room, looking around at the various relics. Twilight began to read a book on a desk. It appeared to be his journal. She flipped it open to a random page:

…after which I found a curious cave. I found a rather foul smelling creature inside: a dark gray pony, whose face was covered in crimson lesions and pustules. He wore a tattered garment. He seemed delighted to meet me. He called himself Kwin’lynn. It seems he hadn’t had much social contact, as he told me how fond he was of me and how he desired to molest me. Though he seemed harmless, and far too feeble to be a threat, I considered slaughtering him to steal his “food”. As he professed his affections for a pony named Braeburn, he stuffed his frothing maw with gelatinous confections, shaped like small bears, weighing between 4 to 6 pounds....

Twilight pondered what significance this strange pony might bear in this increasingly confounding plot of events. She looked out the window, the sun had just set. It looked like they were staying the night at Zaroff’s hut. The ponies found places in the hut to sleep for the night, after making sure Zaroff was securely bound. As they sat around the hut preparing to get some rest, they debated on what their next move should be. Search for the Kwin’lynn? Study Zaroff and the creature that latched onto him? Maybe just wing it and see where the next day takes them? Twilight was exhausted and didn't have the energy to decide.

“Let’s just sleep on it,” she suggested to the group.

The others agreed and turned off the lights. Twilight climbed into Zaroff’s bed and crawled under the covers. She closed her eyes and tried to just forget about everything that transpired today. Maybe it was all a dream. As she lay there, she couldn't help but notice how comfortable the bed was.

“I have never slept in a better bed,” she though out loud as she drifted off to sleep.