Claustrophobia

Chapter 2- Flight

"LET GO OF ME! LET GO OF ME!" I screamed, my voice dissolving into hysteric blubbering.

I struggled and kicked in the air, trying to hit my kidnapper. I knew enough about animals to know that a horse can kick hard.

"Shut up and keep still! I'm pretty sure you don't want me to drop you." I recognized the voice near immediately.

Rainbow Dash.

I willed my body to stop moving, but I couldn't keep my heart from thumping so hard.

"So high up.." I whispered.

"Stay quiet into we reach the base. You are annoying me." Dash said abruptly.

"Base?" I squeaked.

"Yes, yes. Me and my friend's hiding spot." Dash muttered.

I kept myself from inquiring further, as I didn't want to freak out another pony with my lack of knowledge. If I am going to be trapped here, Dash would be a great ally.

"You saved me." I rasped, trying to calm my rapid breathing and keeping my eyes on her.

Dash scoffed. "I smelled a Creature in the area, and then I saw Pinkie." Just for a second, her brutish facade lapsed. "I didn't plan on her getting bitten so quickly.... Under the effects of that venom, I don't think I could snap her out of it without harming myself..."

I frowned. Venom? Was that what the Creature did to Pinkie? Makes a lot of sense, maybe that's why it just bit her....

"Wait," Dash growled. "Why didn't the Creature attack you?"

That question had been bothering me too. It was only a couple feet away from me. The 'Creature' could have easily bit me too.

I shook my head. I couldn't fathom it.

She stayed quiet the rest of the flight. During this, I worked on trying to get rid of my acrophobia, through exposure. I would turn my head down and get a good look at the sky, then I would look away and try to calm myself down.

It didn't really work. I succeeded in freaking myself out, for really no reason, several times.

I couldn't help but notice that Rainbow Dash was keep a steady altitude. It was pretty intriguing, she never went any higher than the height we were at right now. I assumed it was about the wall I discovered earlier.

"We're here." Rainbow Said, nodding her head at a large cave.

She hovered over the entrance of the cave, tossing me causally onto the stone.

I landed awkwardly on my stomach, groaning in pain.

"Yo, Daring. Look what I found." Rainbow Dash yelled into the shadows.

Daring? No, it couldn't be....

As a orangey tan mare stepped out, my thoughts were quickly confirmed.

"Rescued her from a Creature." Rainbow gestured to my forehead with a blue hoof. "She's a unicorn. She could be pretty useful."

Daring Do narrowed her startlingly purple eyes. "Well, unicorn, what kind of magic do you know?"

I coughed. I had always thought being able to use magic would be awesome, telekinesis could be very handy. But in the pony body, I wouldn't even to know how to start.

"Uhh... You see, er..." I whispered nervously.

Daring Do pointed at a nearby rock. "Levitate that. Right now."

My breath caught in my throat. Heart thumping, I stared directly at it, focusing and glaring intently. I wasn't sure I was doing right, as every unicorn in the show had done magic so seamlessly.

After several seconds of glaring, I finally realized nothing was going to happen.

"I'm sorry." I said quickly and sadly.

Rainbow Dash groaned. "Of all the unicorns in this place, we get the one who can't do magic!"

Daring Do nonchalantly threw her hoof at the mouth of the cave. "Alright, you can go now."

Before she could trot off, I threw my forelegs around her monochromic tail, dragging her down.

"No, please! I'm lost, and scared, and, and...." My voice trailed off into unintelligible sobs.

Rainbow Dash had a mixture of surprise and disappointment. "You're pathetic." She breathed.

Daring Do rolled her eyes. "Do you have any other talents?"

"I can, er...write. I'm really smart, too...." I rasped, shaking. I had to win these two over. I couldn't be alone.

"A writer? Not so useful. I guess we could use a smart one... How about, Dash? Should we kick her out?" Daring muttered.

I bunched myself up, praying she would say yes.

"I guess. But if she bothers us, she's off the mountain."

I sighed in relief. One good thing has happened today.

"What's your name anyway? Mine's Rainbow Dash, and that's Daring Do." Dash said, pointing to her and her friend as she introduced them.

"My name is Sketch..." I looked around. "So you two live here? In this cave?"

Daring nodded, flicking her tail in the direction of the shadows she had come out of. "We gathered up as many blankets we could find and threw them over there. That's the sleeping area."

"Ok...." I swallowed nervously. This was the time, it was now or never. "Can I ask some questions?"

Rainbow Dash sat on her haunches. "Depends what the questions are."

"What happened to Pinkie Pie?"

Dash glared. "Se obviously got bit by a Creature."

"I'm new here. Please, just tell me what that means." I begged.

Daring answered instead. "Okay, there are monsters out there, so far we have discovered three. We named them Creatures."

"Who is we?" I pried.

"Ponykind."

"Continue on, please."

"Creatures track us down, endlessly. It seems like they have no other life purpose. When they finally catch you, a Creature will just bit you. That's it. There has never been any report of a pony getting mauled by a Creature. Once you get bit, a Creature injects its venom into the wound."

I cringed. "What does the venom do?" Pinkie's psychotic behavior came to my mind.

Daring waved her hoof. "The venom, in short, messes with a pony's personality. Some, Dash's friend Pinkie, switch to a homicidal attitude. Some grow sullen and unresponsive. Others just get suicidal. It's a very dangerous situation."

Something Rainbow Dash has said earlier bothered me.

"Is it possible to, say, snap someone out of the effects of the venom?" I asked quietly.

Daring nodded. "Yeah, but its pretty hard. Usually, reminding them of their former self mostly works, but giving them a happy thought can also work. Rarely, you can snap them out of it with a hug or something, if the pony likes psychical affection. But it's dangerous work, especially if the venom makes the pony psychotic." She sighed. "It's the only way, though. The venom doesn't wear off by itself."

I swallowed, taking in everything. This was insane.

"One more thing, Miss Do." I said. "Earlier, I ran into this....wall. Do you know anything about that?"

"Of course. Do you know anything about this? The Wall surrounds all of us and won't let us leave. If it wasn't for that, Dash and I would have left a long time ago."

"Yeah." Rainbow Dash hissed. "The ceiling limits how high we can fly."

I looked distant. I was trapped. There was no where I could go.

My head drooped down. The adrenaline had worn off, and I was exhausted.

I staggered to the place Daring Do had mentioned was the sleeping area.

"I-I'm gonna sleep for a little while...ok?" The two pegasi nodded, looking a bit confused.