I felt limbs lash my face and arms as I ran through the Everfree, desperately trying to keep Applebloom’s tail in sight as she darted through the undergrowth in a mad dash to reach her friends. It took us a few minutes to reach the small clearing where Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were screaming their lungs out.

Applebloom immediately ran in to address the problem, but I came to a sudden stop, rooted to the ground in fear and awe of what was in front of me. Yes, the other two crusaders were there, backed up against a tree, tears streaming from their eyes as they cried for help, but what caught my attention was the beast towering over them, one massive lion paw held up, ready to strike.

Standing in front of me was a beast straight out of a Greek fever dream: a monster with the golden head and body of a lion, the crimson wings of a dragon, and the deadly, jet black tail of a scorpion. It was a manticore, and it was big. I had assumed, based on the show, that manticores were maybe three or four times the size of an adult pony, but this one… this one was three times my size, and it looked nothing like the gentle giant Fluttershy had soothed. Not only were the colors more vivid, more dangerously glaring, the beast’s claws were extended, each one easily as long as my arm, and twice as thick. The claws dug deep furrows into the ground beneath them, their razor edges parting buried tree roots like butter.

“Get away from mah friends!”

I was jerked out of my paralysis by the sound of Applebloom’s voice as she jumped in between the manticore and her friends, as if she could keep it from killing all of them herself. I swore and jumped forward, desperately trying to draw attention away from the fillies.

“Hey! Hey you, over here, I’ve got a lot more meat on my bones than those small fillies, why don’t you eat me instead!”

It worked, the manticore whipped its head around and snorted as it caught sight of me, and once again I froze. It growled at me, very clearly showcasing its knife like teeth, and the rotting meat caught between them, then it’s eyes caught mine, and I couldn’t look away. Those eyes held me, they were completely devoid of true intelligence, and were filled with raw hunger and bloodlust. I felt myself begin to shake, there was no way that I was going to get out of this alive.

It’s hopeless. Give in. Your life is over, and so is theirs, so don’t fight any more.

Suddenly, my trance was broken, unfortunately it was broken by by my view of those terrible eyes being interrupted by the equally terrifying view of the Manticore’s horrible teeth. In a brief moment of calm before death, I found myself wondering if it was like a komodo dragon, and that was why it left rotting meat in it’s mouth.

Luckily for me I never found out, as just before the jaws closed on my head, an orange and purple blur slammed into the side of the manticore’s jaw. It wasn’t enough to hurt or even stun the beast, but it was enough to get it’s attention.

The beast snarled and swatted me to the side, it’s claws slicing down to the bone of my left arm. I grunted as I slammed into a large tree at the edge of the clearing. The manticore gave the same treatment to Scootaloo, who slammed into her friends, sending them all tumbling together into another tree. Mercifully however, it seemed that Scootaloo had been small enough to avoid getting caught by the manticore's claws.

Sweetie belle had tears streaming down her muzzle while her horn sparked in a desperate attempt to do something to save her and her friends, while Applebloom stood protectively over a groaning Scootaloo, ignoring the her own tears as she tried to put on a brave front for her friends.

I reached out as the manticore stomped over to the fillies, wishing that I could do something, anything to save them. That’s when I remembered the rings, and more importantly, what had happened when I used one of them earlier. I mentally kicked myself as I pulled myself to the side of the tree behind me and slammed my working hand against it. Dark green lightning erupted from the middle ring and flashed against the tree, causing it to rot at an incredible rate.

“Girls! MOVE!”

Applebloom heard me and saw the light erupting from behind the manticore, and immediately grasped what I was doing. She grabbed Scootaloo’s tail in her mouth and leapt into Sweetie Belle’s side, pulling all three of them out of danger. The manticore whipped around and roared as it jumped towards me, mouth open wide to tear me to shreds.

It’s roar was silenced by a loud thump and a sickening crunch as the tree that I had rotted a large portion of slammed down onto the manticore, killing it instantly, and showering blood and meat all over the clearing, the fillies, and myself. We all sat in silence for a moment, but then all three of the crusaders started to wail as they ran over to huddle against me, so desperate for comfort after almost dying that they completely ignored the gore that we were all covered in.

I pulled them into my lap and began stroking their manes with my good hand, making sure to give them all the comfort that they obviously needed. I did have my own wound to deal with however, so after a few pats, but before the adrenaline totally wore off, I gently undid Applebloom’s bow, and used it to tie off my arm and stop the blood-flow, it wasn’t a permanent fix, but hopefully the girls’ sisters would find us before that mattered.

I groaned as distant voices pulled me back into consciousness. I dimly registered the still sleeping crusaders in my lap as I strained my ears to try and catch those voices again.

“When ah get mah hooves on Bloom, I swear she’ll be stuck on the farm for the next two years!”

“Indeed, and I’ll be sure that Sweetie Belle doesn’t leave my or my parent’s sight for at least as long. Honestly, you’d think after how many times we’ve told them to stay out of this dreadful forest, they’d actually learn to listen to us! Why, I have half a mind to-”

I never found out what Rarity had a half a mind to do, as at that moment she and Applejack broke into the clearing, and stared open mouthed at the carnage that greeted them. I groaned again and waved at them to get their attention. They both saw us, and cried out as they rushed to check on their sisters, completely ignoring me. However, once they were sure of the fillies’ safety they turned their attention to me, or at least Applejack did. After the rush of finding her sister wore off and Rarity registered just what the girls were covered in, she had promptly fainted, leaving Applejack and myself as the only conscious creatures in the clearing.

Applejack opened her mouth to start asking questions, but I interrupted her.

“Later, please. I need medical help, and these fillies need their families. I promise to explain after that.”

Applejack looked at me with a strong, piercing gaze, more intelligent and understanding than the manticore’s gaze, but no less dangerous. Eventually however, she nodded, and I sighed in relief before slipping back into blissful darkness.

Author's Note

Here's the next chapter, a little shorter than planned, but also earlier than expected. Anyway, I hope you enjoy, and please feel free to comment.