The Not So Deadly Deathclaw

"Damn, you're one hell of a cool-looking lizard, you know that?"

Hiss

"You don't say? Heh. Well since I own you now, I guess a proper name’s in order, huh?"

Hiss

"Hmm...well in that case, how about...Di-"

A deep gasp escaped Richard's maw as he abruptly awoke atop the castle's stone floor. Fighting to get his breathing under control, the man-claw slowly brought himself into a sitting position, a shaky claw still clutching his massive heaving chest as he quickly took stock of his surroundings.

"What tha-?"

Whipping his head about, confusion was met with shock as Richard found not only the room looking as if a bomb had gone off, but that each of those six ponies who he'd been in wholesome company of not even a second ago we’re now lying about the room in various states of fucked up.

Orange and blue were out for the count. The white one was…fucking missing like half of her horn. The pink o-…holy shit the pink one.

Blinking, Richard stared in absolute horror at the state the pink one was in. Just…blood…pooling. And the purple and yellow ones were just-

"Fluttershy!"

Blinking herself, Fluttershy's ears perked up at the call of her name and from her spot beside Twilght, who of which was desperately trying to tend to their gravely injured pink friend, she turned to stare at the creature responsible for rendering said friend to such a graphic state. Course, having witnessed all of that earlier on, it was of course to no one's surprise that as the creature before her had managed to get its claws under itself and took a step towards her, she did not realize she'd backed herself into a nearby pillar until her wings met stone. Twilight could only stare.

"Fluttershy! Thank god you're alright!"

"S-Stay away!"

Blinking, Richard paused where he stood from the trembling mare, brow raised and worry ever-present.

"W-What? Fluttershy, it's me! Why are you-"

"No! I won't believe any more of your lies!" The mare spat back, averting her gaze from the now seriously confused deathclaw. Twilight just looked between the two.

"Lies? Fluttershy, what are you talking about? It is me! Why would I lie about that?!" The deathclaw yelled, then paused, realization dawning. "Actually wait. Wait a minute. You, I-, how the hell can I understand you now?"

Blinking herself, Fluttershy's ears again twitched at that little tidbit of genuine confusion and she chanced a glance passed her pink curtain of hair.

"Y-You don't know?"

"I-, No?" Richard responded, looking as lost as a motherfucker.

Hearing that, the mare fully turned her head to regard the hulking lizard who grew increasingly uneasy with each passing second under her scrutinizing glare. Course it was only for a few seconds before Fluttershy's eyes widened and all traces of lingering fear disappeared.

"I-It is you!"

"Uh...yeah, it's me alright." Richard said, relieved to have finally gotten through to her. "Now could you please-"

"The girls!" Fluttershy suddenly gasped, causing the deathclaw to raise a brow.

"Wha-"

Suddenly Fluttershy in your face.

"We need to get Pinkie and the others to the hospital now!"

"What? But, wha-"

"No time to explain!" She hastily replied.

"But-"

"Please Mister Lizard, just listen to me!"

The man-claw stood quiet, his features in conflict as he stared at the teary-eyed mare. This, all of this was way too damn sudden. But, but damn it all if those eyes of hers didn’t shut his whining up any faster.

“I-” Richard started before he grimaced and nodded. “Alright.” And with that, He turned to regard the purple one as she got up, her eyes…damn it no time. Approaching the two, she quickly stepped aside, giving Richard a moment to stare at the poor girl.

It was bad, real bad. How bad? Well judging from the three deep ass slash marks that stretched from one end of the mare’s side to nearly up to her neck, it didn’t take a doctor to know this one needed a fucking doctor and stat. But, but fuck, all that blood. Shaking his head, Richard went to grab her before he got a look at his claw and blinked. He…dammit not right now! Looking from the pink one, Pinkie he remembered, to Fluttershy and her friend who had left to check on the other three, then back to Pinkie, an idea suddenly sprung. A good one? Probably. probably not. But damn it all if wasn't desperate for something good to come out from all of this.

So with a gulp, a made up mind, and all his bets riding on that one time he fell asleep halfway through of watching Animal Planet, Richard did just about the last thing any sane, logically thinking person would’ve done in in this instance.

Crouching down, he began licking her wounds.

…

Yeah, notice how I mentioned any sane, logically thinking person? Richard was no longer a person, now was he? At least physically speaking. And really for Richard, as fucking weird as it seemed, this course of action not only seemed like the best, it just seemed…right to the hulking lizardman. Almost…instinctual if that made any lick of-…sigh.

Unintentional and unneeded puns aside, Richard continued to hastily lap at the mare’s barrel until with one last flick of his snake-like tongue, he stopped, gave the mare a once-over and nodded.

“Alright missy. Let’s get you up.”

Careful as could be, Richard slowly slid his massive claws under the mare. Then with barely an effort, lifted her up as he rose to stand, raising a brow at just how light she was before shaking his head and instead turning to see Fluttershy and Twilight approaching him, with Shy weighed down by her blue pegasus pal slung over her back while Twilight had the white one over her own.

“How’s Pinkie Pie?” Twilight asked with a pant, to which Fluttershy hastily nodded as well. Richard simply grimaced.

“Not good. She’s lost a fair deal of blood and needs to get to a doctor quick.”

Nodding herself, Twilight glanced over her shoulder.

“We’ll I’ve got Rarity and Fluttershy will carry Rainbow but we still need to get Applejack.” She turned back to look up at Richard. “Could you please carry her too?”

The man-claw could only nod.

“On it.”

Moving quick, Richard stopped near the room’s entrance, scooping up the unconscious farmpony with a free claw before bringing her up to his chest beside Pinkie, careful as to not let her little hat fall.

Once the two were situated, Richard glanced at the two mares who in turn nodded to him and together the trio set out, with Richard taking the lead as he made for the castle’s main hall, unknowingly leaving the two mares in his dust all the way up to entering the main foyer and promptly exiting it through the large front doors, of which were blown open and off their hinges by the deathclaw pressed for time and with other priorities in mind.

However, all that was seemingly put on hold almost instantly for Richard at the sudden sight of two things. The first of which being of course Badass, who at the sight of his friend, by which he quickly deduced was no longer under otherworldly possession, jumped for joy as he squee’d with joy. And the second thing? Well that was just what Badass was jumping with joy on, that being one very small and very surprised purple and green lizard.

Spike, for a lack of a better, more cooler sounding summarization of his current situation...was scared. Why? well let's rewind a bit.

After the girls had set out for their trip into the Everfree, Spike had given it a good ten or so minutes before he too slipped out the door of the library and broke for the woods, making sure that he gave the girls a significant lead before venturing after them himself. Give or take an hour later of walking, getting lost, and backtracking, and Spike was soon coming up to what looked to be a small clearing. Coming out of the brush, Spike then blinked as he gave the open scenery somewhat of a wide-eyed gander.

"Woah. What happened here?"

Looking around himself, Spike could tell something wild had definitely happened here, if the beaten earth and broken trees had anything to show about it. And as if to only confirm his suspicions, Spike had only the inclination to look down that he noticed the massive claw and assprints in the ground, leaving him momentarily in awe.

GRRRRRRR

That moment of awe was then immediately cut short when a deep growl from behind sent a shiver up Spike's scaled spine. Turning slowly around, Spike's eyes almost popped out of their sockets at the sight of a dozen or so pairs of glowing green eyes peering back at him through the brush. He then spent the next few seconds silently cowering as one wolf, presumably the alpha if the scared eye and doubled size were any indications, stepped forward, sap oozing from its maw as it starred down at its presumably next meal.

"Uh...h-hey there." Spike stuttered out, his voice as shaky as his quivering legs. "Y-You wouldn't have happened to see five ponies come through here a while ago, r-right?"

In that moment, the timberwolf licked its maw, leaving Spike only to sigh before he turned and sprinted off, earning a grin from the alpha while his lackeys ran passed in pursuit of their latest prey. Prey which, to their immediate irritation, wouldn't give them a free meal laying down as he ran this way and that, skidding around trees, jumping over logs, and of course dodging every attempt the wolves made to snap or bite at him. But after nearly an hour of this, Spike's stamina soon began to border on empty and knowing that timberwolves were nothing more but a conjoined mess of hangry wood and magic, he knew that all they needed to know was that he was getting tired, and that fact alone was well enough a cue to press their
attack, throwing finesse and common sense out the window in favor of speed and ferocity. And despite shaving off bits of themselves against tress or chipping off bits of wood whenever they made contact with something other than their desired target, the wolves continued their relentless chase, much to the swearing of their exhausted meal. Yet, just as Spike was about to throw in the towel, when the wolves had closed the distance between them to just a few feet and the promise of dinner being all but assured, something short of a miracle happened. They stopped.

Yes as weird as it sounds, Spike was probably just as confused in that instance when he chanced a glance over his shoulder, saw the wolves hitting the brakes, and was left only a second register a question before he tripped, fell, and rolled into a large clearing with all the finesse of a burning tire. There on the ground, Spike only had enough time to mutter a tired ouch before the bushes behind him began to rustle. And after a quick head turn, he was soon face to face with his pursuers, followed shortly thereafter by the rest of their pack.

Sucking in a shaky breathe, Spike slowly rose to his feet, eyes hastily dancing among the snarling faces of the wolves before, with another chill down the spine, finally settling on two wolves at the forefront of the pack who both stepped aside to allow their alpha to pass.

It was then at that moment that the others instantly quieted down, letting the sounds of the forest and Spike's rapidly beating heart to be the backdrop as the two silently stared one-another down. For a few seconds at least.

"W-Well?! What gives? A-Aren't you gonna come at me or something?"

"..."

Gritting his teeth, Spike was about to further press his taunting inquiry when he too spared his sparse surroundings a glance and also stopped, going as far to give his pursuers the shoulder as he took in the mangled trees, shoveled-out earth, and a dozen or so patches of blackened grass that dotted the open field with a raised brow.

"W-What happened here?" Spike asked before turning to the timberwolves, as if they knew. And...it looks like they did as in response, all woodspawns in attendance save the alpha quietly began to back away and back into the depths of the Everfree until only the alpha remained, his single glowing orb of green remaining trained on the little dragon who, after giving the bark-skinned boy one last glare of his own, turned and continued on through the clearing, ill-concealed hesitation a plenty, and all the way up until his purple form disappeared passed the mess of greens on the other end, did the timberwolf finally accept the loss of his meal, turned with a disgruntled growl, and left to rejoin his pack in the hopes of making up for lost time, lost food and, most importantly, lost face.

But that's okay, the timberwolf probably assured itself, because next time...well, let's just say the little guy won't be so lucky then.

Hmph. You're damn right.

...

A little bit more of walking and river-crossing later and Spike now found himself pushing passed bushes to reveal the castle of the two sisters in all its old and ruined glory. Nodding to himself, he stepped out into the open and soon began walking confidently towards the castle.

"Alright. I'm finally here. Now I just gotta find the girls and-"

Rustle

That is until he heard the all too familiar sound of rustling foliage from behind and quickly spun around, previous confidence now gone with the wind as his eyes darted about the bushes with fearful quickness. Had the timberwolves been tailing him all along?

Rustle

Did they come back for round two? But wait, why didn't they want to follow him before?

Rustle

Spike gulped. Whatever the case was, now wasn't the time to be questioning things since he was about to get busy cutting down some firewood in a sec, shaking legs be damned. So...raising his arms, he balled his claws, gritted his fangs and-...blinked when a small orange lizard suddenly immerged from the bush, tilting its head up and to the side as it peered at his impromptu fighting pose with seemingly innocent curiosity.

Squee?

Blinking once more, Spike, having now realizing that he was about to just throw claws with a harmless little lizard, was instantly filled with relief as he dropped his arms and let go of a breath he didn't realize he was holding.

"Oh boy. You really had me going there little guy." He said, watching as the little gecko tilted its head cutely to the other side before it suddenly zipped around him and up to his arm where it stood somewhat eye level with him, gaining a surprised look from the baby dragon. "W-Woah. L-Looks like you're a fast little guy too. That's cool, I guess." He then pointed at himself smugly. "I just so happen to be baby dragon which is also pretty cool."

There was then a hint of confusion that seemed to play behind the little gecko's eyes before he suddenly squee'd excitedly, causing Spike to recoil.

"W-What wrong little guy?"

Squee Squee!

"Huh?"

Shaking its head, the little gecko jumped from Spike's claws and dashed around him several times before it suddenly stopped, pointed at the castle over yonder, and then jumped several times after that, earning only a very confused look from Spike as he looked from the castle to the lizard and back to the castle.

"You...want me to go to the castle?" He finally said, pointing to the castle, to which the gecko actually nodded, earning a smirk in return. "Well buddy you're in luck, cause I was just about go there myself." He then chuckled. "Gotta apparently save them from some big bad monster." He then chuckled again before noticing the lizard give him an odd look. "Something wrong buddy?" Suddenly lizard in the face and now all over the place. The little guy was everywhere and all Spike could do was blink as he watched the little guy go at it until he instantly stopped, turned, and was on top of Spike's head in an instant, jumping and squeeing excitedly in the effort to hurry him along so that they could save not only his friends, of which Badass could only assume he was referring to those ponies who'd come to the castle seeking Miss Fluttershy, but also save Badass's friend who, at this very moment, was still fighting against said friends. But since after previously relaying all that to this newly met Spike only got a confused look out of him, jumping and pointing to the castle had to do.

And do it did as Spike finally put two and two together and made for the castle, crossing the wooden bridge and stepping up to the large front doors several minutes later. But just before he went to open the door, he suddenly paused, earning a questioning squeak from his rider. What's wrong? Why are you hesitating? Why aren't we going inside?

"Hey uh, little guy?" Spike asked, looking up at the gecko atop his head. "This may sound weird to suddenly ask but...do you actually know the monster my friends were talking about? Like know know?"

Huh, well I guess that confirms Badass's suspicions then. And not giving the question too much thought after that, the little gecko nodded, even added a smirk for reassurance, which gave Spike some well needed calm. But only until another question suddenly came up.

"Right. But he's not like actually a monster monster like my friends say he is...right?"

"..."

"...R-Right?"

"..."

"Uh...little guy? Why aren't you-"

But before Spike could figure out why his little passenger wasn't answering his question, there came a sudden commotion from inside and Spike was only able to glance up before the that commotion was then transferred outside as the large, heavy, most certainly sturdy wooden fronts doors were promptly blown off their ancient hinges and blasted outward some several feet before clattering somewhere behind one ducked down and very much shaking baby dragon. One who, once the threat of an immediate beheading via spontaneous projectile furnishings wasn’t so immediate, slowly rose to stand while his claws slowly fell from having previously flown upwards in an instinctive attempt to cover not only his own little think tank but that of his rider’s as well. A previously closed eye then peeked open, followed shortly by the other, before both instantly widened as they and the body they were connected to found themselves engulfed in a shadow.

Squeak!

Now, it was in that moment that Spike had only faintly heard his little lizard buddy say something up top, mainly in part due to the ever-quickening and seemingly deafening beat of his heart through his ears as his eyes fell upon a pair of massive claws before slowly rising passed a pair of massive brown scaled legs, an armored crotch, an equally armored stomach, two tree trunk sized arms, and finally, below a pair of evilly curved horns, rested the solid orange eyes, long and hissing snake-tongue, and maw of many a dagger-sized, shaped, and sharp teeth of the most scariest and, by far, coolest beast Spike’s peepers had ever had the privilege of befalling.

And now here we are, back to the present, with Spike currently being scared as all fuck, Badass being relieved as fuck, and Richard not having a flying fucking clue why Badass chose now of all times to go out and make a friend. I mean sure, cute, good on him and all, but seriously Bad, timing.

"There you are Badass, where have you been, buddy?"

Squeak! Squeak!

"I-It talks?!" Spike said, immediately dropping one bit of shock for another from affirmed communication with an actual Everfree entity.

"You can talk?" Richard said, himself briefly in disbelief by the acknowledgement of another scale-skinned word-sayer.

"Yeah, I AM a dragon after all." Spike responded, as if it was common-knowledge. "Why wouldn't I be able to speak?"

Richard blinked, before shaking his horned head and cracking a toothy grin.

"Yeah, sure little guy. Keep dreaming like that and I'm sure we'll all become dragons too one day."

"But I AM a dragon!" Spike all but roared, voice crack aside, before pointing a claw up at the deathclaw hunched before him. "And if I'm not mistaken, you're one too! You big-." He then stopped dead in his tracks after just now noticing what, or rather who the manclaw had been holding against his plated chest. "Wait! You! What did you do to my friends?!" And there he goes that stance of his again, holding firm despite seeing Badass step between the two of them, sure to stop things should they turn physical. Luckily though, all that got out of Richard was only a slight brow raise.

"Umm...and just what exactly are you doing, kid?"

"I'm not letting you go anywhere with them!"

"Oh?" Richard hissed, his voice suddenly lower than usual. "And does that include the hospital?"

"A-" A slight twitch, but Spike only balled his fists tighter. "A likely story. But until I know the truth, you ain't going nowhere with Pinkie or Applejack without getting passed me first!"

"Kid I-" There suddenly came a deep growl from down below but Richard held it. "Look, kid. I don't got time right now to be playing games with some over-imaginative iguana."

"Hey, I'm not an igu-"

"Cause you see this pink one here? She needs a doctor stat, and I intend to get her to one AFSAN. So if you don't want the REST of her blood to be on your claws, you'll kinda step the fuck aside and let me be on my marry way!"

"I-, b-but you-"

It was in that moment that Ricard, after growling rather ferociously and not but one second away from saying fuck it and sending this little shit of a lizard to the goddamn moon, Both his sanity and probably the lizard itself were luckily spared their metaphorical and quite literal dick flattening when the sounds of labored panting came chugging up from behind the deathclaw dealing with defcon-one levels of pissed. Turning around however, those levels miraculously dwindled to nearing nothing when a slightly sweating Fluttershy trotted up beside him-

"T-Thank you for waiting for us to catch up Mister Lizard, but it's really urgent that you get Pinkie to-...Spike? What are you doing here?"

"Uhh, I-"

-Followed up several moments later by a definitely sweating and obviously out of shape Twilight.

"Hah. Hah. Oh Celestia I've really got to lay off the hayburgers or-...SPIKE?! What in Celestia's name are you doing here?!"

"Uh, oh buck, um, h-hey Twi- RARITY!" And at the sight of his beloved...friend, Spike was out of Richard's way and at the unconscious unicorn's side in an instant. "Wh-Wh-What happened to her?! And her horn! What happened to her-" Blinking, it didn't take the baby dragon long to look passed his friends and up to the towering beast beside them to put two and two together. "YOU!" Spike roared, and before Twilight or Flutters could get a word out, the little dragon launched himself at Richard, intent to do some bit of bodily harm had it not been for Twilight's magic, as little as there was left, to hold him at bay. "YOU! I'm gonna put you in the ground for what you did to Rarity!"

"Spike, calm down!" Twilight yelled, physically straining just to keep the little dragon in check, and once her magic flickered out again, a hoof was then supplemented. "H-He, he didn't-"

"No, Twilight! Ugh. Let go of me! Augh! Now!"

"SPIKE. STOP IT!"

And just like that, he did. Hanging and huffing over Twilight's aching hoof, he just stopped dead in his efforts, surprising even himself with now quick his body obeyed. But I guess that just goes to show...that when Fluttershy of all ponies tells you to stop, you. Fucking. Stop.

"Wha-, but Fluttershy-"

"No! No more but's! And No. More. Blaming!" She said, emphasizing her point by stomping a hoof cutely with each word. "We'll explain everything once we get back home. But right now, we-!"

"Not enough."

What?

"W-What?" Fluttershy asked turning, as did Twilight and Spike, to the deathclaw with a deathly serious look across his maw.
Glancing from those in his arms to those on the ground, to those they carried, he only nodded to himself.

"I said we won't have enough time to make it to a hospital," He glanced at the two mare's, his eyes seeming to linger longer on one more so than the other. "Not at the pace you two would hoof it." He glanced back to Fluttershy. "No offense."

"O-Oh my, um...of course." The pegasus said with a light blush before tilting her head back up to him curiously. "T-Then how- eep!"

At that moment, a light gasp escaped Flutters as Richard's large tail suddenly snaked around and under her barrel before she was then hoisted up with ease, momentarily coming to eye level with the deathclaw as he then used his maw to nab Rainbow by the scruff of her blue neck and quickly deposited her besides Applejack who, still in her unconscious state, rolled over and hugged the prismatic mare closer, only earning a slight grunt from her before she too, in her equally unconscious state, embraced the farm pone as well, earning a quick 'daww' from deathclaw and pony alike before Richard raised his tail up further, sliding out from under the mare after she was carefully draped over his left shoulder.

Turning his head, he looked to see if she was okay, saw her nod once she had better situated herself, and turned back to see Twilight looking up at him with yet another weird expression.

"All aboard." He said, causing her to blink. It wasn't a question. And before Twi could even respond, much less even choose, Richard's tail had already snaked under her barrel, lifting her yelping form a second later and bringing her and her unknowing rider closer to his awaiting maw.

"Hey! Be careful with them!" Spike yelled from below. Not like Richard was really listening however as he plucked the white unicorn off her friend's back and placed her snuggly alongside the pink priority, background nitpicking and squeaks of reassurance easily ignored as the purple one was swung about and placed across from her pegasus pal on the opposite shoulder. A moment was then spent impatiently waiting for the unicorn to become situated before he sighed and suddenly set off for the forest, his passengers yelping in his ears as they bounced from his motions and scrambled to get a better hold, all the while a certain little fuming dragon was left to sprint after the moving monster, but was sadly only left in the dust several seconds later. Damn timberwolves.

And of course Badass, being the sweet little innocent gecko that he was, just had to unintentionally rub salt into the wound by not only making it seem like a breeze in keeping up with Richard's gait, but also going as far as to zip circles around the moving deathclaw, dashing up his leg to check on the state of his passengers, get a pat or scratch from the riders, then dip right back in step with Richard. Spike had never seen such bullshit before.

"Spike! Hurry up!" Twilight yelled over her shoulder, or Richard's technically. "We can't waste anymore time, so come on!"

But try as he might've, Spike was just too out of it to keep up, and while the only replies that escaped his burning lungs were wheezes and pants, they were miniscule in volume to the deep growl that escaped one very disgruntled deathclaw. Taking several steps back, Richard's tail whipped back, Snaking around the dragon's small figure, and before he could protest, promptly tossed his little ass into the air, much to the verbal surprise and shock of his passengers and tiny friend, before doing a little spin, caught him, then dangled him by his little tail inches from his blazing orange orbs.

"You done bitching, kid?"

...Nod.

"Good, now hang on tight." And with that he brought his tail back, flipping it and Spike so that the little drake now had an arm and a leg on either side of the slightly swishing appendage. "Cause I'm about to speedrun the fuck out of place."

"Umm...Mister Lizard." Flutters meekly meeped as Richard bent down and took up a running stance. A quick glance and slight smirk was also casted to his little buddy beside him who, after seeing it and responding with a smile of his own, readied himself at the starting line. "What's a speedru-UNNN?!" And as the starting gun was fired, Richard was off, giving his riders barely a second to hold on as he barreled down across the open grass, closing in on where dirt dropped into a ravine, and with only a grunt acting as a warning, he leapt. And within those few seconds that he was airborne, the wind did not whip louder than the girls and dragon who yelled all the way, nearly losing their grips and touching the sky themselves had it not been for the rather life-saving convenience that was Richard's back spikes, plentiful from shoulders to tail tip and readily handy for when one needed to quickly grab hold of something or risk hitting the ground just a tad too hard. And with a mighty thud, Richard had not only cleared the gap of earth, nearly by double its width, but had also gracefully stuck the landing and continued on without missing a beat, all the while his companions continued to hold on for dear life, some more so than others. For while the two mares atop the deathclaw's shoulders we're thrown this way and that whenever he made a sharp turn or had to jump over some obstacle at the last second, their ride was relatively more forgiving, ducking to avoid tree branches and literal neck-breaking speeds aside, at least they got a heads-up.

"W-Woah!" Spike yelped for the dozenth time that minute of straight running, still somehow holding onto Richard's tail despite the speed of the beast and the scenery rushing passed constantly threating to tear the little dragon away from what was his only lifeline in that instant, well that is when it wasn't already threating his life as it did. For with every turn, twist, and occasional jump of the monster's body as it ducked, dodged, weaved around or sometimes just straight up plowed through some of the many organic obstacles that made up the Everfree, Spike faced being bashed against trees, slammed against or across the surfaces of rock and grass, or even spontaneous liftoff whenever there was significant obstacle or sizeable chunk of missing earth that demanded it be jumped over, much to the displeasure of Spike's stomach as well as his everything else. Yet try as fate, gravity, and the powers above might, Spike would not let go, His fear-powered, vice-like grip on Richard's swishing and swinging appendage made sure of that.

Meanwhile, Badass didn't have to worry about any of this because he had already made the concept of danger his bitch all his life simply by being smol and fast.

But luckily enough, both for Spike and the girls" sake, all that near-death shit would be drawing to a surprisingly-quick close as Richard, in his pure, badass, super mutant-lizard adrenaline, neared the Everfree's edge in nearly half the time it took for the girls, trees thinning and sunlight brimming until in one last great burst of speed, he busted out and into the open, the several trees he busted through to do so taking the lead as they flew outwards and into the open air beyond.

There he stood, out of the Everfree, huffing but barely winded as he took a moment to just take in the vastness that was the expanse of the open world before him, new world mind you. But of course, pink and red priorities first.

"Where to now?" Richard asked impatiently, glancing down at the precious cargo that rolled and groaned in his grasp. The mare on his right shoulder quickly responded.

"We'll need to head into town." Twilight stated, grimacing slightly before shaking her horned head. "From there, I'll guide you. Now go!"

And go he did. Picking up the pace once again, Richard practically flew over the small green hills and down the winding paths and roads until he spotted the tops of thatched roofs, followed by the whole of Ponyville itself. But sights could not be admired and cute little townspones could not be dawed at as Richard kept focus, listening to the Twi's directions all the way up to crossing the little stone bridge that lead into Ponyville proper.

And that's when the screaming started.

Now at first, the citizens of Ponyville we're calm, happy, and going about their day like any other. Simply soaking up the sun and just living life, you know? Then, all at once, seemingly at the drop of a hat, all of Tartarus had broken loose. First came the screaming, ponies raising their heads to the sounds of panic and the cries of a monster attack. Then there was the running, as ponies usually did whenever there was even a hint of trouble, and of course it had to be in groups too, as was standard procedure. But then came him, THAT'S when shit really went south. One instant, there was of course panic without reason, with many ponyvillians opening windows or stepping into the street, confused as to what was happening. Then, like a bat out hell, or another monster spat out of the Everfree, came Richard and company, skirting around a corner, charging down the road like some absolute mad lad, and well...there was the reason. Luckily though, No other pones were hurt during Richard's mad dash for the hospital, thanks in part to everypony running for the hills as soon as they even caught a glimpse of him. can't really say the same for those several wagons that Richard smashed through but hey, not like wood has feelings too, right?

Thankfully though for both his passengers and the populace of Ponyville, Richard's little stroll through town had finally drawn to a close as with one last turn around a corner, he spotted the bright red cross of Ponyville General, and didn't hit the brakes until he was practically breathing on the glass front doors, which actually opened automatically for him to his slight surprise, allowing him a barely cleared entrance to the main lobby, where one nurse nearly fainted at the sight of said entry had it not been for the immediate disembarking of his passengers as they hurriedly explained the situation. A moment later and the four girls were all whisked away to parts unknown with the exception being Pinkie who was wheeled straight to the emergency ward.

And just like that, that was that. The girls were going to be okay. Pinkie Pie was in safe hooves now by all accounts. And now...now that just left two mares and a baby dragon, alone in an hastily emptied hospital lobby, with a deathclaw.

...

Huh.

"So..." Twilight said, awkwardly scuffing a hoof on the tiles.

"...Yeah" Richard responded.

"Umm...hmm." Fluttershy expertly added, glancing up at Richard, then everywhere that wasn't him.

"Yup." Was Richard's reply.

"Well...this is kinda awkward." Spike brilliantly deduced. Dumbass.

Squeak

"Agreed." Richard hissed before nodding. "Well, I'm out." And with that he turned, his tail waiving a hasty goodbye to the wordless trio as he nearly broke through the sliding doors on his way out. "See you girls never, I guess."

"Wa-Wait!" Fluttershy frantically called, scrambling after the retreating deathclaw with Badass hot on her heels while Twilight and Spike stayed right where they stood, watching. That is, until Twilight cleared her throat.

"Spike?"

"Yeah, Twilight?"

"You do realize that you're in big trouble now for going into the Everfree, right?"

"...Yeah."