Tyrants Path

The trio of mares had walked deeper into the Everfree, trying to find their zebra friend. A few trees were knocked over in the path, as it seemed the creature they were inspecting the prints of was dazed and confused, trying to find its way out.

"We're almost there, girls. Hopefully Zecora is okay."

That is the moment Fluttershy let out a bloodcurdling scream, making both Twilight and Applejack jump. They turned, giving her a shocked look, before following her eyes. Twilight turned white as she saw what was hanging in a tree, Fluttershy had backed away and tried not to puke at the sight, tears streaming down her face, and Applejack gave a grossed out expression.

Impaled on the thick branches was the lifeless carcass of a moose. Its intestines had been hanging down the branches and its blood was dripping down. The kill looked recent, judging by the lack of scavengers and blood dripping from it.

The antlers had been snapped off and its head was crushed, along with its neck. One of its legs had been severely injured, nearly torn off in the scuffle, having deep stab wounds from the creatures teeth in it.

Twilight turned to Fluttershy, covering her eyes and moved them faster, "Did you recognize him?"

"Y-yes, that was Barney. He-he was so nice! Always brought flowers when the other animals got sick..." Fluttershy said through sobs, though the sounds of branches cut her sadness in half.

They hurried along as a quicker pace, before a roar echoed out behind them, a throaty hiss and warble ending at the end. Twilight tugged along Applejack and Fluttershy, panting a bit.

"We have to get to Zecora! Now!" She shouted behind them, when another roar echoed out. The sounds of bones snapping was quickly left behind as the creature tugged Barney off of the branches, eating meaty carcass.

Once it was done, it sniffed the air and gave a throaty hiss, huffing loudly. It had been here before, and they were trespassing on his territory. He roared a challenge and started walking after them, his tail slapping a tree and knocking it over.

Unknown to the predator, it was being watched by blue eyes in the treeline. The new entity scratched her chin with a hoof, before quickly disappearing into the darkness. She would need to help.

Spike froze when he heard a roar from deeper in the forest. Spike had just walked out of the treeline when he heard it. Again, that deep pit in Spikes brain told him to run, as far and as fast as he could.

It was the same part of his brain that told him he needed to hunt sometimes, though it was satisfied with the gems he caught instead of...living things. And right now, it was screaming at him to run, as a larger predator had staked its claim to this area.

However, his thought process was interrupted when he tripped into something wet. He lifted his foot and gave a confused look at the sight of the muddy puddle he stepped in. Only, it wasn't exactly a normal puddle

A large, three toed footprint mirrored Spikes on foot. It was pressed into the mud of what was once a puddle, the claws clearly visible, and the toes splayed out to support the animals weight. Spike inspected the footprint, before another roar rang out.

"I...better tell Rainbow Dash to get everypony inside." Spike mumbled to himself, walking away, his tail slowly rising off the ground.

That was the exact moment Rainbow Dash bolted in, smashing into Spike by accident, the two tumbling down in a mess of limbs. Scootaloo skidded to a stop a few seconds after, giving a giggle at the display.

One both were up on their feet, Rainbow Dash glared accusingly, "You said you had paperwork to finish!"

"I didn't want you to chase me and try and stop me! Wait...why are you here?" Spike pointed back, his eyes hardening a bit, staring at them suspiciously.

Rainbow Dash brushed some dirt off of herself, giving a slight sigh. "I thought...the tree might have been pushed instead of naturally falling over."

"Actually, she said she wanted to check out the tree so she could carve her name into it." Scootaloo said, before shrinking a bit when Rainbow Dash shot her a look. "We heard the roar and got a bit distracted, but I was worried the tree was pushed over by something and told Dash a bit ago."

"Well, you heard the roaring, I should tell you the rest." Spike said as he started walking to Ponyville, Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo giving each other looks.

Rainbow Dash jumped into the air and floated alongside Spike, Scootaloo trotting next to the dragon. They walked in silence for approximately 25 seconds, (though to Rainbow Dashes internal clock, at least seven hours went by), before the rainbow haired mare peered at Spike, asking, "What did you see?"

"The tree was definitely pushed by something big and heavy." Spike said, his eyes staring ahead, the slitted pupils of his emerald eyes scanning the town, as if to try and spot any imperfections. "It was worn down, seems like whatever it was was scratching itself."

"Was it a bear?" Scootaloo asked, giving Spike an alarmed look.

"I thought it could be, but then there was a feather on the ground. It is too large to be pushed by a griffin, and I don't think a cockatrice has gotten enar Ponyville since...well, Fluttershy." Spike then looked at Scootaloo, temporarily forgetting Rainbow Dash was there. "I did find a bear...but...not like you think."

"Wait, hold on dude, you're telling me a bear didn't push it over, but you did find a bear? So, how do we know that the bear didn't knock the tree over and scare the bird?" Rainbow Dash interrupted, making Spike give her a worried, and somewhat fearful glance.

"The bear was dead." That stopped the two mares, the drake slowing down a bit to stopping, five feet away. "It was strung up in the tree branches. Crushed by something strong. Whatever pushed the tree decided that a full grown bear is a good food item and is saving it for later."

They stood in silence for a few moments, before Spikes step quickened, "Rainbow Dash, you should warn ponies and meet us back at the castle. Scootaloo, you and I should try and find Pinkie Pie and Rarity."

Rainbow Dash thought for a moment, before opening her mouth, "Spike, you better make sure Scoots gets home safe after." Spike gave her a smile, which made Rainbow Dash zip off.

"Soooooo..." Scootaloo started, she and Spike walking towards the town. "How are we gonna start this off?"

"Well, as far as I know, Pinkie and Cheese Sandwich are on a date and...Rarity is doing something at her shop. Let's go see Rarity first."

"Yup, a good plan...so, Sweetie Belle was wondering if you were seeing anyp-" Scootaloos words died in her throat as Spike shot her an incredulous look.

"You think that you should talk about this? Right now?"

"...Not really, no."

"Good answer."

Twilight and Applejack dodged under a tree, Fluttershy flying ahead of them. A few moments later, they heard the tree snap and a bone shaking roar echoing out. Twilight looked around, peering for anything.

They couldn't lead this thing to Zecora, but they couldn't outlast the beast, it was keeping pace and Twilights legs were burning, Applejack showed no sign of tiring, other than the heavy panting coming from her, and Fluttershy was using all of her strength to not just speed out of there.

Twilight looked left and right, panicking a bit, before spotting it; a bramble patch! She used her magic to catch the other mares attention and veered off towards it, the creature behind them stunned by the glow of the mares horn.

The beast slammed into a tree as it turned, giving a loud call of pain, before shaking its head. It rumbled softly as it sniffed the air. It walked towards the bramble patch, sniffing into the vines, careful not to hurt its snout. It peered inside with its blue eyes, growling, before huffing loudly and walking around the brambles.

What it had not seen was the trio veering to the left, behind a dead tree, watching as the animal investigated the brambles. The creature walked over to the tree they were hiding behind, its shadow casting across the trees and it rumbled, its jaws opening a bit to show its teeth, strong enough to puncture into bone, hovering right over Fluttershy's head.

Fluttershy clamped her hooves over her mouth, stopping herself from screaming, and Applejack held the stetson over her face, trying to hide it. Twilight was thinking of ways to escape, dozens of ways ending with their brutal deaths and not many good options.

It snapped its powerful jaws shut, shaking its head, before walking away, having not detected the mares. Twilight, having thought of an idea, opened her mouth, before something tapped her leg.

She made to scream, only for a hoof to cover her mouth, Applejack and Fluttershy jumping, Fluttershy only giving a whimper as she twirled to look.

Their worries and fears melted when they realized it was Zecora, her hoof covering Twilights mouth. She made a motion to her lips with her free hoof, a universal shush sign, before jerking her head the direction of her house. The trio nodded wordlessly and started walking with her, finally having a safe refuge to fall back to.