Chapter Eighty-Six: The Calvary Rides In

Fluttershy gathered all of her strength into one final lunge, screaming out Smokey's name as loud as her strained vocal chords would allow and extending a hoof in desperation to the cavern entrance. Her heart felt like it was being torn asunder all over again…

Was this… really how it was all going to end? To save Smokey, light of her day, love of her life, from one bleak fate… only to lose him to another? No… No, this… this couldn't…

Chenoa couldn't lose her Dada. Not again. Not so soon after getting him back. And Terra Cotta… so without loving parents, a loving father… to be denied something like that after so much abuse from her sister, after having just a taste of what he could've given her…

Tears streaming down her face, Fluttershy clenched her eyes shut. Taking a breath, she yearned, pleaded, implored… So desolate was she that she was expending her final inkling of hope on a wild cry.

"Please!" she yelled, head pointed to the ceiling, voice hoarse and cracking from screaming. "PLEASE… if… if there's somepony… ANYPONY… out there… HELP US!"

Just when the dragon pair was about to finish off Smokey, a strange sound filled their ear holes; a call from an animal unfamiliar to them. Within seconds, the owner of the loud squawk emerged from the treetops to reveal its identity to be a Catalina macaw! And behind it was a pack of werewolves!

Rainbow Dash never thought she would be happy to hear that annoying squawk, but she was concerned about the sudden appearance of the large wild canines. One male in particular-with a single ear and a battle-scarred muzzle-rose up on his hind legs in a domineering gesture a few yards away from the dragons. Tossing his head aback with a piercing howl, he ordered his comrades to attack.

Fluttershy gasped, eyes widening as the squawks and snarls reached her ears. Had her call been answered?

Craning her neck to peer over her friends, she let out a startled cry upon, recognizing the werewolf. It was the same one that had broken into Smokey's house; that he had fed! Had it… known they were in danger?

As the werewolves leaped upon the offending dragons, Fluttershy took advantage of the momentary break in the concentration of her friends to bolt out of their grasp. A team of four of the canids threw their sizeable body weight at the dragons, shoving them away from Smokey. The lead werewolf lowered himself back on all fours then moved forth to stand over the fallen reptilian. He dropped his head to line it with his body to not only protect his throat and stomach, but to shield as much of the draconian's vulnerable form as he could. Taking note of his seeping wounds, he brought his muzzle to one located on his neck to lick it clean all the while keeping his gaze upon their enemies. While this was taking place, the alpha gestured for the rest to surround the dragon pair and attack all at once.

The dragons weren't prepared for this. Nor were they able to defend themselves from so many. These were big, strong, fast, and intelligent creatures. More so than the standard breeds of wolves. While they were able to knock a few aside, even more were upon them, snapping and slashing.

"Smokey… Smokey! SMOKEY!" the pale yellow mare called. Her voice was straining and cracking, but as she burst out of the crevice, she half-dashed, half-flew past the werewolves and dragon pair and crouched at Smokey's side. Slipping her foreleg and neck under one of his arms, checked him over.

The addressed reptilian didn't respond at all. He was quite a bloody mess. His left ear frill was sliced in half, the leathery fringes of his wings were shredded to ribbons, rendering him unable to fly, and copious bleeding gashes covered his body.

The werewolf standing over Smokey tore his eyes from their opponents to nudge Fluttershy, his eyes telling her to return to the crevice. Even the macaw, who then landed at her side, was screeching at her.

Fluttershy choked out a gasping sob. Pressing her head against Smokey's for a brief few seconds, she lifted it upon feeling the werewolf's bump. Turning her attention to the other equines, who were shouting at her to return to the safety of the crevice, she sighed and nodded to them in acknowledgement.

"… Th… thank you," she whispered to the canine, reaching up to place a kiss upon his head and did the same to the macaw. Pausing only long enough to nuzzle her dragon friend once, with great reluctance, turned to retreat back to the crevice.

Saying nothing, she pushed past Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie to meet Rarity in the back. Planting her haunches to the ground and extending her forelegs, the alabaster unicorn took the unspoken hint and turned Chenoa and Terra Cotta over to her. Gathering them into her forelegs and curling her wings around them, the pegasus buried her face into their joined heads and wept.

As soon as Fluttershy left him, the werewolf returned his vision to the scuffle, pleased to see that they were still winning. The macaw decided to follow the pony to take refuge. To his delight, Rainbow Dash was right there when he entered the mouth of the crevice. With a blissful squawk, he clung to the rainbow-haired pegasus' back.

"I never thought I'd be happy to see you!" she stated to the bird before turning to into Fluttershy's direction, a worried frown replacing her smile. "Fluttershy? Is Smokey… alive?"

Fluttershy sniffled and choked. She found herself unable to speak, responding with a short nod.

A general wave of relief washed over the rest of the mares, however, as Twilight Sparkle peered outside, she took notice that the dragon was laying very still and her stomach knotted up.

"Um, well that's-that's good!" she spoke in an attempt to shed some hope. "He's still-"

"He's in really bad shape…" Fluttershy said, her voice soft and barely above a whisper. "Really, really bad shape… He might… He might…"

"He'll be fine!" Rainbow Dash insisted, slipping past the others to place a hoof upon her fellow pegasus' back. "He's a dragon! He'll make it!"

"Erm, yeah!" Applejack voiced her agreement. "He's a fighter! He's been through tougher scrapes than this, hasn't he?"

Fluttershy whipped her attention to the farmer pony, incredulously staring at her as if she had grown a second head.

"Why don't you look out there and tell me?" she all but hissed.

"Now, now, Fluttershy! Calm down! Calm down…" Rarity consoled, sliding a foreleg around Fluttershy's shoulders to draw her and the children into a hug. "I know it's frightening, but you mustn't give up hope!"

"Whether or not he has, he's gonna get through this! Don't you worry, Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash added. Patting her back, she stole a backwards glance at what she could see of Smokey's bloody form and winced.

Fluttershy trembled, holding Chenoa and Terra Cotta closer.

"I feel… so… helpless…"

"How do you think the rest of us feel?" the cyan pegasus inquired. "There's nothing we can do right now."

Fluttershy whimpered and clenched her eyes shut, nuzzling her children in an effort to comfort both them and herself.

A tense moment flew by before Terra Cotta finally spoke up.

"Mami?" the filly murmured, shivering. "Is Dadi…? Wut happ'n t'Dadi…?"

"Dada!" Chenoa wailed out, her cheeks drenched with tears. She was craving the warm and secure embrace of her strong father, but she didn't even see him anywhere,

"Daddy…" the mare whimpered. "Daddy's hurt. Really badly. But he'll pull through. He has to pull through!"

Fresh tears dripped down her cheeks, uttering on a whisper "Please let him pull through… I love him so much…".

After more time elapsed, the dragons were forced to retreat. Several werewolves sustained injuries in the process, but nothing serious. The hurt canines sat down to lick their minor gashes while the leader stepped aside, lowering his head again to lap at the draconian's torn ear frill.

Rainbow Dash boldly inched to the lip of the crevice to check on the activity outside. The sounds of fighting had ceased and she had assumed the fray had stopped. Observing that all was calm, she whirled around to inform her friends.

"All clear, everypony!"

Twilight Sparkle took a few steps forward to begin leading everyone else out when she was knocked unceremoniously aside by Fluttershy-flying out with both children in her forelegs. Soaring past Rainbow Dash, she set herself and Terra Cotta down by Smokey.

"Dadi!" Terra Cotta practically threw herself on the dragon, crawling onto his chest as Fluttershy placed the chick near her. "DADI!"

"Smokey…" Fluttershy breathed, chest constricting painfully. "Oh… Smokey…"

"We should probably get him to a safe place," Pinkie Pie suggested with belying uncertainty.

"No. We shouldn't move him." Fluttershy shook her head twice, eyes skimming over his copious wounds. "We… we need to act fast. I… we can't let these wounds get infected… Girls-"

"Just tell us what needs ta be done," Applejack requested, approaching the pegasus' side to rummage through her saddlebags for the first aid and medicine. "We'll handle the rest."

"I halp, tu! I halp, tu!" Terra Cotta avidly volunteered.

"I'll get an additional defensive perimeter set up around this area," Twilight Sparkle proposed as she took notice of the werewolves congregating around them. She fleetingly hesitated, then issued a small smile. "I… erm… thank you. All of you."

The alpha male nodded to the alicorn before barking twice in succession at the unscathed members of his pack to patrol their surroundings and to return if there were any additional signs of danger. Once that was done, he remained seated on his haunches by Smokey, refusing to leave the dragon who had fed him when he was starving.

Neither did Fluttershy, or Terra Cotta, who respectively directed and helped bandage up Smokey after cleaning and disinfecting his lacerations with the assistance of Applejack and Rarity while the remaining equines set up camp. As they settled down, Fluttershy insisted that she would be the one to take first watch. She figured she didn't have to as the werewolves acted as sentinels for them. However, the pegasus did not think herself able to sleep after everything that had just taken place.

It did not take much longer before the winged reptilian's entire body began shaking from blood loss. Recognizing the sign, the werewolf leader laid down beside the dragon to at least keep one half of him warm. Expectantly, he shifted his glowing eyes to the mare beside him. She took the hint immediately, curling up against the scaly being, furling her forelegs around him. Terra Cotta, laying on his chest, slid one foreleg around his neck as best as she could and the other around Chenoa so she could lay against her adoptive father as well.

Fishing a blanket from one of Fluttershy's saddlebags, Rarity enveloped the fabric in a cloud of her magic and draped it over the family.

"Think that'll keep them warm enough?" Rainbow Dash queried in concern, not minding that the macaw was still perched on her back.

"Well, I only have one other one…" the purple-maned unicorn replied. "Mine, but I certainly can give them it. The poor dears need it more than I do… Even if it's a little cold…"

"Aw, shucks, Rare, you can share mine," Applejack offered. "It wouldn't be the first time we done so."

"I'll stand watch." Rainbow Dash transferred her vision to Fluttershy, a small smile pulling at her lips. She knew the meek pegasus already volunteered to do so, but she figured her friend would be best suited keeping her dragon warm. "Fluttershy, you just worry about Smokey and the squirts."

"Thank you, Rainbow Dash." Fluttershy actually managed a ghost of a smile, craning her head to the right to gaze over at her friend. There was a slight pause as she eyed the feathered creature upon her back. "It looks like you finally made a new friend in him."

"He brought in reinforcements," stated the cyan pegasus, twisting her neck to glance back at the macaw. "He helped save us."

"He did…" Any hint of a smile disappeared from Fluttershy's face. "If it weren't for him, we'd all be goners."

"The question is…" Applejack began, her eyes upon the bird as he proceeded to preen the feathers under his wing. "… How'd he know we were in trouble?"

"Who cares?" The rainbow-maned mare shrugged. "As long as he knew we needed help."

"The fact of the matter is that we're safe, we're alive, and…" Twilight Sparkle gave pause, looking down at Smokey. "And we're going to be okay."

"Twilight, how long did you say it's gonna take to get back to Ponyville?" asked the sky blue pegasus.

The alicorn grimaced.

"At our supplies and pace, assuming we stick to our original plan? Approximately six days. At this point, though? I'm… not sure."

"We better pick up the pace then." For emphasis, Rainbow Dash stamped a hoof into the earth. "I don't think Smokey can wait that long for medical attention!"

"I don't think so, either. But, the problem is, I don't know how we'll be able to get to Ponyville with him in this condition. I don't even know the best way TO get back to Ponyville!"

"Wait! I know," Fluttershy declared, pushing herself up into a sitting position.

"… You do?" Twilight Sparkle, as well as the other mares, turned to her with curiosity filling their features. "How?"

Without answering directly, Fluttershy switched her attention to the alpha werewolf.

"You were there at Smokey's house. We gave you food there, you remember. Do you, perhaps, remember where that house is from here? If so, could you lead us there? If we can find the place, we can get back to Ponyville."

The werewolf was hoping the yellow pony would ask him something like that. With a small smile, he nodded. He had planned on carrying the dragon on his back and other members of his pack carry the group while they dashed to their destination at their highest speed.

Procuring a wide, warm smile, she turned to her friends, brimming with readable relief.

"Fluttershy… that's… that's brilliant!" Twilight Sparkle praised, she and the remains of the party sharing her relief. "Right then! We'll rest up now and we'll leave first thing in the morning!"

Yawns were shared between each member of the group, including the present werewolves. Blankets summoned to shield their bodies from the chill wafting in the air, the mares-sans Rainbow Dash-settled down. Despite the fact they could have lost their lives, they felt secure, knowing they had numerous strong guardians who seemed adamant to protect them with their lives.

"I'll take the next watch, Rainbow," said Twilight Sparkle, rolling over onto her side. "Wake me in a couple hours."

"Yeah, sure." Rainbow Dash nodded, a smirk pulling at the corners of her lips upon feeling the macaw on her back snuggle against her mane and the crest of her neck. "Don't get too comfortable. I already have a pet."

Draping her blanket over Fluttershy's for additional warmth for the pale yellow pegasus and Smokey and the youngsters, Rarity huddled with Applejack and Pinkie Pie, the other two mares sharing their own blankets among the three of them. Blue-green eyes flickering over the unconscious dragon's face, she lifted a hoof to brush the back of her pastern over his scaly cheek.

"You're going to be okay," she whispered, lowering her hoof and shifting herself closer to nuzzle him. "Please be okay…"

Going silent, and laying a foreleg over his arm, she closed her eyes and gradually drifted off to sleep.