He continued observing until the morning rush hour burned itself out. Most of the faces he could see had become familiar, but he only really knew six of them. As the streets cleared, the amount of ponies to keep track of shrank, and he turned his attention towards a small cottage on the outskirts of town on the edge of the Everfree Forest. In the yard was a yellow mare and several small animals; rabbits, ferrets, raccoons and several birds danced around her in the grass and the crisp clean morning air.

Fluttershy was spreading a checkered picnic blanket on the grass. Clyde smiled; she was still wearing the rose behind her ear.

The food she had laid out was bountiful, much more than she and her animals could finish, leading him to assume she was expecting company. Sure enough, less than half an hour later, the first of her guests came bouncing up the road, brandishing a basket filled with freshly baked cupcakes. She was followed closely by the other four in their group, each carrying baskets of snacks or goodies.

When the friends met, their pure happiness and innocence gave Clyde a sense of content, and he watched as they hugged and greeted each other, and then sat down on the blanket to start their picnic. The animals still encircled them, some running about and playing, others begging for food. Clyde could see that the mares were happily oblivious to everything around them though, and the animals went without tasting apple pie or cupcakes, which didn’t sit well with one of the rabbits.

Clyde watched as the white bunny jumped up and down, trying to get his caretaker’s attention so as to commandeer a slice of pie. He found the rabbit’s unsuccessful pleas entertaining, and he smiled a bit. He heard Fluttershy reprimand him in a motherly voice, saying that he had already had enough sweets for the day.

Suddenly, the rabbit looked to the woods, perked up, and thumped his foot against the ground loudly. The other animals scurried away from the yard and darted for the cottage, while the rabbit began tugging on Fluttershy’s tail. Clyde was at first perplexed by the animals’ behavior, but then he saw a slight movement in the trees. His eyes widened as he gasped and bolted from his perch on the mountaintop, flying as fast as he could go to the cottage.

“Angel, stop. You’re hurting my tail,” said Fluttershy giggling a bit.

The rabbit continued to tug, but to no avail. He tried jumping up and down, pointing, anything, but being unable to speak, his owner remained blind to what he saw.

“Is he tryin’ to tell us somethin’?” asked Applejack.

“What is it Angel?” asked Twilight, coming closer to the rabbit.

As she approached the rabbit, he jumped up, and a terrified squeak escaped him as he ran for cover. The mares watched him run into some shrubbery, confused.

Then they heard it; a roar like thunder echoing through the thin morning air and rebounding across the countryside.

They spun around to face an enormous male manticore, standing poised at the tree line. The winged lion faced them, his lips drawn back in a snarl, revealing perfectly white, dagger-like teeth. The tom began to approach them, growling in a deep guttural rumble, which grew louder as he drew nearer.

The six huddled together, not sure what to do. Fluttershy began trying to coach her friends in dealing with dangerous animals, which she was at least somewhat accustomed to, more so than the others.

“Don’t look him in the eye,” she whispered, her voice quivering, “Just back away slowly.”

Most listened to her advice, but Dash ignored it. As the beast approached, his scorpion’s tail flicking from side to side menacingly, she stepped in front of her friends defiantly.

“What are ya doin’?” hissed Applejack.

The monster roared, a deafening bellow that made their ears ring and their thoughts blur. Dash, though weakly, roared back, shouting as loud as she could at the winged hybrid.

“What are you doing?” scolded Fluttershy, “He’s already upset, don’t make him angrier. Let me try.”

She stepped forward and began talking to the beast. As she drew a bit nearer, she realized his ribs were showing; the manticore was famished, and they were close to being his much needed meal.

The beast made a jab step in her direction, and began to bore down on her.

“Stop!” she yelled in a vain attempt to dissuade the feline’s approach.

When he showed no signs of stopping and only increased the volume of his snarling, Rainbow Dash aggressively darted past Fluttershy with her head lowered, letting out a high pitched battle cry, but the manticore only raised his paw.

With a swift backhand, he sent the blue pegasus flying back, skidding to a stop a few feet in front of the others. She choked for air and held her stomach as she looked up from the ground; the lion spread its wings to their full length, drew back his lips, and charged, huffing and growling in anticipation of a kill, and Fluttershy screamed.

Unable to get to her feet quick enough, Dash shielded herself, letting a faint gasp escape her lungs, and anticipated the pain.

Surprisingly, she wasn’t torn apart in a fury of claws and teeth. Rather, she heard a sound like a strong wind, followed by a dull thud and a soft whimper.

She looked up and saw Clyde standing between the manticore and herself. The beast was sprawled out about ten yards from her, and she could see the marks in the grass where he had slid after Clyde rammed him.

As the monster flailed on the ground, Clyde, without breaking eye contact with his foe, asked sternly, “Are you okay?”

Dash responded weakly, “Yeah. I just got the wind knocked outta me.”

The manticore regained its footing, and was now pacing in front of the grey stallion in a semi-circle, snarling and growling, but not daring to come any closer. Clyde danced back and forth with the beast, keeping himself in between the predator and his prey.

Clyde’s authoritative voice began giving orders; he bore no resemblance to the kind, gentle stallion from the night before.

“You need to get out of here. Carry Dash with you. I’ll hold him o…”

The lion charged, cutting him short. He swung his massive paws at Clyde, who dodged blow after blow, slowly retreating, trying to draw the beast away from the six.

Applejack was just beginning to pick up Dash while the others were starting to retreat, unwilling to leave either of their friends behind.

Clyde avoided swipes and lounges, the beast’s teeth snapping together too close to his face for comfort. He had drawn the manticore away from the mares, and briefly lost focus on his opponent as he checked their status. Before he could make out anything, he felt a sudden force in his chest, and a painful grunt intermixed with the snarls and growls of the manticore.

Fluttershy, who had seen the beast’s claws connect with Clyde’s chest, yelped.

“Clyde!”

“Go!” he shouted frantically as he jumped into the air, hovering a dozen or so feet off the ground to make distance between the creature and himself, “Go, I’ll be f-ugh!”

His words were cut short by a sudden constriction around his throat. The manticore had lashed out with its tail like a whip, coiled it around his neck and hurled him to the ground. Clyde hit with a crash, kicking up a spray of dirt and grass as he landed and slid to a gradual stop.

The manticore turned to see the mares escaping down the road towards town, so it went for the nearest prey. Clyde rolled, the beasts razor-like talons digging into the earth next to his skull. He quickly regained his balance, and countered with a swift kick when the beast lounged for him again.

His hoof connected with the feline’s skull, knocking it back a few feet. Clyde followed with a second kick, this one with both hind legs. As he bucked the lion’s ribs, he heard a loud *crack*. The manticore staggered back and fell, gasping for air. The beast, still on the ground, snapped its head towards Clyde, and hissed.

Clyde challenged back, yelling, “Come On! Try and kill me!”

The beast charged, as did Clyde. They clashed in the middle of the cottage’s yard. Clyde, with a lower center of gravity, was able to throw the lion over his shoulder. When he landed, Clyde pounced on the creature’s back; the tables had turned.

The beast regained its balance with the obsidian warrior holding onto its mane, glaring in concentration. The manticore bucked like a bull, but Clyde’s grip was strong. He grabbed the lion’s head, and was preparing to twist when he felt a sharp prod in his flank. Without releasing his grip, he let out a shallow breath, almost a sigh, as he felt the hybrid’s stinger retract from his flesh.

He swiftly twisted and pulled, hearing a snap from within the lion’s neck; he felt the body of his foe go limp, and the growling ceased. He rode the fresh carcass to the ground as it fell, stepping off of it when it came to a permanent rest. Then, he felt his own legs buckle, and he crumpled to the ground, and the whole world faded to black.

Rainbow Dash, still on Applejack’s back, heard the halt of the manticore’s bellows, and knew the fight was over.

“We have to go back!” she yelled.

Her friends continued running down the road, either not having heard or ignoring her.

“We HAVE to go back!” she said again.

“We can’t. You’re hurt, and Clyde told us to run,” countered Rarity.

“I’m fine!” she shouted, rolling off of Applejack’s back and onto the dusty street.

When she regained her feet, she continued, “Besides, he’s our friend; we can’t leave him behind like this!”

“I gotta side with Dash on this one,” explained Applejack as she reversed her course.

Before another second passed, the pair was galloping back up the road. The other four promptly followed.

Applejack reached the cottage first, (Rainbow Dash was still recovering, slowing her down) and she quickly made her way to the lawn. Two bodies lay in a heap in the grass. She galloped to them; the manticore was dead, and Clyde wasn’t far behind.

His chest was laid open, flaps of skin hanging down in three ragged strips; no doubt the work of the beast’s jagged claws. His head and neck had multiple smaller cuts, and his face had several red streaks running down across his forehead. He lay on his side, exposing another wound; an extremely small hole in his flank, just above the shield in his cutie mark.

The once green grass he laid in was stained red, and his body was motionless apart from the weak flexion of his ribs. The others reached her as she checked his neck for a pulse.

As Applejack began to pick him up, Fluttershy, through frantic sobs, asked, “Is he…dead?”

“Not yet,” replied Applejack, shifting his bulk onto her shoulders, “But he will be if we don’t get help. One of ya’ll better get to the doctor and fast. Tell ‘em we’ll need anti-venom; looks like he got stung.”

Pinkie Pie raced to the hospital in a colorful blur, while the others positioned themselves under Clyde’s massive chest cavity, his hind legs dragging behind them. Even together they struggled to support his weight, but regardless, they began to carry him down the road towards the hospital.

They had only gone about a quarter mile, but the mares were exhausted from toting the stallion’s massive body along the road. His blood was leaving a trail on the cobblestone, and some of it had dripped onto their backs, staining their once beautiful coats dark red.

Finally, they saw Pinkie coming back down the road with three stallions in tow, pulling a white wagon embroidered with a red cross. When they reached the mares, the stallions loaded Clyde into the back of the ambulance on a stretcher.

One of them, the youngest by the looks of him, uttered, “Dear Celestia. What happened to this guy?”

“A manticore,” replied Twilight between exasperated gasps.

The oldest of the medics looked down on his bleeding body with a haggard expression, and confirmed the existence of a pulse.

“He’s lucky to still be alive. Should be dead.”

The stallions shut the coach’s rear door, hitched up, and took off for the hospital with the six following closely behind.

Author's Notes:

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