You're welcome. Hey, I have an inquiry to make.
In "Bird on a Hoof", do you think Celestia knew that Fluttershy was going to birdnap Philomena and then sat back and watched the chaos unfold for the fun of it? DO you think she's cruel enough to pull something like that?

Eh, they don't cal her "Trollestia" for nothin'.

[Note, for added dramatic effect, read this chapter while listening to the following:

Triumph or Agony by Rhapsody of Fire

Enjoy!]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


"Hurry! Get everyone away from the trees!!"

"We must head upwind of the fires! That way!"

"Three-boulder Pass has collapsed!"

"Keep away from the opening!! Sharpteeth could come through any second!"


Threehorn and Grandpa Longneck's commanding voices rang out above the cacophony overthrowing the Valley. Standing either end of the opening in the Great Wall, along with Mr. Clubtail, Thicknose and Hyp's father, they shouted out orders to the panicking dinosaurs around them.

"It's not safe here! Get your families together and move it!" Topsy shouted to a nearby herd of Spiketails. They promptly hurried about, gathering whoever they could find, and heading to higher ground.

"Topsy, we need to go, now!"

Tria galloped to Topsy's side, Tricia perched on her neck, with Cera by her side. She had regained consciousness, but was still injured, and too groggy to walk.

Topsy shook his head "You girls go ahead! I still have to stay here, the other herds need me!"

Tricia looked as if she was going to argue, but she knew there was no use. He was stubborn and unmovable on a good day! Plus, she needed to get Cera somewhere safe to recover.
Nodding, she called a quick "Hold on!" to the two threehorn girls on her back, and took off at a dogtrot in the direction all the other dinosaurs were heading, towards the higher ledges on the Great Wall.

The old threehorn watched his family go, silently begging that they would be safe. He also made a mental note to personally dismember whoever or whatever had attacked Cera.

"I think that's everyone in this area!" Grandpa Longneck called, as he approached Topsy "What now then, old friend?"

But before he could answer, there came a mighty roar from not far away. Savage and feral, it sounded like nothing either of the old dinosaurs had ever heard inside the Great Valley before.

"Sharpteeth?! But how...?"

"I know... you and I have been guarding the opening, and nothing's gotten through... You don't think there could be another opening?!"

Longneck shook his head "Couldn't be. We'd have seen it or heard it by now!"

Any further thought was cut short as the ground began to shake underfoot. A disturbance in the nearby trees caught their attention, and the source of the noise emerged.

Sprinting full pelt out of the trees there emerged a strange dinosaur, the likes of which neither dinosaur had ever seen. Not very large, it appeared to have a similar body to a belly-dragger, but its head was very different, similar in design to a regular sharptooth, with a double-line of spikes going down its back. On its back, a smaller dinosaur was perched, not much bigger than Ducky, but with a much sleeker build, and a sharper face. Definitely a fast-biter of some kind, and a female.
The pair both had a strange sort of black grass covering their bodies, tied around their necks, wrapped around their limbs. The pair skidded to a halt as they breached into the clearing, glancing around furtively. But a second fearsome roar from behind them sent them running through the clearing and back into the trees on the other side.

Littlefoot held on as best he could to Redback's neck. The sinews and muscles pulsed under the sharptooth's skin as he moved, fatigue and injury meaning nothing to him.

As they breached the trees, they found themselves by the opening in the Great Wall. A group of dinosaurs were gathered nearby the opening, apparently keeping guard, but at the speed they were moving, Littlefoot couldn't tell who they were.

Redback paused for a moment and sniffed the air. Through the dust and smoke, the odour of the Blackweeds was unmistakable. Baring his teeth in a snarl, he took off again after Celya and Rheddo.

As the pair hurried past the opening, Littlefoot looked back at the opening and his eyes widened as he spotted among the dinosaurs, his grandfather. He felt his eyes meet Grandpa's, before they passed the opening by, entering the trees again.


The group of older dinosaurs stood rooted to the spot, shocked by what they had just seen. First those two young sharpteeth who had somehow gotten into the Valley, and then that... that monster!

"...The heck was that?!"

"How did those sharpteeth get in here?! You said yourself, we've been guarding the opening!"

"What if there's more of them?!"

Grandpa Longneck, however, took off after them without a word.

"What are you doing, Longneck!" Topsy called after him.

The old longneck looked back as he trotted as fast as he could "Didn't you see? My Littlefoot was on the back of that sharptooth! Something's up with those ones!"

Topsy hurried after his old friend. A sudden thought set him in motion: What if these sharpteeth had something to do with Cera?!

"You three stay here and guard the opening!" He called back to the remaining dinosaurs by the entrance, running faster to catch up to Longneck.

The three remaining dinosaurs watched in puzzlement as Threehorn and Longneck trotted off after the sharptooth. Not one of them noticed the cloud of dust, rising in the distance behind them...


Rheddo skidded to a halt as they exited the grove of trees.

"We gotta lose 'em." Celya shouted at him "That crazy sharptooth looked like he'd lost it!"

"Ya mean more than usual?" Rheddo replied. He lowered his voice as he asked "Ya don't think it's the Redwrath again?"

"Looked like it. You couldn't have seen, but I got a good look at his face... Definitely Redwrath."

Rheddo scurried to the other side of the grove, to gain a little more distance "Huh, haven't heard of that for a while. No chance we'll lose him if he's under the Wrath."

"We gotta finish him for good. Then we can meet up with Tero and enjoy the show from his spot."

"Right, I can see it from here; it should be quick enough to get there" He pointed to a ledge on the Great Wall just on the other side of the trees. "You got a plan then?" Rheddo lowered his head, letting the fast-biter slide off his back.

"How about this," Celya began "You stay here and keep him busy, meanwhile I'll..."

But her words were cut short as a boulder the size of a threehorn's head came sailing through the air, slamming into Celya like a cannonball. She was sent reeling a few feet, until she became sandwiched between the rock and a nearby tree trunk. She slid down the trunk like a broken doll and lay still.

Rheddo turned in horror as he saw Redback stampeding into the grove, a second boulder in hand.

"YOU'RE NEXT!!" Roared the sharptooth as he hurled the rock at Rheddo.

The belly dragger dodged out of the way, catching the rock on the tip of his tail. He shrieked in pain, but fell silent as he saw the expression on Redback's face.

His eyes, once shining and a delicate shade of red, almost pink, had glazed over in a dull, solid crimson. No emotion showed in his eyes save raw, uninhibited rage. His teeth were bared in a permanent snarl, dripping saliva, hungry for battle.

No question about it. The Redwrath has overcome him, Rheddo thought as he prepared to charge.

"Redback!"

Littlefoot staggered into the grove, slightly bruised and battered. Redback's bucking body had become increasingly difficult to hold onto, until finally Littlefoot lost any grip and dropped off. He tumbled along on the ground a few feet and stopped.
But the sharptooth had just kept running. He had not stopped for his friend, he didn't even seem to notice! He just kept following Rheddo and Celya.
As Littlefoot entered the grove, he saw in shock the limp body of Celya, her body broken by the boulder. He was astounded by the size of the rock itself; even for a sharptooth of Redback's size, it would be nearly impossible to throw it that far!

"STAY BACK, LITTLEFOOT!" Growled Redback as he heard the longneck's voice.

"But Redback, we have to keep going... The longer we..."

"I SAID STAY BACK!"

Redback turned his head to face Littlefoot. The expression on his face froze the young dinosaur on the spot. What had come over him? What had happened to his eyes?

Redback squinted through the red mist that clouded his mind and vision. He saw Rheddo, pacing like a cornered animal, poised to strike. Why was he holding his ground here? What was he defending?
He looked beyond the belly-dragger and above the treeline. There he saw him.

Just visible through his clouded vision, the unmistakably skinny, gaunt form of Tero was standing on that ledge, viewing the carnage from the perfect vantage point.

Redback had little time to muse on such a matter though, as Rheddo charged headlong into his stomach, knocking the wind clean out of him.
The pair fell to the ground, claws slashing, teeth gnashing. Rheddo wrapped his thin body around Redback, biting his arm clean through to the bone.
Redback roared in pain and anger, pummeling Rheddo in the head with his free arm.
The fighters broke apart, Rheddo reeling from the barrage of punches. Getting to his feet, he bared a clawed hand, lunging forth at Redback once! Twice!

Redback grabbed the belly-dragger by the neck, kicking out with a clawed foot, scoring three deep gashes into his opponent's leg.

Rheddo screeched again in pain, biting down as hard as he could on Redback's arm again. But no matter what kind of wound he inflicted, it was as if nothing was sinking in! He was shaking off the worst of wounds as if they were nothing!

But his musings were cut short as Redback's massive jaws closed around his head. A sickening crunch was the last thing the belly-dragger heard before darkness fell.

Throwing away the headless body of Rheddo, Redback spat out the severed head and turned, panting, to look at Littlefoot.

The longneck had never seen such a terrifying sight. He had watched fights between dinosaurs before, but nothing as brutal and bloody as this! Most times, the victor would be content with a retreat, or fending off their enemy, but this was a no-holes-barred fight to the death!

"R...Redback...?"

The sharptooth turned on the terrified young longneck, teeth bared, blood dripping from his chops.

"Redback! It's me!! It's Littlefoot!!" He cried, backing away.

Redback stopped. Shaking his head, he rubbed his eyes as if awakening from a long sleep. The red tinge of his eyes retreated back, clearing his vision.

"Uhhh...Oh, Littlefoot...erm..."

"What was that, Redback?!" Littlefoot asked, shocked over the sudden change in his friend "Your eyes went all cloudy and red, you went all crazy..."

"I'm, uh, sorry you had to see that..." Redback said, wringing his hands bashfully "Y'see, whenever I get particularly angry, or get into a fight or somethin'... Well, I kinda change, like you saw. I can barely control what I do, and my vision all goes red... Me and the Brotherhood called it my RedWrath... But it hasn't happened for a long time..."

Littlefoot nodded, becoming very nervous.

"Littlefoot, I have to warn ya. If you ever see me go like that again... do yourself a favour: get behind me and fast."

He nodded again "A-are you okay now, then?"

Redback smiled "Yeah, I'm fine now... Now, if you'll excuse me, I have something I gotta do..."

He breathed deeply and headed in the direction of the Great Wall and the ledge. Littlefoot watched as he went.

"Erm, Redback... What about my friends?"

"Look, Littlefoot..." Redback called back in a serious tone "I know that for you, finding your friends will be top priority. But right now, all I want to do is find Tero and make him suffer."

Littlefoot gulped "But how will I find my friends in all this chaos? They could be anywhere in the Valley!"

"The little sharptooth, the threehorn and the swimmer are all with their families. When I was on that ledge, I saw their parents find them and take them upwind of the fires. They're probably fine.
As for the others, I'll bet Tero's got them up on that ledge with him. Hostages or somethin', you know."

"Well...then I'm going with you!" Littlefoot said, stamping a foot down.

"It'll be dangerous, Littlefoot. You dunno what Tero's like in a pinch..."

But the longneck was adamant "I don't care! If that's where my friends are, I'm going up there to get them!"

A dangerous grin grew on Redback's face "Alright then. Hop on and we'll go up there together."

Littlefoot clambered onto Redback's neck once again, and the pair took off in the direction of the ledge.

Littlefoot looked back and saw that just as they had passed out of the grove, the pursuing adults had entered.
The old pair skidded to a halt as Grandpa Longneck saw the carnage that had occurred.

"Good heavens!" was all he could say, so shocked was he. Mr Threehorn stood by his side, his face visibly pale.

"What d'you suppose happened here?" the threehorn asked.

Redback grinned at the little sharptooth "Heh, climb aboard, ya glutton."

He looked up at the sky, noting how low the bright circle had become "Yeah, lets wrap things up here quickly and get back to Pterano and the others. Hey Tero, do us a favour, fly up and see where they've gone, huh?"

Tero rolled his eyes and spread his wings. fluttering up about a hundred feet, he could see for miles, and could see the movements of any creature around. No sharpteeth in sight for now, and Pterano and the others were less than a mile away.

He pointed with his beak in the direction to go, and Redback gave a thumbs(claws?)-up in response.

Tero wouldn't budge. He knew that Redback was still under the influence of Redwrath, so he wasn't really thinking straight. Let loose, he could do some damage.

Redback snarled again. He knew it was his friend trying to stop him, but he wouldn't be stopped. "One last chance Tero! I'm going after them and you can't stop me!"

But Tero was adamant. He stood his ground, wings held wide.

"Fine."

In a single, fluid motion, Redback strode towards his friend, grabbed his by the wing, and threw him against the cave side. The entrance clear, he headed down to the Valley floor at top speed, eager to be in the chase again.

Redback opened his eyes as the roaring stopped. It had been such a fierce roar, it had practically knocked him out! He blinked a few times, but the red tinge that enveloped his vision wouldn't go away. The only thing that he could see through the red was the opening of the cave, and the three sharpteeth running away.

Still not finished!

The sharptooth got up and ran straight for the outside. At that same time, Tero was coming back into the cave from his perch outside, and entered just in time to apprehend his friend.

Redback snarled at Tero, as he skidded to a halt. Tero spread his wings wide across the entrance.

"Move it or lose it, Tero!" Redback growled menacingly.

Quote from: Malte279,Aug 15 2011 on  02:39 PM

Just returned from the trip to Stockholm with Gustav and Jason (and a very good time we had). Thanks to everyone who voted for me, but please let fimoman be the winner and the prize go to him

If that is what you wish, I shall make it possible.

D'aww, rly? Thanks Malte. And thanks to the people who voted for me.

Well, I'll be out of the RP loop for another week, I'm afraid. Vonboy, if you want, you can take over Redback and Tero again.

Redback put his snout to the air, and sniffed a few times "Hm...Nope, nothin' yet. We're clear of other sharpteeth too."

With his snout in the air, he was the first to spot a moving speck on the horizon. As it grew larger, he saw it was Tero.

The flyer fluttered down and landed by his side.

"Well, nice of ya to join us, Tero. And where have you been?"

The flyer said nothing, just walking alongside the sharptooth. Redback sneered "Pff, have it your way. We're just on our way to find somethin' for Chomper to eat."

He turned to Littlefoot "I think we should head... Geez, Littlefoot, you feeling alright? You look pretty frazzled."

^Ok....you guys are starting to take this a little too seriously.  :blink:

You honestly think we're taking this seriously?

Redback lowered his head in shame. Nowhere to hide now. His voice quavered as he fought back the tears.

"I mean exactly what I said. This whole th-thing... The Blackweed B-Brotherhood, the fires, the rockslides... I devised it all..."

Littlefoot was once again frozen with shock.

"You see, Littlefoot... I haven't exactly been honest with y-you about the Brotherhood..."

He sniffed and turned to face the Valley, hanging his legs over the side of the cliff, watching the harsh glow of the fires springing up everywhere.

"Truth is, we're all just a big fraud. Sharpteeth don't fear our name...they don't even know it..."

Littlefoot ventured closer "B-but...All those stories you told... The fast biter pack... The Black Mountain Monster..."

"All lies!" Redback cried "We made them all up. We never fought off a herd of fast-biters, no-one could! The Blackweeds aren’t some sort of warrior clan, or a secret society or anything… We’re nothin’ but a gang of bored teenagers."

"…But why?" Littlefoot asked "Why'd you tell us all these stories? Were you just trying to impress us?"

The sharptooth nodded "Pretty much... We…We wanted to impress you guys so you'd trust us... It was all part of our plan..."

He buried his head in his claws once more. Littlefoot was unsure how to react. Had Redback ever been honest with him? Was he even being honest right now? He sat down at his side, the heat from the blaze below warming his face.

"What plan?"

Redback raised his head again, took a deep intake of breath and turned to face Littlefoot. The longneck gulped at the expression in his eyes.

"Our plan, the Blackweed's plan, right from the start. We wanted to get inside the Great Valley, get close to the inhabitants... It's the same every time.
We find someone in the area willing to trust us, to take us in. We use them to get to know the area better, and then..."

He gulped, tears welling in his eyes, before continuing.

"...And then, we destroy the place!"

The tears overflowed in the sharptooth's eyes, as Littlefoot looked on in horror. Had he been used this whole time?

"D-destroy the place?... But why?" Littlefoot asked fearfully "What do you get out of destroying these places?"


"Fun."


The longneck's stomach overturned, as he blanched in horror. "...Fun?"

Redback nodded "Yep... It's just a pastime for us..." He turned his head in shame. He could never face Littlefoot again "Pretty sickening, huh?"

A brief moment of silence passed between the pair, save for the screams and roars from below them, and the crackling of burning trees and the rumble of rockslides.

"How can you...?" Littlefoot ventured, but was cut off by Redback.

"Well, I don’t!…A-at least, not anymore... I-I guess I let the other pressure me into going through with it.”

"They pressure you?!" Littlefoot was forced to grin slightly at the thought of this. Redback was the biggest of the Blackweed Brotherhood! He’s the leader! How could the others pressure him?!

But Redback was serious "Yep...Especially Tero. He scares me... He's the only one of them who doesn't seem to enjoy...this." He waved a clawed hand over the view of the Valley.

"But he still does it. It's not like he's pressured to or anything, he doesn’t find it fun, he doesn’t even show any emotion. He just sort of… does it, for the sake of doing it... Of all the creatures in all the places I’ve been, nobody scared me more than him. He’s just never been the same since his accident with the fast-biter.”

"But I thought you said..."

"No" Redback replied "No, that part was true. He really did lose his leg and his voice to a fast biter. But we never finished it off, we never even fought it! We just picked him up and ran... Like we always do.
Hrrmmm... I've seen terrible things done by this plan... And done them myself, too..."

He shuddered as his memory cast back to the last few times he had initiated this plan. Smiling as he and his Brotherhood burned down forests and plains. Cheering as he watched rockslides consume homes, and their inhabitants.

Laughing as he squeezed the life out of a young longneck, not much older than Littlefoot, before throwing her limp, lifeless body into a firepit. Lifeless, or so he had thought. The scream, and the stench of her burning flesh were fresh in his senses, as if happening right before him.

As Redback shrunk back in fear as his crimes and atrocities flashed before his eyes, Littlefoot was becoming more and more afraid of being around Redback. It was like he was a completely different person.

But before he had a chance to move away, Redback a firm hand on Littlefoot's back, pinning him in place. The longneck tried to wriggle out of it, but He froze in fear as Redback lowered his face to his, so that they were almost snout to snout.

"But Littlefoot, trust me when I say this... And this is the honest to the Bright Circle truth... I never wanted this to happen here. And you know why?"

Littlefoot shook his head, too afraid to speak.

"Because you were here."

The words took a moment to sink in for Littlefoot, but when they did, he still did not understand.

"What do you mean? What do I have to do with this all?"

Redback's teary-eyed gaze suddenly broke into a gentle, serene smile "It was you who showed me what it was really like to live here. You showed me these other dinosaurs, living together, sleeping together... A place where different species can live together in peace. After that night when you showed me the Valley, I could never destroy such a place. Before, I’ve never had much of a chance to see how the dinosaurs live in their homes before we destroy it.

"But that's not all... You showed me kindness. You took me in, treated me like a guest in your Valley, treated me well. Truth is, you're the first real friend I've ever had."

Littlefoot was not prepared for what happened next. The hand holding him in his place suddenly pushed him towards Redback, who wrapped his arms around him in a gentle embrace.

"I couldn't stand a world without you, Littlefoot. I couldn't go on with the plan if it meant putting you in harm's way! You mean...too much to me..."

"R-Redback..."

Littlefoot could feel the warmth of Redback's body wrapping him in a caring hug. He could also feel the gigantic sharptooth quivering. This massive monster, shaking like a leaf. He was upset. He was afraid. It was too much to bear.

Tears welling up in his eyes as well, Littlefoot placed a comforting paw on Redback's arm, hugging back as best a quadruped could. Littlefoot had grown equally close to Redback in the time they spent together, regarding him as a friend, a brother... but it was a surprise to find the feeling was mutual.

"But you're their leader. Can't you just...tell them to stop?" Littlefoot asked gently.

Redback shook his head "Not a chance. Once they get started, they'll never stop until they finish the job.
I'm sorry, Littlefoot. So, so sorry. But there's nothing we can do..."

His voice broke into gentle sobbing. Littlefoot felt like crying now as well, but he was all cried out already. He was all out of tears, so he settled for a dry sobbing.

The pair sat there on the ledge, weeping together in eachother's arms, as the Valley burned below them. The fires had spread through much of the Tall Trees, the groves around the fast water, the pools. The only area untouched was the patch of trees near the Thundering Falls, which remained damp and unburnt from the spray.

"Yes there is."

Redback opened his eyes "Pardon?"

"I said there is something we can do." Littlefoot replied, standing up. Determination burned in his eyes as his face became grim and certain. "My friends are still down there.  My family too. I'm not going to abandon them like this. Not while I have strength left."

Littlefoot grasped his blackweeds in his teeth. With a sudden stretch, he tore the grass from his neck in one go. Spitting them to the ground, he headed towards the stone walkway that led from the ridge, back down to the ground. He turned back to Redback.

“C’mon Redback. I’ll need your help if I’m gonna stop this. You know how these guys work. You said yourself, it was your idea. Lead the way… Brother.”

Redback stood up. Even after all this, even after confessing that destroying the Valley was his idea, Littlefoot was still willing to give him a chance! He nodded, a grim smile forming on his face.

“Alright” He said, with a hint of a growl “Climb aboard. It’s time to end this.”
Littlefoot clambered to his usual spot, clinging to Redback’s neck and sitting just before his sail. He held on tight as Redback started walking.

His walking sped up into a trot.

His trot turned into a gallop.

His gallop turned into a sprint.

Suddenly, Redback raised his head, letting forth a massive, fearful roar!

“YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAARRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!”

He sped down the ridge, past rockslides, past fires, towards the gap in the Great Wall. Determination in his heart and fury in his veins.

The battle to save the Valley had begun.