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The Everfree Forest was still a frightening place, but Rainbow Dash refused to let something as silly as fear stop her from anything that she wanted to do! At this moment, the pony wanted to visit Zecora to see if the zebra had anything that could possibly help her with the small twitch that her wings had developed. After all, how could anypony function when their wings weren't working properly? Rainbow Dash knew that she certainly couldn't! And so, casting aside anything that might frighten her about the forest (though maybe it would have been a good idea to take Fluttershy with her, since the pony seemed to have a way with all of the wild animals?) Rainbow Dash bravely made her way through the darkness of the trees... and only a small part of her was nervous about what might be lurking in the shadows.

It was, perhaps, that small and nervous part of her that caused Rainbow Dash to look into the shadows around her, as opposed to the ground in front of her. When her hooves hit something soft protruding from the ground, her gaze slowly lowered. "Awww, dang it!" With one quick flex of her wings, Rainbow Dash boosted herself into the air so quickly that she nearly hit her head on a branch... but she knew that her movements had not been fast enough... and that she had certainly flown straight through the same Poison Joke that had turned her wings upside down with her last encounter. While she could have simply continued onward to Zecora, Rainbow Dash thought that her best course of action would simply be to head straight back to Ponyville... after all, she had no idea when the plant might take effect, and she certainly didn't want to be crashing into every tree of the Everfree Forest!

With the decision made, and more than just a little ashamed of herself for not looking where she was going, Rainbow Dash made a quick b-line back through the forest... this time, she kept her eyes straight ahead of her instead of worrying about what might be lurking in the shadows.

This day was just turning out to be awful, and Rainbow Dash had a feeling deep in her stomach that it was just going to get worse from here on out.

The sunlight was pouring through the clearing ahead of her, and the rainbow-haired equine felt a small sense of relief seep into the pit of her stomach. She would go and find Twilight Sparkle, tell her what had happened, and hopefully, everything would be okay before the end of the day. Maybe she could even counteract the effects of the Poison Joke before it had time to happen! It would certainly be nice if her wings weren't turned upside down... of all the things in the world that had happened to her, Rainbow Dash could certainly say that the experience of that had truly been one of the things that she disliked the most in her entire life.

As she approached the halo of sunlight, however, Rainbow Dash began to notice something... though she grew closer and closer to the light, she couldn't help but notice that it seemed to be getting so much larger. For that matter, everything around her seemed to be getting larger! What was going on? Had something happened to the Everfree forest that caused the trees to grow?

"I always said this wasn't a natural place. Dang it, I want to get out of here!" Rainbow Dash's exclamation was both a show of her innocence and the fact that she didn't want what was happening to be happening. The back of her mind told her that regardless as to what she thought, the evidence of what was really happening was right in front of her. The forest wasn't magically growing... it wasn't becoming harder and harder to reach her goal of light at the end of the forest...

She was getting smaller!

Rainbow Dash had never thought that the Poison Joke would play more than one trick on anypony, but she was obviously mistaken. After all, she could come up with no other reason as to why she was suddenly shrinking. The bright colored equine just wanted to get home... and to find Twilight Sparkle-she knew that she would be able to help her. The problem was, the smaller that she became, the more that Rainbow Dash was made aware of how hard of a feat such a thing was going to be. Just getting out of the Everfree Forest was suddenly a bigger challenge than she had anticipated! Where manticores had frightened her before... an owl swooping out of the sky and mistaking her for a tasty meal was now at the top of her list of worries.

"Oh, jeeze, just let me get out of here!" Though she was very aware of her surroundings, Rainbow Dash just kept her gaze straight forward, to that ring of golden light that marked the end of the Everfree forest. If she could just make it there...

A growl from behind her alerted to the fact that Rainbow Dash wasn't alone in the Everfree Forest. In fact, from the way that the growl sounded... the pony had a feeling that not only was she not alone, but she was about to become something's dinner. She didn't want to, but for a moment she gaze a glance behind her shoulder... she saw sharp teeth and keen eyes, and that was enough for her. Though she had thought she was going fast before, Rainbow Dash was surprised to see that the Everfree Forest around her was nothing more than a green blur, and that the circled hue of light that had seemed too far away only moments prior was drawing closer at such a rapid pace that she was nearly blinded by the bright beams as they hit her gaze. The growling from behind her had faded away... of course, it could have been something as innocent as a kitten (and it was, for that matter)... it had been frightening to the pony beyond all imagination.

Now that she was out in the sunlight, Rainbow Dash was certain that things were going to be easier... after all, Ponyville wasn't a dangerous place-even if you were a very small pony. She was thinking this very thing as a strong gust of wind picked up and sent her tumbling tail overhead across the clearing. Though Rainbow Dash thought that she was screaming at a rather loud pitch, the shrill little yell was, in all actuality, nothing more than a high pitched buzz whizzing through the air. Just a few yards away, Fluttershy had a moment to wonder what kind of strange but cute animal would make such a noise, but quickly had to get back to tending to her rabbits, lest they go without carrots.

The rainbow equine wasn't sure where she was when the burst of wind finally stopped, more than to realize that an updraft had carried her quite a few dozen (it seemed like hundreds to her) feet above all of Ponyville. It only took her a moment of flapping her wings to catch her balance yet again; though her heart was thundering like mad, Rainbow Dash was going to use this situation to her advantage. She was going to scope out exactly where she needed to go, and she was going to make a dive for Twilight Sparkle's house. Maybe she would even make a tiny sonic rainboom... who knew. She only knew that she wanted to find her friend and fix this situation as soon as she could.

Sharp eyes made quick work of discovering where Twilight Sparkle's home was, and Rainbow Dash didn't waste even a minute-she turned straight into a nose dive and started zooming toward the window in a blur of multi-colored motion. It seemed as though things were going wonderfully... but as her entire day seemed to be going, that quickly changed. She saw a grey and yellow blur for a moment, and heard a loud laugh before she was knocked straight out of the air in mid-dive by someone practically crashing into her.

Losing her balance completely, Rainbow Dash had to take a moment... her wings fluttered, but her head was spinning from impact, and she felt herself spiral down at a gut-wrenching speed. "What a funny colored bird that was!" She heard an exclamation in a voice that she recognized all too well...

Derpy Hooves had knocked her straight out of the air and sent her plummeting to what could most definitely be considered certain death. The wind was too strong, and she was falling too quickly-with her back facing the ground, the force of the air prevented her from spreading her wings in an attempt to catch herself. With her only hope of rescue plastered to her frame, Rainbow Dash had a sinking feeling that she was about to understand exactly what it felt like to jump through the air... if she had no wings.

"Oh, jeeze... oh, jeeze. Hellllp!!!!" She screamed as loud as she could, but she was afraid that her voice was lost in the screaming wind around her. Her descent seemed to take forever, and just as she felt she was approaching the ground, she closed her eyes tight and resigned herself to her fate. It was only a shame that she would never get a chance to tell her friends goodbye one... last....

Lettuce?

An oomph escaped the pony as she landed in a bowl of something very soft. Her eyes opened, and a wave of nausea overtook her.... she had to snap them shut again quickly and try to block out everything that was happening around her for a moment. The fall and the sudden impact, while not fatal, had still shaken the poor pony to her very bones. Rainbow Dash wasn't sure what was going on, or where she was. If this was the Pony Afterlife she was very confused as to why it smelled like lettuce... but... that made no sense.

Slowly, she opened her eyes. Though colors streamed in a bright swirl, they slowly settled down so that she could make sense of what was going on. Somehow, she had landed... in a sandwich.

What in the world? What kind of luck this was! All she had to do now was get up and continue on her trip. She gave a small grin-no one was going to knock Rainbow Dash out of the skies! As she began to pick herself up, the light from above her was suddenly blocked out as a familiar voice rang through the air. "It's such a nice day out... I'm glad we went out to get some lunch, Spike."

"Yeah, Twilight Sparkle, me too!"

That voice! It was the voice that belonged to the pony that she was looking for. Rainbow Dash took a deep breath to yell at her friend for help... but the sound of her words was muffled as a large slice of bread fell on top of her. The pony was once more flattened down, and the rest of what Spike and her friend had said suddenly began to make sense.

Lunch? Lettuce?

Oh, no! The bread atop her, the lettuce beneath! Rainbow Dash suddenly knew exactly what was going on, and she was terrified! She was going to be someone's lunch if she didn't hurry up and find a way out of this mess! Her wings attempted to flap, and yet again they were stuck against her frame by the weight of the bread atop her. This seriously wasn't looking good... how long did she have until Twilight Sparkle decided that she was too hungry to wait anymore? Rainbow Dash didn't even want to think about it!

It turned out that she didn't have to think on it at all-she felt the sandwich that had become her prison being lifted up, and a loud crunching sound sent the pony's heart racing, and for a moment had her believing that she had been rendered in half. However, as a burst of sunlight poured into her face, she realized that she had been one bite away from death... Twilight Sparkle hadn't gotten to her yet!

"Twilight! Twilight Sparkle! Hey! Look down here!" Her tiny voice rang out shrill and frightened, but at the same moment that she spoke, Spike let out a rather loud laugh and began to speak to the purple-hued equine, pulling her attention from the small yells that Rainbow Dash was giving. Obviously, she was going to have to do something else to get Twilight's attention... and as the unicorn in front of her swallowed her previous bite, Rainbow Dash came to the decision that she was going to have to do something fast!

"Twilight, please!" As she yelled again, Rainbow Dash tried wriggling her way from beneath the slices of bread. Though she couldn't be certain, she thought that her frame was giving an inch here and there. She just had to hurry! The sandwich was being lifted again already, and her eyes closed tight yet again. She squirmed and wriggled with all her might... and another loud crunching sound came and went -- for the moment, she was safe.

"Twilight, don't do this! Pay attention! You've learned so many things, why haven't you learned to do that!" Rainbow Dash was getting desperate now. She didn't know where the next bite would fall, or if she was going to get another chance. The multi-colored equine gave up on yelling... her friends were laughing and speaking far too loud for them to ever hear her. Instead, she put all of her strength and focus into wriggling out of the sandwich... she had to do it! She could worry about getting Twilight Sparkle's attention after she was finished. She watched anxiously as her friend finished the bite that she had just taken, and knew that it was now or never! She had to move... she had to try! She had to fly!

She wriggled and writhed back and forth, and watched as the sandwich was lifted slowly into the air. Yet again, she closed her eyes tight, putting all of her concentration into moving forward... she could feel herself moving towards Twilight's mouth, but she could also feel herself sliding forward...

Forward...

Forward!

In a sudden burst of energy, she spilled out from the sandwich, flying forward! The twitch that had plagued her earlier acted up, sending her spiraling a little lower than she had intended.. but it didn't matter! She was free! Rainbow Dash opened her eyes in triumph... and immediately felt herself crashing against something soft and wet. A loud sound like a cough was heard, and Rainbow Dash realized with fear creeping up into her stomach that she had escaped the sandwich... but she was too late. The crunching sound once more spilled through the air, only this time it echoed through Twilight Sparkle's mouth. Rainbow Dash had hit the back of her throat with the energy of her escape!

She moved forward, dodging bread and sandwich alike, and stared in fear at the opening and closing motion of Twilight Sparkle's teeth. She could do nothing... she was trapped! The pony chewed politely and with her mouth closed, so she couldn't even try to fly between her teeth to escape! What was she going to do!

The tongue beneath her suddenly lifted up, pressing to the roof of Twilight's mouth and forcing Rainbow Dash to fly backward, but she was quickly being chased by saliva drenched, food that had been ground down by her friend's chomping teeth. Though Rainbow Dash tried to speed out of the way, there just wasn't enough room in the cavern of Twilight's mouth, and the chewed food moved up, rolling over the pony like some kind of avalanche, until she was stuck and encompassed in it yet again.

Giving one loud, long scream of fear and terror, Rainbow Dash felt as Twilight Sparkle gave a final swallow, the ball of food that she was stuck inside of slid down the pony's throat and to her stomach.

---

"Excuse me!" Twilight Sparkle gave a little hiccup, wondering where the piercing, shrill sound that had played in her head for a moment had come from. First, she had nearly choked on her food as it had hit the back of her throat, and then she was hearing this. "What a strange day this is turning out to be!"

Spike simply gave a grin, chuckling, "Or maybe you just ate your food too fast! What's the rush?"

"Well, I haven't heard from Rainbow Dash today... I know she was going to see Zecora." Twilight Sparkle gave a small, sheepish grin. Though she was now used to having her friends, it was still strange to her sometimes how worry popped out of nowhere. It was illogical that she was feeling it for no reason. And logic, of course, always prevailed. She shook her head, shrugging as she tossed the wrapped to her sandwich in the trash. "It's nothing. I'm sure she'll turn up." Smiling, she began to trot back to her home with Spike, dismissing the feeling in her gut that something was wrong...

"I'm sure she will, no need to worry. We'll find her later!" Spike nodded, reassuring his friend. The little dragon had no idea how right he was. Rainbow Dash would indeed be found later... but it wasn't going to be in a way that anypony would expect.