You never forget that magic moment · 6:04pm Apr 22nd, 2017
When you meet your very best friend in the whole wide world for the first time.
He didn’t mean to be scared, he didn’t want to be rude, but something about her slow, predatory gait was terrifying. Sumac wiggled a bit and pressed himself against Maud, thankful for her presence, and he tried to control is breathing. Manticores were dangerous, devious monsters, and most of his foalhood had been spent fearing what every foal feared; manticores.
“Remember, Meg, no pouncing. He’s fragile. If you have to pounce something, you pounce me,” Pebble deadpanned.
Before Megara could reach Sumac, there was a trumpeting blast from Boomer, and then the little dragon lept down onto the floor, putting herself between Sumac and Megara. Boomer inflated, doing her best chuckwalla impression, and all of her spines and frills stood out. Megara paused mid-step, then crouched low, her tail swishing from side to side.
Nopony moved.
Nopony seemed to even breathe.
Boomer was far too tiny to be threatening, but she was fearless. She hissed and smoke streamed from her tiny pinprick nostrils. Rearing up on her hind legs, she waved her front claws around and did everything she could to make herself appear larger than she was. Her own tail slashing from side to side, Boomer began making belching sounds.
“Megara, darling, don’t move,” Maud said, her voice low and flat. “Boomer, please don’t set anything on fire.”
“Mreow?” Megara’s head tilted off to one side and her attention was now on the dragon before her.
In response, Boomer hissed and began to jump and down while swaying from side to side. Pebble was up on her hooves now, her ears angled forwards, and there was a distinct look of worry upon her face. Sumac could feel all of his muscles tensing as two of nature’s predators continued to size each other up.
Then, the most peculiar thing happened. Megara flopped down, rolled over, and showed her belly. Right away, Boomer deflated and dropped into a far more relaxed state. Sumac wanted to know, who had taught them to do this? To behave like this? How did they know how to communicate? They both shared a similar language it seemed, an unspoken language, and Sumac was fascinated by what he had witnessed.
What agreement had been reached?
Without warning, Megara was on her paws again, but in a crouched position, her tail swishing from side to side, and Boomer began flexing her claws against the stone floor. Tarnish was now standing beside his daughter, Pebble, and he had a look of paternal concern upon his face. Most of the adults present let out a cry of startled surprise when Megara took running, shooting between her father’s legs, and Boomer took off in hot pursuit.
“RAWR!” Boomer rawred as she went skittering after the fleeing manticore spawn.
“GRAWR!” Megara grawred in reply while scampering through the kitchen, chased by a much smaller dragon.
Octavia was almost bowled over and it was only her dancer’s grace that saved her from a spill. Megara ran a lap around her, then a second, and with a yowl, the manticore spawn went shooting out of the kitchen with Boomer hot on her heels, leaving behind an entire herd of confused ponies, all of whom were blinking while making startled, bewildered pony noises.
Tarnish, the first to recover, asked, “What just happened?”
To which his daughter Pebble replied, “Megara just made her first friend… I think?”
Alas, poor Sumac. The stuffy little guy is probably feeling a bit left out now.
Megara and Boomer take on evil robot created by humans from other side of the portal.
Ah, Megara. Part manticore, part AMRAAM.
4506076
Megara -> manticore -> part lion -> feline.
By definition, all felines are part AMRAAM.
this is the most adorable thing ever