//------------------------------// // Epilogue: King of Everfree // Story: Monsters of Everfree // by Jongoji245 //------------------------------// Everyone is hard at work getting the camp repaired. Many of the boys pulled up totem poles, some of the girls fixed the gazebo. The Rainbooms were fixing the dock when Sci-Twi notices Timber Spruce walking to them. They all stand up. “I’ve told my family everything. They’ll be coming soon.” “Including the-” “Not the magic.” Timber interrupts Pinkie Pie, before giving them a scowl, “If only you’d be here sooner, you could’ve taught her how to control her magic.” “Timber,” Sunset steps forward, “magic is like nature itself, it ca-.” “But if you taught her how to control-” “Magic can’t be controlled! That’s what I’m getting at!” Sunset catches her breath, “I was overwhelmed by the magic of this place, but I didn’t have enough respect for it and it’s out now! The only things that matter are the people we love.” Timber starts tearing up. “From one person who knows the loss of another,” Applejack places her hand on Timber’s shoulder, “remember her love, remember the things you two have done together.” After wiping a tear, Timber looks at each of them before picking up a few tools. But before either of them could resume repairing the dock, the ground shook once again. All the campers look behind them and saw Kong standing just at the clearing. Everyone just stares at the massive gorilla; what do they do now? Kong slowly turns around, stops before waving his shoulder and continuing. Getting an idea, the campers follow the great footprints. To Sunset, Twilight, and Spike, this was the path to the quarry, but when they arrived, it came as a shock. From rubble alone, Kong manages to salvage the quarry as best he could to make it back into its original shape. “That’s…. Kind of you,” Rarity looks nervously at the others, “But we do see room for improvement.” In the course of a whole day’s work, the quarry is refurbished. A few of the rocks are carved to resemble animals, the entrance barred by a metal fence, the perfect place for the memorial service two days later. As her casket is carried inside, Sunset notices a strange figure standing away from the crowd, eyes filled with tears, but he can do nothing but turn away. The fire-haired teen has many questions to ask of him, but, as Rarity would say, some questions are best left unanswered. “It’s time,” Sci-Twi whispered. The Rainbooms stepped on a makeshift stage and pick up their instruments, except for Rarity, who instead sat in front of a piano. In due time, the dock was finished… again. This time, the colors are a series of pinks, the same color scheme as Gloriosa Daisy. With a little elbow grease and a scraper or two, the dock has a monument signpost that reads, “Lake Gloriosa.” “Third time’s a charm.” Rainbow Dash puts a finger to her mouth, “Or is it fifth? I've lost track.” "All that matters is that the runway is finished.” Rarity wipes her forehead. "I think you mean the "dock"?” Applejack asks with a gruff look. “Dock, yes.” Rarity corrects with a cough. “Shall we… Have a moment…?” The seven girls fold their arms together and lower their heads. A moment’s silence before… “We pray that Gloriosa finds a good place in your great Kingdom…” Fluttershy shuffles her shoulders, “and pray for the life of all your creatures great and small.” “And pray for us for what’s coming.” Says Pinkie Pie. “Yeah,” Twilight mutters, “pray for us too.” “No, really,” The girls turn to Pinkie Pie; part of her fluffy hair is twitching like mad, “I think we maybe need to take a few steps back.” The Rainbooms hear a soft whistling sound becoming louder like a jet engine before turning around. A black dot swiftly approaching them, they give each other a quick look before screaming and running from the dock. The gigantic spider Kong tossed speeds over the lake and crashes into the forest. It spins itself right side up and quickly scurries into the forest. “Wow,” Pinkie Pie sputters, “I thought for a second Spiga was gonna smash our life’s work.” Just as she finishes her sentence, Pinkie accidentally sends a handful of confetti in the air. They clutter lands quickly before either of them could react, and explode, destroying their work in smoke and splinters. The group hung their arms, and their mouths are agape. Rarity whimpers before collapsing. “Of for G-!” Screamed Rainbow Dash before, Night once again swallows the campsite. With just four nights left, the campers, turned in early, having repaired the dock once again. Sunset took her last bit of strength to write in her journal. “I don’t know where these gems come from, but they seem to serve quite a useful purpose. As for Kong, neither one of us has seen him since the funeral. But after all that’s happened, I say nothing bad would happen… As long as we keep quiet… But I still wonder… After we graduate…?” Can’t change her thought now once written in ink, Sunset closes the journal and falls asleep. She slept like a rock, and no nightmare this time, felt the pain go away on her bed. But peace and quiet is only a luxury. At first, it was only a soft hum, but after a half hour, the noise became as loud as a town on First Friday. With a groan, she wakes up. “You too, huh?” Sunset turns her heavy head to Sci-Twi and Spike already woken up and still tired. They step out of their tent and see the others standing outside, again looking tired and rugged. Deducing that the sound is coming from the quarry, the Rainbooms trudge through the forest. “Really,” Groaned Rarity as one of her hair curlers dropped out of her hair, “who would have the nerve to throw a party at a time like this?” After pushing a few tree branches, they immediately snapped out of their tired state. “Does that answer your question?” Asks Applejack. Behold before them is such a party. The beasts they met have been dancing and chanting. And that’s not what surprised them. Sitting at the mouth of the cave was Kong, keeping a finger on his hairy lip as he watched the performance. The Rainbooms hear more rustling in the bushes; more of their classmates arrived at the show. Kong turns his gaze to them, yet the gorilla does not move. Fearing the worst again, the campers start backtracking to Camp Everfree. “Guess that makes him King Kong.” Chuckled Pinkie Pie before turning away with a yawn. “Yeah,” Sunset continues to watch Kong looking at her before curling a smile, “the Eighth Wonder of the World.” As Sunset retreated to the jungle, the drummers started drumming faster, and so was the chanting. Kong stood on his hind legs and started pounding his chest. As he does, electricity coursed throughout his fur. When the music reached its peak, roars. He is free once again, and as time goes on, he will defend his freedom, and his home. The sky's the limit for him now. Those four days came and went, and the campers, both excited and saddened, made their way home. Calm was their home… except in a few places. When Applejack came home, she found a few acres of their finest apple trees stripped off the ground. As Apple Bloom tried explaining over the phone, they have a new addition to the house. A spiny, armored dinosaur as big as a cow the Crusaders have since named Thunder Ball. In her own laboratory at her family’s backyard, Sci-Twi was hard at work examining samples of both Kong’s blood and hair. The DNA from the hair samples results tell that Kong is a mountain gorilla, but how did he grow so big? Twilight turned to her microscope and examines a bit of the blood sample. Amongst the blood cells are oddly shaped antibodies tending to infected blood cells and swiftly devouring the pathogens. “Twilight,” She hears from Shining Armor, “Dinner’s ready!” Sci-Twi turns to her work one last time and asks her this question, “What creature has these cells?” She turns off the light and makes her way to her home. But her experiments are working on their own accord; these antibodies encouraged the growth of new organelles, then new nerve cells, then nerve bundles, before it combines to a rich gold iris surrounded by bloodshot sclera with a black void in the middle. Reflecting off that eye was fire from an underwater volcano. The view becomes black, following by a deafening roar.