Back at their compound, the Wonderbolts were recuperating after their hard fought second round against Indominus. It had taken Soarin some practice, but he found that he could shrink his size just like the dinosaurs. It meant that he wouldn't have to be confined outside to the runway in the time before round three. After they had arrived and received their last batch of the formula, Spitfire had asked the pegasi to send messages to every Wonderbolt in all of Equestria to meet them for the final battle. By the time the Wonderbolts would have their strength back, they would have a full army to combat the dinosaurs.
Unfortunately, they were about to receive some very bad news and an alarming wake up call. As the Wonderbolts were sleeping to let their bodies lick the wounds Indominus had dealt them, all of them were jolted awake by the explosion Tyrannosaurus, the raptor squad and Red-Eyes had caused over in Cloudsdale. They bolted to the nearest window to see what had woken them up. Soarin could see black smoke coming from the farthest point in Cloudsdale, and a horrible feeling began sinking into his heart.
"Soarin, that smoke's not coming from where I think it is, is it," Fleetfoot asked.
"Oh I hope not."
"We have to get over there and see what's happened," said Surprise.
"No, WE have to go see what's happened, while the rest of you get back to sleep," said Spitfire. "We won't be any good against that monster if we're all still exhausted."
"Alright boss," said High Winds. "We'll trust you and Soarin can handle it. Come on everypony, let's go back to bed."
Spitfire and Soarin left the compound and made their way towards Cloudsdale, while the remaining Wonderbolts went back to sleep. Soarin chose to remain small so none of the pegasi would panic upon seeing him in his mutated form, and stuck to the clouds to hide himself. As they got closer, both Wonderbolts could see the sea of darkness that covered nearly all of Equestria.
"That monster's gotten more support than I thought. There's no telling what is hiding in that darkness."
"Let him take all the time he needs, boss. It won't do him any good. I've already shown that I can mop the floor with him, even when he's at his best."
"Fair enough Soarin, but we're gonna have to figure out how to change you back once it's all over."
"We'll worry about that when the time comes, Spitfire. Now let's keep moving."
The Wonderbolts continued onward, and Soarin felt his heart drop once he saw the smoldering building that was apart from the weather factory. It was indeed the very same building where he had been having the pegasi manufacture the formula. The flames were beginning to die down thanks to the citizens that were putting rain clouds over the destroyed building. Soarin and Spitfire were biding their time as they waited for the Cloudsdale pegasi to clear away from the wreckage. Once the coast was clear and nopony was within the vicinity to see them, the two Wonderbolts descended into the wreckage that used to house Soarin's supply of the formula.
Spitfire was horrified at seeing the disemboweled, ravaged and torn apart bodies of the pegasi that used to run the building. Their blood had seeped into the clouds underneath, turning them a dark shade of red. Every last piece of machinery, all the white boards that had the info for the formulas, and the ingredients needed to make them, all destroyed. Their only means of fighting the dinosaurs, had been destroyed in the course of a single day.
"Soarin, please tell me you've found something that has survived?" Spitfire saw the scaly Wonderbolt rummaging through the wreckage, holding destroyed vials and shredded papers.
"It's all gone Spitfire, destroyed, burned up and ruined. There's not a trace left of the formula. Those monsters wanted to make sure that we can't fight back against them. That last shipment we got is really our LAST supply of the formula."
"Then we're going to have to finish the job in the final round Soarin, and you better make sure that monster dies for good this time. Because if we fail to kill him before the formula runs out, he'll tear us apart. Only next time, his family will help him splatter our blood all over Equestria."
"I'm not about to let that beast walk away again, boss. I will kill him next time, just tell me how long until the rest of the Wonderbolts arrive, then we'll go on the attack."
"It'll probably be a few days until all of them arrive and are brought up to speed on the situation."
"Perfect. A few days will give the rest of our team enough time to recover from the last fight."
Soarin and Spitfire flew away from the wrecked building with the thought of the final confrontation on their minds. As they headed back towards the compound, Soarin thought to himself.
"I hope you're ready for the final battle, monster, because you won't be escaping this one. Before the final fight is over, I'll tear your head off and mount it beside the runway."
Thankfully, Scootaloo, Windy Whistles and Bow Hothoof were too far into the sea of shadows to see the explosion when the dinosaurs destroyed the building. The filly expertly guided Rainbow's parents through the darkness back to her home, thanks to Discord also giving her directions for getting home when he gave her a portion of his magic. With Bow and Windy clinging to her, Scootaloo felt like she was guiding the most important ponies in existence. The whole way back she kept thinking about what Rainbow's reaction would be to seeing her parents in such a situation. When the clouddominium finally came into view, Scootaloo touched down right outside the front door.
The monsters had recognized Scootaloo when she got close enough, so they didn't attack her or Rainbow's parents. She turned to Bow and Windy before heading inside.
"Ok I need you two to wait here for a minute, I'll be right back. I have to let everypony know that you're coming in so none of them start asking too many questions."
"Alright Scootaloo, but do you think you could tell us why everything is so dark around here," asked Bow.
"It's kind of difficult to explain right now. We're sorta in the middle of a 'situation,' that's the best way I can put it right now."
"Does it have to do with our Rainbow Dash," asked Windy.
"Well, you might say that she and her husband have been caught up in this mess for quite some time now."
"Are we going to get to meet him?"
"He's upstairs with Rainbow Dash, but I think it would be better if she introduced you to him. She's been spending a lot of time with him ever since this whole mess started." Scootaloo was trying her best to be discreet about the details of the situation. She couldn't exactly tell Rainbow's parents the whole mess revolved around the Wonderbolts trying to kill Indominus, or him almost being killed by them.
"Ok Scootaloo, we'll wait here until you let us in," said Windy.
Scootaloo went in through the right side window and everypony was rather surprised to see her show up out of the blue, except for Discord. She noticed that Celestia and Luna weren't among the others, indicating that they had left while she and the dinosaurs had been out.
"Scootaloo, where'd you come from," Twilight asked. The filly tried to come up with a good excuse, but Discord was the one to speak for her.
"She and the dinosaurs went out to take care of something rather important, Twilight."
"What could be so important that would require her to venture out into the shadows, Discord?"
"Oh, how about cutting off the Wonderbolts from their supply of formulas?"
"Say what!?"
"Did you really destroy their supply, Scootaloo," Sweetie Belle asked.
"To be fair, T-Rex, the raptors and Red-Eyes are taking care of that. I actually happened upon something that I needed to bring back."
"Care to explain what it is, Scootaloo," said Applejack.
"Hold on, I'll let them in."
"Them?"
Scootaloo flew over to the double doors and opened one of them to let Windy and Bow inside. The pegasi entered their daughter's home with eagerness, despite the dimly lit area. Twilight and Rarity ignited their horns so everypony could get a better look at the guests Scootaloo had brought with her.
"Uh Scootaloo, who are these pegasi?"
"Twilight, everypony, I'd like you to meet Rainbow Dash's parents."
"Her parents!?" Before anypony could say anything else, Windy and Bow were already shaking hooves with the Mane Five.
Discord made himself invisible so he wouldn't be caught up in all the shenanigans. He then slinked behind Scootaloo and whispered to her while Rainbow's parents were getting acquainted with her friends.
"Did you really have to bring these two wild ones here," Discord whispered.
"I couldn't just turn them away, Discord. It was a once in a lifetime experience getting to meet her parents for the first time. Plus, I thought she could use the support after all the pain she's gone through."
"You never got any support from your parents at all Scootaloo?"
"No Discord, I never got anything of the sort from them. Growing up, my family never encouraged me during my darkest days because, well, you know what my former parents were like." Discord remembered the details Indominus had told him from the times they had hung out about Scootaloo's old life. "That's why I thought it could do Rainbow Dash a world of good to have her parents here."
"You've got a very good heart, Scootaloo. Speaking of Rainbow Dash, how about you go get her before her parents go barging into that room and see her with Indominus? I'm not an expert on introductions, but it might give them a bad impression."
"Righto."
While Windy and Bow were preoccupied by the Mane Five and CMC, Scootaloo flew up to the bedroom to get her sister. She opened the door just a creak to see if Rainbow was still sleeping, and found her still cuddled against Indominus. She walked into the bedroom and as she approached the bed, Rainbow turned to look at her. Scootaloo wasn't sure what to expect when Rainbow gave her a somewhat disapproving look.
"You shouldn't just leave without telling me, Scootaloo. I had no idea where you had gone, until Discord told me what you had come up with."
"I only wanted to help you and Indominus, and I thought you could use the rest. With everything the Wonderbolts have done to us, I only wanted to show them that they can't mess with our family." Rainbow's look changed and she opened her front legs for Scootaloo to climb into. The filly climbed into her new mom's embrace and snuggled into her fur.
"I think I've been too much of an influence on you, squirt. Still, your idea was very smart and clever. I could hear the explosion from here, so I guess the dinosaurs did a splendid job."
"From what it sounded like, I'd guess that they destroyed the entire supply of the formulas," said Scootaloo.
"Oh, I wish I could've seen the look on Soarin and Shitfire's faces when they got the bad news."
"Probably would've looked more contorted than all the times Indominus punched his face in." Both pegasi laughed at the thought of Soarin's face twisting in ugly fury over losing his supply. "Oh Rainbow Dash, there is something I brought back that I think you need to see."
"What did you bring back?"
"You have to see it for yourself."
"Alright." Scootaloo got up so that Rainbow could get off the bed. She stood up and took a moment to stretch her legs and work out the kinks. Before she left the room, Rainbow took a minute to look at Indominus and whispered to him, "I'll be right back, my love. I'm not going to leave you again." She gave him a light kiss on the cheek before following Scootaloo out of the bedroom.
Rainbow Dash followed Scootaloo all the way to the beginning of the staircase, but when she saw the ponies that were chatting ecstatically with her friends, her heart dropped like an anvil. Of all the ponies Rainbow had never hoped would know about her relationship with Indominus, her parents were near the top of that list. She immediately stared back at Scootaloo with frustration in her eyes.
"You brought my parents here!?"
"What? I ended up in their backyard while I was guiding the dinosaurs to Cloudsdale. I thought that with everything that you've been dealing with, you could use a little family support."
"A little? Scootaloo, my parents go beyond 'a little' when it comes to support. My relationship with them is rather delicate and I still love them, but there's a reason why I didn't tell them about Indominus. They can be so embarrassing with everything I do, especially when it comes to bringing home stallions."
"Really?"
"Yes really! Back whenever I hung out with a stallion that only cared about certain parts of me, my parents immediately thought they were the one for me. They never saw anything beyond that or noticed what those stallions tried to do to me. So how do you think they're gonna react when they find out that I'm married to a dinosaur?" Scootaloo was getting nervous seeing the rising frustration in Rainbow's voice.
"I'm sorry Rainbow Dash, I was just trying to help you." Rainbow took a moment to stop herself before she said something she would regret.
"I'm not blaming you Scootaloo, I'm just nervous about what they could think of Indominus." Scootaloo wrapped one of her front legs around Rainbow in comfort.
"Well, you'll never know unless you try. Besides, they can't be as bad as my old parents were, remember what they were like?"
"Oh I remember all too well Scootaloo. Believe me, they're not like that. But you're right, I won't know unless I try. So...here goes nothing."
Rainbow nervously flew down the staircase with Scootaloo by her side. The moment she landed, her parents spotted her and were smothering her in hugs in a matter of seconds. Everypony couldn't help but giggle at the display before them, seeing Rainbow being smothered by her parents' affections.
"Oh honey, are you doing alright? How is your husband holding up," Windy asked holding her daughter in a tight embrace.
"Scootaloo told us quite a bit on the way here, but said that you could explain everything to us more clearly," said Bow. 'But first things first, we've got to meet the stallion that you're smitten with." Rainbow facepalmed herself before breaking out of her parents' death-lock grips.
"Alright mom and dad. I'll show him to you, but you need to keep it down around him. He's resting at the moment."
"That's an understatement consider-" Twilight put a hoof over Pinkie's mouth before she could finish.
Windy and Bow were about to question what the pink pony was going to say before Rainbow and Scootaloo escorted them up the staircase. Once they were sure that both pegasi were out of earshot, Twilight removed her hoof from Pinkie's mouth.
"You can't just go saying stuff like that. Pinkie."
"Why not?"
"Call me crazy, sugarcube, but ah' don't think Rainbow even told her parents about Indominus. If they don't even know his name, then this'll be the first time they meet him."
"I just hope everything goes well Applejack," said Twilight. "Rainbow's been through enough drama already."
As Rainbow and Scootaloo led the way to the master bedroom, fear and anxiety began tugging at her heart. Rainbow was so afraid of what her parents would say that it was eating her up inside. Scootaloo stayed close to her for support, just in case Rainbow got overwhelmed. Once they arrived at the door, Windy and Bow were more giddy at getting to meet Rainbow's husband than she was at a Daring Do convention.
"Alright, are you really sure you two want to meet him?"
"How could we not want to meet him honey," said Windy. "We simply must meet the stallion that is good enough for our Rainbow Dash."
"The suspense is just killing me, so please dear, show us your awesome husband."
Rainbow took a deep breath and opened the door for her parents. They excitedly walked into her bedroom, but the moment they caught sight of Indominus on the bed, their eagerness started to fade away. Windy and Bow had expected to see a stallion sleeping on their daughter's bed, and were more alarmed than surprised to see a dinosaur in her room instead. Rainbow and Scootaloo could practically feel the uneasiness in the air as they followed her parents into the room.
"Rainbow Dash, where's the stallion Scootaloo told us about? All I see is this bizarre-looking beast sleeping on your bed." Scootaloo felt Rainbow's body shaking in anger at what her dad had said.
"You did not just call him that," Rainbow said while trying to keep her anger from getting in control.
"But we thought that you had an actual stallion for a husband," said Windy. "Do you mean to tell us that you've taken this animal as your husband? It looks like something that belongs in the Everfree-"
"SHUT UP!!!!" The sudden burst of Rainbow's anger caused Scootaloo to back away in fear. She exploded off the floor and stood in front of Indominus, her eyes glowing slightly red. "Mom and Dad, neither of you know what he's done for me. This is exactly why I didn't tell you I'm married to Indominus, because both of you would only see him as an animal or a monster."
"You mean, he's not just an animal?"
"He. Is. Not. An. Animal! Indominus has been the emotional support I've needed throughout all this. Especially since Soarin and the Wonderbolts tried to have us killed, and he tried so hard to keep us safe." Hearing this caught Rainbow's parents off-guard.
"Whoa. Wait a minute, Rainbow Dash. What are you talking about?"
Rainbow took a minute to calm herself down and not let her anger get the better of her. After a few deep breaths, she was calm enough to talk to her parents in a normal tone.
"Mom and Dad, in order for what I'm about to tell to make sense, you'll need to know who my husband is." Scootaloo got close to Rainbow again as she told her parents her reason for choosing Indominus. "His name is Indominus Rex, he and his brother T-Rex were brought here by Princess Luna herself to be Scootaloo's guardians."
"Wait, did you say 'guardians?' As in the same Guardians that took down that monster Black Death?"
"That's correct Windy," said Scootaloo. "They looked after me when my former, abusive parents tried to kill us with that monster and failed."
"Wow."
"After that fight I got to know Indominus better, and he turned out to be quite the gentlecolt. He was so kind and giving, everything he did was just to make me happy. When I finally got married with him, I thought things were going so well, until Soarin tried to tear us apart."
"Are the Wonderbolts the reason why all this is happening," asked Bow.
"I'm afraid so Dad, Soarin is the cause of all this drama: he wants Indominus dead so he can have me all to himself."
"WHAT!?"
"Yes, Soarin can't accept the fact that I chose somepony better than him, and now he's obsessed with killing Indominus. But how could I choose Soarin, a pony who only cares about himself, over a dinosaur that has done everything to see me happy?"
Neither of Rainbow's parents could find a response for what they were hearing as Rainbow continued.
"He was the only one that ever truly protected and stood up for me, Indominus cared for me like no stallion ever did." Windy and Bow had never heard their daughter speak so strongly about somepony before. "When the Wonderbolts started bullying me, Indominus stood by my side and gave me the comfort I needed when things got tough. H-He even gave his life when they tried to kill us," Rainbow could feel her voice breaking the more she talked. Luckily her parents realized it and hugged her as the sadness took over. "He had us leave him during the fight a-and, h-he did it so I wouldn't have to watch him die!"
"Oh honey, we're so sorry. We didn't know he meant so much to you," Bow said as he and Windy held Rainbow while she cried into their shoulders. Scootaloo joined in on the hug as Rainbow poured out her heart.
"I love him more than any stallion in all of Equestria. He treated me like I was actually worth something, and not just some object for personal gain. I even promised him that I would love him with all my heart and soul, but not even that was enough to save him."
Windy took a moment to look up from the hug and her eyes widened in shock.
"Honey, turn around. You need to see this." Rainbow listened to her mom, and the moment she turned around, her eyes grew to the size of sand dollars at what she was seeing.
Indominus was actually getting up and pulling the machines and wires away from his body. When the air mask was pulled from his face, he spoke in a relaxed and happy tone.
"That was, so beautiful Rainbow Dash. I didn't think I meant so much to you."
Rainbow had no response. She just broke out of the hug, grew to Indominus's size, leaped onto the bed and embraced him in a loving hug with tears still rolling down her face.
"Indominus! I can't believe you're still alive. I thought Soarin had killed you."
"He would've if you hadn't saved my life again. I really do owe my entire reason for being here, to you Rainbow Dash." Rainbow was at a complete loss for words, giving Indominus the chance to reach up and lick the stray tears away from her face.
"Why did you have me leave the fight and not help you against Soarin?"
"Simple," Indominus said as he reached up and gave Rainbow a gentle kiss. When the kiss broke, Indominus said the words that made Windy, Bow and Scootaloo start bawling happy tears. "Because I love you. I've seen you hurt by him too much to have you deal with anymore pain. I love you too much to see you be hurt again."
Rainbow completely forgot that her parents were in the room as she gave Indominus a full force kiss. Windy, Bow and Scootaloo were just overflowing with tears as the lovers held each other in their long kiss.
"Scootaloo, has he always been this way with Rainbow Dash," asked Bow.
"Yes. From the very first day that he met her, Indominus has been insanely in love with your daughter. He even picked out her wedding ring."
"He did?"
"Dear, let's not worry about that right now," said Windy. "We should be getting to know Rainbow's devoted husband, since they look so happy together."
After their long kiss, Indominus rolled onto his side and Rainbow went bug-eyed when she saw her parents standing beside her bed.
"Relax honey, we can see that you and Indominus really do love each other. We really would like to know him better, if that's ok with him of course."
"Sure mom, Indominus, these are my parents, Windy Whistles and Bow Hothoof."
"Your parents?" Indominus tried to get up to greet them, but Rainbow's parents put a hoof up to stop him.
"Don't get up Indominus, we can see that you're still tired. Just make some room for us." Indominus complied and scooted over while still holding Rainbow in his arms. Windy and Bow hopped onto the bed and laid down beside the couple, while Scootaloo climbed onto Indominus's back. Once they were all settled, Windy and Bow took turns holding out their hooves for Indominus to shake. "It's a pleasure to meet the dinosaur that captured our daughter's heart," said Windy.
"The pleasure's all mine, and I couldn't be happier being with her. You two raised an amazing daughter."
"Oh no, here come the waterworks again," Bow said before he started bawling and Windy had to put his head in her shoulder.
"Dad, not in front of- oh who am I kidding. I'm still a little like that myself, but it's because I'm just so glad to see that you're awake, Indominus."
"Your words got me to wake up, Rainbow. You brought me out of that coma-like state." Before Indominus could continue, his brother and sisters flew in through the window.
"Good to see you guys made it back in one piece," said Scootaloo.
"Sure did, those Wonder-" T-Rex stopped himself when he caught sight of his brother awake and holding the pony he loved so much. "Brother! You're finally awake."
The raptors joined T-Rex and began nuzzling Indominus, who gladly accepted the affection from his family. Windy and Bow were once again at a loss for words, until Scootaloo cleared things up.
"Remember how Rainbow said that Indominus and his brother were asked to be my guardians? Well, here's the rest of the family: Tyrannosaurus Rex, Blue, Charlie, Echo and Delta. They were officially made my new family at the Gala last year, and it's been a real blast having them all in my life."
"Um, Rainbow, who are these ponies? We've never seen them before."
"They're my parents, Blue," Rainbow said from Indominus's loving hold on her. "Scootaloo brought them here because she thought I could use their support. Now that they've met all of you, I think I've got that support."
T-Rex and the raptors took a minute to bow to Rainbow's parents as their way of greeting them. Windy and Bow were beyond touched by the dinosaurs and how much respect they had for others.
"Now that Introductions are out of the way, how's about you boys tell my parents your side of this ordeal?"
"We'd be glad to, Rainbow Dash," T-Rex said as he let Indominus pick up where he left off.
So for the next few hours, Rainbow's parents got to hear everything the dinosaurs had to tell them. As they told their stories, Rainbow was happy to see that her parents weren't judging the dinosaurs and had accepted them. It was a true moment of peace for the family, and now that Indominus was finally awake, he would soon be taking on the task of beating the Devil in his heart. He wasn't aware of it, but beating the Devil was Indominus's only hope of beating the Wonderbolts, and his last hope.