Chaos. It's a mysterious form of life that could happen to anyone or anything. Whether on purpose or by accident, those who make the choice could cause multiple occurrences that might harm someone, or something, or change the world by doing something little that will cause something big. Those who stop to think ponder what might happen either think that they would do something, but stop themselves and ask themselves if they should. Some do just that, while others don't. The ripple that they caused by their choices can always make different outcomes. That's the wonder of chaos theory.
But for one entity, chaos is nothing but a mere power that can bend logic to his will. And thus he can choose whether there would be bad or good forms of chaos, and that's all in the fun for him – if he wanted to observe it or if he decided to choose to get involved. So, with his presence looming about, there are types of chaos that could ensue; good or bad.
And Ponyville was right in the center of it, or what appeared before the town was in the center of it – all thanks to the wrongful choice of a mad filly and her evil mother.
Now, any form of chaos could happen in this very scenario. It all depends on one choice now.
The nightmarish, hell-fire eyes of a dangerous rogue manticore slowly scanned its surroundings with a soft growl. It heard an annoying ring-like sound coming from this direction and it had to investigate – investigate and kill with no remorse.
Marabunda stood there eyeing the surrounding location he arrived at. He had no idea where he was at or why that ring sound led him here, but what was he to complain about? Whatever made the noise led him to a location filled with smaller morsels just waiting to be dined on or killed for the fun of it; his claws were ready to grind on flesh. He slowly peered his eyes to each target he could see that was around him. So many to choose from, it was hard to pick just one. And just the sight of so many in the same place at the same time was starting to make him salivate. The mere thought of just going at it and ripping into every victim was enticing.
But what would be the fun in that? His urge to kill was strong, but his mind was not yet gone; the act of a game loomed about; a choosing game. With a twisted smirk on his scarred face, and a deep growling chuckle within his throat, he knew just how to mess with these ponies. He was in no rush either; he was willing to wait all day if he must – because looking at the sheer horror and panic on their faces were very entertaining and somewhat a compliment to him. Seeing others fear him pleased him significantly. He could choose which victim to attack or they can decide for him – it was all enjoyable and a thrill to him, as it makes the chase more interesting for him. Yet, it was funny; he could've sworn he'd seen these smaller creatures before? No matter, they were nothing but playthings and food to him.
Silence. That's all that could be heard from everyone in Ponyville. Those outside witnessed the monster that stood in their hometown; some wanted to run, scream, hide, but shock and fear enveloped them. What could they do? If they made just one movement, or make the slightest shriek, they would be the first to meet a fate worse than anything they could imagine. Others thought the same, but they wanted to push another towards the beast and let it dine on the helpless victim while they ran for their lives and find safety. Many choices, many reactions, they were left in a gruesome game for a massive predator.
But they were smart enough to freeze, for the beast will not attack if they don't move a muscle – although, judging by that twisted smirk on its face, they knew he wasn't going to be in any kind of rush. In fact, it looked like he was taunting them, daring them to make the first move.
Those inside their own homes felt the landing impact of the creature outside. Some weren't aware that it was a creature outside; they were just minding their own businesses. But, for reasons they didn't know, they felt the need to not move a single inch and not make a single noise. Whatever was out there, they were glad they were inside. But for those who saw the beast outside their windows felt the same as those outside – whether to back away and/or close their curtains so the creature doesn't spot them. It was all but survival now.
Drift, Vinyl, Fluttershy and Scootaloo, gazed only in horror and shock to encounter what just arrived in front of them and in Ponyville. Marabunda had his back turned to them, so it was good that he wasn't facing them first. But it was bad for anypony else who became a victim in that monster's sight.
Drift felt his heart race and his body grew cold, a sweat started working up as he tried to keep his breathing down; he was in a panic, but he didn't want to make a sound – as Marabunda could react at even the slightest sound and begin his attack. His past has come back to haunt him and his fear rose every second he looked at this rogue manticore. The very creature that had killed one of his comrades and rendered him and his team helpless was back. Was it to finish the job? He didn't know – all he wanted to do was panic and get his family out of there.
He leered at the little pink filly with the magical whistle. Why? Why did this little brat have to do that? She had just endangered everyone in Ponyville by making that stupid decision. If they make it out of this alive, Filthy and his family have a lot to answer for.
Vinyl was in a frozen state of fear. Her glasses slipped down to her muzzle as she eyed the mammoth beast before her. She recalled Drift telling her Marabunda was big, but she didn't expect to the manticore to be this big. He's standing on all fours, so he had to have been nine feet tall, twelve-six in length. And the wings this thing has are massive; even folded, they're roughly thirty-five feet in length. But what was worrisome was the tail Marabunda possessed – eleven feet with a five-inched curved stinger. If there were any other creature she could be dealing with right now, or not wish to deal with for her sake, it would be better than dealing with Marabunda. What did Drift do to make this creature so angry?
Fluttershy and Scootaloo were caught in a frozen state of fear. For Fluttershy, never in her life had she ever dealt with a creature like this; well, a regular manticore, yes. She's dealt with them before. But, comparing them to Marabunda was like comparing a simple cave to an endless abyss. Fluttershy didn't know if she was able to calm this beast down, but she didn't want to try; as she stated before, rogues are unpredictable. So, a miracle had to happen soon, or now – now would be good.
Scootaloo tried so hard not to panic around everypony. A large nightmarish manticore just landed violently in Ponyville in front of her and she had no idea what to do in this situation. She gave an equally scared Diamond Tiara a look of panic and anger.
Of all the things she could've done, she had to go and do this. Has she gone nuts? All because she wanted to get her back for what she did to her? She deserved it! Heck, Scootaloo would do it again, if she got the chance. And then she noticed the whistle in Diamond Tiara's hoof. She would ask what that thing was and what was it made for, but right now was not a really good time.
She gazed back to Marabunda and eyed him carefully. Drift doing the exact same thing.
'So, this is Marabunda?' Scootaloo thought, trying her best not to make a noise to draw his attention. 'Dad wasn't kidding. He really is scary. I can see why he lost to this thing.' Lost was an understatement. Drift spoke to them as if he and his comrades were massacred.
Then another thought occurred as she gazed back at the whistle. If she could get that whistle away from Diamond Tiara maybe she could – no! It's too risky. If she called him, chances are he could get hurt and she'd never forgive herself. Then it dawned on her of that very thought: Varan mentioned how a 'bear-like' creature came out of nowhere and killed his family and friends. A glance back at Marabunda gave her the final piece of the puzzle and it all made sense now.
'Marabunda… He must've been the one that did all of that. He's as big as Harry, so that has to be him, right?' She asked herself this and nodded slowly.
There was no mistaking it: Marabunda was the one that killed Varan's family and friends.
Now she had an option to use the whistle. She just needed the perfect opportunity to get it. But how?
Inside Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie and the Cake family managed to hide behind the counter. Pinkie Pie shook like a leaf; her hooves over her mouth to prevent the chattering sound of her teeth to emit for fear that this monster will hear and target them first. She didn't see exactly what landed in front of the bakery, but she knew that whatever it was wasn't any explosion. She looked to the Cake family and saw Mr. and Mrs. Cake cover the cake twins' mouths while holding each other closely; the latter in tears from what happened outside. There were very quiet whimpers under the parents' hooves, but the two earth ponies held them close.
Mrs. Cake was scared to death, but she and her husband strained to keep quiet, as did their foals. She looked over to Pinkie and saw she was equally scared – she desperately reached for her, to hold her close and never let her go. Pinkie may not be legally part of the family, but she's done so much for them over the years, she practically was part of the family in hers and Carrot Cake's eyes.
Noticing the fear in her eyes, Pinkie very gingerly scooted closer and grabbed onto her hoof, miraculously preventing any creak from the floor to emit. Quietly, she peeped over the counter and saw Spike and Smolder standing in front of a window, looking outside to the beast that had landed in town. Gallus was hiding under a table, shaking just like she was.
"N-Not… cool…!" Gallus whispered out in fear, his eyes widen in panic as he strained to keep still.
Spike and Smolder, on the other hoof, were far from shaking. In fact, the popped out claws and steam puffing out of the sides of their mouths meant only one thing...
Spike and Smolder were battle-ready. And their defensive instincts were on high alert. If the monster outside so much as roared, that's when they'll strike.
They overheard Diamond Tiara's speech and were none too happy with what they heard. Granted, they were not aware of what she had used, but whatever it was summoned this thing out of nowhere. Now both young dragons were eager to fight.
Spike was raised by ponies and taught to be a kind soul towards others while Smolder was born in dragon territory and was taught to be like every other dragon; tough as nails and always ready for anything. Both are polar opposites and recently found out they were siblings separated at birth, but they both shared a common trait all dragons had that even other creatures would agree: dragons had a powerful fighting spirit. And these two were not shy in showing just how strong their fighting spirits were; the fiery determination and eagerness bloomed in their eyes.
A challenge was about to start.
Filthy Rich stood there with his family, gazing up at the monster his own daughter summoned. Words could not express how angry, scared and shocked he was.
Over the course of time, his family was known for being kind, sturdy and generous and knew when to keep a steady business. His father and his father before him and so on had always had a great reputation towards other ponies and businesses; it was never about competition. And they themselves always knew when to pick the right one and raise their children right.
But on this day, in this very moment, he broke that line – he just didn't plan it; his own wife did. And she manipulated his daughter, poisoned her mind to do this. Even using the item he swore to never use again was brought into this and the mare he thought he trusted would keep it a secret; clearly, he was wrong. Filthy Rich had never felt so betrayed in all his life -- betrayed and stupid. He glared death daggers an equally terrified Spoiled Milk for the choices she made, a snarl on his muzzle, and his teeth bared like a wild dog.
Spoiled caught wind of her husband's glare and felt a cold chill down her spine as she winced and withered under his glare. She was in a huge amount of trouble.
Filthy even looked at poor Silver Spoon who was just as scared as Diamond, shaking nearly violently in terror while trying not to draw attention to herself. At least he was glad that she wasn't persuaded by Spoiled's manipulation and he was proud that she warned him about this ridiculous plan.
"Psst, Vinyl," Drift whispered to her, trying to get her attention while trying to remain as quiet as possible so not to draw Marabunda's attention.
Vinyl glanced at her step-brother while Marabunda kept his focus on the other ponies in front of him. She was glad this beast hadn't turned around, yet.
"Y-Yeah?" Vinyl replied with a bit of petrified stutter in her voice.
"You know magic, right? Teleportation?"
Vinyl looked at Drift as if what he asked meant he knew nothing about her, "You're kidding, right?"
Taking that as a 'yes', he continued and requested something she'd hope she can do, "Remember what I showed you in my basement, I need you to bring one of them here."
Vinyl widened her eyes in shock and tried to rethink what he was asking quietly as if he lost his mind, "D-bro, are you serious right now? What if I bring something that could harm somepony else?!"
Drift snarled in a bit of annoyance at her and gave her that glare that reminded her of her mother when she disobeyed as a filly. He pointed to Marabunda and snapped quietly, "Can't be as harmful as what's right in front of us, for Celestia's sake!" he was not in the mood for arguments, "Please, just do it!"
Vinyl was hesitant. She never performed as much magic as Twilight, Moondancer or any of those other unicorns. She learned levitation and a few other basic spells, but teleportation was something she was practicing. She feared she would mess it up and cause trouble; the anxiety was eating away at her and this was nothing like performing in front of a large crowd. But she had to at least try, to see if she can do it. Her D-Bro was right; whatever she brings out couldn't possibly be as more dangerous than the murderous manticore right in front of them.
She sighed in defeat and looked at Drift, determined, "Which one do you need?"
"Sound amplifier. I just need the one and when we get to safety, I need you to teleport one of the duffel bags to us," He pointed to Filthy and told a sudden revelation, "Filthy and I have a score to settle with that monster."
Vinyl leaned her head back in shock. Fluttershy and Scootaloo overheard and were stunned, as well. Filthy was part of his crew of trophy hunters? If that was the case, Drift wasn't gonna be the only one fighting Marabunda, if they survive – or if Filthy would even participate.
"Alright, alright, I'll see what I can do," Vinyl looked away from Drift and concentrated, trying not to focus on the killer manticore in front of them.
Drift smiled, relieved to hear that, "Thank you, V-sis." He watched as his step-sister concentrated. Her cheeks puffed as bits of magic sparked out of her horn.
Vinyl scrunched her eyes shut and focused as hard as she could. She pictured Drift's basement and pictured where the device would be. She pinpointed it and launched her magic, casting it out of existence and popping it right between her and Drift. Drift quickly grabbed the dark green alarm clock-like item and immediately pressed a button to the side and cracked a notch by two. This got his family's and Filthy's family's attention...
… Unfortunately, the clicks from the item were more than enough to get Marabunda to turn his head.
Drift saw the manticore about to turn, but he quickly and lightly threw the item just under Marabunda's chin level.
Marabunda heard the random clank sound and looked down, eyeing a weird thing right under him. That wasn't there before? But it made weird clicking sounds. Marabunda leaned his head down and sniffed it a few times before giving it a nudge, to see if it would do something or if this object would come alive – a minute of his time wouldn't kill him, he'll be dining on their bones anyway.
Whether everypony noticed him throw it or not, Drift took this opportunity and jumped on the table while Marabunda was distracted. He looked back at Fluttershy and Scootaloo, then at the window where Spike and Smolder were. They must be rearing to fight. Good, maybe they can hold Marabunda at bay until he and Filthy suit up to join in. Marabunda will not be claiming any more lives. Drift took a deep breath right as the sound amplifier went off, making a high-frequency noise only Manticores can hear.
Marabunda roared in agitation and reared up as he covered his ears from the awful noise this tiny thing made, desperately trying to block it out as he roared in agony and frustration. This object was alive in its own way – and it was hurting his ears real bad.
Drift saw his chance and immediately seized it once the fearsome beast had reacted to the distraction.
"Everypony, RUN!" Drift yelled out at the crowd of ponies. And no sooner did he say that was when a stampede of frightened, screaming Ponyville citizens occurred.
And it was at the moment, Spike and Smolder got their signal and burst out the door, flying directly at Marabunda.
Scootaloo took that exact moment to dash over to Diamond Tiara and snatch the whistle away from her. Diamond Tiara flinched but glared at Scootaloo when she took it from her.
"Hey--!"
Scootaloo was not in the mood for Diamond's crap and no sooner did she grab that whistle, she decked the rich filly right in the face. To say that was deserving was an understatement, but she sure did get a déjà-vu moment there. Diamond Tiara reeled back and grabbed her face, letting out a pained cry as Scootaloo headed back to her parents and aunt.
Fluttershy caught her child as they hurried inside Sugarcube Corner; she quickly pointed it out to Vinyl and her man. "In there!" They didn't argue and quickly head inside.
Filthy wasted no time and pushed his wife towards Sugarcube Corner, their temporary sanctuary; Silver Spoon did the exact same thing to Diamond. "Go, go, go, go!" Filthy snapped as he ushered his family inside, keeping an eye on the manticore before getting inside himself.
Once Scootaloo's family and Diamond's family were in the bakery, Fluttershy slammed the door shut and glared the same death daggers at Spoiled and Diamond.
Gallus whimpered as he peeked out from his hiding spot, pointing at the door, "What… in King Grover's name… was that?!"
"The result of a moronic decision, that's what." Vinyl glared, answering Gallus' question as she starts to concentrate once more to teleport a duffel bag to their location.
"Diamond Tiara, Spoiled Milk, have you completely lost your minds?!" Filthy snarled at his wife and daughter. "You just endangered everypony in Ponyville!"
Diamond winced under her father's tone, "B-But, daddy…"
He wasn't going to have it. He stomped a hoof as he approached his daughter, "Don't ‘but daddy' me, young filly! This is a direct result of what your obsession with revenge has caused! I told you not to blow that whistle, but you did it anyway!"
Diamond whimpered as she backed a step back. "But I didn't know it was going to bring something like that!"
"Of course you didn't know," Fluttershy scowled, crossing her hooves. "As a matter of fact, it looks like you weren't thinking at all."
Looking at Filthy Rich, this begged a question and they knew he had the answer.
"More importantly, Filthy… what is that whistle and why do you have it in your possession?" Fluttershy asked him, knowing that someone had to ask, so she took the chance.
"I'd like to know too, ol' Moneybags." Drift frowned lightly at his former comrade. His friend may have been trying to prevent this mad filly and crazy mare from doing this, but he still had something to explain about that whistle that doomed them all.
Filthy winced deeply as he faced his old comrade from their trophy hunting days, but he sighed hard as he looked down, his ears lowering. "I guess it's no longer a secret, as I can no longer hide it from my friends. It's an artifact called "The Primeval Whistle" – it is said that it can summon any type of creature that comes to mind, and allows said creature to come right towards the user who had blown the whistle. It is also said that by rare chance, the same creature can come to the call that was made by the last user… or someone who did not think of a different creature before blowing the whistle." He narrowed his eyes at his wife and daughter. "I had bought it one night on the black-market back in my old days. I was keeping it under lock and key because it's a part of my past that I was not proud of and wished to leave behind as much as Drift did."
Fluttershy asked him once more while Drift looked a bit surprised at his revelation, "Drift said you were part of his crew of trophy hunters, is that true?"
Filthy had no pride to swallow, so with his eyes closed, he answered her question without hesitation, "Yes… it's true." He rubbed his arm, "Don't get me wrong, I care for the environment and for the animals that live within it, it's just rogues I can't stand – although it had to be done with what pay the contracts were offered to us. I just didn't expect a blast from the past to come around." He narrowed his eyes out the window, referring to the rogue beast outside. Nopony could blame him there. He looked to Fluttershy, apologetically. "I am so sorry about my wife and my daughter for causing this…" He sighed sadly, ashamed of himself as he paced around in the building, "It's too late for that, I know. And I take full responsibility for this mess… this is actually all my fault, really. I'm the one to blame here."
Pinkie tilted her head while everyone wondered what he meant, what else had he done to make him pin this whole mess on himself, of all ponies. "What do you mean, Filthy Rich?"
Mr. Cake spoke up while cradling Pound Cake, looking concerned. "I understand you feel guilty about your wife and daughter's actions, but why are you blaming yourself for this entire mess?"
Mrs. Cake nodded, sounding a bit worried due to how guilty their rich but kind friend looked and how insistent he was on blaming himself. "You're making it sound like you've committed a murder, dear."
"I may as well have, Mrs. Cake." Filthy sighed once more, but it sounded very guilty before he looked to Drift with guilt-ridden eyes. It was time that his friend knew the truth. "Ol' Drifter… I… I have a confession to make." He looked out the window once more before looking to his old friend, revealing a dark secret to him. "It's because of me that Marabunda attacked us the first time."
Vinyl, Fluttershy, Drift, Scootaloo and Silver gasped in shock while his daughter and wife looked stunned as he confessed a looming guilt that he had not told anypony else. Gallus, Pinkie and the Cakes looked surprised, so surprised that they couldn't form the words while Pinkie's mane and tail frazzled out and stood up. Her frizz has been freaked, apparently.
"What?" Drift flatly said, looking at Filthy in shock.
"When we got that contract to get a Manticore, I-I thought that the whistle would make our jobs easier…" Filthy confessed, looking heartbroken as he revealed what he had done. "So the morning we started to hunt for the beast, I was the first one to wake up and away from the others, I blew the whistle…" But now as he looked back on his actions, he knew that it was a fool move to have done that. Now, the beast of his and Drift's past was here to haunt them again.
"You led Marabunda right to us…" Drift slowly said.
"I didn't know it was a monster of a rogue that responded to the whistle, Drift…" He begged to his old friend, trying to tell him that it was a terrible accident on his part. "I swear I didn't know!"
"You led that monster right to us years ago, got one of our own comrades killed, got the rest of the crew and I scarred for life – literally!" He pointed at his scar to remind him of the attack, glaring. "And you didn't even tell me?" Drift sounded betrayed that his old friend never told him this until now. But his glare melted some when Filthy admitted to why he never told him.
"I didn't want to lose my closest comrade… and I just wanted to leave it all behind." Filthy looked down after he told the truth. "I kept that whistle to remind me of what I had done… and vowed to never use it again."
Fluttershy blinked, looking to Spoiled and Diamond with a firm frown before asking him, "How did Spoiled and Diamond Tiara find out?"
Filthy exhaled through his nostrils, "Only my wife knew about it…" He facehoofed, "I was drunk when I told her… but I made her swear to keep it secret." He glared angrily at his wife and daughter who both winced, knowing he's understandably furious with them both. "But now I know that's not gonna happen anymore."
Diamond whimpered as she approached her irate father, but he wasn't buying anything that was coming out of her mouth. "Daddy, I'm sorry! I-I didn't mean to!" She started tearing up, feeling ashamed that she has angered her father to such a point, for once starting to feel really guilty, if not really stupid. "I-I didn't know!"
Mrs. Cake stuttered but glared at the young filly, "A magical whistle that lures a random beast from Cadenza-knows-where to the very spot the said whistle's user is at – " She facehoofed and flailed it out, motioning to the terror that's going on outside, stupefied but furious that the young filly didn't think of the consequences for getting into something she clearly wasn't supposed to get into in the first place. "—what in Equestria did you think was going to happen?!"
Diamond stuttered as she's glared at from all families in the room, gazing around at all of them, meeting all of their gazes, "I-I thought it would've brought something bigger than Scootaloo's pet and scare her!"
Scootaloo scoffed, "Oh, I'm scared alright," She sarcastically said as she rolled her eyes, "Scared that the last thing we ever see is this beast's face as he devours us all! Including you!" She pointed at the horrified young filly.
"B-But—" The rich filly was cut off quickly.
"You went too far this time!" Scootaloo glared angrily at her, "Now because of you and your mother, we're under attack by a monster that haunts my dad and your dad! Spike and Smolder are out there trying to fight this thing, and pretty soon, we're all gonna die!"
"Well, none of this would've happened if you hadn't laid a hoof on my daughter in the first place." Spoiled frowned down at Scootaloo, only to be face to face with mama bear Fluttershy who got in her face and snarled.
"Don't you dare try to pin this all on my baby, you despicable wench!" She snarled at the snobby mare. "You are just as responsible for this as your daughter is!"
Scootaloo nodded in agreement, "So I punched Diamond Tiara, so what?" She grunted as she admitted that she was a bit in the wrong but explained her reason at the same time, "Okay, yes, I shouldn't have done it, but it was her fault! She takes pleasure in making me and my friends miserable, and thinks she can get away with it all! Especially when she thinks she can get away with insulting that my own mother wouldn't have wanted to adopt me months ago!"
They all gasped at such an insult. That was a real low blow, even for somepony like Diamond Tiara. Now they could see why Diamond had gotten that black eye before – Scootaloo wasn't just defending herself or her friends, but she was also defending her mother.
Gallus frowned at the two as he quickly caught on to what was going on; all of this was happening as an act of petty revenge?
"…Seriously?" He climbed out from under the table and glared at the scared mare and filly, "All of this – for a stupid punch – that resulted into getting a stupid black eye? That's what all of this was about?" He motioned outside, now knowing his friends are out there, fighting a monster; and it was all because of these two? "Are you freakin' kidding me?!" He had gotten himself in detention for way worse things than that!
"She humiliated me and got me in trouble with daddy!" She glared at the young adolescent griffon, only for her glare to be rivaled by a sickened one on his face.
"Dudette… it's just a black eye," He scoffed, looking quite annoyed and sickened that she made such a big deal out of it, "So you got in trouble with your ol' man – so what?" He flailed his talons out, frustrated that this was happening over something so small and so stupid. "That's no reason to bring our home into ruin. You could've just suck it up and moved on with your life, but noo-ooo-oo, you had to pull this stunt like a whiny little witch?? How stupid could you get?!"
Silver Spoon nodded in agreement, confirming to the Griffon that she's been trying to get Diamond to stop only for her sister to take this path. "That's what I've been screaming!"
He jabbed a claw in her sister's chest as she looked terrified, narrowing his eyes at her, his tone darkened somewhat, "Man, if you were in my school, kid, I would've suspended you by your tail to the top of a flagpole." He snarled as he comes face to face with Spoiled, pointing at her, "And now because of you and your daughter, my best friend is out there with her brother fighting that monster."
Diamond Tiara looked down in regret as she could hear the screeches of dragons and the roar of a manticore.
"At least I know one thing… if this was your intention," Scootaloo pointed outside with a scowl on her face, she then pointed at Diamond herself. "On taking me down ‘one way or another', at least you're going down with me!" She turned away and walked to the window, to watch the fight, gripping the whistle.
There was nothing else Diamond Tiara could say, what else could she say? This was caused by her blowing that whistle – it wasn't going to just go away with an 'I'm sorry', even if Ponyville has the reputation of being the most forgiving place around as well as being the most targeted location for things like this.
Filthy went to join little Scootaloo and gave her some company as he did not want to look at his wife right now. Silver Spoon quickly followed him while Spoiled winced lightly.
"H-Honey, I…" She tried to speak to him, only for him to turn his head and give her a venomous glare. With nothing left to say to her, he led his innocent Silver to Scootaloo, he also gave Drift one last apologetic glance before he sat next to Scootaloo and watched.
***Outside***
"Hey, ugly!" Smolder called Marabunda, glaring at him from the sky. "Wanna play?!"
The rogue manticore, managing to swipe that annoying device away, noticed the young dragoness and growled. His ears were still ringing badly, so it's going to be a bit of time for him to hear real clearly – but he could still make out that this little one was insulting him. He let out a roar at her, which got her to immediately respond.
Spike growled in irritation, flying next to his sister, "Of all the things for Diamond to do, she goes and does this? Has that filly lost it?" He was hoping to have a good time today and spend time with his old and new friends and sister, but no that had to be ruined by some filly's obsession with one of his best friends.
"Does she normally do something like this?" Smolder asked, curiously. She's never met this filly before, so had to ask. But a headshake from Spike gave her the answer.
"No. She can be cruel, but she wouldn't do something like this," he scratched his head confusedly as Marabunda glared at them, keeping his attention onto them, "At least, I don't think?" he hasn't hung around Diamond Tiara long enough to know, or if he even wanted to.
Smolder rolled her eyes and dove down at the rampaging manticore, "Either way, let's have some fun!" Smolder hasn't had any action in a long while, so this huge target Diamond provided will do, "Crazy or not, I'm itching for a fight!" Smolder took a deep breath and blew a stream of fire at him, trying to set him on fire.
Spike shrugged and joined her as he flew around the back of Marabunda and breathed a fiery green breath at him that mixed with his sister's red-hot one. Despite not having any training to fight -- just flight maneuvers -- against any threat, that wasn't gonna stop them from defending their home.
Marabunda growled before wrapping his wings around himself and braced himself as the fire made contact. He roared a bit in pain as the fire nicked his skin and nearly enveloped him in a blanket of fire, but this was nothing new. He had faced scarier enemies and it took more than just a blast of fire to defeat him. With a quick side slice of his wings, he cut the fire-breaths in half, roaring in defiance and causing the young dragons to cease their fire assault.
"What?!" Spike looked shocked while Smolder looked somewhat horrified.
Marabunda just gave them a cocky smirk only a manticore knew how and mockingly flapped his wings at them, kicking up some dirt to prove his point. He was not gonna go down easy and he was gonna let these young ones know; that's for darn sure.
Spike gave in to the taunt and patted his sister on the shoulder to wake her up. Smolder shook her head and noticed the taunt for a split second before the menace gave them another glare.
"Is... is he taunting us?" Smolder asked somewhat aggressively, having that horrified feeling turn into annoyed and irritated.
Spike nodded and growled down at Marabunda, "Cocky manticore thinks he can take both of us out," Spike said with a snarl, testosterone was reaching its peak with Spike and all the male dragon wanted to do was bring this manticore down.
Smolder nodded in agreement. Her instinct to fight restored and she nearly forgot dragons don't just have flame breaths, "I don't know about you, bro, but I'm ready for round two," she sneered down at the manticore, claws at the ready.
Spike glanced at Smolder, drawing claws out with her, "Round two?"
"Round two?"
"Round two!" Both teenage dragons dove down, ready to start round two and caught Marabunda off-guard.
The manticore let out a roar and took the first swing at Spike, but Spike dodged and grinded his left sharp claw across Marabunda's arm before flying away, giving the rogue manticore enough to react from the speedy attack.
Marabunda let out a pained yip as he backed up, grabbing his paw, before feeling a sharp pain cut across between his back, making him jump forward a little. The beast turned his gaze to the left and saw the other dragon zip by before stopping.
Smolder gave Marabunda a mocking face, blowing a raspberry at him before flying up and away from the beast.
Marabunda growled in annoyance and tried to charge after Smolder, but a sudden pain in his right side made him stop. He looked to find the purple dragon had struck him, once again. Marabunda growled at the young dragon but was caught off-guard and blindsided by the orange dragon from a cut to the left cheek. Maranbunda hissed in pain from the assault, shaking his head as he backed up slightly. A cut to the hip and the cheek? This was ridiculous! They were like bees attacking a bear. He can't hit one of them without the other striking first. Their attacks were causing him pain, but not nearly enough to make him bleed.
"Think you're so tough now?" Smolder called out in a cocky tone, but received a growling response from Marabunda.
Despite being pumped right now, Spike can still think clearly enough to know what the manticore was gonna try and do. The tag team was effective, but it wasn't gonna be enough to take this thing down. It's tough, that's for sure, but he and his sister had to keep away from those claws, jaws, and stinger. One false move and they’re done for -- unless backup arrived. Doubt that'll happen. If his friends in Sugarcube corner are coming up with ideas, they better hurry and help out.
"Smolder, don't," Spike barked at her and made the young dragoness flinch. "Don't underestimate this thing. Even if we have the speed advantage, it's still capable of killing both of us. Riling it up would be suicide!" Smolder winced and nodded, completely forgetting about that.
"So, what do we do now, Spike?" Smolder asked. Normally, she'd want to dive in and fight, but in a situation like this, a plan had to be made. Marabunda was bigger than them and going in blindly would get them hurt badly. She was actually happy these ponies raised him to be smart. Well, dragons are smart, too, they're just too hot-headed to think strategically.
While analyzing Marabunda, Spike was already coming up with some ideas to try and take this monster down. On his free time, He'd visit his friends; mostly visit Scootaloo and her mother and just hangout. During his visit, he'd talk about all kinds of animals with Fluttershy and play with Scootaloo, too. It just so happened Manticores were brought into one conversion and he tried to think back what he saw, ‘Manticores are tough to take down, but they're like other creatures they have blind spots.’ That's it! One can distract Marabunda and the other can go for a blindspot. "I got it!" He looked to Smolder who looked at him eager and ready. "Smolder, you're stronger than me, but Marabunda doesn't know that. I'll keep him distracted and you go around and aim for the back; that's his blindspot."
Smolder was taken back by this idea, but she had no complaints. She had no idea where her brother got this info from, but she'll take it. She gave her brother a battle-ready smile and glared down at Marabunda who just growled and glared back.
Spike and Smolder took their positions, ready to resume the fight. Spike kept his eyes on Marabunda and was ready to give Smolder the signal. Eyes locked and waited.
"Okay, ready...."
Smolder lowered her head and waited for Spike's signal. She was ready for some more action as she flexed her claws and bared her teeth.
"Set...
Wings at the ready and claws aching to cut. Both dragons couldn't wait any longer.
"G--"
A large shadow loomed over them before Spike could even say 'go'. In a horrifying, unexpected turn of events, Marabunda turned the tides and swiftly flew up in the sky mere inches from the young dragons. Eagerness turned into panic when the manticore caught them off-guard and started to resume the attack -- his way. His left claw was raised, but Spike assumed he was aiming for Smolder, "Look out!" Spike yelled as they both tried to separate so they could dodge his swipe. Smolder flew back in time, but Spike failed to react the same as a large, powerful paw came in fast and swiped at the purple dragon with powerful force, hitting him hard like a flyswatter to an unsuspected fly.
Spike let out a pained yelp and fell from the air like a shooting star, screaming as he fell before he crashed into Sugar Cube, slamming against the front counter headfirst, knocking him out while causing those inside to scream in panic and horror. The rubble and pastries from the counter came toppling over him, blanketing parts of his body.
"Spike!" Smolder and Scootaloo shouted in horror as Spike was hindered unconscious from that surprise attack. Everyone else watched in horror as Spike didn't get up from that attack.
‘So, these two want to play a game of cat-and-mouse, then?' Marabunda thought, ‘Let's have at it.' He was all too willing to brawl with the likes of dragons -- land and air. They weren't the only ones with wings, so he wanted to make it even; heck, even go easy on them by staying on the ground. But, he got bored and had enough entertainment from them. He growled at the unconscious purple dragon and noticed other onlookers coming to aid him. It mattered little to the beast. Like him, Marabunda studied his two naive opponents – there was a male and a female, both seem so tempted to fight, but they had different attributes to them. One was stronger than the other and he figured that out when these two were attacking. He glared at the female dragon; it seemed she was the youngest of the two. With the strongest out of the way, he can go for her now. With a barely noticeable nod, he selected his first target and went after Smolder. ‘Let's see how much this young one can put up a fight without the other.’
Smolder kept her eyes on Spike. Worry and fear clouded her thoughts as she tried to fly down after him, but immediately forgot who was right in front of her. Smolder widened her eyes as she stared at the living nightmare in front of her; she made a mistake; no, they made a mistake. She couldn't think straight. All she wanted to do was get out of there so she couldn't get hurt. But the nightmare had only just begun as the monster that attacked her brother came flying after her.
**Inside Sugarcube Corner**
Everyone came to Spike's aid when Vinyl managed to pluck him out of the wooden structure with her magic. She gently placed him down as Scootaloo and everyone else looked absolutely horrified -- Scootaloo especially. Her crush was out cold and there was nothing she could do to help. But it got worse when she realized Smolder was still out there being a target for Diamond's 'pet'.
"Oh that poor little girl!" Filthy and Silver watched on as Smolder cried out trying to evade Marabunda. He could not tear his eyes away from this, his papa instincts on high while Silver held onto him in fear.
"Smolder..." Scootaloo whispered to herself. But then an idea immediately came to her. She held her hoof and saw she still had the whistle. She looked outside and wondered. If this could summon Marabunda, then she can use it to summon -- 'It's the only way,' Scootaloo thought.
Pinkie was terrified; one of the students of their school was in trouble, and was in high risk of becoming the first course! "What are we gonna do?!"
"I'm not sure… but I can't stay inside and watch this!" Filthy motioned to the sky at the screaming Smolder who turned a sharp right to try and lose Marabunda. "That little one needs our help!"
"I can see that, Filthy," Drift slightly snapped at him. He was concerned just as much as he was. "But we don't have the equipment to fight Marabunda." He darted his gaze onto Vinyl, but was surprised to see she was trying to use her magic like she did earlier. "Vinyl, what’re you--"
Vinyl grunted and crushed her eyelids as she attempted to use magic like she did bringing that noise-maker over to Drift. Only this time, it'll be a bigger item. She just had to imagine it being at that spot he showed her earlier and concentrated as best she could so she can save that little orange dragon. It took a lot of energy, but she finally succeeded and conjured a duffel bag in front of her, which got the others to notice. "Got it!"
Drift widened his eyes and couldn't help but bask in how awesome his step-sister was, "Vinyl, you are amazing!"
Vinyl wobbled her head a little due to being dizzy from using too much of her magic. But she shook her head and smiled determinedly at Drift, "Thank me later. Use whatever you have in here!”
"Right! Filthy, over here," Drift called as Filthy approached curiously. Drift took the duffel bag quickly and opened it, seeing the equipment that he, Filthy and the crew had used for trophy-hunting. "Perfect… it's all still here."
Fluttershy looked concerned about Drift and what he had planned with Filthy, "Drift, what are you doing?" She hoped he didn't think of doing what she thought he was doing.
Mrs. Cake looked concerned, "Tell us you’re not going out there to fight that monster, are you?"
Drift closed his eyes and nodded to them, "I can't run from my past forever… it's time I face it and end it, once and for all." He answered them as he started digging into the bag.
Fluttershy gasped and hurried to her coltfriend, her eyes wide in fear for what he's about to do, "B-But, Drift, that's too dangerous! He'll kill you!" Fluttershy tried to get him to reconsider. She just got him back and for him to fight out there was too much for her to handle.
He sighed lightly and pointed at himself as he looked to his angel, "Well, I'm the one he wants!" He had to face the demon that had haunted him, and it'll be possible that the manticore will recognize him due to his scar since he was the one who put it there. "I need you to stay here."
"While I watch you get killed by that beast's claws?!" She frowned lightly. "I don't think so!"
Drift was getting irritated by his marefriend's stubbornness. Marabunda was out there causing havoc, he had to fight or else things will get uglier by the minute, "I'm asking you to stay safe!" He looked to her for a moment before equipping a strange wrist gadget and giving Filthy some flashbangs.
But Fluttershy wouldn't stop. She had get Drift to reconsider, "But I'm telling you, I can't do that. Not after everything we've been through." She stubbornly rebuffed.
"Fluttershy, Filthy and I have to do this!" He just as stubbornly jabbed, but before she was about to respond, he grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her a little, stressing the point he's trying to make; his eyes glossy. "I can't lose you again!" He sighed, looking down sadly. Fluttershy paused and felt confused by that, but Drift softly told her, "Fluttershy… I lost you once because I was an absolute coward. ...And now I just got you back." He looked at her tearfully. "I just can't lose you now…not again – especially by Marabunda's claws." If his angel fell by Marabunda's claws, he'd never forgive himself. "Please… for all our sakes…" He pleaded as he looked to Scootaloo who looked near tears herself. "Stay here and keep Scootaloo safe…"
Fluttershy looked near tears but lowered her ears as she held his hooves; she understood that he had to face his past before it'd destroy them. She sniffled and hugged him tight, "Please come back alive…"
He nods and added, "I'll try… and take care of Silver Spoon, too." Now that got Fluttershy confused for a moment, but quickly put two and two together.
Silver Spoon looked surprised and was about to ask about what he meant about that, but Drift looked away from his girlfriend and looked to Filthy Rich with a bit of a neutral frown on his face. Filthy Rich pulled a wrist crossbow out of the duffel bag and equipped it to his right hoof, then a few gas pellets and pellet bombs. Both stallions gave each other serious looks that spelled 'ready for action', but they both knew once this was over, the aftermath won't be so pretty.
"I'm willing to forgive you since this is a life-or-death situation, Moneybags. It's because of that whistle that Marabunda's back!"
Filthy rolled his eyes in annoyance. He already knew of his mistake, but begrudgingly said, "I don't need to be reminded, Drift," he loaded his wrist crossbow with a flashbang pellet, "It's bad enough I used that whistle on us. I don't need to be reminded of that past failure. I've already made a new one!" Spoiled and Diamond actually felt that painful jab and backed up to a corner next to the stairs. They felt useless at this point.
As much as he wanted to scold Filthy, Drift nodded understandably. He wasn't gonna give Filthy too much of a hard time because he made a mistake, too. “Okay, fair enough. So, are you coming or not?" He asked; he knew that his friend had good intentions, and he wouldn't have known that Marabunda was this dangerous, but now he can make things right between them by helping him fight the beast. "Work as a team? Like old times?"
Filthy looked a bit shocked but knew he was given the chance to redeem himself in Drift's eyes. But he smiled determinedly and nodded, "Right behind ya," He narrowed his eyes as Drift and Filthy shook hooves before walking over to the gaping hole Spike made.
"Be careful, dad!" Scootaloo said before Drift came over and gave his little girl a fatherly, loving hug.
"I will, baby girl. Daddy will be back and we can hang out like you always wanted," Drift said in a proud tone. "Longer than what's going on right now.”
Scootaloo smiled before Drift and Filthy walked to the front of the bakery. Scootaloo glared at Spoiled and Diamond as she held the whistle before glancing at it, "You wanted to see my pet? You'll get your chance," Scootaloo took a breath and blew into the whistle, calling for backup.
Under a bit of rubble, wood, and glass, Spike's eyes twitched when Scootaloo blew the whistle.
**Outside**
Smolder dodged as best she could from those claws and that stinger, she was terrified but she tried to reassert herself; Dragons are tough, and dragons are NOT afraid to fight! Spike may be a strategist, but so was she in her own way. She just had to pull off an act to trick this manticore before going for an assault.
Marabunda was hot on her tail, trying to bite at her tail. Smolder was circling around the area between Sugarcube Corner and the houses next to and across from it. She was not gonna let this thing anywhere near other areas in Ponyville, but it made maneuvering a little challenge. But it was especially tricky for Marabunda. That's when Smolder got an idea.
'That's it!' Smolder thought. 'Okay, just slow down a notch.' and so she did. Marabunda sped up to her thinking that she was running low on fumes, an easy chase for him, but he didn't take to an account what Smolder planned.
Marabunda came in fast, but Smolder halted her flight and came back to him. Marabunda was caught off-guard by that action and widened his eyes in shock as he watched his prey pull a fast on him by turning around and delivering a solid kick right between the eyes.
Marabunda howled in pain as he grabbed his eyes right as Smolder hopped of the beast's head and flew a good distance away. But the young dragoness was far from done.
Onlookers who remained hidden peeked out to find the monster screaming in pain. They noticed Smolder and wanted to cheer her on, but they didn't want to distract while she was busy.
She glared as Marabunda lunged for a bite on his arm and swiped her sharp claws on the arm she was latched onto. Marabunda, slightly blinded from that kick used his jaws to nab Smolder, but was quick to act and caught the manticore one tooth on both jaws with her claws.
Something wasn't right here. He managed to knock the eldest out of the fight, right? How is this orange dragon holding her own against him? Marabunda was getting annoyed and tried to swipe at Smolder, but a hard impact under his jaw forced his mouth to close, making him reel back and grab his jaw from what just occurred. Nothing broken, but it hurt like Tartarus. He licked his jaw and paused for a moment. A piece of his left fanged tooth was chipped off!
Smolder lowered her right leg and looked down at the piece of tooth in her claw, she chuckled and glared daggers at the manticore, "How do you like that, ya overgrown gray freak?!" She lashed and snarled at him as she threw the tooth piece away next to Derpy hiding in a trashcan.
Filthy, Drift, Gallus and Scootaloo looked on in shock from what they witnessed. Was Smolder holding her own against Marabunda? How?!
"Okay, am I seeing things, or is that little lady turning Marabunda into her own personal punching-bag?" Filthy asked, stunned himself a little dragon was actually fighting back.
"This might sound crazy to you guys, but Smolder is stronger than you think," Gallus said as he informed the two older stallions. They looked at him confused, but curious. Gallus slightly rolled his eyes and explained, "Smolder is strong enough to beat on rocks and boulders when she's mad. Yona, Silversteam and I witnessed this a few times when Smolder found out her favorite shows got canceled --" he gazed up at Smolder "-- turned a boulder to a pile of ash in mere minutes."
"Um, not to sound rude, but... what does that have to do with what's going on?" Drift asked, wondering why Gallus was telling them this.
Gallus facepalmed and groaned in a bit of frustration, "You haven't hung around dragons, have you?" Gallus snarkily asked. "Smolder is strong enough to handle that thing up there, so long as she doesn't lose her temper."
"You mean like that?" Filthy replied as he pointed up at a steam-breathing Smolder.
Gallus and Drift looked up, but Gallus widened his eyes, "Oh no."
Marabunda looked almost stunned that she managed to get a strike at him; a strike that actually hurt. He'd give her praise by killing her quickly. He gave her a wicked smirk and his face darkened while letting out a growl at Smolder, but paused when he noticed something off about her.
Orange cheeks flared red, eyes slit to cat-like, snout curled into a raging-snarl and flaring teeth, claws at the ready and smoke streamed out from the edges of her mouth. Rage built up inside Smolder and she made Marabunda her target, "You attacked my brother and thought you could use me as a chew toy?" Smolder glared death-daggers at Marabunda, but Marabunda wasn't affected by it. "No one does that and gets away with it! I'll kill you! You hear me?! I'll kill you!" Smolder let out a roar of her own as her rage exploded like a miniature volcano. First, a filly came in with a whistle and then summoned this? All she wanted was to hang out with her brother and friends. But no, a snobby filly and her twice-as-snobby mother had to ruin it. Now Spike is injured and she's dealing with this monster alone. She'll make quick work of it, even if it means getting herself hurt.
Marabunda tilted his head and thought what he did was no big deal, but a blast of smoke from the orange dragon begged to differ. Marabunda roared and went on the defense, covering his eyes so as not to get blinded, again. The smoke made from the little orange dragon buildup to where Marabunda was coated in it. Smolder stopped as she watched the wall of smoke she created, ranging across the street below.
Everyone who watched was amazed to see Smolder cough up a large stream of smoke like that. They hoped she had a plan up her sleeve or something.
But that smokescreen was just a distraction. Once Marabunda was covered head to tail in smoke, she made no hesitation and darted right after the rogue manticore, shocking everyone who witnessed it.
Marabunda swatted at the smoke to try and blow it away so he could see what was going on. Blind, again, and not knowing where anything was really started to rile him up and he was getting real tired of it. He growled lightly and looked around for the dragoness, quickly realizing that she must be using this to her advantage. He was about to flap his wings to blow the smoke away so he could find his prey, but a hard force appeared out of nowhere and slammed into his abdomen, almost knocking the wind out of him. Marabunda shrieked in pain with his eyes bugging out, and those outside the smokescreen heard him.
Gallus and the others winced when they heard the pained shriek and hard smack. It's as if they felt what Marabunda felt.
Smolder growled when she rammed into Marabunda, but she wasn't done, yet. She was gonna bring this thing back down to earth and make her ancestors proud! Smolder backed up just mere inches from Marabunda and rocket herself up, bashing him in the lower jaw again with both fists, knocking his head up and stunning him momentarily as he is knocked back some from the force. A pained grunt emitted from the manticore, but Smolder popped out of the smokescreen. She glared down and didn’t focus on anything else. Everyone would've cheered for her, had it not been for Smolder acting fast and flying down like a missile back into the smokescreen and pushing Marabunda down and making him crash to the ground just like he did with Spike.
Smolder dragged Marabunda across the ground like he was a surfboard a couple of feet away from Sugarcube Corner before stopping. She glared down at the prone manticore for a moment, but knew that was not gonna stop him -- even if he seemed out cold. One last-minute glance at him and she flew back up into the air above the buildings. She clenched her fists and slowly inhaled as much air as she could; flames began to build up in the back of her throat.
Gallus, Drift, Filthy, Scootaloo, everyone who was watching could not believe what they were looking at. A young dragoness took down a large manticore all on her own? If this was over like that, they'd peg her as Ponyville's newest hero -- but right now was not the time for it.
"Everycreature, hit the deck!" Gallus shouted as everyone looked to him, confused. But the message was clear when they saw the fire around Smolder's mouth build-up to make her look like a living will-o-wisp.
Everyone braced themselves as Smolder threw her head down and launched a big, powerful stream of concentrated fire down at Marabunda, coating his body with raw intense flames that could melt a boulder in mere seconds.
Marabunda cried out in agony as the flames blanket his body and singed his fur. He thrashed about, trying to escape, but the roaring flames had him pinned and burning his hide. There was nothing the manticore could do other than endure. Of all the creatures he fought, he didn't expect a small dragon to best him. She was intent on roasting him and he was feeling it all.
Smolder didn't let up. She wanted to see his body charred and lifeless. She would regret it later for acting this way, but she was too upset to see reason. But, it was ironic Marabunda attacked Spike first and not her. If this manticore was smart to figure it out, Smolder was stronger than Spike; that's why he came up with this plan. He was the distraction and she was the assault. Marabunda thought he'd turn the tides, but Smolder turned the tides on him, and she was gonna prove it right here. Now, all Smolder wanted was to see Marabunda burn! She launched more power into her flames and cranked up the heat. She never produced this much fire before, but had no other options. It was now or never!
The ponies near the vicinity and range of the fire attack felt the heat. The heat wasn't enough to melt the foundations, but it was still hot enough for them to feel it. Drift and Filthy were sweating a little from it, but they kept their eyes glued to the fight. They knew all too well what dragon fire was capable through hearing stories of others and witnessing at least one that fought another. Dragon's were no joke, and Smolder was proving those stories right. If her parents were here, she'd make them proud.
Marabunda howled in agony for some time until he suddenly went silent. It caught the ears of onlookers -- even Drift and Filthy, but Smolder looked like she wasn't quite done just yet.
Smolder had the upper hand, but when she sensed Marabunda wasn't moving, she stopped her all-out assault and looked down at what she caused. All she saw was a charred, motionless body sprawled on the ground lying in a bed of black dirt; smoke flowing off of his body. He didn’t seem to be breathing either. Smolder breathed heavily from using too much energy on her flames, having also worked up quite a sweat, but she did it. She defeated Marabunda. She flew back down with what little energy she had left and glided away from him. She landed near Drift, Gallus, and Filthy who looked on in shock from what they witnessed as they came to help Smolder in case she fell over herself.
Smolder huffed and puffed out of exhaustion, but she could still talk, just barely, "Taken... care of... guys..." Smolder breathed exhausted breaths and her heart was racing a mile a minute, but she slowly calmed down long enough to smile proudly and victorious from winning that fight against Marabunda.
"Smolder, that was awesome!" Gallus said, smiling with excitement as the two stallions nodded in agreement.
"You feeling okay?" Drift asked, a little worried since Smolder looked like she could barely move after that.
Smolder would make a comeback for that silly and stupid question, but she was far too tired to think of one. Scootaloo couldn't believe it herself. With all the stories her father told her and her mother, she believed Marabunda was gonna be tough to take down, but Smolder took him out and saved Ponyville. Fluttershy walked up to Scootaloo and witnessed what just occurred. She was more than surprised.
Smolder smiled, again, a little cheeky at them and wanted to brag about her victory, but her worry for her brother overlapped anything else and she gazed at Sugarcube Corner, concerned, "Is... Spike... okay?" Smolder asked as she tried to walk.
Everyone else looked worried and tried to come up with a comforting answer for Smolder, but miraculously --
"Heh, I'll live!" Spike said as he got back up from that crash. A little woozy and dented, but he was up and about. He limped from Pinkie Pie and the cake family and towards what used to be the front door next to a very worried Fluttershy and a worried, but relieved, Scootaloo. Smolder was more than happy to see her brother was still alive. Compared to her, that hit must've hurt like a mother.
"I knew... you wouldn't go... down that easy," Smolder still tried to catch her breath, but she was too happy to care. She started to walk over to Spike while Drift and Filthy had her back.
Spike smiled softly, he couldn't be more proud of his sister for taking down that monster. If any of their family were there, heck, any of their ancestors were there, they'd make them proud. Spike was about to walk out and celebrate with her, but something in the corner of his eye got his attention and before anyone could react, a charred paw came swooping across and snatched Smolder, knocking Filthy and Drift away and catching the other off-guard.
"Smolder!" Spike screamed as Smolder screamed in fear as Marabunda came back from the 'dead' and nabbed Smolder without her knowing. Scootaloo, Fluttershy and everyone else gasped in horror as the little dragon was caught in the beast's grip.
Marabunda roared in fury as he dragged Smolder across the ground and pinned her under his paw and crushing her with his weight, making her wail in pain.
Smolder couldn't fight back. Her energy was near depleted from that fire attack. All she could do was look up as Marabunda glared down at her with savage eyes. He shook the charcoal off his body and revealed that the fire barely touched his skin, but did singe off a lot of his fur. Smolder did a number on him, but not even that would take him out. All the bravery Smolder had turned into fear as the last thing she could do was call out for help, and so she desperately did, "HELP!" Just how strong was this animal?
Spike snarled angrily as instincts to save his sister quickly took over. As if his pain barely mattered, Spike spread his bruised wings and soared passed Drift and Filthy who were next to go after him.
"How in the world did he survive that?" Filthy asked, concerned.
Drift looked at him as if what he asked was an impossible question, "How should I know? No one can live through dragon fire like that!"
Scootaloo and Fluttershy felt useless in this situation, Scootaloo tried again and blew the whistle as hard as she could, this time getting a louder ring out of it. Fluttershy looked at her daughter and wondered what she was doing.
Spike weakly flew at the manticore and swung his claws, clawing off more pieces of fur and raking skin, "Let go of my sister, you jerk!" He grunted in pain when Marabunda swung his tail and smacked him away, but Spike grabbed it and tried hanging on. Marabunda glared back at Spike while Smolder watched as her injured brother tried in vain to help her. Then Marabunda had an idea: if this purple dragon is trying to save this female dragon, then it would be all the more fun to wipe her out and then the rest. Keep him alive as he watched. Or, maybe do it to the female dragon. Seeing the trauma on his prey's faces gave him great joy. It's how he works – traumatize the rest of the prey by killing their closest member, be it friend or family, and then pick them off while they're stunned, but for this little one he pinned down, he'll make sure it's slow and painful. He licked his chops down at Smolder and opened his mouth, showing off his razor-sharp teeth, his hot stinky breath hitting her face.
Smolder whimpered as she tried to escape, but his grip was too strong. She screamed out in horror and sheer terror as Marabunda started lowering his mouth towards her, preparing to tear into her scales.
Spike saw this and tried to pull at Marabunda's tail with what strength he had in him, trying desperately to get him away from Smolder. If she were to die right here, he'd never forgive himself and his actual dragon family would disown him for Smolder's death. He had to save her by any means, "No!" He snarled and bit down on Marabunda's tail, getting his attention.
Marabunda grunted a bit from the bite. That hurt a bit, but not enough to get a bloody mess from his tail -- but it sure got his attention. He rose up and gazed back at the purple nuisance behind him. Change of plans, he'll traumatize the little orange dragon instead. Without a second thought, Marabunda pulled his tail back, lifted Spike in the air and slammed him back down, dazing him as he released Maranbunda's tail. Drift and Filthy prepared to use their weapons while Smolder watched in horror as Spike groaned in pain and tried to get up, but a loud piercing noise echoed and Spike let out a scream of absolute pain.
Time almost seemed to stop when Drift, Filthy, Scootaloo, Fluttershy, Smolder, and Pinkie Pie watched in dismay, shock, horror and disbelief as Marabunda lifted his tail off of Spike and reeled it back, poison dripping from the stinger tip. Spike barely let out a breath as he looked at his sister before dropping his head to the ground, eyes closed. No one knew if he was out cold... or worse.
Everything went quiet and the only thing that could be heard was the snickering cackle of Marabunda as he gazed upon the defeated drake. He then turned his attention to a destroyed Smolder who was tearing up under his paw. He didn't care about what the others felt. All he cared about was what was about to be in his blood-hungry maw. He hungrily licked his chops and opened his mouth as he prepared to make a dragoness one fine delicacy.
Drift gazed at Spike's motionless body and felt his body go cold. whether it was from guilt or something else, he knew what he saw was never gonna leave his mind. He couldn't believe this just happened. Spike seemed like a really cool guy. Very likable and fun to hang around; Gallus was right to say what he said. He hadn't hung around dragons that much, but he and Smolder seemed like chill dragons and his daughter seemed like have goo-goo eyes over.... 'Wait, Scootaloo!' He turned his head and saw his daughter on her haunches crying out to Spike, heartbroken. Fluttershy grabbed a hold on her and tried to keep her from going out there. His daughter destroyed, a friend down, and another soon to follow? No, seeing this ignited a new flame to him. This was supposed to a peaceful day and Marabunda was ruining it; Filthy better have a good idea of what punishment his witch of a wife and brat of a daughter are gonna have, because this was out of line! He's had enough and he knew his friend and comrade was the same. He widened his eyes and snarled in anger. He swung his wrist weapon at Marabunda, glaring at the demon, aiming carefully at his head. "You son of a --"
Suddenly, an apple came out of nowhere and slammed hard onto Marabunda's nose, then some pies flew by and splattered all over his face as he roared in pain and shock from this surprise attack. All the trauma Smolder saw caused her to pass out before she could even see who saved her.
Marabunda reeled back and clench his nose, whipping the pies off his face and unintentionally releasing Smolder. He grasped his muzzle tight, momentarily halting the pain – but he could feel the warm touch of his own blood leaking out of his nose from the hard impact of the fruit. It didn't feel broken, but it still hurt. He opened his demon eyes and glared over at the source with a vicious growl; who dares attempt to harm him and defy his traumatizing tactics?
Drift was stunned by the sudden aid and looked to where the apple goods came from, and much to his happiness, shock and relief, aid came in the form of three familiar earth ponies and two unicorns.
Scootaloo, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie noticed as well and looked to find who came just in the nick of time to help and what a surprise they got!
Applejack and her siblings came back from Mount Rushmare. They expected to have a warm welcome, but nothing quite like this.
Applejack glared furiously as she pulled her hat down, "Y'all stay away from those dragons, ya flea-pickin' varmint!"
Marabunda glared at these new arrivals and roared in fury. He was gonna make them suffer for hitting him with food.
Applebloom tossed up another pie and yelled, "Fire!" Big Mac quickly turned and bucked the pie tin, making the pie sail before it struck the rogue manticore right in the face, its juices splattering all over and getting in his eyes, causing him some eye pain as the beast roared in agony from the sudden sting in his eyes. "Good shot, big brother!" She grinned up at her brother who smirked and looked proud of his direct hit.
"Lucky shot, little sis." He winked, modest that it was but luck that helped him there.
A blue aura surrounded the unconscious Smolder and pulled her away from Marabunda as a diamond-like magic shield appeared once she was a safe distance from the manticore. Smolder barely opened her eyes, but she noticed a unicorn filly was using light green magic blasts, assuming they were fired at Marabunda. She was surprised, but her body was too tired to show it, by such magic, she moved her eye up and noticed another unicorn casting some kind of spell over herself and the smaller unicorn, but to her own shock and relief, she figured out it was none other than Rarity and Sweetie Belle who saved her! "R-Rarity? S-Sweetie Belle?" Smolder passed out again before the two unicorns could get a word in.
Sweetie Belle glared as she blasted another green beam at the manticore, striking him across the cheek like a knife, causing him to roar and take another step back. "Leave her alone, you big bully!"
Rarity smiled proudly at her sister while using her magic to create dazzling diamond shields to give them some protection against the beast. "Smashing shot, Sweetie Belle~"
She grinned happily up at her big sister, proud that she got in a few hits with her magic. "Thanks, Rarity!" She squeaked out in joy.
Though they witnessed Spike getting hurt, they were unable to rescue him from Marabunda, but lucky for the unicorns and earth ponies, two shadows in the form of a Griffon and Pegasus came down over Marabunda and grabbed Spike before the beast could notice. Drift and Filthy saw this and were relieved to see that they showed up as well.
Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie watched worriedly as Gilda and Rainbow Dash came down and placed Spike down in front of them and Scootaloo.
“Rainbow Dash… Gilda…!” Scootaloo lightly smiled in relief upon seeing her idol and new friend.
“Hold Spike!” Rainbow Dash barked to Fluttershy as she quickly grabbed him and held him in a motherly embrace.
"So, can someone tell us why a giant manticore is attacking Ponyville?" Gilda pointed back at Marabunda, confused and shocked.
But Rainbow Dash shook her head at her, thinking there was no time for questions, "No time, let's just take this thing out!" she barked before flying back to help her friends, glaring furiously at this rogue manticore.
Gilda nodded but glanced back at Spike and winced as she got a good look at where he got stung. “Yeesh… hope someone knows how to treat stings like this?” She pointed at the disturbing hole in Spike's back before she glared at Marabunda and followed after her best friend before Fluttershy could get a word in.
Pinkie Pie narrowed her eyes at Spike then back at Marabunda in anger. That tore it right there, “No manticore stings Spike and gets away with it!” Uncharacteristically yet understandably, filled with rage, she raced after Dash and Gilda.
“Pinkie Pie!” Scootaloo gasped while her mother desperately reached to stop the pink mare from being reckless.
Mr. Cake looked ready to faint while Pound reached for her in fear, babbling out in fear “Pinkie!”
Pumpkin cried out in fear for her foalsitter and unofficial aunt-figure. “Pie!”
Mrs.Cake gasped deeply in fear and called for the party mare desperately, “Pinkie, sweetheart, stay here!!!”
However, Pinkie would not listen – this manticore was going to pay for making all these unhappy faces and for hurting her best dragon friend.
Filthy saw the opening and nodded to Drift, they had to out-think the beast and outnumber him. Thankfully, Drift caught that and nodded.
With their tactical plan in mind, they raced after the three girls, flying and running into battle as the Apples and Gems aid them with everything they got.
An all-out war between the ponies and griffon against a creature none of which have ever faced before. With the dragons out of commission, odds are not looking up, but none cared as Pinkie Pie let out the call.
“CHAAAAAAAAARGE!”