//------------------------------// // A Final Confrontation (Part 1) // Story: As a Family // by Dashzilla93 //------------------------------// Ponyville was once again a battlefield. What time they had earned after a struggling battle was ultimately stripped away from them as the entity they tried so hard to bring down rose right back up and was ready to fight and see blood drawn. Yet, one approached and had no intention of backing down. The cloudy air that once held a peaceful silence now sang with an enraged, battle-ready roar and a vengeful, hate-filled hiss as two competitors stared each other down; a very injured, but highly persistent rogue Manticore and a very angry, ready-to-fight Komodo Dragon. They both stood on their respective sides of Ponyville, keeping their deadset-focused eyes on one another. Marabunda snarled as he glared those blank-white eyes at his opponent; after all those beatings, after all that pain, he had finally gone over the edge – he had given up on any common sense and had gone full rogue. Communication, reasoning, it didn't matter to him anymore -- even to the point self-harm meant nothing to him. All that mattered now was slaughtering anything in front of him until they were nothing but dead waste under his paws. And the lizard before him would be the next to go. Varan hissed aggressively as he narrowed his eyes at the monster glaring back at him. He stood tall as a show of intimidation towards Marabunda, but his attempt failed to cause any reaction from him. It didn't matter anyway. What mattered was who was gonna be left standing. This monster ruined his life; killing his family; his friends; his former home; it traumatized him to no end. He took everything that was important to him when he was a hatchling. But this time, he won't get that opportunity a second time. He won't take young master, he won't take old master, he won't take anyone else. And he won't ever back down from this fight. This manticore was going down and he'll make sure he stayed down for good. Varan let out another primal hiss. This was their final showdown. Scootaloo watched out from the upper window of Sugercube Corner. The scene before brought a mix of dread and horror to her when she heard the hiss of her beloved pet. Her body ran cold in fear for not just the monster out there still alive, but that Varan was the only one out there about to fight it. The fear of death coursed through her mind; she wanted Varan to get away from him. But if she said anything right then and there, she'd risk Varan's life if she so much as distracted him. At least, she hoped that wasn't the case. Spike stood over Scootaloo and peered out the window, too. Needless to say, he was shocked to find her pet willing to still fight, but he was amazed to see he still dared to fight Marabunda. Varan was no dragon by any means, but his determination made him similar to one. He looked down to Scootaloo and gently bumped her shoulder, getting her attention, "Hey, Scootaloo, I know you're worried, but at least let's cheer him on, okay?" Scootaloo took that to heart and nodded. There was nothing she could do physically, but she could at least cheer him on. She smiled a bit at what Spike said and appreciated the idea. Gilda and Rainbow Dash, just downstairs of the bakery noticed the sky darken as storm clouds slowly approached Ponyville. Both griffon and pegasus were confused before they looked at each other in question. "Uh, Dash, is there a storm scheduled today?" Gilda raised a brow at her as she asked her. Rainbow Dash just shook her head in response, "Not that I'm aware of." A storm did approach, but the ones focused on the battle barely noticed; not moving a single inch. Marabunda and Varan waited for one another to make a move, or one to slip up. Minutes felt like hours as both animals glared each other down, but it wasn't until the sound of thunder from the storm suddenly cracked the air. The fight was on! Marabunda let out a blood-curdling roar and he charged after his nemesis. Varan quickly obliged him and made a mad dash after the rogue manticore. Both animals clashed, bellowing their respective calls as claws swung at one another. But Marabunda was a second faster as he swung his sharp claw at the lizard, striking him in the arm and drawing first blood. He fully intended to cause as much damage to the lizard as possible like he would've done to that measly speck of a filly he swatted earlier. But Varan wasn't gonna go down that easily and was quicker on his feet as he managed to narrowly avoid another swipe from those claws. Varan bellowed in revenge as he swiftly twirled his body and whipped Marabunda in the leg with his tail and actually managed to sweep the beast off his paws and crash onto his back. Scootaloo, Spike, Drift and everyone cheered, but Varan wasn't done. He ignored the cheering and watched as Marabunda slowly got up, but the moment to strike was now and Varan was not gonna allow him to make another move. The large komodo charged, again, and slammed his weight right into the beast, knocking him back down and immediately started clawing at whatever he could slash at. The rogue wholeheartedly returned with his own strikes. Claws raked on scales and fur, but Varan's claws proved more effective when his hooked talons sliced parts of Marabunda's mane off. If he was going to end it all right here, right now, he needed a good clear shot. A bare blind side; a solid target that he could sink his fangs in and finally bring this maniac down. He used everything he had from his front and back claws and getting one headbutt in. He managed to daze Marabunda with that headbutt, but it ultimately proved fruitless as Marabunda returned with a swipe with left claw. Varan yipped as he was slapped across the face, gaining another pair of cuts on his right cheek but he responded with a claw to the face on his attacker. The force from that strike almost knocked him off, but Varan quickly regained his balance and hissed at Marabunda. Everyone still cheered, but Scootaloo noticed something was wrong. With how much they've been fighting Marabunda, she never knew if Varan was still exhausted from his previous fight. He looked like he was gaining an advantage, but she just wasn't sure. She snarled at herself and kept cheering him on, "Kick his butt, Varan!" She shouted as she saw Varan swung a right hooked claw at Marabunda. The hit succeeded in drawing some blood and caused Marabunda quite the face pain as he roared in agony, but he responded back by balling his left claw into a fist and swung hard, slamming it into the komodo's head and sending him off and rolling onto the ground with a squeak. Varan hissed in pain as he stopped on his belly, lying prone on the ground. Scootaloo gasped in shock and watched in horror, 'No, no, no' her thoughts raced to where she almost couldn't think straight and she almost tried to jump out from the window, but Spike and Sweetie Belle managed to quickly grab her before she could; Spike, despite recovering from his injury, held onto Scootaloo while Sweetie Belle used her magic to prevent her from moving, or, at least try to; Scootaloo's moving and surprising strength almost ruined her concentration. The commotion caught Applejack's attention and she rushed over to try and calm down the situation, "Ya'll need to calm down, Scootaloo." She said, trying to get through to the little filly, but she wasn't having it. Her beloved pet was fighting for his life out there and she had to be there for him. She didn't want him to die by that psychopathic manticore; she wanted him to stay alive because it was bad enough that most of her life months ago was near torturous, she thought she had no parents only to find out her mother was closer than she ever thought. And just today, she finally found her father and her aunt. Her life was gonna be happier that she found more of her family tree, but with that beast of her father's past threatening to kill them all; she worried if they would be taken from her. "Why can't that manticore just die?!" Scootaloo cried in tears as she panicked and tried to break free from Spike and Sweetie Belle's hold. "Scootaloo, please, it's not gonna help Varan if you go out there and get yourself killed," Sweetie Belle chimed in. As much as she wanted to fight, she was too small and weak to even face him. Applebloom was lucky she made it out with only a bruised body. Scootaloo struggled. Though try as she might, a dragon's strength and unicorn's magic was a powerful combination and Scootaloo gave in as she was in Spike's hold, but the tears rolled down her cheeks as she cried in front of everyone in the guestroom. "I don't want him to die!" This whole thing was getting to her and she just wanted it to stop. "I can't handle it. Diamond Tiara went too far and now she's gonna kill my pet... my... Varan." She was heartbroken, frustrated, annoyed, and sore. She and her mother went too far. She felt completely useless. "I just can't..." She sobbed, tears running down her face. She looked everyone in the room with her puffy, red yet terrified and broken eyes. Varan was more than a pet to her, they had to know this. "I can't lose Varan... he's... he's family!" She whimpered in pain from her heartbreak, "It's bad enough I had to suffer as an orphan before finally finding my parents and my auntie..." She gazed toward the outside as she could hear her Varan squeal a bit as Marabunda landed another strike on him "...but I don't want to lose another member of my family, too." Her struggling worsened the pain in his back for a moment, but he ignored it long enough for Scootaloo's struggling to cease. Spike looked down and, to his grief, saw Scootaloo sobbing and choking up having to know Varan is fighting to protect them. Scootaloo didn't want the risk of Varan getting hurt to happen; he understood that loud and clear. He listened and felt heartbroken; he noticed Sweetie Belle was the same way as him. They didn't want to see Scootaloo breakdown and cry like this. Yes, they didn't want any more fighting either, but what could any of them do? Spike was at a loss right now. His sister and he tried to take Marabunda down and failed; Applebloom and her family failed; Rarity and Sweetie Belle; Drift and Filthy; even Rainbow and Gilda. What was left for them to use? But, right now, his priority wasn't to fight Marabunda again, it was to try and find a way to calm Scootaloo down. Then something dawned on him. He widened his eyes and realized he had forgotten something. He looked back at Scootaloo and had an idea... "Scootaloo? Scootaloo, look at me. Please." The poor filly barely opened her eyes because her salty tears stung so badly. But she heard Spike and listened; Spike motioned a hand to Sweetie Belle to turn off the magic. And so she did. Before she knew it, Scootaloo was in Spike's hold, or, in this case, a warm hug. Applejack and Sweetie Belle were surprised by this turn of events. What was Spike up to? Spike wasn't good at being a sweet-talker, but what he knew best was encouragement and Scootaloo desperately needed some, "It's gonna be alright. From what you told us before, Varan seems like he's more than capable of handling this. You said he was strong and fierce, right?" And that was true. Scootaloo always loved to say how awesome Varan was, that she neglected to remember that. But with how Marabunda was, she just wasn't sure anymore, she sniffed then glanced at Spike. She wiped her tears away and saw a reassuring smile on his face. She didn't know how to take that, nor did she realize she was in his arms. She looked from side to side real quick then back to him, "Y-Yeah, I did say all those things." she was slowly calming down. His hug was rather inviting and comfortable. It made her feel better, just slightly. She almost forgot Sweetie Belle and Applejack were watching, much to their confusion, but she didn't care. She finally got to be in her crush's arms. To his surprise, it was working. He smiled in relief and said to her, "Just believe that he can win this. Varan can win this. He can -- huh?" He rambled for a bit and realized his scaly chest had a fuzzy cheek planted on it. He looked down and blushed brightly. He didn't expect this but what didn't help was the slight snickering from Applejack and Sweetie Belle. He pouted at them to not even think about laughing at a time like this. He won't hear the end of it, but it came at a price for someone he cared about so much. That was one reason why he hung out with her so much. He had feelings for her for quite some time and he didn't know how to express them. Now was the time to say something to her now that she wasn't panicking. He looked down at Scootaloo and softly said, "By the way, I know." Scootaloo shot her puffy, red eyes open and gazed up at Spike. "I-I... .... an unsettling hiss from Varan caught their attention. Outside, the clouds began to darken to the sky as the rain started to drip pat everything every drop touched. That barely fazed the two animals as Varan and Marabunda locked eyes with one another; nothing but malice and hate. Both huffed breaths of exhaustion, but Varan was almost at his peak. Marabunda, however, showed no signs of stopping. The rain slowly began to pick up, washing away any blood still on their bodies. Varan quickly got back up from being thrown, but his short, pained, breaths were a clear sign he was tired from this fight, but he had to push himself to protect what he loved. Marabunda will never get any chance of going near them! Varan let out a still-fighting hiss, but that only signaled Marabunda to attack. The manticore ran up and took a swipe at Varan, but the komodo ducked and swiftly dodged under Marabunda's arm and quickly went for a tail-whip but a chomp and an unbridled jolt of pain shot across Varan's body as something clamped hard around his tail. Varan let out a hissing-wail as he looked back to find the cause of the pain was Marabunda's jaws around his tail. Marabunda bit into his tail and his fangs easily broke the skin – similar to how Big Mac had grabbed onto him. Varan's eyes bugged out in shock, but Marabunda had him right where he wanted him and he looked at the large lizard with no intention of showing mercy. A long, eerie, gurgling growl escaped Marabunda's throat as he was ready for the toss. Drift and the others watched on in horror, but Scootaloo gasped in terror when she saw Marabunda twirl his body and easily tossed Varan away like a ragdoll, throwing him into the air and causing the hapless reptile to slam into the wagon that saved Applebloom from almost getting severely hurt. Only in Varan's case, his weight and mass broke the wagon like cardboard and it crumbled over his body, burying him under wet wood and pastries – by the level impact, it looked like a clean solid hit. Her mind was at an overload. Terrified and worried, Scootaloo kicked herself off of Spike and climbed over the edge. Spike grunted in pain, but Sweetie Belle caught him as the watched Scootaloo jump out the window. Applejack tried to reach for the filly, but it was too late. Scootaloo glided down to the ground a few feet away Sugarcube Corners and looked over to the pile of wood Varan was under. She was about to call over to him while Marabunda wasn't looking, but her father immediately ran out in the battlefield and grabbed her and pulled her away, "Varan!" Scootaloo instinctively called out. But that only drew Marabunda's attention. Drift gasped in horror as his nightmare glanced at him and his daughter. He didn't know what to do. His options were limited. He could try and make a run for it with Scootaloo back to the bakery, but that would only lead him to the others and that wouldn't end well for anyone. He could use himself as a distraction while someone handled Scootaloo. His eyes fixated on Marabunda; Scootaloo was exactly like him. Both were scared to know what Marabunda was going do and anticipate when he'd do it. Scootaloo made a horrible mistake and now she brought her own father into it. Filthy froze in fear, as well, but he had to try and help. He could pounce in and distract Marabunda long enough for Drift and Scootaloo to get back, but he was too scared to move. Paranoia set in and thoughts of harm to others rang in. He didn't want his family hurt, but he didn't want his friends to get hurt either. What should he do? He couldn't handle any more pressure like that. If this was what an ultimatum was, he was not a fan of it. The manticore now spotted Drift and Scootaloo. His stance was strong and fierce. His scorpion tail curved as if it had a mind of its out. The monster had won the fight, but it never roared out his victory – almost as if it never satisfied his lust for blood. He narrowed his soulless eyes at the two with a hate-filled growl escaping his throat. He looked to the two vulnerable pegasi before him, then at the ones contained in the makeshift cave behind them and the ones next to it. Glaring at the two pegasi once more, he growled sinisterly and gave a single yet creepy lick of his lips, licking the blood of Varan off of his fangs – making it clear that when he’s finished with Varan, they’ll be getting VIP tickets for a tour in his stomach. He was still aware there were more victims to be taken, but then he turned his attention back onto the one who fought him. Clearly, it still showed signs of life and it would try to stop him from achieving a true genocide -- he'll make short work of him. Vinyl winced as her stepbrother and niece were out there facing that beast. But then she saw Marabunda face away from them and quickly, without a second thought, she launched herself out and shouted to them, "Drift, Scootaloo get back here. Quick!" Drift craned his head back at Vinyl at the front door and did just that with Scootaloo in one arm. Scootaloo watched as Marabunda began to approach Varan. Marabunda growled lowly as he slowly approached the collapsed wagon, glaring coldly at the wreckage – right at the lizard who had escaped him years ago as a little helpless hatchling. But now, as an adult, he was just as persistent and annoying as these other creatures that tried to take him down. This was the best the runt can do to stop him? Pathetic. The pain was undeniably bad, but he was still alive. His muscles ached and he felt a little dizzy. He had never been tossed like that by any other animal. The only animal that came close was that bear he met earlier. If only he were here, he'd apologize for mistaking him for Marabunda. That was if he got out of this alive. Despite feeling the pain and debris on him, he felt the raindrops gently touch and slide down his scales. It felt good, in a way. He's been living in a den for so long, he almost forgot how good it felt. Varan reminisced a day with a similar feeling. Before he met his young master and the old one, he had a moment one day where he'd lay on a grass field just minding his own business, then he felt a gentle breeze brush across his scales. He had no idea who or what touched him, but waking up to it just to see nothing really confused him, yet it felt comforting in some way; it was as if something told him that he was gonna be fine. And that he'd find peace one day. After that, the feeling was gone. Whether he was imagining that or not, he'd like to revisit that moment and feel exactly what he felt before. A lion's paw slammed onto the wheel over him, knocking him out of his trace and making him hiss in pain -- unfortunately, those good feelings didn't last long as the pain he felt became worst. He gazed up and saw the demonic eyes of Marabunda. He snarled unintelligibly but as Varan slowly lifted his head from under the wheel of the wagon that pinned him, he could faintly make out, 'This… ends… now. No… more… fooling around!' He pushed on the wheel with his weight, fully intending to crush the lizard and make him squeal for his life – His tail slowly rose. To make sure this lizard would never get up, a few good stings would make the job way easier. And once he's done, the rest of those littler preys were his for the taking. He would smile with glee, but he saw no point in it. All he wanted was to end them. No one could stop him now. He pressed his paw on the wheel and further crushed Varan underneath, warranting a pained shriek and desperate cry for help from the defenseless lizard "We gotta do something!" Rainbow Dash cried out, wanting to help out. "What can we do, Dash? We threw everything we had at that thing and it wasn't enough," Gilda retorted. She was not gonna throw her life over a losing battle. "Drift, can't you and Filthy use your whatever-they-are to stop him?" Rarity asked, worried for the lizard outside. Drift held onto Scootaloo close as she sobbed in his hold. As much as he would love to reload his wrist-launcher, there wasn't enough time. Marabunda was already on Varan and Filthy's weapon was almost out, too, "I wish we could, but reloading would take a bit of time and Varan doesn't have any." Varan winced and struggled to get free. He looked alarmed as he saw Marabunda's stinger about to sink into him. He hissed in defiance and tried to muster the strength he had left – it won't end like this! He won't allow it! Any energy he had left, he had to use it. Scootaloo looked out the window and saw Marabunda about to make the killing blow. All her fears were about to be a reality. She didn't want to see it but she couldn't. She saw the stringer lift itself. Nobody even dared to help him. She tried to save him, but it was fruitless. She remembered what Spike told her, but it was all wrong. Varan was losing and soon she'd lose him. Scootaloo quivered her lips as she could no longer contain herself. Drift tried to calm her down, but she called out in desperation, pleading to anything that would save her friend, "Varan, No! Please! Someone save him!" A powerful blast of lavender magic suddenly shot down like a comet and slammed into the manticore, hitting him in the back on the spot where he fixed his wings and caused him to roar in agony -- the blast left a noticeable burn mark. If anyone had good hearing, they would've heard sizzling noises after that attack struck the skin. Varan watched in confusion as Marabunda backed away and tried to feel at the spot where he was struck. Having no luck, the manticore growled in absolute fury and annoyance for not only falling for an ambush attack but because someone actually grew a pair and struck him on one of his weak points. He swiftly turned to face his new challenger but ultimately fell victim to another shot of powerful magic and this new one easily blasted him away from the lizard. He careened back and crashed the ground with a sharp wince as his body scooted across the ground. That second time hurt like a mother, but he got right back up and glared his cold white eyes up at who was responsible – only to find a puny sight so unexpected that it almost insulted him in some way. For now, it went silent, again. Everyone inside and outside of Sugercube corner who saw the blast never saw that coming, not did they expect it. Like Marabunda, they looked to find who showed up and saved Varan. Some thought whoever did that was a brave soul while others thought it was an idiotic move. Who would make such a move like that? The sound of familiar wings caught their attention as the lightning from the storm clouds revealed that Twilight returned and she was none too happy by what she saw. She glared furiously as she flew in place, her horn flaring up bright like a flare-gun. She growled like a wolf as she kept her eyes right on this beast. The sudden appearance caused a new light of hope for everyone. Their savior and valued friend came back to help them finally defeat the monster. "Twilight!" Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo, Gallus, Smolder, Vinyl and everyone who saw her chorused in surprise. Marabunda snarled in anger as he got back up on his feet. Another pony was able to bring him down? What kind of trash was that? The powerful manticore shook off any pain he felt from her attack, shaking the dirt off of his pelt and let out a defiant roar to the unfazed alicorn. He kicked up dirt and charged, but a sudden light blue streak zoomed by from the left and struck him in the lower jaw, causing enough force to turn his head and use his momentum to twirl around and land on his back again. He groaned in confusion and forced himself back up, but the light blue streak struck and slammed into his right hind leg, then his left arm and left cheek. He howled from the assault and tried to take a swing in with his tail, but it was no good. Marabunda was then struck again on the snout, quite hard at that. He yelped in pain and grabbed his face as he desperately backed away a few steps, cradling his snout. Once the assault stopped, he pried his paws away from his snout and looked at his paws to find his own blood, only for the rain to wash it off seconds later. He wasn't in pain so much as he was confused. Those attacks were strong, but what baffled him was that these attacks didn't seem blunt -- something was slashing at him. Marabunda gazed up at the alicorn and growled. She can't be the one causing this, can she? There had to be another. Twilight smiled with a devious smugness and just waited. Her attack may have been strong, but this was not of her doing. She never once gazed at her friends and only kept her attention on the manticore. She had several questions, but she'll ask them later. For now, this monstrosity needed to be put down. But, she didn't come unprepared. While Drift and the other ponies and griffons had no idea what was attacking Marabunda, Smolder watched and carefully examined what was going on. Headmare Twilight was here, but she only attacked twice, but now something else was attacking Marabunda. But who? Spike, after recovering from Scootaloo's kick, watched from the guest bedroom window with Sweetie and did the same thing. A crazy-fast blue blur came out of nowhere? His mother was here, but she wasn't doing anything now. After what occurred, this puzzle was interesting. But his question now was: where did Twilight's backup go? His answer came at an instant when he heard Marabunda growl above Twilight. Marabunda watched as a newcomer flew down and landed with grace and power before rising back to its full height. He snarled as he eyed it thoroughly. It was another dragon. But unlike the ones he fought before, this one seemed older and more experienced in battle. He gazed at the dragon's claws and noticed they were tainted red. No doubt his blood. Smolder and Spike nearly jumped out of their scales from what they just saw, immediately recognizing who that dragon with Twilight was. Not only did Twilight show up, but...  "Ember!" they young dragons said as the Dragon Lord herself shook Marabunda's blood off her claws. "Twilight and Ember are here?" Pinkie Pie said with a positive smile. Now things were looking up for everyone. "Can this day get any better?" "But what took them so long?" Rarity asked. "Who knows, Rarity," Gilda shrugged. "I'm just glad back-up arrived." Ember glared at the growling manticore before her and crossed her arms, not giving in to his intimidation. She was no stranger to manticores, as she knew what type of creature Marabunda was without so much as a double-check. Though how did one show up into a town? That’s what she wanted to know. "So, is anyone going to explain to us how a manticore got here of all places?" the dragon lord asked, but Spoiled Milk and Diamond Tiara were not gonna say a word. They silently crawled away to the side of Sugarcube Corner with Filthy and Silver Spoon watching. If Twilight wasn't bad enough, the dragon lord had to show up with her. Twilight landed beside Ember. She kept her gaze on Marabunda, but spoke to her as if it was a casual talk, "I don't know, but once this is over. We are getting answers." All she wanted was a little get together with the leaders of Equestria, but instead, she and her back-up had to be summoned to clean up a mess. "That's a manticore?" a mysterious voice chimed before Marabunda got impatient and let out another roar, causing Ember and Twilight to flinch. Marabunda lunged at the girls, but a snap from a taloned claw behind Twilight's horn conjured several ghostly-like yellow chains that wrapped around Marabunda's body like anacondas and pinned him down to the dirt, making him yelp from the surprise attack, his eyes bugging out in shock. Where the blue blazes did that come from?! Needless to say, it caught everyone else by surprise. "I thought it was something that came back from Death's door?" Hearing the voice again, Twilight only rolled her eyes as she recognized who it belonged to before Discord slithered out from the back of her head like a snake and coiled himself in the air before popping himself back into floating midair. Ember noticed and wasn't too thrilled by that little entrance. Ember noticed and wasn't too thrilled by that. She wasn't used to his antics. "I will never get used to that," Ember said with a shiver as Discord laughed at her reaction. "Oh, don't be such a stick in the mud, Ember. It's gonna take a while to get used to someone like me. Just ask Twilight," He said with a smug smirk and jabbing a thumb in said alicorn’s direction as Ember looked to Twilight who gave her a regretful nod of confirmation. "Discord, too?!" Rainbow Dash said excitedly with an air bump. "Heck yeah, now this fight can be over with." "I wouldn't be so sure, Rainbow Dash," Rarity said as she looked to Discord, unsure if he's gonna help out. "Discord is powerful, but let's not forget the times he could've helped us, but chose not to." Rarity held a valid point. For as long as they knew Discord, he could've been a huge help to them when it came to situations before. Sure he'd help, but most of the time, it was them that had to solve the problem. Granted, it was a good way to not rely on someone with magic to fix their problems, but in a situation like this -- "I don't mean to intervene, girls, but out there might be different," Mr. Cake pointed out. With what the girls went through, this situation might be different under this circumstance. Scootaloo kept her eyes on the scene outside and saw that Twilight, Ember, and Discord. She couldn't find the words to thank them for showing up and saving Varan. She smiled for once and looked to find Varan had managed to crawl his way out of the cart pile. Relief came to her at a quick pace and she looked back. "So, are you gonna help out this time, or is this another one of your 'lessons' to help me?" Twilight asked begrudgingly and gave him a slight cold shoulder. Discord playfully gasped and acted like a drama queen, placing a talon on his chest, "Twilight, you wound me so. I would never just put you in circumstances to teach you a lesson." he snapped a tissue next to him and wiped away fresh crocodile tears. "You know this is none of my doing. Besides, if this was your story, maybe it would be my doing." Discord looked at Twilight with a smug smile, knowing full well he'd do better than what they were dealing with right now. Twilight rolled her eyes until Ember sprung up and flew into Discord's face in a fit of annoyance at his tone, "Can we just deal with this thing and be over with it? I'm getting bored with all this talking and you sure as Tartarus aren't helping." Ember growled, getting very impatient but Discord looked at the dragon lord nonchalantly and comically pushed her away. "Alright, yeesh. Don't have such a cow, little miss firecracker." he looked to Twilight and clearly said with the right answer, "This clearly isn't my doing, Twilight – if it was, I would’ve used something much less dangerous than a demon manticore with an attitude.” He wasn’t any fool either. Even if he’s a powerful lord of chaos, he knew limits and that creatures like manticores are meant to be left alone. “I told you there was something chaotic going on and it led me here." Twilight looked at Discord, surprised. Something even he found chaotic? That was ironic and big coming from him. "You know, I'll believe you this time." She had no other comments. That sentence alone made her believe him. But, glancing back at the psychopathic, war-like manticore, she had to ask, "Then who brought this thing here?" "We'll get answers later, Twilight. Right now, I'm ready for some actions," Ember cracked her knuckles and unsheathed her claws. As much as she loved hanging out with her new friends, she had the battle-driven itch that needed to be scratched. Those fiery-eyes just beaming on their target. "As much as I'd love to sit this one out, I'll have to agree with the hothead," he loved calling Ember that just to get a rise out of her. But in a situation like this, it made sense. His goofy demeanor then changed once he gazed his mischievous eyes on the one who caused the one thing he hated more than not having playful fun among friends. He snarled viciously as Marabunda managed to break out of his magic hold and let out a revenge roar. Discord's pupils shined a bright red, showing malice and hate towards the manticore, "Chaos is my job, you freak of nature." he didn't know where this thing came from or why it was causing such chaos among Ponyville, but the chaos it did cause needed to be cleansed. "And I don't appreciate you trying to imitate it." Twilight gave the same malice and hateful gaze at Marabunda, "Nor do I appreciate this assault and destruction on our home." Twilight snarled as her horn flared and charged with magic, sparking, and lighting the open air as she faced the manticore. Ember readied herself to fight, too. Unlike Twilight and Discord, she didn't have a specific reason to fight the manticore. She just wanted to aid her friends. However, something didn't quite sit right. She wanted to fight, but something caught her attention when she sniffed the air. The rain made it a tad challenging, but it was a faint scent; two scents, both were familiar and in the vicinity of where she was. She gasped and looked around confused by what she caught. The scent of two dragons was around, but where? She gazed back to luckily find one of them. It was Smolder! But what was she doing here? Ember looked to her confused and then shot her a look that asked 'why are you here?' but her confusion turned to worry as she saw her fellow dragoness was beaten and bruised. Smolder noticed her Dragon Lord stared back at her and figured she wanted answers. It was gonna be tricky, but she motioned her claw to upward to the guest room and then pointed to Twilight to let Ember know what that meant. Then, regrettably but ultimately pointed to herself and weakly swiped the air to indicate a fight. She immediately pointed to the source of how she and Spike got hurt. Her message was noticed by others, but she ignored them and continued. Her Dragon Lord wanted an answer and Smolder was gonna give her one. Smolder pointed to Marabunda and snarled, flaring her teeth to finish her message. To which Ember pointed to Marabunda, too. With a nod from Smolder, the message was clear and Ember gazed her fiery eyes back at Marabunda and now found a good reason to fight. Steam huffed from the sides of her jaws and out her snout. Ember growled in rage and relayed Smolder's message to Twilight, "Smolder and Spike are here and in that building. They fought that thing and lost. Smolder is still standing, but she said Spike is badly hurt. She didn't specify what injury he had." Both of her fellow dragons have been hurt and now she will make this manticore pay for his actions. But Twilight never respond to her as she expected her to. She glanced at Twilight and noticed something very off about her. She stood eerily still and stiff, like a statue that's been planted on soil for ten-thousand years. Nervous, Ember called to her friend again, "Twilight, are you okay?" Again, no response... ... she was far from okay. An unknown presence mysteriously made itself known to Discord, Smolder and everyone inside and outside of SugarCube Corner. An unsettling, frightening feeling coursed through their bodies. They never experienced such an unknown, chilling pressure before; it didn't make anything better when the air around them suddenly felt like it compressed and became tough to breathe. They all didn't know who or what was doing this but they all felt the same feeling -- even those who weren't watching the fight felt the nightmarish feeling. It was quiet for what seemed like an eternity, yet lasted for only minutes. No one moved a muscle or bat an eye; no one knew what was going on, yet they all felt so scared. But that all changed as the sound of hooves moving back broke the pregnant silence. As if their bodies were moving on their own, Rarity moved back first, then Pinkie Pie, then Gilda; not long until everyone followed suit, too, moving back and wanting to stay away from whatever, or whoever, was causing such a dark presence. They were terrified and intimidated by what was about to transpire. Spike held himself up as he tried to get a good look at the fight, but something in his mind told him to back off and so he did. Spike plopped on his rear and felt something off; it was as if something from beyond the cosmos told him that he should be prepared for what's about to happen once the fight was done. Sweetie Belle, Applejack and he looked at each other, suddenly nervous and anxious to know what was going on outside. But they had a feeling someone was about to die a horrible death. Applebloom woke up. She didn't know how long she was out, but her body hurt like no other; more so than usual. How she was still alive, she had no idea but she was grateful, nonetheless. She felt like death, but wanted to smile anyway, yet, she couldn't. She felt dreadful and scared for some strange reason. She took a few calm breaths before glancing up to find her friends and older sister looking out the window and then looked to her left to find her older brother quivering in the corner of the room. How odd. She was hurting, but her curiosity overlapped her pain and she wanted to know what was going on and why she felt so scared. She slowly got up, but groaned in pain and dropped back on her back. She was not going anywhere. Whatever was making them act so scared, she knew it was happening outside. She was just disappointed she wasn't having a chance to find out what it was, yet at the same time glad she's not. Discord kept his gaze on Marabunda and waited for him to make a move, but, without warning, an uneasy vibe crept up his spine like a spider crawling up a wall. He froze in place and his body gave a violent shiver. He pondered why he suddenly felt so cold and... petrified? He tried to figure out where this was coming from until he sensed it was close; next to him, in fact. Though the rain was camouflaging it, a drop of sweat rolled down his head as he craned his vision down to Twilight, but she was not moving a muscle. He looked to Ember next and saw she was just as scared. At first, she looked eager to fight, but now she wanted to back off? What made her want to suddenly bolt out of the fight? Discord gazed back to Twilight until the rain started to pick up and the sound of thunder rolling in made itself known. Electricity around Twilight's horn began to intensify. Then it immediately hit him: it was Twilight! Something was wrong with Twilight. He and Ember flinched when lightning cracked over Ponyville, lighting the dark sky. Discord and Ember looked at each other for a moment and shared the same thought as they gazed back to Twilight, wanting to not get involved with what she had planned. Marabunda glowered at the three new opponents. He didn't care what they were, so long as they were victims under his claws. He made a charge at them but ultimately came to a sudden halt when his instincts rang a code red. He paused himself and glared at his opponents, examining the one in the middle; her eyes were covered by her mane. Either she wasn't looking at him or she was just ignoring him. He looked at the other two cowering away from her and rushed to the other ponies inside a building and prompted to let her be. Were they backing down so the one in the middle could fight? It mattered little, but why did he stop? What was persuading him to not attack this feeble little pony? Marabunda growled at himself before roaring directly at the pony before him, trying to earn a scare out of her -- but received only silence from his soon-to-be prey and she remained statue-still. His temper and impatience could only get so high. The roar was heard but received no responses from anyone. Marabunda thought he could intimidate Twilight with his usual tactics, but the beast could roar all he'd like, Twilight would not respond to any of them. Twilight just stood in place as the rushing winds and rain blew across the battlefield, electricity surging around her horn, building up magic. Twilight barely moved her head downward. Her mane still covered her eyes, but behind it, she was glaring at Marabunda all the same. She heard Marabunda roar again, but the only thing Twilight heard was 'Spike is badly hurt' echo in her mind. Marabunda roared in rage and spread his wings to try and further his intimidation, but it went by deaf ears and he grew tired of this pony's ignorance. He will not be ignored! He fought through his alarming instincts and charged at Twilight. Already over her, he roared in her face to try and get her to make some kind of reaction, ignoring the electricity coursing around her horn. The manticore raised his right claw to take a swing at Twilight, but a flash of lightning revealed something the manticore was not prepared for. As he took a swing, he was knocked away by a powerful blast of magic from Twilight. He rolled across the ground before stopping back at the same spot he was at before. He cringed but lifted himself back up to face his opponent in shock. A flash of lightning brightened the dark sky, again. Twilight began to walk and slowly advance toward Marabunda. Pupils slit similar to venomous snakes, irises red like the blood in her body, and a stare that would give the toughest enemy nightmares for many moons. As she walked closer to Marabunda, the storm began to strengthen and the sounds of thunder grew stronger. Another flash of lightning and her wings unfolded, showing what intimidation really was. The words still rang in her head and her motherly instincts and urge to kill have never been in peak condition; far worse was when they combined into one the moment Ember said what she said. Twilight wasn't one to resort to violence when it came to a confrontation among peers, she always resolved it with a calm conversation to ease the tension. But now, all that was out the window when Spike got involved. If Spike was truly hurt, then Twilight wanted nothing more than to rid Marabunda herself. Nothing around her mattered except the thought of wanting the thing that harmed her son to be as good as dead! Discord and Ember quickly entered Sugarcube Corner as Discord snapped his fingers and conjured a protective forcefield around the bakery if the lightning were to hit them. Whatever happened to Twilight, they did not want to be in the middle of that god-tier rage. Both dragoness and draconequus puffed heavy breaths. They expected some kind of excitement out of the manticore, but they never expected something like THAT to happen. "Okay, what in the blue blazes happened out there?" Discord asked in worry by what he had just seen, in all his time he's known Twilight, he never saw her act that way. It's as if she's a completely different pony, and for once, this new behavior of hers started to worry him. Yes, he loved to mess around with her the most out of all the six – and yes, he was aware his behavior can irk her, but that didn’t mean he didn’t care about her. Actually, he cared very deeply about her – she was one of his closest friends after all, and quite frankly, he held her very close to his heart like he held Fluttershy close to it; "Why did Twilight suddenly become the harbinger of doom?" Seeing Twilight’s new scary behavior was strikingly worrisome and put a bit fear in his heart. This wasn’t the Twilight he was fond of – this was almost a doomsday bringer of a mare. And he didn’t like it one bit! He wanted normal Twilight back; normal, dorky but well-meaning and confident leader Twilight. Not this scary, lightning-zapping demon mare. He wouldn’t admit it to Twilight at the moment, or anyone else at this rate, but the reason he always messed around with her – to either screw around with her or help in his own way to aid her or teach her a lesson in his own way – was because he actually secretly liked her very much… similarly to how Spike used to like Rarity in such a way before the dragon moved on to Scootaloo. "Is that what's causing the storm out there?" Mrs. Cake asked, shocked as everyone else. Discord shrugged, "Far as I know, we didn't notice the storm until little miss purple destroyer went bonkers." Granted, there was rain, but that seemed to matter little to him. Rarity looked to Ember who looked suspiciously nervous. With the force-field around the bakery, they were at least protected by danger -- even if it was Twilight. "Ember, darling, are you alright?" Ember looked to Rarity. She didn't think something like that would happen from Twilight. All she did was relay a message and that was it. Was it really her fault? "I just told Twilight what Smolder told me when we were still out there." Discord cocked his head and gazed at Ember, suspiciously. His nostrils flared in a bit of frustration when she said that. "What was the message, hothead?" "I told Dragon Lord Ember that Spike and I fought that thing. We both got banged up pretty bad, but Spike got the bad end of it," Smolder spoke out and told Discord herself, saving Ember from getting chewed out. But that barely did anything. Discord widened his eyes in shock and glared at Ember. Smolder may have told Ember, but... "Are you crazy?!" Everyone flinched at Discord's response. This type of behavior was a complete U-turn, even for him. Ember flinched, but quickly retaliated and barked back, "Hey, don't yell at me, noodle-brain! How was I supposed to know Twilight would go insane like that?" Discord rolled his eyes and shook his head, "Were you even paying attention to what she said during our get-together?" Ember shot a leering, confused glare. That 'get-together' was for the leaders and royalty. Discord just invited himself, "What are you talking about? You invited yourself and dragged us over here because you thought 'something was wrong' in Ponyville." she motioned to Twilight and Marabunda. "Well, look what's happening outside." "Oh, I see and it was caused by you. I knew you haven't been paying attention. So, allow me to illiterate you," Discord cleared his throat while Ember just stared at him, annoyed. "Twilight is a mother!" Ember looked confused and didn't quite understand where Discord was going with that. In fact, why was he being so serious? Wasn't he the goofy kind of creature? "Just what are you on about. What does that have to do with anything?" "Guys, break it up!" Rainbow Dash interrupted, getting between the dragoness and draconequus. "Okay, arguing is not gonna help anything." "Yeah," Pinkie pie joined in. "But, what are you on about, Discord? Do you know why Twilight's acting more monster than the monster outside?" She asked and that got everyone else curious, too. As much as they wanted to go at it, Ember and Discord backed off. Discord looked to the others in a more serious glance -- even though that wasn't his usual behavior, which started to concern them. Seeing him so focused and so deadly serious on something that concerned one of his friends, which usually involved Fluttershy – but not this time, was starting to bring worry to their beings. "You all really want to know? Fine." He crossed his arms and explained, "If any of you haven't noticed, an alicorn can be very protective. But, did you know they can have huge tempers, too?" An alicorn being very protective? That was plain as day since the ponies knew that Celestia, Luna, and Cadence were willing to protect their friends and family at all costs. The mane six knew that all too well. Twilight was the same way, but a 'huge temper' was what had them stumped. "I'm having a hard time believing that," Gilda responded. "Griffons and dragons are known to have bad tempers --" not even Ember, Smolder, and Gallus were gonna deny that "-- but an alicorn? From what I've been told, they were just supposed to be peaceful rulers, right? And fix everything in a snap." Discord took a moment to soak in what Gilda just said before laughing his butt off as if that were a joke. Gilda wasn't taking that lightly and just looked at him confused, but she'd be lying to herself if she didn't want to tear his noodle body in half if Marabunda doesn't get to him. "I don't know who told you that, but they must be a good comedian," Discord said, chuckling a little more as he wiped a tear away. "I wasn't joking, but okay." "Before any of you were around, I knew Celestia and Luna much longer than what any scrolls, books, or notes say about them." Whether that was believable or not was beyond them, but what he said had a bit of truth to it. Discord was around much longer than any of them and he might've known more about them than what was told to them or read in current media. "Alright, then, Mr. Know-it-all. Tell us something we don't know about our own princesses; other than them turning you to stone that one time," Drift said, taking a jab at Discord and ripping a bandage off that he didn't really appreciate as it could be seen by the lord of chaos stiffening up before turning to face Drift with a cold, almost murderous glare in his eyes which got him to jump a teeny bit. "What did you just say?" Discord whispered threateningly with a scowl on his face and a deep growl emitting in his throat. His talon and lion paw started flaring up a yellow aura and the sound effect of a cocking gun could be heard as he was tempted to blast Drift into oblivion for that one. Even if he no longer held it against the sisters or even the six for turning him into stone about twice in his life, it was still a very sore, if not a very tender subject to bring up around the draconequus. Vinyl widened her eyes when she saw this 180 behavior of the usually laid-back draconequus before she quickly clonked Drift on the head to shut him up, causing him to yelp in pain as she stood between her stepbrother and the lord of chaos, "Uh, ignore him, Discord. Please, continue." Unlike Drift, she was trying to be more respectful around him – she personally didn’t mind his behavior or his wacky magic because she trusted Fluttershy’s judgment and any friend of Fluttershy’s is a friend of hers – which included Discord. She gave her stepbrother a warning glance to remind him of who he’s speaking to and to not tear off that bandage any further or they’d be in more trouble than it’s worth. It's never a good idea to upset someone who can rip all of reality apart with just a mere snap of his fingers! Discord huffed and let that slide before he continued, "Anyway, before that little incident happened. When Celestia and Luna were younger, they had temper issues -- especially Celestia." Which made sense, ironically. "Celestia never told any of you this, but back when she was a teen, she had major anger issues towards everyone around her. Oddly enough, Luna was the level-headed one of the two." Which really gave their ruling the sun and moon titles more meaning. Everyone looked at Discord like what he said seemed like it was out of petty. They couldn't tell if he was lying or telling the truth, even the ones outside of the knowledge of him were stumped. Was it really true that Celestia and Luna were like that? Then again, they never studied what they were like as kids growing up. It really baffled them. Though the pondering looks were an enjoying view for Discord. He relished in them thinking twice about their rulers. But, now was the time to tell them a little something more, "Oh yes, allow me to tell you much more of them. Celestia -- " "Was like every other teen like me, Smolder, Scootaloo, and a few others." Discord flinched with that stern tone as he and everyone else looked up the stairway to see Spike in bandages being supported by Sweetie Belle. "Spike!" Everyone said in unison as Sweetie Belle helped Spike down the stairs. Spike snickered and casually waved to everyone, brushing off his injuries like nothing ever happened, but that didn't stop everyone who was friends with him to care for his well-being. "Spike, what are you doing out of bed?" Mrs. Cake asked, shocked. Spike smiled calmly and looked to everyone that was wondering the same thing with a go-to smile, "I didn't want to be late to the party. Sorry, I didn't dress properly," though he joked and teasingly made a small jab at Rarity. Even though he could walk again, He still felt the pain left by that crazy manitcore. It didn't hurt to walk, but the hole in his back left him tender enough for hugs to hurt; he just hoped no one was gonna jump him and hug him. While yes, he should be back in the guest room resting, he had to be out here for a lot of reasons... ... but the biggest reason was outside. And it wasn't Marabunda. Smolder, Gallus, Gilda and Scootaloo rolled their eyes at that joke as Spike and Sweetie Belle stepped down to meet everyone. "Thanks for the help, Sweetie Belle," he smiled gratefully at her. Sweetie Belle gave him a happy-go-lucky smile but looked outside to see the storm outside caused by Twilight. It was ominous, but she wondered why she was acting like this, to begin with. "I see someone couldn't keep himself away from the danger," Ember said as she approached Spike. It wasn't the right time for greetings but she just couldn't resist seeing her friend as she couldn’t fight a smile off her face and offered a fist-bump. Spike smiled cheek and fist-bumped the dragon lord, "Heh, what can I say, I can't stay away from the action." Smolder and Ember can relate, but the ponies and griffons were a bit more adamant to go straight into the fight unless a tactic was involved. "Spike, my game buddy, I thought you were out for the count?" Discord pondered, but Spike shook his head. Despite the injuries, Spike was far from being KO'd. This was something he himself was quite surprised by, but he was relieved to see his game-pal still kicking. "Not even close. I had to get back in the game because my mom is out there." Well, that's really noble of you, but --" "And to stop you from lying to everyone." Discord flinched and paused from that turn of events as everyone who heard that chuckled, giggle-snorted or just flat-out laughed from that. Discord blushed an embarrassment when he looked at everyone, but looked back to Spike, a little annoyed. "I was not gonna lie to them!" But Spike was not quite done. Sweetie Belle unwrapped his arm around her shoulders as he sat on an empty chair. As she backed away to be with her sister, Spike continued, "True, but you're neglecting the one fact that the reason Celestia had anger issues was that you loved pestering her so much." Spike said as he snickered a little, but gave Discord some slack because he was nice like that, "But you were right about Luna. She was the level-headed one of the two, but she was a prankster, like you. And if I recall when I hung out with her for a few days, she mentioned you always loved hanging with her because she had a sense of humor." That right there rewarded a bright blush from Discord. Spike didn't even need a verbal answer to know that was true and just laughed at his response. "Oh, is that right?" Rainbow Dash said, crossing her arms. "So, were you just exaggerating an alicorn's anger, Discord?" Discord shook his head at her quite frantically, "What? No! I was being serious, this time!” He reassured her that he wasn’t making that one up, as for once since he arrived here, he sounded completely honest with what he was telling them. “I'd never exaggerated over something like that." He then lashed his annoyed glare at Spike. Was he trying to make him look like a fool? "You... I thought we were friends, Spike? How could you possibly know any of that?" Discord barked. "How do I know you're not lying?" Spike just looked at him without a single hint of fear and smiled casually at him as if he was immune to this little fear tactic, "Because if there's anything I've learned from Applejack, it's that honesty can be a valuable weapon. That, and mom read a few secret books that you don't even know about." Discord was surprised, but he looked away with a slight pout. “Touche,” He sighed lightly, “Okay, yes…” He admitted to everybody in the room with them that Spike was telling some truth as well about what he was saying about his own actions during Celestia and Luna’s youth. “…I take the blame for pestering Celly when we were teenagers.” He pouted somewhat childishly and shrugs his shoulders before crossing his arms while blushing brightly in embarrassment as Spike snickered more at his reaction. “But what did you expect? I was a stupid teenager myself back then too and you should know by now that even I can’t resist a few magical practical jokes.” It was true – like any other magical being, he loved to play a few magical practical jokes as much as the next creature. "Anyway, I'm glad you two are here. I --" Spike noticed everyone was still unsettled by what occurred. No doubt they felt the power Twilight emitted. He thought a good joke would lighten the mood for everyone; even Pinkie Pie would've gladly joined him. But, something like this was different and he could tell everyone wasn't used to it. " -- you guys can sense it, too. Can you?" Everyone looked to Spike and gave their respective nods. For as long as they knew Twilight, no one here had ever seen her act like a destroyer before. Everyone, except Spike. Spike looked out the window and saw the commotion. Discord's force-field was strong, but it was clear enough to see everything, and Spike and the others saw what was taking place. Marabunda let out another roar before charging head-on after Twilight, but broke left and dodged a lightning bolt that nearly singed his skin. He toppled over but immediately got back up and lunged for the alicorn. But Twilight launched another spell pulse and knocked the manticore back and away from Twilight. Twilight never once moved her gaze away and another flicker of magic summoned two lightning bolts down from the sky. Marabunda noticed and quickly rolled out of the way. For once, he actually felt intimidated. He couldn't get near this pony and the tactics he knew always failed. Yet, he still had to try. Another lightning bolt came down, but this one struck the corner of an empty home. Spike saw it and felt a sheet of horror cover him. Twilight wasn't focused. She was letting her anger get the better of her. "This isn't good," Spike said. "We have to stop her." That was easier said than done. "Any plans, Bookworm Jr?" Gallus asked, giving him a little jab. Spike snapped his clawed fingers and casually announced to everyone, "Actually, I do have a plan, Gallus." Almost like a trigger, everyone looked to Spike, surprised. Or did he have a plan? Spike was known to joke around with them, but this was no time for jokes. But, from how he seemed so calm about it, maybe he wasn't joking. "A plan?" Ember said as she crossed her arms, curious. "Hope it's effective because Twilight didn't come up with anything." "That's cuz you told her something that made her go crazy," Discord poked fun at her, but Ember growled at him to shut up and give it a rest. Thankfully Spike stopped them from arguing any further. "You're right; my mom didn't come up with anything because you three just got here. So --" he snickered a little "-- I'll be filling in until we get this sorted out. And it just so happens that my plan involves you two." Ember and Discord looked to Spike bewildered. Just what did he have planned? Spike nodded to them, but Rainbow Dash spoke out to Spike, slightly impatient, but curious, "Well, let's hear it, Spike. Don't leave us out of the loop!" If he did have a plan, hopefully, it'll be enough to take that monster out. She would've loved for Discord to just snap this whole event away, but she could only hope and dream. "I hope your plan doesn't include us," Mrs. Cake said with great anxiety and worry. She and her husband were happy to provide shelter from that beast outside, but she didn't want her family involved in the carnage. Spike waved an assuring claw and smiled calmly at the frantic mare, "Oh, don't worry, Mrs. Cake, you and your family won't be a part of it," and that immediately rewarded him with some relieving sighs from the cake family. If any of them were to get hurt, he would never forgive himself -- not to mention a broken friendship with Pinkie Pie would be devastating if one, or both, of the twins got hurt; the plan was to bring fighters, not just bring anyone randomly. So, with that played, Spike looked to Smolder and Scootaloo, "That same goes to the both of you. I don't want you two getting hurt." Smolder had been through enough and Scootaloo was hardly a fighter. If they got hurt, then he might as well shun himself from everyone. Smolder pouted but didn't argue. She wanted to join in, but what Marabunda did to her did a number and risking herself getting injured, again. Scootaloo didn't object, either. She wanted to go out there and fight, compared to Ember, Discord, Gilda, her own father, they were all capable of handling themselves; she was able to handle herself when Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon kept bullying her for so long, but something like Marabunda was out of her control. She'd only be in the way. It was best not to pull that stupid mistake she made before thinking she'd saved Varan. Wait, Varan? She looked out the window and wondered where Varan went. Surely he didn't run away, did he? That decision caught him by surprise. Drift would've expected Spike to make a plan that involved all of them, but he's only picking specific candidates? He smiled respectfully at Spike. For a young dragon, that was a mature move. But why only his daughter and the other dragon? He wondered, "Hey, Spike? So, what's this plan of yours?" Just like Rainbow Dash, he was curious to know, too. "Hey, yeah! Just what is this super-duper plan of yours? Does it involve cake?" Pinkie Pie asked, trying to be upbeat in this dark time. "You think everything needs cake, Pinkie," Rainbow Dash shook her head at her, but she was trying not to get shaken herself. Gilda and Rarity just roll their eyes at the two before glancing back to Spike. Like Drift, they were curious about his plan. "Ignore them, Spike. If there's a plan, then let's hear it." "Yes, darling. Please, tell us." As far as anyone else was concerned, they were sitting duck. They gave there all and they still felt useless. Spike crossed his arms and leaned back, but the pain in his back forced him to sit up with a hissing wince. Okay, best to be careful with that injury. He wasn't paralyzed anymore, but that stab still stung like a thousand hornets. "Okay, I know my mother better than anyone else here," which was true considering Twilight hatched him from an egg when she was a filly. He even let it slide when he heard Discord jab a quick ‘Obviously.’ comment to knowing Twilight better because even Discord knew that was the truth. "And the best way to calm her down would normally be books or a hayburger --" which still baffled him how that last one worked. But, it did. "-- but, in this case, she needs to see that I'm alright." He motioned outside and elaborated, "All we need is to get out there and snap Twilight out of it while distracting that jerk outside." "And how are we supposed to do that?" Discord asked, but the room got silent as everyone looked to him as if what he said was the dumbest thing he ever said. "What?" Pinkie Pie approached Discord, outstretched her arm, grabbed Discord's lion arm and lightly slapped Discord on the wrist. "Oh, right." he blushed in embarrassment, feeling like a basket case saying that. Some chuckled at that little brain fart. A little laugh couldn't hurt every now and then, but it all stopped when lightning hit the force-field with powerful force. Everyone flinched and the cake twins started to whimper and cry in their parent's holds. “But seriously… this plan of yours better work, Spike, because I believe we’ll only add fuel to this monster’s fire with our distractions.” Discord had to point out that with a dash of concern; it didn’t take a genius to see that basically anything can rile up this manticore. He can distract him easily all by his lonesome, but he’d be damned if that beast pulled one more cheap shot on one of his friends. They’re going to have to keep on their toes. Spike regained composure and hurried his explanation, "Okay, the plan is to stop Twilight. Discord, Ember and Fluttershy are vital to this plan." Spike forgot to mention Fluttershy, but he corrected himself. But now that Fluttershy's name was brought up, there was no sign of her. Since she was mentioned, the last thing they saw was her scurrying away. It worried them, but none more so than Drift and Scootaloo. Drift was worried out of his mind and Scootaloo now had something new to worry over; Varan and her mother are out there and she had no idea if they're okay. She understood Varan's reason, but not her mother's reason. Why would she run off like that? Drift asked before Spike could say anything else, worried about his girlfriend, "If you know where Fluttershy went to, please, tell us. She took off without saying anything." There had to have been some reason as to why Fluttershy left. Vinyl, Rarity, and everyone else wondered that, too. Aside from the Apple Family upstairs tending to Applebloom. They were clueless. Spike took a moment to ponder as he looked to Scootaloo and Drift. A confident smile rolled up and he nodded to them, agreeing to tell them where she went, "She's getting someone to help us. She'll be back --" he shrugged "-- when? I have no clue. Applejack told me before Sweetie Belle and I came out once Twilight went insane." Everyone looked to Spike shocked. Fluttershy went to go get help without telling them? And Applejack knew, too? "Wish Applejack would've told us instead of keeping us under the loop," Rarity said, a little peeved but they were focused on other things. "Yeah, just who is Professor Fluttershy getting? If it's someone who can take down that monster out there, then they're taking their sweet time getting here," Gallus said in a snappy tone, agitated and angry. Guilt was tearing him apart from what happened earlier. He wasn't just worried about everyone else, but he was worried about Bon Bon, too. "Gallus, calm down, it wasn't your fault what happened to Lyra," Pinkie chimed in, trying to comfort Gallus, but it barely worked. "No! Everyone who tried to bring that monster down all failed and look what it did; fire, claws, magic, objects, hooves, everything was thrown at it and it's still standing!" he glared teary eyes at Pinkie, having doubts anything would kill Marabunda. He failed to participate in the fight, he failed to save a life and he felt like such a coward. He grieved for Bon Bon and tore himself apart inside. "Why stop Headmare Twilight? Why don't we just let her kill that son of a --" "Gallus!" Gilda barked, forcing Gallus to halt his irate state. The young griffon looked to her, tears running down his face, "Look, I know your upset. But, please, relax and take a breath." it hurt her seeing Gallus like this. She never built a close friendship with him before, but ever since he and Glinda became penpals and close friends, she rewarded him with high respect. She could see he had a warrior's heart, he just didn't know how to unlock that potential. Compared to her, she saw herself as more of a punk than a warrior; well, back then. Now, she felt more like a guardian when she saved Glinda from being thrown out of the nest by her so-called parents. "Marabunda can be put down. As far as we know, he could be running on fumes." whether that was true or not, Marabunda was an animal and not an alien or robot made by a mad mechanic. He would be taken down, eventually – he’s just being highly stubborn and relentless. "We may still have a chance." She also had a feeling Fluttershy will pull through for this attack; true, she’s wondering why she’s taking so long, but she also remembered that Fluttershy’s cottage is quite a distance away from town, being on the edge near a forest – so that’s probably why she’s taking so long to get here. Not to mention possibly trying to catch her breath too because that’s a distance-trip that even she would need to stop to catch her breath. Poor yellow pegasus looked more like a ground pegasus than a sky-loving one. Gallus paused and tried to calm down, but Spike spoke out and gave him an opinion, "It's not just them, anyone can join in this fight. I know Marabunda is strong, but --" "I'm in." "What?" "I'll join in. I'm not strong like you dragons or have magic like the unicorns, but griffons are fast like pegasus. If all we're doing is distracting him, then I can do that. I’m tired of being scared… it’s time to take a stand!" He glared lightly in determination. He was tired of cowering scared, it was time to teach Marabunda a lesson that he shouldn’t mess with any creature here. "I'm in, too," Gilda said with a confident tone as she pounded her talons together. "I wanna get a few hits in on that freak outside." Just this once, she'll bring back her old self. She missed having a chance to punch something. "Yeah, I'm in, too. There's no way I'm backing down from this," Rainbow Dash stepped up. She was eager to go another round with Marabunda and she'll make sure to hit twice as hard. Spike looked at the three participants and smiled confidently, "Alright, anyone else?" he asked, getting good results. "I will," Drift announced. "I may not have enough ammunition in my wrist launcher, but it should be enough to distract Marabunda once Fluttershy comes back with back-up." Then he had a thought, "If he's still here, Filthy can tag in, too." "Hey, where is he anyway?" Vinyl looked around for said rich family but couldn't find them anywhere. Drift immediately rushed to the right window and looked outside only to find Filthy and his family were gone, "You've gotta be kidding me?!" he closed the window and looked to everyone a little sour. "Nevermind, he up and left with his family." He was a little disappointed his friend left, but he couldn't blame him for leaving, either. He had his family to protect, too. And he figured if they stuck around any longer, it would make things worse for everyone since Spoiled and Diamond are viewed as public enemies to them. "tch, good riddance," Rarity said in a slightly disgusted tone. "They still have a lot to answer for, for what they did." They couldn't agree more, but now was not the time to talk about them. "Alright, anyone else want to help out?" Spike asked and got one more volunteer out of it. "I'll pitch in, Spike,' Rarity said, receiving a warm smile from the dragon. He was hoping she'd join in. “I once again must admit that fighting normally isn’t my thing.” She fluffed her mane back, admitting to the others that she doesn’t like to fight much as she is a mare of passionate tastes rather than a fighter. “I’m more into fashion and being safe indoors with my little sister…” She wrapped an arm around her little sister who smiled up at her which she returned; until a battle-ready scowl appeared on the fashionista’s face – she was willing to make this an exception. “..But I will rip this brute to pieces for harming my friends and stinging our Spikey-Wikey’s poor little back!” Ember smirked lightly at Rarity’s bold and ready-to-fight declaration. She liked seeing this type of attitude – as it reminded her all-too-well of her own battle-ready attitude. Rarity just earned her respect, she chuckled and crossed her arms while keeping her light, proud smirk. “Spoken like a true warrior dragon in the form of a pony.” A blush formed on Rarity’s cheeks but while appreciating the compliment, she returned the smirk. She was ready for anything Spike had in mind. Seeing such a fiery attitude made him blush lightly at his former crush, but he smiled appreciatively at her before nodding in agreement, satisfied with these volunteers for his plan. "Sweet. Now then…Shall I continue?" Everyone nodded and allowed Spike to finish explaining his plan to them.