//------------------------------// // Episode 7: Stallion in Green // Story: My Little Pony: The Days of New Equestria (Season 1) // by ScorchingFlamesInc //------------------------------// “Okay... let’s see here...” I mumbled, staring at the grocery list Chrysalis gave me. I was told by Chrysalis and Tirek to go get the groceries. When I asked why, they told me that I gotta do some chores. I mean, I hate chores, but I guess they had a point. So here I was, wandering around the marketplace, saddlebags waiting to be full of groceries. I went over to the first stand, a stand that sold corn. As soon as I arrived, the pony in charge was already ready for a purchase to be made. And not in a rude way, mind you. This stallion seemed pretty nice. “Yes, could I have-“ Immediately I was cut off by two things. First, when I spoke, the stallion looked to his right and suddenly appeared to be terrified. The second thing was the faint sound of thumping. “RUN!” he screamed to me before dashing away from the stand. I finally looked at what frightened the stallion, and my pupils shrank to pinpricks. In the alley of the marketplace, I saw a huge monster. His body appeared to be mostly made of swap muck, but his arms and legs appeared to be trees, with sharp claws instead of branches and leaves at the end. He also had sharp fangs made out of wood, and his eyes were red. “THE HORROR! THE HORROR!” I heard from a stand behind me. I turned my head to the stand and saw three ponies in their forties faint in unison. I looked back to the monster, who was making its way towards me. I immediately turned and ran as fast as my legs could. And I heard the sounds of the monster's footsteps increase in pitch and frequency. It was running after me! And I could hear it getting closer! I felt my lungs begin to give out, and I began panting. “This is not how I wanted my day to start...” I whimpered. ... Intro ... For ten seconds, I’ve been running as fast as I could, the monster advancing closer to me. “HELP! SOMEPONY HELP!” I screamed. *THUD* A loud noise erupted behind me, causing my ears to ring. At the same time, I saw two giant arms appear on both sides of my vision. I ran a little further before stopping and turning my head back. It appeared the monster... fell? Because it looked like it was getting up. And it’s eyes weren’t looking at me! They were focused on the ground as it struggled to get back on its feet! Taking the very lucky chance, I quickly ducked behind a corner, hoping the monster would be too stupid to find me. I advanced further into the trail behind the corner, and was met face-to-face with what appeared to be a carriage. Now, normally I wouldn’t crawl into someone else’s method of transport. But I was desperate. So I went into the carriage and closed the flap. I didn’t care about the stuff behind me and the briefcase touching my flank. Wait... briefcase? I lowered my head to the side, and saw what appeared to be a briefcase next to my rump. I saw two other briefcases in the  carriage. I just shrugged and turned my head to the small opening on the back, so I could know if the monster would pass me or head right for this carriage. I gulped and hoped that I would get lucky again. Outside... As the monster struggled to get up, another rope suddenly stuck into its right arm. The beast yanked its arm, but the rope only got tighter. And from behind a corner, Agent Lyra Heartstrings held the other ends of the two ropes caught on the monster's limbs. “Nice job, Agent Heartstrings!” Agent Sweetie Drops said from behind her.  “No problem,” Lyra replied. “When you’re a unicorn, it’s easier to tie ropes against giant monsters. Though it will require a lot of training to tie it in an exhilarating speed.” “And that’s one of the reasons why training the speed and strength of your magic was a good move,” Sweetie Drops replied. “Exactly.” The beast yanked on the rope around his wrist. “Argh!” Lyra groaned. “I know these ropes tighten the more they are yanked, but I feel like it won’t last for long.” “Once I throw this sleeping gas, we can have it sent to Tartaus,” Sweetie Drops held the bottle of green liquid with her mouth. “Let me,” Lyra insisted.  “I was going to,” Sweetie Drops said when the bottle was enveloped with orange magic and removed from her mouth. The monster suddenly roared a gargled roar, and yanked his fist yet again. This time, the orange magic on the other side of the rope faded. “Uh-oh...” Lyra muttered. “This beast must be extremely strong...” The behemoth grabbed the rope tied to his leg and yanked. Just like the last rope, it was taken out of Lyra’s grasp. “Or... we grabbed the wrong ropes...” she muttered. Leo... I yelped when I saw the monster come into view. My heart fluttered, and my stomach flipped. I kept praying that it wouldn’t go for the carriage. But then it came closer. I prepared to get out of the carriage. And I made the mistake of turning my attention back to the monster, who was reaching for the carriage. But then a faint sound of breaking glass caused the monster to stop and turn his head. I had to act. But then I remembered... I had magic! And one of the times I practiced magic with the others was when I was practicing combat. So I charged my horn. And when the beast looked back at me and growled, I sent a beam of magic straight to its face. It shrieked, and reeled back for a brief moment. It then raised his fist.  And then I sent another one. Only I didn't stop. I kept unleashing the beam while the beast tried to shield its face. I guess it was my alicorn magic that made it harder for it to push the beam back to me. I then moved the beam to its gut. The monster clutched its belly, screeched again, and then ran off in a random direction. I then exhaled and rested my head. Lyra and Sweetie Drops... Both Lyra and Sweetie Drops watched as a hazel beam of magic struck the beast, and fought back against it. Soon, the monster dashed away from the area it stood, screeching. They watched as it made its way to the Everfree Forest nearby, and vanished into the trees. "Wasn't that where our carriage was?" Lyra asked. "If so, then there must be somepony there!" Sweetie Drops exclaimed. They both went over to the spot the monster once stood and saw what it was after. Indeed, parked on the street around the corner, was their carriage. The two middle-aged agents went over to the carriage and opened one of the doors. And inside, was a green alicorn stallion, with his mane shaped as three spikes. ... ... My attention was brought to the two mares that opened the door in the carriage next to me. Even though they appeared to be in their forties and wore suits and glasses, I recognized these mares due to their colors and how their manes were styled. "You?!?" Lyra exclaimed. "I take it you've heard of me?" I chuckled. "We were among the crowd that surrounded the castle," Bon-Bon (that's what I'm calling her) explained. "I apologize if we stressed you out." "Don't worry about it," I said.  "So... what's your name?" Lyra asked. "My name is Leo," I introduced myself. "I'm Swe- Bon-Bon!" Bon-Bon said before removing her glasses. "And this is my wife, Lyra Heartstrings." "Hello," Lyra greeted me. "Oh really?" I raised my brow, pretending that I didn't already know that. "Anyway..." Bon-Bon began. "...I bet you're curious about the suitcases and the suits?" "Not at all," I said. I was technically telling the truth... I didn't care about the suitcases, since I already knew their occupations. Plus, I wanted to save them the trouble of erasing my memory and all that. "Don't worry," I assured the mares. "Now that the monster is gone, I can le-" "RRROOOAAARRR!!!" A bellowing roar suddenly cut me off and brought our attention to the forest nearby..  And the same beast from before burst out of the trees. I screamed as it thundered towards us, before I quickly charged my horn and blasted it yet again. The beast must have low intelligence, because instead of dodging, it took the blow again.  I noticed Lyra and Bon-Bon placing a suitcase in the carriage before closing the door, and hooking themselves up to drive the carriage. And during all of that, the monster advanced closer.  It finally jumped to the side, getting out of the path of my beam. I tried to move the beam to the beast, but then he held up his forearm and began to charge. "What? It worked earlier..." I muttered. I then felt a pull as Lyra and Bon-Bon began to run, the carriage moving due to them being strapped to it. As they ran, I kept focusing as I tried to ward off the monster charging for us. But instead of not doing anything last time, it fought back and continued to charge, only slower than last time. The beam would sometimes go off-track when the two mares would turn the carriage. But I would return it to the lumbering beast, who surprisingly didn't smash any buildings or crush any ponies. I guess the ponies were fast and the monster was unknowingly being careful. Plus, we had the convenience of running in large streets. "WE NEED TO GET IT OUT OF TOWN!" I yelled. "WE CAN BRING IT BACK TO THE FOREST!" I heard the loud reply from Lyra. "WE WILL NEED TO BE CAREFUL!" I responded. "WE'LL KEEP GOING THROUGH THE LARGE STREETS!" Bon-Bon yelled back. "AND THEN ENTER THE FOREST WHEN THERE IS A LARGE OPENING!" And that's what they did. We kept on going through the large streets, before trees finally entered my sight of the back of the window. Before long, sunlight faded, and we were completely in the forest. Since the trail in the forest was so small, trees were being knocked down by the beast. I kept blasting the behemoth, who still had his forearms raised as he charged. "LEO, I HAVE AN IDEA!" Bon-Bon called. "DO YOU THINK YOU CAN SEARCH THE BRIEFCASES FOR A BOTTLE FULL OF GREEN LIQUID, AND KEEP SENDING OCCASIONAL BLASTS?" "I DON'T KNOW!" I replied. "LET'S GIVE IT A TRY!" And so I turned off my magic blast, and grabbed the briefcase next to me. I opened it, and inside was a grappling hook and a bottle with blue liquid. "Nope..." I groaned.  I lifted my head and sent a blast at the monster, who was now closer to the carriage. It raised its arms and took the blast. It slowed down, but only for a moment. I lifted the second briefcase. Inside was only a rope. "Darn..." I hissed, before putting down the briefcase and sending yet another blast at the beast. I lifted up the final briefcase. I opened it. And there was only one thing inside... a bottle with green liquid. "I FOUND IT!" I exclaimed. "GREAT!" Lyra replied. "NOW SHAKE IT AND TRY TO GET THE MONSTER TO BREATHE THE GAS!" I did as I was told and shook the bottle with great force. I looked back at the monster, who was very close. I pushed the bottle using my magic, and it smashed right into the monster's face. The gas spread over its face, and a second later, it collapsed. "WE GOT IT!" I called out. I then felt the carriage slow down, before pulling to a stop. I slowly got out, and met up with the two mares. "So... what do we do know?" I asked. "Once we clear things up, we're probably going to send the monster somewhere," Lyra shrugged. "Tartarus, maybe." "You know, the fact that we already had an intense moment and got rid of the problem will probably make many folks think the episode is over," I chuckled. "Even though we still have a segment left." Suddenly, our attention was brought to a faint roar. A familiar gargled roar. "Doesn't that roar sound familiar?" I asked. "It belongs to the monster we just took out," Bon-Bon analyzed. "But... it sounds faint, and the monster is right here. Unless..." "We need to get back to Ponyville!" Lyra exclaimed. So I got back into the carriage, while Lyra and Bon-Bon strapped themselves back to the front of the carriage. I watched through the front window as they galloped, and we eventually returned to town. We heard another roar. "It's gotta be here somewhere..." I muttered. "It can't be that hard. And then Lyra and Bon-Bon turned a corner and stopped. I gasped. We found the second monster... right at the Ponyville Castle! The castle that I lived in, along with Chrysalis, Tirek, and Cozy Glow! "Well this is inconvenient..." I whimpered. ... ... From the distance, I saw Chrysalis and Cozy Glow fly around the monster, blasting it. I also saw an orange beam burst from the window, giving me the sign that Tirek was also there. "Alright, they seem to be holding it off," Bon-Bon said. "We don't have any more briefcases," I say. "We'll just have to make sure it doesn't cause any more damage while we craft more gas," Lyra explains. "I can take care of it," I say, getting ready to exit. "Along with my friends." "Are you sure?" Bon-Bon asks. "Positive," I reply, getting out of the carriage. And once I got out, Lyra and Bon-Bon took off. "WE WON'T BE LONG!!!" I heard Lyra yell. "I hope not..." I muttered, before running over to the castle. When I was close, I sent a blast of magic to the beast's leg. It roared and sent me a sharp glare, only to get another blast to its face. "Leo?! Thank goodness you're here!" I heard Cozy say. "Yep. Long story," I said before blasting the monster again. "A couple of mares are going to work on something to stop this beast." "How long will that be?" Chrysalis asked. "I don't know! We'll have to keep fighting until then!" So Chrysalis and Cozy swarmed the beast, Tirek (who I can't see) attacked from the castle, and I attacked from the ground. We kept holding our own, as we continued battling the creature that surprisingly hasn't given up. It swung an arm again, nearly hitting the castle, but a blast from Tirek caused the monster to bring its arm back.  "They better arrive soon..." Cozy said. "I don't know how much longer we can hold it off!" "We can do this!" I assured. "We just need to hold our own for a little while longer..." And so, this was how the next few minutes went. We were fighting, dodging, and teasing the large beast. Lyra and Sweetie Drops... It took only two minutes before Agents Lyra and Sweetie Drops both arrived at their home. Both mares unstrapped themselves from the carriage before going inside. Lyra watched as Sweetie Drops opened a cabinet and took out the contents. When the cabinet was emptied, Sweetie Drops pressed her hoof against the back wall and slid it left. The back wall slid, opening a doorway revealing a few glass bottles with green liquid. Lyra grabbed a bottle and waited for Sweetie Drops to close the door and restock the cabinet, before closing the cabinet door. The two mares nodded before they dashed outside. Meanwhile... Two minutes later, the battle remained unchanged. "If it didn't come with a risk of property damage, I'd probably transform into a copy of the beast to fight back," Chrysalis said flying around. "We'll have to stick with what we have," Tirek says from the window, before sending another blast. Cozy kept assisting Chrysalis in swarming the monster while Leo kept attacking from below. Leo... "Lyra, Bon-Bon, where are you..." I whispered. For another two minutes, the battle raged on. At some point, the beast took a chunk of the roof and threw it, with Cozy and I in the path. Both of us teleported away as it crashed on the ground, and debris showered the buildings nearby. "This is getting crazier by the minute!" Cozy yelped. My attention was then brought to the carriage nearby, with two mares driving it. Seconds later, they parked, and one of them (Lyra), turned her head and a glass bottle levitated out the front window. I ran over. "You know what to do," Lyra said as the orange glow was replaced with my hazel glow. I nodded, before shaking the bottle and running back to the monster. "STAND BACK!" I screamed, before I lept in the air, and threw the bottle. And luck was on my side this time, as the bottle struck the monster near its head. The gas surrounded the monster, before it fell on the ground, luckily avoiding the castle and any other building. Cozy hovered to the ground while I saw Chrysalis fly into the window, likely to check on Tirek. "I... think that's it..." I panted. "I think so too," Lyra said, both her and Bon-Bon coming over to me. "Will this one go to Tartarus too?"  "Probably. We need to lower the risk of any other place being attacked," Bon-Bon answered.  "Um... I have no idea what's going on," Cozy said. "So I'll just head inside and ask later." "I was just about to suggest that," I replied before Cozy turned and went inside the castle. "So, I guess you've established we're both agents?" Bon-Bon asked when Cozy was out of earshot. "Yeah," I nodded. "You were very helpful today," Lyra began. "Maybe you would be useful. Not much of the agency is left. It's just us. We could use you." "You know what? I'm flattered..." I looked back at the castle. "But... restraining monsters and bringing them to Tartarus isn't my thing. "You know what? We understand," Bon-Bon nodded. "But you still did great." "Thank you," I nodded. "So... are you going to erase my memories or something?" "You know what?" Lyra began. "We trust you." "If you do tell somepony and we find out, we will erase your memories and whoever you tell," Bon-Bon proclaimed. "Seems fair." I then turned around and looked at the two mares one last time.  "May we meet again," I said before re-entering the castle. Cutie map... I entered the cutie map room. "What was going on out "What was going on out there with those mares?" Cozy asked when I walked in. "Just saying goodbye," I shrugged. I was technically telling the truth there. "Well now, I'm curious." "I'm more curious about that beast," Tirek brought up. "I don't think Equestria ever had a record of an actual beast like this." "There was another one too," I say. "But it felt like it was only coming after me." "Where did they even come from?" Chrysalis queried. Meanwhile... "I still wonder why you even thought of creating monsters made out of swamp muck and trees," The Storm King said. "There wasn't much to work with for creating a new monster to retrieve our enemies," Grogar responded. "Retrieve, or destroy. If they were destroyed, it would just make victory easier." "So what will we do?" asked King Sombra. "Next time, instead of creating a monster, we will wait for the right time to strike, and grab what we need from those do-gooders!" Grogar hissed. "We're going simple. For now. And if all-else fails, we will go extreme. We will not stop until we defeat not just Twilight Sparkle and her friends, but those four fiends that violated my plans in the first place!" And Grogar began to laugh.