//------------------------------//
// A Final Confrontation (Part 2) 
// Story: As a Family 
// by Dashzilla93 
//------------------------------//

*Before the force-field was made*

He couldn't take any more of it. Twilight was here and he couldn't bear the thought to go up to her and face her once this troublesome fight was over with. He did all he could to try and take out Marabunda, but now the situation just got worse -- well, it was good for everyone that somepony with great power and equally powerful allies came to aid them. But it was bad for him because Twilight would get word of what happened to Spike and he could only imagine the consequences he and his family would endure. With all that's been said and all that's been done, they were sure to be shunned for what happened. Filthy couldn't handle the thought of meeting her once this was over. He couldn't stay here any longer; he needed to get his family out of here as soon as possible. He removed the wrist launcher and placed it on the table as he looked to his family who gazed at Twilight and her friends glaring at the monster that stood before them.

"Come on, we have to get out of here," Filthy said. "If we stick around, we would only be in the way." Spoiled looked to her husband and nodded. She and her daughter have done enough trouble for today. It didn't make things any better when the Dragon Lord asked who brought Marabunda here.

"Y-You're right. If Twilight saw us, who knows what she'd --"

A sickening feeling suddenly coursed through their bodies. A chill ran up their spines and they had no idea why. Spoiled and Filthy looked at each other, confused and scared. Who, or what, was making them feel this way?

"Mommy, Daddy, I don't feel so good," Silver Spoon said as she whimpered, scared of what was going on, but she walked up to Filthy as he immediately placed an arm around her as she started shaking in his arms. She didn't feel sick, but she felt strangely guilty. If that's the case, she felt so much of it that she had to right the wrongs she committed. And she knew exactly what the wrongs were.

"Mommy, what's going on?" Diamond asked as she started to tear up, terrified as well. Like Silver Spoon, that guilty chill ran across her body, but she felt it much worse than her sister did. It's as if something was making her pay for her actions. She wanted it to end, so she could apologize to whomever, or whatever, made her felt like that.

Spoiled frowned in worry, "I don't know sweetie, but mommy's scared, too," she hugged her shaking, terrified daughter close, forgetting what they did before and deciding to be a good mother for once. She was in trouble, that much was crystal clear, but was it also a sign that the gods and goddesses were punishing her for her's and Diamond Tiara's actions? If so, she wanted them to punish her, not her daughter.

Filthy tried to move, but his body wouldn't allow it. He wanted to know what was going on until he looked at right as Ember and Discord ran into Sugarcube Corners and left Twilight behind. He was confused, but his attention was quickly drawn to the rain and wind slowly picking up.

"What in blazes?" He said, but it went by deaf ears as the chaos began. Lightning struck down between Twilight and Marabunda. The crackling noise from the lightning spooked the fillies and made Spoiled jump, but it gave Filthy the answer as to what, or now who, was causing this mystic force that made them feel how they are now. Filthy widened his eyes is fear, his hearing rang from the noise, but he kept his attention onto Twilight. Marabunda made a hasty move by charging after Twilight, but the power from her when she easily knocked the manticore away made his body responsive, again. 

The storm kicked up. Lightning bolts rained down occasionally, but they weren't aiming for the manticore; they were aimless. Filthy and Spoiled watched as they got to experience what the true power of an alicorn really was, and they were terrified more than anything. Twilight wasn't looking at them, but they could only imagine what she was feeling right now; Twilight was angry and with what she was doing, it seemed like she was taking her anger out on Marabunda; a fair metaphor of taking her anger out on them.

They needed to go, now!

Filthy nudged Silver Spoon and Spoiled with Diamond, "Come on, we need to head home!" Filthy ordered.

"But what about the others?" Spoiled looked to her husband, knowing Drift may need him.

But Filthy shook his head, "Spoiled, they have their own priorities to deal with. Mine is protecting you and my family. Now go!" Spoiled didn't argue and she and the fillies headed straight home. Filthy was about to follow suit, but he craned his head back and looked to the bakery. "I'm sorry, Drift. I wish I could stay, but I'm not wanted here, anymore." With that, he rushed to his family, passing a duck-and-covered Varan under a tree.

***Now***

Marabunda roared furiously. No matter what he did, he was not able to land a single hit on this tiny pony. It aggravated him and made him want to kill her twice over; if he can get his claws on her. He ignored the rushing winds and rain and made another attempt at attacking his prey. He charged like a locomotive, but with a different tactic. He put his feline anatomy to use and quickly zigzagged his movements to disorientate his opponent. Thinking he surprised her, he got closer and tempted fate by making the lunge with his claws out. He thought he finally had her this time and nearly relished in the thought of tearing her limb from limb...

... but all he felt was nothing but air against his paws. And he strangely couldn't any part of his body. He looked around confused before gazing at his opponent to find she was the cause of it. He was trapped in a purple aura that kept him still while in the air. Marabunda growled and tried to break free, but the pony's tactic was incredibly strong; he couldn't move an inch.

Twilight, however, never once felt any urge to stop. She was all too focused and determined to end this manticore. She was angry and rightfully so; this creature harmed her son and never showed an ounce of regret doing it. Her muzzle craned back a horrible snarl and her rageful glare never changed. Then so be it; he will regret it by paying with his life! Twilight shifted her capture spell to only encase Marabunda's neck, manhandling him like he was stuck on a branch to a tree and barely strangling him in the spell; which Marabunda barely showed it having any effect.

Marabunda struggled to get free. He gripped his neck to try and break out of Twilight's hold, but it was all for not as he saw the demented look on the purple alicorn. The last thing he saw was an evil smile from her before meeting dirt and gravel.

Twilight slammed Marabunda down to the ground, then lifted him back up and repeated the motion, again, rewarding her with pained yelps from the incapacitated manticore. An evil grin began to creep up on her muzzle. The back of her mind told her to avenge her son, but another part of her wanted to torture this manticore, too. Like all balances, the angel always needs a demon. And Twilight was no stranger to either of them and their conflicts; this time, the demon won. Anger turned into hate and mercy turned into cruelty. 

Marabunda let out a pained yelp as Twilight slammed him back to the ground and dragged him across the dirt so she could force him to learn what it meant to be inferior. She hoisted him and slammed him back down, again, dragging him across in front of her. She had no idea if anyone was watching or why she was acting the way she was, but she relished it. It felt so wrong, yet so right. If this manticore thought he knew what power was, he doesn't understand the meaning of it. So, she was gonna make him understand.

Twilight held Marabunda in the air, his body dangled almost lifeless. She analyzed him for a second, but was bored with making him eat dirt. She looked up at the clouds and immediately came up with another idea. With a sinister grin, she swung her head and threw Marabunda back. The manticore howled as he was thrown, but Twilight caught him immediately in her capture spell, again, and was slammed back to the ground, pinned and facing the stormy sky above. 

Marabunda was dazed and confused. He had no idea what was going on or why he was suddenly facing the sky. The last thing he remembered was seeing the ground and feeling pain all around his body. He shook his head while the rain washed away the dirt on his fur or what's left of it and tried to move -- but he couldn't. Shocked, he looked around before a light caught his attention.

Twilight glared murderously. Her horn crackled with powerful magical energy. The lightning from the storm occasionally flashed the dark skies, but that didn't faze the princess of friendship. In fact, it made her look intimidating, like she was the demon of this fight. Another quick flash of lightning, however, also revealed the eerie shadow of the inner demon within her.

Marabunda howled and struggled as much as he could, but try as he might, he could not break free from his magic prison. He noticed the lightning flashing above and looked up to find the clouds above began to slowly rotate as lightning shot across within. It was like they were dancing and performing a show. Marabunda watched in awe and wonderment before realizing what was going on. He had a feeling the crazy pony that trapped him was behind this and he tried in vain to get free, but it was no use like before. Those chains that the snake-thing used were much easier to break free. He ultimately stopped and watched the dancing clouds spiral. For once, he felt helpless and his rage slowly began to drift into fear. The lightning above began to brighten and the sounds of thunder grew ever so powerful.

Twilight built up more of her magic. 'Just a few more minutes and it'll all be over.' was what she thought as her horn crackled with more magical power. Head lowered, but full of unbridled focus, Twilight was more than ready to end it all. She then lifted her head and focused her magic to manipulate the storm into doing her bidding. The wind picked up just a little and the lightning crackled louder as if it were a titan ready to attack. She heard the fearful cries of the manticore, but that only fed her lust to continue her onslaught. The time was now and the lightning continued to crackle overhead. With no hint of stopping, Twilight threw her head down with a hard grunt.

As if on cue, the lightning within the storm clouds intensified and five powerful, concentrated streams of lightning speared down and aimed directly at Marabunda as if the god of thunder from myths and legends listened to Twilight and attacked under her order. Marabunda widened his eyes in dread before he screamed and howled in absolute fear as something he'd never witnessed before came at him at an alarming rate. He didn't know what to do or what to think; this tiny pony bested him without a second thought. Death was approaching and she was enjoying every second of it! He watched in sheer horror, but it didn't make things any better when the five bolts suddenly combined into one, making a lightning bolt much bigger than what a normal one would be. 

Twilight smiled evilly and Marabunda cried out for his life, the lightning bolt mere feet away from him and it was closing in fast. Seeing no other option as it was getting ever so closer, Marabunda closed his eyes, looked away from the lightning bolt and braced for the inevitable.

Then, the harsh wind and rain suddenly stopped. 

Marabunda almost didn't want to look, but he cracked one eye open only to find the night sky full of stars, not clouds and lightning. What just happened?

Twilight paused and looked just as puzzled. Where did her attack go? She blinked a few times and craned her head up to look at the thunderstorm, but saw only Luna's shining stars; the storm had vanished. Her horn withered its magical power and confusion quickly settled in. 

"Mom!" a familiar voice called out to her.

She looked back to find Spike alive and well. He was in bandages, but still standing with Scootaloo helping him. "Spike?" her red eyes turned back to the normal state as her worries and anger diminished. Her son was okay and that brought a smile back to her face.

{Discord, I want you to get rid of the storm, first. That'll distract mom long enough for me to call her. Seeing me should snap her out of it.} And it did. Discord snapped his talon claws and whisked the storm away for Twilight to notice. He saw Twilight look over to him and Spike. The first part of the plan was done, so he just stood there and waited for the next part.

Twilight felt a wave of relief wash over her and felt the light in her heart brighten. The demon within her faded away. She turned and started to rush over to Spike, until a massive shadow hovered upon her. She widened her eyes in horror when she realized she had also let go of who she was torturing; she winced deeply and looked back to see Marabunda free from her grasp, back on his paws and already about to pounce. The manticore did not look too happy with her either. Anger turned to fear and hate turned into panic; Twilight got distracted and now she feared she'll pay with her life. 

Though, Karma had not planned anything to ruin Twilight's life. In a quick burst of speed, a rainbow streak, a brown-grey streak, a dark blue and light blue streak zoomed over Twilight and headed straight for Marabunda. Twilight was caught off-guard but she kept her eyes glued when she saw Rainbow Dash and Gilda came to her rescue and pushed the mad manticore back with decent force.

"Mom, quick, get inside before things get worse!" Spike called out, catching Twilight's attention. No sooner did he say that was when Twilight rushed back to her son. As she did, Discord passed her to join the fight.

{Once the storm is cleared, Marabunda will no doubt get right back up and go after her. And that's where you four come in. Push him back and carry out the fight as long as you can.} Rainbow Dash and Gilda flew with matching speed and slammed right into Marabunda, which forced a pained grunt out of him. They pushed him a couple of feet away from Twilight before flying away fast enough so not to get struck by the manticore's claws or tail. 

Marabunda skidded against the ground but stopped himself with ease, dirt flying up. He growled coldly but Gallus flew up to him, catching him off-guard and giving him a hard swing to his snout. Causing him to recoil in pain and grab his snout with a whine of shock, Gallus quickly backed up from Marabunda. {If some of you get lucky, go for the snout. That should stun him and give any of you some time to get away or continue fighting} And Gallus, Gilda and Rainbow Dash chose to fight until Fluttershy came back with backup. But the next part of Spike's plan was not done.

Marabunda held his snout and growled again. His malice sight was on Gallus. This puny bird thing will pay for that! Marabunda shook his head and prepared to charge, but a newcomer dashed in front of him and blocked his path. Marabunda flinched and backed up as the blue dragon from before came back. He didn't know what to expect, but he didn't care and growled coldly, about to attack her.

{And Ember? Don't hold back giving that monster what a Dragon Lord's fire can really do} And that's what she planned from the start. Spike didn't even need to tell her to do that. The look he gave her when he ordered her to do that seemed funny; she guessed it must've been new to him to give an order to her. And not choke up about it? She had to admit, she was proud of him. He may have been raised by ponies, but she'll be a skunk ape's aunt if he didn't have the spirit of his species. Ember inhaled and pinpointed her aim at Marabunda. The manticore lunged, but the dragoness was quicker and exhaled a blue fire of roaring power, stopping Marabunda in his tracks and forcing him to block in order to save his hide. 

Gilda, Rainbow Dash, Gallus and Discord watched on as the songs of Marabunda's pained wails could be heard. They had him backed into a corner thanks to Ember. Spike's plan was a simple one, but it was working. Gallus peered back to see Twilight hugging Spike before they headed inside with Scootaloo. It was good to see them reunited, but then he noticed the gadget on the table Filthy left. He tilted his head in curiosity before gazing back to the fight.

The manticore felt his skin starting to burn. This kind of fire was not like the one the orange dragon had used, but it still hurt like just the same if not a little worse. Marabunda was outnumbered, but he would not give up. An idea came to him as he fought through the pain in his back. He used his wings to fan the fire back, fighting against the blue dragoness' fire breath to push it back. To his luck, it was working. And then he swiped the ground with his left paw, picking up some dirt.

Ember tried to fight back Marabunda's wind gust. But even for her, he was proving to be a challenge. This elemental clash proved something new to experience. But for every fight, one would always pull a cheap shot. Before Ember could counter, Marabunda made a swipe and flung some dirt in her face, forcing her to stop her attack.

"AAH!!" Ember yelled in pain as the dirt got in her eyes, wincing in pain as she turned away from her challenger. She tried to quickly wipe the dirt off, but Marabunda swiped her off the ground and gripped her hard enough for her to squeal in pain. 

Her friends gasped in shock but were too late to save her as the manticore slammed her to the ground with force strong enough to render her motionless then threw her away like an old toy. Ember was thrown to a nearby grill stand. She screamed as she was sent flying before she crashed into the grill on display and caused an explosion big enough for her friends to feel the heat. Ember was swallowed up within the explosion and disappeared.

"Ember!" Everyone called out in shock. They didn't know if she made it or not. That toss was brutal and that explosion sure didn't help. Gallus took the risk and made a dive for that gadget Filthy left. Discord, thinking Ember perished, growled in anger and took over the fight. Now, it's personal!

Glaring, he looked to the griffon and pegasus before pointing to Sugarcube Corner. "Gilda, Rainbow Dash, get back to Sugarcube Corner and protect the others." His command made them quickly realize he was planning to fight Marabunda himself after seeing Ember fall.

The girls tried to argue, "No way, we're in this together!" Rainbow Dash glared at him while Gilda nodded.

"You're crazier than you already are if you think we're letting you fight that beast alone!" The griffon jabbed, not wanting to let him do this alone.

But Discord motioned them to go, glaring at them protectively as he snapped his fingers, conjuring a knight's helmet and cape on his head and body. "Just get out of here!" He then turned and focused his furious glare at the beast that stood proudly after defeating Ember. "I'll handle this psychopath." With that, he charged, ready to avenge his fallen friend. Wincing, but left with no other choice and no way to change his mind, Gilda and Rainbow Dash obliged his order and headed back to the bakery, but Gilda remained outside the force-field while Rainbow Dash headed on inside. Gallus remained with Gilda.

Discord glared as he charges right for the manticore who then noticed him coming his way. "Banzaaaaaaai!"

Marabunda snarled and charged after Discord. With no one else to get in his way, he can tear at this noodle-thing easily. He charged in close but grunted as Discord socked him in the muzzle and jabbed him in the eyes with his talons before teleporting to the left side, gaining distance when the manticore swiped for him while growling in pain. 

Noticing the draconequus near his left, he lunged for him to bite into him, but using his serpentine body, Discord quickly swerved out of the way, with the beast barely missing the tuft on his tail. 

Chomp!

Marabunda growled lightly in frustration when he tasted nothing but air. He then spotted Discord on the right now, he lunged once more but Discord anticipated that and teleported out of the way, using his magic to make a big wrestling glove appear in his face and bopping the manticore in the face, dazing the monster somewhat.

Drift gasped lightly – the lord of chaos was willing to fight Marabunda and risk his own life for the others? The stories he heard about him growing up felt like they were a candle in the wind. He really had changed! 

Their hidden audiences who remained safely in their homes, to wait out until the fight was finally over were impressed by how well Discord was handling himself. Marabunda had some brute force and inhumane stamina, but Discord's got speed in his favor thanks to how nimble he was. Every pony in their homes started rooting for him, hoping he can wear the beast out with his speed and magical sneak-attacks. 

At the schoolhouse, the foals were really impressed by how this turn of events went. It was like watching an epic brawl between The Lodge Crew and The Justice Stables. Some of them had been shaky around Discord because of his unpredictableness, and on a bad day, his temper – but seeing him outsmarting Marabunda at every turn started putting them a little at ease.

"Hehehe... Look at Discord, riskin' his neck like that!" Snips slightly chuckled a bit uneasily but he was really impressed by how brave the draconequus was being. If only he helped out more often like that!

"Well, he better wear that beast of burden down soon, I dunno how much longer he can fight!" Rumble winced as Twist hid near him, shaking quite fearfully.

Snails chuckled a little, being in his own little world, but he viewed that while their ally was being quite a fighter, racing in without any gameplan would be a grave error. "Heh, what a dope." 

Dinky Doo glared at the unicorn colt for that type of comment, standing up for their slippery ally. "He is not!" She knew for a fact that Discord was doing his best out there to save everyone.

*Inside Sugarcube Corner…*

Drift was in awe by how quickly Discord was moving and pulling quite a few punches on the manticore. Seeing the lord of chaos act protective in such a way, he knew that Discord really had changed for the better. And for that, he felt like he needed to help out. He said he could handle Marabunda, but he didn't know him as much as he thought. He didn't care if Discord handled the fight alone, he needed help. 

He glared lightly – he would not stand by scared this time. He looked to Vinyl, "Take care of Scootaloo. I'm helping Discord." He then charged out after the two, glaring as he fully intended to beat Marabunda with his bare hooves. "Discord!" He yelled out as he ran towards the fight to aid the magical lord of chaos with the persistent and demonic beast of the underworld.

Vinyl flinched and tried to reach for her step-brother to stop him, "Whoa, hey, wait, Drift!"

"Daddy!" Scootaloo cried out as Twilight almost prepared a force-field of her own to replace the one Discord made.

"What does that stallion think he's doing?" Twilight asked. Comparing him to Discord, he had no powers to use against that monster.

*Back to the fight*

"Toro! Toro!" Discord held his cape out, which he had turned red and now had dressed himself as a bull-fighter, glaring at Marabunda as he shook his cape. "Toro! Come on! Come on!" Marabunda roared as he charged for Discord, but the former pulled the cape over his eyes and leaped over his head, allowing him to run blindly. He smirked as he floated in mid-air with a sombrero, having a rose in his teeth as he struck a pose. "Ole!" 

Marabunda stopped and groaned confusedly. He had no idea what just happened or why he had this weird thing on his head. But it sure was a pain not seeing through it. He grabbed at the cape to try and pull it off, but Drift glared angrily when he saw an opportunity. He saw his chance and took it.

He made a mad dash right for the manticore and leaped on top of Marabunda's back with a rage-filled grunt. The manticore was caught off-guard by that, but he had no means to counterattack once his assailant grabbed a hold of the cape and pulled back. Marabunda could finally see where he was at but the cape was pulled back and wrapped between his jaws. Drift held on to the cape and planted his back hooves tight onto the fur of the beast. 

Marabunda growled and hissed in annoyance and tried to swipe at Drift, but clumsily swiped the air. He then shook his head violently to get the cape off, but to no avail. He continued to shake his head about while rearing up on his hind-legs in attempt to fling Drift off, but Drift kept his grip on his fur and the cape. Finding this annoying, with a highly angered growl through the cloth, the manticore then started to buck around to knock Drift loose from his back.

Discord widened his eyes and snarled at Drift's interference, but this antic he was doing was highly amusing to him. Yet something was missing from this, but what? To the others, it was dangerous, but watching Marabunda flail his body around and buck about like a bull reminded him of a rodeo. Wait, a rodeo? An idea clicked, 'what was it that Applejack said?' He pondered for a second before snapping his pawed fingers and poofing a hat and holster onto Drift while he was holding on for dear life, the latter not noticing at all. 

Now highly amused by the sight, Discord swung his sombrero around, grinning in amusement by this little sight, calling out "Yee-haw, ride 'em cowboy!"

The apple family felt a sudden disturbance and the sudden urge to hit someone when this whole fiasco was done.

Applejack peered to Big Mac while standing next to Applebloom who was still lying on her bed and said to him, "I don't know if I should feel offended or annoyed. But, someone is gonna get whacked after this."

"Eeyup." He pouted, not sure whether to feel insulted or not.

Marabunda snarled and swung his head about while he bucked like a bronco. He felt a strange presence on his back and he had to get it off, somehow. He felt the cape try to dig into his mouth and it started to hurt. He growled in annoyance when he came to a stop and went with another means to rid this nuisance; he silently lifted his tail.

Varan peeked out from behind the tree he was hiding behind. He snarled and lightly hissed as he watched his friends put their lives on the line. He was hurt, but he could still fight. He watched as his master's father and this new face square off against Marabunda. If he had the chance, he could try to get a bite in. But stealth was gonna need to be top-tier for this. 

"Daddy, look out!!!" He heard his young master's voice and looked over to her. She was with the dragon and white unicorn, calling out to warn her father, but he also noticed the magic-using winged one had summoned a force-field as the white unicorn ran off towards Marabunda. No sense in being with young master, for now. Though, he could sense despair from her. Marabunda had to go; he was causing so many problems that it felt like balance had been disrupted. 

Drift grunted as he held on tight to the cape while keeping a firm stance on Marabunda as he bucked around like a bull. It was like wrestling with an alligator or worse. Holding him down was near impossible for him, so it was best to distract him as long as he could. He glared furious eyes at Marabunda and scolded him as they struggled, "Get out of our town and out our lives! If you can hear me, you monster, you caused nothing but misery to all of us. Why won't you just leave or die?!" He grunted when the beast jolted to a stop, ceasing his bucking about. 

Marabunda heard him loud and clear, but there was one problem: he will never take that request. This pony wanted him gone, he wanted him dead. So, one of them had to fix that issue. Now that he knew it was a pony, it would be easy to get him off. He couldn't see him, but he can hear him and that was enough to target him. His stinger snuck up on Drift and aimed.

Discord saw the manticore about to stab Drift from behind. He gasped in shock and called out to him, "Drift, look out! Behind you!" He was about to snap his fingers, but a newcomer came to their aid.

Confused by Discord's warning, Drift looked behind himself and gasped upon seeing the stinger aimed right for him. He frantically spread his wings to get out of the way. If anything, he'd laugh if he managed to get Marabunda to accidentally sting himself.

{And Rarity, if someone gets in trouble, help them as best you can. I know you got this.} Rarity aimed sharp and launched a rock right into Marabunda's face, striking Marabunda across the cheek and causing him yelp as the rock manage to leave a scraping cut which allowed a little blood to leak. Rarity wasn't as advanced in magic as Twilight was, but her magic was keen on levitation and defense. Spike's plan was a success and they managed to get Twilight back, but there were others still fighting Marabunda. So, it was now a fight for time. She'll help Discord and Drift as best as her abilities will allow, but she couldn't help shake off a feeling that this'll be over soon. "Drift, quick, jump off before he --"

But, it was too late, Marabunda bit the cape clean in two and scowled as Drift lost his footing but was struck in the ribs by his tail and was sent flying back like a ragdoll; Drift howled in pain as he nearly collided with Rarity.

With quick thinking and reflexes, Rarity lit her horn with magic and caught him just before he could crash, but his toss was still strong enough for her to also grab onto him with a lady-like yelp from the force of it. She held Drift in her arms and looked down to check and see if he was okay; unfortunately, to her shock and worry, Drift had been slashed across his side and was not moving an inch. He was wincing from the hit, just like Applebloom had been crying when she got hit. Marabunda's venom was in his system and already taking effect; Drift will be out for a while. 

"Oh, bugger all to Tartarus!" Rarity exclaimed. She was frustrated she didn't save him in time and now she had to deal with a downed pony. She looked back to the force-field and saw a horrified Twilight watching. In no time did she realize that he was down, Twilight immediately used her own magic to transport him back into the force-field she made. She had a feeling Scootaloo was not gonna be happy once she saw his prone state. Rarity turned to Marabunda and snarled at him as he spat out the fabric from his mouth; 'Fluttershy better get back here. I've just about had it with this obnoxious beast!' Rarity kicked up her magic again as Marabunda spotted her and made a leap for her to tear her into pieces like he did the fabric, but the manticore was sideswiped and rammed to the side by Discord who swiped with his talon and rammed with his horns, knocking the wind out of the beast. 

Rarity flinched and backed up as she watched what was occurring right in front of her. "Oh, my!"

Discord snapped his fingers and transformed himself into a snake, hissing as he narrowed his serpent eyes into slits, baring his fangs. His transformation caught the demon manticore by surprise, but only for a moment or two which was all the draconequus needed. He lunged and quickly wrapped himself around the manticore, coiling him into a constrictive hug and started squeezing. This manticore really should know the difference between a weakling and a challenge. Discord figured Marabunda would go after Rarity, but he was not gonna have that – enough of his friends had taken some sort of hit from him, and he was not going to allow his lovely fashionista friend to get injured and ruin her coat with her own blood. Scarlet liquid wouldn't really blend well with her white fur coat.

Marabunda was gonna have his attention on him and no one else. He was not gonna have another one of his friends hurt! Marabunda's arms and wings were bound and tight; he was not going anywhere anytime soon.

Smolder winced sharply as she watched Discord fend off Marabunda. She called out to the lord of chaos as she sees him attempt to strangle Marabunda into submission. "Get him, Discord!" It wasn't long before Sweetie Belle, the Cake Family and Pinkie Pie watched Discord hogtie Marabunda that they began to cheer him on as did the hidden ponies within the safe confinements of their homes. 

Rarity cheered on, as well. Discord had the monster pinned. It was a moment to take a break, but not a break from worrying. She hoped Discord knew what he was doing. Why he hasn't snapped this barbaric creature out of existence was beyond her, but there's always a method for some madness, she guessed.

Marabunda struggled, trying to get free from the chaotic serpent's grasp, but each movement he made caused his attacker to tighten his grip in this serpent-like hug and breathing was getting difficult with each passing minute; he could almost swear that he could almost feel his ribs start to crack a little under the pressure of his coiled hug. He was impressed but annoyed at the same time. This one was proving to be a challenge; much more so than the lizard, dragons, ponies, and others who opposed him but he was proving to be a parasite, too. He had to get this snake off of him. His arms and wings were incapacitated, and all he had were his tail and... Marabunda widened his eyes as an idea came to mind. The mighty beast still stood and his opponent made a grave mistake: he left himself exposed to his teeth. He smirked yet growled out in a mix of annoyance and pain from the tightening hug as he turned his head just a bit and he bit down onto the transformed draconequus' coil, biting right into his rib and back.

Widening his eyes before they clenched tightly shut, Discord screamed in genuine pain from such a dirty move. The crunch from the bite was loud enough for his friends to hear and it caused them to wince in pain, themselves. And right as he's caught off-guard, he yelped as his hold loosened and the rouge freed his right paw. Without hesitation, the rouge let go and cracked him one across the muzzle, dazing him as his limp snake body unwrapped, yelping again once he was smacked away. 

The poor Draconequus shapeshifted back the moment Marabunda tossed him aside and hit the ground. Forcing himself up with one arm, Discord was wincing a bit sharply as he held his lower back and rib. "That… was a bad idea." He grunted as he tenderly rubbed at the bite he received and tried to prevent himself from bleeding, "Ooh…my sacroiliac…" That was definitely going to smart in the morning.

Pinkie Pie glared angrily at that dirty cheap trick. Something within her suddenly told her to put on the gauntlets, get back out there and fight. She had only fought Marabunda once but that was only for a little bit, now something in her wanted to go round two with him. She knew Discord was hurt and needed help; whether his chaos magic could heal him or not, he needed saving. She tempted herself. Standing next to the Cake family, then eyeing the force-field, then Twilight; these ponies were protected anyway; so, that meant that it was time for a new hero to take a stand. She heard Discord yelp again when he tried to get up, that's when she decided and shook her head, "Nope! Getting my spine back." A response that got the cakes and her friends looking at her oddly, about to ask what she meant by that.

Without thinking twice, Pinkie Pie sprung out of the bakery window, causing everyone to holler at her to come back only to fall on deaf ears, and heroically crashed out of the force-field.  She joined back into the fight and ran after Marabunda who had approached the downed Draconequus to further hurt him, "You can't do that to Discord!" Discord snapped his gaze at Pinkie as Pinkie Pie jumped over his body and landed in front of him. She then glared at Marabunda, growling like a wolf.

"Pinkie!" Discord yelled in shock as she stood before their enemy.

Marabunda stood over Pinkie Pie as she protected Discord, not the least bit intimidated and almost wanted to chuckle. Just what was this puny little pink pony going to do to him? Blast him with more confetti or shove a slice of cake in his face?

Pinkie Pie suddenly reached into her mane and somehow slowly pulled out a hardwood baseball bat with sharp barbed-wire wrapped around the wood part of the bat. Pinkie Pie sneered and snickered deviously as she then stood on her hindlegs to grip the bat in her forelegs – which even Marabunda found a bit unnatural. Marabunda looked shocked and let a confused groan. 

"Already wet yourself?" Pinkie said, casually twirling the bat in her right hoof. "Shouldn't be. Your trip to Pee-Pee City ain't registered, yet. Was gonna save this little beauty for some brain-dead pony thinking they could rob the Cake Family's bakery." Not to kill, but to scare. Pinkie was not like that and everyone knew it, but the mere sight of that weapon was enough to give them quite the chills. Not as much as what Twilight did, but still. It was intimidating in itself. "But, not only did you show up and cause a bigger ruckus than the Cake Twins not having their milk, you gone and hurt some of my friends." She motioned her nightmarish bat at Discord, Drift, where Ember was, Smolder and Spike in the bakery. She chuckled a bit and leaned against the worried Discord's shoulder, eyeing her in concern as he wondered what she was going to do. She continued to speak to the demon "Normally, Bundy, I am a kind pony and would say to knock that stuff off, but you've made one doozy of a mistake."

Marabunda had no idea what this pink pony was talking about or why he should care about anything she said. What really got him was how she managed to pull a weapon out of her mane. He blinked a few times while keeping his eyes on her. How in the world did that get in there? Better yet, where in the deepest pits of Tartarus did she even get that and how did she place it in her hair of all places?! It was so confusing and new, that he needed a bit of time to process. This was a weird pony, that's for sure.

She seemed distracted, however, as she made casual talk with him, so he assumed he should attack right now. He started inching closer as she kept running her mouth, huffing lightly.

Varan hissed quietly as he found an opportunity to strike. He snuck out from behind the tree while Marabunda was distracted by the pink one, the manticore now just mere inches from her. Like the rogue, he had no idea what she was doing but it was a great opportunity for him to get back in the fight, too. Carefully, he crept up on Marabunda like he was on the prowl, getting closer and closer to where his tail was just in range for his jaws. He opened his mouth... 

"Now, I could forgive you, and I normally would forgive creatures if they apologized, but in this case --" Marabunda dove his head down and clamped his jaws, thinking he nabbed the pink pony. Varan perked up in shock, as did Discord who managed to roll out of the way and narrowly avoid the teeth. Marabunda chewed but felt and tasted nothing but dirt in his mouth. He spat it out and looked around for the pink pony, only to see her look at him upside-down standing on top of his head. Varan noticed and tilted his head, confusedly. Marabunda grunted in confusion again, "-- No exceptions!" Pinkie swung her bat and thwacked Marabunda between the eyes, causing him to cry out in absolute pain. 

Varan never expected that to happen. Guess he could try his sneak attack now, but a sudden appearance came rushing by and caught him off-guard. He moved back to the tree to find another opportunity to strike. He had to win, at all cost, but Marabunda really made it difficult for him and everyone who faced him. 

How long can he keep fighting? At this rate, Marabunda looked like something that came out of the grave. Burned, bruised, broken, he was everything on the list? Can anything take this freak down? 

No, he had to forget an opportunity; he had to join the pink one.

A few good smacks from her bat were enough to draw trinkets of blood and daze the rogue manticore, but Marabunda reached up and managed to grab Pinkie in a tight grip. He growled and roared in her face.

Discord gasped in shock and winced, trying to force himself to get up. He was still kicking, but his injury was not to be ignored. He was still able to use his magic and that's what he intended to do to save Pinkie Pie. But the sudden appearance of a giant lizard came out of nowhere and zoomed after Marabunda. "What in blazes?" He watched as the lizard clawed at the manticore, but was easily overpowered and pinned under his paw. Now Marabunda had Pinkie Pie and Varan in his paws.

Gallus gasped in fear as he and Gilda watched from the skies. They were intent on saving Pinkie Pie from being a victim of Marabunda, "Oh man, No! I won't let him take another!" Gallus was not gonna have it anymore. He was not gonna let this monster take another life -- especially if it was one of his professors! He had the gadget Filthy left and quickly snapped it onto his wrist.

Gilda second that one, looking really worried about this turn of events "This is not good, not good at all -- Gallus what are you doing?" She watched him put something on his wrist. "What is that?" she asked, it looked like something Drift and Filthy used earlier but Gallus ignored her and tried to figure out how the contraption Drift made worked.

Gallus wanted to help. He had to help as best he could. He pressed every button on that wrist thing to get it to work, "Come on, come on!" He couldn't even save Lyra with strength alone. And now he wasn't able to save Pinkie. He felt useless. He had to get this thing to work. He growled as he smacked at the contraption, glaring in frustration at it while trying to get it working. Filthy used it before, but he didn't use all the ammunition in it. The last piece of ammunition inside was all he needed. But the darn thing wouldn't budge! 

"Work, ya piece of crap!" He messed with the controls, trying to get it to load.

This was looking very bad – very, very bad. 

They're trying their hardest to win, but their hardest was slowly showing that it wasn't enough… and worst of all…

…Marabunda was winning.

Varan squealed in pain as Marabunda easily lifted him up, claws dug in his skin and threw him across the battlefield. The lizard rolled across the ground and slammed headfirst onto the force-field protecting Sugarcube Corner, causing those who were still inside to scream in panic. But unfortunately, the brunt of the force had also temporarily knocked out the poor lizard. His head slid down and laid on the ground. Varan wasn't moving a muscle.

Scootaloo cried in fear as she hurried to his side, ignoring her aunt's screams to get back. "Varan!" She ran passed Twilight and unknowingly out of the barrier and slid onto her knees right next to him before she took his head into her arms and started to shake him, trying to wake him up. "Varan, buddy! Wake up! Please, wake up!" She cried desperately as Marabunda noticed the little filly and slowly advanced towards her to finish the job. "Wake up!"

Twilight gasped in absolute horror when Scootaloo put herself in the line of fire, "Scootaloo, no!" she used her magic to deactivate the force-field and leaving everyone wide-open for Marabunda to attack. Yes, she was happy Spike was okay, but now it was her duty to protect her friends. 

Spike reached out to Twilight, but it was too late. "Mom!"

She rushed up and skid between Scootaloo and Marabunda, horn brimming with magic. She glared as the beast was making his way over while gripping a screaming Pinkie Pie.

Drift, in Vinyl's hold, heard all the commotion and barely cracked an eye open. His body ached like a thousand bee stings, but everything he could hear was muffled and his vision blurred. But he could feel he was in someone's hold. He tried looking up, but his body wouldn't respond. What happened to him? He felt like trash, but he seemed too alive. Then he started to hear voice; the ringing didn't help, but he still heard voices. How long had he been out? He didn't know and he wished he did. Last thing he could remember was fighting that monster of a manticore. Then it hit him... 'Marabunda!' he tried to open his eyes and force himself to move, but when he heard Scootaloo's voice was when bad news really hit him. His hearing returned and his vision began to clear, and he could see Twilight facing Marabunda with Scootaloo behind her, "No, No, No! Don't hurt them!" he called out.

Vinyl looked to her step-brother was relieved to see he was awake, but he awoke at a wrong time, "D-bro! You're awake!"

"Yeah, I'm awake, now help Twilight save my daughter!" He tried to move, but that blasted manticore's venom prevented him from doing so. Even if Vinyl helped, she'd just be in the way.

Scootaloo looked up and screamed in fear as Marabunda was right above her, Varan and Twilight, in all his horrifying, terrifying, fearful glory – glaring down at them. 

"Don't you take a step closer!" Twilight ordered. "And let go of Pinkie!" She aimed her horn and shot Marabunda in the arm with her magic, forcing him to throw Pinkie away and roar in pain as he grabbed his arm, waving his stinging paw to cool it off.

Pinkie Pie screamed in horror as she somersaulted in the air but was saved when Discord snapped her out of the air and next to him. Pinkie Pie plopped on the ground next to him and casually looked to him and smiled sweetly in thanks. Discord smiled happily in return, relieved that she was okay.

That blast may have hurt but Marabunda let out a roar into the sky, knowing he had won this fight and he was gonna relish this; all that opposed him fell before him. He soaked it in and it felt good. He didn't care if this purple pony was left. What was she gonna do? His blind fury made him forget what she did earlier, but he did not care whatsoever. After all, there was no one else to stand in his way. He reared his paw up and prepared to strike Twilight just as she crouched and lights up her horn once more.

A small rock suddenly flew by and hit Marabunda straight across the temple with a solid smack. Marabunda yipped and rubbed the side of his face, stopping his gloating, his eyes wide in surprise.

Everyone noticed the small rock and gazed over to who threw it. No one else threw it. So, who did?

That sudden appearance was none other than Fluttershy who stood before them with a battle-ready look. She was finally back and she was not happy.

Fluttershy had regained enough strength to fly back to the fight; her backup following closely behind her. She panted softly as she just made it back to Ponyville – but she was also horrified to see that the manticore was now setting his sights on her daughter and Twilight! She looked over to find Discord and Pinkie hurt, a grill stand nearly destroyed and her boyfriend was incapacitated.

"Mommy!" Scootaloo cried out in fear as she held onto the unconscious Varan, getting her attention. Twilight was the only one not hurt. So she was the last line of defense? Not anymore!

Something snapped in her. It was one thing that Marabunda hurt her friends, but this beast was not going to lay a claw on her daughter! Not while she was around!

Picking up another rock, she aimed and with a sharp grunt, she threw it right at the same spot she hit him before.

Marabunda growled in frustration and turned his horrific gaze onto Fluttershy. The manticore had no idea why this pony did that, but it already made a death wish.

"Fluttershy, what are you --" Twilight widened her eyes when she saw the unthinkable happen.

Behind Fluttershy, breaking through an abandoned food stand and shattering it to pieces, with vegetables and fruit flying in each direction, letting out a mighty roar as he entered the scene was none other than a grizzly bear!

Harry roared out in the area, announcing his presence after breaking through the food stand that was in his way. The town square was a wreck, like a monsoon hit the place – but he immediately spotted the source of it all, and locked eyes with it. 

A Manticore. 

Glaring at this beast, he roared out to catch his attention, but to also challenge him.

Marabunda immediately forgot all about his previous prey behind him and focused on this newcomer; this one had his attention and it was challenging him. For this new opponent, he was more than ready to oblige – as this one looked more like it was worth his time and worth the fight than these little pests. He roared back at the bear, accepting his challenge as the grizzly approached the area as he stepped away from the building, the alicorn, the komodo, and filly.

Harry stood next to Fluttershy. His blood boiled and his form tensed yet revved up with a sheer will to fight and pound this beast into a quivering bloody pulp. For years, bears have always been known for their strength – they as a species were referred to as the juggernauts of the forest; they were the strongest forest animal that ever walked the grassy floors. They were brave, they were fearless and nobody dared mess with them – they had these claws and teeth sharpened for a reason. And Harry would prove that title was right for him and his species.

But there was one creature that rivaled them in strength. An equally strong magical creature, the creature with the strength of a lion but with the stinger of a scorpion – the beast known as the manticore.

Both species hated one another with a burning vengeance. They were both equally strong but their pride stood in the scenario and it told them that there was only enough room in the forest for one strong creature. And it is said that the minute one or the other made eye contact with each other, they immediately engage – not just for territory, not just for dominance, but to the death. 

And now, the battle between a mythical titan and a modern titan was about to clash.

Harry then noticed that the rival of his species was standing over someone; the lizard that he encountered before; the same lizard that picked a fight with him. It looked like the lizard tried to fight this monstrous manticore, but judging by him looking unconscious and the beast still standing – he lost that battle. Then again, everyone else looked banged up, too. Just what did this manticore do?

Although, when Marabunda stepped away, Harry also spotted little Scootaloo right by the lizard – looking very terrified by what was happening yet stunned when he entered into the fight. He noticed Twilight was there defending her, she also looked surprised to see him appear, but that didn't stop him from gazing at little Scootaloo. He was in utter shock and his lips peeled back to show sharp teeth ready to rip and tear. 

Protective instincts swelled up inside the bear, and he knew right then and there just what he needed to do. This manticore will regret ever messing with his friends and family.

Fluttershy panted lightly as she looked up at the grizzly as he stood over her with his teeth bared and growling hatefully at his rival, before looking over at her family with worry in her eyes.

Drift was stumped. That's where his girl was? She was getting reinforcements like that?! And judging by what she had brought into the fight, he prayed that this will be enough to end Marabunda.

The two rivaling titans roar out at one another, asserting to each other that they're ready to fight and they were not going to back down.

Fluttershy looked back at Marabunda before getting out of Harry's way as she said, "Harry... sic 'im." And with that, Harry let out a loud guttural roar, obliging her order just as Twilight immediately resumed the protective force-field with wide eyes once Fluttershy joined them.

The final battle began.

Harry made the first move and he charged like a large, furry locomotive. Marabunda responded with his own roar and charged at the grizzly. It didn't even last a second before both titans of Gaia's nature brutally clashed with each other, almost making a loud boom upon impact, causing the viewers to wince deeply at the collision. Instead of clawing, Harry immediately went straight to work with his teeth to grip a fold of Marabunda's skin and easily pushed him away from everyone, saving them the trouble of dealing with him. Still having him in his teeth, Harry violently shook his head as Marabunda howled in pain. The manticore tried to go for a swipe with his claw, but the grizzly bear tossed him away and dodged the cutting claws of his rival. Marabunda supported himself from falling back and started to go after his rival, again. But Harry stood up on his hind legs and reached out with his claws and caught him, both growling ferociously at one another. Both powerful animals got into a struggle-fest with Marabunda trying to use his weight to push against the grizzly and overpower his grip. He succeeded and knocked the bear against a streetlight for extra measure. Marabunda smiled evilly, thinking he had the edge.

But Harry was no pushover. While Marabunda thought he was still strong, Harry never used up all of his energy and was not running on reserves. The grizzly easily pushed back with just as much force as Marabunda was using onto him. Marabunda was caught off-guard and Harry took the opportunity to sink his teeth onto his rival's neck, tearing off more of the scorpion-tailed demon's mane off. But Harry wasn't done just yet. He swung and dug his claws into fur and skin, causing some bleeding with some lucky deep cuts, drawing more painful wails from Marabunda as he struggled to fight back against the more energized bear. Harry tried to get a bite in on Marabunda's neck, but the manticore was lucky enough to dodge a gruesome fate and returned the favor biting the grizzly right between his chest and neck, causing squeals of pain from the ursa. 

Marabunda started to topple Harry, but the bear was not having it at all and began to push back. Harry growled in rage and easily won the struggle-fest, again. He swiped a powerful claw across Marabunda's face and got him to release his toothy hold. Marabunda stepped back to regain his composure, but that was an opportunity for Harry to come back with an ursa's wrath by charging in and swiping his claws multiple times across his face and chest. Marabunda howled and cried out in pain again, but managed to dodge one swipe and jump back a safe distance away to regain his bearings and not get overpowered like that. Harry stopped and watched as his rival dropped to one knee, but used his big arms to support himself as he began to pant with exhaustion. His fumes were about to run out and he felt it. But that was not gonna stop him from killing that bear! He didn't want to go down just yet.

Harry growled in annoyance. This manticore was stubborn, that's for sure. With how he looked now, this manticore should be dead already. Harry won't deny Marabunda has inhumane stamina, but stamina was never limitless; Marabunda would fall, whether he liked it or not. And unfortunately for the manticore, Harry himself was also stubborn once he had his mind set. The bear let out another roar to intimidate Marabunda, but Marabunda did not heed that call and came back, dashing after the grizzly, going right into swipe-city like Harry did to him, swiping and smacking Harry some as he cut into his fur. 

Harry swiped back, but immediately got himself free and backed away. But Marabunda wasn't gonna let this ursa escape and tried to go in for a bite. But Harry counted on that and lunged himself back on his hind legs, forcing Marabunda's jaw shut and bit right back into him, shaking him around. Marabunda winced but the monster retaliated and used his hind claws and front claws to cut into his fur and his skin, managing to draw some blood this time, causing the bear to whimper. Claws and fangs flew and no one seemed to have the upper hand this time. Harry released Marabunda and backed a bit, managing to dodge another bloody swipe from the manticore. He let out another fury-filled roar at the beast, stepping back one more step as the Manticore responded by trying to bite into his neck to take his head off – a move he narrowly dodged. He responded with a mean smack across the Manticore's face right when he got close enough to come after him.

Fluttershy gasped as she watched her mighty friend fearlessly face this manticore – no matter how many swipes, no matter what dirty cheap shot would be pulled; Harry was not going to give up so easily. Still, she was worried sick about her giant friend and hoped that he will prevail. She scrambled to Twilight and Scootaloo as Discord and Pinkie managed to join them.

"Mom!" Scootaloo sobbed as she rushed up and held on tight to her mother. "I thought you left us. I was beginning to think you just ran off."

Fluttershy held her daughter like a snake keeps hold of a rat, never letting go of her terrified daughter, "No, sweetie. I would never do that. I went to go get help. Don't ever think I'd abandoned you, again." That was the one thing she'd never do to her. She felt sorry for not explaining to Scootaloo where she went, but she was back and here for her and Drift. 

Scootaloo looked up at her tearfully but smiled thankfully, she then wondered "Why'd you bring Harry, mom? I-I know we really need help, but still…"

Fluttershy held her close and looked up to the battle that is occurring outside the force-field. She explained to her daughter, "If we're going to finish this, we need a fighter who's just as experienced in the forest as Marabunda is. And that experienced fighter is the rival species of the Manticore: The Grizzly Bear."It was a smart move to bring a rival species to help against another, but hat kind of knowledge never went to Scootaloo or anyone else; this was entirely new to them. But then it dawned on her as she looked to her daughter, worriedly, "What happened to your father?"

"He's with Vinyl," Twilight informed. She pointed over to Vinyl and Drift. Vinyl looked to them then back to Drift. Worried for her boyfriend, Fluttershy immediately went to him. "Marabunda struck him before Rarity could save him."

Rarity felt a little guilty for not saving him on time, but with what she gathered thanks to Spike, Drift should recover in a couple of hours, but that didn't stop her from feeling bad. She just hoped Fluttershy wasn't gonna be upset at her.

Fluttershy approached as Drifted watched and gazed down at him with utmost worry. The look on her face made him want to look away and beat himself up, but he kept his gaze on her. He didn't want to have her see him like this; paralyzed and defeated, "S-Sorry you had to see me like --"

"No --" Fluttershy interrupted and smiled just a little "--I'm just happy you're still alive." She noticed his injury and was glad to show up when she did; now Harry will take care of things. "I'm back and not leaving, ever." She had a lot of work on her plate now, but with Twilight and her friends, she can get things done quicker. She'd ask when Twilight and Discord got here, but questions were for later. She looked to Twilight and smiled thankfully at her, "Thank you for saving my daughter, Twilight." Then she looked to Rarity and noticed the guilt look on her face, "And thank you for helping Drift." Her gentle tone warmed Rarity's soul and got the fashionista to smile a little. Least Rarity knew Fluttershy wasn't angry with her. That was good news.

Twilight watched the fight go down, but shook her head, "Don't thank me, yet. We still have a problem on our hooves." She pointed at the battling titans. Harry was doing fine, but she didn't know if he could handle a creature like Marabunda. 

Fluttershy smiled confidently. She was worried, but she also had faith Harry had this fight covered, "I wouldn't worry, Twilight. My Harry is a capable fighter. With what everyone else did, I'm pretty sure Marabunda will tire down soon."

"I hope you're right Fluttershy. I've never seen an animal behave like this before. Have you?" She asked but Fluttershy shook her head.

Pinkie glanced up at Discord who winced a bit – both from his injury and from seeing those two clash. She was actually worried the strain on his lower back from the manticore's bite was trying to keep him down. They had no sense in being out here while a fight between titans was going on. She had to help her friend, at least. "Discord, get up! We're heading back in." She ducked her head under his lion paw and wrapped it around her shoulder. "C'mon!" while he would say hi to Fluttershy, now was not the time.

Discord grunted in a bit of pain. He looked down at Pinkie Pie and said in an appreciative tone, "Thank you, Pinkie Pie." With her aid, he managed to get up and quickly moved with her to Sugarcube Corner before looking back to see Marabunda slam Harry into the ground and try to pin him for a bit. Discord winced deeper but headed inside with Pinkie Pie, immediately holding her close in a bit of fear as the bear shook the ground once he slammed into it back-first.

Harry growled in a bit of pain from the landing, but glared up at the manticore and grabbed his swiping paw when he swung towards his face. Already, he was on him and not letting him get up. This manticore was strong and seemed like, judging by all those wounds, had years of experience fighting. He may be momentarily down, but he was not out just yet. And just like him, he has a few years of fighting experience under his furry belt. How else did Fluttershy's cottage stay protected all this time when an unfamiliar face came near? However, he noticed that the Manticore was grinning down at him concerningly evilly. He tilted his head and saw the reason. Yet, for the bear, he wasn't concerned. Harry growled in Marabunda's grinning face and lashed out, biting the manticore on the snout, hard.

Marabunda squealed in absolute pain and reeled back, but ultimately and unintentionally dragging the bear back on his paws. The manticore flailed his arms and howled again, but a smack across the bear's snout forced him to let go. Marabunda grabbed his snout and whimpered – tears of pain running down his cheeks, but he glared darkly at Harry. He growled with utter malice and lashed out with his tail. Harry faced the manticore, but was too late to counter as the stringer stabbed him right in the shoulder!

"NO!" Scootaloo screamed in panic when she saw that happen. "Harry!!!" But a gentle hoof from Fluttershy caught her attention. She looked up at her mother and smiled calmly. Scootaloo didn't understand why her mother wasn't freaking out over Harry being stung, but when she looked back and wiped her tears away to get a clearer look, she was shocked by what she saw.

Varan slowly opened his eyes and regained consciousness. Hearing his young master shout woke him up. He shook his head and looked around as he rubbed his head with his clawed paw before hearing Marabunda's growls and some new growls. He darted his head to the source and was just as shocked as Scootaloo.

Marabunda smirked victoriously and wickedly. He landed the killing blow and victory was his yet again. Not even a rival species could take him down. He felt smug and proud of himself. Once that venom kicks in, it's over. He glanced at his enemy to watch him fall, to watch with malicious intent, and to take great pleasure in seeing his rival fall.Or, at least that's what he was hoping for. His victory was short-lived when he got the shock of his life; He even grunted in disbelief and bewilderment when he noticed something off.

Harry stood in front of him like nothing ever happened. The stinger was embedded in him, but it seemed like it did nothing to him. He snorted a light mocking snicker at the manticore. He even raised a furry brow at his rival, giving him an odd look. 'Was that supposed to be his trump card? What a joke.' He thought to himself, he didn't even roar in pain after being stung.

'What?!' Marabunda growled to himself before reeling his stinger back and repeatedly stung him over and over; neck, shoulder, arm, nothing was working.

What was going on here?! Why isn't the venom working?!

'What the heck?! Why isn't my venom bringing him down?! I stung him at least ten times!' He glared at Harry, who got tired of waiting and backhand his stinger away like it was a bee. He snarled in unbridled rage, managing to ask him through his full-rogue broken mind and unintelligible growls. 'Why…aren't you…dying?!'

"W-What's going on, mom?" Scootaloo asked in shock and surprise, having no idea why Harry wasn't affected. "Wh-Why isn't Harry collapsing? He got stung at least a dozen times by now!" She was stunned that the bear was still standing and taking those stings like a champ.

Fluttershy smiled lightly and sat down with her daughter as she explained, "There's still a lot of things I need to teach you, sweetie. But, one thing you need to know about bears -- " she pointed a smug hoof to Harry who's fur bristled a bit as she revealed a little fun fact to her daughter " -- bears have thick fur. Thicker than ours. Even fully-venomed manticores have a tough time getting through their fur." Scootaloo never knew that. She flipped out over nothing and thought Harry was in trouble, but it turned out he had his own ace in the hole. She rubbed the back of her head before receiving a gentle nudge from Varan. Immediately, she teared up and hugged his snout, smiling happily that he was awake and alive.

Harry seemed to be smirking, making some growl-like chuckling sounds in his throat. He eyed him tauntingly as he revealed to his mortal enemy, growling at him in his language. 'Sometimes, it pays to have thick fur. Protects the skin from weather and ... lousy stings like yours!' He saw him swing that tail at him in anger for insulting him before he planted his powerful paw on his tail and pinned it down, rending Marabunda incapable of using it. The grizzly smirked again as he held onto the squirming appendage. 'I think it's clear you won't need this anymore.' Without giving him a chance to respond, Harry sunk his teeth into Marabunda's tail as he released his paw from it. Marabunda howled in pain and before he knew it, he was being swung around by the bear. 

Everyone cheered Harry on and watched as he slammed the manticore back down on the ground, dazing him and pinning his tail, again. Quickly and without mercy, with a sharp grunt and a snap of his neck, Harry easily tore half of Marabunda's tail clean off and tossed it over to the ponies. The tearing noise echoed and rang in their ears, forcing them to wince, but they almost felt bad when Marabunda bellowed out in agony over the loss of his stinger.

Unfortunately, the other half of the stinger landed in from of Twilight. She tried not to upchuck from what she just witnessed. To say she was repulsed by what Harry did was an understatement, but she wasn't gonna deny that it was a good opportunity to rid his opponent of his secret weapon.

Marabunda screamed in absolute pain. That bear just ripped his tail off! He lost his stinger. That blubbering ursa actually injured him! He growled in rage. He'll pay for that! He glared furiously at the smugly smirking grizzly bear through the pain of his tail being torn off and got up and lunged; He may not have his tail anymore, but he still had his might. And Harry soon found that out as he balled his paw into a fist and cracked one across his face. Harry snorted in pain and back away, grabbing his cheek. He didn't expect Marabunda to do that, but he wasn't gonna take that lightly. He growled at Marabunda and prepared to charge, but the manticore came back and decked Harry again; this time across the jaw. Harry yipped and backed away, again.

Marabunda didn't let up. His combat style suddenly changed -- without his tail, he was now using his fists. Harry shook his head to clear it up quick and rubbed his jaw. This was entirely new to him; manticores usually use their claws, teeth, and tail, but this manticore managed to use his fists and change his fighting style to a brawler stance. This was not a normal manticore and Harry was learning that lesson the hard way. But he wasn't gonna give up that easily. Not when he had something to protect. Harry charged at Marabunda and swiped a claw at him, but Marabunda dodged the powerful claw and decked Harry hard across the temple, reeling the ursa back. Harry yipped as pain itself shot through his head, but Marabunda wasn't done. He charged forth and went all-out on the grizzly, punching him across the face, slashing at his arm – getting four clean solid claw marks on his arm, making his rival roar in pain – he then launched an uppercut under his jaw - knocking a few of his teeth out - and slammed a straight-down punch on top of Harry's skull, actually dazing the poor ursa.

Fluttershy gasped in shock by what was happening. Now she was truly worried about her friend. She thought he had the upper-hand, but somehow Marabunda found a new way to win the fight. If Harry loses, she would never forgive herself and it would be all her fault if he ended up dead. "Harry!" 

Scootaloo and those who watched were none too thrilled by the fight either. They were worried by this turn of events, while the tail has been taken out, that blasted manticore has turned brawler.

"Oh no!" Sweetie Belle squeaked in fear.

Smolder winced deeply and covered her eyes, not wanting to watch those punches bash the bear's face in. "I can't look!" But something inside her begged her to peek, so she slightly opened her claws to do so.

Varan looked on and hissed lowly. He weakly got up, gaining attention from the other ponies including old master. He heard his young master plead him to stand down and rest, but he could not stand by and let the bear he mistook for Marabunda get killed. Not while he was alive, and not when old and young master were here. And most certainly not when he knew he owed the poor bear an apology for his actions from before. His body ached, but his spirit was still strong.

Scootaloo backed up to her mother and glanced up at her pet. He was looking out at the fight and saw the determination in his eyes. Varan had to fight and she knew it. There was nothing she could do to convince him to stop and she shook her head, "I can't stop you, can I?" Scootaloo said as Varan slowly opened his mouth, his saliva-coated teeth at the ready as the drool dripped from the roof of his mouth and on his teeth. Scootaloo and Fluttershy knew what they meant and both the mother/daughter duo looked to the Komodo Dragon and nodded, pointing to the Manticore as they yell together, "Get him, Varan!"

Harry let out a pained roar before Marabunda held him in a headlock and pinned him down. The manticore growled sadistically and cracked his knuckles into a fist and slammed it multiple times in Harry's face. He kept his head pinned while Harry tried to break free. It was proving very difficult for the bear and he felt himself losing consciousness; compared to this and Marabunda's claws, he'd prefer the claws over the fists. A few more blows to the head and Harry went down. His body slumped and his head drooped to the ground. Marabunda released Harry but kept his head pinned. He put all his weight on holding the bear down if he so much as tried to break free before looking to his throat – if he was also playing possum, one bite will be enough to put this bear down once and for all. He won't get the chance for a surprise attack.

Marabunda leaned his head down and opened his mouth, about to sink his fangs into his rival's exposed neck...

...Until a hiss-like roar caught his attention.

Varan bellowed a prehistoric-like roar unlike anyone had ever heard before and charged as fast as lightning toward Marabunda. He launched himself, 'Get away from him, you freak!' and climbed onto Marabunda's back. Marabunda was caught off-guard and tried to get the lizard off, but he finally took the opportunity to bite down on a patch of exposed skin on his shoulder. Varan bit down hard, digging his serrated teeth as deep as they could go.

The attack managed to pull Marabunda away and save Harry. Marabunda howled in pain as the Komodo dragon latched his claws onto him and kept his bite firm and tight.  Marabunda swung his arms about to try and pry the lizard off him, but he had him in a blind spot. The rogue manticore never anticipated this lizard to return. And bite him, no less. He will pay for that with his life!

Unfortunately for him, Varan gave Harry just enough time to wake up and get back into the fight. Varan noticed Harry shaking himself from his pain then eyed him and Marabunda and immediately began charging.

Varan released his clawed and toothy grip on Marabunda and jumped out of harm's way as Harry roared his return and bit into Marabunda once more, colliding with him. Marabunda was caught off-guard by such a move and squealed in both shock and pain as he was pushed across the ground and slammed into another food stall, splattering the food underneath him. Harry backed away as Marabunda got back up but Varan swiftly ran by and planted his jaws into Marabunda's right arm.

Marabunda let out another pained wail and tried to strike Varan, but Harry intervened and tackled Marabunda. Varan released his arm while Harry bit down and swiped at the manticore. A solid clawed slap across the face sent Marabunda careening on his back. It wasn't long until both komodo and grizzly were about to push the rogue manticore and force him to the bridge leading out of Ponyville.

Lowering the force-field, Gilda, Gallus, Twilight and everyone else who weren't injured followed after the lizard/bear duo and watched them tag-team against Marabunda in awe. They almost didn't want to believe it was happening. They were actually winning! It won't be long until they reached the bridge.

Gallus dove toward the war among animals, much to Gilda's shock. She tried to stop him, but it was too late. Flapping his wings and taking steady breaths, he had to get this gadget to work. It made a few strange clink noises, but not much else. Whatever that meant, he hoped it worked. He aimed the launcher and steadied himself.

Marabunda reared up and roared in sheer pain as Varan sunk his teeth into his left thigh. The manticore started to feel a little off, but he kept fighting. He punched the Komodo Dragon, but Harry lunged forward and tackled him again, knocking him back down while Varan scurried a safe distance away. Marabunda got back up on his feet and growled, but Harry didn't want to hear it and ran up and thrashed his arms around, swiping at Marabunda and overpowering him with his own strength to push him down. 

Varan swiftly ran up and made short work with one of the manticore's wings, using his claws to tear apart the membrane and unexpectedly dislocated the wing that was dislocated before. A sickening crack was heard and then the songs of agonizing cries from Marabunda came after. Marabunda growled in rage and countered by smacking Varan off with his arm, sending him flying into the fountain, surprisingly, it didn't cause too much damage; it sure got the lizard soaking wet. Nonetheless, he got back up with a hiss and charged right back into the fight.

Yet, Harry was still fighting. Harry immediately took advantage of Marabunda's distraction and shoved the manticore against a tree near the bridge, managing to uproot it with just a bit of force, causing the monster to grunt in pain from the splintery kiss of the tree.

Gallus couldn't aim properly and followed the animals; everyone else in hot pursuit. He closed an eye and took aim once more.

Marabunda tried in vain to fight back. But for some reason, he wasn't using enough effort. Something was weighing him down. He tried to fight back against the bear, but his swiped and swings were clumsy at best. He backed up a little more to gain distance, but the Grizzly Bear and Komodo Dragon kept attacking, never giving him a chance to fight back.

Varan hissed angrily and charged at Marabunda, grabbing a hold of his face and tried to take another bite in, but the manticore pushed him aside, only for Harry to step in and bull-rush Marabunda. With enough strength,  he tossed him into the middle of the Ponyville bridge, letting out a mighty roar as he did.

Marabunda yipped as he was thrown. He grunted in sheer pain but slowly got back up, forcing himself to get a good grip – to get some sort of support on the bridge. He finally got a good distance from the two fighters and breathed heavy exhausted breaths. He was now more worse than he'd ever been. The bear was one thing, proving a challenge until the lizard joined in. His fumes were out and he could no longer feel anything but pain. Marabunda whimpered as he finally felt all the pain he received coming here up to now. He didn't know what was going on; he should be stronger than this! What was making him feel so weak?

Harry and Varan stood strong together as they stood across from the mortally wounded manticore, glaring at the bloody, beaten beast. Both animals were exhausted as they pant a bit hard themselves. The persistent beast slowly got up using the edges of the bridge to support his weight, but they noticed his hind legs were shaking. He was all but beat. They knew he couldn't fight anymore. What sense was there to keep going? They watched him and anticipated to see what he'd do next, wondering why won't this guy just give up?

Marabunda rubbed at its eyes and noticed his vision was slowly getting blurry. He didn't know what was going on, but he glanced over at the komodo and saw a strand of saliva seep down his mouth and onto the ground. That must be it. That wretched lizard's bites were venom-coated. He gazed at the spots where Varan bit him and realized he was losing blood, fast. His body barely responded and it was finally taking its toll on him. He noticed the two had stopped their assault and waited for him to make a move... or they realized he was nearing death's door. He sneered at them and hissed a lion-like growl at them. If they were gonna let this venom run its course, then they were sorely mistaken. Using what reserves he had left, he stood up on his hind-legs like a last soldier standing over his defeated army and glared death daggers at Harry and Varan. The latter prepared to fight once he did so.

The stubborn, mangled manticore glowered at the two animals that have thrashed him like a ragdoll and roared at them, arms up and daring them to come at him. The latter two responded with their own battle-ready hisses and roars. They were ready to settle this once and for all.

An unknown object zoomed over Harry and Varan which caught them off-guard. The mammal and reptile looked at each other confused until they heard a sickening crunch in front of them. They looked to Marabunda and wondered what happened to him, only to regret they wish they hadn't. 

Marabunda's arms suddenly slumped down, yet he still stood. His eyes rolled in the back of his head as his head was forced up like something struck him hard -- and something did. Foamy saliva bubbled in the back of his throat, making it hard for him to breathe; thus he gargled and choked. His body couldn't register what happened, so his muscles twitched and his wings occasionally spasmed. It was like looking at a zombie that recently came out of the grave. Whatever hit him, hit him hard enough for not even him to expect it.  It was only when Varan and Harry caught sight of a perfectly round stone embedded in his head that really made them wince and cringe; the stone had planted itself right between Marabunda's eyes; right on the very spot where Pinkie Pie smacked him with her bat.

Varan and Harry looked at each other again, wondering who threw that stone before glancing back behind them to see the culprit. 

Gallus stood behind them with his shaking arm stretched out, aiming the smoked wrist-launcher. He glared death daggers back at Marabunda, "That... was for Lyra." he dropped back on all fours and soaked in what he just did. Before, he pressed a lot of buttons to try and get the darn thing to work. But when he was in range to take some kind of shot, he finally managed to get the contraption to work and take a shot. He didn't know if it was actually gonna work, but luck rained down upon him and risked it. He saw what he did and actually hit Marabunda. It didn't bring him down, but stunning him was a bonus. Or, at least that's what he thought.

Marabunda's body finally gave out and he fell back and collapsed with a hard thud. Varan and Harry took notice and headed over to him, but stopped at the edge of the bridge and kept a safe distance. They watched him thoroughly and waited for him to make a move, a single twitch, a sign of breathing, anything to signal them that he was still alive. The grizzly and komodo never took their eyes off of Marabunda. Instincts told them to be on guard -- Varan in particular. He was aware Marabunda had a sick habit of playing possum. So, it was wise he and Harry stayed back.

They didn't know how long it'd been, but they heard the clomping sounds of hooves and the gentle beat of wings. Their masters and their friends were right behind them and they could tell they knew why they haven't returned to them. But, surprisingly, Marabunda never moved from his spot. Not a single breath came out of the massive body. No sign of life.

Scootaloo, Fluttershy, and Twilight came up to Harry and Varan while they eyed the body of Marabunda, wondering if he was really down and out. Twilight didn't know, but Scootaloo and Fluttershy were on high alert.

Everything was silent. Nothing but the gentle winds sang in everyone's ears. One might think it was so quiet, heartbeats and fainted breaths of any creature could be heard. Not a single soul moved an inch or made a sound. They waited. Waited with pleading faith that it was finally over. No one celebrated until they knew for sure the trouble was completely gone.

Scootaloo was the one to finally break the silence and asked out of fright she might've tested fate and luck, "Is... is it over?"

Twilight, Fluttershy, Harry, and Varan braced themselves if what Scootaloo just asked was a trigger for karma to easily turn around and betray them. But, there was nothing. Marabunda never moved. 

"I think... it is, Scootaloo," Fluttershy replied under her relieved breath. She took a moment to breathe calmly, but Harry wanted to know for sure. The Grizzy approached Marabunda's body and sniffed him for a moment. 

Fluttershy and Scootaloo were tense, again, hoping Marabunda didn't spring up like he did before and attack, but once Harry peered back to them, he shook his head and smiled calmly at them.

They immediately relaxed and felt their tension deflate like a balloon. Twilight was the same way. That fight was a nightmare.

But, it was over. It was finally over.

Marabunda was dead.