//------------------------------// // Chapter 23: Invasion // Story: Lost // by Cyanjames2819 //------------------------------// In the early morning, Nebula was going through the thick forest where he chased after Nightmare. He had his new friend on his back because she was tired out after trying to keep up with him earlier that morning. Right now though, she fell asleep, curled up to keep herself warm from the cool morning air. He had a little bird to company him while Sunny slept. He enjoyed speaking to the little bird resting on top of his head. He knew where he was going and it would be a lot faster if he flew over the forest's canopy, but he had a mare to take care of on his back. After some time just thinking to himself, he found himself in a small clearing against a rocky cliff face. He walked around for a moment, examining the area. When he saw a small cave, it click on him. This is where he took care of Fluttershy a while back. He smiled at the thought of her trying to teach him to smile and how close they have gotten from that point and on. He loved her and Playtime to his very core. Maybe he can take them back here just for good times and show Playtime where her mother and father met. He heard the mare yawn and move around on his back. He looked at her and saw her looking around with half closed eyes. "W-where are we?" He started walking in the cave, "We're taking a little rest here. We have time." he said to her and found the same patch of mushrooms Fluttershy used as a bed. He rested down onto the stone floor and Sunny gently got off him to get on the mushrooms. Nebula got back up and started walking out the cave mouth. "Where are you going?" she started to feel exposed without her friend. "Don't worry, I'll be back in a minute." he said to her and turned his gaze back out to collect some food for them both. As he collected berries and fruits, he noticed the forest was more calm then the last time he was here. Now that he thought about it, he hadn't seen any of the forest's dangerous creatures for a few days. The bird perched on his left horn, it seem to notice the strange calm forest as well. Noticing the little bird act that way made him feel uncomfortable about the forest. He wrapped the leaf in his claws, levitated it beside him and started heading back to the cave. "We have to get back to Ponyville soon." he said to the bird flying beside his head and it chirped in response. In the Ponyville Hospital, Fluttershy sat on her bed, thinking where and what happened to her dragon. She had Playtime with her this morning and was glad she was doing okay without her. She still had her necklace on Nebula gave her. It still dimly glowed on her coat. It was a constant reminder of all the good times they spent together. The moment he saved her life in the Everfree, to when Playtime was born and right up to this point in time. She looked at Playtime cuddled up to her, resting and mumbling in her sleep. She caressed her short mane gently and smiled at her. She cooed in response and moved her head to rest on her mother's leg. Fluttershy leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her head. "Daddy..." she mumbled. Fluttershy knew well enough Nebula wouldn't just take off running. She also knew something happened to him while she was attacked. But now, all she wanted is for him to get back to her and Playtime in a one big, happy family once more. The door to her room opened, snapping her back to reality and saw a Doctor and a nurse going towards her. "Good morning, Miss Fluttershy. Did you have a good morning?" the Doctor greeted with a smile and got up to her bed with the nurse by his side. She nodded, "Yes. Thank you." "Good news, the x-rays shows your bones are all healed and your body's back up to full health." he was looking at his clipboard, flipping through pages. Fluttershy looked at him blankly for a moment, "Does that mean I can go now?" He nodded, "Yes. We just need to get your bandages off and you can go back to your home." he answered and looked at her. "Thank you." she made a thankful smile. She ever so gently took Playtime's head to the side so she can get off the bed. When she did, the doctor used his horn to un-stitch her bandages. The bandages flopped down onto the floor and the nurse picked them up and tossed them in the trash can. He gently took off the patch on her right cheek, she still had an unhealed scar so the nurse put a band aid there. "Have a nice day, Miss Fluttershy." he said to her. "Thank you, doctor." he nodded and they went out the room. Fluttershy tip toed over to her daughter and lightly nudged her head with her muzzle, "Playtime, time to wake up, sweetie," she whispered in a motherly tone. The filly yawned and blinked a couple of time. She looked at the bed to expect her mother to be there, sitting. "Over here." she heard and quickly spun her head around to see her mother now standing on the floor with a smile. "Good morning." she greeted her daughter. Playtime gasped and grinned from ear to ear, "Mommy! Your Up!" she got down to the floor, hugged Fluttershy's fore leg tightly and rubbed her head on her side affectionately. Fluttershy chuckled at her reaction, and nuzzled her, "Let's go back home, dear." just when she finished and thought everything was going to go smooth, they heard a loud roar. They quickly went over to the window and saw smoke rising from the town. Then they saw ponies running around screaming in terror. "Stay close, Playtime." she said to her daughter as she started going towards door with Playtime close by. Ponies in the building were confused and scared of what was happening outside. When they got to the entrance doors, a brown colt rushed in with Ditzy Doo right behind him. He breathed heavily and looked around the room, "Okay Everpony! Stay calm! Their's nothing scary or dangerous outside whatsoever but you should just stay in here and never ever come out." he smiled nervously at them. After a moment, they all heard a loud roar coming from outside and that caused everyone in the room to scream and scramble to get away from the doors. Playtime looked at the colt and smiled, "Doctor!" she hopped over to him. The colt looked at her and smiled, "Oh! good mornin', Playtime." he greeted the little white filly. Right after their greeting, a Timber Wolf crashed through the door and glared at the three. The creature then looked at Fluttershy and slowly started advancing towards her and blocked the way to the three. The Doctor grabbed a scarf from the floor, jumped on top of the creature and wrapped the scarf around its mouth, "Come on big boy! Let's take it outside!" he pulled the scarf to the side and it started running the way out. Ditzy gasped "Doctor, get back here!" she yelled and flew after them. Fluttershy quickly went up to her daughter, "Are you okay, sweetie?" she asked with a worried expression. She nodded at her mother, "Come. We have to go." she said to her daughter as they went out. When they did, they saw their little town was being taken over by monsters of the Everfree Forest. "Ow! Oof! No fair! Aaah!" the two spun their heads around and saw the colt riding the Timber Wolf and was thrown off forward. He landed on the flowers at the foot of the building and quickly recovered. The wolf growled at him and charged at him. When it jumped towards him, he got out of the way and the creature hits its head against the side of the building, knocking it out. The Doctor brushed off the dirt from his coat and Ditzy got to his side. They both went over to Fluttershy and Playtime, "So... is this your mother?" he asked the filly , taking his breath and she nodded happily. "Hello, Miss. I'm the, Doctor." he gestured to himself proundly. "Oh... um... hello. I'm Fluttershy." she greeted the mystery colt. Screams from the town caught his attention, "Oh Yes! Nice to meet you, Miss Fluttershy. Good to see you as well, Playtime." he said to them and both him and Ditzy started galloping towards the town. Fluttershy looked at her daughter, "You know him?" She nodded happily, "Uh-huh!" Nebula and Sunny were walking side by side on the dirt path. "How far's the town?" she asked. "Just around the corner and it should be up ahead." She looked up ahead and saw the path was actually splitting two ways. When she looked to her side to say something else, she found out she was ahead of him. She looked back and saw his ears were perked up, his eyes wide as dinner plates. "Um... are you okay?" the little bird flew over to her instead and perched itself on top of her head. His eyes twitched, than bared his sharp teeth and made a menacing growl. "Ah... Nebula..." she started backing away from the dragon nervously. When he roared loudly, she cowered down to the ground and started shaking. His body started smoking and spread his wings to their full length. Sunny started to wonder if this were the last moments of her life before she gets burned alive by her savior and friend. Nebula started charging towards her with an angry glare. Never in her life have she never been more scared un-till now. When she saw small parts of his body burning blue flames, she thought if he was the Grim Reaper... who just leaped over her? She looked back at him and saw more of his body burning and his wings started flapping, sending large gusts of wind down onto the ground. When he took off to their air, he roared and with one powerful flap, his whole body combusted into flames, turning into a large fireball arching through the sky. She quickly got up to her hooves and went after her friend, worried about him. As rainbow Dash flew through the sky, trying to spot her next target or another pony to save, at the corner of her eye, she spotted a bright light at the corner of her eye and thought to herself it was just the sun. But when she saw the sun at another point in the sky, she quickly spun her head around to see the second, blue sun going right towards her. Before she could dive down to avoid being cooked alive, the mass of fire seem to correct its own course and it seem to bounce over her and continued its own path. She looked at it, dumbfounded at its ability to move on its own. "RD! What The Hay Was That!?" Applejack yelled at her cyan friend from the streets below. "No Idea! But Its Heading Towards The Hospital!" she yelled back and flew after it. "M-mommy... what's that?" Playtime asked her mother shakily, and slowly moved under her for protection. "I don't know, sweetie. Stay close now." she answered, fear rising inside her own body as they both watched the fireball heading in their direction. Fluttershy looked ahead and saw three Timber Wolves heading towards her as well. Playtime whimpered in her mother's embrace and covered her own eyes on the mare's chest. "Mommy!" she hugged her tightly. Fluttershy covered up the little filly with her own body to protect her. Just when she looked away, the fireball struck down on the the wolves, shaking the ground for a brief moment and sending dirt and dust in the air. Fluttershy heard a loud roar and the wolves being tossed around and smacked and heard their whimpering cries as she continued to cover her shaking little filly. With another snarling roar, she heard the creatures running away, whimpering at the new creature's painful attack. After that, all she heard was the cries of other ponies and the monsters terrorizing them. After that, it started walking away from her like she herself was the most dangerous creature ever to be created. When she heard it running, she lifted her head from hiding and saw it was a black dragon running away from her and briefly looked back at her. When they locked gaze, she instantly knew it was her special dragon. "M... Mommy?" Playtime peeked out, still a little shaken. Fluttershy rubbed her cheek onto her head to try and calm her down, "Everything's okay, sweetie. We're okay." she answered in a motherly tone. As Nebula got into town, all his mind was saying is to get the creatures out and make sure they obeyed to him and him alone. When he spotted a large Rockodile snapping at a cornered pony, he quickly ran over to the creature, grabbed its tail with his mouth and pulled it away from the frightened mare. The creature hissed at him and tried to break free from his grip. Nebula swung the creature's body around, arched it up in the air and slammed it against the ground, leaving a large dent. The creature recovered and hissed at him, threatening him. He snorted and roared at the creature's face, spreading his wings as he did. The gator lowered down to the ground, frightened, turned around and started headed back to the forest with its four short legs carrying his body as fast as it can. Nebula winced and gabbed his chest for a moment before looking at another direction to look at his next target. The cyan mare watched in awe as she watched the mysterious dragon taking down monsters, and saving ponies. If she didn't know any better, she think it was Fluttershy's dragon coming back but it didn't look like Nebula at all. Except its general shape at least and from what Twilight told her about what he looked like now, but she couldn't take that chance and besides, its doing a greater job than her friends and Celestia's Royal Guards. "Rainbow Dash!" she looked down and saw Rarity right below her, "Be a dear and help Applejack over at the Town Hall!" she yelled. "Got it!" she saluted for a moment and darted off towards the smoking building. Fluttershy had Playtime on her back and galloped through the streets, staying clear from the Guards trying to keep the creatures at bay. Suddenly two guards went by her side, galloping along side her. When she spotted her friend Rarity ordering and directing the Royal Guards near her boutique, she quickened her pace and leaped over a broken down cart, the guards following right after. When she got closer she saw Zeccora standing right beside her with a few scratches on her body and bandages wrapping some parts of her body. "Rarity! 'pant' What's happening!?" she asked, panting heavily. "Darling! You're okay!" she quickly wrapped her hooves around the mare's neck. When she did, she spotted the shaking filly on her friend's back and started ushering her to the boutique. When they got in, Fluttershy saw countless foals and fillies in her store with their mothers and only their mothers. She thought maybe the colts and fathers were helping out with the guards. Than the Crusaders ran up to them and hugged Fluttershy's legs tightly, "Fluttershy! Playtime!" they said in unison, glad to see her and their friend safe and sound. Fluttershy rested down to the floor and smiled at each fillies, "Thank goodness you three are okay." she said to them. Sweetie Belle looked at Playtime on Fluttershy's back and saw the filly still looked scared and was looking around like something's going to jump out at any moment. "Playtime?" she said and the filly swung her head to look at her with wide eyes. Fluttershy looked back and saw what had happened to her little girl. "Playtime, come over to, mommy." she started lightly nudging her to get her moving. When Playtime suddenly slid down to the floor, she yelped and quickly moved in front of her mother for comfort and protection and started whimpering, her body shaking violently. Fluttershy was heart broken when she saw her little girl so scared like this. She wrapped her hooves and wings around the filly and started lightly hushing in a motherly tone. She covered the filly's ears with her neck and cheek so she can only hear her mother and her alone. Fluttershy started humming a lullaby to her to sooth the filly and calm her down. Everyone in the shop looked at her and the filly wrapped in her embrace. Playtime's breathing and heart beat started to slow down gradually as she continued to hear her mother's soothing lullaby and her calming heart beat. At the other side of town, Nebula's core started to feel warm like it was being covered with a cozy blanket. With that, his will to save the town grew more and more with each passing second and quicken his pace to drive the creatures back. With a loud roar and the spread o his wings, he continued battling out the monsters of the Everfree. Back in the boutique, the Crusaders were resting down beside Fluttershy, watching their friend calming down in front of them. After a moment, Playtime slowly opened her eyes, still feeling a little scared but doing a little better then before. She rubbed her cheek on her mother's soft coat and re-closed her eyes with a smile. "Miss Rarity. What shall we do next?" a guard startled the mare. "Sorry ma'am." he apologized. Rarity sighed and went out, the guard following right behind her. "Is the fire in the Town Hall put out?" he nodded, "Than secure a path there. My boutique is getting a little too crowded." she said like nothing was happening. He saluted at her and started passing on the message to the others. "In Coming Manticore!" a guard yelled at the top of his lungs and pointed a hoof up at the sky. They all looked up and when they did, the mismatched creature landed hard on the roof top of the building, making a loud thud and shaking the building with its weight. It cried out a Lion's roar and slowly got to the edge of the roof and hopped down to the ground, glaring at each Pony. It sized up each and everyone but when it saw Rarity, it growled and started advancing towards her. It pounced at her, but bounced off to the side when the mare summoned up a shielding spell on herself. She backed herself away from the dazed creature and at least six guards got in front of her with spears ready. The monster groaned painfully and slowly got up to its paws and cloven hooves. Its tail curled back in its place as it shook its head to clear its mind. It looked at the mare behind the armored stallions and growled at her for the surprise she gave it. At the corner of its eye, it spotted a movement in the building and saw mares and fillies inside the building. It licked its lips hungrily and started advancing towards the window. Fluttershy started inching away from the window as everyone else did. The Crusaders got behind her, scared of being eaten alive or killed by the monster. When it was looking at each mare and their children, it spotted her and bared its teeth with a low growl. "Oh no... Oh no. Oh goodness no." Fluttershy started inching away faster with Playtime in her hooves, who also followed her along with her movement. When it jumped, it quickly was taken down by a large black mass to the side. Fluttershy, her daughter, the crusaders and everyone else in the building were a little confused of what they just saw. Than they started hearing cries and roars outside the building, clearly both creatures were having a brawl with each other. The Manticore was flicked to the air, but it spread its wings and landed up right on the ground. The creature lowered down and readied its stinger, slowly swaying it back and forth. Nebula growled at the creature's stubbornness to get it out of town. It wasn't certainly bigger than the others, only some, but he also noticed its eyes were lightly glowing purple. He knew Nightmare was responsible for this whole attack on the town while he was out. Why them? He was a bigger threat than these simple ponies. They started to circle one another in the middle of the street. Waiting anxiously for either of them to attack first.