//------------------------------// // Chapter 3.5 Pet Meeting // Story: As a Family // by Dashzilla93 //------------------------------// Angel hopped through the doggy door and looked around; his whiskers twitched and his ears perked. He was looking for his prime target. He hopped on the grass and ventured away from the cottage. He stopped and looked around; twitching his little snout before finding the giant den holding the newcomer of Fluttershy’s domain. He smiled deviously and eagerly approached the den. Despite what Fluttershy told him before, Angel neglected to hear the parts about who Varan was and who he belonged to; he just wanted to try to come up with a prank for him so he can feel better and let Varan know who the boss was around here. By the size of the den, Angel assumed it was a new bear. He never actually saw Varan because he was either busy or sleeping, which was all the time; he just didn’t want to admit he was a lazy bum. The devious bunny looked around for any materials for him to use to prank the newcomer. Unfortunately, there was nothing for him to use. He hung his ears in disappointment before going old school and just simple scare Varan out of his den. He shrugged to himself before hopping towards the entrance of the hole. He looked around again before letting out a soft chuckle as he thumped the ground with his foot before getting ready. As he did, he inhaled before a sudden bark stopped him and caused him to groan in irritation. The white bunny looked behind him to see Applejack’s dog Winona arrive with Tank and Owlowiscious flying beside and Opal and Gummy on her back. Angel turned around and gestured them a look that said ‘what are you guys doing here?’ Owlowiscious hooted at him in response. They wanted to know if Angel wanted to play with them while their owners were busy. Having tons of work on their hooves has taken time away from play time, so they agreed to come up with other means of keeping them occupied. Opal lightly mewed to Angel; even she decided to tag along with them being how lazy and evil she can be. Angel respected her for the common traits, but the only difference between them was that the pampered cat was far more aggressive, yet can be terrified of almost anything. Wonder how she’d react if Varan came out? Tank and Gummy just remained silent as they watched their mammalian friends talk; well, Tank did. Gummy was lazily laying on Winona’s back looking at the den behind Angel. Angel drooped his ears and looked at them in thought. He looked at the den behind him then at his friends. A day with friends is always a great day, but he still had that urge to prank the one in the den. When he did look at the large den, it prompted the other pets to look at it as well; all having mixed views on it. Like Angel, they all thought it was a bear living in there; it was awfully big to be fit one. Opal, Tank, and Owlowiscious looked at it with shocked eyes, Winona was just curious to know who was in there, and Gummy was just absent minded. Angel noticed them and gestured to get their attention; he successfully did before gesturing to them that whoever lives in that large, creepy den belonged to Scootaloo; when he finished, they all understood. Winona let out a few excited barks. If the animal inside belonged to a friend of their owners, then it should be a part of their group, too. Winona wagged her fluffy tail and was very eager to meet this animal. Owlowiscious was a little skeptical about it. He let out a few hoots to Winona and thought that it wasn’t such a good idea to bring Scootaloo’s pet out. It may be Fluttershy’s home, but that doesn’t mean any dangerous animals can still live here. Scootaloo may have picked a dangerous animal. Tank slowly narrowed his head over Angel and floated higher to get a view, but the darkness was too powerful for his sight. He wasn’t able to tell who or what was in that den. Opal could care less about what the animal looked like. All she wanted was to play or watch. She emitted a few impatient hisses before they all heard a deep, hiss-like snore inside the den. They all flinched at once before Angel turned a quick 360 to look at the dark entrance. That legitimately freaked him out. What on earth made that kind of snore? It wasn’t a bear. Now Angel was just as curious as Winona. Gummy even showed signs that he was interested in know, too. He blinked a few times before sliding off of Winona and plopping to the ground on his back. He innocently rolled onto his feet and crawled next to Angel while Angel eyed the open darkness. Owlowiscious shook and hooted in fear as he landed on the ground and backed up a bit. He had no intention of going any closer. What in Equestria made that snore? He was at least curious to know who made that snore; he just wanted to be at a safe distance. Angel stood in front of the den, flabbergasted at what he just heard. It sounded like a hiss but not like anything he’s heard the other animals make. He looked at Gummy and gestured to him if he’s heard anything like that, only to get head shake from the baby alligator. He then looked at a shaking Opal and gestured to her if she’s heard a hiss like that, but Rarity’s cat shook her head, too. He nodded to her before looking back at the den to think. If Philomena was here, she’d probably help light up the den. That would’ve been very helpful and made things easier for Angel. Instead, the white rabbit had to think of something else. If the animal inside is sleeping, then an alarm clock would be needed. Angel perked his ears up excitedly. He had a plan, and Winona is the perfect one to help. He turned his head and gazed at a confused Winona before gesturing her over. He gestured Gummy to step aside as Winona approached her bunny friend and sat on the other side of him; she let out a small whine and wondered what Angel had in mind. When Gummy stepped back, Angel peered back at Winona and looked up at her with a confident look. Of the ones in the group, Winona was the loudest of them. And it was a perfect that she was here. Opal would’ve been another good choice, but he didn’t want the risk of getting a clawed slapped from stepping on her tail. Winona tilted her head when Angel started gesturing to her to let out the loudest barks she could muster. The farm dog perked her own ears up and panted happily. If there was one thing she loved, besides everything else, is barking. Angel gestured to her again before Applejack’s best friend gave a quick, excited nod in agreement. Angel smiled at that and stepped aside to let her start. He didn’t have to wait long for Winona to get up and start to slightly growl to get the bark started. The other pets watched and waited before Winona lunged and barked so loudly, it echoed inside the den. Opal, Angel, and Owlowiscious flinched and covered their ears while Tank hid in his shell. Gummy just stood there absent minded and mentally blocked the loud barks. Winona repeated the process and barked three more times. She attempted to bark again, but a loud, intimidating hiss cut her off and forced her to back off. The other pets unplugged their ears and watched Winona back away frightened as she whimpered and shook a bit. Tank unsheathed his head and limbs from his shell as he and the mane six pets heard another angry hiss coming from inside the den. Varan is awake, and he did not sound happy in the slightest. Another hiss emitted from the den as Angel approached with caution. He was about to gesture to Varan to come and play until a large claw slammed down in front of him. He looked at the claw as his ears drooped down, he frowned and his eyes shrank pea-sized; he immediately regrets making this decision. Opal, Owlowicsious, Tank and Winona sat stiff as a board. Fear engulfed them when they saw the terrifying brown claw. They all gazed up and witnessed a dragonesque, reptilian head melt out of the darkness and snarl at them with curved teeth flaring. The heated, yellow eyes glared down at the five animals. The stare alone made their colors fade from existence, except Opal’s who had a ghost white color fur; her shrunken irises and shaken body did all the talking. Gummy, however, remained unfazed by the nightmarish approach. Varan slowly hissed at the rude animals for waking him. He stuck out his pink forked tongue before noticing something white close to his claw. He looked down to see a white rabbit stand in front of his claw. Angel, still shocked, never expecting this at all; he anticipated seeing fur on this claw, not scales. He was so used to seeing bears around here that seeing a claw like the one in front of him was completely alien. Just what kind of bear had scales, and not fur? He thought about that before peering up to see its owner. Instead of seeing a bear, he was welcomed by the sight of a gigantic lizard looking down at him with a look of irritation in his eyes. Angel paled, paler than his own fur; in his entire life, he never witnessed a lizard like Varan. He stood taller than Winona and his eyes nearly matched Opal’s, but Varan was clearly reptilian like Gummy and Tank. No wonder he never noticed any other predators show up near Fluttershy’s cottage; it was all because of Varan. His appearance alone would scare away something as big as a lion, if not as big as Harry. So, this is Scootaloo’s pet. If the other pets were thinking the same thing like him, they’d probably be thinking… Where and how did Scootaloo get Varan?! Varan peeled his upper lip back and growled at the six other animals. He had every right to scare them off for what they have done but decided to milk it because he actually enjoyed seeing their terrified faces. It brought joy to him. He slowly flicked his forked tongue and gazed at them some more before noticing the white rabbit back away from him. He was wise to do that. Angel backed away from Varan and accidentally bumped into Winona, shaking like a leaf. Thoughts raced and panic aroused; he had no idea what to do in a situation like this. He’s never seen a creature like Varan before. He looked to Owlowiscious in hopes to know if he had any thoughts but saw a prone owl next to a fear-paralyzed Opal. Well, the wise owl is out of the picture, he thought to himself of what should he do now? Winona didn’t bark. Opal didn’t hiss. And Philomena wasn’t here to drive back Varan with her flames. He looked at Tank and Gummy and thought that they were not going to help, so he decided to ignore them. He looked back at Varan and watched him walk out of his den. He closed his eyes and thought that this could be the end, but he opened one eye to see Varan stop when Gummy started waddling up to the giant lizard. Tank followed Gummy and landed beside the baby alligator as the two reptiles calmly looked up at their fellow reptilian brother. Varan blinked at them and hissed quietly, confused as to why they weren't scared of him like the mammals. Then again, it was kind of refreshing that some were not scared of him; he even liked that it was other reptiles. He leaned his head close to Gummy and Tank, prompting the mammals to flinch again and try to get their friends out of there. But what started out as fear and confusion turned into shock and astonishment as Angel and the other furry pets heard a small, quick hiss from Gummy. Varan tilted his head at Gummy. His hiss sounded almost identical to his. He was thrilled about that because he can understand that hiss. The large Komodo dragon hissed in return before they started hissing back in forth with some unique sounds to them while adding a bit of groans and growls in there. Angel and Opal looked at one another before looking back at the reptiles. They all thought Gummy was just a quiet alligator who loved being in his own world, but there he was having a conversation with a creature that would eat him in one bite; even Tank threw in some honks occasionally to join in the conversation. They saw Varan lift his head and made sucked in hisses; he was laughing. They all seemed confused before they watched Varan dip his head to have another hiss talk with Gummy and Tank. Winona scratched her ear but kept her focus hooked and wondered what they were talking about. She had better hearing than the others, but all she could make out were whispers. She tilted her head and let out a long soft whimper. She wanted to join in, but she was hesitant because she did not know if this huge lizard would attack or not; she’ll just leave it to Gummy and Tank. Owlowiscious just watched in amazement. Like Angel and the other pets, he has never seen a creature like Varan before. It was quite an amazing and terrifying sight. If his owner was here, she’d document and study the ever-loving daylights out of this enormous lizard; well, aside from getting through fear and shock first. It was truly a revelation to witness Gummy talk to the massive lizard. His owner would definitely get her day made out of this. Their hissing diminished and Varan looked at the mammals with a blank expression. The furry pets watch as Gummy climbs on Varan’s back as he slowly approached them. They stood still and watched, slightly afraid. They had no idea what Varan was going to do, or what he was thinking. The giant lizard stopped. Silence took over. They waited for the worse to happen. They watched Varan lean his head forward and realized his first target was Winona. The poor dog closed her eyes and waited for anything bad to happen, but what she thought would be the worst thing imaginable turned out to not be something gentle as she can feel a warm, scaly snout rub against her cheek. The border collie snapped her eyes open and gazed at Varan to him showing an affection of friendship. Angel, Opal, and Owlowiscious gazed confusingly at this act, but Winona didn’t give a second thought as she immediately licked the komodo’s snout and accepting his friendship. Tank flew to Angel and landed in front of him. He didn’t gesture to him like Angel always did, but a slow head turn to Varan, a head turn to him, a slow bite gesture and a slow head shake gave him a quick message. A message the white rabbit quickly got. Varan doesn’t bite friends. Angel nodded to the message as Tank’s propeller started up and lifted him back in the air before turning around to be with his new friend. Angel was about to do the same when Varan suddenly gave all his attention to him and looked down at him with suspicious eyes. Angel froze then gazed up at the large lizard and stared directly at those cat-like eyes. Angel watched as Varan leaned his head down close to Angel and gave a slow, eerie, defensive hiss. Angel was confused until another hiss got the point across. Varan slightly glared at Fluttershy’s rabbit. He knew exactly who Angel was and he was fully aware of what he was capable of thanks to Young Master and Older Master. He remembers seeing Young Master’s injury; he was confused, worried and curious about what happened; when she did tell him the story about with the exploding cupcake and bleeding muzzle, he didn’t like what he heard and he definitely didn’t like the part where she got hurt. He hissed at him again as a clear warning if he ever tried to pull those stunts on him, he will have nightmares and those nightmares will be a very valuable lesson. Angel shakily nodded and waved his little paws, letting the massive predator know he will not be doing that in the slightest; now that he knows what Varan is and won’t question what he’s capable of. Varan understood Angel’s gesture and took it wholeheartedly. At first the other pets thought he was going to attack Angel, but they were glad he didn’t; the reason he did not turn Angel into a four course meal was because Young Master told him that Angel belonged to Older Master and he should not kill him because he belongs to Old Master, and she would be very upset if he killed her beloved pet. So a warning hiss was enough. And that hiss drilled in deep into Angel’s mind. He got the message quite clear and gave a shaking smile and thumbs up to the massive lizard before Varan pressed his scaly snout against him for a friendship nuzzle like he did with Winona. The sound of small flapping wings beat for a brief moment before Owlowiscious landing between Varan and Angel, prompting Varan to gaze upon the small owl before he let out a hoot to him. A few hoots more made Varan tilt his head. Owlowiscious placed his wing on his chest and hooted to Varan again, introducing himself and the rest of the pets. Varan blinked in confusion and slowly flicked his forked tongue. He understood what the owl was saying, and got all the names given to him; he didn’t really care about their names in the slightest; he would just forget them anyway. So he just went with what he saw and naming them after it. Since this owl was wise enough to give him space, along with the others, as he crawled out his den, he guessed Wise One would suit him fine. For the dog, since she was the one who woke him up in the first place, she’d be Loud One. The little alligator was the first one to approach him without any hint of fear, and he was chatty at that, which he thought neat, so he’ll be Brave One. The dirty white cat didn’t really approach him at all, he’ll change that in a bit, but her color and attitude reminded him of a purple-haired, pampered looking pony he briefly saw with Older Master and Younger Master while he was in the shadows hiding. He still wished he could’ve scared her; it would’ve been fun. Sometimes Young Master can be no fun. But if the cat and pony do share a connection, Pampered One might suit her well. He looked at the other reptile of the group and second bravest to approach him. He wasn’t as chatty as Brave One, in fact, he was very quiet for the most part, but the thing on his shell really got his attention and made him wonder how this little tortoise was able to fly with it. Varan took a brief moment to think but figured Quiet One would work; Flying One was another choice, but Wise One already flies, so that’s down the wormhole. And then last is the one who hurt his master. Varan took thought into that and came up with dozens of names like bully one, hurtful one or the little devil. All the names would suit this little rabbit because his true name was anything but. From the stories Young Master told up to his first attempt, he thought Devious One was the best name to give to Older Master’s pet because he was no angel. A new thought then emerged as Varan blinked slowly in question. If these animals are here, what do they want with him? Varan’s attention was grabbed when he felt certain spots on his back pressure. He swung his head back in confusion and irritation before seeing Pampered and Brave One sit on his back. He hissed quietly but was drawn away by rhythmic hoots. The lazy lizard turned his head to have Wise One fly up to his head and hoot to him, explaining to him why they were here. It wasn’t their intention to wake him, they just wanted Angel; it was Angel who made that decision. A soul-piercing, one-eyed, death glare beamed directly at Angel; Varan did not like the decision at all, he would have preferred if he slept in peace. Angel flinched and backed up a bit when Scootaloo’s pet did that. Trouble was just around the corner; Angel could feel it. However, a saving grace known as Owlowiscious drew Varan’s attention back to him as he hooted to the komodo dragon. Winona panted softly as she sat down with Tank while they and the other pets listened. Opal didn’t really pay no mind to the chat, but she did acknowledge how smooth Varan’s skin was; despite it being a tad bumpy. Angel just sat and listened with worried eyes and droopy ears; he wasn’t sure if Varan was really thinking of attacking him for what he did or not. Gummy just laid on Varan’s back being his absent-minded self. Varan let out a light, quick hiss as he tilted his head when Wise One stopped his hooting. His hoots were clear when he asked him to join their little group. Varan gazed at the other pets in thought before giving his attention back to Wise One. Young Master did tell stories of two other fillies and how she called them friends, and she did tell him to make friends of his own one day when she wasn’t around; guess the one day had finally arrived. Instead of one, he’d have six new friends. Varan then curved his neck and dipped his head towards Devious One and gazed at him for a bit, which scared the little rabbit into hiding behind Winona’s front left leg. Varan made some sucked-in hisses before rearing his head back to Wise One and nodded. If messing with Devious One was going to be an option, he would happily join them. The mane pets made their respected calls, except Angel, as they warmly welcomed their new terrifyingly harmless friend into their group. Varan looked at each of them before hissing to them if they could play here, and which they agreed to. Varan didn’t feel like walking anywhere today, so here near Older Master’s home was perfect anyway. Winona wagged her tail and barked before jumping over Varan’s back excitedly and playfully, being the first to play him. Angel, however, thought that this might’ve been a bad idea as he now knew Scootaloo told Varan everything that he’s done and what he’s capable of. He placed his paws on his head in thought and hoped to any rabbit gods up there that this day would not get any worst. He couldn’t prank the giant lizard and he most certainly can’t prank Scootaloo again as payback. He sagged his paws and ears as he looked at Varan in annoyance. Karma was having none of Angel’s crap today.