The Battle for Equestria: Spike vs. King Ghidorah

by Dashzilla93

A Horrifying Anomaly

Peace. The one thing everyone desired most in life. For the majority, they'd work so hard to achieve the peace they tirelessly strived to accomplish, even if it meant suffering casualties along the way. But when they earned that peace, they'd love nothing more than to learn the true meaning of it or relish in the feeling of being granted such a reward. A life lesson worthwhile over time. But, for the very few and fortunate, they were either born into it or got it by sheer luck and never realized it or they just don't care and never acknowledge the one valuable life lesson given to them. Learning the value of peace was always one of the many lessons learned in life. And for Equestria, it was no different. Griffonstone, Ponyville, The Crystal Empire, the Dragon Lands, every land owned by many different creatures all climbed up successfully or slid down failing to find the peace they sought for. They all may not see eye to eye with one another, but that one goal was one of many things they all had in common. Whether to be left alone, with friends or family, or relaxing however they see fit, they all wanted peace in their own adventurous ways.

However, one individual wanted to find peace differently. Up on an edge of a barren mountain unforeseen by any other eyes stood a mare under a dirty, torn brown hood. She loomed over the horizon to see the many landscapes Equestria had to offer. The mountain's height provided her such a view, one could pinpoint everything they saw and anything that moved were nothing but mere dots. So much foliage and life out there; She saw it all. It was quite beautiful. Even under her hood, the gentle, cool breeze of the eastern winds felt nice against her. The thought of relaxing came to mind, but her stance was firm; her focus was sharp. She looked at every spot that housed many different creatures; ponies, griffons, all alike. She bared no ability such as binocular vision, but she felt the peace emanating from every land and sensed the positive energy seeping out of the creatures they called those lands their home. Yes. Each territory and its inhabitants had found their peace and tranquilized it in their own way to which they see fit. How quaint. It was a lovely sight.

Shame she hated everything about it!

She sneered, feeling hate and disgust contort throughout her mind and soul. Equestria found the peace it sought for. Well, now she planned to take that away from them. Soon, they will know her pain. She set her red, leering eyes and analyzed the horizon like a predator stalking its prey before they finally acquired the target she looked for: Canterlot.

And she spotted the castle that landmarked the great city. Her anger grew the more she looked at Canterlot and her snarl became fierce, "You will pay for what you did," the hooded mare spoke in a voice so sub-focused and full of hatred, it would make even the toughest of ponies cower and back down from her. She was in no mood to deal with any distractions. Any crap that got in her way would either be tossed aside or left as a doormat for her to walk over. Like everyone else, she wanted to find her own peace in life. But, peace was a goal and goals had to be earned. But her goal was stripped from her and most of her life was wasted. So, now it was time to take back what was rightfully hers and retrieve the objective she sought for.

A hazy, dark, nightmare-induced cloud slowly began to blanket the sky above her, yet she paid no mind to it. Three hazy-like pillars formed and slowly landed a few feet behind her. Six lights, two each of red, grey, and blue shined and gazed down upon the mare. 'Are you sure you don't want us to crush her along with Canterlot?' the grey-eyed entity spoke to her in slight curiosity through a telepathic link. They had to make sure if that was what she truly desired. But at the same time, 'We have a score to settle with her, too, ya know?'

The mare never moved, unfazed by her hellish company, "Yes," she said calmly and directly. She was focused, but she hadn't forgotten what her ally wanted, as well, "I know you have just as much hatred for her as I do, but, I want her alive. I want her to know the mistake that she had made. She will know the consequences of her choices. Not only that, but the bitch she chose took what was rightfully mine and I will see to it I get it back."

She growled quietly to herself, but quickly regrouped her composure and told her ally, "But, don't destroy Canterlot, either. I need it in one piece so they'll know who their rightful ruler is. You can do what you want with the other lands below. I don't give a damn," she held no empathy in her tone, yet she demanded Canterlot not be touched. If Canterlot were to be destroyed, then her efforts would be meaningless. Once her targets had been found, she'd love nothing more than to make them suffer, and then she'd regain what she longed for. That was her only goal in mind.

The grey-eyed entity leered but stayed silent for a moment, trying to process this unusual request. Spare one location, but assault the rest? It hardly made any sense and it had little merit for what they had planned. Truth be told, this plan of hers was aggravating to understand and not worth their time and effort. Yet, they wondered anyway, 'You're request still doesn't add up to us. Why release us if you only want Canterlot untainted? Shouldn't this plan of yours be the opposite?'

That was a proper question and she had a feeling they'd ask about it, but the mare rolled her eyes impatiently but she had to keep it brief as she vaguely explained to them, "I don't want Canterlot attacked, but I don't want other areas destroyed. Not yet, at least." As silly as that sounded to them, she explained a little more, "Look, I know it's confusing to you and all, but all I want is to take back what's mine and the pony who took it from me could be anywhere. I've told you before what my previous goal was and I still want your help with that. I just don't want Canterlot, or anything else touched by you; not unless I say so. I need Celestia and that bitch alive for my plan to work. If you were to intervene, you would not hesitate to destroy Canterlot and its citizens on a whim -- or anything for that matter." And she was not concerned when calling them out on that last bit.

Which was still a fair accusation -- they won't deny it. Still, her plan was an odd one to them. But seeing her display such a colossal amount of focus and determination on this one goal, the grey-eyed entity that accompanied her couldn't help but give her some respect for it. So, he'll just roll with it. Still, he wondered. Whoever did set her off back then really must've landed a painful mental impact. She was hell-bent on finding them and ending them with her own hooves. He had no clue who this individual was, but he didn't know if they should feel sorry for them or -- no, he just felt sorry for the victim. Like hell, he'd deny his partner her path to get whatever she wanted. However, they had a bone to pick with a few particular ponies, too -- one, in particular, themed like the sun. If she and her sister were still around, it'd be a bonus for him if they were given the chance to kill them. But, alas, this pony before them hindered that little side quest for her particular beef with Celestia and whoever was at Canterlot -- maybe they'll get a chance at axing the moon princess; they've gotta have, at least, that. In any case, whether aiming after one pony or dozens, it mattered little; he'd still get to have fun. But it still boggled him why she needed their help, other than --

'Wait,' the entity said telepathically, realizing something. The mare lifted her head, curious before giving a light smile when they finally got what she meant. 'Oh, you want us to do that thing we do. Heh, silly me, I can't believe I almost forgot about our own ability.' The entity chuckled to itself, almost tempted to blush for nearly forgetting their own ability.

The mare chuckled lightly from that, amused that her ally finally got a clue. But before she could utter another word, the last thing she heard from any sources she could find before any of this started was that the pony she sought was visiting some other kind of place; if she heard that right. That's not good news for her for many reasons. One issue with that was she couldn't quite remember which location it was. And to know her target is always on the move proved tedious. This was going to be troublesome. She'd hoped her target would make it easy for her and remain in Canterlot. So, the only option she had in her arsenal was to grab her attention. And Canterlot was the phone. So regardless if she was there or not, Canterlot was still her destination. And once that pony answers... just the mere thought of meeting her face to face made her blood boil like bubbling hot tea. She gritted her teeth, just itching to go right now. Find that pony, take her out and take back what was taken from her; that's all that mattered.

An eerie, somewhat annoyed groan suddenly snapped and brought the mare out of her rageful trance as another voice spoke out, 'You still haven't answered the question, pissant!' Unlike the calm, collected voice, this one spoke of impatient malice and crazed, eager bloodlust. And she had a feeling this one would talk next; 'I don't care what you want you little bitch. You released us - big thanks for that, by the way - but we don't take orders from you--'

He was not going there! She sharply gazed back. A faint glow of red anger shined in her eyes, showing impatience in herself and no hint of fear towards the red-eyed entity, "You best bite that forked tongue of yours if you know what's good for you!" the hooded mare barked, not in any mood to deal with this one's crap. The red-eyed entity froze, his jaw clenched at the audacity of her tone. "I didn't release you so you could resume your bloody rampage." By sheer determination, ferocity, and fearlessness, she forced the red-eyed entity to refrain from saying another word and reminded him of his place. "We made an agreement, did we not? I know you have some kind of history with Celestia and Luna, but need I remind you that I would like to have Celestia alive; she will know her biggest mistake; imprisoning you is not one of them." She didn't care about the skirmish they had years ago. She needed Celestia alive so she could teach her that wisdom can lead to everlasting doom. Growing up, she was told by many ponies -- her parents included -- that Celestia was a wise and all-powerful mare that never lead anyone astray -- like she was some kind of goddess. How her wisdom led them through thick and thin and made Equestria what it was today. And that the choices she made were never wrong. When she was young, she believed them, but now ... -- the lies she was told from them made her want to vomit. If Celestia made good choices then the one choice she made was so wrong she was too blind and arrogant to see it. What a bunch of sheep-minded idiots! Now she'll have the opportunity to correct her mistake and make her see the error of her choice! But, unlike Celestia, Luna got a pass since nobody, ironically, gave her attention before. No wonder she became Nightmare Moon.

The red-eyed entity hissed at the mare, refusing to back down from her sudden lash. That jab at them was uncalled for, but she ultimately had a point. Celestia was on their shit-list, but that didn't mean anything to the crazy telepath; she was just a mere pony like every other on this floating rock; she was nothing special. His sole purpose was to cause nothing but destruction and mayhem. And yet, they're being ordered to not attack one specific spot all because some little pissant of a pony wanted something another pony took? Why must they be in this ridiculous alliance if their release meant it would lead to something stupid? Unlike the grey-eyed entity who was chilled about it, the red-eyed entity was not completely on board with it and he wanted her to know it, 'I still want nothing more than to see you and everything else as bloody smears under our feet when this is all done.' Even if she did get what she wanted, this alliance would end and he'd turn on her without a second thought.

Yet the mare remained unfazed by their empty threat. She rolled her eyes and looked away from her uneasy ally. She was annoyed that this red-eyed entity had to run his mouth, but there was nothing she could do much about it, much to her dismay, "Whatever. Even if you wanted to see me dead, that's not gonna happen when we're --"

"Now, now, settle down, you two," the blue-eyed entity quickly intervened, getting in between the two, his eyes shifting between his sibling and their ally, their somewhat savior for their freedom. Unlike the other two, this blue-eyed entity was more calm-like and tolerable, somewhat soft and soothing to the ears when speaking -- very approachable compared to the other two entities. The blue-eyed entity spoke out and tried to calm the situation between the mare and his aggressive brother. They both had different desires, but they must know a common fact, 'This alliance will not work if we continue to bicker amongst ourselves like this; at the very least, it’s making us look like children.’ That earned him a snort from his irate sibling, but he ignored it and continued, ‘We all hate Celestia for different reasons and we all want to get what we want from this,' the blue-eyed entity said as it ultimately picked the mare's side over his vocalized brother. It wanted nothing more than to rid Celestia, but there was something else they neglected to remember.

'But, she is right. She freed us from our prison and gave us a fairly decent explanation of why she did so. As silly as it may sound to you,' Yeah, even the blue-eyed entity had to play devil's advocate on that last part as he gazed to the mare, almost as if apologetically as he added his own two-cents; whatever her issue with the princesses was sounded silly to his brothers – he himself felt more sympathetic towards her. Though, the mare didn't care what the other two thought. The blue-eyed entity immediately returned to reiterate to his brothers, 'We still have to abide by the code that we honor and we owe her a great deal for it.' the second he mentioned that, it caused the two to obviously react. The grey-eyed one made a combination of a wince and a pout on his muzzle and slightly rolled his eyes while the angry one furiously scowled with matching narrowed eyes, glaring down at the ground instead of the mare – almost in an immature manner.

The two other brothers hated that he had to bring that up -- especially the red-eyed brother; what he wouldn't give to thrash his blue-eyed brother for introducing this obsessive mare that code. The grey-eyed brother didn't care so long as they were out of that prison -- to him, that code meant nothing. But, even after so many years, his brother still had an obsession with it? Why? He'll never know. Guess going rogue didn't reach him, yet. Although…

'Touche.' The grey-eyed brother agreed. Despite his obsession about that silly code he said they had to follow, he had to agree with him – after all, his blue-eyed brother is the calmer and wiser one of the three and he had that point in reminding them what their small ally had done for them. They owe the mare big-time for freeing them, and if their red-eyed brother didn’t cooperate and kept fighting with her, their goal will take even longer to achieve.

'Dammit… and damn you, brother! I hate it when you use that code against me.' The red-eyed deity snorted smoke from his nostrils, seeming to be pouting almost childishly. He was still aggravated that this mare thought she could get away with speaking like that to him, his grey brother doesn’t give a shit and now his blue brother just had to bring up that damn code of theirs.

The blue-eyed entity nodded to the grey-eyed sibling with hints of a slight smile, seemingly pleased with his agreement. He then spoke to his crazed sibling, giving him certain information he'd oh so love to hear despite being irate by the fact they had to ally with this mare, 'Brother, your short temper gets in the way too easily. She released us and gave us our freedom. Something that all three of us are grateful for.’ Even he’s no stranger in showing gratitude for what she did, yet he still spoke to his brother to settle him, ‘I know as well as you do that we hate Celestia and Luna for what they did, but they also had help in our imprisonment. We can do what we want again and I say we should get back at them, don't you think?' the blue-eyed entity said, being sly in his placid nature, smirking slightly with a slight wiggle of his scale-ridge brows. He held more than a good point. While the mare wanted to hunt down Celestia and whoever else that someone was, the multi-colored-eyed brothers did get their freedom back thanks to this mare and it looked like she didn't care what they did so long as they stood out of her way. Perfect! They could have their opportunity to get back at the others who aided those puny alicorns. It was a good suggestion. Great, even!

The red-eyed brother slowly smirked, letting out a chuckle, and gradually calmed down to the suggestion. As much as he hated to admit it, his brother was right. Celestia was nothing but a speck; the real prizes were much more important. He refrained from getting into another argument with the mare and focused on what his brother told him, for once, 'I know you're playing me by getting my hopes up and I can tell you’re enjoying this, brother, but I see your point.' Indeed, his blue brother smirked slightly in enjoyment for succeeding in getting him to cool down and listen for once. With a nod and a growl, the red-eyed entity gazed at the mare, 'Canterlot is yours, ya little bitch.'

The mare paid no mind and turned away from her otherworldly ally and leered back to Canterlot. She had no knowledge of them having the ability to read minds, but she jumped the gun and her mind flip-flopped when it came to these three; she didn't know what to make of them. They were just so different with their personalities. How they even manage to find common ground with each other without driving one another crazy during their time being imprisoned, she’ll never know. One side of her regretted releasing this abomination from his prison while her other conscious side was genuinely glad that at least two of them had the decency to be tolerable and reasonable to have a conversation with as well as taking her side; but in their case, they also had the decency to be grateful for her actions.

With each entity, she seemed to share a different relationship among them. If it weren't for the blue-eyed entity, she would've likely lost her marbles even further if she went on about her childhood dream. He at the very least managed to settle her down when she got too aggravated. Somehow, he always found a way to coo words of wisdom and somewhat comfort into her ear that got her to get back down to earth. She was grateful that she had his support, in a way. He had a mature and wise head on his shoulders.

The grey-eyed entity didn't seem to care one bit what she wanted or did, just so long as he got what he wanted out of this alliance, but he was tolerable to talk to and he helped her stay focused when needed with his chill attitude. Yet, he too supported her despite his view of her goal being different than theirs. He was like the in-between, gray zone that allows her to speak her mind without regret. He wasn’t as smooth-tongued as the blue-eyed one, but he at least made her comfortable.

It was only the red-eyed entity she had an issue with; he out of the three, seemed to just want her dead for the sake of feeding his blood-hungry thirst. Hell, it was very clear that he just straight-up didn’t like her and found her a, in his words, small pissant. The way he tried to put her down with his high-and-mighty attitude pissed her off, and if he didn’t like her, she didn’t like him – and quite frankly, she didn’t give a shit either.

Thankfully, luck was on her side knowing the other two knew how to keep him stable enough to cooperate. It was good to know she had, at least, two of them have her back and needed to talk to while the other could use some work or he can just leave her the hell alone. But, to her utmost solace, she'd lie to herself if she didn't admit she needed this thing's help to achieve her goal. If she went after Celestia blindly, she'd fear the worst. With her ally by her side, she was more than prepared. But, then it dawned on her: it was very bizarre to have voices talk to her when they were not created from her subconscious; it was a real ironic mind-twister and she was relieved she wasn't going crazy, to an extent. Telepaths are unusual creatures.

She gazed to the three who seemed to be reaching an agreement among each other once they settled their irate brother down.

The grey-eyed entity agreed with his wise brother’s words, but sighed lightly. He growled lowly to him as he gave his two-cents, 'Dear Brother, you know that code is a bane to the two of the three of us. I don't know why you insist on keeping it around.’ He knew his brother was the humble one of the three, so that may be one reason. But it will still be a mystery to him. ‘But, we at the very least owe her for releasing us from our imprisonment, I suppose. As that saying goes, “help me, help you”, or whatever. She needs us… and like it or not, we’ll need her.' Like his blue-eyed sibling playing devil's advocate for the mare, he was doing the same with his red-eyed brother, but disregarded his destructive hunger. He looked down at the mare with a callous look and firmly reminded her, 'Just don't forget, our gift to you is not a plaything. Use it if you have to when you really need it.' He snorted a bit of hot air on her. While he’s chill, it’s not wise to get on his bad side.

The mare nodded to him. She was only going to use it if Celestia or anyone else decided they wanted to fight back.

'I hate you both,' the red-eyed entity scoffed at his brothers, his eyes shifting to the both of them, disdained by how they had to team up with this speck of a creature. They should've killed her without even listening to a word she had to say, but no. They had to hear her out. Ain't really fair for him when two make the calls. But, whatever. As long as he got to slaughter, he's cool with it. He glared icily at the hooded mare and said his piece, 'And that same goes to you, ya little pony cu--'

"Shall we be going now?" the calm brother interrupted his mad brother.

The mare never moved, but with a flick of a hoof, she gave them the go. Her plan had started and her ally was more than ready. "Do what you want and go. Have a party among yourselves for all I care. I don't care what you three do as long as I get what I want. Just remember our agreement – I’m looking at you, Red-Eyes…" He glowered at her for the nickname and for implying he has bad memory, “–You get to let everything out of your system on anyone you want and rampage to your heart’s content, but Canterlot is mine.” As long as they left her area of choice alone for her to do her part, she allowed them free reign.

For once brushing off her remark towards him, the red-eyed deity’s eyes narrowed in delight and he seemed to grin at her in a sadistic matter from the words she said about their agreement. Words that actually excited him: Free reign and rampage as much as they desire. 'Finally! Words that actually mean something and something we can actually finally agree on!' the aggressive brother spoke impatiently and eagerly, loving that they’re finally getting some action. 'I haven't killed anything in seconds!' If she were to describe his attitude right now, he almost sounded like a happy colt during Hearth’s Warming… if his Hearth’s Warming gift was carnage and destruction. 'Come on, already! Let’s go!' He gazed at his brothers eagerly and impatiently, trying to get them moving, 'I wanna see some blood, gushing out of their little bodies - raining down from the sky and flowing like a waterfall! Let’s wreck this shit!!' He grinned darkly, eager to get started.

Sighing lightly with a smartass roll of his eyes, his blue brother gave the last word, 'We need to do something about that thirst of blood-spilling of yours when this is all over.'

No sooner did they agree, the three entities disappeared and the mare stood strong as an ominous black cloud slowly began to manifest over her like a virus attacking a vital organ, blanketing the sky as the sound of thunder sang their destructive songs. Then flashes of lightning began to dance, yet they never hit the spot where the mare stood. The wind began to pick up yet no rain was produced. Her cape flowed with the wind as she stood motionless, not once reacting to the storm. It only took minutes until Celestia's sun was blocked off from her view. She looked up, glancing as light from the lightning flashed once. The mare began to haze against the wind as she manifested into a stream of mist before flying up and merging with the sinister, tenebrific cloud as multi-colored, ominous, soul-piercing orbs appeared and headed straight for Ponyville first, eliciting harmonic, eerie-tuned, bell-like cackles.

***

A gentle breeze rushed into a cave and blew out three torches. It didn't go unnoticed, though, as a mare within that small cave snapped out of her trance from reading one of her favorite books and looked around concerned as she glanced at the dead torches. "Oh dear," she said in a worried tone as she placed her book down and got up from her soft padded chair to stretch. She had no idea how long she was hooked onto her book, but the missing flames from those three torches gave her room a somewhat ominous view; two working torches and three dead to the world made her cave-like room look bleak and uncomfortable. With only two working torches, it, unfortunately, broke her concentration from reading -- and she got to a good part.

She sighed disappointedly, but this little issue could be fixed. The mare with an elegant appearance near similar to that of Princess Cadence walked over to the three torches that went out on the left side of her room and took a look at how long they had been in use. Her detective mode was on, but nothing important caught her eye. The torches were barely burnt and could still be lit if needed. Either the bark her husband came home with was a bark from some kind of joke tree, or this could be an unusual sign.

She raised a brow, confused. "Huh. That's strange?" she said to herself. Only three torches and not the rest? She would go fix it herself, but an odd feeling suddenly coursed through her body. Almost as if something was amiss. She pondered to herself, thinking that this might not be a joke after all and that some kind of force was trying to tell her something. But what? She shrugged to herself before a familiar voice called out to her while she could even figure out what was giving her that itch.

"Everything alright, babe?" A calm male voice called out to her, yet he sounded almost worried, too.

She smiled softly and responded in kind, "I'm fine, honey," the mare walked out of her cave-like room and talked again to his voice, "I just had three torches randomly go out on me while I was reading." She walked down the rocky hall-like tunnel that looked like it was dug by very large gophers. But, lucky for her there were torches on each side to help her see her path. It didn't take a minute for her to reach the end of the tunnel as she headed into a large dome-like area that was the center of the cave. She looked around to find the voice that called to her but all she saw were five extra tunnels eight feet apart from each other -- one tunnel to the left of her and four to the right -- and the large exit leading outside where she could see the sun show the outside world. Yet, there was still no sign of her caller. She tilted her head confusedly and walked out a bit. “Honey, where are you?” She was unaware of it, but she was being watched and followed by a shadowy figure who clung to the ceiling of the cave, peering down at her with red eyes as it waited.

Within the shadows, it waited patiently as it smiled wickedly; mouth full of pure white, sharp teeth. It didn't hang down like a bat would. Instead, it clamped its claws on the ceiling, pinning itself as it continued to wait for the right moment to strike as it's 'prey' stood right in the center of the cave.

A few more steps and she was right under it, just close to the exit. Then she stopped and never once looked up. Perfect. The shadow figure then detached itself from the rocky ceiling and freefell directly above her; arms out.

She knew she wasn't hearing things. She heard her husband call her. She wanted to meet up with him to have a chat, but he was nowhere to be seen. She stopped near the entrance of the cave before getting a sickening feeling that something was off. She couldn't quite figure out what it was, but something in her told her to move. Then she made a smug smile and stepped to her right. She heard a faint gasp and flapping of wings, but it ultimately ended with her 'stalker' plummeting down next to her with a hard thud.

"Ow," a muffled voice said as she looked down with a cute giggle.

A red dragon helped himself up as he stood up, dusting himself off with a small frown. Feeling defeated at failing to get her. "Man, I thought I almost had you there that time!" the red dragon said slightly frustrated. It wasn't until he heard his wife giggle at how funny he landed.

"You goofball. You know you can't get past me with that," the mare bragged a little. This was another attempt dashed and yet he still tried to spook her. She didn't know if he was aiming to scare her, but it always ended in failure and it always amused her. And she was never told him to stop. It was too fun and she was never bored with it. Whether he was losing on purpose or actually trying to scare her, it was never a dull moment. Well, to one of them, at least.

He pouted at his failed attempt, but saw that smile on her face and snickered lightly, "Hasn't stopped me before, Sakari. I'll get you one of these days." he said with a goofy, toothy smile prompting his wife to giggle at his unusual smile before she suddenly launched herself on her hind legs and got close to him with her forearms on his brawny shoulders.

"You can try all you like, honey, but we all know how it turns out in the end," Sakari smiled, a little smugly but also a little concerned, too. As fun as it was to watch him fail, she didn't want him to get hurt, either. She loved her goofball of a dragon, but even dragons have their limits. “Are you okay, did that hurt?” She cooed in concern for him, something that always got his cheeks a-glowing.

The red dragon wrapped his well-toned, slightly muscular arms around her sides and looked her in the eyes with a soft smile, "That still won't stop me, ya know." He loved her to no end and would do anything for her, but he was determined to try and surprise her. Why was it his goal, he had no idea. It wasn't to fulfill any sort of goal he sought or to prove he was better. Well, maybe the former. If his antics brought any kind of goal to the table, they would've brought that beautiful smile of hers out. Seeing that it made him feel at ease -- like it was rewarding to him. He blushed when she checked him for injuries. “I’m fine, hon… I’m perfectly fine.” He zoned out for a moment, harking back to when they were younger. She found him annoying a few times with how he acted, but she had always tolerated him, too. It made her unique and a first for him; not all dragonesses tolerated his antics and saw him as either a nuisance or just a 'dumb jock' of a dragon among the teen dragons. Sakari actually took the time to get to know him and it was one of the things that drew him so close to her. That, and he owed her a lot for a lot of things.

Sakari was the same. As he had her in his beefy arms, she felt the warmth emitted from his embrace. And she loved it so much. Growing up, he always loved to see himself as the tough one among dragons -- whether it was towards friends or some of his family members. But then she came along and changed all of that. She proved she was capable of handling herself with his kind and doing so won his heart. She did find him rough around the edge, but eventually, he opened up to her and the more she knew about him it drew her closer and closer to him. Not just him, but she wanted to learn more about dragon culture and so on. Yet, as they grew up together, he realized that she was more than capable; she adapted so well with him and his kind that it felt like she was born among them all along. It was so weird on such a high level, that it out-scaled Torch himself. He wanted to get stronger for her and prove he was just as worthy; even though he already did. But, she wasn't gonna complain about how bulky he'd gotten over time. Not quite herculean like most, but he was lean enough to lift a 50-ton boulder and flexible enough to outmaneuver even a pegasus. The scars across his body were also a good sign of growth, too. Well, most of them.

Suddenly, that old fairytale of knights saving a princess from the evil dragon rang in her mind. An old folktale told as long as she could remember; maybe longer than that. When she was told that as a filly, she hoped that one day she'd be with a stallion she could call her 'knight' and live happily ever after with him. The thought of it now was very corny to her. Yet, as life went on, her choices changed and they brought her into a situation so ironic that whoever wrote that folktale should really write a different tale, but have similar elements. She blushed faintly at the thought. Instead of a knight coming in her life to rescue her, this princess got the dragon instead. And she couldn't have it any other way.

As much as he adored having his wife in his arms, he couldn't help but noticed her blush. He raised a brow, curiously, and asked, wondering, "I see that blush, babe. What'cha thinkin'?"

As much as she loved having her warrior-built husband cradle her and having thoughts of what to do with him later, she flinched awkwardly and shook her head, mentally lunging herself out of the lustful fog in her rollercoaster of a mind and frantically flipping all the switches off to get back on track. She blinked at him and blushed almost embarrassed, "Uh, nothing. I was just... uh... gonna let you know everything's fine." She giggled bunglingly as she smiled her own goofy smile at him. She had to get a grip on herself and focus on why she was out here; she was an adult but she was not gonna lie to herself and say she didn't act like one; guess old habits die hard. She knew he was a goofball and loved to play games, but they've been together long enough for her to have hunches that he can read her rather well.

And right now, her hunch was right. He sharply looked at her and tried to pinpoint why her behavior and mannerisms were so off right now. But, much to her surprise, he casually shrugged and, before she never got a chance to get a word in, chuckled at her silly smile, "Okay, I can't keep a straight face when you smile like that." He thought it was adorable; she was adorable to him. He knew how to read her, but he didn't really care. Sakari was a tough girl and she could take care of herself; he knew that. He knew what she thought and what her actions might be. He was smarter than he looked and he liked to act tough, but deep down he was a massive softy; after all, she found that out when they fell in love. He figured her out, and he never took advantage of that knowledge; nor did he want to. He wanted a pleasant relationship, not an abusive one. If anything, that knowledge would only be used for teasing reasons, and he made sure she knew that.

She giggled sweetly and adorably at him, but then turned the silliness off and got neutral serious as she said, "I know. But, please, Garble, do be more careful when you do stuff like this. I know you're a dragon, but even dragons get hurt, too" She loved that he always fell for her type of antics, but there were moments where she brought out her caring side afterward, she even displayed it as she kissed a teeny bruise on his cheek. While she was always concerned about how he treated himself when it came to trying to spook her, she also felt that Garble intentionally wanted her to win every time; if that was the case, she'd be fine with it, but there was so much her heart could take. But, it felt so good to her to know that Garble wasn't what ponies made him out to be. She remembered hearing rumors about how he wanted to kill all ponies and make dragons the top species of Equestria. At first, she came close to believing that, but doubt reigned strong and she confronted him about it, wondering if it was true. She expected a harsh denial from him and rash retaliation because of how defensive dragons can get. She was ready for that moment, but she wasn't ready for him to get on his knees and gave her a look that exploded shock and guilt.

She was completely caught off-guard by that; she felt bad for him. The fact he pleaded to her that what he said was not out of spite or hate toward ponies; it wasn't true, at all. He even admitted to her that he was a total idiot for saying all of that. Guess it was one way to apologize without actually saying 'I'm sorry'. But her caring nature chimed in like a bell and seeing him plead his heart out to her gave her the answer she wanted; though, she wasn't gonna deny that he was being overdramatic about it; thank the gods his little sister wasn't there to watch him become such a mess. But she had managed to stop him and assured him that he had nothing to worry about. He spoke the truth and held no malice saying it; that alone made her believe him. She remembered their hug they gave each other while she separated their current hug and gave him a loving smile.

Garble blushed faintly when she kissed his little bruise, but snickered cocky-like and boasted a bit, "Heh, not as much as others. I take on anything that -- " he noticed the raised brow on Sakari's face and stopped before he could finish what he had to say " -- heh, right, I won't do anything crazy like that, again. I'll try to be more careful." Saying that brought a smile back to her and he could help but melt over it.

"Thank you, Gar-Gar," she said, teasing him with that certain nickname that only one other dragoness would call him.

His blush then became bright and he scrunched his snout, his eyes bugging at the mention of that. He still hasn't forgiven Smolder for telling Sakari that nickname she gave him. He groaned lightly and defeatedly said, "You get a pass, babe." But looking over her head, he found an opportunity to get a chance at getting her. He just needed to distract her.

"Say, Sakari, about what I asked earlier?"

"Yes, Garble?"

"Is everything okay? I heard you talking to yourself in your room," Garble asked curiously.

Sakari perked and almost forgot about that. How silly of her. She chuckled lightly and explained to him that weird encounter she had earlier, "You might find it a little strange, but three torches went out when I was reading."

Garble raised a brow as he crossed his arms. It wasn't the strangest thing he heard, but it was pretty odd of her to say, "Three torches went out? You sure it wasn't a wind current?" That would be the best logical guess -- especially when he was the one that said it.

As much as she loved hearing him say that smart answer -- because she loved teaching him stuff now and then -- that wasn't it, "That was a great guess, hon, but I don't think that was it. If it was, wouldn't you have felt something, too?"

She had a good point. He was already in the cave when she had her unusual encounter. He would've felt a wind current brush through and traveled not just to the master bedroom, but to the other rooms their cave provided. But with what Sakari said about three torches going out -- and only three torches -- that had to have meant something. For some, this was just crazy talk, others would find it odd or strange, or they just wouldn't believe it or cared either way. Garble knew better than to not take his wife's word for granted. With what this world provided, every day is a new day for stranger things.

Garble snickered and rolled with it, "Alright, I'll bite. If it isn't the wind, what do you think it could be?"

Sakari shrugged, "My guess it could either be a sign of something or some kind of omen. That something big is about to happen." Sakari was never really into diving into supernatural stuff like good or bad omens or anything of the sort. But she was a believer in signs or messages from the beyond. Anything could tell something to anyone. "Something must be going on somewhere and I'd like to know where."

As Garble heard, he tried to not crack a smile but he started to fail. He just hoped Sakari didn't notice, "Do you think it could be that?" Sakari was gonna be in for a surprise.

Sakari raised a brow at Garble's odd behavior, not knowing what to think, but she fell for the unknown trap when asked, "Could be wha -- AAAHHHH!!!!!!" but Sakari ultimately screamed in unexpected shock when something grabbed her right leg and caused her to turn herself into a brief missile and launched herself into Garble's arms, shaking like a dried-up leaf as she did. Garble laughed like a baboon as he held her like a rescued princess.

"Oh man, you should see your face!" Garble said as he continued to laugh. He kept a steady stance, but he didn't know how long he had until he collapsed with his wife. He almost laughed himself to near tears; he was having the time of his life. And it was all thanks to his sneaky accomplice who arrived at a perfect time.

She didn't know what just happened or how to react to it. Sakari felt like a pawn in some way and she didn't like it. She really didn't understand why Garble was laughing at this, but she had to guess he planned this from the start; if that was the case. She was so distracted with what she was talking about, she never expected her husband had an accomplice with him. She didn't hear anything. It pained her that she never picked up what he was doing before it was too late. And it sure didn't help her case knowing her heart raced a mile a minute, so she took steady breaths to help calm herself down so she could try to figure what the bloody hell just happened. Her mind could not process this information fast enough, but it became obnoxious and tedious that she had slow down to pull herself together long enough to ask just one question: Just who the hell snuck-up on her so easily?

She pouted in slight frustration and bopped him a few times on the head to get him to stop laughing, "It's not funny Garble. You know how I am when I get scared." she tried to get her husband to quit his laughing, but his howling laughter turned into small chuckles.

As much as he knew, it was still a rarity to get Sakari to react like that. He much enjoyed having her in his arms and giving that 'angry' pout. She can try as much as she wants to be serious, he always found her look adorable; well, anything she does is adorable -- mostly. He casually smiled and said in a flirty manner, "Clingy as hell and look very adorable doing it?" he gave her a toothy grin and tried to be suave with her.

Sakari blushed faintly and wanted to thwack him upside the head, again, but the sound of gentle giggles sang in her ears. She almost forgot about their visitor. Just a neck turn away, she looked over and found the sneaky snake that helped Garble to scare her. She then closed her eyes and contemplated, regretting the fact she never took to account it would be one of them -- and she really should've expected it. She knew one of them was so quiet, they'd eventually use that gifted quirk. She'd be proud, but she would've loved it if they'd use that on someone else.

'Am I already getting rusty at being a mother?' she mentally said to herself as she looked at a young, teenage Pegasus colt with light red fur, a plain-styled darker red mane and messy cut tail sat down and basked in his successful 'sneak-attack'. He looked up at Sakari and Garble with a playful smile, chuckling occasionally. He knew he'll pay the price later, but it was always funny to his mother's reaction; it told him he did a good job at what he did and held no regret doing it.

Sakari pouted at them for this uncalled-for act and wanted to scold them for this act, "It's not funny you two! You really scared me!" she barked at them, but the dragon and young colt thought otherwise. That unintentional tag-team tactic was golden and it worked like a charm.

“That’s the point!” Garble guffawed at that; where he failed, his son succeeded.

"I'm sorry, mom. I just couldn't help myself," The young colt said to his mother and his tone held no praise to his action. He just wanted to do it for the hell of it to get a reaction out of his parents. He watched as Garble placed her down but even with what he said, she still gave him a slight scowl. His playful demeanor shifted as he felt nervous looking at his mother. He knew his father would get a kick out it, but he could never tell with his mother.

Sakari gazed at her son and huffed in frustration. She was gonna get him back for that; both of them, "You know better than to sneak up on your mother like that, Ruby!" Momma-mode was active and they knew it -- and Ruby was her first target.

Even though they were just messing around, Garble spoke up and tried to defend his son. It wasn't planned, after all, "Oh, relax, babe. We're just messing around." If he wasn't able to get at her, his chip-off-the-old-block would. For Garble, he's never been so proud of his boy; though, he does take after his mother a little more than himself. It was still nice to know Ruby had his sense of humor.

But Sakari wasn't having it. She was gonna teach some lesson here and her son was gonna learn a very valuable one, "No, Garble, I'm crossing a line here," Sakari announced, "and I'm gonna have a word with our son here that it isn't nice to scare someone -- especially if said someone is their own mother." She glanced back to Ruby who was now nervous.

Garble frowned a little and was gonna object, but he paused himself when he noticed Sakari's left ear and right wing occasionally twitched and jerked. He blinked a few times as he watched. It lasted a second, but figured out what Sakari had planned and smiled a little; she was onto something and he had to roll with it. He wasn't gonna tell Ruby, so he was gonna stand back and watch. He knew she'd get back at him later. But for now, "Alright, babe. I won't stop you."

When he said that, Ruby felt his heart skip a beat as his mother approached him. Like a puppy who did something bad, his ears drooped and he hunkered down a little, "M-Mom, wait, I was only playing. I saw you two talking and... and... I'm sorry," he tried to convince his mother that he didn't mean anything by scaring her. But his words went on deaf ears as Sakari stood over him looking down at him like an alpha to a cub.

She watched as her son shook similar to how she did and heard him plea for forgiveness, but she retorted with, "No, Ruby. Sneaking up on your mother was not a wise decision. I'm sorry, but you're gonna have to be punished." She could almost see the fear coursing through her son's body and it fed her intentions well. As Ruby cowered before her, it felt good in a way. Feeding the inner demon within her and showing Ruby who was boss, "And 'sorry' won't cut it. I'm afraid I'm just gonna have to do this..."

Ruby looked down and braced for what she had planned, he felt bad, but he shamelessly asked, "Do w-wha -- Ahhh-ha-ha" a pair of hooves reached out and ticked his underside and caused him to laugh out loud.

Ruby dropped on his back as Sakari laughed along with him, "I'mma tickle the snot out of you!" Sakari said with no punishing intent. She was kidding the entire time and just wanted to scare her son for the hell of it. All while hearing Garble laugh behind her -- he was still on her list, but he'll get it later.

"N-no, no. Ahh! Ha-ha! Mom, stop, I'm gonna pee-he-he-he!" Ruby said as he kicked about being assaulted by his mother's overpowered tickling. He cursed himself for being so ticklish, but he couldn't help it. He was happy he wasn't in trouble, but for any god who listened, he wished she'd stop the tickle torment. And it was bad enough dear ol' papa dragon wasn't gonna save him, either.

As much as she loved tickling her little boy, she eventually stopped before he actually went with his word. She giggled softly as he sat up to catch his breath. From looking at him, he looked like a puppy that ran a five-mile trail.

"Not so funny now, is it?" she asked smugly, ironically speaking.

Ruby gingerly looked up at his mother. That wasn't funny, at all. And why didn't she go after Garble next? He glanced over to his dad who just stood there like he was in on the whole torture, "You... could've helped... dad!" He said through his breathing, thinking he was gonna have help.

But, Garble just shrugged. What was he gonna do when Sakari pulls a stunt like that? "Hey, don't look at me. I ain't no helicopter parent. I'm just a bystander in all this." When it came to playful family moments, he was not gonna pick any sides here and they were gonna know it.

Sakari rolled her eyes when he said that. 'That's gonna change real quick, Garble,' she thought sternly and will see to it she had an opportunity to teach him that lesson. Yes, she knew their kids were old enough, but they were still their kids. It annoyed her, but she'd be hypocritical if she didn't think the same thing. However, Ruby was still her kid and she would always be around if he needed her. It was her natural instinct to do so. And noticing the same disbelief on his face as she had made her glad he was her flesh and blood -- guess great minds think alike and they know when to spot someone's bullshit. She leaned close to her son and nuzzled him softly.

"But that won't stop us from loving you and your brothers and sisters," Sakari said as Ruby blushed. "By the way, you did great. I couldn't even hear you sneak up on me."

Ruby smiled sweetly and bashfully at his mother's kind words. She may be hard at times, but she had a good sense of humor. He was just glad she was easy on him instead of his siblings. "Thanks, mom. I've been practicing my stealth skills for quite a while."

"I bet you have, son," Sakari smiled proudly. Practicing indeed. She always knew where her family would be if they pulled stunts like hiding or trying to scare her. It's a habit that she was glad her children got out of, mostly. But, if they still had the motivation to do what their father always does, then Ruby actually managed to break through that mold. She wouldn't say he was a protege, but he was improving in stealth. His siblings... wait... "Oh, I almost forgot, where are your brothers and sister, anyway?"

Garble perked up. He had an answer for that, "Speedy and Twinkle are at Ponyville. I told them to go get some groceries."

Ruby nodded, "And Blaze and Destiny are playing with aunt Smolder." He pointed out of the cave where a huge dark shadow and a shadow passed by.

"Smolder's here?" Sakari asked, unaware she was gonna show up. "I thought she was going somewhere with friends?" As if she'd say no to a visit from her little sister-in-law, she was curious as to why she showed up, all of a sudden.

Ruby shook his head and thankfully had an answer for her, "Guess not? She told us her friends had other things to do, so she wanted to surprise us." he shrugged nonchalantly. "Blaze took no time to greet her and Destiny was just chatting with her, too. I never got a chance to say hi or join in." Ruby pouted a little but held no ill will.

Garble chuckled figuring out what he meant, "Still having trouble keeping up with your aunt, huh?" It doesn't happen often, but some dragons can be competitive. Smolder is no exception and since Ruby and his siblings came into the world, a few of them was bound to give his sister some competitive fun. "Figured Blaze wouldn't pass up spending time with Smolder."

Ruby beamed at his father and quickly said to him, "That's not it. I'm not competitive like you, Blaze, Destiny and Speedy -- Twinkle is the only exception but she barely joins in any of our games anyway," He didn't know what set them apart from himself, but he always knew he was different from his siblings. "Mom and Twinkle are only competitive if someone riles 'em up." and Ruby said that like it was a straight-up fact to them. His mother and sister could try and deny it all they want, but it was the truth.

A truth Sakari could not deny -- yet tried to always hide it as if it was false. She did try to say something to her son but paused in thought. She looked to Garble who had a 'he's gotcha there' look. "Oh, don't give me that look, Garble," she bickered but sighed in defeat. "Okay, I guess you do have a point there, Ruby."

Ruby smiled. Garble spoke up and waved over to the entrance, "Well, let's not waste any time. Blaze and Destiny can't be the only ones hangin' with Smolder, Garble said eagerly as he rushed to meet his little sister.

Ruby was about to follow, but a pink arm stopped him before he could. Ruby looked up to his mother and saw the mischievous look on her face. Ruby tilted his head, "Mom?" he gingerly said, knowing full well when she made that look, something was going to happen.

"Watch, son," Sakari said as Ruby listened and looked back to his father rushing out of the entrance.

Ruby watched. His father was out of the cave yet nothing happened. He pondered for a moment. Just what was his mother trying to do or trying to show him? He kept his gaze at the entrance. He heard his father call out 'hey, Smol--' a large orange streak came by faster than his eyes could pick up and swept Garble away before he could get a word in. Ruby perked up in shock before he heard his mother laugh her flanks off and removed her arm from him.

"I don't get it, mom?" Ruby said, confused by what he just saw. Did his mother expect something like that would happen?

Thankfully, his mother answered once she calmed down, "Karma, Ruby." Sakari didn't know Smolder would pull something like that, but she had a feeling something was about to happen. That's why she stopped him. "Well, not Karma in a sense something bad was going to happen. More like payback." And she knew karma was coming, it was only a matter of time. Granted, it was from someone she knew and not by herself. But, still, it was funny to see.

"Oh, I see now," Ruby said but shrugged. In a way, karma gave him the payback he didn't know he needed but got anyway. Or, well, it was aunt Smolder who did it and he guessed karma was Smolder and -- he rubbed his head trying not to think too hard about this. "I think?"

Sakari looked at her son trying to think hard about what she tried to teach him and chuckled softly, "Don't strain yourself now, sweetie. Come on, let's go meet your aunt." it was a little lesson that didn't really need much to think about.

But, that being said, Ruby and Sakari headed out to go meet Smolder, Destiny, and Blaze. Yet, the thought of what occurred in her room still lingered in the back of her mind, however. She didn't know what started it, but hopefully, spending time with her family will take her mind off of it.

***

"Wait, what?!" Twilight exclaimed, shocked out of her mind.

"Ha! I knew it!" Rainbow Dash said, thinking all along that it was true.

Applejack and Pinkie Pie nodded to their friends in confirmation, having grateful smiles to show how much they've accepted it. That and seeing their friends' reactions would be priceless.

"Yup, yup, yup," Pinkie Pie replied happily to Twilight and Rainbow Dash.

Applejack chuckled, "Results were right. Pinkie and I are cousins!" the farm pony wrapped an arm around her cousin and noogied her playfully, making her squeak and giggle.

Rarity smiled softly. She was glad that mystery was finally solved and laid to rest. She didn't know if they'd ever find out, but it was good to know they finally solved it, "How did you girls figure it out?" she asked curiously.

"Oh, yes," Fluttershy said, "And how did your families take it?"

Applejack and Pinkie Pie looked puzzled at first, but they answered them simultaneously to speak for both sides of their respected families, "They were thrilled!"

Pinkie Pie was the first to explain her family side of the story and was happy as she told them and rambled hyperactively, "Marble and Limestone were a bit unsure by it because Limestone is super awkward talking to stallions and Marble had this secret crush on Big Mac before finding out he was her cousin and now every time she sees him she feels *really* awkward around him --" and somewhere in Equestria, Limestone and Marble had the sudden urge to clobber Pinkie when they see her "-- Maud was cool with it. She got along quick with Applebloom and Big Mac and I could've sworn Big Mac and Maud arm-wrestled at one point; something about being the stronger sibling."

Even Applejack wondered about that moment. Probably a draw due to the fact they had to get a new table after the other one split in two.

"And my parents and Granny Smith became fast friends like Maud, Big Mac and Applebloom did. All in all, our families got along real well." Pinkie Pie finally stopped and took a brief breather before giving her friends a big grin, finishing her side of the story.

Though, Pinkie Pie smiled and thought it was no big deal and was just a short story. Her friends looked at her as if what she just told them was something she memorized from a novel or scroll and each one of them tried to catch just what the hell she said.

Rainbow Dash was the first to speak out of the group and asked her, confused, "Uh, what was that part about your sister having a crush on Big Mac?" Of all the things she caught, she only caught that? Pretty sure that was one thing the others caught to amongst the zany story Pinkie Pie spew.

Applejack rolled her eyes and waved that part off as if that never happened. As silly as it sounded, Pinkie was right, but she took her side of the story a little shorter, "Okay, long story short, our families are happy. The Pies and Apples are getting along great and we became a big, loving family because of it." That being said, the other mares caught that better than what Pinkie Pie said and all gave a comical simultaneous 'Oh!'

"That's good to know, Applejack," Twilight said as she grabbed a piece of cornbread and took a bite. "Wow, this cornbread is good," Twilight said as she looked to Fluttershy and asked, "Did you make this, Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy shook her head, "It wasn't me, Twilight."

"Oh," Twilight looked to Pinkie Pie as another good candidate, but Pinkie Pie shook her head, too.

"Nopie-lopie, Twilight," Pinkie Pie said. "I've never once made cornbread in my entire life." Though that would be a good idea when she got back home.

Twilight raised a brow. Okay, so it was Pinkie Pie and it wasn't Fluttershy. Then who? Her answer came quickly when a white hoof caught her attention. She looked over to Rarity smiling proudly. Twilight blinked a few times until it hit her right across the face. "Rarity? You made this?" Twilight asked, softly shocked by this revelation.

Rarity nodded and smiled softly like she made a new achievement, "Yes, darling. I took some lessons during the last three months," she chuckled and merely teased herself. "I gotta have other hobbies, right?" She was best known for her fashion trends all around Equestria and was decently praised for her ideas and showcases she presented in the shows she participated in. But, behind closed curtains, very few ponies, and one certain dragon, knew she was just a mare living a normal life. Still, even she didn't mind poking fun at her obvious dream now and then.

Twilight smiled a tad awkwardly at that, chucking aside she almost forgot her friends have other hobbies aside from what their cutiemarks signified. She refrained from saying anything and just chuckled along with Rarity, "True, but still, these are good, Rarity."

"Yeah! I mean, what are we, one-note ponies?" Pinkie Pie quipped, looking to her friends jokingly but slightly looked off at the reader when no one was looking, giving them a questioned look.

Ignoring Pinkie's little comment there, Rarity smiled, appreciatively at Twilight's compliment, "Thank you, darling," Rarity slightly blushed, "It took some time, but I wanted to make it as perfect as I can," with that being said, she succeeded with proudly and wanted to share her work with the others.

"It's very sweet and fluffy. Way better than crumpets," Fluttershy said, complimenting her as well. The others couldn't agree more.

The praise she got made her flustered, "Oh stop girls, you're making me blush," as if she wasn't already. Rarity smiled at the needed attention and giggled a little, feeling somewhat giddy like a school filly with butterflies in her stomach. She then slightly flinched in pain and her flustering demeanor faded into a worried look as she placed a hoof on her belly. Fluttershy and Twilight took notice and grew worried themselves.

"Rarity, are you okay?" Fluttershy asked feeling apprehensive and getting the rest of the mare's attention.

Rarity lifted a reassuring hoof and smiled to them, easing any tension that might happen, "Yes, Fluttershy, dear. I'm alright. Just had a small stomach cramp is all." she giggled a little awkwardly to them, acting as if what was going on was no big deal.

But, Twilight thought differently, "Are you sure? You seemed fine before?" Having a sudden cramp like that and try and cover it up? Something didn't seem right. "Are you --"

"Are you sure you aren't eating more of that cornbread of yours? Trying to fluff yourself up to get another stallion?" Pinkie Pie interrupted and joked with Rarity. The other mares blushed beet-red and either almost choked on a snack or drink or squirt said drink out of their noses. Now was not the time for jokes like that!

"Consarnit, Pinkie!" Applejack said as she coughed, "Warn a mare next time you say something like that!" the last thing she needed was to die from having food lodged in her throat.

Rainbow Dash complied to that, "Yeah, I almost blew tea snot out of my nose," she wiped her nose with a napkin. But no one needed to hear that.

Pinkie Pie rubbed the back of her head and smiled apologetically at the athlete mares, "Sorry, couldn't resist."

Twilight and Fluttershy were not so amused by Pinkie's unnecessary joke. Something was clearly wrong with Rarity and she went and made a joke like that? The alicorn and pegasus rolled their eyes before looking back to her friend who slightly giggled at that. Okay, something was definitely off here.

Rarity giggled nonetheless at what had occurred. She knew Pinkie Pie didn't mean any harm in that little joke. True, she wanted to harp at her for joking about her weight, but at the same time... it's Pinkie Pie. Can anyone really be mad at her for it? Yes, it was fun to joke around about it, but she couldn't help but reply to her regarding it, "Darling, as I said earlier, I was going through a rough time trying to get over Spike's leaving and I gave up trying to keep my figure in check," she explained, "I don't see the point in it, anymore." though, she couldn't help but pout about the cornbread bit. "Though the cornbread is not the issue and its low fat."

But Pinkie still had to apologize, nonetheless. She loved to joke, but sometimes there was a time and place. And right now, Rarity was going through something and she obviously upset Fluttershy and Twilight with the way they were rightfully frowning at her. So, now would be a good time, "Heh, still. I'm sorry, Rarity. It was a force of habit."

Rarity smiled and waved her hoof assuringly, accepting that excuse, "Pinkie, it's quite alright. I know you were just joking." That's what Pinkie does and she knew this, after all. She did appreciate her friend's concern, though. Well, all of them, really. Even going as far as to support her and each other if they needed it. Yet, she had a feeling the kind of support she needed her friends might not know what to do with. Should she tell them? She didn't know. So, for now, it's just a cramp. Well, maybe they have the right to know one thing if one of them asked.

"I do have one question for ya, sugarcube?" Applejack said.

And there it is. Like clockwork at its finest. She sighed softly and looked to Applejack, ready to answer her question, "What is it, Applejack?" She was more than willing to answer.

She hesitated for a moment, nervous to ask since it involved Spike, "Why did Spike leaving cause you to gain weight?" It was a sensitive topic but with how Rarity was acting, she figured it wouldn't hurt to ask. All this talk about it, she had to wonder.

That was a good question and it did spark some curiosity among the six. They all beamed their eyes on Rarity and wondered the same thing. Was it depression? That would've been a logical reason, yet Twilight was still going through depression and she hadn't gained any weight. Rainbow Dash still thought she needed to get over it, but that was just her.

Well, this took a turn. Now all eyes were on her and she had all the attention; granted, it wasn't the kind of attention she was used to. Rarity bit her lower lip and blushed sheepishly. She wanted to hide her secret until the time was right, but seeing inquisitive eyes built-up a little peer pressure. But, she gathered enough strength to not succumb to that and kept a good composure. She looked at Twilight for a moment and thought about what her reaction might be if she said the truth. Would she flip out? Would they all flip out? She had two parts of this news and would they be able to handle them? Rarity calmly sighed and looked at her enthusiastic friends. Well, here goes nothing. It was time to jump the gun. Hopefully, this piece of news will ease them into it

"Alright, I guess I won't hide it anymore since you girls are so eager to know," Rarity said under bated breath while everyone waited with eager anticipation. "I was in love with Spike and I still am to this day."

And then she waited. That silent gust of suspenseful wind came rushing by and she felt it brush against her fur. It put a slight chill in her spine but it didn't draw her attention as much as seeing her friend's reactions. Thankfully, it didn't take long for them to process what she said to them and the expected results were outright hilarious.

"What?!" they all said in synchronous shock and surprise. Again, as expected, Rarity knew what their reactions might've been; now would be a good time to let them soak it in and enjoy the show. She was just happy no one was flipping out in a bad way or else things would get seriously awkward.

Pinkie Pie gasped loudly at this big news and smacked her cheeks with her hooves. Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Applejack just looked at Rarity as if this was something out of character for her and never expected something like that. They were floored.

But, unlike the others, Rarity was more nervous about Twilight's reaction. She was Spike's mother after all and to hear one of her friends had fallen in love with her son might've been rather awkward for the both of them. Nevertheless, she gingerly looked over to Twilight nervously to find out what her reaction might be. As she thought, she saw Twilight shocked as all hell; wide-eyed, jaw agape and all. Rarity was perplexed, she could've sworn Twilight would've had the biggest reaction out of all of them, but she was just stone-cold silent.

Her white cheeks reddened bashfully and a little awkwardly from their reactions after telling them the truth, yet she slowly nodded and could only tell them in a sheepish, "Surprise." She smiled softly and shyly. Much more than what Fluttershy could ever do.

The girls were all still trying to soak in what they just heard. From day one, Spike fell in love with Rarity and they all thought the same thing she did; that it was just a little crush and he would eventually grow out of it. Guess they thought wrong; Twilight was wrong; Rarity was wrong. Right under their muzzles, they never expected that little crush to turn into dedication. And with that strong dedication, Spike finally won Rarity's heart and Rarity kept it from them until now. That easily explained why Rarity did a number on herself after so long. Minds were blown and revelations were answered. It all made sense now!

As amusing as it was to watch her friends put on an emotional show for her, she didn't want them to get too excited -- that might come later. Rarity looked over to Twilight and chuckled, loving the fact she hadn't burst in rage from her announcement. She reached out and waved a hoof in front of Twilight's shocked-prone face to try and snap her out of her trance, "Darling if you keep your mouth open like that, you'll attract flies." She joked, but it did wake Twilight for her to gain some bearings.

"Why didn't we see the signs before?" Rainbow Dash spouted being the first to speak among the shocked silence. "I thought Spike was over that? I thought you waited for him to grow out of that phase?" It made sense for her to be depressed that he'd left because she was his friend. But it didn't make sense that she'd fall in love with him, too. Was a romance like that even possible?

"How? When? Where? What? WHAT?!?!" Pinkie Pie grabbed her head and tried to make sense of all of this. Rarity was in love with Spike the whole time? How? A pony having an attraction for a dragon was unheard of. The pink mare had to know, "This is insane! When did cupid fire an arrow in your ass?" If push came to shove, she'd be all on board for reviewing an interspecies relationship. Like hell, she'd be against it. She'd love to see how it played out. Pony on pony was one thing, but pony on dragon? Now, this was something she could not let go of.

Rarity blushed and scrunched her muzzle at that kind of question, "I don't remember when, darling. It's been a long while--"

"Long while?!" Applejack joined in with a slight sharp bark, but unlike the other girls, she tried to restrain her emotions. Keyword being 'try' as this juicy truth was a lot for even her to handle. "Rarity, you've been in love with Spike and you never told any of us? Why tell us now instead of telling us before this whole three-month thing started?" At the amount of time, even when Spike was here, she -- they -- could've said something instead of leaving them in the dirt like that. She was happy Rarity finally found someone she loved to call her soulmate, but she was also hurt and frustrated she and Spike kept this news from them -- even Spike kept it from his own dadgum mother! Yet, at the same time, she can't blame Rarity for keeping this a secret. Something like this was unheard of and for Rarity to spring this on them, she was completely mixed about now.

Though love can be a mysterious force, this kind of news was still alien to her. Almost. She had one moment during the three months where two of her animal friends fell in love; a male wolf and a female cougar -- a canine and a feline. Something like that would be mass hysteria to other ponies if they didn't understand the situation. But, not Fluttershy. As much as it seemed weird to her, it was no different and she wasn't gonna flip over it like the others -- to an extent. Rarity's news about her falling for Spike was still something no other pony had ever tried before. Like the others, she thought Spike would move on from his little puppy crush on Rarity, but she never anticipated for Rarity to twist this story and actually fall in love with Spike. It really made her ponder. Just how did Spike pull it off? And why did it feel like this was the start of a cheesy soap opera? As much as hearing Rarity's news was shocking, the mere thought of the latter was pretty funny.

Rarity froze. Okay, now the show got a little serious. Her friends seemed mixed about her news and she had a feeling that would be the case. Then again, she couldn't really blame them. A pony falling for a dragon? Never in any history was that ever put in any books, scrolls, or on a display window in Celestia's castle. Yet, here they were discussing it like it was research that hadn't been written down. Deep down, she wouldn't lie to herself and say it was weird, and like before when Spike had that crush on her when he was younger, she would merely brush it away like it was pointless puppy love; a puppy crush that he would grow out of overtime. At least, that was before and now here she was among friends telling them that fate had twisted her and slammed irony right in her face. And she doesn't regret it.

For her friends, hearing that a pony and a dragon fell in love together? The mere thought of the two 'bonding' like that seemed alien to them. Nevertheless, she had to settle them down so she could explain, hopefully, "Girls, let's calm down and take a deep breath. Before you all lose your minds, let's think rationally." Try as she might to calm the situation before things could get out of hoof, she knew they'd react in different ways. Positively, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy seemed like they're taking it well. Rainbow Dash looked like she was lost and didn't know what to think, almost making her stir crazy. But, Applejack? Oh, Applejack had her worried the most. She seemed level-headed on the outside, but inside of the cowgirl lied demons of truth she knew were itching to come out. She could tell her friend had much more to say to her and she braced when the moment came. In hindsight, she was just glad her mental lie-detector didn't raise her red flags, and then she'd be screwed. However, if one scary pony wasn't bad enough, she looked over to Twilight. She was the last to take in --

Twilight threw her arms up, "Oh no, no, no, no! Hold the buck up, Rarity! I'm not calming down after what you just said," Twilight spoke to her, excitedly before placing a hoof on her muzzle to get her to shut her muzzle. Rarity's muzzle was forcefully scrunched as she looked up at a very enthused, very thrilled, smiling Twilight who just unlocked not only her motherly instincts but her scientist instincts, too.

A bead of sweat slowly slid down the side of Rarity's face as she looked at her bookworm friend, a bit shocked, slightly wary, and finally concerned after finally receiving her slightly delayed reaction. Twilight didn't have the messy mane going and her eyes were not dilated into crazy dots, but Rarity still couldn't shake the feeling she just opened Pandora's box -- and that really worried her. While yes, it did involve her son, Twilight seemed eager to dissect the info out of her as much as her abilities allowed -- hopefully, not literally.

Twilight held nothing back. Her son was involved and Rarity said she fell in love with him; questions had to be addressed and she was not gonna take ‘no’ for an answer. She was a mixed bag of defense and offense and offense sadly and frighteningly played first as she gripped Rarity's slightly chubby cheeks, "You just told us something we never expected to happen -- especially something like this from you. Now, I want you to spill it," Twilight said eagerly as all hell to get the details from her rotund friend -- every last bit of it.

It was one thing for her son to crush over Rarity, but for Rarity to throw this curveball had to be caught. And she caught it easier than any lesson Celestia threw at her. A pony falling for someone of another species? That had to be studied to the highest degree; as a mother, scientist, and author; this had to be documented. She couldn't contain herself.

"I want to know everything, Rarity.” She grasped her cheeks and leaned in, their heads touching as she at first glared at her, “Why did you hide this news from everyone?” But then she grinned in delight, her eyes sparkling in amazement. “When did this happen? What did Spike do to persuade you? Did he act professionally?” She let go of her friend’s cheeks to point at her on the question of acting professional, as she knew Rarity was all about professionalism when she showed off her work or even herself to other ponies.

But, Twilight then held her own cheeks as she swooned and giggled to herself as she now realized this may also be delicious ammo – despite her son being long gone. “Was it adorable? Was it awkward?” This is about her son, after all. And knowing him, it may as well have been adorable, whatever he did – but she really had to know from her. She then gasped deeply as another thought came to her; she then got right in Rarity’s face again, their noses scrunching together as they touched. “Where were you when you two first confessed?!" Twilight bombarded her with question after question, and she was being relentless about it, too. She grabbed her shoulders and shook her excitedly, "Tell me, woman! Tell me-eeee!"

At this point, even their friends were worried. Twilight was definitely Twilighting hard, and on a whole new different level this time.

“She’s losin’ it.” Pinkie whispered to Rainbow Dash, uncharacteristically concerned by this type of freaking out of Twilight’s; it was one thing when she’s stressed, but this was a 180 from that. Rainbow Dash could only nod slowly.

Rarity looked a little nervous. Twilight never behaved like this before and it really didn't seem like her to lash out in such a manner. Comparing the two, she'd take Applejack over Twilight. But, she should've seen it coming, yet she didn't. She scrunched her eyes and placed her hooves on Twilight's arms. If only Twilight could remove her hooves from her body and let her breathe, she could speak. She'd gladly explain to her if she'd just calm down. Her hooves were pressing a little hard against her skin and it started to hurt.

Thankfully, a yellow hoof reached out and firmly grasped Twilight by her horn, easily pulling her head back and dragging her back, "Ow, ow, ow, horn, horn, horn!" Twilight yelped as Fluttershy easily pulled her away from Rarity and forced her to walk back to her chair and sit back down like a mother would a young filly -- ironic as it was.

"That's quite enough, Twilight," Fluttershy said in a stern tone as Twilight rubbed her horn, gently. "We know you're eager to know -- we all are -- but that doesn't give you the right to force Rarity to talk like that --"she then glared at the others in case they pulled the same stunt "--none of us should." Thankfully, the other three complied. They just wanted to know what was going on.

Rarity gingerly rubbed her cheeks and then her arms to null the pain away before thankfully saying, "Thank you, Fluttershy." She'll owe her for saving her skin later. She then took a moment to think before scooting back a little from Twilight’s seat. After that ordeal, maybe she should just save the rest until Twilight had a few dozen chill pills. Perhaps, instead of just pouring the news out like an avalanche, she'll give the girls baby steps. She knew telling them was gonna be a trip and she prepared for their reactions, she just wasn't prepared for that kind of reaction -- she didn't know if Twilight went Twilynanas or if she was just too excited. Either way, Fluttershy saved her skin.

Okay, now it was time for the first step, "Okay, I know all of you have questions, and first things first, I kept it a secret for a long while because I didn't want to just throw it out there like it was some hot take or something." she made a valid point. And that was one point Applejack can wholeheartedly accept.

Rarity chuckled and cooed as she recalled how Spike ‘persuaded’ her; bless his little heart how he tried, "I don't quite remember where but I do remember he wasn't all that professional. But bless him and his little heart, he tried." The memory of them meeting each other and caving-in to Spike's goofy yet adorable charm was all she could handle, "It was his goofy yet adorable charm that won me over." To think, her ideal stallion would have riches and a well-behaved attitude, but her heart mysteriously felt empty from that. Riches and fame were great, yet she couldn't help but think she dodged a bullet there. "Spike was being himself and it won me over. We had our first date and... I may have done more than just fall in love with Spike." She looked away bashfully and blushed, almost hesitant to go further with this. "The reason I never told any of you until now was... well... I've been dealing with a lot of 'things' and I had to deal with them on my own -- sort of. I had Sweetie Belle helping me, so it's family things, I think." Rarity said as she smiled innocently at her friends, much to their confusion.

"Things?" Fluttershy asked puzzled.

Pinkie Pie giggle-snorted at that, "Things, huh? Would those things happen to be you two boink --" a steel grazing muzzle poofed into existence and strapped over Pinkie's muzzle, shutting her up before she could get worse with her unfiltered mind.

"Too far, Pinkie Pie," Twilight said unamused as Pinkie Pie tried to pry her grazing muzzle off her face. That was the last thing Twilight needed to hear right now while she’s listening intently to Rarity’s every word, even writing down notes, biting her lip in eager excitement. This was getting really good – sure, her son may not have been professional, but he achieved his goal: managing to win the heart of the unicorn he loves.

Despite what Pinkie Pie was about to say, even though she was right. Rarity nodded slowly and nervously said to Fluttershy, "Yes. 'Things'. And one of those things are --" she assumed it was right around that time and there was no hiding it now. She was about to reveal her biggest secret to them until she immediately paused and looked up as she stated in a confused matter, raising a brow, "-- an odd cloud forming in the sky?" That took everyone off-guard and they looked at Rarity confused by what she meant. An odd cloud?

"Uh, a what now?" Applejack said as Rarity pointed up. Curious, they all turned to see what Rarity was talking about and looking at, only to be greeted by an unknown black cloud forming in the sky and spreading like a virus as thunder started to ominously rumbling.

As if confusion didn't hit them enough already, this one hit the hardest. Where did that cloud come from? And why was it behaving so differently? "Rainbow Dash, is there a storm scheduled for today?" Fluttershy asked. She wasn't a part of the weather team Rainbow Dash was in, but she always had a schedule on standby thanks to her and today seemed like it was gonna be a nice day.

Yet, Rainbow Dash was just as baffled by this bizarre phenomenon. "No? There wasn't a storm scheduled ‘til next week. Even Spitfire told me!” Spitfire was not only captain of the Wonderbolts, but she kept an eye on the weather too – even telling the other Wonderbolts ahead of time when a storm is coming. “The hell's going on?" Rainbow Dash tried to piece some theories together while eyeing the cloud. Did a cloud generator in the Weather Factory malfunction and produced a new dark cloud? Or did someone make it without an authorization? She was hoping for the latter; no pony was to create clouds without her knowing about it. As she and the girls watched on, they began to notice small flickers of light within the cloud. Rainbow Dash was puzzled. 'A thunderstorm? No. It couldn't be.' She would've smelt water by now -- all of them would. Was this a dry thunderstorm? Something didn't add up.

The black cloud seemed to travel at a fast pace after they just noticed it above a mountain. It coated the sky like spilled juice spreading across a marble table. Already, it washed above their heads and darkened Celestia's morning sky; thankfully, there was enough sunlight for them to see where each other were and for them to see their own hooves in front of their faces, but that was of little concern as a ghostly chill fell upon them as they all glanced up at the horror-driven cloud.

Rainbow Dash's right ear twitched. A strange cackle-like noise caught her attention and she sharply looked around at the sky to find the source, "Did anyone else hear that?"

Everyone looked at Rainbow Dash confused, but they all tried to listen for the noise she just heard. With what's happening right now, anything out of the ordinary could happen -- even the possibility of goblins manipulating these clouds.

They carefully tried to listen in as best they could, but try as they might they couldn't hear what Rainbow Dash heard.

"Darling, whatever it is you heard, I can't hear it," Rarity said, the other mares vouching for her.

"I can't hear it either. You sure you're just hearing things, Rainbow Dash?" Pinkie Pie asked, wondering if she was just scared because of the weird cloud above them.

Rainbow Dash shook her head. She wasn't going crazy. She knew she heard something just now and she couldn't be the only one, "No, I heard something out there that didn't sound right." She looked up at the abnormal cloud in frustration and tried to remember what she learned from her old class in middle school regarding the number of clouds Cloudsdale was responsible for making.

'Cirrus? No, this cloud isn't producing any ice. And the air isn't cold. It's normally warm,' that rolled that type of cloud out. 'Stratus? No, all of us would be smelling water and this freak cloud is too high up. This cloud seems too dry.' Okay, so any of the Cirrus and Stratus types are out the window. But there had to be another kind of cloud Cloudsdale produced. 'Uh... what was it?' Rainbow Dash thought to herself, unaware that Twilight noticed her laser-pointed focus on the cloud.

A sudden burst of bright crooked lightning instantly burst out and struck the ground with decent force. The ground strongly shook underneath them and caused a bit of panic from each pony. Fluttershy noticed a couple of trees being uprooted and was dismayed by that -- the strong sense of urgency to help any of her animal friends, if any got caught in the crossfire, weighed in on her. Her natural instincts were about to kick in if the sudden arrival of a strong gust of wind appeared out of nowhere and snapped her out of it. Fluttershy and the other mares blocked themselves from being blown away.

"What's going on?" Twilight called out, unsure of what to think of this random storm.

"I don't know, darling. This is the weirdest storm I've ever seen," Rarity replied as she blocked her face from the wind with her right arm.

"Whatever it is, I sure don’t like the looks of it. Do you think Discord might be behind this?" Applejack asked over the wind, keeping her hat in place so it wouldn't be blown away. It was the only reasonable guess. Some wacko storm showed up out of nowhere and started to cause havoc? Discord had to be behind it. There couldn't be anyone else.

Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Twilight agreed with that statement. Of all the other beings in Equestria that could manipulate things better than anyone else in some chaotic fashion, it was Discord.

"No!" but Fluttershy snapped and semi-lashed out at Applejack for saying such a thing. It's been how many years and everyone was still blaming Discord? Yes, Discord had done a lot of mischievous things over the years, or decades for that matter, but he hasn't really hurt anyone throughout that time. He was just having his own fun, without physical harm being included. He even told her that a few times when they hung out, confessing while he’s aware that his mischief can get a teeny bit out of control or aggravating to others like her friends, he’s never actually hurt anypony with his magic – that’s just not in him. And if anyone was gonna badmouth him in front of her, then damn it, she was gonna defend Discord -- especially from her friends and especially from an action he would never commit. "Discord would never do something like this," Fluttershy said, protectively. "Discord never had any interest in manipulating the weather. Even he knows that's dangerous."

She made good points, but Applejack still had second doubts. Discord was trying to start a new life, but old habits die hard, "Fluttershy, I know he's your friend, but --"

"But, nothing!" Rainbow Dash interrupted. "Fluttershy's right. It's not Discord. Applejack, would Discord do something like that?" Rainbow Dash pointed to the clouds burping out more lightning bolts that seemed to get closer every second they talked. Applejack might reconsider what she said when she saw the cascade of lightning hammering down. Rainbow Dash had a point. "We can talk about this inside. And, I don't know about you but I don't want to be roasted pony under what's making this cloud."

"I agree. Let's head inside before who knows what could happen next," Rarity said, eagerly wanting to head back to Fluttershy's cottage where it's safe. With the wind beginning to pick up, they couldn't talk through this kind of circumstance.

Having all come to an agreement, the mane six made it back to Fluttershy's cottage. Rarity, however, was a tad bit slower than the others and she nearly tripped on a dent in the ground.

Applejack quickly dove after her and caught her, holding her by her back and belly, "I gotcha, Rares." The moment she caught her, she felt a small force push against her arm over her belly. "Huh?" Applejack looked puzzled and looked to Rarity who looked at her shocked before a lightning bolt came down a mile behind the two mares, causing them to flinch and instinctively gallop back to the cottage and head inside.

And just as the door closed, the cloud was already upon them, hovering over the forest and above the cottage, turning the bright blue skylight into a realm of pitch-black darkness that Nightmare Moon would appreciate.

In the sheltering cottage, while the mares got ready for the impact of the storm, Fluttershy noticed Angel hiding and shaking under the couch. Curiously, she approached and crouched down to meet his eye level, "What's wrong, Angel? Why are you scared? It's just a storm, it'll pass," She said reassuringly as she tried to calm her pet rabbit. She tried to convince the white rabbit to come out, but Angel kept shaking like a leaf and frantically shook his head. He was too scared to come out. Something wasn't right. And Angel wasn't the only one. Any of the smaller animals who managed to take shelter in her cottage hid from plain sight, terrified out of their minds. Fluttershy was growing more concerned with every scared face she saw from her woodland animal friends.

A few birds flew in their homes hanging from the ceiling, mice scurried into their homes into the wall, and even a fox was too scared to leave the cottage and made a b-line under a pile of wood inside the fireplace.

With Fluttershy tending to what animals made their way to the cottage, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Twilight were quickly on high alert and rushed around the cottage to either lock, barricade or bolt down every window and door the cottage offered. Once that was done, all three ponies huddled back to the center of Fluttershy's living room; all three looking serious.

Rarity and Pinkie Pie just sat this one out and kept a lookout for anything unusual. Rarity cautiously looked out the window to the backyard to see if there was an end to the storm. Unfortunately, there wasn't as the storm kept its looming presence up. She shivered at the sight looming outside of the cottage or lack thereof. All she saw was nothing but eerie darkness. She's dealt with darkness before like caves, tunnels, and her own home when the power goes out. But this? This was something far different than what she's ever dealt with.

Just what kind of cloud was out there? The more Rarity looked outside the window, the more she thought something was gonna crash through and attack. Not wanting anxiety to get the better of her, she quickly looked away and took deep breaths to calm her nerves down to relax her whole body. She shouldn't get stressed, not right now. She had to remain strong and she calmly looked down, secretly rubbing her belly while Pinkie Pie and the others weren't looking -- not just for her sake.

Pinkie Pie just watched Fluttershy talk to her scared, shaking little devil of a rabbit, trying to coax him to come out into her arms and that they’ve been through storms before – that this storm wouldn’t be any different. But this made her worried about her own pet, her precious little Gummy. If this kind of storm was not a normal storm, then what were the chances of it rolling to Ponyville and hurting others -- including her Gummy and the Cake Family. She couldn't bear to think of the worst. She hoped this nightmarish, mutant storm would pass quickly. She'd try to attempt to make everyone feel better, but something in the back of her head told her that might not the best idea -- not right now, at least. Like Rarity, she looked over to a window that showed Ponyville and the bright clear sky, only to then see the darkness heading right for the small town.

"Angel, please tell me, what’s going on?" Fluttershy softly said to him, kindly demanding him to tell her what's going on. But the little rabbit would not budge. Something clearly had him spooked, like he knew something dangerous was coming. But what? Every one of her animal friends acted the same way and she just didn't know what to make of any of it. What were they seeing that she wasn't? Granted, storms can be frightening, loud, and unpredictable, but they always passed in the end. What made this storm different compared to the others?

"Okay, What's going on, Rainbow Dash? Is there something we don't know that you do?" Twilight asked, wanting to drag as much information out of her as possible so they all could know what they're dealing with. A storm cloud showing up unscheduled seemed rather sketchy for somepony to do if Discord wasn't involved in this.

Applejack nodded, glancing at Rainbow Dash like she found an answer to a riddle no one else knew, "Alright, if it isn't Discord, then what else could it be?" Was there something she was missing? If so, Who, or what, else could be controlling that thunderstorm outside?

Rainbow Dash nodded as serious as she could be. She was gonna explain as best she could to Twilight if it meant easing anything they might think would give them a panic, "Alright, I don't know if any of you learned this in school but, -- " she pointed outside where it was so dark, vamponies could thrive out there " -- out there is a Cumulonimbus Cloud."

Twilight easily understood what Rainbow Dash meant -- there were many different types of clouds Cloudsdale produced, but she was never taught that in school; she only read about them maybe a few times in educational books she found in other libraries. She would speak up about what she learned from her old school to Rainbow Dash, but she'd only get in Rainbow Dash's way if she got any info wrong; she used to be a unicorn, not a pegasus. And she made the right call. Hearing Rainbow Dash theorize or explain anything regarding what she was familiar with was a rare occurrence and she wished she'd brought something to document it.

"A Cucumber-what now?" Applejack asked confused beyond belief. She was somewhat homeschooled growing up and her family never gave her any lessons on identifying clouds. So, she was out of the loop. And the fact that Rainbow Dash had her stumped was saying a lot more than it needed to be.

Rainbow Dash slightly rolled her eyes at Applejack botching up the name, but continued her explanation, "Alright, how do I explain it; a Cumulonimbus cloud is the only cloud of its kind that produces all those lightning and rain you see outside. And thunder comes next. Sometimes we call it a thunderhead because it sounds awesome."

"Oh, kind of like Thor with his hammer from those stories dad used to tell me," Applejack said in a perked tone, realizing where Rainbow Dash was going with this. Hearing something like that brought a bit of joy to her since she loved hearing about Thor growing up. But there really wasn't time for joy right now.

"Eh, close enough," Rainbow Dash replied, seeing the comparison but not really where she was going, at all. "A thunderhead is not quite as powerful as that. A thunderhead is not as focused."

"So, what does this have to do with the cloud outside?" Twilight asked as she looked out to the storm brewing as lightning flashed in the sky.

Rainbow Dash looked out the window and saw flashes of light shine down and blasting away more trees from their roots, "Because the one outside is not a Thunderhead."

Everyone looked at Rainbow Dash confused by what she meant. She gave them info that seemed somewhat helpful, but twisted it and said that it wasn't the cloud they were dealing with? What was she playing at?

"Rainbow, that doesn't make any sense! How can that be a Thunderhead if it isn't a Thunderhead?" Twilight asked, getting impatient with this whole drama-esque scene.

Rainbow Dash gazed back at her friends. Her face had nothing but seriousness to it and anything she had to say that was funny was out the window and into that dark void outside, "Because that Thunderhead is either being controlled or something inside is creating it." And if her memory served her right, she remembered dealing with gremlins that magically create storms and manipulate them to do their bidding, but something about this storm felt different.

"She's right," Fluttershy said as she jumped into the conversation after finally getting Angel to talk.

Rainbow Dash looked to Fluttershy and curled an eyebrow. Was Fluttershy able to get Angel to talk, or something? She was wondering because she couldn't be the only one noticing something off here, too, "Did the little furball finally say something?" she asked curiously.

Fluttershy nodded and nervously said, "Yes. I got Angel to calm down. He said that he and everyone else are scared -- terrified, even. He told me that he's sensing something outside; something unusual and different… something dangerous." But her concern and worry was far more acknowledged when she glanced at the window showing the blackened scene outside. She was on high alert; scared and ready for flight mode, but she couldn't allow herself to cower now. This was her home and it was used as a shelter for her friends. She had to stay calm, too. "Rainbow Dash?"

"Yeah?" Rainbow Dash replied.

"You're right. W-we're not dealing with a normal cloud here. Something's out there controlling it."

Considering the thunderhead outside was much thicker than how a normal one should be, yeah, this was not a regular thunderhead.

Twilight spoke and jumped in, wondering just what they could do to make sure everyone was safe from this mutant storm, "Should I cast a spell? I can cast a shield spell and deflect the lightning so it -- "

It wasn't until a sudden noise of unknown origin came out and sang to them. Each one paused and took an earful of what they heard. It seemed faint, at first, but they could make out a faint chirp-like sound outside the cottage. It sounded soft for the most part, almost mimicking either a locust being perched far away or the call of a baby bird begging for its mother to feed it.

The ponies then stared at the backdoor and never looked away as the soft chime began to slowly increase in volume. The locust-like call then shifted in pitch and sounded more like an unusual bell being played by some careless filly. Whatever it was, they didn't know what to make of it. They've never heard of anything like this before in their entire lives. The noise was so creepy and haunting, yet, at the same time, sounded bizarrely hypnotic, too. They couldn't understand what was happening or even comprehend where the noise was coming from. Was this the noise Rainbow Dash heard? It sounded so alien!

As phenomenal and terrifying as it was, they couldn't dare move, not even an inch. They were more terrified than amazed by it. Not once did they look away from the door as the bell-like calls rang out. Yet, they continued to rise in volume. Each one of them felt like if they moved that risky inch, all unknowingly or knowingly thinking the same thing, whatever made the chilling noise would go after one, or all, of them. They didn't want to risk that chance.

They stood their ground. Fight or flight mode was cranked to eleven. Hearted raced and nerves twisted. They anticipated, nervous to even think what was gonna happen next.

'Bidibidi-bidi-bidibidi' was all they heard as it grew louder and closer to them. It was obviously clear that something was out there and it was approaching the cottage. Approaching them! Whatever was out there making that sound, the ponies couldn't shake the feeling that they were being stalked. Over and over they kept their attention on the noise, but as they listened it almost sounded like it was coordinated like there was more than one. If that was the case, then the situation grew more and more disturbing and unsettling.

But one had to risk it and whisper to Rainbow Dash, "W-Was that the noise you heard before?" Fluttershy asked, shaking like a panicked puppy while everyone else stood like statues, eyes glued to the door, the windows, and the doorknob to see if it would turn.

The noise arrived and the ponies tensed in anticipation and fear, but strangely, and miraculously, it seemed like it crawled above their heads on top of the ceiling before it suddenly went quiet; like the noise just turned off in a quick snap. Remembering what Fluttershy asked, Rainbow Dash hesitated to talk to her, thinking she'd start the whole noise back up if she even muttered a word and she would cause a mass panic among her friends. But, she jumped the gun and nervously responded before gulping down a pocket of air down her throat, alarms were going off in her head and her tough act was null and void, "Y-yes, that’s it. That’s the noise I heard --"

BOOM!

As if they've forgotten all about the storm, the storm came back with a harsh reminder and woke the girls up with a flash of powerful lightning that crashed a few feet away from the cottage and the shockwave firmly rattled the foundations. The ground exploded from impact and the loud sound from it startled the girls into screaming in pure terror and instinctively gathered around in a group hug in the middle of the cottage -- each one shook like maracas. And Fluttershy’s poor animal friends screamed in their own cries and some hid even deeper in their hiding spots, shaking like leaves or covering both their eyes and their ears. All of them were praying for it to be over. But, it was far from over. The storm let loose another cascade of lightning that flashed all around the cottage. Each strike they heard caused them stress and panic. One after another, they heard more explosive sounds orchestrating like they had specific spots to hit; they didn't sound random.

Each strike from the lightning grew more violent with every second. Twilight tried to conjure a shield to protect the cottage and her friends, but the outbursts outside disrupted her concentration. She was too scared to use her magic and she was not alone. Her friends were equally as terrified and could not muster the nerve to move from their spot. Were these lightning bolts coordinated? It wasn't possible!

The cottage rattled with each blast from the explosion, but it baffled Twilight when she realized the cottage was still intact. How? It didn't make any sense! Then she heard the bell-like noise again, but this time it sounded more like... laughter? Cackling bells? She tried to move, but another lightning bolt caused her to panic and she and her friends soon screamed out in fear and plead, begging for this hellish storm to stop.

The rushing winds, the blinding lightning, the explosive rounds, they want it all to stop. Make it stop!

A couple more lightning rounds struck the area around the cottage, blasting the ground and caused the ponies to scream, again. Was a bolt gonna crash through the cottage next? They didn't want to find out as the winds grew stronger outside but not strong enough to uplift the cottage. However, the rushing winds didn't let up at all as they began to sound like the roars of Windigos. Thankfully, there weren't any outside, but it didn't stop the cottage from rocking and nearly knocking decorations and furniture down and it sure as hell didn't stop the ponies from panicking.

Was someone getting a sick kick out of torturing them like this? Were they deliberately missing the cottage? No one knew. They just wanted this torture to end.

Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie began to cry, pleading for the storm to cease. They've had enough!

Outside, lightning struck one spot after another, striking a few trees and tearing them like paper. The trees fell and crashed to the ground. Some knocked over other trees like dominoes. Few fires started but they didn't spread across the environment. Others split in half, yet remained standing. Again and again, they struck, hitting one target after another. Birds who couldn’t make it to the cottage were forced to quickly abandon their nests to find a near den or a way inside to the cottage because every tree that was being struck either snapped apart or was uprooted. A lone grizzly bear was unfortunately caught in the storm as it tried to find shelter but sadly fell victim to one half of a falling tree, roaring out desperately for help as half of the tree fell on it. Another lightning bolt struck right in front of the cottage and exploded a small creek under the bridge, taking the bridge with it.

It felt like forever. But Rainbow Dash, Twilight, and Applejack noticed the hell-storm was starting to cease. They didn't know how long they've been bundled up together but they were relieved to hear the lightning slowly drift away. So now a silent, calm atmosphere took over, yet the sky was still miserably pitch black and eerie. Any lighting within the cottage was absolutely gone and all they could hear now were the fainted breaths of each other. Was there more on the way? They really hoped not.

Twilight acted smart and used her horn like a torch to light up the surrounding area so she could see, "Alright, who's not dead? Sound off."

"I'm alright, "Applejack replied first, a bit shaky but slowly regaining her bearings.”A bit shaken, but I’m still standin'."

"I'll be fine after I stop hearing this damn ringing in my ears," Rainbow Dash rubbed her ears. As if her own sonic rainboom didn't cause enough ear-ringing.

"Is it over?" Fluttershy asked, too frightened to even look up as she lay on the floor, face covered in her mane and arms.

"What, in the name of all things pure and sacred in Equestria, kind of storm was that?" Rarity asked as she struggled a bit to sit back up.

"And how are we still alive? I thought for sure a lightning bolt would hit us," Pinkie Pie wondered. She was just as shook as everyone else, but she was still clear-headed enough to wonder what just happened.

Pinkie Pie held a good question. Of all the explosions they heard, at least one should've brought this cottage down, but it still stood. Rainbow Dash, being the brave one of the group, stepped out from the huddle and hesitantly looked out the window to check if things were clear, though the darkness proved otherwise.

"Ugh, damn it. It's still --," but the darkness started to fade just a little. And she could see the fires light up to show what the carnage had done. "Err, was dark out." It didn't take long for her to notice the darkness was... moving? As if something flew over them.

"What do you see out there, Rainbow Dash?" Twilight asked as she walked up to her to look. She didn't like what she saw and wished she stayed back.

Though she was still shaken from that whole onslaught, Fluttershy stood back up and walked over to the back door. If no one was gonna look outside, then she would. Twilight quickly noticed and stood beside her; she desperately shook her head, begging her to not go outside. But she had to. She had to see what was damaged and she had to know if her other animal friends were alright. She opened the door and peeked outside…

…Only to gasp in sheer shock as she saw a heartbreaking and grotesque sight. She fully swung the door open and flew outside, causing her friends to panic and yell out her name as they went after her.

But as they followed her, they were introduced to the same horror scene Fluttershy saw.

The forest was almost completely destroyed. There were large gaping spots or mangled spots between trees where one should've been but were uprooted so badly that it resembled an open wound. Bits of fire scattered in random places, but thankfully it didn't spread to make things worse. The grass beneath their hooves was charcoal black and the air smelt of burnt wood and fauna that some of the mares couldn't help but let out a quick sneeze. Even the sky was still coated in that awful cloud, but at least they didn't catch sight of any more lightning. Of all the destruction they've seen in their lives, they've never seen anything like this. They were surprised that they didn't hear --

Fluttershy screamed bloody murder near them.

-- There it was.

The other mares couldn't have any more time to process the destruction before them as they quickly rushed over to meet Fluttershy who sat there as pale as a ghost looking down at the bodies of what used to be a couple of her bird friends, who unfortunately fell victim to the strong winds and the lightning – just a few feet away from making it to her home before they were claimed.

"H-Hummingway, Melody," Fluttershy said in soft sorrow. She placed a hoof on her chest and noticed her chicken coop was all but obliterated, nothing but rubble, broken eggshells, and scattered feathers, "Elizabeak, Clucker, Blitz," a tear ran down her cheek. All her chicken friends, the hatchlings, their unhatched eggs; they were gone. They were all… gone. She tried so hard to keep it together but a low, pained, groan near her and her friends bellowed.

She looked over. Her eyes widened as big as dinner plates from what she just saw and the emotional thread snapped, "No!" she cried out as she rushed like a bullet over to the source of the pained call.

Her friends watched but quickly tried to follow her. Fluttershy dashed over a good distance away from her cottage but her friends noticed her come to a halt near one half of a collapsed tree. They tried to make sense of what Fluttershy saw that made her come over here, but their answer came in the form and sound of a female grizzly bear whimpering and trying desperately to cling to any life she still had. Half the tree was over her body and it crushed her lower spine. She was in bad condition and trying to move her was not gonna be an option. Fluttershy's lips quivered as she held her arms over her head in a state of panic. She tried so hard not to cry but her friend was dying in front of her and she didn't know what to do. Tears ran down her cheeks as she heard the pained whimpers of her grizzly friend. It wasn't Harry, but... "G-Grace... No, p-please. Hang in there. I-I’m here… you’re going to be okay, now…" Fluttershy reached out and held Grace's claw, pleading her to hang in there, before hearing her breaths become shorter and quicker.

"Sweet Celestia…" Rarity softly said as she covered her mouth with her hoof, shocked to see such a horrible sight.

Twilight walked up and stood next to Fluttershy. She knew her friend wasn't gonna make it, but she'll be damned if her friend went out under a dead tree. She looked at the burning tree with sharp focus and kicked her magic on, horn igniting with a purple aura.

Fluttershy looked at Twilight, confused, but the purple aura around the tree quickly fixed that as Twilight easily lifted the tree off the injured bear and placed it a couple of feet away. Twilight panted a little from putting in that effort, but even if that was an easy fix it was still a heavy lift.

Fluttershy looked at Twilight with teary eyes then looked back to Grace. Twilight saved her the ache of trying to get that tree away -- she'll thank her later. Fluttershy kept Grace's paw in her hold as she focused on her but Grace was no better than she already was. The bear whimpered and breathed out exhausted, pained, short, grumbly breaths. Her lower spine was broken and one of her lungs collapsed. But the grizzly kept one eye on her dearest friend, knowing she wasn't gonna go alone. At least she'll go knowing someone dear to her and cherished was by her side. If only her mate and cub were here for her, wherever they are. Grace let out a whimpering groan to Fluttershy, pleading to her beloved friend.

Fluttershy's ears perked, "Harry?" that's right. Harry must still be around. He must be hiding with his cub. Grace must've been separated from her family for this to happen. By the gods, she wished she could fix this, but what Grace told her, "Yes, I'll make sure he knows," Harry and his cub were not gonna go without hearing Grace's message.

Her request taken, Grace used up the energy she had left to give one last thankful, loving snout nuzzle to Fluttershy before laying her head down after a wheezing breath escaped her jaws while she closed her eyes. Her final breath.

Fluttershy looked down at her fallen friend and placed her paw down next to her head. Her lips quivered again and she sobbed out loud in front of her friends. Some of her animal friends were killed and she was left grieving. What sick monster would do this? They didn't deserve to die! Fluttershy was heartbroken and in pain. The only thing she had left was to find Harry and tell him... about this.

Neither of her friends said anything, but they felt so bad for Fluttershy. Applejack took it upon herself to go over and sat next to Fluttershy placing a caring hoof on her back. Fluttershy snapped out of her grieving stupor and looked over to the southern mare. Just like all friends who needed it, Fluttershy hugged Applejack, heavily bawling in her fur. Applejack sighed softly and hugged her sorrow-filled friend close patting her back as she let her let it all out.

Rainbow Dash scanned the rest of the forest. Some animals have survived the storm but they were just as scared as the ones in Fluttershy's cottage. She looked at the destruction around her and tried to make of what they just went through, "No cloud can do this to a forest in seconds," she muttered to herself. This was not a thunderhead. What she saw before -- something was controlling it. Something big. And it caused all this destruction. Rainbow Dash looked at Twilight with a serious tone, "Twilight?"

Twilight gazed over to Rainbow Dash, thinking she might be thinking the same thing, "If this is not a cloud, then what exactly are we dealing with, Rainbow Dash?" Twilight asked before the cackles started back up again. Lucky for them, it sounded like it was moving away. But that never gave them any form of relief.

The ponies look up to see the sky-covering black cloud floating above their heads and drifting to target. They were right to keep their guard up as they watched the cackling cloud head straight to Ponyville.

"I don't know what the hell that thing is, Twilight, but we have to warn everyone in Ponyville." She pointed to the small town. "If that cloud makes it over to Ponyville, it could cause more damage than it already has here." And the damage was already brutal enough.

"Hey, Fluttershy," Applejack said to her in a calming tone. "I know you're grieving, but your friend wanted you to pull through." Applejack never spoke bear, so she had to play it safe with what she was saying. If they were going to Ponyville, they needed everyone to join. Fluttershy pulled her face out of Applejack's fur and looked back at Grace's corpse for a moment. Grace’s message repeating itself in her mind; she couldn’t leave without passing it on to Grace’s mate.

"Please," Fluttershy said in somber tone. "Just let me find Harry, first. He needs to know what happened. I'll catch up later."

Twilight, Applejack, and the others did not object to Fluttershy's demand. If she had to do it for her fallen friend, why stop her?

Fluttershy backed up and left the other mares behind to go find Harry and his cub. As she flew away, her friends talked amongst themselves.

Twilight nodded, "I can teleport us to Ponyville. It'll be faster than just going by hoof." That was a smart idea. If they go by hoof, the storm will beat them to Ponyville and they’ll be too late to warn them.

"What about Fluttershy?" Rarity asked, concerned if they were leaving their friend behind.

Yeah, no, that was not gonna happen on her watch, "Don't worry, I'll come back and get her when she finds Harry, but for now -- " she pointed to the cloud above " -- we gotta go to Ponyville, tell everyone of this dangerous storm and hopefully evacuate them to somewhere safer, or lead them to shelters.”

"Well, we can't do that if we just stand here. Let's go!" Rainbow Dash said, impatiently. Lives were at stake here and they were in no position to diddle around.

Twilight nodded and with a charge of her magic, she cast a spell that sent her and her friends to Ponyville.

Comments

[Super-Brony12]

Holy shit!

Things are going from bad to worse.

I look forward to the next chapter due to suspense.

~ Super-Brony12

[Sadora5459]

Well...every pony is royally fucked!