Several Years ago

In the depth of some dark tunnels, a young Shade Stalker was sneaking through the corridors, trying to be quiet. He’s tired and was getting hungry. He ate his last ration almost twelve hours ago and didn’t have anything else to eat.

As Shade was walking through the tunnels, he heard something snarling to his left. He barely had time to dodge a larger shadowy figure trying to claw him. Shade brought out his hunting knife as he faced off with the figure, the two stared down at each other for a brief moment before the figure pounced at the young hunter. But Shade managed to once again dodge out of the way in time and managed to stab his assailant in the leg.

The figure lets out a painful, feminine wail before turning to the young boy. Despite being unable to see the figure well in the dark, Shade could notice the figure staring at him with a deep burning hatred in their eyes.

Present

The sun climbed high into the sky. Its rays of light shines down across the ocean, washing over the island of Dr. Grogar.

Eventually, the light finds its way into the window of the hut Spike and the She-Beasts were sleeping. The first one to wake up was Applejack.

The wolf-woman got up to let out a yawn, stretching her back and arms out. She looked down to see her fellow She-Beasts and Spike were still asleep in each other’s embrace.

Applejack was aglow at the adorable sight before her. But knowing that all good things must come to an end, she proceeded to wake everyone up.

“Up and at ‘em y’all!” Applejack barked, stirring them all awake.

“AJ, if we needed a wake up call, then we would’ve ordered for one,” Rainbow Dash grumbled.

“Now, Dash. As the old same goes: the early bird gets the worm,” Applejack quipped playfully.

“EW!” Rainbow stuck her tongue out. “Just because Grogar made me a bird, doesn’t mean I have to eat like one!”

“Still,” Twilight began, while yawning. “Applejack’s right. We need to begin the day. We cannot waste another minute, or so. I’m going to get back on charting our plan to get off the island.”

“How are you going to do that?” Spike asked. “All our supplies, map, and everything we salvaged from Newt’s shipwreck were destroyed, when Shade Stalker attacked the camp.”

“Not all of them,” Twilight held up a familiar map that is barely put together, smudged with dirt and mud. “I was able to save this map.”

“And I’ve got the handy, dandy compass!” Pinkie Pie chirped.

“Which leaves us a huge mode of transportation to carry all of us off the island,” Sunset stated.

“And a supply of food and water to last us the journey,” Applejack added. “So me, Pinkie, and Rainbow are gonna search this area for some food.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Twilight nodded. “Me and Sunset are going to work on charting our route back to the mainland.”

“Hey, Applejack?” Rainbow Dash asked the wolf-woman. “Would it be alright if we stop by the old campsite? I wanna have another look for something important.”

“Sure thing, Dash,” Applejack agreed.

With that, five of the seven She-Beasts left the hut, leaving Spike alone with Rarity, Fluttershy, and Fleur.

“So…” Spike began. “What should we do now?”

As if answering his question, Fleur crawled up to Spike and resumed purring and caressing herself around his legs.

“I think I should work on…re-educating Miss Fleur with some proper…etiquette,” Rarity suggested, as she lead Fleur away.

“Well, at least that gets her off my back,” Spike sighed, before he turned to see Fluttershy was still in the room. “What about you, Fluttershy? What’s your plan for the day?”

“I’m…I was hoping I might get to know the villagers more,” Fluttershy said, clearly referring to the Reverse-Hybrids. “The poor animals, they went through so much. The least I want to do is to help them see that we can be trusted.”

Spike nodded in agreement, before he asked, “Well…do you think I can join you then? I’ve…worked on some rescued animals, back in Montana.”

“I would love it, very much, Spike!” Fluttershy squeaked in approval.

Several Years Ago

The figure then charged at Shade which made the young boy run for dear life. Little did the figure know however, was that Shade was luring it to a trap.

After almost three minutes of running, Shade noticed a pile of dead leaves up ahead and jumped over them when he got closer.

Unfortunately for the figure, they didn’t and instantly fell down a pitfall when the leaves gave way and got impaled by the sharp rocks below.

Present

Spike and Fluttershy were walking into the center of the village, where Fluttershy rang a bell.

“Wake up everyone!” Fluttershy called. “It’s time for breakfast!”

With that, Reverse-Hybrids in the village woke up and came over, answering the call.

“Uh, Fluttershy?” Spike asked. “What exactly is for breakfast?”

“Oh, we all kept our food in storage,” Fluttershy answered. “They’re right over there.”

Unsure of the blind bat’s direction, Spike wasn’t sure of which of the hut Fluttershy was pointing at. Still, wanting to be sure, he walked over to a hut with a red door.

“You mean this storage?” Spike asked.

“I…I think so,” Spike watched as Fluttershy sniffed the air, while blindly navigating her way towards him. “Spike? Where are you?”

“I’m over here!” Spike called, guiding Fluttershy with his voice. “Warmer, warmer, warmer still. Now you’re cooling. Warmer again. That’s it! You’re getting hot. Hotter, hotter. OMIGOSH! You’re on fire!”

“What?! Really?!” Fluttershy shrieked in fear.

“No, no, it’s just an expression,” Spike reassured. “But seriously, you’ve found me!”

“Oh, I was worried for a minute there,” Fluttershy sighed, before she sniffed at the door and confirmed, “Uh huh. This is the food supply.”

Turning the door open, Spike and Fluttershy stepped in to find a whole stack load bags of food for herbivores and carnivores.

Spike went over to pick up the food for Leggy and Kirin, while Fluttershy went over and picked up a bag, meant to feed carnivores, such as Loona, Beatrice, and Marina.

While picking up the foods, Spike started a conversation.

“I know my bats,” Spike pondered, scratching his chin. “But are you sure your species is a fruit bat? Because fruit bats are one of the known bats that do not use echolocation and rely on their keen eyesights to search for food.”

“My thoughts exactly,” Fluttershy nodded, looking at Spike. “I don’t understand why I’m blind. Or what that awful Grogar did to me. But…I am what I am now…”

“Well, hopefully, when this is all over, and if it’s possible, maybe there’s a cure for you in this condition.”

“I hope so. I missed seeing my friends. I feel like I’m trapped in the darkness. And I’m scared of the dark…”

Spike was carrying one of the bags up, when he happened to trip and fell on the ground.

“WHOA!”

“Spike?!” Fluttershy exclaimed, upon hearing his cry. “Spike? Are you-AHHHH!!!”

Before Spike knew it, Fluttershy ended up falling on him. The young man felt a pair of soft, large, hard mounds pressing onto his back, with the fluffy hair of the Woman-Bat’s ruff brushing against the back of his neck.

“Spike?” Fluttershy can be heard calling above him. “Spike? Where are you? Are you alright?”

“You’re…squashing…me!” Spike muffled.

“Oh! Oh dear goodness!” Fluttershy frantically stood up to help Spike up. “I’m sorry, Spike!”

“That’s okay…” Spike dusted himself off. “What did I trip over?”

He looked down to see what appeared to be the latch of a trap door, covered in dirt and grasses.

“What’s this?” Spike asked, taking ahold of the latch and pulling it open.

To Spike’s astonishment, the secret passageway reveals a hidden bunker, beneath the hut, to reveal an entire warehouse packed with supplies of canned foods, medicines, bottled waters, film rolls, and a film projector.

“What’s all this?” Spike asked.

“What is it, Spike?” Fluttershy asked.

“There’s a whole crate of supplies down here,” Spike described to the woman-bat. “There’s food, medicine, and…film rolls here? What the hell is all this doing down here?”

At that moment, the sound of an alarm blared, to which Spike looked down, to see he had tripped on a laser tripwire, triggering the said alarm.

“Uh oh, Fluttershy,” Spike began. “I’m afraid I’ve activated a trap and…we’re about to die.”

“Oh! Oh dear goodness!” Fluttershy squeaked, frantically flapping her wings to get airborne. “We must escape this place!”

Spike and Fluttershy were about to climb out and escape, when they were suddenly piled on, by the sudden arrival of the Reverse-Hybrids, Rarity, and Fleur. They all landed on the floor with a hard thud.

“Oof!”

“Hey! What gives?” Spike asked, as he got up, and got his answers upon seeing the Reverse-Hybrids, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Fleur, behaving rather feral.

Loona was chasing her tail, barking, and biting like a savage dog. Marina was squirming and wriggling like a fish out of water. Beatrice was hissing, snarling, and snapping her jaws repeatedly at nothing.

Fleur was arching her back, hissing and clawing her hands out, with Rarity snarling and slashing her claws out in retaliation. Lastly, Leggy was on all four, kicking her thick legs out, and bleating wildly.

“What’s gotten into you girls?” Spike asked, before he got smacked in the face by Fluttershy.

Spike looked up to see Fluttershy, beating her wings, while screeching at the top of her lungs, like a scared bat that was startled awake.

“Not you too, Fluttershy…” Spike moaned, clutching his smarten jaw.

The young man looked to the side and spotted a button, labeled for the alarm, contained in a glass case. Walking over, Spike pulled the case up, and slammed on the button.

After a moment, the alarm stopped, and all the girls present ceased their antics.

“Are you alright?” Spike asked.

Marina tried to say something, but once again, it sounded rather alien and gibberish. Fluttershy, however, confirmed her condition.

“I’m terribly sorry, Spike,” Fluttershy apologized. “I…don’t know what came over me! One moment, I was fine. But then, I felt…I felt…I don’t know what happened…”

“My apologies as well, darling,” Rarity moaned. “I don’t know just what came over me…”

“You don’t remember hitting me with your wings?” Spike asked.

“I hit you?!” The woman-bat exclaimed in worry. “Oh dear goodness! Are you alright? You’re not bleeding, are you?”

“I’ll live…”

Before the conversation could continue, the machines came to life again. Spike and the girls present, beside Fluttershy, watched as a holographic recording was projected, displaying an image of Dr. Grogar, bound in his wheelchair, delivering a message.

“Greetings, my beloved creations,” The recording played, to which Spike noticed the Reverse-Hybrids, Rarity, and Fleur, growling angrily, in response.

“Dr. Grogar!” Spike muttered.

“If you are seeing this message, then I congratulate you for advancing to the next level of your evolution,” The mad doctor congratulated. “By proving yourselves resourceful in your survival and for living off the land, then you are now ready to begin your education.”

Spike watched as the hologram image of Dr. Grogar walked over to the other crates in the room and addressed.

“Inside these crates, you will find books, tapes, and records of humanity’s greatest wisdom, with which you can use to begin your education. And very soon, when you have all attained all the knowledge of mankind’s greatest accomplishments, only then will you all be my greatest creations! My children for a new era, of man and beast, together as one glorious evolution.”

With that, the holographic transmission ends, leaving Spike and the girls in the room, stunned at the message.

“So this whole village and everything was just some kind of simulation for him to test these poor animals then?” Fluttershy asked, with a hint of disdain in her tone.

“Sounds like it,” Spike replied. “Live off the land? Resources? Education? Humanity’s greatest accomplishments? This is bullshit!”

“They’re just animals,” Spike gestured to the Reverse-Hybrids. “And…and the rest of you are…are…”

“Women?” Fluttershy guessed.

“People!” Spike exclaimed. “There are rules! Limits! Some big quid pro quo for these kinds of things! No one should be playing God, like this!”

“My thoughts exactly!” Fluttershy screeched, with Fleur copying the woman-bat’s gesture, while Rarity nodded in agreement. “That Dr. Grogar is nothing but a horrible man! He kidnaps innocent people and animals, and then subjects them to horrible and painful experiments that forced them to change against their will!”

Fluttershy broke down in tears, covering her eyes with her wings. Spike could only step back and watch the woman-bat sobbing.

He felt himself gut-wrenched with a pang of guilt and sorrow. This was another show for him to see that despite her animalistic appearance, Fluttershy is still human, on the inside.

A fragile, traumatized, innocent woman who had endured so much, from the experiment performed on her. Spike would hate to imagine what trauma and torture the experiments dealt to her was like. How painful they were. But judging from Fluttershy’s tearful breakdown, he can guess that the process was very painful.

“Oh, there, there, darling!” Rarity shushed as she gently tried to console her distracted friend.

Taken over by instinct, Spike walked over to Fluttershy and threw his arms around her for a hug.

“S-S-Spike?” Fluttershy hiccuped, stuttering, and choking on her tears.

Spike didn’t reply. He doesn’t know what he was doing either. He just felt a sudden urge to comfort the crying woman-bat. Spike pulled Fluttershy close, smothering himself into her ruff, which felt soft and surprisingly pleasant to the touch. So soft, he could melt into the softness of her furry mane.

He gently stroked her along the neck and back, soothing her, with another pet along her ear as an added measure.

Continuing his hug, Spike could feel Fluttershy’s chest, with every heaving breath she makes, coming to a calm steady pace.

“Feeling better?” Spike asked.

“Yeah…much better,” Fluttershy replied, before she hugged him with her own. “Thank you, Spike! I really needed that!”

“…Yeah…no…problem…” Spike groaned from the woman-bay’s bear gripping hug, he felt his face burning red, as he struggles to breathe.

Furthermore, Fluttershy’s hug was so tight, he felt some joints in his back, shoulders, arms, and legs, popping.

Thankfully, it lasted for a few seconds. Once released, Spike fell to the ground, gasping for air to catch his breath. He looked up to see Leggy having a doting look in her eyes, similar to those a person would make when they see something cute.

Not too far away, Marina seemed rather annoyed, Bea looked rather indifferent, while Loona appeared to be stifling a laugh, letting out a wheezy chuckle, sounding almost like Muttley from Dastardly and Muttley in their Flying Machines.

Lastly, Rarity simply smiled in admiration of Spike’s gesture for Fluttershy.

He looked and realized that Fleur was nowhere in sight.

“Hey…where’s Fleur?”

Spike got his answer, when the feral woman pounced on him, from behind, and pulled him in for an even tighter hug.

“Oh no, not again!” Spike wheezed. “Uh, Fleur? Fleur! Let go, let go, LET GO! HELP!”

Thankfully, for Spike, help did came, in the form of Marina and Rarity.

Marina sprang into action, wrapping her tentacle hairs around Fleur, prying the feral woman off. Rarity then pulled Fleur to the side and held her in place, like a parent restraining their excited children.

“Thanks Marina!” Spike thanked, to which the cephalopod-turned-humanoid answered in gibberish.

Turning his attention back at the items in the room, Spike pondered, “For education, huh?”

Meanwhile, at the ruins of their old camp, Rainbow Dash was frantically digging through the rubbles until she found what she was looking for. A photo of herself and the young girl bound to a wheelchair.

“Scootaloo,” Rainbow Dash croaked.

The falcon-woman sheds a tear, which cascades down her cheek, following the “tear” stained, on her face.

She looked across the horizon, where the sky and the sea meet. Somewhere, far away, is the mainland, where the little girl in the photo was waiting for her.

With each passing day, Rainbow Dash knew she has very little time left, before she and her fellow She-Beasts fully succumb to their inner beasts, lose their humanity entirely, and with it, any thoughts of their friends and families.

“Scootaloo…please stay strong for just a little longer for me, squirt,” Rainbow pleaded.

“Rainbow!” Applejack howled from a distance. “Ya ready? We’re heading back.”

“Yeah. I’m coming,” Rainbow called, tucking the photo away, and flapping her wings, to rendezvous with Applejack and Pinkie Pie.

“So, what you gals got?” Rainbow asked.

“I caught ourselves a nice plump wild turkey,” Applejack said, holding up the fowl.

“And I’ve got fruits for a fruit salad! Yummy yummy!” Pinkie Pie cheered.

“Great! Then let’s go,” Rainbow squawked as they walked back to the village.

On the way, Rainbow Dash struck up conversation, “Do you think we’ll ever get off this island?”

“We will Sugarcube,” Applejack replied. “We have to. Twilight’s working on it, nonstop. Give her time.”

“Something we don’t have…” Rainbow Dash muttered.

Along the way, Rainbow Dash’s eyes suddenly zoomed in on some movements, coming from the brushes. Hidden beneath the shades of the foliage, her eyes caught sight of a field mouse. The mouse was eating on a piece of nut, completely unaware of the approaching danger.

The falcon-woman’s stomachs grumbled. Her eyes fixated on the mouse, with her beak practically drooling with hunger. She raised her wings up and lunged—

“RAINBOW!” Applejack barked, startling Rainbow Dash back to her senses. “What are ya doing? Ya okay?”

Rainbow Dash looked back to where the mouse was, to see it had scurried away. It was likely alarmed by Applejack’s bark.

“I’m fine…” Rainbow Dash grumbled under her breath, “For now.”

Meanwhile, back in the village, Spike, Fluttershy, and Rarity were having some difficulty trying to teach the Reverse-Hybrids.

“Okay. Let’s try this again,” Spike sighed. “Repeat after me. A B C D—Fleur! Pay attention! Bea! Spit out that weed! Loona, stop staring at Leggy—No! Bad dog!”

It was no use. The Reverse-Hybrids weren’t taking any orders and they continued to make a lot of trouble.

“Ugh. Let’s try something else…” Spike pinched his temples.

“Perhaps I could try and give it a go,” Rarity insisted as she walked over to a blackboard. “If I can teach a parrot to sing God Save the Queen. Then I can teach these creatures a thing or two.”

Spike watched in amazement as Rarity draw a perfect drawing of an apple, like a real artist would.

“Wow! You can draw!” Spike commented in amazement.”

“Apple,” Rarity presented to the “class.”

“Apple,” Fleur repeated.

“I think she’s got it!” Fluttershy squeaked excitedly.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to last, when Fleur took the chalk and proceeded to scribble all over the board, all the while repeating: “Apple!”

“Or maybe not,” Spike shook his head.

“No! No, no, no!” Rarity scolded.

“No! No, no, no!” Fleur repeated.

It wasn’t long before both feral woman and snow leopard-woman got into a petty squabble cat fight.

“Hey! Break it, break it up!” Spike tried to stop the tension, but was pulled into the fray, with Fleur and Rarity tugging him by the arms.

“What is going ON HERR?!” Shouted a voice.

Everyone all turned and looked to see Twilight and Sunset, standing in the middle of the “class,” with the biggest bug-eyes look they could muster.

“Are we interrupting something?” Sunset asked.

“Hey!” Spike greeted. “A little help here? We’re trying to teach a class of Reverse-Hybrids and…”

“I think we could use some of your help with the teaching…” Fluttershy finished.

At that moment, Applejack’s group have returned.

“Howdy y’all!” Applejack greeted. “We’re here!”

“Whoa!” Rainbow Dash squawked. “Is class in session?”

“Ooh! Are we having a school party?!” Pinkie Pie asked.

Several Years Ago

After catching his breath, Shade walked over to his handmade trap and looked upon his dead attacker, tired and hungry but triumphant. However, he manages to take a better look at his assailant and is shocked to see that it turned out to be one of the jungle women.

“Well done, Shade!” Dr. Grogar said through the speakers within the tunnels, his voice echoing around the corridors. “You have proven that you are willing to kill to survive. However, you are not finished with your task just yet as you have one last objective.”

Shade was both confused and frustrated. He was tired, sore, and most of all hungry. What more could his father want!

“You must eat your recent kill.” Grogar explained to him.

Shade’s eyes widened at this. His father seriously wanted him to eat a human being! Sure she was a former She-Beast and also tried to kill him but still.

As if sensing Shade’s hesitation, Grogar then added, “Either you eat your kill or you can stay down there and starve. The choice is yours.” The cold-hearted doctor then ended the transmission.

Shade looked over to the corpse, unsure what to do. His stomach was growling in pain, demanding him to eat. Mouth drooling and tears streaming down, Shade didn’t seem to have much of a choice…

Present

Strangers Like Me — Phil Collin

With the film projector playing, Spike inserted a film roll, which begins the first set of motion pictures.

Fleur-de-Lis and the Reverse-Hybrids watch in awe as the projector shows a video of animals living in Africa. A herd of giraffes walking across the safari, a whole of elephants marching, with a baby elephant cuddling under its mother’s trunk.

Fleur curiously crawled up to the screen, running her hand across a video of a beautiful bird. She was fascinated at how such image could move, yet cannot be touched.

The She-Beasts exchanged chuckles, while the Reverse-Hybrids all shared mixed reactions. Leggy was starry-eyes, Bea appeared to be awake, Marina simply watched as if this wasn’t the first time she’s seen the videos, while Loona seemed only mildly surprised.

When Spike played the next film roll, it projected a video of a couple dancing. Getting the idea from the video, Fleur took Spike by the hands, and dances excitedly around the room.

Spike was taken by surprised at how strong the woman is, as she leads him through the dance. She was so strong, he felt his arms were almost ripped from their joints.

Spike pleaded to the others for help. Fluttershy was out of the question, because of her blindness. Rainbow Dash simply shrugged and shook her head impishly, with Applejack saying that Spike’s on his own, with Sunset in agreement. Pinkie Pie was clapping her hands along with Spike and Fleur’s dance. Twilight Sparkle could only giggle, with Rarity looking mildly annoyed for some reason.

Rarity had this pouting look that slightly resembles a spoiled child being refused.

Leggy was busy coddling Kirin in her laps. Bea looked indifferent. Loona seemed rather bored to care. Only Marina sprang into action to try and break up the moment between Spike and Fleur.

In the process, one of Marina’s tentacles happened to brush against the film projector’s buttons, switching to another moving picture.

This time, it showed a recorded video of outer space, from a space station orbiting the earth. All the girls in the tent immediately perked up, with rejuvenating interests upon seeing the stars and planets.

Getting an idea, later at night, Spike and Twilight took the Reverse-Hybrids and Fleur out to a clearing, close to the village.

The night sky was so clear and vibrant with the stars and the Milky Way, it looked as if the sky was painted, out of a work of art.

The group were standing atop of a hill, where they looked through a telescope that was among the many equipments found in the storage warehouse.

Twilight was the first to have a look, to make sure the telescope was properly adjusted. Then, she lets Spike have a look.

Needless to say, Spike was amazed and completely awestruck to see a close-up of a shooting star. It was his first time seeing such thing for what it really is. A ball of bioluminescence, flying across the empty vastness of the space, leaving behind a trail of space dusts.

After he’s had his share of fascination, Spike offered the telescope to Fleur and the Reverse-Hybrids.

Fleur had a look of wonderment and joy. The same kind that Spike had, seeing as this was also her first time seeing the shooting star up close. Not to mention seeing the planets, in the known galaxy, up close.

Soon after Fleur was done, one-by-one, each of the Reverse Hybrids all got their turns. And each of them looked fascinated at the stars and planets up close.

Leggy bleated in astonishment, before she picked up Kirin and encouraged him to have a look through the lenses. Bea’s eyes were widen so much, she looked as if she had just woken up from a nap to something spectacular. Marina had the biggest smile on her face, it was both cute and frightening. Lastly, Loona seemed to be taken in by the stars, with her wagging tail speaking for her.

The next day, Spike was teaching Fleur how to read and talk, which was a slow and steady process. The experiments have certainly done a number to Fleur’s mind, if Dr. Grogar had succeeded in reducing her intelligence to that of a child, with the clingy tendency of a cat.

Next, Spike and the girls were looking through the items Dr. Grogar had left, to find musical instruments, which included flutes, trumpets, and drums. Among them, surprisingly, is a disc machine. The kind used by DJs, or Disc Jockeys, to play record musics and to make record scratching sounds.

The She-Beasts got out a few of the instruments and proceeded to play a few notes.

Pinkie Pie was beating on some small drums, making some catchy beats, like the kind of tunes often heard at a poetry club. Though blind, once Fluttershy got ahold of some tambourines, the woman-bat was soon shaking the instrument, beating it against her hips, hands, making some ringing clinking tunes.

Rarity was strumming some tunes on the keys of a grand piano, in the warehouse. Lastly, Applejack was strumming her clawed fingers across the strings of a bass guitar.

“Whoo-wee! I still got it!” Applejack howled happily.

“Yippee for you,” Rainbow Dash grumbled, as she fumbled to play the strings of a guitar, correctly. “As much as I like to fly with my wings and all…THIS IS ONE OF THOSE TIMES I NEED HANDS!!!”

“Here, I can be your hands,” Sunset Shimmer offered, as she took the guitar and played a few impressive notes for demonstrations.

“Alright, Sunset!” Rainbow nodded in approval. “Though, if I still had my hands, I would’ve shredded the axe 20% cooler.”

“Hey. Beggars can’t be choosers.”

Spike was enchanted with excitement and fascination to hear the She-Beasts showing off some of their musical talent retained pre-transformation.

“You gals know your instruments,” Spike complimented. “Were you all in a band together, before?”

“For sure!” Rainbow Dash grinned, and boasted. “Back in high school, we were called The Rainbooms! You got me as the lead guitarist, Applejack on bass guitar, Rarity on keytar, Fluttershy as our songwriter with tambourine, Pinkie Pie; drummer, and last, but not least, Twilight and Sunset as our singers!”

“Interesting,” Spike commented.

At that moment, Spike and the She-Beasts were startled to hear the sound of a disc scratching.

They turned around to see it was Marina, who was playing around with the disc machine. Judging by the excited expression on her face, with a wide grin that is as wide as her eyes, she liked the sound it makes when it scratches the record needle.

One of the record songs in particular contains a record of Phil Collin’s song: Strangers Like Me.

Hearing this song, combined with the other She-Beasts’ musical talents gave Spike the idea to throw a dance party of sort.

Later that evening, after a quick rehearsal, Spike hosted a musical show, starring the Rainboom She-Beasts, plus Marina as the DJ, put on a show.

Doing like they had rehearsed, the She-Beasts sang together as they played their instruments. Spike and the girls on stage looked down at the crowd to see Fleur and the rest of the Reverse-Hybrids, moving their bodies, feeling the urge to dance along.

Fleur was the first to make a move, by shaking her hips to the side, even bouncing her rear up and down, just for the sake of shaking her tail.

Leggy was bouncing and swaying her head to the side, to the rhythm of the Rainboom’s song. She tapped her foot, to the beat, and gently bounced Kirin on her lap as they listened enjoy the music.

Bea was just nodding her head, while tapping her foot. But after a few more minutes into the song, she was on her feet, drumming the ground with he strong tail, and waving her arms about.

“Wow, what do you know?” Spike asked. “I guess music does calm the savage beast! No offense, of course,” He assured to the Rainbooms She-Beasts.

“None taken,” The She-Beasts replied.

Back in the crowd, Loona, who seemed aloof and reserved at first, looked around to make sure no one was watching. Then she started to shake her hips in her attempt to dance, but tripped. Unfortunately, for her, it didn’t go unnoticed.

Spike and the others saw her epic fail and laughed out loud, much to the dog’s beet red irritation.

Sometimes later, after they took a break for some fun, everyone resumed educating the Reverse-Hybrids. Specifically, the subject of communication was where they needed to learn.

It was a long and tiring process. During which, Spike felt some growing urges towards the She-Beasts.

No matter how flawed they may be, whatever gestures and expressions they make, it only fascinated him more, day by day. It was as if he was being drawn towards them, like a piece of metal towards a magnet. He was seeing how human they can be, despite their beastly appearances.

Twilight Sparkle is a pony-woman who loves to read, is calculating, and tends to go off on long rambles and lectures on facts and figures. However, when she sets her books down, she’s rather quirky, but is generally a nice creature.

Sunset Shimmer is a tiger-woman with a fiery personality. As strong and fearsome as any tigers could be, pass her intimidating appearance, she is as endearing as all the other She-Beasts. With her creative outlook on the world, and her protective instincts, it’s hard to believe anyone like her was a bully, from high school, or even before.

Pinkie Pie is a loose cannon, in a fun and loving sort of way. She’s eccentric, loud, and always upbeat, many people would wonder if she’s even human to begin with. But all the same, she means well and her intentions were pure, because all she ever wanted was to brighten up everyone’s days.

Rainbow Dash’s loyalty, combined with her avian transformation, is a living example of the old saying: “birds of a feather must stick together.”

Granted, while her bird genetic makeup is a from bird of prey, Rainbow Dash’s heart overrides the predatory biology that Dr. Grogar has engineered into her very being.

While it is admirable, only time will tell how long her willpower would last, before she turns feral. Until then, everyone who is a friend of Rainbow Dash is blessed to have a friend as loyal as her.

Applejack is strong and hardworking, but looks out for her fellow She-Beasts and Spike, as a family. She’s as strong and fearsome as the wolf she had been transformed into, but all the same, she looks out for everyone, like a wolf to its entire pack.

Like Rainbow Dash and Sunset Shimmer, who’ve been engineered by Dr. Grogar with predator DNAs, Applejack’s heart for family is working miracles. But for how long, no one knows.

Rarity, another She-Beast with predator DNA — specifically a snow leopard — is as beautiful and graceful as she is intimidating and, dramatically, haughty. Her coat is white and soft as marshmallow, with a thick tail that is even soft and fluffier than the rest of her body.

Personally, not wanting to admit it, fearing that Rarity and the other She-Beasts would take it the wrong way, Spike kept it to himself that he loved to snuggle up to Rarity, like a blanket and a pillow.

But all the same, Rarity is uncommonly generous. So it’s possible that she’s more than willing to let Spike snuggle with her now and then.

Lastly, Fluttershy is an uncommonly kind woman, as she is delicate and demure with the sweetest little voice. However, of all the She-Beasts, she is the most traumatized and hurt, because of Dr. Grogar’s induced blindness.

Seeing Fluttershy in such a state, to everyone, was like seeing a scared little child, in a mall, after losing their parents, in need of a hug.

Yet, despite her hinderance, her fears, and doubts, Fluttershy never stopped caring for her friends, and animals, including the Reverse-Hybrids. In Spike’s eyes, she is the bravest She-Beast than she is letting on.

These newfound feelings were all so new to Spike. He could hardly sleep a wink at night. Just being in one hut alone, at night, he just stayed awake, longing for the touch and the company of the girls. It scared him and excites him.

Three weeks have passed. By then, Spike and the She-Beasts have exhausted the educational resources that Dr. Grogar left behind for the Reverse-Hybrid.

“That’s it?” Spike asked. “That’s all of them?”

“Yup,” Sunset Shimmer confirmed, after another thorough look of the bunker. “Aside from the boxes of food and medicine, this place is empty.”

“We’ve gone just about all of the topics from math, reading, and science,” Twilight added. “I think now is the part where we test how much they have learned.”

“Well, let’s give ‘em a try y’all!” Applejack suggested, turning to the Reverse-Hybrids. “Howdy sugarcubes! Speak!”

The Reverse-Hybrids looked at Applejack, before they exchanged looks with each other.

“Can you talk?” Spike asked. “Do you understand?”

“I…understand…” Marina replied hesitantly.

Spike and the She-Beasts all gasped at their success.

“We did it!” Pinkie Pie cheered happily.

“Hallelujah! WE DID IT!!!” Spike cheered.

He was so excited, that he unexpectedly reached out for Twilight and kissed the pony-woman…ON THE LIPS!

“SPIKE?!!!” The rest of the She-Beasts, minus Fluttershy, exclaimed in surprise.

“Ew…” Bea muttered, nonchalantly.

Leggy quickly covered Kirin’s eyes, with Marina look incredibly outraged that if looks can kill, then anyone can easily die of fright.

“What’s going on?” Fluttershy asked.

In the blink of an eye, Spike snapped his eyes opened, coming back to his senses, struggling to process what he just did.

“Uh, I…I…I…I, um…” Spike’s stammered on his tongue, while Twilight looked beyond aghast.

“Apple cheese butter cake!” Marina said quickly. “I harmony mix whip apple pie!”

There was a moment of awkward silence.

“Or perhaps not…” Spike sighed.

“That’s just octopus talking for you,” A low, gruffly voice said fluently. “She’s trying to say she thanks you for your hard work….”

Everyone all stared in shock at the words spoken, and the owner.

“What?” Loona asked. “Don’t look surprised. You asked us to speak. Didn’t you?”

Meanwhile…

Shade instantly shot up awake, panting heavily and covered in cold sweat. He lets out a loud sigh, another memory of his “training”. This usually happens whenever he goes to sleep and he hates it. His father put him through some… rigorous training to make him as efficient and ruthless as possible.

Remembering the times when Grogar roped Shade up and had him whipped repeatedly to “harden his skin”, when he was forced to fight a boar-man that was three times his size and was beaten within an inch of his life, and had to run for his life from a large chimera beast.

Of course it wasn’t just him, his brother, Newt Chimera, received just as much of their father’s brutal exercises.

After their “training sessions” would come to an end, the two brothers would find comfort in each other and would often play games such as tag and hide & seek. They would also watch cartoons during the evenings, Shade was thankful that their father would let them use a TV.

Shade remembers watching this one show with Newt called Buster Beaver and Friendswhere it stars an anthropomorphic beaver who gets both himself and his friends into some wacky hijinks.

“S-S-Shade?” Speaking of whom…

Shade turns around and sees a cartoon beaver with a concerned look on its face approaching him. The beaver had light brown fur, sky blue eyes, a blue baseball cap, a blue Hawaiian shirt with green stripes over a white shirt with a symbol of a pizza on it. Pretty soon, other cartoon animals appeared as well such as a black sheep, a stallion, a mare, a pig, a goat, a fox, and an eagle.

”Sh-Sh-Shade…we know what you’re thinking, a-a-and you can’t deny it,” The beaver continued. “You don’t want to do this. Sooner, or later, you’re gonna have to c-c-c-confront your father about this!”

Shade remained silent. All he could do was watch Buster Beaver continuing to make some more talks.

“Remember when you were nine, and Newt was just a newborn then? You put yourself through hell and back again, just for his sake! After y-y-y-ya were tasked to hunt down the She-Beasts from C-C-Crystal Prep! And then ya fled and hid up in that tree! This is just like before.”

Again, Shade remained silent. Though his stoic expression softened to a neutral look that borders between angry and sadness.

“You can run and hide to hunt your prey. But you can’t run and hide from your problems forever! We’re your best pals, aren’t we? We’ll get your through this. We’re right behind you! You can do it!”

With that, all the cartoon animals all exchanged random agreements and encouragements for Shade.

Sighing once again, Shade just got up, grabbed his things and resumes his hunt. When Shade turned back to his cartoon friends, they were all gone, as if they weren't even there to begin with. In truth, his cartoon friends were right. He didn’t have to do this. He didn’t want to do this. But if he doesn’t do it, then Dr. Grogar will be displeased. And if his father and creator is displeased, then his brother, Newt, will have to answer for his failure.

For the very life of him, he wondered why they couldn’t have just been born normal? And have a normal life as humans?

Author's Note

The results from the Wheel of Smooches. Twilight’s the winner for this chapter.

Bea: 1
Rarity: 2
Twilight: 4
Fluttershy: 2
Pinkie Pie: 1
Marina: 1
Sunset: 2
Rainbow Dash: 1
Loona: 1

Twilight!!!

Where to kiss:

Mouth: 2
Ear: 1
Cheek: 1

THE MOUTH!!

Faithful readers, you know the drill. Let’s find ourselves another poor unfortunate soul to be smooched.

Who gets to be kissed?
https://wheeldecide.com/e.php?c1=Twilight+Sparkle&c2=Rainbow+Dash&c3=Applejack&c4=Fluttershy&c5=Rarity&c6=Pinkie+Pie&c7=Sunset+Shimmer&c8=Starlight+Glimmer&c9=Loona&c10=Leggy&c11=Marina&c12=Bea&c13=Fleur&t=Who+to+kiss%21&time=5

Where to kiss?
https://wheeldecide.com/e.php?c1=The+nose&c2=The+ear&c3=The+cheek&c4=The+mouth&t=Where+to+kiss%3F&time=5