Isle of She-Beasts

It was a clear sunny day on the island. The sort of day for hunters to go out and hunt for games. Or to survive another day. Another competition of life and death.

Competitors, such as Applejack and Rainbow Dash, would prefer games of strength and athleticism, to prove their worth, as humans.

But now that they are She-Beasts, they now compete in a matter of life and death. They now hunt for games to live, or die. They have been forced by Dr. Grogar to eat and survive.

On this day, Applejack and Rainbow Dash are once again on the hunt for food, and they brought Spike along for the trip.

Being genetically altered with the DNAs of a wolf and a falcon respectively, two of the fiercest carnivores of the animal kingdom, they’re on the hunt for meat.

Be it pig, goat, rabbits, or even a fish, they’re all so appetizing as they have been on the She-Beasts’ minds for the past concerning days. They’re becoming more and more animalistic, which Spike finds it concerning at an alarming rate.

At any moment, they could fully succumb to their inner beasts and completely lose their humanity. They might even be brain dead, or as feral as Fleur-de-Lis has become.

“See anything, Dash?” Applejack called up to the falcon-woman.

“Not so much than a mouse,” Rainbow screeched in response. “How about you? Ya smell anything?”

Applejack turned her snout up to the air again and sniffed the air, “Nothing fresher than a pig. And a live one at that...”

“Well let’s keep hunting! The others are starving,” The growling stomachs from the two girls spoke up. “And so are we…”

Not far behind, Spike was busy taking pictures of the surrounding florals of the island. Ever since he had gotten his camera back, courtesy of Starlight, the man had been taking pictures almost nonstop. But like the girls, he need sustenance and fast.

“Look! There’re some bananas, up there!” Spike pointed up at the top of a banana tree.

“We’re gonna need more than fruits, Spike,” Applejack called out. “Some of us meat eaters need some meat. Really big a juicy meat, and fast!”

“Speak for yourself,” Rainbow Dash retorted. “You’ve got the appetite of a full grown stallion.”

“How do ya like that?” Applejack scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Like yer any better. Remember back on the farm, during the Apple Cider Festival? Ya drank the whole barrel!”

“What can I say? Apple cider and me are destined to be together! So sue me!”

“I’d be glad to, when we’re home!”

“Hey, girls?” Spike called out. “Can you two like not go at each other’s throats? We still have to focus on hunting for food.”

The two She-Beasts exchanged looks, and silently agreed, knowing that Spike was right.

“Sorry, Spike,” Applejack apologized. “Sometimes, we tend to get a little too…competitive about these sort of things.”

“I can see that,” Spike replied. “Though, I could’ve sworn, you were both bickering at each other like a married couple.”

Spike looked up, just in time to see Rainbow Dash and Applejack immediately blushing a bright shade of red.

Seeing how uncomfortable they were, Spike coughed and changed the subject, “So…what’re we looking for today? Another fish-man? Maybe a Minotaur? A centaur? I understand we need to hunt something that would last us for a whole week, or so.”

“At this point, I don’t know anymore, Spike,” Applejack replied. “We could be hunting deers, goats, or even a whole herd of longhorns, if there are some. There’s just so many creatures on this island. And a whole lotta them aren’t humans, or even animals, anymore…”

“We just got to find something,” Spike said aloud, expressing his concern. “Now that Starlight Glimmer has joined the group. Not to mention Sunset Shimmer’s been acting feistier lately. She’s kinda freaking me out.”

“…And that’s different because?” Rainbow asked skeptically.

“Don’t get me wrong,” Spike replied. “I know you girls mean well and…I’ve gotten used to you. But hasn’t anybody noticed the way Sunset’s been…weird, lately? She was crawling on all fours more frequently than usual. She even looked at Twilight, Leggy, and even Starlight scary. And I mean scary hungry. And it’s not just her, either.”

“Hmmm, I‘be been noticing it too,” Applejack pondered. “I figured we might be…hungry. I know I’d behave scarier than a lion on an empty stomach…”

“All the more reason we should hunt now, then be eaten,” Rainbow Dash retorted. “And as long as we don’t run into that Shade Stalker again, the better. It’s a miracle that guy hasn’t found us by now…”

“You think maybe he’s given up?” Spike asked.

“Highly doubt it,” Rainbow replied. “But I’m not gonna stay out here long enough for him to find us. I'm gonna go ahead and get a bird's eye view from up there."

With a flap of her wings, Rainbow Dash took flight into the sky, leaving Spike behind with Applejack. The young man walked over to a nearby tree and sat down at the base, resting beneath the tree's shade. Spike held up his camera and looked through the wildlife photos he had taken with it.

"Howdy, Spike," Applejack softly barked, reminding the young man of her presence. "Mind if I sit down beside ya?"

"Not at all," Spike offered, patting a spot next to him, on the right.

At this point, Spike was more than tolerant of the wolf-woman and her fellow She-Beasts's presence. In fact, he has come to welcome them.

"It's a nice day, isn't it?" Applejack sighed. "It kinda reminds me of the days when my siblings and I would rest our heads against the trees at Sweet Apple Acres, after a hard day of work."

"Sounds nice," Spike replied. "You must really miss your home, don't you?"

"I do...quite an awful lot," Applejack hung her head solemnly low. "We all miss our homes and our families an awful lot. Which is why we're really anxious to get back home as soon as possible...but, at the same time..."

Applejack was hesitant to continue, to which Spike asked, "But what? At the same time what?"

"...Well, we wondered if we can ever belong again," Applejack finally answered. "We're all She-Beasts...this is who we are now... This is what we've become... This is what Dr. Grogar had made us. And jus' a little bit sooner, we'll all be humans again. Except we'll be as brain dead and loss of identity as Fleur has become. And even if we do manage to escape this awful island...there ain't no place for She-Beasts in the...in the civilized world. Who could ever love a bunch a beasts like us?"

Hearing this overwhelming heartfelt spiel from Applejack puts a heavy weight on Spike that tugged at his chest. For every words the wolf-woman has spoken were all too true. For any sensible humans, living a life, without an identity, sense of self, or purpose, is a fate worse than death. A lack of awareness.

Furthermore, even if they can get off the island, before they became human again, they would still be She-Beasts, and be regarded by the public as neither humans, nor animals, but abominations of nature. Products of a twisted science tampering with the laws of nature, reality, and evolution.

For a moment, Spike experienced a brief flashback to when he first met the She-Beasts, and how he reacted poorly at their first interactions. This brought a newfound guilt on the young man's conscience. If he were to bring the girls back home with him, then would the public react just as badly as he did, upon meeting the girls for the first time? And what of their families? Or their friends? How would they react upon learning their beloveds have become She-Beasts?

"Anyway, I'm sorry for bringing this up on ya, out of the blue, Sugarcube," Applejack apologized. "I don't mean to burden ya with this...this trouble of mine...of ours, I mean..."

"It's no burden," Spike replied. "If anything...I'm the burden."

"Huh?" Applejack turned to look at Spike, raising an eyebrow, to express her confusion.

"...If you want to talk about burden, then you're looking at him," Spike began. "Ever since I've met you girls, I've been...I don't know. I think I've been some sort of – how do you say? – tagalong? Like I've been getting in your way. You girls have been hunting for food and for survival. You've been here for how long? And all you had was each other. And then I happen to came along and...I've clashed with Rainbow Dash's hunts on some Fish-Man, I practically lead Shade Stalker on your previous camp, and...when those Devil Monkeys attacked us at the village, I did nothing but hide."

Spike turned to look away, wanting to avoid any look of disappointment from the Wolf-Woman.

"I...I don't know how you girls could put up with my presence for so long, or...why you didn't just...kick me out, or..."

The young man couldn't bring himself to finish his sentence. But Applejack said otherwise.

"You've never been a burden to us, Spike," She reassured. "I can't tell ya how many times we've said that to Fluttershy, because the poor dear was blind as a...y'know what I mean. But like her, we're willing to protect ya, because yer our friend. I mean, granted, we did kinda jump the gun on ya, upon first meetin'. But...I guess it's jus' animal impulse? You are kinda the first human fella we've met in ages. So...we sorta forgot a few manners, now and then."

Spike stiffened up when he felt Applejack wrapping an arm around his shoulder, pulling him close to her left, nearly smothering his cheek against her fluffy chest, peeking from the hemline of her top tied-up shirt.

"But even so, you've been a big help to us, Sugarcube!" Applejack chuckled, "I still remember how we were all in a pickle with that porcupine ape thing, and we would've been goners if ya hadn't...cracked his nuts."

Spike nearly burst out laughing, remembering how he had impulsively attacked a chimeric beast of a gorilla-porcupine, with a stick to its crotch.

"And it doesn't end there. You've been a big help with Twilight finding some equipments to plan our way home, to saving Fluttershy, Leggy Lamb, and little Kirin from a Manticore, and let's not forget about you giving that Starlight shark gal a needed CPR, after her tussle with one of them Octo-diles. If those weren't heroics, then I don't know what is."

Spike nodded his head, letting all of these past accomplishments sink in. Up until now, he hadn't quite given much thought of them as long as he needed.

"You're right," Spike nodded. "I guess I have been a big help. I just...haven't thought about it that much. I did find Fleur-de-Lis...or, more like she found me... And I did helped Twilight teach the Reverse-Hybrids to better communicate. Well...most of them, anyway...there's still the trouble with one angry dog."

"Hmph. The nerve of that Loona," Applejack growled. "Who's spit in her doggy kibbles?"

"It's anyone's guess," Spike shrugged. "But...if it means to get on her good side, I'm keeping my distance away from her."

"Pah! I don't care what her issues are. That bitch needs to know some decent manners and actually try being nice for once. Because if she is ever in some kinda trouble, then we may not be there to help her. And I doubt she'd come crawling back to us, pleading for help."

"I don't know, Applejack. That's kinda harsh, especially to Loona. Remember, she must've been through a lot, for a dog. And I mean before Dr. Grogar. And if I know my feral dogs, then we should give her some space and she'll warm up in time."

“Fine. But I don't have to like it. Argh! Not again!” Applejack groaned, to which Spike turned to see the wolf-woman scratching her back.

Spike immediately remembers the last time Applejack tried to scratch her back, which involved her stripping off her clothes, and a thorn tree.

Before history could repeat itself, Spike walked over to the wolf-woman.

“Easy there, Applejack,” Spike assured. “I gotcha.”

“Huh? Spike?” Applejack watched Spike with curious eyes as he walked behind her and puts his hands on her shoulders. “What are—Oh!”

Applejack was taken by surprise when Spike started scratching her shoulders.

“Oh, wow,” The wolf-woman sighed. “That feels kinda good.”

“Better than that thorn tree, huh?” Spike asked.

Applejack chuckled, “Darn tootin’. This is a lot better," As Spike continued to scratch, Applejack’s moaning intensified. She sounded as if she was about to howl, “Uh, could ya…move down a bit, Spike?” Applejack asked.

Spike complied, moving his hands down to where Applejack’s back arched into a valley, where her tail grew, meeting at the waistline.

“Oh. Right there,” Applejack moaned in pleasure. “Oh! Perfect~”

Out of impulse, Applejack let out a long and loud howl that must’ve been heard for miles. To further add the traits of her genetic altered canine characteristics, Applejack was thumping her leg excitedly.

Spike kept on scratching, until Applejack was more than satisfied and was panting her tongue out, with a wagging tail to match.

“Oh, Spike~” Applejack smiled. “Ya never told me ya have such pleasant hands.”

Before Spike could reply, the sound of a woman clearing her throat startled both Spike and Applejack. They turned and looked, to see Rainbow Dash folding her wings across her chest, with one of her clawed feet tapping in annoyance. A scowled expression on her face was as clear as day, that she was more than jealous at the loving treatment Spike was giving to Applejack.

"Rainbow Dash?!" Spike exclaimed in a high-pitch voice.

"Oh. I'm sorry," Rainbow Dash apologized in a sarcastic tone. "Was I interrupting something? 'Cause I've spent some of my precious time, hunting for some meat, while you two were having some fun..."

"Nothin' happened!" Spike reassured, frantically.

"Spike was just giving me a good ol' scratch," Applejack moaned with satisfaction. "He's got some wonderful hands, y'know?"

Rainbow Dash scowl soon softened to a mischievous smirk, “Oh yeah? I'll be the judge of that,” Rainbow walked over to Spike and held her wings out. “Care to give yours truly the same treatment?”

“Uh…sure, okay.”

And so, Spike proceeded to scratch Rainbow Dash’s wings. In response, the falcon-woman let out an arousing trilling chirp, which sounded almost like a purr of a cat.

“Oh yeah~” Rainbow swooned lovingly. “That feels pretty good.”

“I take it you don’t normally get massages much, have you?” Spike asked. “Because your wings are surprisingly tense!”

“What can I say? I’m awesome!” Rainbow boasted. “Plus, when you’re a falcon like me, ya have to fly everyday to get this nice and strong!”

“Plus, she doesn’t want anyone to catch her getting a spa treatment,” Applejack whispered, with a wheezing snicker. “Especially the froufrou kind.”

“You promised not to tell—“ Rainbow squawked, until she caught herself, “I mean…I don’t know what you’re talking about. I only go when I get a really…really deep tissue…sore muscle…”

“Yeah right,” Applejack smirked, with a bouncing eyebrow. “Ah know a lie when I hear one.”

Regardless, Rainbow Dash resumes enjoying the relaxing sensation of Spike massaging her wings. Truly, she felt as if she was in heaven.

Afterwards, the two She-Beasts resumed the hunt, while Spike took pictures with his camera. The young man looked up at the trees and happened to catch sight of a bizarre looking bird he’s never seen before.

Carefully holding his camera up to his eyes, Spike adjusted its angles and its lenses, making sure he’s got a good shot of the bird.

“Hold still little fella,” Spike whispered, gingerly pressing the button to take the pictures, when he was suddenly knocked to the ground.

“SPIKE!” Applejack shouted, pouncing on Spike, while Rainbow Dash let out a bloodcurdling screech and flew over their heads.

“Ah! AAAAHHH!!!” Spike screamed, panicking, until Applejack clamped his mouth shut.

“Shhh!!!” Applejack shushed, and took Spike behind a tree.

Spike turned to look and his eyes widened at a bloody sight to behold. Rainbow Dash was tussling with, what appeared to be a giant snake, with four long claws, like those of an eagle, and a large pair of wings.

The snake creature has two rows of outer teeth like a crocodile, with inner rows of snake teeth, complete with snake fangs. A sail fin is found beneath its chin.

“What the hell is that?!” Spike screamed in horror.

“Another one of Dr. Grogar’s creations!” Applejack muttered. “Half-snake, half of a Draco lizard, he said.”

“A Draco-Snake,” Spike coined.

Rainbow Dash was furiously flapping her wings furiously to try and get airborne, to put some distance between herself and the snake.

But the snake was hissing and repeatedly snapped its jaws at her wings, furiously keeping Rainbow from flying away, plucking a few of her plumage in the process.

In retaliation, Rainbow Dash slashed her claws out to keep the snake at bay. The snake lunged forward, snapped its jaws at Rainbow Dash’s legs, successfully clamping onto her claws.

“AAAARRRGGGHHH!!!” Rainbow screeched in agony. “GOT MY LEG!!”

“Hold on, Dash!” Applejack barked, lunging from the trees to free the falcon-woman.

Applejack leapt at the Draco-snake, clamping her jaws at one of its hind legs. Distracted, the Draco-snake immediately lets go of Rainbow Dash, turning its attention on Applejack, thrusting its leg repeatedly in attempting to throw the orange wolf-woman off.

Finally, the Draco-snake whipped its tail at Applejack, finally knocking her off. Angered by her intervention, the Draco-snake proceeded to advance upon Applejack.

“Applejack!” Spike shouted, frantically picking up a stick, and was about to run.

“Spike! No! Stay back!” Applejack shouted to the man. “Jus’ stay back!”

But Spike didn’t listen. He just couldn’t stand idly by and watch his companions being killed. Even if they are girls, whom he has grown less scared of. He threw the stick at the Draco-snake, causing it to snap its head in his direction.

“You leave my friend alone, you big bully!” Spike shouted.

In response, the Draco-snake let out another hiss, when suddenly, a blur of cyan and rainbow swooped down from the sky, followed by a streak of blood that splashed in the air. The blood splashed across Spike’s face, nearly blinding him.

“Ugh!” Spike cringed in disgust, having the misfortune to taste the foul bloody entrails trickling down his face. “It’s in my mouth!” He gagged.

Spike squeamishly wiped the blood off, regaining his vision to see Rainbow Dash perching atop the dead Draco-snake’s body. Not too far away, with its eyes lifeless and looking to the sky, was the decapitated head of the serpent.

“Wh-Wh-What just happened?” Spike asked.

“I just took to the sky,” Rainbow replied a matter of fact. “And once I was high enough, I swooped down and I let him have it on the feet!”

The falcon-woman proudly showed off her bloodstained talons, before she resumed tearing the meat off of the Draco-snake’s corpse and eats them.

“Hey, save some for the rest of the pack, Dash!” Spike reminded the falcon-woman.

“Share me a slice of the meat, Dash!” Applejack pleaded, walking over to the Draco-snake’s lifeless coil, for some meat.

“RAAAWWWRRR!!!” Rainbow Dash screeched, suddenly flaring her wings out, and lurching at Applejack.

“What in tarnation?!” Applejack exclaimed in bewilderment. “What’s gotten into ya?”

“Maybe she ate a bad meat?” Spike deduced, whilst analyzing the situation from a safe distance. “Or maybe she’s defending her kill!”

Spike noted the behavioral traits from the falcon-woman, seeing the way she was hunching over, while flaring her wings out to the side, and had her eyes locked into Applejack while standing atop of the Draco-snake’s corpse.

And whenever Applejack got close, within range, attempting to snatch a piece, Rainbow would viciously flap her wings, kicking her feet up to stave the wolf-woman away.

To Spike, Rainbow Dash is no longer human. She has succumbed to her inner beast. She has become a falcon, entirely, and she is not sharing her meal.

“She’s gone full beast mode!” Spike exclaimed in horror.

“Dash?” Applejack tried to coax to her friend. “Dash! Snap out of it! It’s me! Yer friend! We’re your friends! Don’t ya remember?”

Still, Rainbow Dash stood her ground, atop of the Draco-snake’s body, when the ground suddenly shook.

“Wh-Wh-What’s g-g-going on?” Spike asked, with his voice shaking from the sudden tremor.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash both ceased their squabble, also taking notice of the sudden disturbance.

The three friends looked out into the thick foliage of the jungle, surrounding them. The trees swayed from side to side, as the tremor shook more violently the closer it approached Spike and the She-Beasts.

Adding to the fearful atmosphere was the sound of birds, flapping above the tree lines, practically sounding the alarm that something dangerous was approaching.

Rainbow Dash flared her wings out, resuming her defensive stance, her body language to say she was ready to fight and stand her ground.

“Get behind me, Spike,” Applejack ushered Spike, standing protectively in front of him.

Spike listened closely to the nerve wracking ambient sound of the jungle, with his frantic heart beating rapidly, almost matching the tremor of the ground. At that moment, he noticed a change in the sounds of the tremor. They sounded more like the galloping rhythm of hoof steps. The gallop of a whole herd of horses.

Spike’s suspicions were soon confirmed, when an entire herd of horse-like monstrosities burst out from the foliage, before coming to a full stop, presenting themselves in the sunlight.

Spike was horrified at what he was seeing. From a distance, they appeared to be people riding on horseback. But upon a closer look, they were really humanoids whose waists are attached to the back of the horses they rode on.

Worst still, they appeared to be skinless, exposing their red muscles, veins, and the black blood that runs through their body. Their eyes were bloodshot, to show they haven’t slept in days, due to their lack of eyelids, and their lipless mouths have a permanent unnerving smile. To further their nightmarish ghoulish appearance, the heads of every humanoids are 10 times bigger than Spike’s, with their arms being long enough to reach the ground, from their sitting posture on the back of the horses.

Spike was beyond scared. These creatures hardly seem to be Beast-Folks, Chimeras, or any creatures in general. They looked more like creations from his worst nightmares made real.

With a horrifying neigh that sounded ominously like a man’s scream, that curls any living thing’s hair. The nightmarish horse creatures came stampeding towards the trio, causing the grounds to shake once more.

With a flap of her wings, Rainbow Dash lunged into the air, throwing a kick at the scary horse creatures. But one of the beasts had swung its arms, anticipating Rainbow Dash mid-flight.

The falcon-woman fell to the ground and was nearly trampled on by the rest of the stampeding herds. Thankfully, Applejack sprang into action and barked at the horse creatures, while standing protectively on all four, over Rainbow Dash.

During the chaos, one of the frightening horse creatures spotted Spike and started to gallop towards him.

“AHHHH!!!” This gave Spike such a fright, that he held his camera aloft, as if it was a shield, pressed the button, and snapped a picture, flashing in the humanoid creature’s face.

The sudden burst of light was so bright that it blinded the creature in a frightful panic. With another nightmarish neigh, the creature reared up on its hind legs, kicking and screaming, and galloped away, blindly stumbled and crashing into its herd and trees on the way.

This gave Spike the idea to use his camera to take pictures of the rest of the rampaging horse monsters, scaring them off, until they were out of sight.

“They’re gone now,” Spike panted heavily.

“Phew! That was some smart thinking back there, Spike!” Applejack panted heavily. “Nice work!”

“Thanks,” Spike replied, when the next thing he knew, Applejack claimed his lips in a passionate kiss. "OOMPH!"

Spike was beyond surprised, when Applejack did something even more shocking. She pinned him to the ground, forcing her tongue into his mouth, and proceeded to wrestle his for dominance. At this moment, Spike experienced a sudden flashback of his childhood trauma, recalling the horrible memory of when he was nearly molested by the derange teenage girl.

Out of impulse, Spike kicked Applejack in the stomach, forcing her to let go, as he shoved her off of him.

Spike scrambled to his feet and hid behind a tree. He poked his head out from his hiding spot, to see Applejack, looking at him with wide eyes of horror and heartbreak.

"Spike?" Applejack whimpered. "I...I'm...I'm sorry. I...It's not what you think...I mean, it is, but...I wasn't tryin' to...please, don't look at me that way!"

Spike wanted to believe her. But at the same time, he was rather cautious. Still, he cautiously approached her, but kept his eyes on hers.

"What was that for?" Spike asked. "Why did you kissed me like that?"

"I...I just...I felt like rewarding ya, hun," Applejack replied, looking rather ashamed of herself. "The way ya handled them horse varmints like that. How ya...used that camera of yours, it was...amazing. You were like a hero. And I just wanted you to know that. I'm sorry if you didn't like my kiss..." Applejack looked away, hiding her face behind her hat. "If ya don't want to look at me, then I understand and–"

"Actually...that kiss wasn't that bad," Spike said, while tracing his lips with his fingers. "It felt kinda nice, actually. Wow...so that's an actual kiss?"

Applejack blushed a shade of red, while her lips curled in a rather shy smile, and she fidgeted with her tail, "I take it that was your first time gettin' a kiss, like that? Because, I could've sworn, ya did kinda kissed Twilight the same, and the mouth-to-mouth with Starlight–"

"My kiss with Twilight was just an accident!" Spike exclaimed frantically. "And what I did for Starlight Glimmer was CPR! Totally not a kiss!"

'At least, I think it is,' Spike secretly thought to himself. 'And let's not mention the accidental ones I got from Rarity tripping on me, or me tripping onto Bea...and stuff.'

"So, uh...if it's not too much to ask..." Applejack began, timidly. "Do ya...wanna...try again? We'll go slow and...I'll let you decide if you want..."

Spike can tell that Applejack really wanted to kiss him on the lips again, seeing and hearing how anxious she is on the subject. The thought of kissing a women has never crossed Spike's mind before. But he knew Applejack was a good one.

"Well...okay," Spike sighed, as he walked up to Applejack, tracing his hands up to her snout, bringing her closer to him, until their lips made contact.

This time, Spike took the lead, which Applejack simply allowed. The young man didn't pull back. He just kept his lips connected with Applejack's, with his hands pulling her face closer to his, to the point he can feel her soft wet nose touching against his. He wondered if this is how a real kiss felt? Is this really him wanting Applejack? Does he want them to be closer than just friends? Or fellow survivalists? Is he really kissing a wolf-woman?

For what felt like three minutes, or so, which was actually ten, Spike parted his lips from Applejack. He looked up at the wolf-woman, to see her smiling. He looked down to see her tail was wagging vigorously, to show her enjoyment of the passionate make out. Applejack then leaned forward to kiss Spike again. And this time, Spike didn't try to resist. He closed his eyes, melting into the passion of love, feeling Applejack's tongue breaching into his mouth, once again, for dominance.

Together, both Spike and Applejack gently laid themselves on the ground as they continued to kiss for half an hour, pausing once in awhile to catch their breaths, before they resumed their kiss. Unfortunately, they were so into their kissing that both of them had forgotten about Rainbow Dash.

The falcon-woman had just gotten back up, on her feet, still shaken from nearly being trampled.

“What happened?” Rainbow Dash asked. “I…I blacked out there for a second…” The falcon-woman's eyes widened in shock, upon seeing both Spike and Applejack making out.

Rainbow Dash let out a gasp, "What the WHAAAAAT?!!!" She screeched in outrage, which stopped both Applejack and Spike from their kiss, "WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!"

"Well, howdy do there, Blue Falcon," Applejack greeted. "Back from Feral World?"

"Don't get all witty with me, AJ," Rainbow Dash glared. "I just woke up to see you and Spike making out?!"

"Well, what's yer excuse for going all defensive against us, after killing that there, Draco-snake?"

"Huh? What?" Rainbow Dash turned around and was surprised to see the decapitated Draco-snake, lying on the floor, surrounded by hoof prints, made from horses. "Whoa! Did I do that? And where did these hoof prints come from?"

Spike and Applejack both exchanged confusing looks. Rainbow Dash's lack of memories, regarding her feral state and the recent human-horse hybrids attack was rather concerning.

“You don’t remember going all feral?” Spike asked.

“Or how we were just attacked by a whole herd of strange horse-men?” Applejack asked.

“Uh…what?” Rainbow Dash asked, dumbfounded.

Once again, Spike and Applejack turned to look at one another, sharing their concerns, as if they were all in agreement. This is serious.

“We’ve got some catching up to do,” Spike replied, before he turned to the dead Draco-snake. “But first, let’s get that thing back to the village.”

"Okay," Rainbow agreed, before she smirked to Spike, "So...do I get a kiss out of this?"

"Huh?" Spike asked.

"Rainbow!" Applejack scolded.

"C'mon. You got to give AJ a kiss. So it's only fair that ya give me one too."

"And why should Spike kiss you? He and I were jus' kissing because I was rewarding him for his triumphant against them varmints!"

"Hey, any dude who gets to kiss you that deep, must be good. I just want to see how much percent cooler he is."

"Or perhaps we should let Spike decide," Applejack turned to Spike and asked, "Well, Spike? What do ya think?"

"Hmmm," Spike pondered for a bit, until he nodded and shrugged. "It kinda goes against my better judgement. I mean...a man kissing more than one woman. But...what the hay?"

"Score!" Rainbow cheered, as she walked over and wrapping her wings around Spike's back. "Give me your best shot, dude!"

With that, Spike braced himself as he and Rainbow Dash locked lips. Unfortunately, they were rather struggling to lock lips with each other, since Rainbow Dash's beaks were curved and sharp at the tip, like knives. And because of the uncomfortable change of her facial structure, Dash had to turn her head at a certain angle, on the side, in order to clamp her beak with Spike's lips.

As for Spike, he was in such a state of pain, at the feeling of Rainbow Dash's beaks, cutting into the sides of his face, like he was being stabbed through the cheeks, by sharp needles, with a tongue in his mouth. Spike's eyes were watering as he swallowed in the pain, along with Rainbow Dash's tongue. Thankfully, it didn't last long, and both Spike and Dash broke apart from the kiss.

"Wow, AJ, you weren't kidding," Rainbow smirked. "He's quite the kisser."

"Yeah...glad you liked it," Spike rubbed his sore cheeks. "Ow!"

With the kiss out of the way, Applejack and Rainbow Dash were both hauling the Draco-snake’s dead body, while Spike assisted with dragging the snake’s head back to the village.

“Man this thing weighs a ton!” Spike grunted.

Thankfully, Applejack had also tied a rope at the bar of the snake’s skull, so that she can also help with carrying the head. Thus, taking some weight of the heavy lifting in Spike’s favor.

On their way back, both Spike and Applejack brought Rainbow Dash up to speed on the recent events that had transpired.

“So you mean to tell me that…I lost my mind for a moment, I was all feral, and…I almost got trampled by a whole herd of strange looking horse mutants?” Rainbow asked, for the seemingly umpteenth time.

“Eeyup,” Applejack confirmed. “That’s the whole story. But thankfully, Spike was smart enough to save us all with some quick thinking of his. And the little handy dandy camera of his.”

“No kidding,” Rainbow replied with an impressed smirk on her face. “Way to go, Spike!”

“Aw, it was nothing,” Spike blushed shyly.

This is one of the few times he’s ever received compliments from a girl. And he’s rather shy about it.

“So, you took a picture of these horses…” Rainbow began. “Can we have a look?”

“Uh, sure! Okay.”

With that, Spike and the two She-Beasts paused their heavy lifting in order for Spike to hold up his camera, browsing through the library, and displaying the recent photos.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack gathered around Spike to look at the photos.

“Ugh! That’s disturbing!” Dash cringed. “These don’t look human…”

“Well, to some reasonable people, neither are we,” Applejack reminded Rainbow Dash. “At least, not anymore…”

“Still, what was Dr. Grogar trying to make with these guys?” Dash asked. “They don’t look like any animals I would want to be…plus, they kinda make Tirek look like an improvement.”

Spike couldn’t help but share Dash’s agreement, until he took a closer look at the grotesque horse-creatures.

“Hold on…” Spike squinted his eyes, zooming in on the photos, to find some familiar characteristic traits to the creatures. “No…it can’t be!”

“What is it, Spike?” Applejack asked, with both herself and Rainbow sharing a look of concern for their human friend.

“I…I think I know these horses…” Spike looked up with dread and horror. “They are…or were…my missing crew members!”

“WHAT?!!!” Rainbow and Appejack exclaimed in shock.

"Those horse-creatures were...my former crew members!" Spike repeated, choking on his words, as the dreadful feelings overtook his very being. "They were my crew...Newt's crew...Starlight's...everyone we knew..."

"Oh, Spike. C'mere, hun..." Applejack immediately dropped the Draco-snake she and Rainbow Dash were hauling, walking over to pull Spike into a comforting hug, smothering him in her fluffy fur. "Shhhh."

Spike didn't even flinch from Applejack's touch. He's too overwhelmed with depression to be scared of the She-Beast's touch. He just puts his face into Applejack's chest fur, letting himself sink into the soft fluffy texture of the fur, that comforted him, as if he was on a pillow clouds. To further soothe his shaking anxiety, Applejack gently stroke her hand across his back.

It was all so soothing for Spike. He felt more secure in Applejack's embrace.

'This feels nice...' Spike thought in the comforting moment. 'Nostalgic even. Kinda reminds me of my mom even.'

Spike felt another soft sensation, snuggling him from behind, as if he was sandwiched in between by layers of clouds. The young man didn't need to turn and look to know that it was Rainbow Dash who had joined in the hug.

“They’re gone,” Spike finally spoke. “They’re all gone…”

“I know, Sugarcube,” Applejack said, in sympathy.

"Hey,” Rainbow began, breaking up the hug. “I hate to break up the moment, but we can’t stay out here any long. We need to get back to the village. The others are hungry."

Knowing that Rainbow Dash was right, all three friends resumed hauling their kills back to the village, in time for lunch and dinner.

On the way, Rainbow Dash softly consoled Spike, “Spike…I know it’s hard…but ya gotta pull it together. There’s literally nothing you can do…”

“I know…” The young man replied. “But it’s hard to move on…I…I can’t…I mean, I don’t…”

“It’s a survivor’s guilt,” Applejack said solemnly. “We’ve all had it. Especially for us, for the other She-Beasts who were here before us. But the least we can do for them now is to live our life and move on.”

“And…how do you do that?”

“Just take one step at a time, Sugarcube. And we’ll figure something out…before it’s too late,” She muttered at the last part, upon seeing Rainbow Dash hunting a mouse.

The falcon-woman immediately stopped with what she was doing, when all eyes were on her.

“Nothing happened,” Dash said abruptly.

After they got back to the village, Spike was sitting in his hut, still shaken up, contemplating on everything that had transpired.

This day was a lot for him to process, with the discovery of his former crew members having been turned into another of Dr. Grogar’s monstrosities.

He was startled upon hearing a knock at the entryway of his hut.

“Hey Spike?” It was Starlight Glimmer. “Mind if I come in?”

“Uh, sure, not at all,” Spike replied, letting the shark-woman come into the hut.

Starlight Glimmer gently sat down on the bed, besides Spike, “Oh! I’m…I’m sorry,” She apologized, forgetting she was still wet from the water, and was drenching the bed. “Spike, I’m-I’m sorry!”

“That’s okay,” Spike gently forgave her. “So, what’s up?” He asked, “What brings you here?”

“I…I heard about what happened to our crewmates,” Starlight began somberly. “Reef, Fin, Emma, Lo, Broseph, Johnny, Ripper, Lance... all of them..."

"Yeah..." Was all Spike could say.

"Emma... this was her first time out to sea." Starlight began, "Reef and Fin always had this "will they or won't they" thing going on with them. Lo, her father sent her out on this little expedition as punishment for that particular party that trashed their estate, I can't imagine what he's gonna think when he finds out what happened to his daughter. Broseph had to be the most laidback guy I have ever met. Lance and Ripper, those two were always thick as thieves. Bummer... he was kind of a dick at times but that was because he was just trying to keep us focused. And Johnny... he was always a chill guy to hang around."

Spike sighed. In truth, he didn't really interact with his fellow crewmates all that much, especially the female members. They were always a little too rowdy for his taste and he felt that most of them didn't take their jobs all that seriously, really the only crew mates he befriended and talked to were Newt and at times, Stumpy. Still, that didn't mean he hanged out with them from time to time.

“It’s not fair. They all had friends and families…” Spike continued. “And now…they’re never going to come back to their loved ones…and chances are, they’ll never know what happened to them…and I barely even got to know them proper.”

"I know, Spike," Starlight sighed, as she held Spike close and gently stroke his back. "I know..."

For the rest of the night, Spike held Starlight Glimmer close, and they slept in each other’s embrace. Now haunted by the knowledge of their crew’s untimely fate. The world has gotten darker. And the night has become lonely for both Spike and Starlight, as if it was just the two of them, now facing the world together. They need each other. They need all of their friends and loved ones.

Spike needs the girls.