Isle of She-Beasts

“Thank goodness you’ve come, Mr. Scorpan,” Rarity thanked the gargoyle-like Man-Beast. “I honestly thought we wouldn’t survive, let alone escape from those brutes!”

“Don’t thank me yet,” Scorpan replied. “The Grey Gorillas may be frightened easily. But they will come back in greater numbers.”

“Then we better hurry and find Sombra and rescue Twilight,” Sunset Shimmer said, as she and Applejack both sniffed the jungle floor, following the tracks of a large snake, until they stopped at a riverbank.

“So which way did Sombra go?” Rainbow asked.

Sunset and Applejack both turned their nose up and sniffed the air, until they looked back at the rest of the gang and Scorpan to shake their heads solemnly.

“I’m afraid we’ve lost the scent,” Applejack replied solemnly. “Wherever Sombra went, he went downstream. But the river spreads out and connects to different parts of the island. That slimy serpent could be anywhere…”

“Don’t worry,” Scorpan spoke up. “I actually know where Sombra has gone off to.”

“What?!” The She-Beasts and Reverse-Hybrids exclaimed in shock and surprise.

“B-But how could you have known?” Fluttershy asked.

“Ever since Grogar had experimented on each of his former Benefactors, turning them into Berserkers, I’ve kept track of their movements for a long while. And I’ve pinpointed every locations of their hideouts, and lair.”

“So, then where did King Sombra go?” Sunset asked.

The rescue party were later following Scorpan as he lead them downriver, until the river splits off into branches of ten streams.

Thankfully, with Scorpan, they only needed to follow one river, thus, saving the trouble of taking chances and pick one of the wrong rivers out of ten.

Before long, they have arrived in a dark gloomy marshland. The trees were all twisting and gangly looking, with branches that curled into the shapes of long spindly fingers. The wind made them swing and sway, making them look as if the trees were reaching out to grab any unsuspecting trespassers.

“Devil’s Bayou,” Scorpan described. “One of the hazardous and treacherous places to be on the island. And at the heart of this treacherous swamp is Sombra’s hideaway to escape would-be pursuers.”

“Yeah?” Applejack huffed. “Well that ain’t gonna stop us. Somewhere in there is our friend, Twilight. And she needs us! And we’re gonna save her!”

“But be careful girls,” Scorpan cautioned the girls. “Devil’s Bayou is also Chrysalis’s territory. So we need to stay close, stay alert and be ready for anything.”

The girls all nodded in acknowledgment as they followed the gargoyle-like beast-man through the bayou.

Besides the ambience buzzing sounds of the mosquitoes zipping through the air, the croaking frogs, and all kinds of strange creatures that inhabit the bayou, all was quiet.

“It’s quiet,” Pinkie Pie whispered. “Maybe too quiet. Always wanted to say that!”

“Pinkie!” The girls, and Scorpan, silently scolded the monkey-woman for not taking the task at hand seriously.

“Ugh!” Rarity complained. “What a horrible and frightening place!”

“Oh, I’m certain it used to be worse. Much worse,” Scorpan replied. “This whole island was once a base of operation by the Nazis during World War 2.”

“How do you know that, Mr. Scorpan?” Applejack asked.

Scorpan turned to look at the girls, with a rather disturbed expression, before he pointed, “Them.”

The girls, except Fluttershy, all turned their heads in the direction he pointed, and they nearly jumped out of their skins.

They were all startled at the gruesome nightmarish sight of skeletons dressed in old, tattered uniforms that have seen better days.

“OH! Oh my… SUGAR HONEY ICED TIE!”

“What?” Fluttershy turned her head in the direction of her friends’ screaming. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“Uh, nothing Sugarcube,” Applejack stammered. “I think it’s for the best you never know. Trust me.”

“Still,” Sunset began. “The fact that there were Nazis on this island makes you wonder what they were using this place for.”

“I’d rather that we didn’t have to find out, darling,” Rarity replied. “As far as I’m concerned, the Nazis were as awful as the madman they follow and the crimes they had committed in the war were atrocious!”

“Too bad that didn’t stop Grogar from using this island to conduct his experiments, and kidnapping people,” Sunset frowned.

The group kept on going, while coming across the carcass of a wild pig that has had its guts ripped open, with its intestines spilling out. Flies were swarming around the dead animal, with maggots already swarming all over it.

The squeamish sight was so repulsive that most of the group, except for Fluttershy, immediately shut their eyes to shield themselves from the sight.

But the ripe pungent smell of the dead animal was so fresh and foul that Scorpan and the girls nearly vomited.

“What kind of creature could’ve done this?” Applejack asked.

“I take it that we’ve stumbled on a kill?” Fluttershy whimpered, sounding rather glad to be blind than to witness the horrible scene.

“Under normal circumstances, I don’t think much,” Rarity grimaced. “But considering we’ve become half-animals against our wills, this is perhaps the closest to stumbling upon the works of a serial killer.”

“Who cares?” Rainbow squawked. “Let’s just find Twilight so we can get the hell out of here!”

“Hold on!” Sunset stopped everyone.

She turned her head up to smell the air, and listening to their surrounding.

“Something is coming!” Sunset warned.

The girls and Scorpan all stood in fighting stances, readying themselves for the fight that was about to come.

The bushes swayed and rustled as something approaches them, crushing the underbrush beneath its feet.

Suddenly, a Boar-Man suddenly lunged out from the bushes, repeatedly snapping its drooling mouth at Fluttershy.

“Fluttershy!” Applejack barked, intercepting the beast-man away from Fluttershy.

“AAAAHHH!!!” Fluttershy screamed, flapping her wings, while blindly swatting at her assailant, until Sunset and Rainbow caught her.

“Whoa, take it easy,” Sunset coaxed. “Take it easy, Fluttershy.”

Everyone else all watched as Applejack tussled with the ravenous Boar-Man, until Scorpan intervened and stabbed the Boar-Man in the head, with a dagger. The Boar-Man fell to the ground, dead on the spot, while the rest of the girls and Scorpan helped Applejack up.

“Are you okay, darling?” Rarity asked.

“I’m fine, thanks,” Applejack breathed heavily. “That ain’t no ordinary Beast-Man. That their Boar-Man looked more dead than he is alive!”

Upon hearing the blonde wolf-woman’s description, Rainbow Dash and Sunset Shimmer both carefully walked over to the dead Boar-Man’s body for a closer look.

True to Applejack’s words, the Boar-Man has the pale hue of bluish-gray, making it looked as if the colorful life had been drained from its skin. The eyes are opaque in appearance, as if it was lifeless from the start. Not counting the dagger in its head, large gash wounds cover the boar-man’s body from head-to-toe. But the huge wound on its chest gave away to show its lungs, and heart.

“I’m no doctor,” Sunset grimaced. “But hardly any creatures can still move, let alone attack from a wound like this…”

“Unless they no longer feel the pain,” Scorpan stated bluntly. “This poor creature has become a victim of Chrysalis’s parasites. Now he has become a host of her larvae, that have seized control of all his motor functions, make him act out against his will.”

The rest of the She-Beasts looked up at Scorpan in disturbed silence.

“Are you saying this Boar-Man’s…a zombie?” Sunset asked.

Scorpan could only look solemnly, before he nodded his head, “And if one is here, then there are more of them nearby.”

Scorpan then parted the nearby plants away to show a group of beast-men and jungle women who have all been infected.

“They have all becomes slaves of Chrysalis,” Scorpan shook his head. “She infects them with a parasite larvae that attacks infiltrates the bloodstream and attacks the brains.”

The She-Beasts and their Reverse-Hybrid friends all exchanged disgusted looks, already imagining the gruesome process of being stung, and turned into zombies.

“And you know all that how, exactly?” Applejack asked.

“Sometimes, after I had learned to control myself, I went back to Grogar’s lab,” Scorpan explained. “I spied on him conducting his experiments on his former Benefactors, and found out what kind of animals, or insects, DNA he used on them. And I’ve had the unpleasantry to witness Chrysalis working her stuff on several poor unfortunate beasts who came her way.”

“Sorry we asked,” Beatrice frowned.

“To think, we could be a zombie, like those poor unfortunate souls!” Pinkie Pie pointed. “Or Fleur, if Spike and Sunset hadn’t found her. Or you Leggy! If the Raptorians and Tirek didn’t get your first!”

Leggy Lamb shuddered in horror at the thought, bleating out in horror, as if she were hyperventilating.

“Pinkie!” The She-Beasts frowned.

“Sorry,” The Monkey-Woman apologized.

“But mind you, I know of a trick that would come in handy,” Scorpan explained.

“What’s that?” Asked the girls.

“Watch this, girls,” Scorpan pointed. “Keep your eyes on those zombies. Watch what happens.”

Without warning, Scorpan clapped his hands, knocking a strange fly out of the air. The fly was jittering on the ground. But the bizarre thing was that the zombies started to jitter and shake in agitation, just like the fly.

It was as if the zombies were in much pain as the fly is.

“Now watch this,” Scorpan then stomped his foot on the fly, killing it for good.

The girls all looked up and were repulsed to see that the zombies heads all exploded at once.

“EW!” The girls, except Fluttershy, grimaced in disgust.

“That’s just nasty!” Rainbow Dash winced.

“So grotesque! Catch me Fluttershy!” Rarity exclaimed, intending to faint dramatically into Fluttershy’s wings.

Instead, the snow leopard-woman fell hard kn the ground.

“Are you fainting, Rarity?” Fluttershy asked.

Getting back on topic, Sunset turned to Scorpan, “How did that happen? How is it that a fly can make a zombie’s head explode?”

“I’m no entomologist, so I can’t quite explain that,” Scorpan replied. “Only that it works, and that these parasites came from Chrysalis herself. And like many parasites, once they infect a host, they’ll want more to reproduce. So be careful.”

Once again, nodding in acknowledgment to Scorpan’s words, the girls proceed through the bayou, searching for Sombra and rescuing Twilight.

Meanwhile, back in the village, Loona was tugging at the dress Cozy Glow forced her to wear. She really doesn’t like it, and wanted it to be off.

She didn’t make much progress, when she was suddenly interrupted by a sudden nudge from one of her crutches.

She looked down, seeing the little annoying sheep — Kirin — gnawing at one of her crutches.

“HEY! Get your own stick!” Loona barked, trying to scare off the little ram. “Shoo! Go! Ruff ruff —OW!”

Loona tripped over on her skirt and fell to the ground.

“Great. Now look what you made me do!” Loona grumbled. “I’ve fallen…and…it hurts to get up…”

Every parts of her body was flaring up, as if she had been pierced with needles that cut through her skin and bones.

When she tries to stand herself up on her hands, her whole arms wobble and she collapsed onto the ground with a hard fall. When she moved her legs, it felt as if a giant monster had bitten her thighs and she could hardly stand.

She reached out for her crutches, but they were out of reach for her. Thankfully, for her, Kirin had nudged the walking sticks to her.

“Thank you,” Loona sighed, pulling herself up, gingerly regaining her stance. “Now go away! Ruff!”

But Kirin didn’t move.

“You’re not very smart. Are you? I’m a dog. You’re a sheep. I bark. You run. You understand? RUFF RUFF!”

But Kirin didn’t budge. Instead, he tilted his head from side-to-side, before he did something unexpected.

“Ruff ruff!” Kirin barked.

Loona was slack jawed. She did not expect a little lamb, like Kirin, to bark like a dog, such as herself.

“You mocking me?” Loona frowned, which Kirin answered by barking and running circles around her. “You’re totally mocking me…”

Loona grunted as she limped away on her crutches, until something hits her on the rear, shoving her forward.

“AHHHH!!!” Loona grunted, falling to the ground and landed in a puddle of mud. “What the—Huh?”

Loona furiously shook the mud off her face, until she looked up and got a good look at the assailant who pushed her.

“Ruff ruff!” Kirin barked.

Too sore and too tired to retaliate, Loona could only huff in dismay.

“I hate you kid…”

Tell Everybody I’m On My Way — Phil Collins

For the rest of the day, Loona finds herself at the mercy of the rambunctious young ram. It was almost as if the little ram was taking advantage of the wolf dog reverse-hybrid’s conditions to have some fun.

Loona was trying to eat from the food stash, but Kirin keeps ruining her meal. Even after she draws the line with, her crutches, the little asymmetric ram doesn’t seem to get the message.

Instead, he crosses the line and continues to get in her personal space, proceeding to draw a circle around her and him.

Later, Loona was trying to loosen the tight cords that secured the corset. But due to her injuries, she fails, and her struggles made it difficult for her to breathe.

She turned her head looking desperately for the shark, or even the weird cat-human for help.

But then she noticed Kirin was nearby, sharping his horn against a tree trunk.

Loona let out a faint bark, calling Kirin over. The little ram obliges, trotting over to the wolf-dog, who tries her best to turn her nose, pointing at the straps on her back.

“Help…help me…cut the straps!” Loona gasped for air.

“Ruff ruff ruff!” Kirin barked, as he bites at the straps, but accidentally bit off some of Loona’s fur.

“AAAAAHHH!!!” Loona howled in pain.

Afterwards, when the sun was setting and the sky turned orange, Loona was sitting at the base of a tree, struggling scratching her ears.

Her legs were still badly sore from her and Spike’s daring escape from Cozy Glow, and the casts on her arms made it hard for her to reach up behind her ears.

Thankfully, for her, she didn’t have to struggle for long, when Kirin came walking over to scratch behind her ears with his horn.

“Hey! Don’t—Oh!” Loona panted heavily as she lets herself loose, melting into the scratch relieving her from the itch. “Ooh yeah. That’s it right there… Not bad kid.”

Later that day, Loona and Kirin were walking along the beach together. However, Loona felt rather anxious and on edge. She was still haunted by the unpleasant recollection of when she was kidnapped by Cozy Glow. And the white dress she’s been forced to wear doesn’t help her forget that awful memory.

It was almost as if Loona was reliving the traumatic event again.

The reverse hybrid glanced to the left, then to the right. She pointed her nose up to sniff the air, searching for the scent of any dangerous beasts, including Cozy, that could be lurking nearby. Her ears stood up high as she tried to listen for any movements, besides her and Kirin.

But she smelled nothing in the air, except for the salty smell of the ocean. And her ears heard only the crashing waves, and the waters kicked up by Kirin.

Knowing that the two were safe and seemingly in the clear, Loona relaxes her whole body and proceeds to limp towards the waves, dipping her toes into the water.

With that, Loona could feel her whole body relaxing to the soothing sensation of the water washing over her feet. It felt as if the water had taken away all her pain and she was at peace.

Even with the retched dress on, Loona felt free to the world.

She turned to look, to see Kirin wandering off towards the shipwreck. The same shipwreck she and Bea sometimes hung out together, to get away from the other strange beasts, and humans.

“Hey, come back here, little ram!” Loona barked, using her crutches to propel herself after the little ram.

Loona stopped outside of the hull breach, having second thoughts about going in.

She was still weary about going in, less she runs the risk of being found, in the same hiding spot, by Cozy Glow again.

Nevertheless, the little ram was inside the ship, so she decided to go in.

Thankfully, he wasn’t in the ship too deep. The little ram was found

Kirin starts playing with one of the working pipes, somehow releasing the steams from the pipes to blow in his face, messing up his wools.

“Come on, kid,” Loona grunted, hobbling over towards Kirin. “Let’s get outta here, before—Oomph!”

Loona was startled at a sudden gust of steam that blew into her face. She fell to the floor of the ship, landing on her rear.

“Ow!”

Loona winced in pain, before she heard the sound of braying, like those of a laughing ungulate.

“What are you laughing at?” Loona asked the laughing Kirin.

She turned her head to look in a broken window, to look at her reflection, and see that her hair was all messed up. She looked almost like a poodle.

“Oh yeah? You think that’s funny? Laugh at this!”

Loona then proceeds to grab Kirin in her bandaged arms. Though hurt, she was still strong enough to hold the little ram, keeping him from escaping. Then, she proceeds to lick the ram all over his head, messing up his wools.

Soon, both Loona and Kirin were laughing at each other. Unfortunately, Loona was having some trouble doing so, with the side of her ribs aching from all the laughter.

Yet, in spite of the pain, she was just happy to have some fun.

“Y’know? You’re not so bad, little kid,” Loona said, ruffling the ram’s head.

“Ruff ruff!” Kirin barked.

“Uh huh. Yuck it up…”

Loona gingerly picked up her crotches to lift herself off the floor. Then, both she and Kirin proceeded to walk out of the shipwreck and back to the village.

There, they were passing by the Med Hut, where the human Spike was resting.

Loona stopped for a moment to check up on Spike. She limped over to his bedside, taking a closer look at him in concern.

She gently lowered her head to his chest, to listen to his beating heart. It was steady, and calm. But Loona couldn’t decide whether she should be glad, or worried.

She was hopeful that Spike would be alright, but also worried that he might open and enter the one-way door. The door where all dogs go to die.

Loona gently lowered her head to press her forehead against Spike’s forehead. It was boiling hot, as if he was on fire. He still has a fever. Turning to a nearby bucket of water, Loona looks to find a rag of cloth, drenched in water.

She carefully reaches down to pick up the rag in her mouth. Thankfully, Kirin realizes what she was trying to do and picks it up for her, with his horn.

“Thanks,” Loona thanked the little ram, taking the rag in her mouth.

Loona walked over to put the rag over Spike’s burning head to cool him down.

“Get well soon, human,” Loona whispered, before she and Kirin walked out.

However, they hadn’t gotten far, when Loona sniffed the air and realized the presence of another creature. The familiar scent of a rather feline annoyance.

Loona quickly caught sight of Fleur-de-Lis, the strange human who thinks she is a cat. And who seems rather clingy towards Spike.

The cat-human was once again trying to snuggle up next to Spike.

Out of impulse, Loona started to bark loudly at Fleur to scare her away. In response, the female human arched her back and hissed at the reverse-hybrid. But the most surprising of all, Kirin joined in barking at Fleur, even going as far as to butt his head at her, repeatedly, until she left.

Loona was very much impressed.

End of song

Meanwhile, back in Devil's Bayou, Scorpan guided the She-Beasts through the treacherous swamps, infested with buzzing mosquitoes.

“How much farther now, Mr. Scorpan?” Applejack asked. “I’m sick of the mosquitoes!”

“I have to agree with Applejack,” Rarity added, while smacking her arms, in response to a mosquito bite. “These hideous bugs and their bites! This is no place for—“

“Shhh! Quiet!” Scorpan shushed. “If I can hear you, then so will Chrysalis. She has bugs everywhere. They will alert her if they spot us.”

At that moment, both Scorpan and the girls heard the trees breaking down, and something crushing the underbrush. Something huge was coming towards them.

“Quickly! Hide!” Sunset shouted, as everyone all scattered and hide to avoid being seen.

Rainbow Dash grabbed Fluttershy and they both hid behind some trees. Applejack hide in the bushes with Rarity. Pinkie Pie jumped into the tree branches hanging overhead. Sunset hid in the water with Bea. Marina simply camouflage herself into the surrounding areas.

Leggy was the only one who didn’t find a good hiding spot, and was in a state of panic. Luckily for her, Scorpan grabbed her and they both hid themselves up in the treetops.

Everyone watched anxiously, anticipating for the worst. Then, bursting out from the trees, were a pair of large claws that looked similar to a giant crab’s.

The large curved prehensile tail with a stinger at the end shot out from the treetops, coupled with the blood curdling shriek that sounded like the cry of an animal in great agony. It sounded worst than nails on a chalkboard.

Two large black scorpions emerged from the trees, bashing at each other with their claws, and whipping their stingers at the end of their tails at one another.

They were both the size of a grown elephant, and they both have faces that looked almost human, but with huge bulging eyes, a pair of sharp pincers protruding from their mouth aligned with rows of sharp teeth.

One of the scorpion’s tail nearly stabbed at its opponent’s eyes out. But the opposing Scorpion was quick to block the sting, before it retaliated by going on the offense, ramming its head at its opponent.

Scorpan, the She-Beasts, and their Reverse-Hybrid companions stayed in their hiding spots, as they watched the battle unfolding before them. But the battle was starting to get too close to them.

The giant black scorpions were knocking each other around the bayou, smashing into trees, kicking up mud and water.

Every other frightened creatures immediately scattered to avoid getting crushed.

“Oh! Oh dear goodness!” Fluttershy frantically screamed. “What’s going on? What’s happening?”

The poor blind bar-woman was turning her head in different directions of all the frightening sounds of the animals fleeing for their lives.

“We’re getting outta here, Flutters!” Rainbow Dash shouted, frantically flapping her wings, while using her talons to pull Fluttershy along, by her thumb.

Together, the two She-Beasts followed after Scorpan and the others, with the intent on getting clear of the fight between the giant scorpions.

“Doesn’t Grogar ever get tired of making more monsters?” Rainbow Dash asked, right when she and everyone almost ran into what appeared to be a large misshapen grizzly bear.

“You just had to ask,” Sunset Shimmer grumbled to the falcon-woman.

The bear towered over Scorpan and the She-Beasts, standing on its hind legs, at a fearsome estimate of 15 ft.

To further the bear’s ferocity and monstrous height, the left side of its whole body appeared to have been burnt to the point that hardly any furs were grown, and it was melting away, as if it were cheese. On this side, its ear is deformed and drooped, lacks an eye, its lips stretched and the upper mammary glands were transferred to the stomach, remaining on top of the lower ones.

Needle-like sharp teeth aligned the top and bottom of the mouth, bat-like membranes stretched between the arms and legs, webbed paws, hooked claws, and big breasts.

“What in tarnation is that supposed to be?!” Applejack exclaimed in disbelief.

“That is what the Native Americans would call, the Katahdin — vengeful forest spirit!” Pinkie Pie stated. “We must have intruded on its private property!”

Pinkie Pie quickly got down on her knees, clasping her hands together, tearfully apologizing, “We are sorry!”

As if responding to Pinkie’s apology, the bear lets out an awful roar.

“So…apology not accepted?” Pinkie asked.

“Nope!” Applejack shouted, before she grabbed Pinkie Pie and they, along with everyone else, took off running into the jungle.

“RUN!”

The giant bear — dubbed Katahdin by Pinkie Pie — lets out a loud roar as it chased after Scorpan and the She-Beasts.

“Why are we running?” Rarity asked. “Couldn’t we just simply play dead, or something to convince that monstrosity from chasing us?”

“Would you take your chances with a bear that’s badly mutated into a derange killing machine by Grogar?” Scorpan asked rhetorically.

“But it’s just one giant bear and there’s about five, six, seven…” Rainbow Dash counted, until she lost count. “…There’s more of us than that thing! We can take it on? Right?”

“I doubt it’s a fight we can win, Dash,” Sunset frowned. “And no offense to Fluttershy, or Leggy. But fighting a giant bear would be like five and a half.”

“None taken,” Fluttershy moaned, understanding her blindness.

“Baaaah,” Leggy Lamb added.

Scorpan and the girls kept on running from the mutated bear, when suddenly, a huge black claw burst through the trees, snatching up the Katahdin.

A giant black scorpion held up the screaming bear and tossing it towards its opponent.

The mutant bear was gruesomely impaled, through the chest, on the other black scorpion’s stinger.

The bear writhed in agony as it flailed its arms about, letting out a piercing shriek, with blood pouring and splattering out of its chest.

“Ugh!” Sunset Shimmer grimaced. “What a horrible and painful way to go…”

“Well, you could say she’s got a heart attack,” Pinkie Pie joked, before quickly earning a dope slap from one of Marina's tentacles. “Ow.”

With the scorpions’ fight getting closer and threatening to crush them if they don’t get out of the way, once again, the group were all on the move.

“Girls! This way!” Scorpan shouted, as he lead the group through the trees.

Suddenly, a piercing shriek bellowed from behind them. A winner has been declared, but no spectators were around to witness which Black Scorpion had triumphed.

All the She-Beasts needed was to find where Sombra had gone, and rescue Twilight.

Sunset turned her head around to look, “I think we’ve lost those things.”

“The Black Scorpions usually hunt their preys,” Scorpan replied. “But not when the loser that crossed their turf makes for a victory buffet, fit for a king.”

“Then let’s not wait around for that thing to finish its meal!” Applejack barked. “How much further are we now?”

“It’s not too far,” Scorpan pointed to a large opening, where several twisted, knotted trees parted away for an opening. “Look! We just need to get through that opening and we’ll get be at the Snakes Pit soon!”

“What’s the catch?” Sunset asked.

“Catch?”

“Yeah, I’ve read a lot of comics, and after being trapped on this island for so long, there’s always something that makes the objective not so easy.”

“I hate to say it, darling,” Rarity frowned. “But I’m afraid Sunset is right. What’s the catch?”

As if answering the question, the group suddenly stopped in their tracks, when an axe suddenly came flying out of nowhere and hits a nearby tree.

It was so close, that Sunset had lost a piece of her whiskers.

“You just had to ask,” Rainbow Dash squawked.

The group looked up to find themselves surrounded.

A whole army of giant ant-like creatures, with their entire body structures in the shapes of humanoids. Each of their mandibles branding a different weapon, ranging from a sword, a dagger, a club, and an axe.

Among the ant-men appeared to be Man-Beasts and Jungle Women, like Fleur. Only difference was, they all have the same pale grayish, or greenish pallor, opaque eyes, and rash-like patches of decomposing flesh.

Without a doubt, the entire group were all in agreement, more zombies.

Not only that, but some of them appeared to have their chests and stomachs ripped open, revealing a grotesque bloody honeycomb structure, filled with buzzing bees within.

Further among the ranks of the surrounding creatures, are even more insect humanoids. Some appeared to be humans with mantis eyes, pincers, and scythes. Humans with large pincers that jut out from their mouth, with legs that were bent the wrong way. And lastly, some appeared to be large humans with the shiny carapace of a large beetle.

Finally, rounding up the increasing entomophobic experience, a large buzzing sound of a flying insect buzzed in the air.

And there, standing before the ant-men, stood the queen berserker herself. The Berserker formerly known as Chrysalis.

She was hardly human, with the head of a horse, possessing eight eyes, two legs, and pincers of a spider, mounted around the mouth. Two large pair of insect wings, like those of a dragonfly, protruded from the back, an extra pair of arms protruding from her torso. The abdomen is the lower-half of a horse, like Twilight’s pony half, but with the addition of a stinger, that seems to be a cross between a scorpion’s prehensile tail and a wasp’s tail end.

“Yeesh!” Rainbow Dash squawked. “I’ve seen uglier bugs in my days. But she puts the ugh in ugly!”

“That’s Chrysalis,” Scorpan pointed.

“Oof! I’m sure she’s seen better days,” Applejack cringed in disgust.

“This is why I don’t do well with bugs,” Rarity spatted. “Except for butterflies, they are very elegant and beautiful. I get inspirations from the patterns on their wings, but—“

“Not now, Rarity!” Sunset Shimmer exclaimed. “Here she comes!”

Everyone watched as Chrysalis proceeds to flare her wings out, rubbing them together, vibrating and making a loud strange crooning sound.

Scorpan and the girls immediately covered their ears.

“ARGH!” Applejack howled in agony. “What is that sound? It sounds like a cicada, but worse!”

Responding to the Berserker’s cry, the ant-men charged forward to attack. Scorpan and the girls — with the exception of Fluttershy and Leggy — all retaliated and fought off the mutant bugs.

FFM - Stay Alive ft. Felix Bushe (Dead Island 2 Opening Song)

Rainbow Dash took flight and used her super speed and fast reflexes to narrowly dodge every attacks from the flying bug-men.

Upon finding an opening, the Falcon-Woman dives down to snatch up an ant-man, and carried it up into the air, before she lets go, dropping it down onto some of its other comrades.

Amidst the battle, Applejack had grabbed one of the Mantis-Man into a headlock, before she bent one of its scythes, forcing it to parry and fight off the other Mantis-Men and Ant-Men’s sharp blades.

“Pinkie Pie!” Applejack howled, kicking one of the Ant-Men’s discarded club to the monkey-man. “Catch!”

“Got it!” Pinkie Pie chattered, catching the club with her feet, and using it to bash away one of the Grasshopper-Men trying to jump on her.

“Y’know, I’ve watched A Bug’s Life,” Pinkie Pie breaks the fourth wall. “But this is just bugging me out!”

“EW!” Rarity cringed in disgust, as she swatted away some of the attacking bug creatures. “Icky, icky! Creepy crawlers! Ew! Don’t touch my dress! Somebody save me!”

“I gotcha Rarity,” Sunset Shimmer complied, swinging on a vine and picking up Rarity.

Unfortunately, for the snow leopard-woman’s dress, some of the bug-men had grabbed onto her skirt, which ripped.

“AAAAHHH!!!” Rarity screamed in horror at the large tear of her dress. “My dress!”

Elsewhere in the battle, Marina and Beatrice were standing back-to-back, fending off the bug-men that surrounded them.

Marina was fending off the bug-men, using her hair tentacles to ensnare her opponents, allowing Beatrice to finish them off, with a bite of jaws to rip their heads off.

Among some of the bug-men, were the zombies carrying hives of the strange bugs, born and bred from Chrysalis’s stinger.

Beatrice whipped her tail to trip one of the zombies, and watched as it stood back up, with angry bees pour from the hives and flying towards the crocodile and octopus Reverse-Hybrids. The two quickly submerged themselves in the water to escape from the bees.

The bees then flew towards some of the bug-men that have been killed. Then, unexpectedly, as if it was magic, the bug-men that were dead, rose up and stalked towards the girls.

Just as the zombies could advance any closer, a tree branch was snapped from the side, knocking several zombies to the ground. But one unfortunate zombie had its entire top-half knocked off, leaving only its legs and half of the hive standing, which soon keeled over dead.

“Those zombies are walking hives!” Scorpan explained, as he grabs onto another tree branch, snapping it forward to knock down the zombies. “Destroy the zombies, you destroy the hives. And no hives, means no more parasites that can make more zombies!”

The girls did as Scorpan advised, using the trees, stones, even some other bug-men to destroy the zombies and crushing the hives and the bees they carry.

Unfortunately, despite their teamwork, the Ant-Men were still on the march with their overwhelming number working in their favor.

Many of the girls were on the receiving end of some casualties. Some of which were more humiliating than fatal.

Sunset Shimmer’s bikini top was torn off, Applejack’s shirt and skirt were all ripped to ribbons, and Rarity’s dress came undone.

“AAAAAHHH!!!” The She-Beasts screamed as they frantically covered themselves, trying to salvage what was left of their modesty.

“I’m one to working out on a hot sunny day, sometimes in the undies even,” Applejack grumbled. “But this just ain’t right!”

“Who do you think you are?!” Rarity roared in outrage at the ant-men. “This is no way to treat a lady! This is sexual harassment! Keep this up and I’ll sue you all in court.”

“I doubt anyone on this island are big on politics, let alone complaints, Rarity,” Sunset frowned, while wrapping her arms over her breasts.

Nevertheless, in spite of the loss of their dignities, if not modesty, the She-Beasts continued the fight, until the battle became much too tiring.

“There’s just too many of them!” Rainbow Dash screeched, losing her breath. “They just keep coming! We’ll never rescue Twilight if we keep this up…”

“Rainbow is right!” Applejack barked. “We need another plan!”

As if answering their need for a new strategy, Beatrice looked around at their surroundings, sniffing the air.

“I smell methane,” Beatrice sniffed. “And hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, and trace phosphine.”

“Which is?” Rainbow asked.

“It’s gas.”

“Pinkie!”

“It’s not me!” Pinkie Pie screeched in defense.

“Not that kind of gas,” Beatrice clarified. “Swamp gas.”

The crocodile Reverse-Hybrid took out a lighter from the pockets of her pants and clicked it.

“Now’s not the time to be smoking, Santello!” Applejack barked.

However, Sunset and Marina both have a wide look of alarm on their faces. An expression that someone knows that the worst is about to happen.

Marina frantically screamed, “Fourth of July! September 11 attack!”

“What?!” The others exclaimed in confusion.

“Beatrice is going to blow this place up!” Sunset screamed. “We have to submerge! Now!”

Sunset was the first to hold her breath as she dives underwater, with Marina following. Soon, Scorpan and the other girls followed, until Beatrice manages to lit a spark of flame. Without warning, the air immediately combusts, into a blazing cloud of inferno.

From underwater, Beatrice looked up, seeing Chrysalis and her bugs retreating, escaping the flames.

Swimming to safety, away from Chrysalis and the flames, Scorpan and the girls climbed onto shores, tired, wet, but triumphant.

“Good thinking on your part, Beatrice!” Scorpan complimented the crocodile Reverse-Hybrid, who simply nodded.

On the way, Rainbow Dash walked up to Applejack, “By the way, nice butt!”

“Oh shut up!” Applejack blushed a shade of red, embarrassed to be walking in her pink lacy undergarments.

End fight song

“There it is,” Scorpan pointed. “The Snake’s Pit.”

“And the King Cobra’s lair,” Beatrice snarled. “And the cobra’s name is Sombra.”

“Hehe! King Sombra!” Pinkie Pie giggled. “It’s got a nice ring to it. Doesn’t it?”

“Pinkie! Now’s not the time for jokes,” Sunset scolded firmly. “We need a plan to get in there and rescue Twilight! You know the ins and outs of the cave, right Mr. Scorpan?”

“I wouldn’t exactly say I know the ins and outs,” Scorpan replied. “I only know that Sombra sleeps in the deepest part of the caverns. That’s about it. It’s also very dark, with lots of snakes.”

“What kinda snakes are we talking about?” Applejack asked.

“The venomous kinds. Cobras, rattlesnakes, and pit vipers.”

“Sorry I asked.”

“But the snakes aren’t what you need to worry about.”

“We know! It’s the big one we’re after!” Rainbow Dash flared her wings. “And we’re going after him to save Twilight!”

“Not so fast, Dash,” Scorpan stopped the falcon-woman. “There’s an even bigger snake in the grass.”

As if on cue, the sound of trees swaying and branches snapping was heard, coming from the surrounding trees. Something large was emerging.

Soon, the head of a dragon burst from the trees, connecting to the long slender neck of a large serpent. Then, another, and another, followed by several more.

The sun was setting behind the group, but with the remaining amount of daylight they have, they were all alarmed to see that all heads share the same body. They counted seven hissing dragon heads sharing one body of a huge snake. It was a hydra.

“So that’s the bigger snake?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Eeyup,” Scorpan confirmed.

From the safety of their hiding spots, behind the trees, the group watched as the hydra slithers around the area, with each heads looking in different directions until it slithers on its way.

“That thing guards the entrance to the Snake Pit,” Scorpan explained. “No one can escape, without getting past it. Only Sombra can control the beast.”

“And with seven heads, it’s gonna be tricky to sneak pass it,” Sunset grimaced.

“Unless one of us can distract it,” Scorpan stated. “But they’ll have to be fast, to avoid it, and lure it away, long enough for us to get in.”

“I can do it,” Rainbow Dash said. “Nobody’s faster than me. I can fly circles around that overgrown snake.”

“It’s too risky,” Applejack shook her head.

“Risqué like your sexy underwear, Applejack?” Pinkie Pie teased.

“Pinkie!” Scorpan and the girls scolded at the monkey-woman.

“It’s too dangerous for ya to go in alone, Dash,” Applejack continued. “You’ll need my help. I’ll distract half of the heads, while you distract the other halves.”

“Or maybe we can all distract each of the heads, until it’s dizzy, so we can sneak into the cave?” Rarity suggested.

“No! We can’t afford to split and divide our number,” Scorpan said. “Without the hydra, Sombra is too strong to handle alone.”

“Then how do we decide who to distract the hydra then? Alphabetical order?” Rarity asked.

“Uh, excuse me?” Fluttershy spoke up.

“Fluttershy, it’s brave of you to volunteer,” Sunset began. “But we can’t let you be live bait to that monster.”

“Oh, no. That’s not what I was about to say,” The Bat-Woman clarified. “I have a solution on how we could decide.”

“Hmmm?” Everyone gathered around Fluttershy.

“We could maybe use blades of grasses, or sticks, to decide who should go?” Fluttershy suggested. “Y’know, something similar to how we decide by picking the short straws?”

Everyone all exchanged looks, before they all share an agreement.

“What a good idea, Fluttershy!” Applejack barked. “Okay. We need some grass.”

“Or maybe some silly straws, like I always carry around in case of silly straws emergency?” Pinkie Pie quipped, reaching into her hair to pull out a bunch of colorful straws.

Scorpan was flabbergasted, “What? How? When?”

“It’s Pinkie Pie being Pinkie,” The girls all said together, before they each got their straws.

Each straws have different lengths, and whichever girls ended up holding the shortest, was elected to distract the hydra.

Eventually, all the states have been drawn. Soon, all eyes fell on the unlucky chosen volunteer.

Later that night, Loona was tossing and turning in her sleep. She was whimpering, kicking her legs, not out of fear. But out of longing to be back home again. To be with the people who took her into their abode, whether she asked for it, or not.

The days when she was just a lone dog. A loner in the home of a human. Even though she hated him, as of late, she found herself missing his presence. The smell of his small, foul home, reeked with the horrid stench of beverages called alcohols and beers, the soft, rugged, dry and moist feel of the home's carpeted floor. And on some cold nights, the warm cozy bed by the fire was relaxing. The warmth from the flame soothing her tired aching body, helping her relax to sleep.

She may not have liked her owner, but she did love the home he shared with her. Now, they've all been taken. She was taken from them. And all because she didn't love her owner enough.

In her sleep, Loona finds herself a puppy again. It was during her younger days, when she still had her mom, and was part of a litter of puppies, just like her. Loona could barely remember her mother's face, but she could still remember the soft and wet touch of her tongue, as she licks and kisses her for comfort, and to reassure Loona that she loved her.

It hurts Loona to live with the fact that she couldn't remember her mother's face. Nor her brothers' and sisters'. Perhaps this is the result of the man, Dr. Grogar. His experiments to turn her human have robbed her memories of her identities as a dog. And she is becoming human, against her will, forgetting her mother in the process.

Loona hated the humans. They hated her and she hated them. Now, not one, but two of them dared to have the gall to save her, to love her. Their love was making her lose her mind. Why and how can their love be making her humanity show?

As if to answer her burning question, a song played in her flashback of memories. It was haunting, but also familiar.

'I...I know that song...' Loona gasped, feeling tears trickling at the corner of her eyes. 'It was my mother’s...she used to sing me that song!'

At this realization, Loona didn't want to wake up. She wanted to make every moment in her dream count, as she relives this single moment of her puppy days, when she was truly inspired.

‘Mother always said…when I’m alone…just listen…’

The Rescuers — Someone is Waiting For You

Loona cried herself. She had nearly forgotten that song. But she loved it. As a young puppy, she didn't quite understand its meanings. But now, as a grown dog, she finally understood. But it was too late.

A human didn't take away her freedom. Love took her in. But she didn't love. Instead, she hate, and hate took her away.

Wanting to escape from the dreams and memories that troubled her, Loona blinked her eyes open, finding her nose sniffling, her cheeks wet from her tears, and her lips quivering. She gingerly got up on her paws, looks around her to see she was still in her hut, on the island. A reminder that she was still a prisoner on the island, probably half-way around the world, far from her owner.

She was brought to this island by Cozy Glow. At the thought of the wretched little girl who had dognapped her, Loona looked down at herself, remembering she was still wearing the wretched white dress that Cozy had forced her to wear. To Loona, she hated it, because it felt more like a mark of her imprisonment to Cozy Glow. Even though she and Spike have escaped, wearing it made Loona feel Cozy Glow's presence nearby. As if she was still holding onto Loona, wrapping her claws around her. She could even still feeling the brutal stings of her whip on her back.

Loona wept another sobbing whimper, feeling she can never escape from Cozy Glow.

“Make a wish for each tears,” Loona sniffled. “I wish…I wish…I wish I was home…I want to go home. I wish Blitz was here. I wish Cozy Glow was dead. I wish…I wish…I wish Spike is okay…”

The more she listens to her mother’s song echoing in her head, the more she felt like a puppy again. No longer a dog trapped in a human’s body, but a scared puppy in the body of an angry dog.

She wanted so badly for her mother’s loving tongue to wash over her again, to take away her fears.

Loona kept on crying, until she felt something knocking against her bed. She looked over to the side, to see the little ram, Kirin, looking up at her with worry in his eyes.

When she looked deeply into his eyes, she sees her reflection. A sad puppy and a frighten dog, both staring back at her. She was looking at herself, in Kirin.

He must be worried and longing for his mom as badly as she does.

Loona reaches down to pick up the ram and hugged him close to her chest. She sniffed into his wools and continued to smother him close, just the way her mother once did for her.

In a way, it felt as if Loona’s mother was still there, beside her, loving her.

“Goodnight, Kirin,” Loona licked the little ram. “Sleep tight…”

However, they didn’t go to sleep right away, when Loona had a brand new thought.

“Actually, Kirin…” Loona began. “Would you like to visit Spike? I think he would appreciate it…”

With that, Loona picked up Kirin in her arms, before she crawled out of bed and carefully got up on her feet, using her crutches to support herself.

Nevertheless, Loona strained to endure the pain as she walks herself and Kirin to the Medic Hut, where Spike was resting.

He looked so peaceful that Loona was certain that he was asleep. But she was also worried that he may as well be dead. Thankfully, when she pressed her ears against his chest, she was relieved to hear his beating heart.

“He’s okay…” Loona muttered. “Barely…”

“Oh! Loona!” A voice cried out, startling the wolf-dog. “Hi Kirin. What are you both doing here?”

Loona and Kirin both turned around to look and see that it was the shark, Starlight Glimmer.

“We’re just…Kirin wanted to visit him,” Loona sighed.

“Uh huh,” Starlight replied with skepticism. “Only Kirin?”

“Is he going to live?” Loona quickly asked to change the subject.

Starlight walked over to Spike and puts a webbed hand over his head.

“His fever has gone down,” Starlight confirmed. “He just needs some rest and he’ll be as good as new.”

But Loona seemed rather unconvinced. She looked at Starlight and was bewildered to see the shark getting down on her knees, clasping her hands together.

“What are you doing?” Loona asked.

“I’m praying to the Lord for Spike’s health and well-being,” Starlight answered.

“Praying? What’s praying?”

“Praying is a way to express your gratitude or asking a special request from our God. I’m asking him for Spike to get well soon.”

“Does it actually work?”

“Sometimes, it may not always work, but it’s worth a shot.”

Loona and Kirin watched as Starlight Glimmer finished her prayer, before she took her leave. Loona was about to follow, when she looked back at Spike.

Deciding to give praying a try, Loona got down on her knees and clasped her hands together.

“Dear Lord, please make this human, Spike, feel better again. I want to thank him for saving me from Cozy Glow, and I feel that I owe my life to him.”

The pipes broke as Loona’s eyes started to water and she remembers some other humans she owed her life to.

“And to Blitz, Millie, and the fat one, I…I owe my life to them as well. So please mighty Lord, watch over them and please tell them where I am. I’ve been trapped on this island and it’s been nothing but Hell for me. And I just want to go home.”

But where in the world can a dog like her go? Or if she’s even a dog anymore. She’s neither human, nor dog. Can a creature like her find a place in the world? And would her owner, Blitz, even accept her anymore?

Her only hope for worth now is the human Spike. Hoping that he is awake to take her.

“Please Spike…” Loona begged tearfully. “Please be…alright…”

Unable to support the weight of her despair any longer, Loona collapsed onto the bed, next to Spike, and wept tearfully.

She couldn’t understand why she’s been crying like this. Or how much longer she can cry until she stops. She has kept in her emotions for so long, that every time she cries, it feels more and more as if she’s being emptied of all her emotions.

Could this be the work of Cozy Glow breaking her? And then later, Spike and Kirin rebuilding her? Or has she gotten soft?

Loona no longer cares. She just wants all the sadness to be relieved from her and to be awaken from this nightmare. But more importantly, she wants Spike to be well again.

Nudging at her side, she can feel the little ram, Kirin pressing his nose gently against her for comfort.

Darkness greeted him. Everywhere he looked, there was nothing but darkness.

“Where…where am I?” Spike asked himself in his dream.

He was lost in a dark room that was so tall and spacious that he could hardly see where the ceiling is. Nor could he see a wall.

“Hello?” Spike called out.

But only silence greeted him. Each passing seconds of the deathly silence is another to fuel Spike’s anxiety, that he could hardly stand still. He needed to get out of there. Trouble was, he didn’t know where to go.

Not a sign of life in sight. No one to turn to for help. Not a sound. He must figure it out on his own.