"And that's what I did with him and his friend yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that as well."

"And the other days before those?"

"As I said earlier. After I had him clean up that mess he made in the forest, I spent those days teaching him about proper predatory standards while I also had Mister Bear teach him how to fish and forage."

"What?! Why the hay would you teach a monster how to be a better monster?!"

"Well..."

"I'm with Rainbow on this, sugarcube. That just don't make a lick of sense."

"But it does. And he even swore to me that he would only hunt when he was hungry. Never for sport."

"Ooh, that's just rich. Then I guess he'll be hunting a lot in the future huh?"

"That's not-"

"If he's hungry, why don't we just send him some pies from Sugarcube Corner?"

"Pinkie. Not helping."

"What? If Mister Lizard and his friend Baddy Assy want to eat so much, shouldn't they at least try Missis Cake's new Fantastical Fudgelicious Fudge cake?"

"That's not the point, Pinkie!"

"Well it should be!"

"Not it shouldn't!"

"It really shouldn't, sugarcube."

"Uh, girls?"

"Should too!"

"Should not!"

"Should too!"

"Should not!"

"ENOUGH!"

...

...

"Sigh. Regardless of whether the topic of what the creature eats should or should not be disputed can be left for another day. Right now, we still have yet to acknowledge the real issue at hoof.

"And that is..?"

"That Fluttershy is banned from seeing that creature anymore."

...

...

...

...

"WHAT?!"

A growling yawn came from Richard's maw as he stood hunched at the shoreline of the river that flowed near his castle. The reason? Why to catch his breakfast of course. Granted it was considerably later in the day for breakfast, but after that good ass nap he had woken up from earlier, and given the fact that he had yet to meet anyone who could be capable of telling him otherwise in his current state, he had come to the conclusion that breakfast could be whenever he damn well said it could be. And after discovering a sudden hankering for seafood upon his return to the mortal realm, Richard had little else stopping him from heading out of the castle and strolling on down to his local river. And that's where he now found himself, his body posed over the water as he stared down into its blue depths, watching the little fish within swim by, oblivious to their reptilian reaper who currently perceived them the same way one would when staring into the depths of their fridge during the late hours of the night.

Now, keep in mind that when it came to fishing, even in its most basic practice, Richard had yet to ever actually fish once in his life...past life that is. Yeah, a corporate career really didn't leave much leeway for grabbing a pole, renting a boat, and heading for your nearest fishing locale. Fishing alongside his old man? Yeah, Richard's dad wasn't really into fishing either. I mean, why waste hours waiting for a fish to bite when you could simply wait a couple minutes for your personal chef to prepare you the finest plate of fish money could buy? At least that's what his dad once said, that is, before he was poisoned by said personal chef who later turned out to be a hitman hired on by a rival corporation. Yikes.

Poor fatherly advice aside, Richard had to instead rely on the pointers given to him by Fluttershy's friend, Mister Bear. Did I forget to mention that Mister Bear was also a literal bear? Yeah, that little meet and greet between the two was...awkward to say the least. Of course, considering just who Fluttershy was and what she did, Richard really shouldn't have been too surprised when Flutters visited him that one day with a bear at her flanks. And after one brief scare involving Richard reducing said bear to a quivering mess as he held it literally by the scruff of its neck while threatening to "turn all its insides outside," and another moment spent apologizing profusely to the bear under the harsh gaze of one very upset mare, he was finally able to learn how to properly utilize his claws. And by "properly utilize," that really just meant that Richard would violently stab at the water until he would skewer the right amount of fish on his claws that he thought would meet his appetite. Hey, if it worked, it worked.

And today was no different as Richard, after having placed two dozen or so fish into a sheet he took from the castle, tied the sheet to his tail and headed back to the castle.

"Now all I need is a pot and some seasoning." He growled to himself.

But as Richard made his way home, he suddenly stopped to look up at the sky, or more specifically, to the grey clouds that began to slowly build over the trees of the Everfree.

"Hmm. Looks like it's going to rain later." Richard hissed to himself before simply shrugging and continuing towards his stone fortress. "Eh. As long as it doesn't rain on my bed."

"As I said before, Fluttershy. You're not allowed to visit that creature anymore."

"But...But-"

"No, Fluttershy!” Twilight suddenly yelled, causing the yellow mare to eep. “You will not talk to that creature again, or see it again, or...or even go anywhere near wherever that thing sleeps!”

Verbally and physically shook to her core, Flutters again attempted to speak in defense of her friend when her other friend pressed her own advance.

“And if I ever find out that you went back to its lair again, I’ll...I’ll...” She shook her head. “Oh I don’t even know what I’d do, but I'll do something all right!”

Finishing her little attack, Twilight finally looked up with wild eyes and heavy breathes to see Fluttershy, her friend, reduced to tears. Oh boy.

Blinking, Twilight found herself with a pit in her gut as she had come to realize the error of her argument, and upon glancing at the others, revealed her fears to be true, if not with blatant obviousness.

“Oh no. Fluttershy, I-I didn’t mean to-“

But in reality, she did. She knew it, the girls knew it, and Fluttershy especially knew it, which was the reason why rather than stay and hear an apology she knew wasn't all that sincere, the mare instead bolted out of her chair and was out the door a second later, her friends silently watching her go while a sullen Twilight vainly reached out to nothing before dropping her hoof and sighing to herself.

"Well...that could've gone better."

"Not now, Rainbow."

"URrrp. Yup. That shit was good. Could've used some salt though."

Patting his stomach, of which was now filled with about a dozen or so semi-burned fish, Richard sighed happily as he relaxed on his reptilian rear in the glow of the evening sun. A turn of the head also revealed his little buddy Badass to be happily basking in the rays of sunlight as he too lay beside the larger lizard, his stomach noticeably rounder due to the accomplishment of eating half a whole fish before succumbing to the warmth of the evening light and laying down for a quick afternoon nap.

Seeing the little lizard curled up and cutely snoozing beside him, Richard could only utter a deep chuckle before his senses were suddenly alerted to the approach of a very familiar scent.

Smiling toothily, Richard turned in the direction of the scent and, sure enough, his good friend Fluttershy was soon in clear view after braking through the treeline not a few seconds later. However, upon spotting her and offering a wave of his claw, and tail as well, his growing positivity and optimism for what he thought would be another nice day was abruptly put on pause the second he locked eyes with the mare. Teary eyes that is. Oh no.

"Fluttershy?" Richard hesitantly growled, to which upon hearing her name, the pegasus in turn all but darted towards the deathclaw, her wings flapping wildly despite her galloping hooves never leaving the ground. And once she got close enough, the mare then leapt into Richard's claws, sending the manclaw for a hell of a loop as she just cried into his scales.

Blinking, Richard was now left sitting stock-still as the butter-yellow pony continued to weep and whimper against him, unsure on just how to proceed given his current predicament.

"Umm...Fluttershy?"

Still the mare wept and still was the deathclaw left confused as fuck.

"Uh...hmm...Fl-Fluttershy?"

"..."

Still nothing, huh? Well, time to try something different.

Ever so slowly, Richard raised one of his claws and wrapped it around the mare's quivering back, a back which tensed up at his touch. So far so good. Then with his other free claw he ever so slowly began to pet her head, introducing a simple back and forth motion that while intended to offer some manner of support, was without much comfort as it was awkward for the deathclaw trying his best not to accidently snap the poor mare's neck. And while he continued to pat the mare's head, Richard tried to offer what manners of verbal comforting he could.

"There, there, Fluttershy. It's okay. Everything's okay."

Now, while his actions may have seemed in vain or may have been having the opposite effect on the poor girl, it was actually surprising to Richard when he heard the mare beginning to actually calm down, if the sniffling and eye rubbing were anything of a giveaway.

"Nay. Whinny."

Okay...well she seemed alright now. Course, Richard wasn't sure if she was either thanking him or telling him to stop, but at least she didn't seem to be against his idea of helping so...progress?

"There we go. All better." Richard hissed, hoping that that was the end of that emotional rollercoaster. It probably wasn't. "Now. Why don't we get our good friend Badass awake so he can help me figure out what's wrong, yeah?"

With one last sniffle and a rub at her cheek, the little pegasus cutely nodded and Richard couldn't help but smile, which in turn earned a little smile from the mare as well. Daww. See? Progress.

"That's the spirit." He growled before turning to the little lizard still happily snoozing beside him. "Badass? Come on buddy, wake up. I need your help with something."

"Do you think Fluttershy is doing okay?"

"I'm sure Fluttershy's alright, just a little upset is all."

"...Heck, I bet when we get there, she won't even be sad anymore."

"You sure about that, Dash?"

"Positive...ninety-five percent...okay, maybe like eighty-"

"Uggh."

Shaking her head, Twilight upped the pace as she and the other girls hoofed it on over to Fluttershy's cottage in the hopes of settling differences and possibly having to make amends, despite the tiny lingering voice at the back of her head telling her that she was more or less in the right.

Still though, To think that their friendship was at risk all because of some creature they found in the Everfree. Ooo, if or when she ever got the chance again, she was so going to make that big dumb lizard regret ever messing with her friends. But current objectives demanded current attention, and right now, all Twilight was worried about was how far she'd have to go to make up with Fluttershy. And as they were soon walking up to the door of her home, Twilight was about ready to bite the proverbial arrowhead And apologize like a big mare.

Knock Knock

"Hello? Fluttershy? Sigh. Look, Fluttershy, Can you please just open the door? I-We still haven't finished our talk earlier so could you please just come out here and-"

Before she could finish, the door suddenly swung open, and rather than being met with a saddened Fluttershy, the girls were instead introduced to one very irritated-looking rabbit.

"Oh! Um, hi...Angel." Twilight said, forcing a smile. "Is Fluttershy home?"

Course, while the bunny standing before her couldn't actually talk, Twilight was still somewhat put off when the little thing began berating her in rabbit tongue, likely exhausting every curse word in its arsenal in the process as it simply informed her that Fluttershy wasn't in fact at home, and that the girls were basically wasting their time. And then it slammed the door on Twilight. Yup, guess she wasn't home. And if she wasn't home, then that could only mean...

"Oh no."

Turning around in a flash, Twilight looked spooked as all hell as she quickly galloped passed her friends and made for Ponyville.

"Twilight dear?" Rarity asked as she and the others followed after her. "What's-"

"No time to explain Rarity, Fluttershy might be in danger!"

Hearing this, Rarity was then about to ask when Rainbow Dash flew passed her and was at Twilight's side in a second.

"It's the monster, right? She went to go see it again, didn't she!"

Pursing her lips, the unicorn could only nod as she picked up the pace, sending the others into a gallop as they all neared the edge of Ponyville.

"I knew it!" Rainbow growled, before looking back at the mare expectantly. "What's the plan then?"

Rather than answer though, Twilight remained silent all the way to town. And even after they had finally reached Ponyville proper, Twilight then headed straight for Golden Oaks Library, her friends hot on her hooves. Nearing the front door, Twilight rushed on ahead, opening it and making a beeline for the stairs, her friends entering the library's wooden interior just as she crested the top.

"Twilight! Wait up!"

But she did not wait up, for as her friends had finally caught up with her, they found the unicorn in her bedroom, frantically searching for something underneath her bed. And when she didn't find what she was looking for, she moved to her closet, pulling bits and pieces out in a rushed search for her item of apparent importance.

"Sugarcube!" Applejack finally said after several moments of watching her friend not find what she was looking for. "Just what the hay are you looking for?"

"I'm...looking...for...aha! Found it!"

Pulling out the item she'd been searching for, the girls were stunned to see her reveal to them a chest marked up and down its wooden exterior with magical runes. Runes which, with a wave of her horn, were set aglow before disappearing one by one in a matter of seconds. And finally when the last rune evaporated from view, Twilight opened the chest, showing to her gasping friends five gleaming golden necklaces and one very eye-catching tiara.

"The Elements of Harmony!" The girls collectively said, eliciting a single nod from purple book horse.

"So, we're really going to use them?" Rainbow asked as Twilight levitated each of accessories out and into her saddlebags. "On the monster?"

"If worst comes to worst...yes Rainbow Dash, yes we will."

The blue pegasus grinned.

"Awesome."

Apple pone then stepped forward.

"I don't know about this, sugarcube. You really think Fluttershy's really going to agree to us using the elements on it?"

Upon hearing this, Twilight stopped to ponder that for a moment before she simply shook her head and brushed passed her friends.

"We'll just have to leave that factor up for consideration later. Right now our friend's in trouble and it's up to us to help her, now come on girls!"

Watching their friend go, the girls looked to one another before a silent agreement had been finalized between them and they were soon following after Twilight as she headed back down the stairs and towards the front door.

"Twilight?"

Hearing her name, the unicorn stopped, her hoof rested on the door's handle as she regarded one very confused purple and green dragon.

"What is it Spike?" She asked, impatience creeping into her voice.

"Where are you and the girls going?"

"To save Fluttershy and kick a monster's teeth in!" Rainbow chided in, much to Twilight's displeasure.

"Rainbow!"

"What?"

Blinking, it took the little dragon a moment to process that before he finally put two and two together.

"So wait. Fluttershy's in trouble and you girls are going to go rescue her from that creature you saw in the Everfree?"

"Eeyup. Pretty much, Spike."

"Applejack!"

"What?"

"Can I come?"

Now it was Twilight's turn say what.

"What?"

"Can I come along with you girls?"

"No. Absolutely not." Twilight said, and before Spike could ask again, she opened the door and stepped out, her friends followed suit.

"Oh come on, Twilight! You wouldn't stop talking about this thing ever since you saw it. And if it really is as dangerous as you said it was, then why can't I help you and the girls take it on?"

"Because it IS dangerous, Spike!" Twilight all but shouted. "And right now, I don't want you getting involved with something that's between us and the creature!" She then set the door handle aglow with her magic. "So just stay home and wait for us to come back with Fluttershy."

And with that, she practically slammed the door, unsettling the little dragon a tad. But only a tad mind you, for as the five girls headed off with thoughts likely centered around either the monster or their friend, It was very likely that they all thought that he would simply follow Twilight's orders and stay home like a good little dragon.

...But suffice to say, while good little dragons would stay home, heroic little dragons would think otherwise. Would do otherwise, more like it. So guess which one Spike wanted to be at that given moment?

"Heh. Sure thing Twilight. I'll stay home. Surrrre I will."

Author's Note

Well folks, I'm back.

And surely enough, this story isn't dead, not yet at least.

Yeah, sorry for being gone for so long as I was, boot camp was a pain to say the least. But now that I'm in school, here's to hoping that I can actually get this fic rolling again.

...Hopefully.

But anyways, glad to be back folks. Now let's see if I still got it in me to keep this thing interesting.