Beasts from Within

While Equestria is mostly known for its large mountains and populated cities, it’s also home to wide, luscious forests that go on for as far as the eye can see. These biomes are home to all kinds of wildlife including many mythical beasts such as timberwolves or even the mighty hydra. But these forests also contain many landmarks of Equestrian that have long since been abandoned; waiting to be rediscovered. Cabins, wells, even entire villages can be found within the trees of these lush forests. One such cabin was located in a forest that was near a large mountain range.

In its heyday, this cabin would provide a temporary resting place for any pegasus who wanted a place to rest their wings, or any pony who rock climbed as a hobby. However, after many years, the cabin has long since been abandoned and left to be reclaimed by the forest. That was, until a certain group of ponies had found the cabin after taking up refuge in one of the nearby mountains. They used the cabin as a unit of storage for certain supplies such as firewood and hay. It was part of routine maintenance to ensure that they were always in stock of certain materials. Today, the job fell upon one group member who had been joined by another fellow colleague.

“So you’re saying you saw somepony talking about the kaiju?”, asked Biollante.

“Yes, and even worse, he was talking about them to one of the princesses”, added Junior as he struggled to hold the large stack of chopped wood on his back.

“Does Orga also know about this?”, asked Biollante as she used an ax she was holding with her magic to chop a log in half.

“Of course he does, he’s the only other pony that does”, replied Junior as another log was added to his stack.

“That definitely sounds like a problem. We should probably let Des know about it”, said Biollante.

“No!”, exclaimed Junior. “If he finds out he’ll sack me for not telling him sooner.”

“So what, he already gave you permission to use the Gem of Madness. If anything, I don’t see a reason why you shouldn’t have told him”, said Biollante. The longer this conversation went on for, the more suspicious she was becoming.

“Yes, I know, but with everything that’s happened this past week, I don’t wanna-”, Junior was cut off as another log was added to the stack in his back, causing him to strain, “holy hay, how much more of this do we need?!”

“Let’s see here”, said Biollante as she lifted another log on to Junior’s back”, alright, that’s enough.”

Junior merely grunted as he took the stack of wood over to the cabin. “How come Orga makes this look so easy, my back is killing me!”, he exclaimed.

“Because Orga actually tries to stay in shape”, answered Biollante before she used her magic to lift the stack off of Junior with little effort. “But, are you sure you want to keep this hidden from Des, you are already getting on his bad side.”

“I don’t really have much of a choice now, besides I doubt it matters. I’m more than positive we are all the closer to summoning the kaiju spirits now that we have-”, Junior trailed off as soon as he realized how easily Biollante was lifting the stack of wood.

“You could’ve done that the whole time, couldn’t you”, he asked with small traces of disbelief.

“You never asked”, answered Biollante before stacking the wood neatly inside the cabin. Junior groaned in response.

“Oh please, give me a break, I’m more used to staying inside the clean and safe environment inside the caves”, he said before making his way back up the mountain.

“Right, as in the musky, cold, damp, dusty, rough interior of a mountain that houses an alicorn with a spirit who’s millions of years old. I quite frankly can’t think of anywhere else I would…aside from anywhere else”, said Biollante. Junior merely rolled his eyes as he and Biollante traveled back up the trail to the entrance of the mountain.

“By the way, though I doubt you want to hear it, thanks for helping me. In fact, I’m a little surprised that you decided to join me in gathering firewood”, said Biollante.

“Don’t get the wrong idea. I only helped so that way I could get out of the caves and try and gather some fresh air”, said Junior. Biollante merely scoffed, she felt she shouldn’t have been surprised.

“That’s about what I expected, but what made you want to leave; I mean, you were just telling me how you preferred being inside”, she said as they reached the entrance to the massive cave. As soon as they entered and rounded a bend, the sight of a certain creature sent a chill up Junior’s spine.

“It’s because of…him”, he stated.

He gestured to the figure sitting before them in a makeshift desk and chair that he had summoned. It had only been a couple of days since Discord had been freed, but he had already managed to make himself home in the group’s, now titled the Legends, cavernous shelter. And unfortunately for Junior, the sleeping arrangement had not changed. Luckily for him and Biollante, neither Des nor Discord noticed the duo as Des discussed different kaiju and their habitats.

“Kaiju could be classified under different classes considering the role they played in Equestria. There are the Wanderers, those who provide the plant growth, the Raptors, those that provide the sky, and many more. The highest class are the Monarchs, kaijus that are meant to bring balance to the world in order to ensure the planet’s future”, said Des. Discord listened intently as he wrote down in a notebook.

“What were some of the Monarchs?”, he asked. Des flashed a small smile, as if he had been waiting for Discord to ask him that.

“There were only two Monarchs to ever exist”, he said before turning to the massive cave painting, “ironically, they were the ones that resulted in the titan’s supposed extinction.” Discord smiled over the thought, he loved that word.

“Despite the disappearance of the kaiju, the planet they left behind would become the home of the very inhabitants that live in it today. And yet, only one book contains the true history of Equestria”, said Des. He turned back to see Discord continuing to write in his notebook. “You’re awfully quiet today, element of chaos; that’s incredibly unlike you.”

“It’s just so much knowledge to take in at once. While stories of Equestria originally being inhabited by giant creatures is a tad bit extreme, even for me, I must say that it’s all very interesting”, said Discord. He stood up as he looked at the massive cave painting depicting the battle between Monarchs. He found it quite humorous that the same creatures that were supposed to protect the environment almost destroyed it.

“Although I do have one question”, said Discord.

“Yes?”, asked Des. He expected it to be a question about the kaiju’s biology, the different classes, potentially even about the Kyojin Tomb-

“Do kaiju have gender?”, asked Discord. Des stood silent for a moment; even he didn’t expect that from the element of chaos. “I mean, surely there must be more ways to classify these creatures other than just the basics. After all, if they can reproduce, incredibly, then they must have specified genders. Like, were there any female kaiju, nonbinary kaiju, any shopping bags?”

“…Excuse me?”, asked Des.

“Nevermind, I got my answer”, said Discord before writing in his notebook. Des stood dumbfounded for a moment before continuing. Meanwhile, both Junior and Biollante watched as Des essentially became Discord’s teacher.

“It’s been like that all week. Every night he won't stop talking about all the interesting stuff he learned about the kaiju that day; as if I don’t know anything”, said Junior as he and Biollante started to walk away. “He just never shuts up. I haven’t gotten a true night of sleep in days!”

“Well, he is the element of chaos”, Biollante said to herself.

“And whenever I tell Des this, he just tells me to suck it up and ‘respect’ our new recruit”, said Junior as he became more and more agitated. “Even though the whole reason we freed our new recruit was for him to summon the Kyojin Tomb, and he can’t even do that!”

“He did say that he can summon the kaiju spirits”, said Biollante.

“Yeah, one at a time, and that requires all of his magic. And besides, we don’t even know if that would even work”, said Junior.

“Well, no matter how you feel about him, you have to admit, Discord is a much more promising option than searching Equestria aimlessly with no real lead”, said Biollante.

“You guys talking about Discord?”, asked a voice. Both Junior and Biollante turned to be met with Orga approaching them. “Because if you are, I suggest dropping it if it’s in a negative light.”

“Why shouldn’t we, that bastard can’t even create portals, what the hay is he gonna do?”, asked Junior. Orga remained silent for a moment before turning around to show his tail.

“Ask me that again when he does this”, he said. Both Junior and Biollante were shocked to find Orga’s ponytail having been replaced with that of a deer; making it look embarrassingly short. Though they were at first surprised, Junior and Biollante couldn’t help but burst out laughing at the sight.

“Wh-What the hay happened?!”, exclaimed Biollante as they continued to laugh.

“I was talking to Gryphon about Discord and that asshole must’ve overheard what I was saying or something”, grumbled Orga.

“You look ridiculous!”, shouted Junior.

“Shut the hay up!”, retorted Orga who couldn’t help but feel incredibly embarrassed. After a while, Junior and Biollante calmed down and stopped laughing.

“Okay…but in all seriousness, I do genuinely believe that Discord could be the key that we need to summon the kaiju spirits. I know he’s a bit of a pain, but that’s just kinda who he is”, said Biollante.

“So you’re saying it’s perfectly fine for him to replace my tail with a deer?”, asked Orga.

“No, not at all…even though it is kinda funny. What I’m saying is to hold out a little longer until Discord has fully prepared himself. All we need is one kaiju spirit in order to start our cause”, said Biollante.

Biollante’s words didn’t do much to ease the tension that her comrades were thinking, but they did cause another question to rise. If Discord did summon a spirit, who would act as its vessel? From what they learned and were told, a kaiju spirit needs a pony to act as bridge from the afterlife to Equestria. In order for that to happen, the spirit must choose who it wants as a vessel before attaching itself to the pony’s consciousness and becoming part of them. And if Des was anything to go off of, the process of the spirit’s attachment seemed rather unpleasant.

“But, you could also look at it like this; if we were to set him free early, then we could potentially have him summon the Kyojin Tomb with a snap of his fingers”, said Junior.

“True…or he could set this entire mountain on fire with a snap of his fingers”, said Orga, bluntly.

“I’m just saying”, said Junior, “this would go by so much faster and easier if we removed the gem for just a secon-”

Light growling could be heard from right behind Junior, interrupting his sentence. Junior and the others turned to face the form of Gryphon approaching them with a displeased look on his face. He looked down at Junior before growling at him. Despite the threatening pose he was in, Junior didn’t let up on his idea. If anything, he was more so unsurprised by Gryphon’s response.

“Oh, please, spare me the lecture. I’m just making a suggestion, one that I believe should be considered”, said Junior. None of his comrades seemed fully convinced however.

“Look, Junior, I get you’re impatient, but what you’re suggesting is that we set the element of chaos free. If we were to do that, how are we supposed to get the Gem of Madness back on him; ask him nicely to please put the necklace back in and not take over Equestria without us?”, said Orga, adding sarcasm to his last statement. Though it was meant to be overexaggerated, the silence from Junior said otherwise.

Orga sighed as he placed a hoof against his temple. “Junior…”, he said, disappointedly.

“It was just a suggestion”, Junior said as he sneered.

“And a rather stupid one at that”, Biollante said bluntly.

“Oh, like you could do any better. All that you’re good at is making those hideous weeds you call flowers grow all over the place”, spatted Junior.

“Don’t talk about my flowers that way!”, exclaimed Biollante as she clenched her teeth. As the two ponies continued to argue, Orga looked at Gryphon with a blank stare.

“When they’re done, don’t tell them where I went; I’d rather prefer some peace and quiet for once”, said Orga before walking away. Despite Orga’s request, Gryphon merely shrugged before flying away without either Junior or Biollante noticing; they were too busy chewing each other’s ears off.

(Ponyville)

It had been nearly a week since the night of the Grand Galloping Gala, and so far, everyone had returned to their routines. Anguirus was back to working at Sweet Apple Acres, bucking apple trees and stacking hay. He enjoyed working on the farm, it proved as both a way to spend time, but to also improve his physical fitness while earning some bits at the same time. He was kept constantly busy in terms of helping with crops or taking care of the farm animals in their pens. There was also another factor that Anguirus had to take care of, or rather three factors.

As he was busy with bucking trees and collecting their apples, the sound of light galloping came from behind him. Right when Anguirus was about to buck the tree, a couple of small figures ran right past him, causing Anguirus to almost lose his balance. He was forced to catch himself by slamming his rear legs into the empty basket, completely crushing it under his hooves. Anguirus sighed in frustration as he turned to see two fillies standing close by, having stopped running due to the noise. He instantly recognized them thanks to their red bow and pink and purple mane.

“Hey, Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, watch where you’re running, that could’ve been either of you two for all I know”, said Anguirus, referring to the destroyed basket.

“Sorry, Aang”, the two fillies said in unison.

“Don’t sweat it, no harm done”, said Anguirus before clearing the remains of the basket. A certain thought came to his mind. “By the way, aren’t there three of you?”

“You mean Scootaloo?”, asked Sweetie Belle.

Anguirus had barely a second to answer when another figure came flying right by him; or rolling right by him. The small orange pegasus in Scootaloo strolled by on her scooter at great speed. Her scooter was pulling a wagon which was filled with several different tools and materials including long tubes of cloth. One of them was sticking out at just the right angle to thwack Anguirus right in the side of the head. Scootaloo came to a stop shortly after, right next to her friends.

“Oooh, sorry Anguirus, I couldn’t stop in time”, said Scootaloo. Instead of getting upset, Anguirus merely chuckled.

“It’s fine, just be more careful”, he said until he noticed the large stack of materials Scootaloo was pulling. There were buckets of paint, planks of wood, a couple of tools, two rolls of cloth, and a bottle of super glue.

“By the way, what’s all this stuff for?”, asked Anguirus.

“Applejack gave us her childhood treehouse to be our own clubhouse”, replied Applebloom.

“The only problem is that it’s in…not that great condition”, added Sweetie Belle.

“So we’re going to try and fix it up”, finished Scootaloo. Anguirus looked back at the stack of supplies and then at the three fillies.

“You sure that you three aren’t gonna need any help?”, he asked. The three girls shook their heads.

“Nope, we can handle it on our own!”, exclaimed Scootaloo.

“Yeah, because whenever we’re working together”, added Sweetie Belle.

“There ain’t nothing we can’t handle”, said Applebloom, “because we’re-”, the three fillies all put their hooves together before shouting at the same time-

“The Cutie Mark Crusaders!”

“Well, alright then, Crusaders, but if you do need any help, you know where to find me”, said Anguirus before getting back to work.

“Don’t worry we’ll be fine”, said Applebloom before turning to her friends. “Come on, guys!”

Shortly afterwards, Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo all made their way into the orchard in the direction of their clubhouse. The sight of the fillies’ smiling, child-like faces brought a smile out of Anguirus. Fond memories of a similar trio of colts came to his mind as he kicked the tree, causing apples to fall perfectly in the baskets. He lifted them up and set them in the cart which was filled with baskets and apples. He brought the cart back to the barn before looking around seeing what else needed to be done.

“Hey, Aang!”, called out a voice. Anguirus turned to be met with Applejack walking towards him.

“Hey, AJ, what’s up?”, he asked.

“Not much, other than that I need ya’ help with somethin’”, answered Applejack.

“Like what?”, asked Anguirus.

“Brand new farmers' windmill just came in, and it weighs a ton”, said Applejack. “Usually, this wouldn’t be much of a problem, but Big Mac just went into Ponyville and won’t be back till dinner.”

“Ok?”, said Anguirus.

“So I need ya’ help in getting that thing upright, or else our crops aren’t gonna make it before Fall’s over”, said Applejack.

“Sure, AJ, though, I doubt it could be that heavy”, said Anguirus. Applejack scoffed at his confidence.

“You’d be surprised”, she said before leading him to the fields. The windmill laid on its side and Applejack wasn’t kidding when she mentioned how much it weighed. It was roughly as tall as the barn and was made entirely out of steel, making it too heavy for even the farmer’s pony herself to lift on her own. Even Anguirus had to admit, it was much bigger than he expected.

“What do ya’ say, tough guy”, said Applejack before punching Anguirus’ shoulder, “sure you can handle it?”

“About to find out”, replied Anguirus. Applejack grabbed two lassos before throwing them on the front end of the windmill. Her precision was impressive as she handed one end of one of the lassos to Anguirus.

“Ready?”, she asked, Anguirus nodded. “Alrighty then…one…two…three!”

Both Applejack and Anguirus pulled with all their might, or at least one of them did. Applejack alone could only manage to make the steel windmill budge, and while she showed signs of strain, Anguirus showed barely any. Once Anguirus’ emblem flashed, that’s when he started pulling. Almost like magic, the entire farmer’s windmill started to be lifted up as Angurius pulled his end of the rope. Even Applejack was surprised by how quickly the windmill was being raised up. After only a few seconds, the farmer’s windmill was upright and standing tall. The two of them panted until Applejack bumped Anguirus’ shoulder.

“Well I’ll be, Aang, you’re one strong stallion. For a second there, it felt like you were pulling me”, said Applejack. Anguirus replied with a smile.

“Don’t mention it, though it was nothing really”, he said.

“I’ll be the judge of that; looks like Bic Mac finally has some competition”, said Applejack. She was at first taken aback by the surprising strength of Anguirus, until she remembered who his older brother was and what happened on his first day at the farm.

“Thanks, AJ”, said Anguirus. He looked back inside the barn and took into account the many carts filled with apples. “We sure are getting several orders for apples.”

“You got that right, Nightmare Night is just around the corner, and you can’t have Nightmare Night without apples”, said Applejack.

“What exactly do you plan on doing for Nightmare Night?”, asked Anguirus. Applejack perked up at the question.

“Well, I was just about to ask you the same thing”, she said.

“What do you mean?”, asked Anguirus.

“Me and the girls were gonna dress up and hangout that night. And if you and your brothers weren’t planning on doing anything, we were wondering if you fellers wanted to join us”, said Applejack. Anguirus was a little surprised by the question. He at first wanted to say yes, until he remembered who he was siblings with.

“Oh, well…I’d probably have to ask what Rodan and Gojira think about it, but I would be willing to go”, he said.

“Alright then, I just wanted to let you know since I doubt you’d want to spend a holiday working”, said Applejack, the mentioning of a certain stallion got her thinking however. “In fact, speaking of Gojira, I don’t recall the last time I’ve seen him out in Ponyville.”

“He just prefers to stay at home for the most part”, said Anguirus.

“You got that right; I can only name a hoof-full of times I’ve seen the feller out in Ponyville”, said Applejack.

Anguirus hated to admit it, but he was also thinking of something similar. He understood that Gojira wanted to focus on training and mastering his kaiju spirit’s abilities, however that wasn’t the primary reason why they moved to Ponyville. In fact, it only seemed as though Gojira had increased his dedication to training rather than living. The three brothers were forced to keep their true identities secret, but now it felt as though Gojira was keeping something secret to his own brothers. Before Anguirus could ponder on it anymore, the sound of tiny voices and light galloping caught his and Applejack’s attention. They both turned to see the Cutie Mark Crusaders rushing towards them with Applebloom carrying something wrapped in a cloth.

“Applejack!”, she called out.

“Applebloom, what’s wrong?”, asked Applejack. Applebloom presented her what was wrapped in the blue cloth.

“We were busy working on our clubhouse, and we saw this squirrel lying on the ground, a-and he wasn’t moving”, said Sweetie Belle.

“We thought you might know what’s wrong with him”, added Scootaloo. Applejack looked the poor animal over. Just as the crusaders said, it wasn’t moving and only appeared to be breathing slightly.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with him”, said Applejack, until an idea formed in her mind, “but I know somepony who would.”

She then turned toward Anguirus. “Aang, I need ya’ to take our little feller over here to Fluttershy’s and see if she can help her”, said Applejack.

“Oh…”, replied Anguirus, who appeared to be a little nervous. Despite it being a few days since the gala, Anguirus hadn’t fully gotten over how his interactions with Fluttershy went. To say the very least, they were embarrassing for both of them. He also couldn’t help but feel a smidge of guilt since he felt he was responsible for how her night turned out.

“…You sure that there isn't anything we can do for it?”, he asked. It didn’t take long for Applejack to sniff out the lie that Anguirus was passing off. She grabbed him by the ear before leaning him down to her level.

“Aang, you know as well as I do that there ain’t much of anything we can do to help this poor critter. So you can either bring him over to Fluttershy’s, or have an awkward conversation with the fillies about what happened to their long-tailed friend”, she whispered in his ear. Anguirus looked back at the saddened expressions on the crusader’s faces; he knew that Applejack was right. He stood up straight before carefully taking the wrapped up squirrel.

“Alright, I’ll take him over to Fluttershy to see if she can help him”, he said.

“He’s gonna be ok…right, Anguirus?”, asked Applebloom. Anguirus looked down at the filly, her eyes were as big as her bow.

“Of course he will”, said Anguirus before briskly leaving Sweet Apple Acres and making his way to Fluttershy’s cottage.

He had to admit, he was partially dreading what he was going to tell her about what happened at the gala. As he left the farm and was walking along the dirt road, the sound of the rustling of leaves caused his ears to twitch. He looked around, nothing but trees and shrubs surrounded the road. That was until, by the faintest of silhouettes, Anguirus noticed a figure standing behind some trees. It appeared to have the shape of a pony, but the upper half of its body was covered by some kind of cloak. It appeared to be digging in the ground with its hoof, probably to plant something for all Anguirus knew.

“Hey!”, he called out, catching the figure’s attention. He was about to step forward when-

“La tataharak!”

The sudden reaction from the cloaked figure caused Anguirus to freeze up. He took a step back thinking that, whoever it was, they didn’t want to be approached. However, just when he was about to call out again-

“Beware, beware, you pony folk!”

The voice that came from the figure had an African accent and sounded feminine.

“Beware the flowers with petals of blue.”

“They spell bad news for ponies, unicorns, and pegasus too.”

Anguirus was confused by what she meant until he looked down at the ground. A large bouquet of light blue flowers sprouted from the ground. They at first seemed to be no different than bluebell flowers apart from the surprising number of them. That was until, Anguirus watched as a bee landed on one of the petals. It seemed harmless at first, until the bee’s colors became inverted as it pollinated the flower. Anguirus was taken aback by the strange effects of the flowers; it made him partially wonder what they could’ve done to a fully grown pony like him.

“…Hey…how did-”, before Anguirus could finish his sentence, he looked up to find that the figure had disappeared. He was immediately on guard once more and looked around, only to find nothing.

“Who was that?”, he asked himself.

‘Whoever it was, they don’t appear to be of any threat. Especially to the little squirrel that I hope you haven’t forgotten about.’

Anguirus was reminded of the injured animal that he was carrying, and thus, nervousness settled in. He made his way down the dirt road, both perplexed by his strange encounter, and dreading his inevitable conversation.

Sweet Apple Acres wasn’t the only business in Ponyville that was incredibly busy. The owners of Sugarcube Corner were hard at work decorating and preparing several desserts and pastries for the upcoming holiday in Autumn. The smell of cinnamon, pumpkin spice, vanilla, caramel, and every other fall themed sweetener could be found in the kitchen. It especially didn’t help that one of the owners was a little handicapped.

“Dang nabbit, I know we have some chocolate icing here somewhere?”, said Mr.Cake as he rummaged through several cabinets. He was a lean pony with a bright orange mane and tail and bright yellow fur.

“We do, Carrot Cake”, said Lisa as she moved a few items off the center island in the kitchen, “you were just holding it.”

“Oh…right, thank you, Lisa”, replied Mr.Cake, feeling a tiny bit embarrassed. “I swear, I’m forgetting almost everything with the sheer number of orders we’re getting.”

“Which is why I’m here”, said Lisa. Suddenly, the doors to the entrance of the bakery opened as another pegasus walked inside. Despite not working there, he was still willing to help both to please Lisa and to avoid training.

“All boxes of caramel tarts delivered, Mr.Cake!”, exclaimed Rodan as he walked into the kitchen.

“Thank you, Rodan, though you should probably slow down with your deliveries. You’re sending them off faster than I can make them”, said Mr.Cake. Rodan scoffed as he rubbed the back of his head.

“Sorry, Carrot Cake”, he said. “Just trying to help out as best as I can.”

“Heh, that’s funny, Pinkie said the same thing”, joked Lisa.

“I sure did!”, called out Pinkie as she walked downstairs. Rodan was half taken aback by the doctor’s outfit she was wearing, until he reminded himself that this was Pinkie he was thinking about.

“Pinkie, how’s Cup Cake doing?”, asked Mr.Cake.

“Well-”, started Pinkie Pie.

“Oh, I’m doing just fine”, called out another voice. Shortly following Pinkie was another pony with blue fur and a pink mane and tail that looked like cake icing. Despite her claims, Mrs.Cake was still slow walking down the stairs, probably due to the bump on her stomach that was starting to show.

“Now, now, Honey Bun, I thought I told you to stay upstairs and rest. After all, you’re only a couple of months away from your due date”, said Mr.Cake.

“I know, dear, but then I heard all of the commotion down here and I just can’t stand the thought of you all being overworked”, replied Mrs.Cake.

“And I can’t stand the thought of you hurting yourself or our fillies”, said Mr.Cake.

“Now don’t you worry about me, I’ve been baking ever since I was able to say the alphabet backwards”, said Mrs.Cake as she walked over to a nearby counter where a stack of dirty cake pans resided. “If it makes you feel better, I’ll just help with getting some of this old stuff out of your wa-”

Before Mrs.Cake could finish however, she hadn’t noticed that one of the bags of icing had split open and leaked on the floor. One of her hooves slipped on the glob of icing, sending her flying back and the cake pans flying in the air. Although Mrs.Cake landed in her husband’s arms, the pans didn’t have anyone to catch them. That was, apart from a maroon blur that managed to catch all six of the pans in the amount of time it took for a single drop of water to fall from the sink’s faucet. As Rodan balanced the pans on his hooves, wings, and even his nose, everyone else stood in amazement over his feat of speed and precision. The silence was broken by Pinkie clapping.

“That was amazing, Rodey!”, exclaimed Pinkie Pie as she continued to clap.

“Heh, uhh…thanks”, replied Rodan before setting the pans on the nearby countertop. “Are you alright, Mrs. Cake?”

“I’m…just fine”, said Mrs.Cake, still shocked by what she saw.

“Well then, looks like you can just forget what I said about slowing down, Rodan, because that was incredible”, said Mr.Cake as he helped his wife stand up straight.

“Thanks, guess I was just flying on instinct there”, said Rodan.

‘You got that right.’

“Now, Sugar Plum, I know how much you want to help out, but I think it’s safe to say that we have everything under control”, said Mr.Cake. “You just go back upstairs and rest, you’re already doing enough as it is.”

Mrs.Cake let out a sigh before nodding. “Oh, where would I be without you”, she said before nuzzling against her husband’s neck, “alright, I’ll head back upstairs, but if you need anything, then you know where to find me.”

As the Cakes showed each other their love and affection, Lisa couldn’t help but smile. It seemed that after every passing day, they only became closer together. She watched as Mrs.Cake was led upstairs with the help of Pinkie Pie, in doing so, Lisa made eye contact with Rodan. It seemed that in that brief moment, the two of them shared the same thought which caused them both to blush and look away. Despite that, Rodan approached Lisa as she went back to work.

“It’s gonna be odd coming here one day and seeing a couple of fillies running around. I’d imagine they’ll always be in on a sugar rush”, he said.

“How I look forward to it”, remarked Lisa.

“Yeah, but then again, you deal with Pinkie Pie on a daily basis, so fillies should be child’s play…no pun intended”, joked Rodan. The two shared a brief laugh as they then stood awkwardly. The events of a certain night hanged over their heads and neither knew how to bring it up. None more so than Rodan who looked visibly uncomfortable from just the mere thought of how he acted during the night.

“Hey…Lisa, I’ve been meaning to ask you something?”, he said.

“Yes, Rodey?”, replied Lisa.

“Soooo…”, said Rodan, “have you at all thought that…maybe, we should-”

“Rodan!”, called out Mr.Cake. “I’ve got another delivery for you!” Rodan let loose an annoyed sigh, the timing couldn’t have been any worse.

“Alright, what kind?”, he asked.

“A fully frosted spider cake for Mrs.Ball”, said Mr.Cake before handing a box containing a two layered cake with iced on spider webs, small chocolate spiders, and a large chocolate spider surrounding the entire cake. The box also had a note attached to it giving directions on where it was needed to go.

“Here’s the address and be quick, she says she needs this cake urgently”, added Mr.Cake. Rodan merely scoffed.

“No worries, you can even time me if you want to”, he said before picking up the cake and walking toward the door. But not before briefly talking to Lisa. “I’ll be back to talk some more later. See ya, Lilly!”

“Bye…Rodey”, replied Lisa as Rodan flew out the door.

The sight of him leaving withdrew a sigh from her; Rodan wasn’t the only pony who couldn’t stop thinking about the gala. Lisa was constantly replaying the night’s events in her mind trying to figure out what went wrong, aside from the obvious. Did she try too hard with her dress? Was she too forward with her greeting? Was Rodan just not feeling well? So many questions and potential answers floated around in Lisa’s mind. Rodan himself didn’t seem to be too heavily burdened by the gala, so perhaps she was overthinking. She barely had any time to dwell on it when a pink, fluffy pony appeared right behind her, causing Lisa to yelp in surprise.

“Gee, I never noticed just how fast Rodan really is. He reacted before even my Pinkie sense could detect anything”, said Pinkie Pie.

“Uhh, yeah”, said Lisa as she tried focusing on her job.

“Sooo…”, said Pinkie Pie, expectantly.

“So…what?”, replied Lisa.

“Oh, you know what”, added Pinkie.

“Uhh…no, I don’t know what or what what is”, said Lisa as she got back to preparing cake batter.

“Surely you know what what is, how could you not? What I mean, is what you’re thinking”, said Pinkie.

“Pinkie, what are you getting at?”, asked Lisa.

“What I’m getting at is what you’re thinking. You obviously know what I’m talking about since what I’m saying is what you know what what is. So what I’m talking about is what you’re going to say about what which is what I…what”, Pinkie’s brain was beginning to go into overdrive, evident by the smoke and sparks slowly trailing from her ears.

“…what are we talking about?”, she said.

“Nothing!”, replied Lisa as she started to pour the batter she made into a muffin tin.

“Oh, I know what!”, exclaimed before giving Lisa a sly smile, “…do you looove Rodan?” Pinkie’s question caused Lisa to be caught off guard as she ended up pouring the entire bowl of batter on the muffin tin.

“Y-You sure that’s what what is?”, she asked.

“I’m more than sure. I mean, think about it. You both are constantly hanging out, you give each other cute little nicknames, and you’re also both giving each other…the look~”, said Pinkie before raising her eyebrows twice.

“That-that’s what most ponies do when they’ve been around each other for so long!”, replied Lisa. She was surprising herself with how defensive she was getting.

“Yeah…when they’re in loooove~”, said Pinkie Pie as she gave off a cheeky smile. Lisa only replied with a blush before looking away. “Come on, just admit it; you love Rodan, don’t you?”

“Well…I mean…I-I…I don’t know”, said Lisa. Pinkie became quickly disappointed by the answer.

“What do you mean you don’t know?”, she asked.

“What I mean is…yes, I do really like Rodan, but I just don’t know what the current situation is in terms of our relationship”, explained Lisa. “It’s like, sometimes I think of him as a friend, then other times I see Rodan as a potential partner, but for the most part…I don’t know what I think.”

Pinkie listened to her friend with interest. “So, what do you see him as now?”, she asked. The intense blush forming on Lisa’s face was an easy giveaway.

“Pinkie, if I tell you this, promise me you won’t tell anypony”, said Lisa. Pinkie smiled and replied with a light giggle.

“We’ve known each other ever since you first moved to Ponyville, you can tell me anything!”, she exclaimed.

“So, you promise?”, asked Lisa.

“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!”, Pinkie replied. Lisa showed a small smile; pinkie promises were the best kind of promises.

“Ok, well, th-the thing is…I…I think that I’m…in l-love”, stuttered Lisa. Pinkie stared at her friend quietly for a few seconds. The words then finally sunk in as Pinkie’s eyes widened and she let out a gasp so intense it caused her to rise in the air.

“FINALLY!”, she exclaimed.

“Wh-What the hay are you talking about?”, asked Lisa, taken aback by Pinkie’s response.

“Oh, Iknewit,Iknewit,Iknewit! You do love Rodey!”, exclaimed Pinkie as she continued to bounce around with excitement. She eventually stopped bouncing once Lisa grabbed her by her head and held her in place.

“Remember how I said to not tell anypony”, said Lisa. Pinkie Pie looked shocked as she turned toward Mr.Cake who was just as surprised; more so because of Pinkie rather than Lisa. Instead of questioning further, Mr.Cake merely shrugged before getting back to work.

“RightRightRight, sorry”, replied Pinkie Pie who calmed down for a second, but only a second. “I’m just so happy that you finally admitted it!”

“I’m honestly a little shocked that you’re so surprised, I thought you said you knew?”, asked Lisa.

“Well, of course I knew, who didn’t?”, said Pinkie.

“Rodan didn’t”, Lisa said to herself. Despite that, Pinkie still heard Lisa and let loose a light snicker; how wrong Lisa was.

“Surely he must! Rodey’s probably just nervous in expressing his feelings to you”, said Pinkie.

“I guess, but why would he feel nervous around me? I mean, we’ve known each other for years”, said Lisa.

“Everypony gets nervous when they find their special somepony. Just ask Carrot Cake, he knows what I mean”, said Pinkie as she turned toward Mr.Cake.

“Indeed, I was scared to death when I realized I had developed feelings for Cup Cake. It took a good few months to gather the courage to ask her out”, said Mr.Cake as he recalled fond memories. “However, despite how long it took me, I’d say it was well worth the wait.”

“But, how do I know that Rodan feels the same way that I do. What if he still only sees me as a friend?”, said Lisa. Pinkie Pie placed her hoof on her friend’s shoulder.

“You’ll never know unless you try. Why not ask Rodan to hangout with us during Nightmare Night and see how you feel afterwards”, she said.

“Nightmare Night? But what if he has plans?”, asked Lisa. Pinkie Pie merely laughed it off.

“You know, Lilly, you overthink just as much as Twilight”, she joked. Lisa gave her a blank expression.

“That’s not helping me, Pinkie”, she said bluntly. Just then, the doors to Sugarcube Corner opened and revealed Rodan walking in with a few bits in hoof.

“Got there right on time and without even a single spider broken. That mare was so impressed, she even gave me a tip”, he said with confidence. Lisa stared at Rodan with nervousness trickling down her face. She tried looking at Pinkie who merely looked back upstairs.

“~Oh Pinkie~”, she said with a different voice, “oh, sounds like Mrs.Cake is calling me; must have one of those weird cravings again. Anyways, see ya, bye!” Before anyone could say anything, Pinkie raced upstairs leaving nothing but a streak of pink behind. Both Rodan and Lisa looked a little surprised and confused.

“…What was that about?”, asked Rodan.

“Uhhh…nothing”, said Lisa, despite it being a very obvious lie.

“Now say, awww.”

Fluttershy gently lowered a small spoonful of medicine toward her pet bunny, Angel, who refused to even look at it. With the weather becoming colder and the seasons beginning to change, Fluttershy wanted to ensure that her animals were of great health before some of them either migrated or went into hibernation. Angel Bunny, however, was proving to be more stubborn than the others. Despite that, Fluttershy’s patience remained intact as she continued to keep the spoon facing him at all times.

“Please, Angel, this is so you can become big and strong”, said Fluttershy. Angel Bunny merely stuck his nose up, he felt he was big and strong enough as it is.

“Once you take your medicine, you can have as many carrots as you want”, bribed Fluttershy. Angel Bunny’s ears did flutter a little by the deal, but he remained stubborn. Fluttershy’s smile turned into a frown.

“Alright, Angel, I suppose we can take it another time”, said Fluttershy in defeat. Angel Bunny looked back at her, staring at the spoon of medicine with disgust.

“I’ll give you your medicine whenever you’re ready”, said Fluttershy before pulling out a list of tasks she had written down. “Let’s see here…Harry is preparing for hibernation, Constance has already migrated, which just leaves you, Angel.”

Fluttershy walked over and nuzzled the little bunny’s head who replied with a small smile. “Just let me know whenever you’re ready, after all, I have nothing else going on today”, said Fluttershy. “So, it looks like it’s going to be just me and you, Angel.”

Angel Bunny looked up at his owner with a happy grin on his face. However, that quickly changed by the sound of a knock on the door. Fluttershy was very confused since she wasn’t expecting any company. She at first expected to see Twilight coming to visit, or Rarity asking for her help with fashion. Little did she know who was really standing on the other side of the door, and little did she know exactly how he was feeling.

‘Your heart rate is beginning to rise.’

“Gee, I wonder why”, said Anguirus with sarcasm. He started to wonder what exactly he would say once the door opened.

“What do I even say to her? Do I show her the squirrel? Do I mention what happened at the gala?”, he added.

‘Make your greeting formal and try not to overdo it. After all…’, Fierce was partially interrupted by the door opening, ‘…this is Fluttershy we’re dealing with.’

“A-Anguirus?”, exclaimed Fluttershy with surprise.

“H-Hey…Fluttershy”, replied Anguirus, still a little nervous but trying his best to hide it.

“What are you doing here?”, asked Fluttershy.

“Well…”, Anguirus pulled out the wrapped cloth, “…someone needed to see you.” He unwrapped the cloth, revealing the hurt squirrel inside of it. Fluttershy appeared shocked by the sight of it.

“What happened?”, she asked.

“I don’t know, Applebloom and her friends found him like this”, replied Anguirus. He gently handed the squirrel to Fluttershy who looked it over. The squirrel appeared to be clutching its stomach as its tail hung loosely.

“Do you know what’s wrong with him?”, asked Anguirus.

“He must’ve eaten something that he shouldn’t have”, replied Fluttershy, she looked down at the squirrel. “Oh, you poor little thing. Don’t worry, I’ll have you feeling better in no time.”

Seeing as how Fluttershy seemed to have everything under control, Anguirus took this as an opportunity. “Ok, well, you seem to know what you’re doing, so I’ll be sure to not get in your way”, he said as he tried to leave.

“Oh, you’re leaving now?”, asked Fluttershy, a trace of disappointment in her voice.

“Y-Yes, I don’t want to be in your way”, replied Anguirus.

“You won’t be in my way, you can come inside and wait in the living room with Angel Bunny”, insisted Fluttershy. “B-But, if you’re busy, then you don’t have to; I won’t mind.” Anguirus wanted to say no and simply leave, but the shy expression on Fluttershy’s face made her offer all too enticing.

‘By Celestia’s mane, why is she so cute!’, he thought to himself.

“A-Alright, I guess I can stay for a bit”, said Anguirus. Fluttershy replied with a small smile.

“Ok, great!”, she exclaimed before allowing Anguirus to enter.

Anguirus took into account the interior of Fluttershy’s cottage. It was similar to the Golden Oaks Library in that it had been built into a tree, but unlike the library, it was way more homey. The living room was relatively small with a pair of couches, a fireplace, and a bookshelf. Right next to it was a staircase and what Anguirus perceived as being a kitchen. But what caught his eyes the most was the small bunny that appeared to be glaring at him. Anguirus wasn’t put off by this, but he still found it a little strange. Angel Bunny’s expression quickly changed when Fluttershy walked into the room.

“Anguirus, this is Angel Bunny, my pet bunny”, said Fluttershy before nuzzling his head, which Angel appreciated.

“Hey there, little guy”, greeted Anguirus. However, Angel’s smile quickly faded once Anguirus got close. Anguirus was confused by his reaction until Fluttershy chimed in.

“He’s a little abrasive at first, but give him time and he’ll warm up to you”, explained Fluttershy.

“Well, I have time to kill, so we’ll just have to find out, won’t we, Angel?”, joked Anguirus. Angel Bunny remained stoic.

“Now then, Angel, you treat our guest with respect. I’ll be upstairs, if you need anything, don’t be afraid to call for me”, said Fluttershy before taking the little squirrel upstairs, leaving Anguirus and Angel Bunny alone.

Anguirus sat on the couch opposite to where Angel was sitting, who continued to glare at him. Anguirus didn’t pay him much mind as he was still thinking about how to bring up the events of the gala to Fluttershy or if he should bring them up at all. It was best for this conversation to happen at some point in time, and now was as good a time as ever. He slightly fidgeted in his seat which managed to surprise him a bit. He couldn’t recall a moment in his life where he acted in a similar manner, aside from when he did something wrong in front of his parents. Before he could dwell on it any longer, a small cough caught his attention. He looked over and saw the small bunny appear to have an unwell expression on his face.

“Are you alright, little guy, you don’t look so good?”, asked Anguirus. Angel Bunny merely huffed and looked away.

“I’m just making sure you’re feeling well, don’t want Fluttershy to come back down and hear you coughing your head off”, added Anguirus. Angel Bunny again gave him no attention. Instead of dwelling further, Anguirus instead decided to remain silent.

‘He’s a stubborn little critter, doesn’t seem to be one that likes to admit he’s wrong.’

Anguirus couldn’t help but agree. Although he knew little to nothing about animal health, the sound of more coughing from Angel Bunny gave him the affirmation that he wasn’t feeling good. Anguirus also didn’t want to call out to Fluttershy since she was busy healing the other animal in the house. Despite what Angel Bunny thought of him, Anguirus knew what was best. He slowly crept over to the small bunny before enacting what he thought would help. To say the least, Angel was taken aback by the massive hoof that was pressing against his forehead.

“Hmmm…your forehead is feeling a little hot. I hate to say this, Angel, but I think you might be-”, Anguirus never had the chance to finish his sentence when a sharp feeling of pain could be felt in his hoof.

He looked down to see that Angel Bunny had bit down on the tip of his hoof with full force. The small animal’s teeth couldn’t pierce his skin, but that didn’t stop the nagging pain Anguirus felt from dissipating. Anguirus held his mouth shut so as to not yelp in surprise and disturb Fluttershy. Instead he carefully pried Angel’s mouth open and removed his hoof. Surprisingly, however, it was Angel Bunny who felt more pain as he rubbed his upper teeth. Anguirus’ skin was much denser than he anticipated, causing much of the force to bounce back into his jaw. Nevertheless, Anguirus still clutched his hoof.

“Ok…clearly we’re not at that point yet”, he said. The sound of hooves walking down the stairs caused him to change his demeanor completely.

“He’s resting right now. The poor little guy must’ve eaten too many acorns causing his stomach to hurt badly”, said Fluttershy.

“So, will he be alright?”, asked Anguirus.

“He will, by tomorrow morning he’ll be back to full health to prepare for the winter”, said Fluttershy.

“That’s good to hear”, added Anguirus. The sound of light coughing once more filled the room. Fluttershy turned toward Angel Bunny with worry in her eyes.

“Oh dear, Angel, that cough just keeps getting worse. You need to take your medicine now”, said Fluttershy. Angel Bunny merely hopped off the table and hopped toward the kitchen with his arms crossed. Fluttershy wore a mixture of disappointment and worry.

“I’m guessing he hates taking morning meds”, said Anguirus.

“I’m sorry, he’s been like this all day. He hates taking medicine even when he badly needs it”, said Fluttershy.

“Have you tried forcing him to take it?”, asked Anguirus.

“Of course not, I would never force Angel to do something he doesn’t want to do”, said Fluttershy.

“Would you want me to do it?”, asked Anguirus.

“No, no, it’s best you don’t. Angel Bunny doesn’t really like it when newcomers try to touch him”, said Fluttershy. Anguirus mentally groaned, he had learned that the hard way. Fluttershy looked over to Angel Bunny before letting out a sigh.

“I’ve tried everything, asking him politely, being patient with him, even bribing him with carrots, but nothing seems to work”, said Fluttershy as she took a seat on the couch across from Anguirus. “I don’t know what I’m doing wrong.”

Anguirus looked at Angel Bunny who appeared to be holding back a cough. He then noticed the jar of medicine sitting on the table as an idea flew into his mind. “It’s alright, Fluttershy, sooner or later he’ll be willing to take it. Or at the very least, until he starts to turn green”, Anguirus said rather loudly for Angel Bunny to hear.

“W-What are you talking about?”, asked Fluttershy.

“What? Don’t you know? Whenever small animals refuse to take their medicine, their skin starts to turn a bright shade of green, kinda like how a banana starts to turn brown”, said Anguirus. Angel Bunny’s ears started to twitch as he heard this.

“I’ve never heard of that before”, said Fluttershy.

“Back where I came from, we saw all kinds of strange sick animals. Even weirder they were primarily rabbits”, said Anguirus. Angel Bunny stayed facing away, but he was starting to get nervous over what he was hearing.

“Indeed, me and my brothers once saw a rabbit with only one ear, and a rabbit whose tail was replaced with that of a fox”, added Anguirus. Angel Bunny looked at his short fluffy tail, he didn’t want to see it gone.

“That sounds awful”, said Fluttershy.

“Oh yeah, but that’s not the worst part”, said Anguirus. Angel Bunny was starting to sweat; how could it be possibly worse?

“What’s the worst part?”, asked Fluttershy with worry in her voice. Anguirus looked over at Angel Bunny who was shaking a bit.

“The worst part is…”, started Anguirus before leaning toward Fluttershy, “…they stopped eating carrots.”

Angel Bunny’s heart dropped so far down you could hear a loud thud. Immediately, with not a second to spare, Angel Bunny ran back into the living room and on to the table. He grabbed the spoon that still had the medicine in it and plucked the whole thing into his mouth. Fluttershy and Anguirus watched in surprise as Angel Bunny pulled out an empty spoon and gave a mighty gulp. The medicine was bitter and sweet, but he would do anything to maintain his love for carrots. Angel Bunny stared at Fluttershy with a proud smile, until Anguirus started to laugh.

“Heh, I can’t believe that worked”, he said.

“W-Wait, what just happened?”, asked Fluttershy.

“Nothing”, said Anguirus as he stopped laughing, “just gave Angel Bunny some words of encouragement.” Angel Bunny looked confused until he realized what Anguirus meant; he had been lied to. Fluttershy too realized what was happening.

“You made that all up?”, she asked.

“Of course I did, it was just to scare Angel a bit”, said Anguirus. Fluttershy let out a sigh of relief.

“Thank goodness, for a moment I thought you were being serious”, she said before looking at Angel Bunny who was feeling mighty foolish. “Thank you for taking your medicine, Angel.”

Fluttershy handed Angel Bunny a carrot which, despite being very clearly upset, he still took. Fluttershy once more nuzzled his head before allowing Angel Bunny to hop away with the carrot in hand. This left Anguirus and Fluttershy alone in the living room. They both sat awkwardly, not entirely sure what to say. Especially Anguirus, who was trying his hardest to not work up a sweat. He looked over at Fluttershy who looked to be in a similar manner as she was silently playing with her mane. Anguirus took a deep breath, he knew it was now time to say it.

“H-Hey…uhhh, Fluttershy”, started Anguirus, catching Fluttershy’s attention, “…there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you.”

“Oh…there’s actually, ummm…something I’ve a-also been meaning to tell you”, said Fluttershy.

“Oh, do you…want to say it first?”, asked Anguirus.

“No, no…you can go first”, replied Fluttershy.

The two sat together not saying anything. They both were seemingly too nervous to bring each other to speak. They both could barely look at one another with how nervous they were. Eventually, after a few seconds which felt like hours, both Anguirus and Fluttershy had finally gathered the courage to say what they were each thinking which was-

“I’m sorry for ruining your night at the gala!”

The two of them stared at each other for a moment before realizing what the other had said.

“What? You didn’t ruin it.”

They then stared at each other once more, realizing they had said the same thing again. Anguirus awkwardly laughed while Fluttershy looked away, both trying to hide a faint blush.

“Uhh…you go first”, said Anguirus, softly.

“Oh…ok”, replied Fluttershy before turning to face Anguirus, but not look at him. “What do you mean by ruining my night at the gala?”

“Well, you had actual plans for how you were going to spend the night, while I was just walking around aimlessly”, said Anguirus as he looked saddened, “I feel like I kinda ruined your plans.”

Fluttershy looked at him. “Oh, Anguirus, you didn’t ruin anything for me, if anything, I messed up your first time going to Canterlot by…umm”, said Fluttershy, a little embarrassed to finish her sentence.

“It’s ok, I’ve been there before”, reassured Anguirus. Fluttershy looked surprised.

“Really? When?”, she asked.

“The same day when we moved in, Caesar took us to meet Celestia. Guess you can call it a perk when you’re friends with a guard of Canterlot”, said Anguirus. “What I’m trying to say is, I didn’t really have any plans when going to the gala, you did, and I ruined them.” Fluttershy looked away for a moment.

“No, you didn’t ruin anything, Anguirus…I was the one that did”, said Fluttershy. Now it was Anguirus’ turn to look confused.

“What do you mean?”, he asked.

“Who do you think was the pony that caused that stampede? Everything that night was going fine until I freaked out every single animal in Canterlot’s garden all because I thought they wanted to be my friend!”, exclaimed Fluttershy.

“Fluttershy…”, said Anguirus who was interrupted.

“This is just like the time I bumped into Gilda and made Rainbow Dash lose a friend, or the time when I almost got us all killed by an avalanche. I couldn’t even get Angel Bunny to take his medicine! Wherever I go and whatever I do I always seem to just make things worse”, exclaimed Fluttershy as she became emotional. She then placed her head into her hooves and brought her legs close.

“W-Why can’t I do anything right?”, she said in a muffled voice.

Anguirus watched as Fluttershy started to lightly weep in her hooves. He felt bad for making her feel awful for what were mere accidents. He got up from his couch and then sat on the one Fluttershy was on. Unsure of what else to do, Anguirus could do the only thing he could think of at the moment. He took his right hoof and gently placed it on Fluttershy’s shoulder. Rubbing her shoulder caused Fluttershy to stay silent for a moment before lifting her head slightly to face the stallion. Anguirus ignored the slight blush coming on to his face by giving her a smile.

“You know, it’s funny, I was nervous coming to your house thinking that I was going to become the emotional one who was going to beg for forgiveness and hope that you wouldn’t get mad at me”, he joked. “But, I think I’m starting to realize that…you just aren’t that kind of pony, Fluttershy. It’s almost impossible to really get upset with you.”

“But…but Gilda got mad at me for running into her”, retorted Fluttershy.

“Well, that griffin was just a massive prick all around. Anypony that bumped into her by accident would’ve received the same treatment that you did”, said Anguirus.

“B-But, what about the dragon? I made you and the others so upset by slowing you all down”, said Fluttershy.

“And then you were the one who taught that giant lizard some manners and made him leave Equestria. You saved all of our lives”, replied Anguirus. Fluttershy looked down in thought.

“And the gala?”, she asked.

“To be honest, the night was kinda ruined even before the stampede. If anything, you helped to make it exciting for all of us”, said Anguirus. “My point is, you are not a detriment to anyone, Fluttershy; we all care about you. I, for one, am quite happy to consider you…a friend.”

Fluttershy looked up at Anguirus who gave her a smile of reassurance. She unwrapped her legs as her eyes stopped shedding tears. The two stared at each other once more for what seemed like hours, until Fluttershy made the first move which quickly caught Anguirus by surprise. Fluttershy moved in and wrapped her arms around Anguirus, giving him a hug. Anguirus, who was still surprised by this, wasn’t entirely sure how to react to such and thus instinctively wrapped his arms around Fluttershy to return it. They stayed like that for a few seconds, until Fluttershy eventually realized what position they were in and immediately pulled away, her face turning into a tomato.

“Th-Thanks…Anguirus…I-I’m happy to call you a friend…too”, she said. Anguirus, who was also blushing but not as hard, smiled.

“No problem, Fluttershy”, he replied. Wanting to change the subject by seeing that Fluttershy was feeling better, Anguirus remembered something Applejack had said.

“Hey, so I heard that you and the girls were planning on hanging out during Nightmare Night”, he said. Fluttershy perked up by this.

“Oh, yeah, Ponyville usually holds a festival for Nightmare Night and we were all hoping to hangout during it”, she said.

“Do you know what to dress up as?”, asked Anguirus.

“Oh…I-I don’t really know if I should go or not”, said Fluttershy, sheepishly.

“Really? I thought you were going to hangout with the others?”, asked Anguirus.

“I…I just don’t know. Nightmare Night is just so…spooky. Last year, I saw this scary looking zombie pony”, said Fluttershy. Anguirus wore a blank face.

“You do realize it’s all fake, right?”, he asked.

“Y-Yes, but it’s still scary”, retorted Fluttershy. Anguirus playfully rolled his eyes; she still wasn’t wrong.

“Don’t worry about it. If it makes you feel better, I was kinda hoping if me and brothers would be able to join you guys. And if we can, then I’ll make sure that nothing creepy gets even close to you”, said Anguirus with a confident grin. Fluttershy looked at him.

“Do you promise?”, she asked.

Anguirus replied with a smile.

“Absolutely not!”

“Yeah, that’s kinda what I thought you were gonna say”, said Anguirus. All three brothers had gathered back at the house to prepare dinner and share their days. Unfortunately, the topic of Nightmare Night had been brought up at the table.

“Come on, Gojira, not this again”, groaned Rodan.

“I’m sorry, guys, but I refuse to partake in something as ridiculous as Nightmare Night. I thought it was dumb as a colt, and I still do”, said Gojira.

“But you were willing to go to the gala even though you thought it was dumb”, retorted Rodan.

“Yeah, and look how that turned out”, said Gojira as he took a bite of his baked pasta.

“But that wasn’t our fault”, said Rodan.

“Please, Gojira, we have to go. I made a promise to Fluttershy that I would join her and the others for Nightmare Night in order to protect her from anything that freaked her out”, said Anguirus. It was as if a switch had been flicked in Rodan’s mind as he was now focused on something else.

“Ooooooh, you promised to protect Fluttershy~”, teased Rodan as he wore a cheeky grin. Anguirus didn’t look amused.

“Yes, I did, and let me guess, did Lisa invite you as well?”, asked Anguirus.

“You bet, now if only we can get Twilight to ask Gojira to go and then he would probably be down”, added Rodan.

“Rodan, if you don’t shut up about that, I swear to Celestia’s mane!”, exclaimed Gojira as small trails of smoke exited his lips.

“I’m joking…but I’m also serious”, said Rodan. “Why can’t we participate in Nightmare Night, it’s basically one of the most important days of the year?”

“What you also said about the gala”, said Gojira.

“That was different, just tell me what the reason is”, said Rodan.

“Is it about training?”, asked Anguirus. Gojira stayed silent for a moment before continuing to eat his food. Rodan placed a hoof against his temple.

“Oh for crying out loud, that’s what this is about?”, asked Rodan, incredulously.

“Don’t act surprised, it’s why we’re even here”, said Gojira.

“It’s not the whole reason”, mumbled Rodan.

“Don’t you want to know what the Nightmare Night experience is like? The games, the costumes, the candy, doesn’t any of that sound nice?”, asked Anguirus.

“Maybe when we were colts, but Nightmare Night isn’t like Hearth’s Warming which has a special meaning”, said Gojira.

“But Nightmare Night does have one, it’s about tricking Nightmare Moon by dressing up so that way we can avoid another year without darkness”, said Rodan.

“We literally met Nightmare Moon on our first day…kinda takes the whole special meaning thing out of the equation”, said Gojira. Rodan face planted on to the table.

“There’s literally no winning with you”, he said.

“Look, Goji, we’re not trying to force you into doing something you don’t want to do, but you gotta keep in mind, even our friends want us to join them for Nightmare Night. If there are ponies that trust us and want to hangout with us, then shouldn’t that make you want to at least try and participate in whatever festivities that the holiday may bring?”, asked Anguirus.

Gojira stayed silent once more, thinking the whole conversation over. Although he didn’t hate Nightmare Night, there was more as to why Gojira really couldn’t go other than him just not wanting to. Yes, they did finally have friends, but for how long, which probably worried Gojira the most. He hated the fact that he couldn’t tell his own brothers as to why he couldn’t go, but just like what Alpha had told them, it was for their own good. Gojira took a deep breath before standing up from the table.

“I’m sorry, guys…I just can’t”, he said before walking into the kitchen to place his plate into the sink. “You both can still go, I’ll just stay back here and-”

“And what…train?”, interrupted Rodan. Gojira stood still for a moment. Rodan stood up from the table.

“You know what, Gojira, if there’s one thing that bugs me the most about you, it’s the fact that you never want to lighten up and enjoy yourself. You’re constantly thinking about the worst case scenario and never about reality”, said Rodan as he slowly approached his older brother. Gojira remained silent.

“You keep saying how we need to train and control our kaiju spirits, even though we’ve already done that! And yet, you don’t mind wasting hours of your time for something that not even you know will actually happen”, continued Rodan.

“Yes, I don’t know when it will happen, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't prepare for it”, retorted Gojira.

“But we also shouldn’t put our lives on halt either. If you aren’t even going to bother trying to live, then why did we even move to Ponyville in the first place?”, asked Rodan with a raised tone of voice. The two brothers were now facing each other; even despite the height difference, they stared each other in the eyes.

“Come on, guys, knock it off”, called out Anguirus, but his brothers merely ignored him.

“Rodan, I am just doing what’s best for us”, said Gojira.

“Like hay you are! If you want what’s best for us then just let us live!”, exclaimed Rodan. Gojira glared at him as a growl escaped from his lips.

“I am your older brother, I say what goes and what doesn’t!”, retorted Gojira.

“Guys…”, said Anguirus, noticing the scales that were starting to form on both of them.

“I don’t care that you’re my brother…stop interfering with my life!”, exclaimed Rodan.

His emblem flashed as a puff of flame escaped from his jaw and flew toward Gojira’s face, burning it. However, it didn’t matter as in less than a second, all the burns were completely healed and vanished from his face. The two of them stared at each other for several seconds filled with nothing but silence. Eventually, Gojira broke the silence with a deep exhale of breath before walking to the back door.

“You know what, whatever, I don’t care anymore, do whatever the hay you want”, he said.

“Gojira, come on”, said Anguirus as he tried to approach him, but Rodan stopped him.

“But I want you both to know that tonight, if you happen to come across some kind of giant bear, or bird, or iguana, or whatever the hay…then don’t come crying to me saying that I was right because I won’t care!”, exclaimed Gojira as he slammed the door shut behind him with a loud bang which shook the house. Rodan and Anguirus stared at the door before Rodan let out a sigh.

“Sweet Celestia, I can’t believe we’re related to that bastard”, spatted Rodan before he started to walk upstairs.

“Rodan…I’m not saying I agree with Gojira, but he is kinda right. If the kaiju weren’t going to return to Equestria one day, then why would Caesar give us these powers?”, asked Anguirus.

“I don’t know, Aang, all that I do know, is that I’m going to Nightmare Night whether that asshole wants me to or not, and if you’re truly related to me, then you will too”, said Rodan before walking up the stairs and heading to his room, shutting the door behind him.

Anguirus was left alone in the house to take in what had just happened. He remembered them all having a few disagreements, but this was the first time they had a full blown argument. He hated the fact that he couldn’t do much of anything to help de-escalate the conflict. Nevertheless, he could only hope that whatever bad blood that had been spilled would clean itself up as he started to put the dishes away.

As Gojira walked out into the star lite night, he looked back at the house; his furrowed brows lightened as he realized all that had been said. He let out a deep sigh before heading out into the Everfree forest.

“If only they knew”, he said to himself.

“Oh, fellow Legends!”, sang Discord as he struck an iron pan like a gong to gather everyone’s attention. The clanging sound echoed throughout the caves inside the mountain as every pony, bug, and even bat heard it. Junior, Orga, Biollante, and even Gryphon all appeared while clutching their ears; Des, meanwhile, gave little to no reaction.

“Is that really necessary?”, asked Junior as Discord stopped the clanging.

“Oh, one hundred percent, because I have some incredible news to share with each one of you!”, exclaimed Discord with excitement as the pan vanished into the thin air.

“What is it?”, asked Biollante. That’s when Des stepped forward.

“My loyal followers, this is it. The dawn of the titans is finally upon us! All by the hands of the element of disharmony!”, exclaimed Des as he gestured toward Discord who wore a proud expression.

“Wait, what?”, asked Orga.

“Yes, indeed, after much, much, much research, experimenting, planning, and questioning, I have now gained full knowledge of the kaiju to resurrect one of the hundreds of kaiju spirits”, announced Discord, proudly. Everyone, aside from Des, wore expressions that ranged from kinda shocked to astounded.

“Seriously? B-But how?”, asked Junior, incredulously.

“Well, in the four days that I’ve been free, I have discovered that if I use the chaos stored in this gem, and combine it with one of your blank transportation crystals, then I can create a riff long enough for a kaiju spirit to appear and choose one of you lucky volunteers”, explained Discord, joyfully. The Legends were incredibly surprised, until the volunteers part was mentioned.

“W-Wait a minute…volunteers? What the hay are you talking about?”, asked Orga. Discord looked put off by their reaction before clearing his throat.

“You see, fellow Legends, although I would love to spread some chaos by forcing a random kaiju spirit on to some random pony, doing that would cost more magic which I don’t have a lot of at the moment”, said Discord before summoning a game show host outfit and microphone. “Which is why one of you four will be the lucky stallion, mare, and or dragon to win your very own kaiju spirit!” Confetti went flying and an air horn went off as Discord laughed, however he was the only one laughing.

“My lord, surely you don’t agree with this, do you?”, asked Junior. Des remained stoic to Junior’s question.

“This was bound to happen at a point in time. In order to complete our goal, one of us must act as the vessel for what will become our darkest hour”, he said.

“Yes, although I understand, shouldn’t any of us have a say in the matter?”, asked Junior. That turned out to be the wrong response as Des’ brows furrowed and smoke began to trail from his maw. He jerked forward which caught Junior by surprise.

“You think I wanted to be like this? Do you believe that I had a say in the matter of turning me into this freak!?”, asked Des, demanding an answer. “The kaiju spirit chooses you, whether you want it or not. Before you can make a decision, the spirit attaches itself to your soul; turning you into the monster that you see before you! And if I must go through this personal hell, then so will one of you.” Junior didn’t say anything, only nodded in agreement before backing away.

Des stood up straight before looking over to Discord. “Now then, element of chaos, if you may”, he insisted. Discord wore a look of devilish glee.

“Perfect, now then, before we get started”, said Discord before he summoned four pairs of sunglasses, “I’m gonna need each one of you to put these on.” Nearly all of the Legends mentally groaned.

“Is this really necessary?”, asked Biollante.

“Not really, unless you want to become the fourth blind mice”, said Discord. Biollante rolled her eyes before she and the rest of the group grabbed a pair of shades. Everyone except Des who used his magic to levitate a blank transportation crystal into Discord’s lion paw. Discord clutched the crystal as it began to spark.

“Ladies and gentlemen…”, he started, “…cover your butts.” There was a moment of silence afterwards until Junior broke it.

“…Cover the what?”

Discord used his own magic to levitate the crystal into the air as it started to shake and rapidly change colors. Electricity began to sprout from the crystal, causing it to crack as its power became more intense. The Legends watched in awe as the aura from the gem started to grow in intensity; they all felt incredibly thankful for wearing shades. Eventually, the crystal was at the point where shattering was inevitable as the outside of the crystal started to stretch and warp. Although everyone started to grow in concern, Des merely smiled.

Even despite starting to sweat, Discord knew he wasn’t done yet as there was still magic to spare in the Gem of Madness. Discord spat into the palms of his hands, clapped them together, and then grabbed the crystal; clutching it tightly before it shattered in his hands. The light from the explosion was so great that most of the Legends were forced to look away, Des however pressed on; something inside of him prevented him from looking away. Discord held the ball of energy in his hands as tightly as he could, pouring every last bit of chaos magic he could into it. Des’ emblem flashed as Destroyer formed from his mane.

Destroyer’s pale yellow eyes reflected the mass of light and power that was right in front of him, making it appear as if he had pupils. By this point, the entire mountain was starting to glow from the explosion of light and color. Discord could feel his chaos magic being twisted and warped in a way he had never felt before, and yet he pressed on even as his eyes started to glow white. In one final attempt, Discord held the shattered crystal in the air before letting it go. It was as if a star had summoned inside of the home of the Legends as a portal in the shape of a massive crack formed in the air.

It would only be able to stay open for a few seconds, but in that time frame Destroyer managed to peer inside the portal. What he saw left his eyes widened as far as they could. He saw hundreds, possibly even thousands of other spirits like him, locked away in another reality with no escape or hope to see the world that they had created. Until today, only one would have a chance at vengeance. Discord began to strain as he poured every last ounce of magic the Gem of Madness had left. Finally, after what felt like eons, something began to come through the portal; a being once thought deceased now reborn as a spirit.

One kaiju spirit flew out of the portal with lightning speed as it flew around the inside of the cave. Some members of the group noticed the kaiju spirit and began to back away from it, hoping it wouldn’t choose any of them. It was hard to make out, but the spirit was surrounded by a bright green mist and it appeared to have clawed hands and sharp, thin fins running along its back, similar to a shark. The spirit’s pale eyes observed the ponies and dragon that watched it in awe. The portal Discord opened started to close as he seemed to be growing paler each passing second. With not a moment to spare, the kaiju spirit chose one of the four members it would link with; it just so happened to be the one who wanted it the least.

Junior barely had any time to react as the kaiju spirit flew towards him. It circled around Junior, looking him over before appearing right in front of his face. The shades Junior was wearing couldn’t even hide his eyes as they stared as wide as they could into those belonging to the spirit. The kaiju spirit’s pale eyes flashed for a moment, repeating the same eye pattern that Junior had before flying to his backside. Before Junior could even react, the spirit flew right into his mane and disappeared from sight.

At that moment, the Gem of Madness had been emptied; the element of chaos had finally been exhausted. Through gritted teeth and aching joints, Discord cut all magic off from the portal, causing it to shut in a matter of moments. There was an explosion of light and mist as the combined power of chaos magic and spiritual energy casted an aura that encompassed the entire mountain. In fact, the light became so intense that the sunglasses weren’t enough and everyone was forced to look away; even Des allowed himself to squint. When the light eventually dissipated, the Legends were able to regain their vision and were also able to process what had happened. They looked toward Discord who was still holding his arms up while his whole body was visibly starting to tremble. Despite that, Discord managed to keep up appearances with an eager smile and a weak yet maniacal laugh.

“Th-That…was……crazy”, he said before falling on the ground, passing out from pure exhaustion. Des was the only one who checked Discord, the others rushed over to their unfortunate colleague who was lying unconscious on the ground.

“Junior?”, called out Orga, “Junior, are you alright?”

Junior laid motionless on the ground showing no reaction to anything around him. That was, until his eyes shot open, catching everyone around him off guard, both from the suddenness and because his eyes appeared red with orange pupils. He was struggling to clutch his head which was being attacked by an incredibly painful migraine. His entire body began to twitch and shake which caused everyone around him to back away. There was suddenly another bright flash of light, this one emitting from Junior’s flank. An emblem of sorts formed on his hind leg, showing the image of a slim reptile with fins on its back and a long tail in a circular position. When Junior’s movements started to slow, Des walked over and observed him.

“W-What’s happening?”, asked Biollante.

“It’s the start of the process, the kaiju spirit within Junior is merging with his soul”, said Des. Junior continued to twitch as several patches of desaturated purple scales started to form all across his body. He began to cough violently, allowing sparks to fly from his mouth.

“We have to do something, my liege, he could die”, said Orga as he tried moving toward Junior, but Des stopped him.

“Do not touch him! You must let the spirit run its course!”, he exclaimed. The Legends were left to watch as Junior’s movements slowly became less sporadic until he eventually stopped moving all together. He laid motionless for a few seconds before his eyes shot open, returning to their original yellow state. Junior looked around frantically, as if he was trying to look for something.

“Wh-What’s that!? Who’s there!?”, he exclaimed. Des slowly approached him, catching Junior’s attention.

“How do you feel, Junior?”, asked Des. Junior laid on the ground gazing up at Des. A mixture of fear, confusion, and astonishment was plastered on his face.

“I…I feel…different”, he said. Something snuck into the corner of his eyes, causing him to turn and be face to face with the emblem on his flank. “Wha- What is that?! What happened to me?!”

“Calm now, Junior, you are merely becoming used to the effects of the kaiju merging with your soul”, explained Des. “They’ll eventually pass in good time.”

Junior let Des’ words sink in just before coming to a horrific realization. “You…You mean th-that…I…I’m…”, he stuttered. Des didn’t answer his question, he instead turned to his subjects.

“My devoted Legends!”, called out Des, “I would like to introduce you to the dawn…of a new day.”

Everyone looked at Junior with looks of concern and confusion while Junior could only stare back, giving little to no reaction. The life he had once lived had been turned into that of a distant memory. Though he knew that the day would arrive, it still felt too soon; the day when he became a vessel. All the pain and suffering that he was currently feeling would eventually taper off as he fainted and fell back on the cave floor. Before he fully fell unconscious, Junior heard a voice that was completely unfamiliar to him. He could’ve never guessed that it was his own mind.

‘This’ll be fun.’