It's been multiple hours since the Guardians mission in Cloudsdale. Rainbow Dash was sent to Ponyville’s hospital to treat her wounded legs. Drag and Pink returned to their respective home to rest, tired from the exhausting day they’ve had. Alduin, on the other hand, was still very much ready to brawl once more. He flew away in search of a challenge, hoping to fight against a worthy opponent. Aruba didn’t stick around for much longer, still looking for some thrills and thus, wandered around the region. As for the Cutie Mark Crusaders, they were happy to see Scootaloo alive and well. They were especially happy since; they have been finally really anxious these recent times, what with all the horrors they’ve had to face.

“I don’t think fillies of our age have avoided death at least three times in just a week.” told Sweetie Belle to her friends. Scootaloo nodded in agreement.

“I’m starting to believe we’re just incredibly unlucky. That, or Equestria has gotten a lot more dangerous ever since Drag arrived.”

“Now that I think about it, ever since he came...” Applebloom paused for a moment, trying to remember all the events that happened since Drag’s arrival. “We’ve had a giant black dragon, a skeleton with a pumpkin head and now the Scalers. Nopony seems to know how and why this keeps happening. At the very least, we know that there is life out there, just that we’re probably never going to come to them...”

Silver Spoon noticed Fluttershy in the distance, she was looking around until she spotted the fillies, at which point she made her way to them. “Um, girls. I think Fluttershy is looking for us.” The group turned around just in time as Fluttershy arrived.

“Hey girls, I’m sorry to bother you, but I need help with something. My friends are all busy at the moment, so I thought maybe you’d be willing to help me.” started the Pegasus. Sweetie Belle was quick to respond on behalf of the group.

“Sure thing! What are we going to do?”

“We’re going to harvest fruits in the Everfree Forest. Winter is slowly coming and I want all of my animals to be ready for this season.” Applebloom saw this as an opportunity for them to get their Cutie Marks.

“Oh! Maybe harvesting is how we’ll get our Cutie Marks!” Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle got equally as excited, much to Silver Spoon’s amusement.

“You can always hope, but I don’t see it happening any time soon.”

~***~

“Alright girls, remember that the Everfree Forest is home to many dangers. We should never lose sight of one another.” cautioned Fluttershy to the young fillies. They were following closely behind, nervous as to what could be hiding in the dark forest. Each of them was carrying a basket in their mouth. The older Pegasus eventually stopped in front of a tree, up there in its branches lied many delicious looking fruits. Exactly what they were looking for.

“So... How are we going to harvest these fruits? None of us can fly, except for you of course. Normally, my sister would just buck the tree and take what’s fallen from it.” started Applebloom.

“I know exactly how we’re going to do it! I’ll fly up to the tree's branches and I'll shake them until the fruits fall off. You’ll be in charge of collecting the fallen fruits.” Fluttershy placed her basket under the tree and flew up to the branches. She started shaking the branches and the fruits began to fell off one by one, eventually falling in masses.
The fillies were running around, trying to catch the fruits in their basket as they were falling, making a game out of it.

“I got it! I got it!” exclaimed Applebloom as she was starting to reach perhaps a little too far for this one fruit.

“Applebloom! Watch where you’re going!” screamed Scootaloo, but it was too late. Applebloom wasn’t' paying attention to her surrounding and thus, tripped and slid away below the road they were currently in. The tumble was quite painful, lightly scratching her entire body. Once she finally hit even ground, she struggled to get back on her hooves, trying to brush off the pain her tumble has caused her. Her mane was also messy now and her bowtie was damaged too. However, this moment was short lived as the sound of something big hitting a tree took her out of her pained state. She saw not too far away from her, a large gorilla with brown fur. The gorilla was wearing a red tie, which was definitely odd but apart from that, nothing seemed really all that strange with it. The animal went to harvest the fruits that fell from the tree and quickly ate them, a sudden cough from Applebloom caught its attention and it turned around to look at the little filly.

The gorilla looked at Applebloom with curiosity. Then, it approached her, scaring the little filly. Thankfully, the ape only poked at the wounded filly and then licked its hand and began rubbing it in her mane, trying to comb it. After a few second, it stopped combing her mane and looked at her with satisfaction.

“Nyeh he!” The ape didn’t appear to be capable of much speech, but did not sound like a normal gorilla either, at least from what Applebloom had learned in school.

“Applebloom? Applebloom!”the sound of her friends calling out to her finally caught her attention and she responded.

“I’m alright! Come down there! I’ve found something interesting for you Fluttershy! It’s a gorilla!”

A gorilla? Thought the yellow Pegasus. That is extremely strange; gorilla don’t really live in this part of Equestria, much less a single one. She flew down the hill with the three other fillies grabbing onto her hooves so they too could descend safely. Finally, she arrived down the hill and was face to face with this unique gorilla. She still couldn’t believe her eyes, even when the ape approached close enough for her to feel its breath caressing her face.

“Wow, there really is a gorilla in the Everfree Forest!” She looked at the red tie around the ape’s neck. It had “DK” written on it. This got her wondering if it had a name. “Do you have a name Mr. Gorilla?”

The gorilla stood up on his legs and began beating his chest triumphantly. “ Ronkey Hong!”

“Donkey Kong you said?” tried to confirm Fluttershy.

“Yeeah.” replied the ape as it lifted a thumb up.

Thanks to Fluttershy’s talent, the group got Donkey Kong to help them with their harvesting. The gorilla would punch the trees hard enough to knock all the fruits down, allowing the ponies to simply pick them up without a hassle. After a while, Fluttershy announced to the fillies that it was time to return to Ponyville. Once they finally exited the forest, they noticed Donkey Kong’s reluctance to leave the Everfree Forest. He simply stayed behind and waved goodbye at them with a bright smile before running back in the dark woods.

“Well, that sure was one helpful gorilla. Never thought I’d ever see one in my life.” stated Silver Spoon as she watched him leave.

“Aww, I was hoping he’d at least stay at my cottage for just a little bit.” added a disappointed Fluttershy. Although, she did understand why a gorilla she’d just met was not going to follow her home. Though this one did appear much smarter than any other animal she’s interacted with... “Come on girls, we’ll take the baskets back to my cottage and then you’ll be free to continue on with your day.”

~***~

It’s been a few days since their harvest with Fluttershy. Since then, the Cutie Mark Crusaders have always felt a constant feeling of dread. No matter where they go, they always have this ominous feeling looming in the back of their minds. A feeling that they are being watched constantly, but they couldn’t pin down the root cause of this strange phenomenon. At least, it was nice to still have friends around to bring them comfort, as well as a nicely populated town to make them feel safer. It was almost as if danger loomed just outside of Ponyville.

“Something seems really off don’t you think girls?” said Sweetie Belle, her eyes darting in every direction around Ponyville. The city itself was still as bright and lively as always, despite the stress the citizens are clearly showing in response to the recent invasion.

“Yeah, I feel like I'm always being watched, even inside my own bedroom! But sometimes... this feeling goes away for a while.” answered Applebloom with a worried expression.

“D-Do you think we may have somepony stalking us? O-or, maybe it’s not even a pony!” said a nervous Scootaloo. “I didn’t have this feeling while I was inside the Rainbow Factory! It came shortly after our harvesting with Fluttershy!”

“We should really tell other ponies about this. I don’t think it’s a good idea to keep this to ourselves. Is Silver Spoon also affected by this? We should ask her too.” proposed Sweetie Belle.

“You’re right, I'll tell this to Big, Granny and Aj.” said Applebloom.

“And I'll tell this to my big sister Rarity as well as Silver Spoon.” added the little unicorn.

“We should also let the Guardians know about this; they will take this seriously... hopefully.” said Scootaloo while looking over her shoulder. Even in the middle of Ponyville the fillies didn’t feel safe. Nowhere felt safe to them, it's as if death itself was always somewhere watching them. Like if they’ve been marked for death.

“Then let’s not waste any time! We’re going now!” concluded Applebloom, having unconsciously raised her voice. The Cutie Mark Crusaders split up, each going their separate ways. An earth pony, not too far from them stopped by to look on in curiosity before resuming his walk. The stallion, however, tripped on the floor, coughing up a bit of blood in the process. Nervously looking around him in hopes no one saw that, he started wiping the blood off the floor with his hooves before leaving the scene.

~***~

Applejack was working harder at Sweet Apple Acre ever since she got back from Canterlot. Her brother Big Macintosh was far too wounded to work on the ranch because of the Soldier’s bomb that blew up near him a week ago for he was still recovering. Thus, she had to do everything by herself. While she was taking a break from her exhausting day just out on the porch, she saw her little sister running in direction of the house.

“Hey there Applebloom! Thought you were hanging out with your friends for the day?” questioned Applejack as her sister arrived in front of the porch.

“I gotta tell you something ‘sis! It's really important!” said the filly in a hurried tone.

“Alright then sugar cube but make it quick; I have a lot of work to do for today.”

“Well, recently I have this feeling that I'm always being watched no matter where I go. My friends also have this feeling, a-and its scaring all of us.” explained the filly, trying to be as brief as possible.

“I can understand why you’d be feeling this way. Nowhere feels safe ever since the Scalers have arrived. I’m sorry, I don’t really know how I can help you, but I'll see what I can do for you four.” The mare looked around the area, trying to find a solution. “Maybe you could spend the nights at Drag or Pink’s house? You’ll be safer there with them. I’m sure Granny Smith won’t mind.”

“Alright, I'll go to his house then. See ya later Aj!”

“See ya sugar cube! Stay safe.” she waved off to her little sister as the filly ran back into town. She had to get back to work immediately, but she couldn’t get what her sister told her out of her mind.

~***~

Applebloom finally arrived at Drag’s house. It was bigger than the other houses in Ponyville, notably since its inhabitant is much bigger than the usual Equestrian. She got up on her back legs and reached out a hoof to ring the doorbell, then she waited for a response. The door opened shortly after, revealing a tired looking Drag standing in front of her. He looked down to see the little filly at his doorstep. “Yeah, what is it Applebloom?” He asked calmly in a curious voice. The filly looked at the ground for a moment before lifting her head to look at the paladin, who was wearing simple clothing instead of his holy armour and divine great sword.

“Well... It's that, lately, the girls and I have been feeling really anxious. We always have this felling that we’re being watched, and it doesn’t seem to go away no matter where we are. We don’t feel safe even in our homes, so that’s why I came to ask you if we could spend the night in your house.”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can be of much use. I’m out of mana and I'm really tired from my day. I’m not really in fighting shape right now. I’ve been feeling like that ever since I took my morning coffee. But hey, there’s plenty other people you can ask. Try asking Pink or Smithy or even Mugen I guess... I’m sorry I can’t make myself more useful.” He stayed still for a moment, still looking at the filly. She understood that he was waiting for her to leave through his tired eyes.

“Right, I'll go ask them. Bye.” The Tauren waved goodbye as Applebloom left his property.

~***~

Sweetie Belle had trotted up to Silver Spoon’s house in order to ask her if she also had this feeling of constant dread spoiling her days and nights. She knocked on the door and Silver Spoon’s mother opened the door to greet her.

“Hmm? Are you a friend of Silver Spoon?” She spoke firmly. Sweetie Belle felt nervous speaking to him but still responded nonetheless.

“Yes. I’ve only come to chat with her. "She answered. The mother’s expression immediately changed to relief as she revealed to the young unicorn the source of her concerns regarding her daughter.

“Oh thank Celestia you’ve come! My poor Silver Spoon hasn’t even dared to leave her own bedroom as of recently and it’s making me worried sick. I’ve tried everything I could but she wouldn’t leave the house without a fight... Do you think, perhaps you could convince her to go outside at the very least?” This confirmed Sweetie Belle’s suspicions regarding the possibility that Silver Spoon might be affected by the same feeling of dread as her other friends.

“I’ll try my best ma’am!” she said, putting on a confident smile.

“Thanks goodness, you’re such a kind soul little filly. Tell me, what’s your name?” The older mare asked joyously.

“I’m Sweetie Belle! Nice to meet you Ms, um...”

“Emerald Glass. Follow me, I’ll lead you to my daughter’s bedroom.” she responded immediately. Without skipping a beat, the mare gestured at Sweetie Belle to follow her. They walked throughout the house before arriving in front of a closed door. The mare knocked on the door and shouted.

“Silver Spoon! Your friend Sweetie Belle wants to speak to you! Don’t keep her waiting!” The door opened and Sweetie Belle saw just how bad Silver Spoon’s situation was; she was shaking uncontrollably and her eyes reflected nothing but fear. These intense feelings quieted down once she Sweetie Belle and without even saying anything, she dragged her into her room.

“Sweetie Belle! Oh sweet Celestia, I'm so happy you came! You’re... feeling this too? This feeling of dread, like we’re being watched!” Started the filly in a panic.

“Yes! That’s exactly why I came to see you. I was worried you’d be feeling the same way. Applebloom and Scootaloo are also affected by this. We think it’s better if we stay together until this feeling finally disappears.” answered the young unicorn.

“Do you have a plan? Please tell me you have a plan.” pleaded Silver Spoon. Sweetie Belle sadly shook her head.

“No, we don’t... The best idea we’ve had so far was to spend the night together at a safe place where our safety is guaranteed. Other than, we’ve got nothing...”

“I see... can I join you three?” politely asked Silver Spoon.

“Heh, of course you can! You’re one of us after all.”

~***~

No luck for Scootaloo too, the entirety of Ponyville didn’t seem to be affected like them by this strange phenomenon. While they were showing concern, it wasn’t enough for them to justify taking drastic action. The Scalers were still on everyone’s mind, especially for Twilight Sparkle. They were now standing near the well in the middle of the town, for it was the safest place to them. “M-maybe we could have a sleepover at your house Applebloom? At least that way, we won’t be alone.” proposed Sweetie Belle, failing to mask her anxiety while Silver Spoon was holding tightly onto her, still shaking uncontrollably. Scootaloo looked over her shoulder in direction of the woods nearby before looking back at Sweetie Belle in approval.

“I’m with you on this one. I don’t want to be alone right now.” Applebloom took on a more confident stance to mask her fear as well as to ease her friend's stress.

“Then it’s settled! We are going to spend the night at Sweet Apple’s Acre!”

~***~

Far away from Equestria, Luna was still recovering on the moon. The wound Balgo had inflicted on her spread a sort of disease throughout her body, slowing her recovery. Thankfully, she was nearly done. Approximately, one day was all that was left before she could finally exit the moon and return to her people. Though, at least more than a week has passed since she encountered Balgo, she wondered what could have happened in Equestria during all this time, fearing for the worst. She only hoped that her sister was doing well, despite her absence. She blamed her curiosity for getting her in this bad position in the first place.

“Heya, do you know a thing or two about demons?” The alicorn’s heart nearly skipped a beat once she heard that familiar voice.

“Balgo! What are you doing here? You’ve come to finish me off?” she snapped at the Devil.

“What? No, I just came to ask about demons. You see, it has come to my attention that a demon is causing some mayhem around Equestria. I just want to get a few things straight with this demon if you know what I mean.” responded Balgo in his usual calm and patient voice.

“I’ve never heard of there being demons in Equestria. I have nothing to say to you.” bitterly answered Princess Luna.

“What a shame...” The emperor turned to face Equestria, ready to leave.

“Hey hold on!” shouted Luna. She wanted to know what was happening in the world her sister was ruling. “Please, tell me what has happened in Equestria since then.”

“I... don’t think I really owe you anything. I’ve stabbed you after all, don’t see why I need to- Well, I can actually tell you one important piece of information.” His mouth contorted into a grin of pure sadistic malice. “I’ve taken over Canterlot, your sister has been bested by the better ruler. Me!” Before she could even say anything, Balgo teleported back to Equestria. Leaving the lunar princess in a state of shock.

“Celestia, no...”

~***~

It was starting to get dark in the city of Manehattan. The whole city lived in bliss ignorance of the horrors that had transpired over at Canterlot and Ponyville, unaware that it would be next on the list. For this afternoon, Shining Armor and Princess Cadance were going to have dinner in a nice restaurant, enjoying their peaceful vacation together.

“What do you think of this one? I think it looks nice enough.” proposed Shining as he pointed a hoof to a nearby restaurant. Cadance contemplated whether she would like to try it out, or keep looking for another one. A sudden growl in her stomach pushed her to choose this one.

“Sure, why not? As long as the food is good.” They crossed the street and made their way to the restaurant. However, before they could enter in, something caught their attention. It was a news delivery pony, speaking loudly to get the attention of everypony in the vicinity.

“Terrible news everypony! Canterlot has been taken over by a new enemy completely unknown to Equestria! Get your journals to learn more about this new threat!” Shining and Cadance both exchanged concerned glances before running up to the mare.

“Excuse me, I would like to buy one journal right now!” announced Shining to the pony.

“Oh my... Princess Cadance! And Shining Armor! Here, you can take this one for free.” said the pony, surprised to see these two here in Manehattan.

“We’ll pay for it like anypony.” objected Cadance before reaching in her bag to take out a bit and gave it to the mare. In return, she handed over the journal and Shining wasted no time opening it.

The journal spoke of the invasion of Ponyville and then, of Canterlot. Though it did not specify what happened exactly to Princess Celestia, in fact, nopony truly knew what had become of her since the defeat of Canterlot’s forces.

“Sweet Celestia...” started Cadance. “What are we going to do now? We can’t just take the train back to Canterlot to gather our forces. The royal guards are probably gone by now...”

“If these foes have taken over Canterlot. Then I do not doubt they will come for Manehattan eventually. It will be best if we stay here and prepare some defences for the city as a whole. Your status as a Princess will be more than enough to convince the city to follow our plan.” proposed Shining Armor.

“It sounds good to me, but I wonder where is Princess Luna in all of this? The journal doesn’t say a word about her.” pointed out the princess.

“I have no idea what’s going on out there. Things are looking pretty grim for us...” he was interrupted by the sound of his stomach rumbling. “We should continue this conversation after a nice meal. I’m terribly hungry right now.”

“Right, let’s get inside.”

~***~

Today didn’t seem like it was going to be very exciting for Twilight Sparkle, but considering all that had happened prior, she didn’t mind. She spent her day studying the many books in the library and occasionally went outside to get some fresh air. Someone knocked at the door, which took her out of her studies. Surely somepony was coming to rent a book. However, her enthusiasm died down when she saw none other than Aruba at her door.

“Heya Twilight. Mind if I come in?”

“No. I don’t want to be anywhere near you.” she slammed the door shut on the genie, but he simply phased through the entrance, entering without her permission.

“I WILL go away if you simply help me out just a little. Surely that’s what you want?” he added, trying to persuade her. Twilight caved in.

“Fine, just as long as you leave Ponyville.”

“Exactly what I intend to do.” Twilight sat down, ready to listen to Aruba.

“Okay, I’m ready to hear you out.” Aruba took out a pipe from his chest and took a puff out of it before starting.

“I don’t know how long Balgo is going to take before he’s done with his secret mission. Don’t ask me about, I don’t even know what he’s looking for. Anyway, before he forces us back into work, I want to at least visit an interesting place just to snap some pictures. Since you’re such a bookworm, I was thinking maybe you’d know of a good place. And don’t send me into a fucking volcano too, I want you to give me an honest answer.” Twilight thought about it for a moment, before coming up with a good idea.

“Well, if you go up north; you’ll find the Crystal Empire. I haven’t heard much about the Crystal Empire, except that it’s a great place to visit for a vacation!” she exclaimed with a bright smile on her face.

“Crystal Empire... Oh! I’m sure Balgo is going to love this place! I’ve got to head there now! Well Twilight, I gotta thank you for your help and just like I promised; I won’t come back, at least not on my free will.” Aruba waved off as he phased out of the library and flew in direction of the Crystal Empire as Twilight giggled to herself.

“Oh, I’ve heard nothing but bad things about this place...”

~***~

Kryser was immensely satisfied by Specialist Wilson’s work. He had gotten all the necessary information in a matter of hours. Now, they knew who these enemies were. Should they attack them, they’ll be ready to fight back. A sudden buzzing in his wrist snapped Kryser out of his mind as he responded immediately. Balgo’s hologram took form as he began to speak to him.

“Kryser, it has been hours. I hope you’ve got some good news to deliver now.” Kryser smiled in satisfaction.

“Of course, Specialist Wilson has gotten the information we need sir. The changelings are shape-shifters who behave much like insects. They have a hive and a queen that rules over them. This queen seems to be the only thing we should be concerned about, for she rivals Princess Celestia in terms of magical prowess.” Balgo chuckled happily at the soldier’s success.

“Great work Kryser. I knew I could always count on you.” He took on a more serious expression before continuing. “I don’t know how long my mission will take, for I am hunting down a demon. A sneaky one at that, but once I’ve dealt with him; I will come back to Canterlot so that we may expand our empire here in Equestria. Over.” The hologram disappeared before the Scaler as he looked over at the Soldier, who was cleaning his dusty rocket launcher.

“Soldier! We must prepare our defences now, we can’t let these changelings take us by surprise, not until Balgo has returned.”

“Nyeh he he! Then let them come! We will kill them all in legal self-defence!”

“Yeah... something like that...... Get to work already.”

~***~

The sun was setting down on Equestria as the Cutie Mark Crusaders stood by the window to watch the beautiful sunset, knowing that the night was creeping around the corner. Applebloom was staring blankly into the sunset while Scootaloo kept on darting her eyes around the horizon. Sweetie Belle was more focused on keeping Silver Spoon calm for she was still trembling. The fireplace was lighting the living room, casting shadows all over the walls. “The sunset sure is beautiful ain’t it girls?” asked Applejack as she approached the four fillies. They all looked back at the approaching mare before setting their gaze back on the horizon.

“It’s beautiful, but the night that’ll come with it sure ain’t.” responded Applebloom. The older mare was unsure of what to say, she was worried about her sister’s as well as her friends' growing feelings of anxiety and fear but wasn’t sure if it was something to be extremely concerned about or not. After all, the mere knowledge of the Scalers being free to roam about the entire region has gotten everyone in Ponyville to look over their shoulder every once in a while. It could be just that, but she also couldn’t shake the feeling that there could be so much more to the fillies worries.

“I have an idea to make you feel better. How about we ask Granny Smith to read you a nice book before bed?” finally said Applejack in an attempt to cheer up the group. Her attempt didn’t seem to have worked all that much judging by their lack of enthusiasm.

“Oh, come one, as if we’re still young enough to be read bedtime stories.” brushed off Scootaloo. It was of course to be expected coming from the small Pegasus who idolised Rainbow Dash out of all ponies.

“Let’s not rule out this idea just now. I think we should give it a try. Who knows? Maybe this can help. Especially if it’s another one of Daring Doo’s adventure! I’m sure you’ll like them Scootaloo!” Sweetie Belle looked at Applebloom to get her approval. She nodded back in response. Silver Spoon was still clinging onto her as hard as she could, but she too nodded in approval. Surely a nice book can get their minds off this feeling, right?

“Ok then, let’s prepare ourselves for the night now. I’ll go tell Granny Smith about it.” concluded Applejack before leaving. The four fillies looked back at the window. The sun had practically left the horizons completely at that point, casting the land in darkness. The Cutie Mark Crusaders left the window they were staring at, too scared to stay anywhere near it now.

“... and thus, the day was saved once again by none other than Daring Doo!” Granny Smith had just finished reading her book to the young fillies. The story worked; the group was noticeably calmer now than they were before. They were also very tired, barely able to keep their eyes open.

“Heh, I guess books about Daring Doo aren’t so bad after all.” said Scootaloo, being the one who’s listened the best out of the four. Sweetie Belle looked to her left and noticed that Silver Spoon was now sleeping peacefully.

“I guess it worked, Silver Spoon is sleeping now and she was the most anxious out of all of us.” Applejack was visibly pleased by how well her idea turned out.

“Well shoo! I guess nothing really beats a good bedtime story. I’ve always adored when Granny Smith would tell me stories before I went to sleep. Nice to see we’re still keeping this tradition.”

Now that Granny Smith had finished telling her stories to the fillies, she turned off the light in their bedroom and left to get herself some sleep. Applejack left the bedroom too so that she could wander around the house, holding a lantern in her mouth, to make sure all the doors and windows were closed. Even though it has been something she had done for years now, she couldn’t help but feel like something was different this time around.

The night felt much scarier than usual, almost as if there was something looming around their propriety. She looked outside the front door to make sure there was truly nothing wandering outside. As she was standing on the porch, the mare noticed that it was very quiet out there. There weren’t even the usual sounds of crickets in the night. This alone compelled her to immediately get back inside, closing and locking the door behind her. “Nah, there’s nothing out there. I’m just imagining things, letting it all get to my head. Stay calm Applejack; there’s probably nothing but woodland critters outside.” thought the earth pony as she slowly walked upstairs to her room. A sudden figure in the hallway caused her to squeal in surprise, before realising it was just her brother.

“Woah! Big Macintosh, you sure did scare me good.” she said, holding a hoof to her chest.

“Sorry ‘sis. I was just thirsty.” replied the wounded stallion.

“It’s alright. Goodnight Big.”

“Goodnight Aj.”

Finally arriving in her bedroom, Applejack placed down her lantern on her nightstand and blew out the light. She hopped on her bed, happy to finally get some rest. It did take her some time, but she eventually chased the worries away and was able to fall asleep.

~***~

Applejack was rolling around in her bed, unable to fully go back to sleep now that she woke up in the middle of the night. She couldn’t understand what was concerning her to the point of not being able to get any rest. Eventually, after a couple of minutes, she finally found a good position to fall back to sleep in.

But she was taken out of her slumber by a deep, raspy voice singing quietly near the side of her bed.

“Wretched earth pony, such a shame you wouldn’t take... the signs remotely seriously, not even just a bit. I hate all you filthy horses, and I will exact... my... revenge on all those your friend Twilight holds dear to her heart.”

Applejack’s eyes swung open, she turned around and stood up only to see a very large gorilla standing right next to her, looking down at her. The moonlight shined just enough throughout her room to make out the gorilla’s appearance. Its fur was brown, it was wearing a red tie and a general’s cap, though Applejack did not recognise what it was. Its eyes were not visible thanks to the darkness the room was plunged in, though the darkness didn’t feel natural. “Wha- a giant gorilla?! What are yo- Guark!”She couldn’t finish her sentence before the ape’s hand grabbed her neck and lifted her up to his height.

“Goodbye.” The gorilla’s teeth turned into fangs as it began to apply more pressure onto the mare’s neck, slowly strangling her. She couldn’t see his face, for it was masked by the shadows. She could only make out his left eye, a crimson red eye staring back at her with burning hatred. She started kicking back at Devil Kong in a desperate attempt to free herself from his grasp. However, the demon barely even budged, that was until one of her kicks landed right in his left eye. The demon winced in pain and in response, smashed the mare onto the nearby nightstand, still holding onto her. He then proceeded to hit her on her bed, breaking it in the process. Then it was the windows, the floor, the walls, he trashed the helpless mare around her room, roaring in rage until the door behind them swung open.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders were horrified to witness the brutal scene unfolding before their very eyes. Devil Kong turned to look at the fillies, staring them down with such intensity that they froze in horror. He proceeded to throw the helpless mare at the kids, hitting them all out of the room. Applejack struggled to get up now that her body was severely bruised and battered. “Everypony run! We gotta get out of here!” yelled the mare as the demon slowly approached them, its footsteps making the entire floor creak due to its large size.

The group ran down the stairs as Devil Kong followed closely behind, growling angrily. “The front door! We can make it out!” yelled Applebloom. However, as they ran in direction of the front door, the demon quickly turned to smoke, flew past them and rematerialized to block their exit. The ponies turned around and ran in the opposite direction, heading towards the kitchen. As they arrived, they noticed that their only escape route was through the windows. The beast got in the room and looked at a nearby frying pan. It poured water into the pan before heating its hands and plunged into the water until the liquid became hot to the point of splashing out of the pan. It smirked as it grabbed the handle and splashed the burning liquid towards the fillies. Applejack quickly reacted and got in the way to shield the kids. She let out a yelp of pain as the water burned off her fur. She looked back at the demon standing before her only to receive a frying pan thrown straight into her sides. She fell on her knees and barely had time to see the monster wind up a punch aimed straight at her jaw. She spat out blood as she hit the cold hard floor of the kitchen. The beast completely ignored the fillies to focus on her instead.

“Get up, you’ve got three seconds.” said the demon in a deceptively calm tone, betrayed by its raspy voice and its entire body displaying raw aggression. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were now cuddled up in the corner of the room, too scared to go to the older mare’s rescue.

“I-I-It's him! The r-r-reason why we’ve had this feeling for days!” screamed Silver Spoon in terror as she held on tighter to Sweetie Belle. Eventually, Applejack got up as Devil Kong walked away. He started opening the drawers in search of something.

The earth pony gestured to the fillies to run in direction of the front door now that the demon had taken their gaze off them. The children sprinted past the beast as it didn’t even pay attention to them. “Let’s try to make it right.” said the demon as he looked at the knife he picked up. He immediately turned around and slashed Applejack in the neck as she was running after the fillies. Despite the injury, she made it outside but quickly found out that she had no strength left to flee. The cut was too deep. “Wait, Big Macintosh and Granny Smith are still in there!” thought the Element of Honesty as she fell on the ground.

“Applejack!” yelled out her little sister in concern. She tried to run back to her sister but backed down when she noticed Devil Kong exiting the house, looking even angrier than before.

“Run! Run and hide in the forest! You won’t make it to Ponyville in time!” shouted Applejack with the last of her strength left. The monster looked at the injured pony on the ground and plunged its claws into her torso. The mare let out an ear-piercing scream of agony as the beast took its claws out and started licking the blood off them. Sweetie Belle vomited on the floor, unable to take it anymore as Silver Spoon was trying her hardest to drag her away from the scene. Devil Kong quickly took notice of this and immediately sprinted her way, catching the filly by the throat and lifting her off the ground up to his shoulders. He pushed off Silver Spoon with his foot and turned around to look directly at Applejack in the eyes.

“Watch this, Mrs. Honesty.” He began to apply more pressure on the filly’s neck, slowly strangling her. “I’ll keep on going until I severe her head. Go on, come and stop me, hero of Equestria.” he added with more hatred pouring onto his voice as he relished the earth pony’s look of terror and despair. His grin soon faded as he realised that her life had already faded away. Applejack had died too soon for his liking. Deception filled his gaze as he stopped strangling Sweetie Belle, instead opting to simply devour her and use her soul to further push his vendetta against Twilight.

He lifted Sweetie Belle up to his mouth as he opened it as much as he could. “Let her go!” screamed Scootaloo as she kicked Devil Kong in the leg with all her strength. The demon didn’t even budge as he took a bite of the filly. Applebloom fell down at this horrible sight, her eyes getting watery. The beast however, looked confused. He looked at his hand only to realise that he wasn’t holding on to Sweetie Belle anymore.

“What?” shouted the demon in frustration.

“Let’s try to make it right. We don’t wanna start a fight here.” Devil Kong looked at the newcomer incredulously.

“M-Mugen!” said Scootaloo in relief. The Scaler was holding Sweetie Belle in his arms and gently put her down just as Silver Spoon came running at her friend to embrace her.

“You’ve made quite the ruckus here mister, uh... who are you again dude?”

“Devil Kong. I do not appreciate your disturbance.” replied Devil Kong between his clenched teeth.

“Oh right, I've come here for a complaint. You see, I don’t like what you’re doing... I think you deserve every ounce of pain I’ll send your way, demon.” The shadows around Mugen obstructed his features even more as his smile turned into a grin. A small white pupil appeared in his left eye, showing a hint of malice in the jester’s face. The fillies wasted no time running away in the forest, hoping to hide and wait the whole battle out. The demon lunged at the Scaler and swiped its claws at him to which the reptile narrowly avoided. Mugen curled into a ball and with impressive force, launched himself at Devil Kong, smacking him away and drawing blood at the same time. The beast got up to realise its nose has been broken by the impact, it snarled and summon an assault rifle with its dark powers. It then began to fire wildly at the Scaler who once again formed into a ball and rolled around the rain of bullet coming his way. The Scaler jumped high into the air and charged towards the demon on the ground. It however, intercepted the attack by stabbing the lizard right in the guts with a sharp sword it had summoned.

“Missed me!” Devil Kong turned around in surprise only to get hit by another spin dash, courtesy of the Scaler. “You’ve murdered my clone, not the original. Care to try again?” Kong had figured it out; Mugen can summon clones at will to take the punishment at his place. All he has to do is to figure out which one is the real Mugen. Then, he will tear him apart.

“Come at me then, I won’t miss you this time, funny man.” The beast summoned a gauntlet with a chainsaw attached to it and got into an offensive stance.

“You should look at your tie. I think there are a few items on it that shouldn’t be there normally.” Perplexed, Kong did as he said only to notice a grenade attached to his tie. He was surprised for a second, but quickly took on his usual wrathful expression.

“Bah, child’s play.” He knocked the grenade off his tie before it could explode only to notice tons of small threads attached to the now activated grenade. Multiple sounds of grenades activating could be heard from behind him. He looked at his back only to be with an extremely stressful sight. Dozens of grenades were placed all around his back and they were now ready to explode. Mugen had indeed distracted for too long. His clones had the time to set up this elaborate trap and now it was too late for the demon to react. Blinded by anger, he left himself open to his adversary, something he knew he would have to work on if he ever hoped to accomplish his ruthless vendetta.

With no time to react, Devil Kong simply looked at Mugen in burning hatred as the flames began to engulf him causing agonising pain until it all ended with a giant explosion launching his charred body far away in the forest.

~***~

The sound of the explosion alerted nearly everyone in Ponyville. Soon, The Guardians and many other ponies arrived on the scene. Twilight looked around worried until her gaze set on Applejack’s body lying outside near her porch. “Aj!” she screamed as she ran over to her friend's bloodied corpse. Tears began to run down from her eyes, and they kept on raining down as she sat down in defeat. Mugen’s smile slowly turned into a frown as he looked on in sadness for, he knew he could have done something about it had he just arrived sooner. Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie soon joined Twilight’s grieving as the unicorn held Applejack in her hooves.

“Applejack...” weakly said Rarity as she got closer to sit next to Twilight.

Drag arrived on the scene and started examining Applejack’s body with his eyes. Twilight looked at the paladin only to notice a visible lack of sadness on the Tauren’s face, he looked like he was thinking of something. Drag noticed that the unicorn was staring at him, and his face quickly turned into one like that of a guilty child trying to hide something. “Is there something we don’t know again Drag?” said Twilight with a hint of anger.

“I... may have not told anyone that I... have a resurrection spell.”

“What?! Why didn’t you tell anyone about this?!” she screamed.

“That is totally uncool to just fiddle with our emotions like that!” added Fluttershy as she glared at the Tauren.

“Friends don’t hide secrets from each other.” said Pinkie Pie, clearly hurt by Drag’s omittance of such an important fact.

“And why didn’t you use it on any of the deceased before?” added Rainbow Dash.

“Well... it has its limitations. Notably if the body is far too damaged, it won’t work. Such as the head being severed from the body. Luckily, Applejack’s body is still salvageable. I’m sorry y’all, for not telling you this before.”

Twilight raised a hoof as if she was about to hit the paladin, but ultimately put it down and laughed quietly. “It’s okay, I forgive you this time. Now, can you resurrect her?”

“Of course. But we’ll need to take her to the hospital. We’ve got to stich up these wounds before I can safely cast the resurrection spell, otherwise she’ll die moments after I bring her back.” The paladin picked up Applejack’s body and the others followed as he made his way to the hospital. “Don’t worry Applejack, we’ll bring you back soon enough!” thought Drag to himself when they arrived in front of the hospital. Pink was running to Sweet Apple Acre, but stopped once he noticed the group in front of the hospital.

“Woah, what the hell just happened?!” he shouted in a panic when he spotted Applejack.

“We’re bringing her back to life! Come with us Pink!” ordered Twilight.

“Uh? Wha- Ok?!”

Rushing in, their sudden arrival shocked the staff once they saw the corpse of Applejack being held in Drag’s arms.

“We must bring her to an operating table now! Her wounds need to be stitched up quickly!” shouted the paladin to the receptionist.

“I’m sorry sir, but... I think your friend is dead... I-I don’t see how-” she was quickly interrupted by the Tauren slamming his massive fist on the desk.

“Do as I say!”

~***~

Now standing outside the operating room, the remaining Elements of Harmony and the two Guardians watched the surgeons work through a window above. A nurse arrived at the group, looking nervous and confused as to what is going on.

“We’re stitching up her wounds like you said. Th-This will take some time however, our surgeons are rather tired at the moment.” Fluttershy looked at Drag with worry in her eyes.

“Is this going to be problematic? Can it b-be too late for the spell to work?”

“I doubt it's going to happen. Her entire body isn’t going to decay before the surgeons finish their job. It should be fine, Fluttershy.” He sighed. “We just have to wait now...”

~***~

Far away in the Everfree Forest, a mutilated body on the ground was slowly reforming. After a matter of mere seconds, it took on the shape of Devil Kong once more. He cursed Mugen’s name under his breath after having fully healed his body. Looking back at the way he was sent flying earlier, he was eager to try his luck again, but chose not to, deciding to try again at a more opportune time. So, he walked in the opposite direction of Ponyville, looking for a calm place to plan his next move in complete discretion. He was however, stopped in his tracks by a large silhouette standing before him. A humanoid and reptilian silhouette at that; It was Balgo.

“Another one looking for a fight. Just when I thought this night couldn’t any more unbearable.” angrily said the demon.

“And just when I thought my day couldn’t get any better; I finally found you, demon.” said Balgo with a clear hint of anticipation.

“Looking for me? I thought no one outside of Twilight’s friends knew of my existence.” He stared even deeper at the Scaler before him, analysing him from top to bottom.

“Oh, don’t worry. You didn’t mess up or anything. It’s just that... nothing much can be hidden from me, especially when it comes to demons. You’ve done quite a lot of damage to Twilight and I don’t appreciate it at all for you see; She is mine.” He readjusted his hat with his index while keeping his gazed locked on the ape.

“So, you must be this Balgo fellow Twilight kept on thinking about? You don’t seem as strong as I thought.” replied Devil Kong as he licked the blood off his teeth.

“Then how about I show you why she fears me so much? I’m sure you’ll find yourself begging for death once I’ve shown you the meaning of pain.” Balgo’s eyes darkened as his grin grew larger.

“You think this is going to be this easy? How bold, I've grown pretty accustomed to pain. It is how I've risen above all other demons in the Abyss. And it is how I’ll get my way in this world.” The demon materialised a combat knife out of black smoke.

“Oh, right. The Abyss, my awful attempt at creating a world like those of my older brother Knoxx. The Abyss is nothing but a failure I abandoned. I'm quite frankly surprised something remotely interesting even came from it, Devil Kong.” The demon looked surprised for a moment once it heard its name. How did Balgo learn his name?

“We’ll see how much the failure of the Abyss reflects on my success once I usurp you, devil.”

“As if I can be undone that easily. You know, the longer I spend in Equestria the more I realise; I am a part of this place. So much of the evil that lies inside this world is of my doing one way or another. My influence over this land is already quite considerable. So go ahead then, let see you best me. Usurp these nuts.”

Devil Kong lunged at Balgo, stabbing the Scaler in the throat. The Scaler responded by hitting the demon square in the jaw with his knee. He then followed up with a hook and an uppercut, knocking Kong on the ground. The ape performed a back flip in order to get up, kicking the emperor in the face in the process. The Scaler clutched at his chin as a smile began to draw on his face. “Heh, you’re pretty good. But that won’t cut it.” Devil Kong wasted no time lunging at the lizard with two daggers in hand, ready to shred his opponent, but before he could strike him, Balgo dashed backward at an impressive speed using his dark energy. “You still don’t get it do ya? Then let me show you true terror...”

Devil Kong noticed a change in the current of the air. A dark purple light began to emanate from Balgo. Soon, the lizard’s skin began to turn purple, much like the dark energy surrounding him. Two large horns grew on his head, pointing upward while two smaller ones were pointing downward as well as two other pointing forward. A large shell made from purple crystals began to grow on his back. Crystallised kneepads were forming on his knees, his eyes turning black with small red pupils staring deeply into his soul. The Scaler began to grow even larger than he already was, now towering over the demon. Finally, crystallised armour began to form on his fore arms, legs and all around his skin, but mostly his chest. His tail grew multiple sharp appendages as his teeth grew even sharper and bigger. Devil Kong dropped his daggers in shock as he quickly realised, he was indeed staring at the true Devil. A being that surpassed him in every way imaginable. The one being he would never grow to overcome. The voice that spoke to him sounded much deeper than before and strangely robotic as well.

“You’re in my ring now!”

~***~

Somewhere along the road that led to Canterlot, Trixie was sitting in her carousel, being moved by two magical animals. She stared into the dark forest on the side of the road slightly worried, the townsfolk from the town she had left earlier this day had heard rumors of an invasive species that made its way into the city of Canterlot itself. She tried her best to brush off these rumors, but they kept looming in the back of her mind. The worst of it all was the fact that it has gotten dark outside. In these recent times, being out in the dark was a death sentence. What with this demon supposedly roaming around the region, the axe wielding undead maniac who could rise from anywhere, the bloodthirsty barbarians that had a bone to pick with the city of Canterlot and now with these reptilian bipedal creatures taking over parts of Equestria. Anything could come out of these woods to kill her. The magician’s carousel stopped when she heard a loud demonic scream of agony pierce the silence of the night. Once the scream stopped, the forest was swallowed by silence once again. The unnatural serenity that the woods were plunged into sent a chill down her spine. Suddenly, large thundering footsteps could be heard, nearly making her fall from her seat. Whatever was coming her way was much bigger than she could even imagine. It might even rival an ursa minor in size and she knows very well that she can’t handle such a beast. There was only one option now.

Without hesitation, Trixie leaped off from her carousel and ran into the woods in hopes of finding a good spot to hide from it. The beast’s footsteps were getting louder and louder. Now, she could hear the two animals moving the carousel whining in fear before hearing the sounds of trees falling down. It was at that point that she knew; the beast was aware of her presence, and it was now hunting her down. No matter how fast she ran, she couldn’t seem to create any distance between her pursuer and her. In fact, it was getting closer to her. It was going to catch up to the unicorn in no time. When all hope seemed lost, Trixie found a small hole below a tree, just big enough for her to fit in. Wasting no time, she hopped into hole and watched in fear as the tree around her were shaking with each step the monster took.

After what felt like an eternity, she saw the monster arrive at her current location. Two large, crystallised purple feet were standing by her hiding spot as the monster stopped its pursuit. This scared the unicorn as she thought the monster had spotted her. For a while, the beast simply stood still, before dropping something big onto the ground. Trixie nearly let out a yelp as she saw none other than a demonic looking ape, missing entire limbs, an eye and with his intestines leaking from his body inches away from her hiding spot. Thankfully, it appeared to be dead, causing the magician to close her eyes and breathe a sigh of relief. But just as she opened them, she noticed that the demon was staring right at her, it’s frown of agony slowly turning into a malicious smile.

“Lookie here... a frightened little unicorn hiding under ground like a scared rabbit.” Trixie’s eyes widened as she now knew that there was no escape for her this time. The beast turned in direction of the tree she was hiding under and with one slow and gentle motion, turned the entire tree to atoms. She looked up to see a very large bipedal lizard with dark purple skin covered in a crystallised armour staring right at her. She tried to beg for mercy, but the creature swung his arms at lightning speed before she could even utter a single word.

“...What? You didn’t kill her? Didn’t even take her soul.” grumbled Devil Kong in anger. Trixie’s expression turned from fear to admiration in barely even a second.

“You are far too blunt and primitive with your approach demon. It is what kept you from defeating the Guardians and the Elements of Harmony.” responded Balgo while smiling in satisfaction. “This unicorn is far more useful to me alive than dead. Of course, I just need a bit of brainwashing for it to work, but you’ll see. I’ll do everything you failed to do in less than a month.” Balgo picked up Devil Kong’s mutilated body from the ground and motioned at Trixie to follow him.

“It is so exciting to finally be able to serve you ‘o’ great Balgo! Where are we going now, mighty master of the dark arts?” asked the unicorn.

“To Canterlot of course, we’ll prepare the next step in our plan for conquest tomorrow, perhaps even today.”

Author's Note

Merry Christmas!... Eve... I hope you'll enjoy this little present I cooked up.