GEM1588-Well... More might show up. You'll have to wait and see. ;)

Wolvmbm-Thanks. :) And no, it's not a different past. You'll see. ;)

As always, thanks to the folks at spacebattles and rpg for their help.

Here we go!

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Megan watched as several of the younger Pegasus ponies flitted about in the sky, Wind Whistler and Firefly guiding them in instruction. After a few minutes, Wind Whistler dove for the ground and landed near the teenager. "Are you all right?" Wind Whistler asked, cocking her head to the side.

Megan shrugged as the two friends began walking along the grounds of Paradise Estate. "I don't know, to tell you the truth." She kicked at the ground, sending a stone tumbling along. "Lavan's dead, and the Princess Ponies have their powers back, but what now? What new threat is out there to try and take you all out?"

Wind Whistler paused and rubbed her hoof with her chin. "Your worries are logical, but we have faced many dangers before and will again. Dream Valley and Ponyland is dangerous, even in the best of times."

Megan whirled around to face the Pegasus. "Well... are there other groups of ponies out there?" She looked to the sky as the baby Pegasi landed and the sun shone down. "There's the Big Brother ponies and the princesses and the Flutter Ponies, but are you the only ones?"

The Pegasus shook her head. "Negative. Our enclaves are scattered throughout the land. If one group is destroyed, the others can survive and carry on." Her head lowered and she closed her eyes. "We've come across... remnants of other groups before you came along, Megan."

There was silence before Megan closed her eyes and balled her still-small hands into fists. "Well, it's not right!" she shouted, startling others nearby. "Why do innocent ponies who have never hurt anyone have to suffer? Why can't something be done to help you out?"

Heart Throb trotted over, her daughter in tow. "But what can we do, Megan?"

Megan's brow furrowed and she paced a bit. "The Big Brother ponies are due here in a week. Well, they're not leaving! Wind Whistler, get a list of all these other groups of ponies together. I think it's time we take back the valley!"

Wind Whistler turned and extended her wings, but stopped and looked back, staring at Megan. She held her gaze, boring deep. "Megan..."

"Megan..."

---

"Megan!"

Megan snapped her head around to Twilight and Spike, blinking. "Wait, what?" She swallowed and scratched the back of her head. "Sorry, there. Just thinking about some old friends."

Twilight rolled her eyes while Spike clamped his claws over his mouth to hide his giggling. "Might wanna pay attention, Megan. The Everfree Forest is one of the most dangerous areas in Equestria. There's all sorts of creatures here, and a lot of them wouldn't mind having a pony for lunch-or a dragon, or you."

Megan nodded and cradled her rifle, stepping lightly. She looked around the Everfree Forest as strange sounds and shadows lurked about, just at the edge of her vision. "Is it just me or is this way too dark, even accounting for the canopy?"

Twilight shivered slightly. "The Everfree Forest has been like this for about a thousand years. It's wild, untamed and pony magic simply doesn't work here. Even the princess' sun can barely shine through it. It was-oh, watch the poison joke!" she said, hopping away from the blue-leafed plants.

Megan slowed down, allowing Twilight to pass her on the path to avoid the joke. "What does it do?" she asked, looking down at it. "We've got poison oak back home, but not... joke." She looked over the small blanket of the joke. "What does it do?"

"You don't wanna know." Twilight craned her head around and leaned back, opening her mouth and shouting.

Megan, Spike, Rarity and Pinkie Pie followed suit, each one shouting at the top of their lungs as the followed a trail of recently-made horseshoe imprints in the ground, imprints stamped into the ground twice as deep as normal tracks. Fluttershy kept her eyes on the tracks and for any signs of struggle or injury while Rainbow Dash raced ahead, scouting out what lay ahead.

A nearby bush shook and the group halted. Megan raised her rifle and inched her hand close to the trigger, but Fluttershy trotted over, sticking her nose into the bush. "I know you're in there!" the yellow Pegasus said, voice somewhat louder than usual. "Come on out!"

Fluttershy back out of the bush as a serpentine animal with green scales, short arms and legs and the head of a chicken slithered out. It looked to the others in the group, but Fluttershy immediately floated over, landing in front of it and spreading her wings. "No, mister cockatrice!" she taunted. "You're not going to harm my friends, are you?" At the nervous shake of its head, Fluttershy smiled and patted it on the head with a hoof. "Good boy. Now, tell me where Applejack is!"

Megan blinked and lowered her rifle. "What is she doing, Twilight? A cockatrice, doesn't that-" She suddenly glanced to her right where Twilight was standing with Spike on her back a second ago. Megan's head darted about. "Twilight, where are you?" Megan looked over her shoulder and saw the Unicorn standing behind her, shivering. She knelt down and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Are you all right?"

Twilight swallowed and nodded, still shaking. "That... thing turned me to stone a couple of weeks ago. I'd be dead if it wasn't for Fluttershy using her Stare on it." She peeked around Megan and saw Fluttershy still interrogating the creature. "This is kinda why I wanted everyone to go in at once. Strength in numbers, after all."

Fluttershy approached, head ducked low. "He said he saw Applejack run this way, but he didn't do anything to her." She tossed her name back and her eyes widened, vibrating. "If he had, there's no telling what I would've done!" She suddenly noticed Twilight, Megan and Spike staring at her and she backed up. "I-if that's all right with you."

Megan leaned back, away from the Pegasus. "Let's just keep going," she said, hopping to her feet and walking off. She saw Rainbow Dash dart around a bend in the path. "See anything?" she shouted.

Dash flew back and shook her head. "Nope, but there's plenty of uprooted plants and even a tree with some rather distinctive horseshoe imprints on it." She chuckled slightly and rubbed the back of her crest. "I think we'd better get moving," she said, any trace of humor gone. "If she reaches the dragon, she won't hold back." She turned back and waved the group on before flying off back down the path, everyone else following in her multicolored wake.

The woods cleared slightly and a loud rustling eclipsed the other background noises. Megan looked down to Twilight as they hurried down the path, rifle clutched tightly in her gloved hands. "H-how far is this dragon's cave?" she asked, breathing heavily.

Twilight shook her head as she galloped along, Spike hanging on for dear life. "It's farther ahead!" she panted between breaths. "Actually, there's a river ahead and-"

The group burst out into a clearing and a raging river ahead. Megan's eyes widened as she took in the sight of a long, serpentine-like monster with dark violet scales, a lighter underbelly with a large shock of orange hair and a mismatched mustache of orange jutting from directly below the left nostril and purple from the right. He clutched an orange-coated Earth pony wearing a cowpony hat in his comparatively-spindly arms, thrashing about and roaring.

Reflexes took over and she raised her rifle to her shoulder, spreading out and planting her feet firmly in the ground. With a deft motion she disengaged the safety and sighted the monster. "I've got it!" she shouted, but paused. "I've-no, I don't have a clear shot!"

Twilight blinked and looked up at Megan. Her mouth dropped and she stood up on her hindlegs, dumping Spike to the ground while waving her hooves about. "No, don't press the trigger!" she half-yelled. "That's Steven, there! He's a friend of ours!"

Megan slowly looked down at the purple Unicorn. "His name is... Steven?"

The aforenamed Steven continued thrashing about as Applejack struggled in his grip. "No, Applejack! It's not worth it! That dragon's the meanest creature in the Everfree Forest, darling!" He wavered and swayed. "And my hair, my hair! All this thrashing about is kicking up the waves and giving me frizzy hair!"

Applejack bucked her legs and twisted her neck. "Lemme go, Steven! That big ol' pile a' tinder killed mah friends! He torched Twilight and Spike like it was nothin', and Rainbow Dash... she got caught in it just trying to... save their lives." The kicking and bucking slowed down and Applejack hung in Steven's arms like a wet rag. "Mah friends are gone, and there wasn't nothing I could do to help them."

Dash flew over and hovered right beside Applejack. She reached over and tapped the orange Earth pony on the shoulder. "I never knew you cared," she said, smirking.

Applejack's head whipped around and she bucked, launching herself out of Steven's grasp and tacking Dash to the riverbank below. "You're alive!' she cried out as they landed with a thud.

"Not for long," Dash groaned as she rolled her eyes. She looked up at Applejack as she lay on top of me. "Hey, little personal space?" she said, wriggling out of Applejack's grip. She dusted her wings off before wrapping her forelegs around her friend in a hug. "And did you really think some dragon could take out the most awesome Pegasus in Equestria?" She leaned forward, allowing her hoof to reach up and wipe at the sudden dampness in her eyes.

Applejack broke the hug as Twilight, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Spike ran up. Applejack embraced Twilight and slapped Spike on the back, sending the dragon stumbling a bit.

Twilight shook her head at Applejack. "Applejack, I... appreciate your loyalty to us, but please don't ever do anything like that again!" She let out a sigh and her head lowered. "I don't think that would sit right with me in the Herd if I was in any way complicit in you getting hurt."

Pinkie Pie walked up to Applejack's side. She flung her arms around her fellow Earth pony. "Don't ever do that again," she choked out. "The party wouldn't be the same without you."

Applejack glanced away, her cheeks turning red. "I guess so, sugarcube. I just..." She closed her eyes and grimaced. "When I saw the balloon go up, and I thought mah friends were dead somethin' insida me just snapped, and I ran off. I'm not sure I was in a right mind, a wrong mind or in a mind at all!" She looked back up at Twilight while Pinkie Pie let go of the hug, eyes bright with unshed tears. "I can't promise anything, but I'll try." She turned around and craned her neck up to look at Steven. "And thanks, Steven. I'm mighty grateful tah you fer stopping me from making such a big mistake." She chuckled slightly and scratched the back of her crest, rustling her ponytail-tied mane. "And sorry 'bout your hair."

Steven fluffed his hair with one hand and waved her off with the other. "Oh, think nothing of it, Applejack!" He reached down and pulled a giant-sized hand mirror from underneath the water and looked himself over. "I think I need to change my look, anyway. This look is so last season!"

Applejack suddenly turned back and looked up as a shadow descended upon her. "Hello..."

Megan flipped the safety on her rifle and slung it back over her shoulder. Her mouth opened and closed several times before her mouth turned up. "Hello, Applejack." She suddenly dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around the pony, pulling her in for a hug.

Applejack stood there for a moment before slowly raising her forelegs and returning the hug. She looked to the side at Twilight, eyes wide and lips twitching. "Okay... please let go," she said. "You're kinda... scarin' me, darling."

Megan released the hold and wiped her eyes. Her head darted around and she swallowed. "Sorry. My name's Megan. It's just you look like an old friend of mine," she choked out. She rose to her feet and smoothed out her jacket. "So, out of the Forest and back to Ponyville?"

Dash flew over, stopping mere inches from Megan's face. "All right, that's it!" she shouted, jabbing the air with her forelegs. "I was gonna wait until we got out of the Everfree Forest and some sort of explanation for your weird behavior, but I've had it!" She crossed her forelegs in front of her chest before throwing them out. "Who are you, what are you and why do you act so-" Dash stopped speaking as she was yanked down to the ground by her multi-colored tail. "Applejack!"

Applejack spat the tail from her mouth and glared at her friend as she turned and stared. "Rainbow Dash, quit it! She said I look like an old friend of her's, and that's fine and dandy!" She shook her head and rolled her eyes. "I mean, seriously!" She looked back up at Megan, smiling widely and chuckling nervously. "Mighty sorry about that, Megan. Dash's heart is in the right place. Her brains..." She trailed off and resumed her staredown at the Pegasus. "Promise to behave?"

Dash grunted and Applejack let up. Fluttershy stepped forward, shivering. "Perhaps we should wait until we get back to Ponyville?" A sudden snap near a bush sent her up into the air, yelping. "Please?"

Twilight looked up to Megan, staring her in the eyes. "You promise-you swear-to tell us what's going on when we get back to Ponyville?"

Megan placed a hand on her chest and nodded to the Unicorn. "Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a needle in my eye!" she said.

All the ponies and Spike backed up, Rarity visibly recoiling and wincing. "What an awful saying!" she said. "A needle in the eye? How ghastly!" She put a foreleg to her forehead and keeled over, sighing dramatically.

Megan blinked and opened her mouth, then closed it. She raised a hand and waved the Unicorn off. "It's just a saying," she muttered. She shook her head and turned back to the path leading away from the river. "I swear I'll tell you everything, although you might not believe it." She paused and chuckled, rubbing her eyes and the tears suddenly there. "I'm not even sure I believe it." And with that, she resumed walking, unslinging her rifle from her shoulder and holding it in her hands.

Spike jumped onto Twilight's back and the latter trotted up to Megan. "I.. am sorry about the way Dash acted," she said, head bowing slightly. "I do appreciate you coming along to help us find our friend."

Megan's mouth turned up slightly. "Even though I didn't do much?" she joked.

Spike shrugged. "Hey, not like Twilight and I did much in the-ouch!" he cried out as Twilight bucked beneath him. "Do you mind?"

"Not at all," Twilight retorted, smiling with pure venom.

Megan suddenly held up her right arm and checked her wristwatch. "How long were we in here?" she asked. Her eyes widened and her gait quickened. "Oh, man! By the time we get out my kids will be home!"

Dash flew by on her back, forelegs behind her head. "So, what? You wrote a note for them."

Megan rolled her eyes as she began running. "Yeah, but I didn't expect for them to get home before I did!" She looked down as Twilight kept up with her. "How'd we spend three hours tracking Applejack?"

Pinkie Pie suddenly appeared to her left, running backwards yet still passing Megan. "Oh, it's a good thing we didn't have to go all the way to the castle ruins! It took us all night to simply get there the first time!" And with that, she turned and shot off down the path.

Applejack ran up to Megan's side. "Y'all might wanna cut back on the pace a bit, sugar. We got a long road ahead of us!"

Megan nodded and slowed down. "Thanks, Applejack." She looked down to Twilight. "Sounds like you might have a story or two to tell me once we get out and I spill the beans."

Twilight's eyes lost focus for a moment before she snapped back to the present. "You have no idea."

---

Far to the west of Equestria lay mountain ranges jutting into the sky, vast barren expanses of rock and wide open plains and valleys that cut through them like wounds in the very land itself. This was the land of the Dragon Clans, who claimed this Celestia-forsaken area as their own. A dark haze hung in the air as dozens of the great beasts flew about, occasionally blotting out the sun itself. They dug into the earth for their food, used their fiery breath to forge weapons and slumbered in deep caves.

Twelve of the most powerful gathered in one particular valley-the Valley of the Chieftains. Each one was head of a particular Clan of dragons, and each one lay on a bed of gold and jewels. They snorted fire and smoke curled from their lips as they awaited the thirteenth member. "Where is he?" a red-scaled dragon named Jormun said, his long neck and head craning about.

"Be patient," a somewhat smaller eastern dragon by the name of Mei Long spat out, writhing about on her hoard. She paused and glared at Jormun. "Each day we come here to set the laws and direction of the Clans, and each day you ask the same stupid question. He is the king-he comes when he comes!"

Jormun hissed, but a shadow descending caught his attention. He and the rest of the Lords looked up as a Great Dragon flew overhead, circling several times before landing in the only other open area of the valley. Unlike the others, he hunched down on his hindlegs and tail, supporting his own body weight instead of letting gold do it for him. His scales were violet, darkened with age, with a lighter underbelly and a magnificent row of spines going down his back. King Spykoran the Old crossed his arms and looked out at the other Lords. "It is good to see you," he rumbled.

The other Lords bowed their heads in return. "And we, you," they rumbled back.

Jormun hissed. "And while we have waited for you, the Ursas grow bolder by the minute! Even now, the beasts attack our outer lands! And the Griffin Empire-"

"I know of what is going on," Spykoran interrupted. "I am Spykoran the Old, not Spykoran the Feeble! The bears are gathering, almost as if guided by some force." He rubbed his chin, brushing his chin whiskers. "But what could control Ursa Majors in such a way?"

Mei Long uncurled. "There are stories of an Ursa and cub in the Everfree Forest in Equestria, Spykoran. I also remember them rising up as an army under Nightmare Moon..." She trailed off, letting the implication hang in the air.

Spykoran bared fangs capable of tearing through solid steel and snorted a billowing cloud of smoke. "Luna was freed from her chains of hatred nearly a year ago, Mei Long. Nightmare Moon is no more." His head ducked down. "No more..."

"As you say, Spykoran, but what of those chains? I doubt they just vanished into thin air."

Another dragon wearily lifted his head from his hoard and spoke up. "Mei Long, those stupid theories about Luna being possessed are just that, stupid ideas. She was jealous and that is that!"

Mei Long whipped around, hissing. "And you will bite your tongue, Drulis, or I shall remove it for you! I knew Luna before Nightmare Moon, and lonely she was, but not to that extent! Something happened to her and I will-"

"ENOUGH!" Spykoran shouted, letting loose with a torrent of flame. He waited a bit before speaking once more. "Jormun, if necessary there shall be a hunt against the Ursas. We will drive them from our borders and back to the northeast tundra." He chuckled lowly. "It HAS been a while since I tasted Ursa flesh."

The other Lords joined in the laughter. There was a small puff of smoke, almost unnoticed with all the other haze in the air, until it resolved itself into a small scroll. Spykoran's eyes narrowed as he spotted it and he held out his hand. The scroll hovered over the palm and stayed there as he lifted it up. Wizened eyes focused on the comparatively-tiny letters. "It cannot be... surely this must be a mistake!"

Drulis looked over from his hoard. "What is it?"

Spykoran did not respond, instead looking up to the sky, his mind deep in the past and simpler times, of one dear old friend. "If this is a trick, Celestia, I shall be most displeased..."

Dear King Spykoran the Old

A rogue dragon has appeared in the Everfree Forest, threatening the citizens of a small town named Ponyville-among them, my prized student Twilight Sparkle. I request aid in dealing with this interloper before any lives are lost.

Also, this will be hard to swallow, but Megan has returned. I think you need to get here as soon as possible.

Princess Celestia of Equestria

Spykoran rose. "There are matters in Equestria which require my attention. There is a rogue dragon in the Everfree Forest threatening a town."

Jormun shot to his own feet. "But what of our own problems here? We can easily send a detachment of soldiers to kill some interloper that refuses to leave Equestria!"

Spykoran's eyes narrowed. He held out his hand and the scroll floated away, hovering in front of each one of the Dragon Lords. Mei Long tilted her head around as she read it. "Megan? That name sounds familiar to me." She turned to stare at Spykoran. "I believe you mentioned her a few times when you were reminiscing of past glories when you lived at Paradise Estate."

Spykoran snorted. "Past goofs, you mean." The scroll floated back and rolled itself up once more. He reached down and, with a tug, pried open a loose scale in his armor. The scroll floated into it and he resealed it. "Jormun, you stand on your own legs. It is a good sign, young one. Perhaps one day you shall take my place." Spykoran suddenly leaped at the younger dragon, tackling him off of his hoard and pinning him to the windswept ground. "But not today." He suddenly rose and held out a clawed hand. "I leave you to organizing the attacks against the Ursa hordes, Jormun. And if I do not return in three day's time, lead our people to victory!"

Jormun looked his Lord over before taking the hand and rising to his feet. "It shall be done, my king!" he hissed out, thumping his chest. "All hail Spykoran the Old!"

Spykoran returned the salute and turned to Mei Long. "Care to join me? I might need your wisdom and counseling in this, my old friend." And with that, he unfurled great, leathery wings. They flapped down and he jumped into the air, soaring through the sky.

Mei Long's head shot up. "Wait for me!" she cried out before comparatively-tiny wings began buzzing. She snaked into the air, twisting and turning as she joined King Spykoran the Old on his way to Equestria.

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