Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy lightly trotted through the farmlands of Sweet Apple Acres. They were meeting up at the Apples' house with the rest of their friends, who were already waiting for them there. After tidying up some things at home, Twilight had gone around asking the others if they would be willing to help her and Applejack clean up the farm. It didn't surprise her when they said that they had already told Applejack they'd help her out earlier that day. That's just the kind of friends these ponies were to each other. When Twilight Sparkle told Fluttershy about it, she wasn't very surprised either. They did agree that it made them feel good inside to know they had such good friends.

As they walked on, Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy noticed that there was a lot of garbage and the like left behind by the refugees.

"Wow, look at this mess," said Fluttershy.

"Yeah, letting a bunch of ponies camp out on your land isn't one of the cleanest ideas," Twilight Sparkle observed.

"I guess not," Fluttershy agreed.

"But it is one of the kindest and most touching," Twilight Sparkle quickly added.

"Not to mention one of the most generous," Fluttershy added.

"Exactly and kindness like that should always be rewarded. Today we're gonna start with helping Applejack and her family clean up the land they were nice enough to let those refugee ponies use for shelter. I think Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are gonna reward them even more sometime in the future along with everyone else who's help out in this crisis so far," said Twilight Sparkle.

"You mean like Rainbow Dash?" asked Fluttershy.

"Mm-hmm and you too," said Twilight Sparkle.

"Oh, I don't need to be rewarded. Just knowing things are getting better and getting a new friend out of it all is reward enough for me. So is knowing you and the rest of my friends are going to be alright," said Fluttershy.

"I know, Fluttershy. You're a selfless pony, but that's only one of your many qualities that you should be rewarded for."

"Thanks, Twilight, that's sweet of you to say, but if anypony should be rewarded, it's you. You've managed to stay strong through this whole thing. Plus if it weren't for you, it may never have been possible for us to defend ourselves against the kaiju. Godzilla may never have even come to Equestria and we'd be short a protector and a new friend."

"Well, I guess that's true, but I think everypony else who's contributed in this crisis should be rewarded for their efforts. Every little bit has helped. Not one contribution is above the others."

"Uh, not even showing the spell to summon Godzilla to the ponies powerful enough to cast it? Or even being one of those ponies?"

"Come on, Fluttershy, it's not a contest."

"I'm just saying, Twilight, you've been a big help in all of this."

"So have you, Fluttershy. Don't ever think otherwise."

Fluttershy smiled appreciatively to the violet alicorn princess.

"Thanks, Twilight, you say such nice things."

"Only to ponies who deserve it, Fluttershy."

Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy took one last look around at the barn and the surrounding area they were in. Besides the garbage left by the refugees, they noticed a few other things that could use a cleaning. Both were willing to do it, though, just like they knew the rest of their friends were if it meant helping somepony else, especially another friend. When Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle got to the Apple family's home, they saw all their friends gathered on the front porch. Of course, there was Applejack herself and her older brother Big McIntosh. There was also Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash, along with the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Applebloom, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Babs Seed.

Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle put a little hustle as they walked up to the house. As they got closer, they heard some of their friends singing out lout to each other. They were walking up the steps of the porch when they were able to actually understand what their friends were singing.

"Everypony says she's looking good. And the filly knows it's understood. Trotter!" Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Scootaloo, and Applebloom all sang out together.

They began singing out the first few notes to the instrumental section that would usually accompany the lyrics afterwards as they headbanged. They finally gave in and began cracking up, unable to hold back their amusement any longer.

"What song is that, Rainbow Dash?" asked Twilight Sparkle as she and Fluttershy got up on the porch.

Before Rainbow Dash could answer, Pinkie Pie jumped in front of her.

"It's a song from a new band that's totally awesome!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she raised her head and front legs into the air.

"Yeah, I went to see them like a month ago," said Rainbow Dash. "Vinyl Scratch suggested them to me and hooked me up with tickets to a show they were doing in Cloudsdale. And boy was it awesome! I had such a killer time watching them perform live while their stage show was going on and they were playing their music! I got such a kick out of it that I immediately went out and bought one of their albums!"

"Then she brought it over here for all of us to listen to," said Applebloom.

"Yeah, we just got done listening to the first song before we came out here to meet you two," said Babs Seed.

"And so far, Rainbow Dash is right! This band is totally awesome!" said Scootaloo.

"That first song had a wicked cool beat," said Rainbow Dash.

"It had great rhythm," said Sweetie Belle.

"You can dance to it," said Applebloom as she did a quick little jig.

"It has a sick guitar riff," said Scootaloo as she began playing air guitar.

"And overall, it's music you can listen to when you want to straight up PARTY!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she threw confetti in the air.

Then she started dancing around like a crazy pony before ending her routine by blowing on a party blower. Pinkie Pie stood in place while everypony laughed in amusement at her randomness. It made Fluttershy feel great deep down inside to see that her friends' lives were slowly starting to return to normal. Of all the ponies who were bouncing back from the depression of the last few days, it delighted her to see they had recovered the most thus far. She decided not to bring it up, though. No, instead she let her friends continue on with their own conversation currently in progress. Said conversation resumed once everypony was able to get a hold of themselves after laughing in delight at Pinkie Pie's antics.

"But seriously, I'm telling ya, Twilight. One day that band's gonna be the hottest band in the world."

"Gosh, Rainbow Dash, that sure sounds like a band that knows how to rock n roll all night. I'll have to give them a listen sometime. But I'll do that later. Right now, we've got work that needs to be taken care of."

"Right," everypony else replied.

"Absolutely, our Apple friends so selflessly opened their home to ponies in need. It is only fair that we selflessly help them clean it up afterwards," said Rarity.

"Heck yeah! We can't just let Applejack and her family deal with all this trash by themselves, they're our pals. We gotsta have their backs after they were so cool," said Rainbow Dash.

"It's always nice to help a friend out and the Apple family are the kind of friends that make it worth it to help them," said Fluttershy.

"Awe shucks, everypony. Y'all are just saying the nicest things. Thank you kindly for being so awesome."

"It's our pleasure, Applejack. We're ready and willing to help you with this farm whenever you guys need it," said Twilight Sparkle.

"Well, me, Rarity, and the family all cleaned up most of the inside and around the outside of house. The rest of the outside stuff ain't been touched yet, though," said Applejack.

"Hey, don't forget about us!" said Sweetie Belle.

"Yeah, we helped, too!" said Babs Seed.

"Oh, right. Sorry, gals. We also got a great heaping helping of help in the form of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, too," said Applejack.

"The refugees left a mess inside your house?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"Yes indeed. Some of them were brought in when they were ailing and needed some TLC," said Applejack.

"Plus, remember the night of that rainstorm?" asked Rarity.

"Oh, yeah," said Rainbow Dash as she remembered.

Twilight Sparkle's eyes widened as she looked over to the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

"Wait, Babs Seed, you worked around the house?"

"Well, sort of. I chipped in here and there, but it was mostly small stuff. Applebloom and the rest of my friends pretty much carried me through the whole thing."

"We just didn't want you reinjuring your ankle and maybe even hurting more than before," said Scootaloo.

"Yeah, Babs, I don't want no more bad things to happen to my favorite cousin," said Applebloom.

Twilight Sparkle's face bore a softly stern expression as she looked down at the four young fillies.

"Babs, you know you shouldn't be doing any sort of strenuous activities while you're injured."

"I know, but I just didn't feel right sitting down on the couch while everyone else around me was hard at work. I just wanted to help a little. Even if it really was only a little."

"I was watching her the entire time, Twilight," said Applejack as she walked up to the violet alicorn's side. "She didn't do anything that would've put her to harm. If anything did come up that I didn't think she could handle, I immediately had her put it aside for somepony else to take care of."

"Besides, we already told ya we were by her side the entire time," said Applebloom.

"We wouldn't have let anything happen to her," said Sweetie Belle.

"Come on, Twilight, you know us better than that," said Applejack.

Twilight Sparkle bore a thoughtful expression on her face. It turned into a smile only seconds later.

"You're right, everypony. I just don't want anyone getting hurt anymore if we can avoid it."

"That's very admirable of you, darling, but you mustn't worry," said Rarity.

"We always make sure we're all taken care of," said Fluttershy.

"She wanted to help around the house. We were helping around the house. We wanted to help Babs Seed anyway she needed, so I'd say it all worked out," said Scootaloo.

"It certainly did. Thank you girls, you were a big help," said Applejack.

"Indeed you were, but I think you can take the rest of the day off from here. Right, Applejack?" said Rarity.

"Sure. Now that everypony's here, we pretty much got the situation out here covered," said Applejack.

"The outside clean up is as good as done," said Rainbow Dash enthusiastically.

"So you four just go on in the house. Babs, you still can't go far because of your ailment. But you can still go inside and do whatever or play whatever you want," said Applejack.

"Well..." all four of the Cutie Mark Crusaders said at the same time.

They looked upward with thoughtful expressions on their faces.

"There really isn't much to do just staying inside," said Scootaloo.

Applebloom and Sweetie Belle lightly nudged their pegasus friend before pointing over to Babs Seed. Scootaloo saw the somber look on Babs' face, realizing that she has no choice but to stay inside. If Scootaloo and the rest of the Cutie Mark Crusaders wanted to keep spending time with her, they'd have to as well.

"Babs, I'm sorry," said Scootaloo.

"No, I'm sorry. If I hadn't gotten hurt, then you guys wouldn't have to stay inside and be miserable without worrying about hurting my feelings." Scootaloo bore a guilty look on her face, while she also felt the pity her friends had for Babs Seed. "Well, you don't have to worry about hurting my feelings. If you guys want to go play outside like maybe going into town or something, go ahead. I won't stop you and you don't have to feel bad. I don't want to be a burden."

Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo's eyes widened in alarm before they rushed to Babs Seed's side.

"No, no, Babs, you're not a burden!" said Applebloom as she gently put a fore leg around her cousin's shoulders.

"Don't even think like that," said Sweetie Belle.

"You've never been a burden to us before and you never will be either," said Scootaloo.

"Not even when we first met?" asked Babs with a small smirk on her face.

The other three Cutie Mark Crusaders looked at Babs Seed with confusion, but their looks quickly changed to understanding smiles when they realized what she was talking about. The memories of the day Babs Seed first came to Ponyville and the next few days afterwards came flooding back into all four fillies' minds. They all knew their friendship had come a long way since then, keeping in touch through pen pal letters and what not. So they were able to laugh about it all now.

"That was then and this is now," said Applebloom.

"Yup and we're all the best of friends now," said Sweetie Belle.

"So there ain't no way we're gonna abandon you now," said Applebloom.

"No way, no how," said Scootaloo.

The Mane Six and Big Mac stood by and looked on warmly at the touching scene taking place amongst the Cutie Mark Crusaders. However, none of them felt as happy and as touched as Babs Seed did as she looked around at her friends who placed supportive hooves on her back and smiled brightly. The Manehattan born filly looked away as her eyes lightly closed and she reached a hoof up to her friends' hooves on her shoulders, smiling all the while.

"Thanks, you guys, you're the best friends I've ever had," said Babs Seed.

"You, too," said all three of the Ponyville CMC.

"Now that's just too adorable," Rarity observed.

"So cute," Fluttershy agreed.

"It's always wonderful to see such great friends rally together," said Twilight Sparkle.

"And how. I know that four friends as close as you girls are can find a way to have fun together despite having to stay inside," said Applejack.

"Absolutely!" said Sweetie Belle.

"Yeah!" said Applebloom and Babs Seed at the same time.

"Totally! There's several things we could do!" said Scootaloo. "I only said what I said earlier because I didn't think of them! But I'm thinking right now!"

"Share your ideas with us, Scootaloo! I'm sure they're awesome!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed excitedly.

"For sure, Scoots, usually you have the awesomest ideas and stuff," said Babs Seed before blowing a part of her mane out of her eyes.

"Well, alright! Cutie Mark Crusaders, to Base El Numero Dos, aka Applebloom's room where I shall unveil upon you my awesome ideas!" said Scootaloo.

The Mane Six and Big McIntosh watched in amusement as the four young ponies walked on into the house. Once the door shut behind them, everypony still on the front porch began laughing out in delight.

"Sometimes it's entertaining just to watch them no matter what they're doing, they're so adorable," said Rarity.

"Eeyup," said Big McIntosh.

"Seriously, they're just a hoot!" said Pinkie Pie.

"Eeyup," Big McIntosh agreed.

"Alright, Everypony, it's time to get to work," said Twilight Sparkle. She then used her magic to teleport a piece of paper on a clipboard which floated in front of her. "According to this map Applejack drew up for me and what I saw on my way down, there are only a few spots that could use some deep cleaning. That would be the area around the barn, the inside of the barn itself, and the west orchard."

"Is that all? Ah, we could do that with our hooves tied behind our backs!" said Rainbow Dash.

"Then I say we stop standing around here talking about it and get down to doing it."

"Darn tootin', Rarity! Let's get down to work! Right, Big Mac?" said Applejack.

"Eeyup!" exclaimed Big McIntosh.

Suddenly Pinkie Pie leaped off the front porch and landed on the ground below. Thne she lifted a hoof into the air.

"Carry on my wayward son. There'll be peace when you are done," Pinkie Pie sang out.

Everypony looked down at their Earth pony friend with enjoyment before looking around at each other. Then they all joined Pinkie Pie in singing the next part.

"Lay your weary head to rest. Don't you cry no more."

Everypony laughed as they moved out to begin cleaning. They headed over to the barn first since it was closest to them. They looked around, spotting several half torn down and tore up tents and several rags. There was also several plates, bowls, cups, and pieces of silverware lying on the ground, along with scraps of rotted food. Everypony looked around at the scattered debris before turning their gazes over to Twilight Sparkle and Applejack.

"I'd just like to say for the record that the food wasn't rotten when we served it. Everypony's needs were handled with care and precision," said Applejack.

"Eeyup," said Big McIntosh.

"Oh, Applejack, you needn't worry about that. I was there, I know you treated everypony here like they were a new born foal. Everyone here knows you and your family are kind hearted, well serving pony," Rarity reassured.

An appreciative smile crossed both Applejack and Big Mac's faces, which were meant for Rarity. Then they turned their attention back to the debris left all over the Apple's land.

"Boy, what a mess," said Big McIntosh.

"Wow, this looks like how some of my parties end sometimes," said Pinkie Pie. Everypony looked over to the pink mare who stared back for a few seconds before speaking on. "My parties don't always go the way I want them to. Nopony's perfect. Although I'm better about it now than when I started off. ...Do you believe me?"

A few of the others let out short chuckles.

"Pinkie, we've been to several of your parties. We know what you're about and what they're about," said Twilight Sparkle.

"In other words, we believe you," added Rainbow Dash. She looked out to the disgusting state that part of Sweet Apple Acres was currently in. "I've been a part of the clean up crew for some of those parties and it never looked as nasty as this."

"I must say, I never would've imagined that Ponyville citizens could be this messy and unrefined. Then again, they were in a rather fragile state while they were here. I'm sure they would've behaved differently otherwise. Still, it is a very big mess, though," said Rarity.

"My goodness, just look at it," said Fluttershy.

Everyone stared for a moment longer, letting the sight sink in. They knew they were about to be hooves deep in it trying to clean it up.

"Well, looking at it won't get it taken care of," said Twilight Sparkle. She then looked to the rest of the ponies in her group. "Are you all ready?"

Everypony nodded in reply.

"Eeyup," Big McIntosh added.

"Alright, then let's get to it," said Twilight Sparkle.

"The shovels and the trash cans are over by the barn. I'll show y'all," said Applejack.

The orange Earth pony led everyone over to the side of the barn where all the supplies was, just like she had said. Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Big Mac grabbed the shovels, while Fluttershy, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie grabbed the trash cans.

"Alright, Everypony, we'll clean up all the trash like the food and ripped up rags and stuff. Rarity will handle gathering up all the dishes and taking them inside to be cleaned," said Twilight Sparkle. "You don't mind, do you, Rarity?"

"Not at all, darling. I live for making things look better. And believe me, these dishes could use it."

"Yeah, I noticed," said Twilight Sparkle as she and Rarity both looked around. They spotted several dishes in dire need of washing. "If any of you see a dish that isn't cracked or broken in half, hand it over to Rarity."

"What about the tents? Do we just stuff those in the trash, too?" asked Fluttershy.

"We might as well. They weren't made to last. All the tents were just short lasting ones that were being handed out to ponies who needed them. We got a whole bunch of them and brought them over here to the farm for ponies to take shelter in," said Applejack.

"Eeyup," said Big McIntosh as he nodded his head.

"Alright, everypony, let's make like a train and a hard drinker and start chugging along!" Rainbow Dash blurted out.

With that, everypony went off to go to work. The ponies with shovels went around scooping up all kinds of trash, while those with trash cans followed close behind. Then the ponies with the shovels would dump their loads into the trash can and the process would repeat all over again. Like Twilight Sparkle had said, whenever anypony found an undamaged dish, they would hand it over to Rarity. If the dish was damaged, then it get thrown into the trash can with the rest of the garbage. No pony could actually say they enjoyed the work they were doing. It wasn't exactly like setting up one of Pinkie Pie's parties. Though if you believe her, it was reminiscent of cleaning up after one.

But it was still a job that had to be done and everypony there was all willing to do it. Besides, when a group of friends as close as them were working on the same job together, it usually isn't long before some sort of conversation breaks out. This time on was no exception.

"I do wish my blankets were treated better. I went to so much trouble to make them, spending hours upon hours in front of a sewing machine," said Rarity as she levitated a torn piece of blanket in front of her face.

"Yeah, and if they hadn't of been torn up, maybe we wouldn't be cleaning up as big of a mess," said Pinkie Pie.

"Speaking of big messes, Twilight I wanna ask ya something," said Applejack.

The violet alicorn looked over to her friend.

"Sure, what's up, A.J.?" asked Twilight Sparkle.

"Well, I was wondering what was being done with the bodies of the monsters Godzilla's already beaten? They aren't gonna just be left to decay are they? That'll stink up the place."

"Well, I know from official reports that the bat I outsmarted and out flew became Godzilla's dinner," said Rainbow Dash.

"Ew, gross," said Rarity, the disgust she felt being seen on her face.

"So what's gonna happen to the rest of the dead monsters? Are they all gonna get eaten by Godzilla, too?"

"No, Applejack, they're not. That was actually something I discussed with the princesses earlier today," said Twilight Sparkle,

"You did?"

"Yeas, Fluttershy, it was before we found you," said Twilight Sparkle.

"The princesses were here?"

"Yes, Rarity, they were here earlier. It was around eleven I think," said Twilight Sparkle.

"Ooh, what were the princesses in town for?" asked Pinkie Pie.

"Mostly to meet Godzilla, but we discussed other things while they were here. One of them was what is to be done with the monsters' carcasses."

"Well, don't keep us in suspense, Twilight," said Rainbow Dash.

"Right. Anyways, they said that they're gonna dispatch teams to retrieve the bodies, starting with Gabara and Kumonga in Manehattan. They'll all be taken to research facilities where the bodies will go through a series of studies."

"What kind of studies?" asked Rarity.

"Autopsies, that include dissection of the eternal organs, amputations, and blood tests. The princesses want their science teams to learn as much as they can about the kaiju's anatomy," said Twilight Sparkle.

"Oh, how revolting," said Rarity.

"Agreed. It's really disgusting that they already do that to smaller, live animals in science classes across Equestria and the rest of the world. I don't like it, I don't appreciate it, and I don't stand for it," said Fluttershy. "Well, at least these monsters are already dead so they don't have to suffer and they were evil in life. It's still gross, though."

"Blood tests, huh? That's assuming Godzilla left them any blood to test after the battles he had with those kaiju," said Rainbow Dash.

"Does it seem kind of wrong to anypony else that we're talking about blood and this other kind of stuff?" asked Pinkie Pie.

"Yeah, I was gonna say that," said Twilight Sparkle.

"Me, too. It doesn't feel right," said Applejack.

"Not at all. It feels down right horrid to me," said Rarity.

"Heck, even I agree with that," said Rainbow Dash.

"Eeyup," Big McIntosh agreed.

"Then what do you say we all try to change the subject to something more lighthearted?" suggested Fluttershy.

"I most certainly agree. Like for example, what did the princesses think of Godzilla, Twilight?" said Rarity.

"Yeah, Twilight. Did the princesses find him as awesome as we all did? They recognize his indisputable coolness factor?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"Well... they certainly thought he was a spectacle to behold, that's for sure. So yeah, pretty much what you said, Rainbow Dash," said Twilight Sparkle.

"Ha! I knew they would be awe struck like the rest of us, even though they're great and powerful alicorns," said Rainbow Dash.

"They were mostly overjoyed by Godzilla's personality and oath to protect us than anything else. Spike was more excited about the kind of stuff you were talking about Rainbow Dash," said Fluttershy.

"Ooh, really? Spikey Wikey met Godzilla today, too? How did it go, Twilight? I hope they got along just peachy like two peas in a pod. Well, Twilight, Fluttershy, did they?" said Rarity.

"Yes, Rarity," Twilight and Fluttershy said at the same time.

"Godzilla gets along with everyone," said Fluttershy with a big, bright smile. Then it turned into a look of realization before she added, "Well, I mean... accept for the evil kaiju that is."

"We knew what you meant, Fluttershy," said Applejack.

"Yeah, at this point, it's sort of implied, I think," said Rainbow Dash.

"Yeah," said everypony as they nodded their heads in agreement.

"Overall though, it was still nice to see both the princesses and Spike were able to befriend Godzilla the way they did," said Fluttershy.

"I'll bet it was. I wish I had been there to see it for myself," said Applejack.

"I'm sure there's gonna come a moment in time where we'll all get together with Godzilla in celebration of the defeat of the kaiju," said Twilight Sparkle.

"That's provided we actually do beat them," said Big McIntosh.

At first, everypony else was questioning of the red stallion's buzz killing statement. However, they quickly realized and understood why some ponies would have an attitude like that in a situation like this.

"Don't worry, Big Mac, with Godzilla's help, we'll beat the kaiju. I just know it," said Fluttershy.

After that all the ponies turned their full attention back to their work. That lasted for about twelve seconds before a noise rang through the air that caught their attention. They looked to find Pinkie Pie as she was hopping around and giggling. She did this as she also scooped up ripped and torn rags and tent pieces with her tail and tossed them into her trash can.

"Garbage clean up! Garbage clean up!" Pinkie Pie sang to the tune of 'Winter Wrap Up' as she hopped along and worked.

Everypony else let out their amusement in the form of loud laughs at their pink friend's antics. Leave it to Pinkie Pie to turn picking up garbage into a game or something fun like that. However, it seemed that Pinkie Pie's mood lightning antics were the boost that everypony needed to get through cleaning up the mess around them. Everypony was fully energized as they continued on with their work. Each one would look over to Pinkie Pie once in a while to see what she was doing next. What they saw would entertain them and fuel them up to keep working further.

Among the antics were Pinkie Pie humming, skipping, and dancing around like a ballerina as she scooped up trash with her tail. She would occasionally use her trash can for a dance partner as she performed these acts. She would also go sliding across the ground while sitting on the lid of her garbage can as she grabbed up trash with her tail. Pinkie would even cartwheel along as she picked up the trash, giggling joyfully as she did so. These were only a few of the many entertaining shenanigans of Pinkie Pie throughout the whole process of cleaning up the area around the barn and onward. Because of this, it made the others feel like the clean up process went by in no time.

It was easy enough to do the area around the barn and even the inside of the barn itself. It was cleaning up the west orchard that was the bigger problem. This was a literal fact, for the west orchard was a bigger space of land than the previous barn area was. Once again, though, none of the ponies complained, they just went to work and cleaned up the area as best as they could. Rarity had managed to gather up every dish and piece of silverware left lying about in the farmlands and transported them inside. Then she washed them herself, using her unicorn magic to do so. Then she would take each newly cleaned dish, dry it off and replace it in its spot within the cupboards of the Apple family kitchen.

Once Rarity finished her dishes duties, she returned out to the orchard where her friends were still working and aided them as best as she could. All around, it took about three hours to complete all this work. But once it was finally finished, there was a feeling of both relief and pride from the group of ponies in the work they had done. After quickly congratulating each other, the group of ponies began to head back towards the house. Twilight Sparkle and Rarity used their magic to carry most of the trash cans, while Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash carried along two trash cans as they flew above the group. Everypony on the ground ran as fast as they could, while the pegasi kept flying at a pace the ground ponies could keep up with.

"Boy, I'm bushed," said Applejack.

"Eeyup," Big McIntosh agreed.

"Seriously, I'm so exhausted I could sleep for three days," said Twilight Sparkle.

"Eeyup," Big McIntosh agreed.

"All I want is a hot bath," said Rarity.

"Eeyup," said Big McIntosh.

"And a good meal," said Rainbow Dash.

"I agree," said Big McIntosh.

"I bet you all weren't expecting him to say that," said Pinkie Pie.

"Well, if'n y'all are hungry, you're in luck. Granny Smith said that exchange for your helping us clean up the farm, she's gonna bake ya up a storm of good eatens. She said she'd make up some fritters and her special apple pies with side drinks of apple juice. Don't that about hit the spot?" said Applejack.

Big Mac was about to reply when he was cut off by everypony else.

"Eeyup."

Big Mac looked around at Mane Six, who all just smiled back at him. The red Earth pony's annoyed frown quickly turned into an amused smile, after which he began laughing. The rest of the group joined in laughter before they all increased their speed a little. Applejack's information on Granny Smith's spread of baked goods made them want to get back to the house even faster. As the ponies went by, they looked around at the orchard to admire their handy work. Pinkie Pie even managed to pull off an owl like head spin to look back behind them. It was when she was looking off to the east though that the Earth pony mare saw something that shocked her.

What Pinkie Pie saw scared and awed her so much that it made her skid to a stop. She kept on staring off in the direction this visual spectacle was in. It didn't take long for one of of Pinkie Pie's friends to notice she had fallen behind. Rainbow Dash had gotten a sudden feeling that something wasn't right, so she looked towards the back of the group to investigate. When she spotted Pinkie Pie just sitting on her flank several feet back, Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes before bringing it to the attention of the others.

"Hey, everypony, hold up for a moment!" Rainbow Dash shouted out.

The rest of the group did as the rainbow haired pegasus instructed and looked to her for an explanation. Rainbow Dash then pointed a hoof back to where Pinkie Pie had stopped. Everypony followed her point and spotted the oddball mare just sitting there and looking up towards the sky.

"What is she doing?" asked Rarity.

"Staring up at the sky?" Fluttershy offered as helpfully as possible.

Rarity looked at the creamy yellow pegasus with a slightly annoyed expression. Fluttershy responded by looking back with an innocent smile.

"I guess she just needed to take a short rest," said Twilight Sparkle.

"I reckon so," Applejack agreed.

Twilight Sparkle then raised a hoof to the side of her mouth and yelled out, "Pinkie Pie! Hey, Pinkie Pie, what are you doing?"

"Yo, Pinkie Pie, what's up? Why'd ya stop?" Rainbow Dash called out.

"You guys gotta come see this," Pinkie Pie yelled back.

The other ponies let out annoyed sighs as they rolled their eyes.

"Don't worry, I got this," said Rainbow Dash.

She then flew over to and landed at Pinkie Pie's side and placed a hoof on Pinkie's shoulder.

"Hey, girl, what is so important that we have to-"

Rainbow Dash was interrupted by the sound of thunder rumbling off in the distance. She looked from Pinkie Pie towards the east skies Pinkie had already been looking at. Rainbow Dash gasped out when she saw what Pinkie Pie had been staring at all this time.

"Uh... guys," Rainbow Dash called out.

"We see it, Rainbow Dash," said Twilight Sparkle as she and the rest of the group came up alongside their two friends.

Right afterwards, a bolt of lightning struck across the sky. Everypony's eyes widened at the unbelievable sight in the eastern skies. The spectacle that was so attention catching was a cluster of black clouds expanding outward in a circular shape as lightning struck around the same area of sky. The way the clouds were moving, a wave of clouds would extend to a certain length in that circular shape before it stopped. Then the next wave of black clouds would begin to extend out and the cycle kept going on and on. All the while, bolts of lightning kept flashing across the sky causing the loud booms of thunder.

"I don't like the looks of it. Something's a hoof," said Applejack.

It seemed like an extra cluster of lightning bolts flashed along with the others already in progress when the orange mare spoke those words.

"It sure as heck looks that way, don't it?" said Twilight Sparkle.

"I've been a weather pony for years and I've never seen clouds like that," said Rainbow Dash.

"According to weather reports from across Equestria that were gathered up in the newspaper, the weather's been odd ever since the kaiju arrived," said Rarity. After she said that, an extra bright lightning bolt flashed in the sky, followed by an extra loud crackle of thunder. "But they never described something quite as strange as this."

"Could it be the start of a tornado?" asked Fluttershy.

"I'm not entirely sure," said Twilight Sparkle.

"If'n there's gonna be a twister or it's gonna storm some other way, shouldn't there be more clouds in the sky?" asked Applejack.

"There probably would be if the clouds didn't just stop expanding after they reached the five hundred meters length ratio they're stopping at," said Twilight Sparkle.

"I doubt it's a tornado," said Rainbow Dash.

"One of the strangest parts of it was that only three minutes ago, there weren't any clouds in the sky at all," said Pinkie Pie. Everypony turned their gaze over to the Earth pony mare. "Yeah, I was looking around and admiring the work we had done cleaning up the farm. I got so caught up in the moment, I began to admire the day itself and how beautiful it was. That's when I spotted these clouds showing up out of nowhere and without warning. They appeared and expanded way faster than any clouds I've ever seen before."

Everypony looked back towards the strange clouds as they continued their circular pattern and the thunder and lightning continued on. They looked around at the rest of the sky above and saw that Pinkie Pie was right. There were no other clouds in the sky, the rest of the wide, empty space above being blue and clear, the sun being the only other thing in sight.

"Twilight, it may be just me, but it looks like the center of these strange clouds and the clouds themselves are looming above the Everfree Forest," said Rarity.

Twilight Sparkle winced her eyes, as did the others as they tried to see if what the white unicorn was saying was correct. A few seconds later, their eyes widened as they gasped in realization.

"You're right, Rarity! It is coming from the skies above Everfree Forest!" said Twilight Sparkle.

"Well, while I am surprised something weird is going on, I can't say I'm surprised it's has something to do with the Everfree Forest. That place was already weird enough," said Rainbow Dash.

"But it's never done anything like this before has it?" asked Fluttershy.

"No, not really. At least not so long as I've lived here, which has been my whole life," said Applejack.

"Do you guys think Zecora might have something to do with this?" asked Fluttershy.

"Not really," said Twilight Sparkle.

The rest of the ponies murmured their agreement with Twilight in regards to their zebra friend's innocence.

"I agree with you all, too. I honestly doubted it even before I said it. I'm just trying as best as I can to rationalize this situation. And Zecora does do a lot of strange... well, stuff," said Fluttershy.

"I think the best way to find out the truth behind this strange weather phenomena at this moment is to go into the Everfree Forest and investigate it ourselves," said Twilight Sparkle.

Everypony looked around at each other. For the most part, their facial expressions told each other that they agreed with Twilight's conclusion. The only ones that seemed slightly unsure were Big Mac, Fluttershy, and even Rarity a little bit more so than Fluttershy!

"I don't know, Twilight, do we really want to go into the Everfree Forest by ourselves?"

"We won't be alone, Rarity, we'll be with each other," Twilight Sparkle replied.

"Besides, we've gone into the Everfree Forest to investigate weird stuff before. So what's the big deal?" said Rainbow Dash.

"Well, that's true what you said, Rainbow Dash. We have gone into the Everfree Forest man times before. However, we've never had to go in with the worrying possibility of a kaiju being involved hanging over our heads before," said Rarity.

Everypony else no longer looked quite as confident as before. In fact, they saw the uncertainty in each others' eyes and the somber looks on their faces. However, the somberness on Twilight's face was quickly replaced by strong determination.

"That's true, Rarity, we've never had to face giant monsters quite like the kaiju before. But it's not like we haven't had to worry about huge monsters in the forest at all before. There are dragons, and hydras, and a whole bunch of other creatures that have roamed around in the Everfree Forest. Heck, we even recently came across a cyclops. A giant monster long thought extinct. And less we forget the first time we went in? We encountered both a manticore and a giant serpent and how did that turn out?" At first, Rarity didn't respond, looking away as Twilight gazed at her with an expecting and somewhat stern expression on her face. "Rarity, how did it turn out?"

"Fluttershy calmed the manticore to the point where he was basically a giant puppy and the serpent turned out to be a fine gentleman in need of an extension, which I accommodated. But that was a different situation, Twilight. These kaiju monsters are much bigger, far more dangerous, and are pure evil! They're totally different from whatever monsters we've encountered before. The tactics we deployed then won't work on the kaiju! Don't you see? We'd still be in more danger than we have ever been in before if we came across one of those kaiju."

"I think you're forgetting something, Rarity."

"And just what might that be, Fluttershy?"

"That even if we do run into a kaiju problem in the Everfree Forest, we have a living, breathing solution who lives in the forest and just so happens to also be a kaiju."

Everypony's face lit up when they realized what, rather who, Fluttershy was talking about. Her words rang true. Rarity practically gasped when she realized it as well.

"Godzilla! Of course, you're right, Fluttershy! If we get in some kind of trouble, we can reach out to Godzilla, who's living nearby! He'll get us out of it!" said Rarity.

"Right! Though, I gotta ask. Why would you think this... strange weather would involve a kaiju, Rarity?" said Applejack.

"Well, word going around is that the kaiju and the disasters they cause are somehow connected to the climate. That somehow what they do effects whether or not the weather will be good, bad, or... catastrophic."

The ponies in the group looked around at each other with questioning looks on their faces.

"I gotta say, as a weather pony and a pony in general, I don't buy that. A bunch of monsters being able to control the weather just by smashing stuff up just doesn't sound right," said Rainbow Dash.

"I agree, I've heard the same word from ponies on the street while walking into town. It doesn't makes a lick of sense to me the way ponies have tried to explain it to me," said Applejack.

"Twilight, you're the one who seems to know the most about the kaiju. Was there ever anything in what you read about them that said their actions can somehow manipulate the weather?" said Big McIntosh.

Twilight Sparkle shook her head as she replied,"No."

"Well, if the kaiju aren't responsible for this strange weather, then what else could it be?" asked Rarity.

"Whoever freed the kaiju in the first place," said Rainbow Dash.

"Yeah, and is thereby single hoofitly responsible for everything bad that's happened in Equestria the last few days," said Applejack.

"Agreed, anypony who is powerful enough to drain the magic from the kaiju's prison is probably powerful enough to do something like this, too," said Twilight Sparkle.

"But then why would that pony be proudly announcing their presence when they're responsible for something so terrible and this late in the game, too?" asked Big McIntosh.

"He... or she might have wanted to step back and watch the results of their handy work play out before stepping into the spotlight to receive their 'glory'," said Twilight Sparkle.

"Well, if they're is expecting a party to be thrown in their glory, this party pony won't be putting it together for 'em!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie.

"So, you're saying whoever this pony is, they want someone to come looking for them?" asked Rarity.

"Probably," said Twilight Sparkle. '

"Then has the thought occurred to you that this could be a trap?" asked Rarity.

"Yeah, it has. You don't want to go if you don't want to, Rarity?" said Twilight Sparkle.

"Oh, no, Twilight, I'll go. I just wanted to make sure you realized how crazy all this is."

"We can just add to the list of crazy things we've already done." Twilight Sparkle turned to the rest of her friends. "Do any of the rest of you not want to go?" No pony said anything, choosing to let their actions speak for themselves. Though Fluttershy did shake her head to help indicate her willingness to go along with everypony else. "Alright, I just wanted to make sure there weren't any doubts among us about going on this mission. We can't afford to have any glaring weaknesses or loose ends going into it. Especially if we're about to come face to face with the pony powerful enough to release the kaiju from their magic prison."

Everypony nodded their head as they all said in unison, "Right."

Applejack turned to Big McIntosh.

"Big Mac, I need you to head back to the house to tell Granny Smith and the kids about what's going on. Tell them to stay inside, then go to Twilight's house and tell Spike about this so he can send a letter to the princesses in Canterlot. Then have him tell Mayor Mare about it, too and head right home after."

"Eeyup," said Big McIntosh as he nodded his head.

With that, the big red stallion ran off towards the house to carry out his instructions from his younger sister. That only left the Mane Six to do what they knew they had to do.

"You know, I have a feeling that when we meet the pony who released the monsters face to face, one won't be far behind."

"Like we said before, Pinkie, if that happens, we'll have Godzilla to watch our backs. Even if we didn't, at this point there's really not much of a choice," said Twilight Sparkle.

"C'mon, everypony, let's rodeo!" Applejack exclaimed before she and the rest of the Mane Six began to run and fly for the Everfree Forest.

---

As they got closer to the strange clouds in the sky, the Mane Six were getting a good idea of the exact location where the center of these clouds had started over. They moved on through the wild environment of the Everfree Forest following the path of the clouds. They were hoping that by finding the clouds' center location, they would find the evil pony not far behind. They ran and flew until they reached the spot and confirmed their suspicions. The clouds had began emanating right above the old, abandoned Castle of the Two Sisters.

The Mane Six stood across from the castle on the other side of a deep chasm that separated the ponies and the ancient structure. The only thing connecting the two separate pieces of land was a rope bridge that looked as though it was in dire need of repair. The Mane Six stood just inches away from the start of the bridge as they looked up at the unnatural clouds above. They looked on with fearful awe, watching as one cloud would form in the center of the cloud patch. Like so many times before it would expand outward in a circular form until a certain point where it would stop. Then it would be engulfed by the next cloud that formed and expanded and the cycle kept going on.

Lightning crackled and thunder rumbled the entire time this occurred.

"I-i-i-i-i-It-it-it's much scarier to look at when you're this close," said Fluttershy in a stammering and fearful voice.

"I must agree. It really is. Though it was already pretty frightening to look at before," said Rarity.

"That's my point," said Fluttershy as her body began to shiver.

Twilight Sparkle looked back to her frightened friend. Everypony that was there was a little frightened, though some wouldn't admit. Yet it was clear for Twilight Sparkle to see that Fluttershy was the most frightened of the bunch. The alicorn princess decided she would handle this in a way that would help Fluttershy with her fear and could also end up benefiting the team's mission greatly.

"Hey, Fluttershy, do you know how to get to Godzilla's place from here?"

"Yes, I do, Twilight."

"Good. Get Godzilla. I think we may end up needing him sooner than we thought."

"Alright, I'm on my way," said Fluttershy as she nodded her head.

Then she turned away and headed off for Godzilla's lair. The rest of the ponies watched her go, then eyes fell onto Twilight. Rainbow Dash even came up to her side and asked, "You didn't do that just to get rid of her, did you? I mean, because of how upset and scared those clouds were getting her?"

"No, Rainbow Dash, not at all. If I did it for that reason, I'd be sending us all to get Godzilla. You may not want to admit it, but it seems we're all a little unsettled being this close to the clouds." Rainbow Dash had a somewhat defensive look on her face despite knowing deep down what Twilight was saying was very true. "No, I sent Fluttershy away for quite the opposite reason actually. From the few and short times I've seen them together, it seemed like whenever Godzilla's around, Fluttershy has a better grip on her fear. I'm hoping the same will be true when she comes back with him."

"I think we'll all be feeling a little bit braver once Godzilla's by our side," said Rarity.

"Or possibly even more scared if we're not used to being around him. It could go either way."

"Is that how it is for you, Pinkie Pie?" asked Twilight Sparkle.

"No, not really. I'm just saying it because... hey, it's probably true for someone."

"Anybody?" asked Twilight Sparkle.

The ponies all turned to Twilight Sparkle and shook their heads. They were soon interrupted by a particularly bright and rather loud crackle of thunder and lightning. The startled ponies looked up at the bolt, noticing concernedly that this particular crackle of lightning was the closes yet. Then everypony turned their gazes towards the Castle of the Two Sister, which stood in ruins.

"Do you think he's in there?" asked Rarity as she waked up to Twilight's side.

"More than likely," Twilight Sparkle responded.

"Subtle ain't he? Picking a castle and all?" said Applejack.

"He'd better live it up while he can. 'Cause once we get our hooves on him, justice will be done in the most extreme and, in his case, painful way," said Rainbow Dash as she slammed her front hooves together.

"Well, Twilight, what should we do? Should we go in or should we wait for Fluttershy and Godzilla?" asked Applejack.

Twilight Sparkle didn't answer the question right away. She thought about which seemed like the better choice in this situation. Almost everything within Twilight Sparkle was telling her they should probably wait for Fluttershy to come back with Godzilla. However, something deep inside her did not want to wait. Whatever this drive was, it wanted Twilight to go marching in so she could finally see the maniac behind all the pain and suffering of the past few days. She wanted to look into this evil figure's eyes and try to see what could drive a pony to do such a horrible thing as unleashing giant, death bringing monsters on the peaceful country of Equestria. Twilight Sparkle needed to see the darkness in this pony's heart to understand just how evil he truly is.

"We go in now," said Twilight Sparkle as her eyes lowered into a determined glare.

The other four ponies looked to one another. The concern on their faces was clear for each other to see. Although, Rainbow Dash actually somewhat agreed with Twilight Sparkle, feeling very conflicted inside. Meanwhile, the violet alicorn prepared herself to walk across the bridge, everypony felt somewhat conflicted as well. Applejack was regretting the question she asked that led to this.

"Uh, Twilight, I know I was asking your opinion and all, but now I feel I should give mine. I think we should wait," said Applejack.

"I agree with Applejack, Twilight," said Rarity. "Without Godzilla or even the full team, it could be very danger-"

"Applejack, Rarity, I have to know who and what we're dealing with!" exclaimed Twilight Sparkle. "While I may have known exactly what the kaiju were, I've been kept in the dark about who let them out from the very start! I tried so hard to figure out who it could possibly be and came up with nothing! None of the other princesses knew either! I can't live with not knowing any longer, especially after everything that pony has been responsible for up to this point!"

"I'm with Twilight on this one! If there's a chance of getting this guy, we can't let it go by waiting outside just because we're scared! Whoever is responsible for this, he or she must be as much of a monster as the ones they released!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash.

"Yes, which is why I have to go in now! You can all stay out here if you want to, but I'm going in and I'm going to bring this villain to justice!" said Twilight Sparkle.

Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack all looked to each other with uncertainty. They didn't know what to do next and were hoping each other might know. They were quick to see, however, that the pony next to them didn't have the answer. Rainbow Dash, on the other hoof, had her mind made up right away.

"I'm with ya, Twilight, all the way!" the sky blue pegasus pronounced proudly.

"Thanks, Rainbow Dash," said Twilight Sparkle with an appreciative look on her face. She then turned to her other friends with a more questioning look. "How about you guys?"

It was several seconds before each of them gave their answer.

"I'll always stand by your side, Twilight, whether I agree or disagree with your decision or not," said Applejack.

"Agreed. While I certainly don't approve of this move, I have to trust in you like a good friend always should," said Rarity.

"Where all my friends go, I go too. So let's find us an evil mastermind and bring him to justice like a superhero league out of a comic book," said Pinkie Pie.

Twilight Sparkle let out a relieved sigh as a smile crossed her face.

"Thanks, everypony, I didn't want us separating at a time like this if we didn't have to. Plus, I don't think I'd feel the same way if I didn't have at least one of my friends by my side to face whoever this pony is," said Twilight Sparkle.

"You gotta know by now that we'll always get your back, Twilight," said Rainbow Dash.

"Of course, it wouldn't be as exciting for the readers if the team weren't together for this," said Pinkie Pie.

Everyone looked to the Earth pony in confusion, but quickly shook it off. As far as they were concerned, it was Pinkie Pie just being Pinkie Pie.

"Or at least, the majority of the team," said Applejack.

"Hey, no sweat, Fluttershy's gonna be right behind us with Godzilla in tow at any moment. Until then, let's get this guy," said Rainbow Dash.

The five mares turned towards the castle and took one final look before crossing the bridge. It was unsettling for the group of ponies when they had to walk across that rickety old bridge. It just felt like it could break at any moment. Rainbow Dash didn't have that problem though, for she just flew across the deep chasm. The strange cloud in the sky still made it an unnerving experience for her, though. She knew, however, it was twice as stressful for the rest of her friends, so she kept her mouth shut.

Indeed, the rest of the ponies were shaken to their very bones at that point in time. They kept switching their attention from the unfriendly skies above to the fragile bridge they stood on and the pit even further below them. This was just not a good environment, especially for the faint of heart. Despite all the dangers that seemed to be around them, everyone of those ponies managed to keep control of what fears were within them and crossed the bridge. Once they were on the other side, everypony looked back at the direction they had just came from. It was as if to commemorate their ability to control themselves despite the unfriendly environment around them.

They didn't waste much time one this though, quickly turning back around after only three seconds. They gazed ahead further up the path at the Castle of the Two Sisters letting the sight of the ruins sink in. They even had a quick flashback to their first, also last, encounter with Nightmare Moon. It was not lost to them that in a few moments they might be facing a foe who's even worse. But they knew that there was no turning back now. They wouldn't let themselves turn back now. They had to push on and see this thing to the end. They needed to be there because of how far they've come and to be there for their friends when they need it.

To that conclusion, they proceeded down the path that led up to the castle's front doors. Twilight Sparkle and Rarity used their magic to open up those doors and then all the ponies went walked inside. Then the ponies made their way through the castle's interior. From what they could see, not much had changed from the inside's details since their last visit to the castle. Everything looked just about the exact same. The only thing that was different this time was the sound of the swirling clouds above, along with the thunder and lightning. The ponies were able to see it as well when they would occasionally pass by or under a hole in the castle's walls or roof.

The ponies moved on past the doors of the half destroyed structure and came up to a large, wide open room near the front of the castle. It was surrounded by entryways to several stair cases and hallways leading to different parts of the castle. Now the thing was to decide which of these ways they would take to go to which part of the castle.

"Okay, which way do we go?" asked Rainbow Dash.

Everypony looked at each other with dead pan faces as they all came to the same conclusion.

"Throne room."

"Yes, given how subtle he's been so far releasing a bunch of giant monsters, making strange weather, including these swirling clouds, and choosing a castle as the place to reveal himself to the world. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to find him there," said Rarity.

"Right, so let's get to the throne room and finally get some answers to this mystery," said Twilight Sparkle.

"Right," said everypony else as they nodded their heads.

As they fell in line behind Twilight Sparkle, Applejack came up to Rainbow Dash and whispered, "Remind me to kick this pony's teeth down his throat."

"Oh, I will... as soon as I get done picking pieces of that pony's flank out of my horseshoes," Rainbow Dash replied.

Having read up on the basics of the castle's interior, Twilight Sparkle was easily able to lead her friends through the path that lead to the throne room. While they were walking along through the halls of the castle, conversation amongst the ponies continued on.

"Do you think Fluttershy will be able to find her way to the throne room when she gets here with Godzilla?" asked Applejack.

"No problem. I'll just fly back out there and let Fluttershy and the G man know where we are," said Rainbow Dash.

"But how will you know when they get here?"

"Godzilla's a four hundred foot monster who always makes some sort of loud noise when he tries to move any part of his body. I'm sure I'll know when they get here, Rarity."

"Ordinarily I would agree with you, Rainbow Dash."

"But I think it might be hard to hear him coming over..." Pinkie Pie stopped speaking and looked up as a bright flash of light lit up the sky followed by rumbling thunder. "...that," Pinkie Pie finished.

"Godzilla's roar can stretch on for miles if he wants it to. I'm sure that when he and Fluttershy arrive, he'll let us know with one of those roars. Right now though, we gotta stay focused on the task at hoof," Twilight Sparkle said with a little more determination in her voice than she usually had.

Everypony fully understood why it Twilight was being like this. They knew full well all that was at stake in that moment and everything that depended on the success or failure of revealing who was behind the kaiju attacks. The true weight of the situation seemed to sink in the most when they were standing right outside the double doors to the throne room. Twilight Sparkle inhaled and then exhaled a deep breath in preparation for what was ahead.

"Alright, girls, the moment of truth is finally upon us. This could change the course of the kaiju epidemic for the better or the worst. Are you all ready to face it?" said Twilight Sparkle.

She looked back to her friends and saw that they all had faces that conveyed anticipation. Whether it was good anticipation or bad, it did not matter at this point. They all knew they had a job to do and they were going to do it no matter what. So, they nodded their heads in reply.

"We're ready, Twilight," Applejack reassured.

"It's time to let this pony know who's hooves he stepped on and the price he's gonna have to pay for it," said Rainbow Dash.

"It's time to party... and not in the fun way," Pinkie Pie said a growlish voice "I don't like to really like to party like that usually, but this pony has it coming."

"I usually abhor violence, but this pony is responsible for the deaths of thousands, possibly millions of innocent ponies. ...So we must break him!" said Rarity, adding a battle screech in her last sentence.

"Alright, Rarity, you and I are gonna open this door on my count. Everypony else... be ready," said Twilight Sparkle.

Afterwards, both she and Rarity walked up to the throne room doors. They each stood in front of a separate door as they looked to each other. The intensity was clear for each other to see on their faces. It also radiated off them and the other three mares as they prepared to enter the room.

"Everypony ready?" asked Twilight Sparkle as she looked around. Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash nodded their heads, as did Rarity when Twilight looked back to her. "Right. Okay, Rarity. One, two... three!"

Both ponies' horns lit up with their different colored auras, followed shortly afterwards by the doors lighting up, too. Then they snapped open into the throne room. Twilight Sparkle and Rarity jumped in front of their friends and took fighting stances that matched theirs. They wanted to be absolutely ready for when the fight was on and the onslaught came at them. They were all shocked when they saw that waiting for them in that throne room was... nothing. They all rapidly blinked multiple times as if that would eventually make them see what they had been expecting to see. It did not happen; they just saw the empty throne room.

The ponies cautiously walked into the wide open space that was the throne room. They stopped only a few feet ahead of the entrance to the room and looked around at the environment around them. There were several balconies built above and around the room that were held up by large, stone columns. The balconies led out to hallways that led out to other parts of the castle. The walls had one or two tapestries on display, though they were old and showed some wear and tear. On the other end of the room opposite the mares were the original thrones of the two princesses. They stood upon a stone platform elevated above the floor by two flights of steps.

Among the damage of the throne room itself, the ceiling was completely gone. This gave the room's occupants full view of the clouds above, as well as the lightning. It still looked as unnerving and intimidating as ever. There were also a few broken pieces of stone debris lying around that used to be part of the castle. There were also several large cracks in different parts of the castle's structure from the walls to the floor and so on. Within all the details of this room, none of them showed signs that there was a pony there waiting for the Mane Six. The mares looked at the immediate area around them before slowly making their way towards the middle of the room.

Once they reached it, they looked around once again to see if they'd spot anything at their new position. This was not the case, for the ponies saw pretty much everything they had before. They was no trace that another pony had been in that room for centuries.

"Anypony see anything?" asked Applejack.

"Yeah, a room full of nothing," replied Pinkie Pie.

The other four mares looked to their pink friend with deadpan faces, to which Pinkie replied with a big, toothy innocent grin.

"It doesn't look like there's anyone here," said Rainbow Dash.

The ponies all looked around once more before any of them said anything else.

"Yeah, it seems so," said Twilight Sparkle.

"Nope, not a soul," said Pinkie Pie.

"What should we do, Twilight?" asked Rarity.

Twilight Sparkle thought about what to do next, what sort of actions to take, what was the next step in this investigation.

"Let's spread out and look around. If anypony sees anything, scream out loud so the rest of us can hear you. Also, try to keep those around you in your sight no matter where you are," said Twilight Sparkle.

Everypony nodded their heads before heading off into separate areas of the throne room. Applejack took the right side of the room. Starting up against the wall, Applejack worked her way up and down her side of the room, moving out towards the center of the room with each stroll. She found no signs of any other ponies in the room in that time, except for her friends of course. Rarity was on the other side of the room using pretty much the same process as Applejack was. She was about as successful as Applejack was too.

Rainbow Dash flew around the room, checking the higher levels like the balconies and peering down the hallways they led to. She also flew up to a high angle to check around the whole room, while also looking out for her friends. She didn't get so high that she flew through the hole in the ceiling though. She did not want to get closer to the dangerous looking clouds above than she had to. Occasionally Rainbow Dash would glide down towards the ground as she continued her search. Like her friends before her, Rainbow Dash found no trace of another pony.

Pinkie Pie had doubled back towards the way she and her friends came in and tried searching around that area. She looked on one side of the doors and then walked to the other side and looked there too. Then she looked high and she looked low. Literally she would look high, climbing up and down walls and columns. It wasn't so much climbing as it was walking up those walls and columns in a gravity defying way. It's unknown how long Pinkie Pie did all this without realizing it, but when she did, the realization hit like a ton of bricks. Her eyes widened in alarm before she felt her hooves lose what imaginary grip they had on the column, thus falling towards the ground.

Rainbow Dash saw Pinkie Pie's fall and rushed over as fast as she could fly to catch her. She managed to catch Pinkie Pie in her outstretched forelegs just a second and a half before her body hit the floor. Unfortunately, Rainbow Dash was unable to slow down in time to keep her and Pinkie Pie from crashing into the floor. The sound of the crash got the attention of the other ponies who looked in the direction it came from. At first, they saw a pile of dust brought up into the air by the crash. It quickly cleared away, however, and revealed Pinkie Pie lying on the ground, while Rainbow Dash sat on top of her.

The two of them were moaning in pain from their collision with the floor. Rainbow Dash's head rocked back and forth while both hers and Pinkie Pie's eyes spun around like crazy and circles spun around their heads. A short time later, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash shook their heads around, which made the circles around their heads fade away and their eyes straighten up. Then Rainbow Dash looked down at Pinkie Pie while Pinkie Pie looked up at Rainbow Dash. Their expressions were blank for a few seconds before an angry glare crossed Rainbow Dash's face. A moment later an apologetic smile crossed Pinkie Pie's.

"Pinkie..." Rainbow Dash growled through gritted teeth.

The other ponies watching from afar all had equally annoyed looks on their faces.

"Oh, my big, strong hero!" Pinkie Pie blurted out.

She then reached up a hoof behind Rainbow Dash's head and pulled her down close to herself. Then Pinkie Pie kissed Rainbow Dash on the side of her face. The blue pegasus pulled away as fast as she could and wiped her face's side clean. She then looked down at Pinkie Pie with even more annoyance.

"PINKIE PIE! Don't do that!" Rainbow Dash shouted.

While Applejack and Rarity were holding back from busting out laughing, Twilight Sparkle was quick to shush them all.

"Quiet, you want that pony to know we're here? If he's not in this room, he's just as likely to be in one of the others! And with the noise you're making, he'll probably have heard you even if he's on the other side of the castle," said Twilight Sparkle, who had been checking the area around the thrones themselves. She did one more quick look around, finding nothing like the first few times she looked. "And judging by how well the search is going, he probably is in another room."

"I must say, it doesn't appear there is anyone else in this room at all besides us, Twilight," said Rarity.

The violet alicorn princess let out a disappointed sigh before replying.

"Yeah, it sure does seem that way, don't it?"

"Don't fret, Twilight. We'll just go looking in some of the other rooms," said Applejack.

"Yeah, there's gotta be like a hundred in this place. He could be in anyone of them," said Rainbow Dash.

"...Alright, let's go," said Twilight Sparkle.

Everypony made their way towards the doors they had come in through. As she was walking alongside the others, Applejack noticed the somewhat upset look on Twilight's face. The orange Earth pony hurried over to her friend's side and put a helpful hoof on her back. Twilight Sparkle looked over to Applejack and saw a supportive smile on her face.

"Don't worry, Twilight, if that pony's here, we'll find him," said Applejack.

Twilight Sparkle responded, not with words, but a nod of the head.

"So, what room should we look in next?" asked Pinkie Pie.

"Hmm, I'm not sure," said Rarity.

"Me neither. Maybe we should leave that decision to Twilight," said Rainbow Dash.

Suddenly, in that moment, when the five ponies were inches away from the door and the other four were turning their gazes to Twilight, a loud cackle echoed through the throne room. All five ponies flinched in surprise before freezing in place. It was like this ominous and sinister laughter came out of nowhere. A short time later, everypony was looking around to try and find the source of the laughter. Everypony that is, except for Twilight Sparkle because in that moment she was seeing something else entirely than what her friends were seeing.

Somehow, beyond Twilight Sparkle's knowledge or understanding, she saw the whole room and everything in it turn blood red. Everything just, somehow slowly faded into the bloody color, even Twilight's friends. And that's when she saw a giant wave of what looked to be actually blood coming from somewhere in the distance and flowing towards her. With that flow came the sudden cries of a thousand voices, all of which were crying out like they were being tortured. Much to Twilight Sparkle's further disbelief, the blood wave did not sweep her friends away. Rather, it seemed to past right through them and kept coming right at her.

While the other four couldn't see what Twilight Sparkle was seeing, they did see the wide eyed, open mouthed horror on their alicorn friend's face. At first, they thought it might have been the out of nowhere laugh that did it. But then something them told them it was another thing entirely. Twilight Sparkle did not see her friends exchange looks of concern for her, nor did she see them approach her to ask if she was alright. Instead, she saw the wave of blood wash over her before the environment around her faded away into eternal darkness.

"Twilight, you okay?" asked Applejack.

"Twilight girl, what's up? Did you hear that cackling?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"Are you alright, darling?" asked Rarity.

"Twilight, can you hear us?! Can you hear us, Twilight?!" Pinkie Pie shouted at the top of her lungs.

Twilight Sparkle responded to none of these questions. They sounded like they were hundreds of yards away. Over the voices of her friends, she heard the howls of a furious wind, though she felt none. Twilight also heard the screams of horror and agony of a thousand voices, while thousands more whispered words in tongues Twilight did not understand. The worse was still yet to come, which Twilight Sparkle found out very quickly. What nightmarish image appeared next before Twilight's manipulated sight was two, big, glaring and glowing green eyes with red irises. The disembodied eyes floated in front of Twilight Sparkle and almost took up her full line of sight.

The terrifying eyes looked as though they were burning a hole through Twilight's body and so they could peer into her heart. But nothing could prepare Twilight Sparkle for what happened next. Despite appearing not to have a mouth, or any other body part for that matter, somehow a voice rang through the air.

"I see you."

It was a dark, growling, raspy, and sinister voice; a voice that Twilight knew belonged to whoever those belonged to. What made it scarier still was that Twilight Sparkle could almost swear that this voice, this sadistic voice dripping of pure evil sounded familiar to her. Despite her thoughts being scattered in several different places at once it didn't take Twilight long to realize who that voice and those eyes belong to. The realization made Twilight Sparkle gasp out in horror, her eyes widening even more than they had before. This made Twilight's friends grow more concerned for her as she began stammering with uncontrollable fear.

"Twilight! Can you hear us?!" they all yelled at the same time.

At that moment, Twilight Sparkle seemed to come back to reality, as everyone of those nightmarish things she experienced slowly faded away. The blackness, the screams, the whispers, the howling all faded into nothingness. The glowing and glaring eyes were the last thing to disappear. Now Twilight Sparkle's surroundings were all completely normal. She was back in the throne room of the Castle of the Two Sisters and her friends were right there to aid and care for her. Twilight Sparkle was now able to see the concern on their faces, knowing that concern was for her. She was unable to do anything about it though, for she was still in mid-shock from what she had just experienced.

"Twilight?" said Pinkie Pie in concern.

"Come on, girl, talk to us. What happened?" said Applejack.

"H-h-h-h-He... He-h-h-He's here!" Twilight Sparkle managed to stammer out in a shaky voice.

" 'He's here'?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"Who's here, Twilight?" asked Rarity.

Before anyone could say anything else, the sound of the throne room doors slamming shut echoed through the air. Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack all let out quick yelps before turning to the now closed doors in disbelief. Twilight Sparkle, on the other hoof, flat out screamed, for she actually saw it happen.

"Don't be in such a rush to leave, my little ponies. We have so much to catch up on."

Those words echoed through the empty spaces of the throne room, the pony who said them unseen.

"That voice..." said Rarity.

"I know it from somewhere, too," said Rainbow Dash.

"I know it, too. But it can't..." Applejack started to say.

"It is!" exclaimed Twilight Sparkle.

It was the same voice she had heard in her nightmarish vision. Suddenly a black cloud came swirling down upon the platform the thrones stood upon. It spiraled around at incredible speeds before dispersing into thin air. When the cloud was gone, a pony stood in its place. The sight of this particular pony made the five mares gasp out. Their faces conveyed the deep fear they felt at that moment. This was no ordinary pony they were staring at. Not at all; none of them wanted to believe what they were seeing at that moment, especially Twilight Sparkle. She didn't want to believe any of the bizarre things she had seen up to that moment were real or really happening.

Yet here it all was right in front of her face and the faces of the rest of her friends. It was real, all of it was, including that moment when they were staring up at what was possibly the most evil unicorn in existence. Twilight Sparkle and her friends were staring up at the black furred, gray faced, green eyed, red horned unicorn stallion who wore a king's robe and spiky crown. The five mares had just encountered King Sombra.

---

Boy I'm a flip-flop. I go all depressed and am like, "I'm not gonna write for a long time," and end up writing all throughout the month of November. I don't know why I get like that, I keep saying to people, "I don't wanna write right now," and I do just that. I don't even know, maybe it's the exhaustion I usually feel after writing and then having to go through the editing process, which usually isn't fun for me. I don't know many people who like going through editing, but if you're going be a writer, or at least a good one, you have to do it. Yeah, so please be patient with me people. Just bare with me.

Having said all that, surprisingly I actually had a blast writing this chapter for the most part. I was actually excited again. It was the same excitement I felt when I first started writing. I just felt the energy coursing through me and I went through this chapter with little to no problems whatsoever. I hope I can keep that up through the rest of the story. I was hoping to post this on Thanksgiving, but those things I told you about meeting up with family was very true and kept me busy that whole day. But hey, 2 days after isn't so bad. I hope all of you who celebrate Thanksgiving had a really great one with your family and friends. I know I did.

Anyways please be sure to leave a review after reading and be sure to tell me of any mistakes I may have made, be it spelling, grammar or so on so I can correct them to the best of my abilities. And I don't mean just pointed out that I made a mistake, TELL ME WHAT IT IS! Someone did that to me on one of my other stories. I can't stand it when someone does that. I'm The Guy Who Likes To Write Stuff, signing off.