My Little Pony: The Human Chronicles

Episode 4: Hunt or Be Scared

---

As the sun shone brightly in the sky, Toby was walking through town carrying over ten bags of flour all the way to a building locally called Sugarcube Corner, which looked like a giant gingerbread house with all kind of candy shaped ornaments.

He entered the building and immediately dropped the large amount of flour sacks on the ground.

Two ponies named Mr and Mrs. Cake approached him.

Mr. Cake had green eyes, a light orange mane, a light amber coat and freckles while Mrs. Cake's eyes were a brilliant rose, she had a light crimson mane and a light blue coat. They both wore aprons and hats. Mr. Cake's cutie mark was three carrot cakes and Mrs. Cake's cutie mark was three cupcakes.

Toby sighed out of breath. "Here's your flour Mr. and Mrs. Cake, as promised."

"Well thank you very much son," Mr. Cake said.

"Here's your reward and a cup cake on us," Mrs. Cake said before placing two bits and a cupcake in Toby's hand.

Toby smiled "Wow, thanks Mr. and Mrs. Cake, have a good day. Oh and if you need anything else just ask, it's what I'm here for,"

"Ok, see you later!" Mr. Cake told him.

"Have a good day now," Mrs. Cake, added.

"I will," Toby assured them before walking out the door.

He stepped outside, holding his cupcake and breathed in the delicious smell.

"Finally, some downtime after a long day of work," Toby said to himself.

Then without warning, the ground started to rumble. Everypony started to wonder what was going on. Some started to become scared.

Suddenly a gigantic worm like monster popped out of the ground and roared.

It had a wide beak-like mouth, four red eyes, a black and orange hide with a white underbelly with grey spikes running down its back.

All the ponies in Ponyville started running for their lives while Toby just stood still, frowned and groaned annoyed with annoyance. He turned to a brown colored stallion.

"Here, keep an eye on my cupcake will you?" Toby said before giving him the cupcake. He stepped forward and cracked his knuckles. "Let's make this quick, slimy,"

Toby's arm grew in length and size.

"You see there's a delicious cupcake with my name on it and I am very hungry and NOPONY wants to see ME hungry," Toby warned the creature before it fired small green balls from its mouth right at him.

He rolled out of the way just as the balls hit the ground. Immediately the ground dissolved where they hit.

"Acid," Toby whispered "Nice trick,"

Toby jumped into the air and prepared to slam the worm with both fists.

However, the creature quickly ducked back underground causing Toby to slam the ground. He tried to hit it again before it ducked back into the ground but no such luck.

"Hold still, will you!?" Toby exclaimed annoyed. He felt the ground and heard something moving under him "Come on out, I'm not the mood for hide and go-"

All of a sudden the worm popped up where he stood, sending him flying into the air. The worm prepared to open its mouth and devour him, but Toby put his legs in-between the creature's jaws and struggled to keep it from shutting its teeth on him.

"I wanted to eat lunch, not be lunch!" Toby stated, very annoyed.

Suddenly Spike came running over.

"Toby!" he cried.

"Spike! Give me a weapon, any weapon!" Toby screamed as the creature's jaws started to become too much for him to hold open.

Spike looked around, frantically. He smiled when he spots a long, pointed wooden stick on the ground.

"Here Toby, catch!" Spike called out before tossing the stick to Toby.

Toby caught it in one hand and used his legs to keep the worm's jaws open. He twirled the stick before aiming it at its mouth.

"Ok wormy, this is going to hurt you more than it hurts me… a lot more," Toby told the worm before jamming the stick into its mouth.

The monster worm screamed in pain and shot Toby out of its mouth. He landed on the ground and rolled into a table.

Toby groaned in pain "I am so not doing that ever again!"

Spike rushed to his side and helped him up. Then he noticed the worm screeching and flailing itself back and forth, slamming its head into the ground each time.

"Heh, guess he bit off more than he could chew." Toby remarked with a laugh. He turned to some other ponies who were staring at him blankly "Aw, come on! That was a little funny!"

"Uh, no it wasn't," Spike told him.

"Whose side are you on anyway!?" Toby snapped, clearly annoyed. "Any who…"

Toby jumped high into the air, curled into a ball and flew straight towards the worm like a cannon ball. He slammed right into it, creating a large explosion and when the smoke cleared, the worm was defeated and Toby was standing right on top of it, unharmed.

Everypony cheered for Toby.

"Oh yeah! Who's the man?" Toby asked proudly.

Spike ran over to Toby "Nice one Toby! That was awesome!"

"I know, I know," Toby nodded, clearly pleased with himself.

"Hey, how'd you know where to aim when you were curled up like that anyway?" Spike asked.

"Uh… well it's really kind of complicated…" Toby started.

"You had no idea did you?" Spike asked.

Toby shook his head. "Nope, but look at how it turned out, the monster is beaten and now I get to enjoy my cupcake,"

The pony that Toby had given his cupcake to walked up to him and offered it back. Toby gratefully took it before taking a bite out of it. Toby and Spike then started to walk through town together and saw that many of the ponies were still a bit shaken up by what had transpired.

"You know… I'm usually not one to nag somepony but you really ought to be a little more careful around these weird monsters," Spike told Toby.

"Relax. I know I've only been doing this for almost two weeks but I totally have it under control." Toby assured him. He turned and saw a few grateful looking town's folk and a few that looked at him with unease and suspicion.

Toby sighed "Although, with all these monsters attacking me it's getting harder and harder to get everypony to like me, they think I'm the reason they keep attacking… maybe they're right,"

"Aw don't be so hard on yourself Toby, your just… unlucky I guess," Spike said.

"Gee thanks, I feel so much better," Toby said sarcastically before he and Spike stopped.

"Well, I got to go help Twilight with her studying what are you going to do?" Spike asked.

"Well… I think I'm going to find Fluttershy, I figure if she got to know me a little more she'd be less scared of me," Toby replied.

"Good thinking," Spike remarked "Well, see you,"

"Later," Toby added, he turned and immediately bumped into somepony. He fell to the ground and saw that it was Fluttershy herself.

"Fluttershy?" Toby asked.

"Oh my goodness! I am so, so, sorry!" Fluttershy squeaked.

Toby stood up "No, no, no, it was my fault, I should have looked where I was going, don't worry about it,"

Fluttershy sighed "Ok…"

"You came at the right time actually. I was just going to look for to ask you if I could hang at your place. Is that alright?" Toby asked

Fluttershy paused; she looked down at the ground shyly "Um… uh…"

Toby raised an eyebrow. "Is there a problem?"

"Huh? Oh no, of course not! Of course you can come! Just… follow me," Fluttershy stuttered.

Fluttershy walked off ahead with Toby following close behind.

---

Later, near the edge of a dark forest Fluttershy and Toby were walking down a pathway, both exchanging nervous and awkward glances.

Wanting to ease the tension Toby spoke "So… Fluttershy, what exactly do you do in Ponyville?"

Fluttershy jumped, thinking what to say to him "Um...W-Well, I look after the animals" she whispered.

Toby smiled "Really? It must be hard work for you"

"Oh no it's really nice, I love Animal's and Nature," she said more confidently.

"Well that's good to hear," Toby added "Like my Dad use to say, 'if your good at something never do it for free',"

"Oh? Well what does your father do?" Fluttershy asked curiously.

"Oh he's a business man, he travels around the world and makes deals with people that's why he's hardly ever around," Toby explained.

"It must have been very lonely..." Fluttershy said sympathetically.

Toby nodded. "Yeah, it was. Although right now I wish some things would leave me alone."

"What do you mean?" Fluttershy asked.

"Well lately I've been getting attacked by more monsters than Tokyo," Toby explained, Fluttershy looked at him confused "It's a city on Earth,"

"Oh," Fluttershy said in an understanding tone.

"Makes me wonder if someone is actually sending those things after me…" Toby said.

"You think so?" Fluttershy asked concerned.

"I'm not sure…" Toby replied "But for now everything seems quiet,"

Unbeknownst to them, someone was watching them as they travelled to Fluttershy's house.

That person was Lord Tirek himself, watching Toby through a mystic orb. He snarled and cracked his knuckles.

"So… the Slamworm failed," Lord Tirek stated. "No matter, I still have more monsters where he came from,"

Lord Tirek whistled. Then a shadowy minion stepped forward and bowed.

"Bring me the Buglizard," Lord Tirek ordered.

The minion nodded and disappeared into the shadows before bringing forth a snarling creature.

Lord Tirek pointed to the image of Toby. "There is your prey, now… hunt him down!"

The creature roared and ran off.

---

Meanwhile, Toby and Fluttershy were nearing Fluttershy's house. Toby heard a rustling behind him but shrugged it off.

"We-We're here" she squeaked, stopping in her tracks.

Toby halted, observing his surroundings ahead of him. He gasped, her house or rather her property is filled with Animals and Nature. The birds tweeting, bees buzzing, the sun shining, the river streaming smoothly and calmly.

"Holy Guacamole!" Toby exclaimed with amazement.

The sparkle-eyed human broke from from his trance. He looked at Fluttershy then back to the scenery. "It's a beautiful home Fluttershy, not many homes like this in New York and boy do I wish there were," Toby stated as a small bird landed on his finger.

Fluttershy's heart filled with warmth and joy. She gave the biggest smile Toby had ever seen from her, and she blushed bright red at his compliment.

"So Toby, in this… New York City, are there any gardens or animals there?" Fluttershy asked.

Toby scratched the back of his head trying to come up with the right words. "Well, animals do live with us, like dogs and cats for example. Birds fly around but of course, we do have gardens but just not as big and beautiful. We have a place called Central Park in the heart of our city. It is really big, and it has grass, some flowers and a lake. But I never really liked it though."

"W-Why is that?" she said.

"I look up and all I see are tall buildings and electronics by the side of the park, it feels as if I'm locked up in a cage of madness and gloom," he replied. "It's quite depressing sometimes."

"Oh my… I can see why…" Fluttershy said in a sad tone.

"I'm guessing you're not a big fan of cages," Toby remarked.

Fluttershy shook her head "No. The very thought of animals caged up and crying out for their freedom sounds just dreadful,"

"Well, everything sounds bad when you say it like that," Toby stated "But you do have a point… although the monsters I've been fighting recently need something to contain them,"

"But there just innocent creatures," Fluttershy said.

"Oh they're not innocent and definitelynot normal and for some reason they only want me," Toby said.

"Oh my…" Fluttershy remarked.

Then after a moment of awkward silence, a small white rabbit came running up to them.

Fluttershy smiled "Oh hello Angel Bunny,"

Toby pointed at the rabbit "Yours?"

Fluttershy nodded "Go ahead, pet him,"

"Ok!" Toby said, as he reached out to pet but backed off when he saw the frown on Angel's face.

"I… don't think he likes me," Toby pointed out.

"Oh… he just needs time to… get used to you," Fluttershy assured.

"Like you?" Toby asked, raising an eyebrow.

Fluttershy turned away with an awkward and scared look on her face "I'm really sorry about that… I know you are a good person… It is just that… when I am around you… I can't help but feel…"

"Afraid?" Toby interjected, Fluttershy sorrowfully nodded.

Toby walked over to her and looked her straight into her fear filled eyes. "Listen Fluttershy, fear is the enemy and fear needs to be destroyed. You can't live in fear your whole life, Fluttershy. You have to face your fears head on, that's what my Dad always said."

"But… I'm afraid to…" Fluttershy said.

"Then you've already lost the war, not just against whatever it is your afraid of but your own fear," Toby told her "If you face what you're afraid of you just might be able to conquer it and if not, at least you'll be able to tolerate it,"

"Well… it's easy for someone like you, you're not afraid of anything," Fluttershy pointed out "Unlike me… I'm afraid of everything…"

Before Toby could say anymore, a roar was heard. It was so loud that it frightened all the birds and made all the animals run in fear.

Suddenly something leapt into the air and landed in front of Toby and Fluttershy. It was a lizard like creature with a white, black and red color scheme, four eyes, sharp teeth, and a long tail and has a row of spikes running down its back. It had four legs and black feet with red claws.

"What the heck!?" Toby exclaimed.

Fluttershy screamed in fear and hid behind Toby. The lizard creature looked at Toby straight in the eye and showed him its sharp teeth.

"Do I know you?" Toby asked nervously.

The lizard creature raised its tail and used it to send Toby flying into a tree.

"Toby!" Fluttershy cried out in alarm.

The creature turned to Fluttershy. Suddenly it heard its master's voice in its mind.

"Get the Pony," Lord Tirek said telepathically.

The lizard growled and grabbed Fluttershy with its tail before she could run away. She screamed at the top of her lungs as it started to carry her away.

Toby rubbed his head groaning with pain. Then he noticed the creature taking off with Fluttershy.

"Fluttershy!" Toby cried. He ran off at super speed after the creature as it raced towards town.

Meanwhile in Ponyville, the residents were going about their everyday routines and mingling with various other ponies. All were caught off guard when they heard a roar off in the distance.

Everypony turned and screamed when they see the lizard creature jumping from rooftop to rooftop-carrying Fluttershy with its tail.

Toby traversed through the town using his super speed, doing his best to make sure he didn't run into anypony.

"Excuse me! Coming through!" he called out.

The creature continued to travel through the town until it disappeared into a large and dark forest. Toby stops near the forest to catch his breath, which was when the rest of the Mane 6, including Spike show up.

"Toby!" Twilight Sparkle called out.

Panting, Toby turned to them "Oh, hey guys,"

"What the heck was that rampaging through town?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Not sure, but it grabbed Fluttershy and disappeared into that forest… speaking of which what is this forest?" Toby asked, curiously. "I've seen it a few times but I've never actually gone in."

Applejack's eyes widen with fear "Whoa Nellie, that's… The Everfree Forest!"

"Dun, dun, dun!" Spike added dramatically.

Twilight Sparkle glared at him. "Not helping Spike!"

"Sorry!" Spike said.

"Nice touch though," Toby told him. "Now what's so bad about the Everfree Forest?"

"It's just not natural, that's what! The plants grow…" Applejack started.

"The animals care for themselves…" Pinkie Pie added.

"And the clouds move all on their own!"Rainbow Dash finished. Rarity fainted soon afterwards.

Toby didn't seem fazed. "Hmm, sounds like home."

"Really?" Rainbow Dash remarked, surprised.

"Yeah, Earth has all that stuff… but that's not important right now," Toby stated "What is important is that thing has taken Fluttershy into that forest and it's up to me to get her back,"

"I wouldn't recommend it!" Applejack told him "The forest is a little dangerous if you don't know the way,"

"So we should just let that thing eat Fluttershy?" Toby asked.

"Of course not, we just think you might need some help finding her," Twilight Sparkle replied.

"No. This thing wants me and me alone. It only took Fluttershy just so it could lure me into the forest. I have to do this by myself." Toby proclaimed. "Besides, I always wanted to check this place out!"

"But Tobias…" Rarity started,

"I said no! I refuse to let any more of my friends get hurt so stay here!" Toby ordered them.

Twilight hated having to leave a friend behind but knew Toby had a point and relented. "Ok, but if it sounds like you're in trouble were coming in after you no matter what Got it?"

Toby nodded. "Got it, wish me luck,"

"Be careful," Twilight Sparkle told him.

"Come on, how bad could this place be?" Toby asked as he began to walk into the forest but before he could he noticed two crows with red eyed perched on a branch nearby. They cawed loudly.

"You'll die! You'll die! You'll die!" They cried before flying off. Everypony, including Toby, was greatly stunned.

"Did those crows just say that I'm gonna die?" Toby questioned the others slowly.

Spike nodded nervously. "Yeah, they did…"

Toby took a deep breath and headed off into the dark forest.

---

It had only been a couple of minutes since Toby entered the Everfree forest and already it had started to become very creepy. Strange sounds were heard around him and he could almost hear the lizard's heavy breathing.

"Looks like it's a game of cat and mouse… and I may be the mouse!" Toby said to himself.

He then began calling out for Fluttershy "Fluttershy! Fluttershy! Scream if you can hear me!" he yelled

Toby then noticed a large trail of destroyed trees and bushes leading deeper and deeper into the forest.

"Well, that's one way to find a creature; just follow the path of destruction," Toby remarked.

Toby quickly began following the trail of broken trees and ventured further into the darkness. As he was following the path, Toby noticed something rather odd in front of him. He looked down and saw a yellow feather on top of the lizard's footprint.

He picked up the feather and holds it tightly in his hand. "Fluttershy…" he breathed.

Suddenly a loud and familiar squeak was heard from a far. "Fluttershy!" Toby cried.

He quickly sprinted ahead until he saw none other than Fluttershy herself stuck to a large tree by a lime green sticky substance.

"Fluttershy!" Toby said revealing himself from the shadows of the trees. He enlarged his fists and ripped off the sticky substance holding Fluttershy to the tree. He caught her in his arms. "I got you."

Fluttershy groaned as she awoken. "Toby?"

"It's ok Fluttershy, that thing's gone," he told her "Now let's get out of this creepy place,"

"Wait… Toby… it's a… trap!" Fluttershy exclaimed slowly, finally regaining her senses.

"A trap?" Toby asked, before hearing a loud thud behind him, Toby's face fell "It's behind me, isn't it?"

Fluttershy slowly nodded in fear. Toby turns around and sees the large lizard creature, growling at him.

"Stay behind me Fluttershy, I got this thing," Toby informed her before magically enlarging his fists and charging towards the creature.

"Wait, Toby!" Fluttershy cried.

Toby continues to charged toward the lizard monster head on. Then before he could land a hit, the creature breathed a yellow fog from its mouth, covering the entire area.

Toby looks around but could not see two feet in front of him, the fog was just too thick.

"Ok, it's official; I hate hide-and-go-seek," Toby grumbled.

The lizard leapt towards him from behind. Toby heard it coming, but before he could react the monster landed right on top of him.

"Get off of me!" he cried, struggling to keep the lizard from biting his head off "Fluttershy! A little help, please!"

Fluttershy could hear Toby's grunts and shouting but unfortunately, she could not move an inch, because she was completely terrified and was trembling with fear.

"I… I can't! I-I just… can't!" she whimpered.

Toby groaned. "Oh for Pete's sake! I know your scared but you have to face your fear and do it quickly before I lose my head!"

Fluttershy attempted to rush into the fog and save Toby but a growl from the beast made her freeze up.

Toby then got one of his feet underneath the lizard and lengthened it, sending the creature flying across the forest. A loud crash could be heard.

Toby stood up but cringed and held his leg tightly.

Fluttershy rushed over to Toby, concerned for him.

"Toby, are you alright?" Fluttershy asked.

"Ugh, I think I twisted my ankle after I sent that thing flying," Toby groaned.

"You think it's gone?" the shy pony wondered.

Toby shook his head. "No, I just slowed it down. Believe me, this thing isn't finished yet. Which is why I'm getting you out of here,"

Toby slowly stood up, picked up Fluttershy and started running but his twisted ankle quickly stopped him. He kneeled on the ground, groaning in pain.

Fluttershy looked at him full of worry and concern "Oh, you can't run or fight in your condition! We must get help!"

"From who? I don't think they can hear us this far into the forest." Toby pointed out "Now I'm starting to regret not asking the others for help…"

A distant roar was then heard, making Fluttershy yelp in fear.

"Will you cut that out!?" Toby snapped annoyed. Seeing the hurt look on Fluttershy's face Toby's anger subsided. "Sorry. I'm just stressed, that's all. Come on, let's find a place to recuperate."

Fluttershy nodded "Ok, hop on, I'll find us somewhere to rest,"

"Ok…" Toby said slowly. "Never ridden a pony before… but I guess there is a first time for everything,"

Toby hopped onto Fluttershy's back and held on as she took off with another squeak of fear, as the lizard roared once more.

Toby couldn't help but feel a little bewildered by what he was doing; riding a talking Pegasus while trying to get away from a giant monster lizard.

"Boy, this world just gets weirder and weirder…" he muttered.

---

They soon arrived at a small cave. Toby hopped off but quickly fell to his knees when his ankle started to throb. He crawled inside the cave with Fluttershy following him.

They both huddled close together and listened for the sound of the lizard monster's roar.

"Do you think it's close?" Fluttershy asked scared.

"I don't know, but I'm guessing it has a powerful sense of smell so it'll find us soon." Toby replied. He noticed Fluttershy quaking in fear and puts his hand on her shoulder. "It's ok, we'll be fine. Hopefully the others will come soon and give us a hand. But until then we have to stay calm… and not be afraid."

"I can't! I-I just can't!" Fluttershy sobbed.

"Yes, you can! And you will!" Toby proclaimed. "From what I heard you helped Twilight and the others defeat that evil pony called Nightmare Moon! She was so powerful that wanted to take over Equestria, making Night last forever. It may have been scary and all but you still helped them defeat her."

"Yeah… I guess so," Fluttershy admitted.

"It's ok, I know your scared and believe me I know how hard it is to overcome fear," Toby admitted

Fluttershy looked at Toby surprised "You do?" she asked.

He nods "Before I came here I faced all kinds of bullies, sure I was pretty scared at first but quickly learned that I should face what I'm afraid of instead of always running away. I was also scared of that dragon that attacked on the day I arrived as well as Jobo and that giant worm earlier today,"

"But… you overcame your fear?" Fluttershy guessed.

Toby nodded again. "Sure did." He answered. "It wasn't easy but I did it anyway. And right now I am very afraid… of you or any of the others getting hurt because of me!"

Fluttershy was wide eyed with shock at what Toby had just said.

"You girls and Spike are the first friends I ever had. Before I came here all I ever wanted was friends but I was always alone, my Dad was always busy and my Mom…"

Fluttershy noticed the sadness in Toby's voice and the tears starting to form in his eyes and felt a great amount of pity and sympathy for him. She nuzzled him comfortingly, which made him smile.

"But when you guys offered me your friendship I swore I would protect you guys," he continued "That's why I made them stay behind, that's why I always face these monsters alone, so I can't lose you guys,"

Fluttershy was greatly surprised and touched by Toby's words. After another roar was heard, Toby looked her in the eye.

"Ok, Fluttershy, listen to me very carefully." He told her. "I'm going to go and try fight it off, as for you I want you to hoof it and get back to town. The others should be waiting for you."

"B-But Toby, I can't just leave you behind!" Fluttershy said.

"Yes you can! And you are!" Toby stated before pushing her out the cave "Go! Now!"

Despite the fact that she didn't want to abandon her friend, Fluttershy reluctantly started running after giving Toby a sad look.

Toby sighed sadly then turned his attention to the approaching creature.

"Ok, Toby, you can do this…" he told himself "It's just a giant… monster lizard… trying to eat you… nothing you can't handle… I hope,"

Limping, he managed to leave the cave and step out into the open. He stood waiting for a few minutes before the lizard monster jumped out of the bushes and landed in front of him.

"Looking for me?" he asked the creature "Well here I am!"

The four-eyed lizard emitted another cloud of yellow fog from its mouth, surrounding Toby.

"Not falling for that again." Toby said. He heard the creature lunging at him from behind, spinning around he knocked it back with a giant fist.

He leapt into the air with his good leg and slammed the monster with both fists. He then proceeded to pound it repeatedly for a full minute until it grabbed him with its tail and sent him flying into a tree, injuring his leg even more.

He groaned in pain, as he felt his leg was on fire and widened his eyes as the creature leaped at him again. Only to his surprise, Rainbow Dash suddenly slammed into it and sent it flying.

"Hey! Pick on somepony your own size, ugly!" Rainbow Dash told the creature.

Toby was even more surprised when the rest of the Mane 6 appeared and stood in front of him, ready to fight the creature.

"Whoa…" Toby said awestruck.

Fluttershy rushed to Toby's aid "Toby! Oh, I'm so glad you're safe!"

"What are you guys doing here? And how'd you know I was in trouble?" Toby asked.

"You were gone for a while, so we came in after you." Twilight Sparkle explained.

"That's when Fluttershy here found us and told us you were hurt and about to face this thing again," Applejack added.

"So we rushed over here lickety-split to help you!" Pinkie Pie finished.

"I don't need help…" Toby insisted but his groaning said otherwise.

"I'm afraid we are going to have to disagree with you darling," Rarity told him.

"I refuse to let you girls get hurt!" Toby exclaimed, that's when Rainbow Dash zoomed over and looked him fiercely in the eye.

"Oh, and you think we want to see youget hurt?" Rainbow Dash questioned him angrily.

"Well… I…" Toby stammered.

"Then why don't you stop trying to always be the hero and let us help you out!" Rainbow Dash stated angrily.

Toby was left speechless and watched as the Mane Six prepared to fight against the giant lizard.

Tired of waiting around the monster lizard lunged at them, bearing it's razor sharp teeth.

Twilight's horn glowed and the lizard was suddenly surrounded by a magenta colored energy that pinned it to the ground. It struggled to lift itself off the ground and Twilight had trouble keeping it there.

"Everypony, restrain it, now!" she declared.

Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack and Rainbow Dash ran over and each held on to one of its legs in an attempt to keep it still.

"Awesome, you got it!" Toby cheered.

Unbeknownst to them, Lord Tirek was watching them from afar in the shadows.

"Sorry ladies, but restraining my Buglizard is more difficult than you think," Lord Tirek said quietly before his eyes flashed red.

Suddenly, Twilight's magenta aura was overridden by Lord Tirek's red aura, causing her great pain.

"Twilight!" Toby cried out in alarm.

The Buglizard's eyes flashed red and it roared loudly sending everypony flying.

"Oh no!" Fluttershy screamed.

The Buglizard turned its attention to Toby again, who for the first time began to shake in fear.

Fluttershy stared at the Buglizard in fear, then to her friends. Her eyes turned from their usual soft state to a hardening glare as she faced the Buglizard, much to Toby's surprise.

"Hey you big bully! Leave my friend alone!" Fluttershy shouted at the Buglizard.

Toby was greatly shocked by Fluttershy's suddenly brave attitude but his shock quickly turned to worry "What are you doing?" he asked "Get out of here! You can't fight that thing!"

"Don't worry Toby, I know what I'm doing," The yellow pony told him.

"And that is?" Toby questioned.

"Facing my fear," Fluttershy replied bravely "Just like you,"

Toby smiled proudly, but it faded when he saw that the Buglizard was charging toward them.

"Incoming!" he shouted

"Hang on!" Fluttershy told the human before getting him on her back and flying upwards. The Buglizard, unable to stop, slammed right into the tree headfirst. It roared in pain

"Ok, now we made it mad, so what's the next step of your 'master plan'?" The twelve year old asked.

"Well… it kind of mostly involves… staying alive!" Fluttershy replied.

"I like that plan!" Toby stated.

Fluttershy spotted a lone cloud and suddenly got an idea.

"Wait, I got it!" Fluttershy said "Please, don't be mad at me for this!"

"Huh?" Toby asked before Fluttershy knocked him off, causing him to land right behind the creature. Who quickly spotted him.

"Mommy…" Toby squeaked.

The Buglizard jumped toward him, at that moment, Fluttershy kicked the cloud with her hind legs causing a bolt of lightning to strike and electrocute the creature. It emerged from the flash of impact visibly black with what can be presumed to be electrical burns after getting a good dose of it.

Everypony gathered around it to make sure it was down and after a few moments, they confirmed that it was.

"It's done, we did it, we won!" Toby cried.

He and the girls all cheered. Toby and Fluttershy embraced but quickly let go and turned away, blushing.

"Nice work Fluttershy, you saved my hide," Toby said.

"Thank you…" she said with a smile "And I also want to thank you for showing me how to face my fears,"

"No problem," Toby smiled. His smile faded when he notices something. "But… now that's done whose going to tell the beauty queen that her mane is on fire?"

Fluttershy turned and saw that Rarity's mane was smoking, most likely due to the electric explosion, although she didn't seem to notice.

"What in Equestria are you two looking at?" she asked.

Both Toby and Fluttershy turned away "Nothing!" they said quickly.

"Anyway, is everypony ok?" Twilight Sparkle asked.

One by one, the others all nodded.

"Hey, Twi, what happened to you back there?" Applejack asked "You had the varmint pinned down and then…"

"Boom! We all we all went flying and screaming 'ahhhh!' and going 'wha..'!" Pinkie Pie started before Toby stops her from talking by grabbing her mouth.

"Shut it," he snapped. She immediately did as he said.

"I don't know…" Twilight Sparkle replied. "Somepony or something… overwrote my spell somehow."

"Overwrote?" Rainbow Dash questioned.

"You mean someone or something else's magic was more powerful than yours deary?" Rarity stated in shock.

Twilight nodded sombrely. "Whatever it was… it was something... ugly,"

Fluttershy then realized something "Toby! I think you were right,"

"Right? About what?" he asked confused.

"About someone sending those horrible monsters after you," Fluttershy told him.

"Oh yeah! Now that I think about it, that thing must have taken you in order to lure me here." Toby said "And when Twilight and the others got here somepony overpowered Twilight and sent everybody but you and me flying. It only wanted me!"

"And it didn't want us interfering," Fluttershy finished "So it looks like… somepony truly is out to get you… somepony… very, very dangerous,"

Toby gulped and shivered in fear.

"Well, whoever it is, they are there no match for all of us!" Rainbow Dash declared.

"I hear that." Toby smiled "And the next time I get into serious trouble I'll try not to do it alone."

"Glad you learned your lesson Toby," Twilight Sparkle said

Toby just shrugged with a smile.

"And that sure was a pretty brave thing you did back there Fluttershy," she continued.

"Yeah, I never knew you had it in you." Rainbow Dash added.

"Well… Toby helped me," Fluttershy said softly.

Applejack raised an eyebrow "How?" she asked.

Fluttershy stared at Toby smiling. "Toby helped me overcome my fears by telling me that sometimes you have to face what you're afraid of instead of running away. He reminded me of all the times that when I have conquered my fears. If it weren't for him, I'd still be scared."

Everypony looked at Toby, curious and happy. Toby smiled proudly. Fluttershy approached Toby.

"Thank you so much for helping me Toby, even if we haven't been friends for that long. I'm so glad that we are, thank you for supporting me" she said with the utmost kindness in her smile, as she blushed a little.

Toby rubbed in neck, blushing also "Aw, you're welcome Fluttershy"

At that moment, Spike popped up behind them.

"Is it over?" Spike asked.

Everypony turned to Spike.

"Hiya, Spike!" Pinkie Pie chirped.

"Spike, where in Equestria have you been this whole time?" Rarity asked.

"I thought it best to lay low," he replied.

Toby glared at him annoyed "You didn't think about maybe helping us out!?"

"Oh, no way!" Spike proclaimed "A kid as small as me shouldn't be fighting something as big as that, it's bad for my health!"

Toby growled. "I show you what's bad for your health!" He tried to chase after Spike but the pain in his leg made him fall flat on his face.

"Ha-ha!" Spike said triumphantly.

Toby stood up, growled with anger and began to hop after a now scared Spike. The two of them ran and hopped in a large circle.

"Get back here!" Toby shouted.

"What are you gonna do?" Spike questioned.

"Nothing!" the red head lied.

"Then why are you chasing me?" The little dragon inquired innocently.

"Well stop, and you'll find out!" Toby yelled.

"I promise I won't hide again!" Spike cried.

"Oh, your gonna hide alright and I know the perfect spot; ten feet beneath the earth!" Toby exclaimed.

"TOBY!"

Toby growled in frustration as he continued to chase Spike while the girls just laughed in amusement.

"Oh, those silly boys," Twilight said giggling.

---

Meanwhile, Lord Tirek watched them from his orb. A creature hidden in the darkness whines as it spoke to him in its ancient language.

"I know. The Buglizard failed… but it did its job." Lord Tirek assured the creature. "The human was very lucky. But next time, there won't be a bunch of namby pamby ponies getting in the way of me and my quarry,"

Lord Tirek turned his attention to a large collection of dozens of dangerous and frightening monsters below.

"I still have many more monsters ready for him. Soon that whelp's head will be mounted on my wall." Lord Tirek said with an evil chuckle.