The rest of the hive had been absolutely abandoned since the queen's demise. Where the Changelings went and how they were faring were honestly of little concern to the three ponies as they happily walked out of the base. They had defeated a corrupted Brachydios, destroyed the Shagaru Magala scale and killed Chrysalis (though she really killed herself). Little could ruin this joyous day. They had already drunken some of their potions to heal up from the battle, and they felt as if they could take on anything now.

As they walked through the halls of the tinted red rock, Pinkie Pie began to feel twitchy all over her body. Her spasm went all over the place until she eventually stopped and took as many deep breaths as she could. After her little moment, she turned to the shocked and worried faces of Twilight and Dark Thunder.

"That means something very strong is gonna be here soon!" the pink mare exclaimed in worry "Oh no, oh no, oh no! We're not ready! We don't have enough potions! We've already used some of our cool drinks! Our weapons aren't at full sharpness! We-"

"Pinkie, calm down!" the lavender Unicorn present spoke up "How big are we talking about here?"

"Super-duper-elder-dragon big!" Pinkie shouted in fear.

"Oh, don't worry about it Pinkie" smiled Twilight "I've already taken on a few Elder Dragons in the time I've been a hunter. How bad could this one possibly be?"

Suddenly, a hissing puff of steam came out from the floor right beside the purple maned hunter, causing her to yelp and jump right onto Dark's back. The ash grey stallion smiled at this.

"Y'know Twilight, if you wanted to get this close to me, you could have just asked..." he snickered a bit, causing the lavender mare to get off of him immediately and blush angrily.

"O-On a more serious note, what caused that puff of steam?" she wondered "This mountain is too far into the Badlands to have water in it... What kind of Elder Dragon has the power to create steam?"

"Ohhhhhhh..." Dark finally realized what Pinkie was talking about "Yeah, it might be a good idea to run now..."

"Why?" Twilight asked "Is it really that b-"

The purple maned hunter never even got a chance to finish her sentence before she was lifted by the male Unicorn's magic and levitated off with him and the pink mare joining them.

"You've never had to see one, Twilight!" panicked Pinkie Pie "They're big, ferocious, scary, and they're terrible bakers!"

"Well, would you do me the honour of reminding me what kind of monster we're dealing with here?" the lavender Unicorn deadpanned as she was carried along with the running group "I'm sure once somepony says its name, we can all stop panicking and-"

A loud stomping sound stopped Twilight from speaking further. Following it was another stomp, followed by another, and then another. The sounds we getting closer and closer to the fleeing party, and showed no signs of ceasing. The corridor behind them began to crumble away, being replaced with a burning hot, rocky body covered in lava. Suddenly, Twilight knew exactly what she was about to face.

"No... It can't be..." she looked at the immense body of the Elder Dragon and trembled a bit "The Dire Miralis, creator of the world and bringer of Armageddon..."

"Right! So now you know why we need to- RUN!!!" Dark looked back at the monster in horror just as he was finishing his sentence. The made him and Pinkie run faster than ever before.

XXXXXX

The three ponies finally exited the abandoned hive of the Changelings and looked up at the crumbling mountain overlooking them. The beast slowly rose from its ancient prison and began to walk forward, leaving the mountain nothing more than a small hill of rubble and revealing its full body. It was dark red with rock-like scales all over its body. It walked on its four legs, but the front ones appeared to double as hands. Running all through its body were streams of lava that seemed to be its blood, and its wings looked too deformed to be capable of flight. However, a cannon-like appendage was on both of them, giving up flight for control on the ground, and its head was large with two rocky frills on its sides. It was literally a living volcano. The two mares and stallion simply watched as the monster stomped toward its destination.

"The Dire Miralis..." Twilight spoke again after being put down "An ancient beast once thought to be merely legend until an old, but very much alive specimen was discovered two years ago. From what we know, the Dire Miralis has a constant high body temperature. But unlike the Deviljho, which also has high body heat, this one has literal body heat. It needs to be in a constant state of cool water for it to live without experiencing pain."

"Thanks for the lesson, Twi!" Pinkie smiled.

"You're very welcome, Pinkie!" the lavender mare nodded.

"Where do you think its going?" Dark asked the group.

"Since the Dire Miralis needs constant cooling from water, my guess is that it'll be heading off to the nearest water reserve" shrugged the female Unicorn "So long as it doesn't disrupt the natural ecosystem, which is one in a-million by the way, we'll be good."

"Twilight?" the pink mare spoke up as she stared at the monster's head "Why are its eyes all crazy-looking purple-y?"

"Crazy what now?" Twilight wondered before she too looked up at the Dire Miralis's eyes and gasped "Oh no... You don't think..."

"The shattered scale must've seeped through the cracks of the arena when the Brachydios made all those holes with its slime" Dark stomped his front hooves down "Damn! Well, I guess if it doesn't do anything too bad..."

"Oh no!" Pinkie exclaimed "Look where its heading off to!"

The two other ponies looked over at the Dire Miralis's path and gasped in horror. It was headed straight for Dracoville. Of course; it was the only source of fresh water for miles!

"We have to defeat it before it gets to the village!" Twilight exclaimed the obvious "Pinkie, shoot a shell at it!"

Without question, the pink mare nodded and aimed her heavy bowgun at the towering giant of a monster. She fired at its torso and literally bounced off of it, causing the three ponies to tremble in fear. It slowly turned around to face them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0319JpYv_rY

It looked them dead in the eyes before letting out a bellowing roar that echoed throughout the Badlands, more than likely signalling Dracoville of its presence. Twilight, Dark and Pinkie covered their ears to shield their lobes from the sound until it diminished. When it finally did, the lavender one saw that energy was beginning to channel through the Dire Miralis's cannon-like wings. She immediately understood what the beast was about to do.

"EVERYPONY RUN!!!" she yelled. The team took no time in processing what she said and immediately followed her away from the gigantic Elder Dragon. As soon as they ran behind a rock to safety, Dark spoke up.

"Great plan for Celestia's finest" Dark huffed.

"Oh, you mean you haven't figured it out yet?" Twilight blushed in embarrassment "You see, I'm not exactly a high guard or anything..."

"You're WHAT?!" the ash grey Unicorn shouted in frustration "Why didn't you tell me?!"

"I guess I kind of just... forgot" the lavender mare nervously chuckled "Sorry... You and Rage Quit kinda just went with your own thing, and I thought that so long as it didn't affect you guys too much, then we'd be okay."

"You know what? Fine" Dark rolled his eyes "This is the least of our concerns right now. Right now, we have to deal with a gigantic Elder Dragon on a collision course with my hometown!"

"Right" Twilight nodded "First, I think we should- GAAAAAAAH!!" she never finished her sentence before huge balls of lava came raining down onto the group, forcing them to move to another location. Once the rain of fire subsided and they found another place to hide in (a very small cave).

"As you were saying?" one of Dark's eyebrows raised up.

"As I was saying," the purple maned Unicorn sighed "Do you see that giant lava spot on its chest?" the two looked out of the cave before nodding "Somehow, someway, we have to aim our attacks at that. That's where its lava flow comes from. If we can destroy that, it'll harden and it'll go slower!"

"I'm game" the Unicorn stallion smirked "But how are we supposed to get close to it?"

"...Maybe we don't have to" the other Unicorn smiled as she saw Pinkie's heavy bowgun "Pinkie, I think you know what I'm about to say next, right?"

"Oh yeah... Let's do this! Pinkie Pie style!" grinned Pinkie before she ran out of the cave and stood on her hind legs before waving at the Dire Miralis and getting its attention, turning its face and torso towards her "Hey you! Yeah you, you big party pooper! Come and get some, hot n' ready!"

She fired off a few inaccurate but powerful rounds that hit the beast around the chest area, but they had so far completely missed the glowing yellow and orange spot that was clearly its weakness. During this time, the monster had slowly approached three on its hind legs as well. But it wasn't until the final round of her shells until she finally hit the monster in glowing part of the chest, making it stumble around until eventually falling on its side, allowing the two other ponies to climb out of the cave and slash away at the weak spot. However, it didn't take long before the Dire Miralis gained enough energy to stand up again. As it was getting back up, Twilight never even thought twice before hopping onto the beast's back and running along its spine.

"Twilight, what the hell are you doing?!" Dark shouted at the now struggling mare.

"I don't kno-whoa-WHOA!!" she tried her best to hang onto the rocky hide of the monster's neck "Somepony HELP MEEEE!!!"

"What was she thinking?" the ash grey stallion asked the pink mare next to him.

"I don't have a clue" shrugged Pinkie "Sometimes, she's even crazier than me!" she giggled "I wonder what that would look like?"

"No time, Pinkie!" Dark said "We have to get her down!"

"Or the Dire Miralis could help..." she pointed at the giant dragon, turning the Unicorn's attention towards it again. There he saw that Twilight had been flung off the creature's back and was about to land in a small mound of dirt, which she did harmlessly, but hilariously. It took every ounce of strength inside him to refrain from laughing, and even then the occasional chuckle came out. Snapping back into reality, Pinkie and Dark rushed over to see if Twilight was okay.

"I-I'm fine..." she huffed as she got up "But hey... guess what I... put on its back?"

The two were about to guess until they heard a loud explosion behind them. They turned around to see that the Dire Miralis had toppled over and was allowing them to attack its weak point. Twilight and her friends wasted no time it attacking the chest. She sent her Kinsect out to attack the beast before the three could do so. Finally, the Elder Dragon could take it no more and shielded itself with a grey, hardened outer coating. They were finally able to put the creature into a weakened state. Just before they were about to cheer, they noticed that the creature had gotten back up and was once again headed for Dracoville at the same pace it was before, now paying no mind to the three hunters.

"Twilight, I thought you said it would go slower!" Dark shouted at the lavender mare.

"It was a hypothesis!" the female Unicorn argued "The thing has only been discovered a couple of years ago! How am I suppose to know what hasn't been written in a book?!"

"Ladies, ladies, let's all try to stay calm..." Pinkie calmly smiled and pulled the two apart, before her face went completely carefree again "Now, let's try to kill it again!"

(Music stop)

"Pinkie," Twilight sighed before looking her bubbly friend dead in the eye "the thing is covered in armour, its going the same speed as it was before; if not faster, and all we have are a bug staff, a gun and an unnaturally long sword."

"So, in other words... We're screwed?" the ash grey Unicorn somberly asked.

"Yeah..." the lavender mare nodded. The thought of realization finally washed over them. They really were screwed. They had small weapons, a three pony army, and NO Dragonator whatsoever. The monster was virtually indestructible now. They all had a moment of silence for Dracoville and its inhabitants.

That is, until something wonderful happened.

They all heard a loud, fiery explosion come from Dire Miralis, followed by a roar that most certainly didn't come from the Dire Miralis. The three looked up to see a Rathian flying around the beast. But that wasn't what was important to Dark. To him, what was important were the two stallions riding on the back of the dragon queen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2U4fSa5S7To

"Deus ex machina, bitch!!" shouted Rage Quit, smiling all the way as he held the reigns of the great green dragon "Ha HA!! Never once in my life did I think this was going to be so much FUN!!"

"Rage Quit, I think I'm beginning to feel a little sick again..." Butter Hero spoke to the light blue Pegasus driving the monster to victory.

"Eh, quit your whining" laughed Rage "Think of this as payback for taking on that Pink Rathian with negative thirty-nine fire resistance a little while ago, kay?"

"Rage Quit! Butter!" Dark looked up in hope "I knew you two wouldn't be useless! C'mon you two; I think those two have it covered from here."

"Don't have to tell me twice!" Twilight scrambled out of there as fast as her legs could take her. She reattached her insect glaive and Kinsect before heading on back to Dracoville to watch the battle take place. Of course, she couldn't help herself to watch the spectacle from where she was right now.

"And... FIRE!!" Rage Quit shouted to the Rathian, to which she did as instructed and fired another shot of fire at the Dire Miralis "Great! Now, go melee!" he shouted again before the green monster attacked the Elder Dragon with her claws and teeth, toppling it and making it squirm.

"Now, finish it!!" the yellow Pegasus joining the light blue hunter smiled as he finally got the hang of things. The Rathian did as it was told and relentlessly attacked the opposing monster, finally digging into its neck and ripping off its armour, to which it then quickly turned it, effectively and quickly killing the monster for good.

(Music stop)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mv8-Pz0p_K8

"HIP-HIP-HURRAY!!" Pinkie Pie shouted in glee "The Dire Miralis is finally down! We did it, we did it, we did it!! This calls for a party! Ooooh, what colour streamers should I get? Maybe red since the Dire Miralis was red, but maybe green since the Rathian was green... I can't choose both because it would seem too much like Hearths Warming!"

"Alright, Pinkie" giggled Twilight "Let's get back to Dracoville so we can plan your party."

"Don't forget to carve!" Rage Quit shouted as he, Butter and the Rathian flew overhead the three ponies.

"Oh, right! I need some new armour anyway" smiled the lavender Unicorn "Hate to sound like Rarity here, but blue isn't exactly my colour. Oh, that reminds me! In the heat of battle, I totally forgot! I have to find out where Rarity is now!"

"But now, I think you guys need some rest" Dark said as he approached the two mares "After we carve, it's an all-day snooze for me."

(Music stop)

XXXXXX

The celebration was short, but every but sweet. Pinkie managed to cook her famous cupcakes for everyone to eat, and Butter prepared only the finest of dishes comprised of the finest hay cooked and marinated in the hottest of Dire Miralis scales. To the village, it actually wasn't as bad as they thought. Dark Thunder stayed true to what he said and slept through the whole thing, much to Butter's dismay. He had hoped that he could taste some more of his wonderful dishes.

After the party, all of the villagers turned to Twilight to tell them about what happened to the scale. They were less than pleased with the answer, and were about to deem her guilty as betrayer of the village until Dark finally woke up and defended her, stating that it was better off gone than in the hands of someone else. The townsfolk backed off after that.

Night fell over the village and every living being around was asleep. Everyone except Twilight. She laid awake lying in her bed with her armour off (obviously), examining the repaired Gore Magala scale with her magic.

"There is no physical way this thing could have repaired itself" she spoke to herself "I don't know, maybe it's just how things are. Mom always said I had a big brain, but there was no way I could fit everything in there... But I have to know. If I don't, I might fail my mission to defeat the Gore Magala. Equestria could be in ruin, and it'll all be my fault!"

"Do you freak out a lot?" asked a familiar voice outside her bedroom door. She got out of bed and opened it to reveal that Dark had overheard her most recent rant.

"Oh, hey Dark" she sighed "And no, I don't freak out... too often..."

"Right" he rolled his eyes "Well, we're heading back to Ponyville on the Rathian tomorrow. Might want to get some sleep."

"But if I don't-"

"I know how important the scale is to saving this world" the ash grey Unicorn interrupted the mare "But you in fighting shape is even more important. Besides, you just helped beat that Dire Miralis!" he chuckled "You should feel especially exhausted."

"Yeah, you're right" Twilight smiled "I'll head off to bed. Goodnight, Dark."

"G'night, Twi!" Dark gave off a smug grin before walking away. The lavender Unicorn closed the door before sighing and going straight back to the scale. She looked and looked but found nothing. Perhaps Dark was right about sleeping. She shrugged and put the scale on her table before heading off to sleep.

The second her conscious mind slipped into rest, moonlight shone down onto half of the scale, turning that part golden.

Author's Notes:

Ooooooooh! Mysteries! More mysteries! Even MORE mysteries!! What will happen now? Find out after the Canadian spring break. LOL

But seriously, this is the end of the longest act in the story. I already have the next act in place, along with the LARGEST number of suggested monsters right on its way, including ones from...

- tealspeckles
- DarkThunder144
- Dark Dienen
- rst64tlc

Since a lot of you guys suggested the same thing (and since I'm REALLY lazy), I'll just say that some people suggested these ideas, and you know who you would be. UNLESS I remembered who said it. Sorry, but that's just my life and stuff.

Anyway, thank you all so much for the 21 follows! Really, thank you! You guys are awesome!

If you have any suggestions for monsters for Twilight to fight, I'm still open to suggestions!

Be sure to Like, Comment, Favourite and Follow me, and until then, happy hunting everyone!