Zero years, zero months after meteor…

“By the night, it’s exploded!”

“I need more magic here! Support the barrier!”

“Celestia… ”

“Twilight, snap out of it! TWILIGHT!”

“…Gummy… ”

Gummy blocked out the yelling and looked up at Pinkie Pie. Mama?

Pinkie Pie had tears running down her face. Her smile was forced. Gummy didn’t like that fake smile. Something was wrong. “Gummy, we’re going to play a new game, OK?”

Play! The little alligator stomped his front claws into the dirt. Play, play!

The pink pony let out a little whimper. “Come here.” She brought Gummy in close and lay down on top of him, bringing her legs in to completely cover him up. No light at all could be seen by his big eyes.

Gummy made his “confused” noise. Mama, squished.

“It’s OK, Gummy. Everythin-”

The sound of what Gummy could only imagine was every single pony in Ponyville screaming drowned out Pinkie Pie’s words. It was one of the most terrifying things he had ever heard. The ground shook and Pinkie Pie’s body felt hotter and hotter around him.

But Gummy trusted his owner. He shut his eyes tight and stayed completely still. New game is scary, Mama… he let out a whine with his thoughts.

The screaming and shaking ended abruptly. Gummy could hear strange sounds outside his pony cocoon but no talking. Mama? Game over? He pushed on one of her protecting legs.

The limb detached from Pinkie’s body as he pushed. Strips of blackened flesh stretched. Burnt and burning smells hit Gummy like a blow to the face. He rushed out from under Pinkie Pie and vomited.

It was difficult for the little alligator to process what he saw around him. There was fire everywhere. Ponies who had been staring upwards a moment ago were now on the ground unmoving. Wet thuds could be heard every so often as pegasi fell from the sky to lie beside their still companions.

Gummy turned around to face Pinkie Pie. Her upper body and mane were aflame. Pink fur had become black on her face. Her eyes were shut.

Mama? Gummy gingerly shuffled towards the pink pony’s body. Fire continued to consume her hair and flesh. The smell of it all was getting stronger. Mama?

Fires continued to burn into the night throughout Ponyville and the surrounding forest. Though it burned his lungs to remain there, Gummy stayed next to Pinkie Pie as the sun set. He occasionally squeaked at her quietly.

Mama… need water…

But Pinkie Pie would never respond. Gummy didn’t understand what game she was playing or why they were still playing it. He did not find it fun at all.

Gummy suddenly heard voices coming closer. He knew by then that something was wrong with Pinkie Pie. Mama, ponies help! Mouth opening wide, Gummy made as much noise as he could muster.

“Shh, listen… sounds like something’s in the square.”

“Light it up!”

Gummy’s eyes slammed shut as light blossomed into existence. He tried to keep making noise but ended up coughing. Meanwhile the lights got closer. Mama, ponies help now!

“It’s just some pony’s pet,” a voice in front of Gummy said. “Doesn’t look magical.”

“Doesn’t matter what it looks like, grab it!”

A red glow appeared around Gummy. Having been lifted by magic many times before, he was unafraid. He looked behind him, expecting to see Pinkie Pie being similarly lifted. Her body remained where it was.

Before he could do anything about it, Gummy was tossed into a small, tiny-barred cage. He pushed against the metal and screamed. Mama! Don’t leave mama! Meanies!

“What’s the holdup back here?!” a voice yelled. The light from one of the ponies showed a white stallion with blond hair walking past. His blue eyes regarded Gummy for only a moment. A shudder ran down the alligator’s spine.

“We heard that thing over here, sir.”

“Well, it’s on the cart, so move out! I will not be the last one in the caravan!”

“Yes, sir!”

There was a shuffling of hooves and then Gummy felt motion beneath him and saw houses start to move past. He was getting further and further from Pinkie Pie.

He railed against the cage until exhaustion took him.

Rays of light shown through the bars overhead. Their glow warmed Gummy as he woke. There were voices all around him now along with the sound of wheels rolling on dirt. His growling stomach made him croak loudly. Hungry mama…

“Shut up already!” a voice to the side of Gummy yelled. A few slices of apple fell into his cage. He scooped them up and gnawed on them but they were too hard for his toothless mouth. His whines caught the attention of the pony walking alongside the cart again. “Shit, the damn thing is toothless!”

A glow enveloped the slices of apple. One by one they were smashed to mash. Gummy quickly consumed it all. The ponies around him spoke to one another as he ate.

“Can’t believe we’ve got one cart for this stupid thing.”

“Thought it was the dragon at first.”

“The what?”

“The dragon. Twilight Sparkle had a dragon.”

“Yeah, Celestia let her keep her exam dragon.”

“Well, where is it?”

“You idiots don’t pay attention to anything, do you? They found it in Canterlot. It’s with the Queen now.”

Gummy felt exhaustion creep up on him and let it take him into sleep.

Zero years, three months after meteor…

A sharp prod jolted Gummy awake. A loudspeaker overhead blared, “Subject is awake, begin when ready.” The metal walls around Gummy felt too close, too constricting. He started to hyperventilate. Where… can’t…

A slit in the wall opened and a bowl filled with food was pushed in. Gummy shied away from it at first. Another slit opened behind him and a blade poked him towards the bowl. Reluctantly he shuffled over to it. Inside was a pleasant smelling mashed substance.

“Eat,” boomed the loudspeaker.

Crying silently, Gummy ate what was before him. It tasted of apples and pears, but there was some other, hard objects mixed in. He swallowed these without pause. He was too hungry to care.

The voice came on overhead again. “Subject has consumed the dark crystals. Begin phase two.”

Gummy heard the sound of metal scraping behind him. He spun and saw a hole now in the opposite wall. A rabbit with antlers coming out of its head was pushed into the small confines. Its eyes displayed its fear for the world to see.

“Agitating catalyst now.”

A blade came out of the wall again to jab the jackalope in Gummy’s direction. It reacted out of pure fear, leaping forward to attack Gummy. With nowhere to run, Gummy took a bite to his front left leg thrown up in defense. The jackalope clawed at the alligator while still latched on by the teeth.

There was fear inside Gummy like nothing he had ever felt before. His easy-going life with no pain or loss was gone. Deep within him the fear boiled into something completely new to him.

Rage.

Bubbling from inside his stomach, coursing through his veins like lava, hate filled him to the brim. His scales thickened so quickly the jackalope’s teeth were crushed to powder. They overlapped one another, breaking the flesh beneath. Blood oozed from his entire body. To compensate, he began to grow.

“Subject is responding to the crystals! It’s growing, get sedatives ready!”

The jackalope, with no escape from the inevitable in sight, continued to claw at Gummy’s now steel like outer coating. While the attacks did nothing externally, internally Gummy fumed. PAIN ENDS NOW!

Razor sharp teeth grew in his maw. Like a waterfall, blood gushed from his broken gums. The nails from his claws grew to match their new size as well. The jackalope became covered in blood, slipping on the ground as it attempted to keep up its assault.

Gummy lifted his claw, which was now half the size of the jackalope, and smashed the creature into the concrete.

“Dear sweet Celestia… ”

Purple eyes shot to the speaker set high into the wall. Gummy lifted himself up so he was supported by his back legs and grabbed the wall with his front claws. The metal crunched under his grip.

“GET A SEDATIVE IN THERE! KNOCK IT OUT, NOW!”

Needles attached to poles entered the confine and stabbed at Gummy’s hide. His thick scales bent them all. He hissed in agitation and tried to pursue the poles back to the slits they were inserted from.

“ITS UNDERSIDE IS UNPROTECTED!”

As Gummy stood on his back legs again to reach the holes, needles rammed into his stomach. He had no time to think before numbness overcame him, followed by darkness.

One year, seven months after meteor…

“…and it’s all over!” Big Voice yelled. “Toothy remains undefeated!”

Lots of other voices yelled around Gummy as he stared down at the half of the dire wolf that remained outside his mouth. The back legs twitched. Twitcha… twitch…

“Toothy! Come!” Master said.

Gummy spat the half of the dire wolf in his mouth back out before turning to Master. Meanie dead, Master.

The unicorn levitated some meat beside himself. “Good boy, Toothy. Come home now.” He tossed the meat into the cage behind him.

Hungry after growing more during the battle, Gummy rushed into the large cage to the food. The door closed and locked behind him.

Master levitated the cage onto a cart and had earth pony Servant pull it. The unicorn walked beside the cage and examined Gummy while they walked away from the arena. “You were a very good investment, Toothy. But you got to stop growing. I can’t keep buying bigger cages for you.”

Gummy picked at a piece of meat stuck in his teeth with his tongue.

Sighing, the unicorn shook his head. “I wish you understood more than just killing things. I can see why those scientists were so eager to get rid of you… ” Master walked to the front of the cart and hopped in. The ride home wouldn’t take long through the streets.

One year, twelve months after meteor…

“Crushzor just cannot seem to penetrate Toothy’s scales!”

Again and again the manticore’s scorpion tail slammed into Gummy’s back, but it never pierced his scales. Gummy’s purple eyes, which were now not as large in relation to his body, tracked the beast as it backpedaled from his pursuit. A simple shift of his head prevented the scorpion tail from jabbing his eyes any time the manticore became bold.

Big Voice continued his commentary. Gummy often used it to predict the current meanie’s movements. This meanie, however, was proving to be more trouble than the others. Gummy just couldn’t keep up with it.

Ah, use little meanie way…

With a little hop, Gummy retreated and curled his tail in beside himself, trying to look small. It caused a wave of confusion in the ponies crowding the bleaches on the outside of the arena.

The manticore did exactly what Gummy wanted: sensing weakness, it charged.

Digging his back claws into the dirt, Gummy used all his strength to lift his body up with only his back legs, extending his front claws out in a slash. The move caught the pouncing manticore midair and flipped him into the sky. Gummy stood completely on his back legs and thrust his claws into the descending beast, catching him in a gory display of strength and cunning.

“Toothy! Enough!”

Gummy used a back claw to push the manticore’s body off his front claws. He thought it was odd he could hear Master clearly through the crowd cheering, but then he realized the crowd wasn’t cheering. They were completely silent.

“Toothy, home, now!”

Master sounded upset so Gummy quickly got into his cage. It was so cramped he had to tuck his tail in beside him. His body had grown to match the manticore’s.

“Get us out of here, now!” As soon as Gummy’s cage hit the wagon they were rolling. Master sat at the front of the wagon and looked back at Gummy every now and again. His eyes showed something Gummy only saw in the arena.

Fear.

Two years, three months after meteor…

“Toothy! Wake up!”

Gummy opened one eye lazily. There had been no meanies in a long time. He was starting to wonder if he could just lay there and eat forever. No more meanies...

But Master looked stern, which meant there must be more meanies. Gummy opened and closed his mouth to signify he was ready. Smiling sadly, Master told him, “I know it’s been a while since your last fight, Toothy. This next one should be the last. Here.” The unicorn slid a large bowl of chopped up meat through the cage’s feed hole.

Though there was something sparkling in the meat, Gummy devoured it without hesitation.

“I… you shouldn’t grow anymore, now… just… go out fighting, Toothy… ”

Gummy cleaned the bowl with his tongue and laid his head down to rest again.

Two years, four months after meteor…

Gummy felt awe at the arena around him. He had fought meanies in many strange places, but this place was enormous. The circular wall surrounding him was raised three times his height. Seats set above the walls were packed with ponies of all colors. The roof overhead secured dozens of lights, ensuring no shadows existed below.

The gate behind him was barred shut. Gummy thought he heard Master saying something but there was too much noise around him. Normally he would be able to zero in on a voice after a moment, but something inside of him had changed. He felt slower, dumber, and unsure of why he was even fighting meanies in the first place.

A pony wearing a shiny crown rose and the crowd quieted. “Welcome, ponies of Equestria, to the Baltimare Arena!” The crowd roared its approval and she continued. “Tonight we have a very special event! Toothy, the undefeated beast, is all that stands between Basalt, the red thief, and his freedom!” With a groan, the gate across the arena from Gummy opened. Out walked a juvenile red dragon, his wings tied to his sides with glowing rope, arms and feet chained, a pony guard to either side.

Gummy couldn’t make out every detail of the dragon, but his golden eyes made the alligator shake. This meanie not like others.

The ponies escorting the dragon removed his chains and retreated out of the arena. Once the gate was secured again, a young green dragon standing beside the pony in the crown spoke. “You fight and die to honor Equestria and her queen!” Puffing green fire from his lungs, he yelled out, “Begin!”

Basalt extended his arms wide and rushed towards Gummy. Mind sluggish, Gummy retreated to the wall to buy himself more time. The crowd around him jeered. Now within striking distance, the dragon slashed down at Gummy’s face.

Regardless of how slow his thoughts were, Gummy still had his honed body. He dodged to the side and whipped his tail around. It caught Basalt in the side but the dragon grabbed it, claws digging in. Gummy felt his thick scales give way.

Basalt secured his footing by digging his claws into the dirt. The dragon lifted the alligator up into the air by the tail and slammed him onto his back.

Dazed, Gummy peddled his feet in the air. He knew he shouldn’t be on his back, that his underside had always been his weakness. Basalt leapt and came down, but Gummy managed to roll out of the way in time.

The crowd was going crazy. So much noise assaulted Gummy that he found it hard to concentrate. The bubbling in his stomach that usually accompanied fighting meanies was missing. Meanie hurts, must pay attention. Focusing, Gummy felt the bubbling inside churn again, if only slightly.

Basalt roared and charged again. This time, Gummy stood his ground and prepared to fight back.

Before either could do anything more, the lights above went out.

The crowd somehow managed to make more noise than before, but Gummy kept trying to focus on where Basalt had been. He summoned up the last remains of the bubbling inside him. His eyes felt strange as things in the darkness became easier to see. A few different unicorns in the crowd lit their horns. The light of them stung Gummy as he searched the arena for Basalt.

But the dragon was no longer in the arena. Ponies screamed as the dragon tore through the crowd towards an exit. Ponies wearing armor descended upon him in the stands, fighting and dying as they tried to stop him. Gummy watched it all from the arena floor.

A groan near him turned his attention back down. The gate leading out was open. Master was levitating a piece of meat and gesturing wildly to him.

Confused but hungry, Gummy followed.

Two years, eleven months after meteor…

Gummy raised his head at the distant sound. Noise traveled far in the sewers, and his sensitive vision forced him to rely on his hearing. He hated leaving his soft bed of blankets but Master always told him to be careful. Other ponies meanies.

“It’s just me, Toothy!” Master said in the distance. Relived, Gummy rested his head back down. The unicorn entered the large area a few moments later. His saddlebags had less food in them than Gummy normally saw.

The alligator made his irritation clear by stamping his front claw. Master set his bags down and stood before the beast. “Toothy, I’ve decided. You can’t stay here anymore. Once the army comes back and finds out about you they’ll kill us both.” Gummy tilted his head in confusion. Sighing, Master held up a piece of meat from his bags. “Let’s go.

The sewer grate was rusted shut. “Toothy, could you open this for me?” Master asked. He mimed pushing motions.

Gummy lowered his head and rammed the grate. It popped off and fell into the mud. Master said, “Good boy, Toothy,” and walked out into the rain.

Gummy followed. The world before him was drastically different from the one behind him. Trees and hills ran on and on. Not a skyscraper was in sight.

“Off you go, Toothy. Go live the way you were meant to… ” Master turned and started back into the sewer. A big green tail lifted and softly stopped the pony from leaving.

The pony froze in fear, but Gummy gently nuzzled his cheek with his giant face. Master not meanie…

After that, the changed alligator rushed out into the darkness.

Four years, three months after meteor…

Gummy continued following the pack of wolves up the mountain more out of spite than necessity. The pack had nearly killed him a week earlier when they attacked him while sleeping on his back. His unprotected underbelly was still tender from their clawing.

He had never been as high up as they were going before. Clouds surrounded him. Had he only been relying on his poor vision he would have been lost, but his other senses kept him on course.

When he came out of the clouds he had to stop his pursuit to breathe. The stars overhead made looking up difficult. Gummy slid into a small cave and took long, deep breaths. The upper half of a mountain was visible far into the distance poking out from the clouds. A city on the side of the mountain was also visible to him, but it was all so difficult to make out. Something about them was familiar.

A pink light bloomed from the city. Unlike every light before it, this one was not painful for Gummy to gaze upon. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

No… other pink… better…

…

MAMA!

Gummy rushed down the mountainside towards the memory of home.

Five years, six months after meteor...

It took over a year for Gummy to find his way back to Ponyville. His memory of the city was nothing but tatters anymore, and his squinting gaze made it extra hard to compare what he saw to what he remembered, but he knew he was finally home.

Mama, home now! He squeaked loudly, walking between two buildings.

“Hey, what’s that?”

Gummy froze. He had been so wrapped up in coming home he hadn’t even noticed the pony. Just one pony...

“I don’t see anything?”

“Huh, I could have sworn I saw something.”

The pony was talking in two voices and getting closer. Pony not mama… Gummy lowered himself and prepared to pounce.

Pony meanie…