The sound of clapping thunder and chirping could be heard resounding around a certain section of the Everfree Forest as the Shadowbolts fought the Shinomōkin in midair. The giant raptor’s loud screeches tore through the trees and sliced through the air as it swung and struck at the five flyers surrounding it. Auras that matched their eyes color surrounded Violet Fire and the rest of her team as they engaged the giant bird of prey in a flurry of feathers. Their magical infused attacks of lightning, wind, and fire met each other in powerful devastating blows, incinerating leaves and ripping off branches as they all exploded upon impact. As they went higher, their attacks lit up the night sky, making it look like fireworks were being set off, despite the fact that nopony even inhabited the Everfree Forest.

Violet Fire’s goggles flashed brightly as she flew at the Shinomōkin, a golden aura surrounding her body, along with an even bigger cloak of flames. The fire roared and sizzled the leaves of the branches as the Shadowbolt Captain flew through the air and slammed herself directly into the Shinomōkin’s stomach. The raptor screeched in pain as the fire burned at the feathers of its stomach and chest, and it used one of its large wings to fling the ebony mare away. It then lashed out with its razor-sharp talons, ready to impale Violet and slice her open, only for Fast Tracks to intervene.

“Oh no you don’t you overgrown buzzard!” True to his name, the light brown stallion came in fast. He clashed the edges of his wings and the claws with the Shinomōkin’s talons, drawing sparks out of both appendages as they fought for dominance. They eventually separated, and the Shinomōkin struck again, shooting off a bolt of lightning at the Shadowbolt.

“Lightning Thestral: Thunderous Wing Attack!” He shouted, coating his bat wings in bright violet lightning and shooting them out in front of him. The two bolts of violet lightning clashed with the Shinomōkin’s own, and due to their being two on the former’s side, the latter’s attack was cancelled out. As smoke appeared around them, Storm Shadow took this opportunity to hide in the smoke and take the Shinomōkin by surprise and hopefully, catch it off guard.

“Shadow Pegasus: Neigh!” She yelled, shooting off a blast of black essence out of her mouth, shooting it from out of the thick smoke cloud. The Shinomōkin was caught off guard by the attack, but not enough to where it was left unable to defend itself from it. At the last second, the raptor was able evade the attack, and watched as it hit a giant tree.

‘Damn, I was hoping that I’d be able to get him thanks to the smoke covering my attack.’ Storm Shadow thought to herself, pursing her lips. ‘I guess I didn’t strike close enough and he was able to see my strike coming. Then again, Shinomōkin do have keep senses of sight, especially in the dark, so that may have played a part in this.’

The Shinomōkin suddenly screeched loudly, and coated itself in a cloak of stormy grey clouds with lightning emitting form it before flying at Storm Shadow. The dark grey Pegasus saw this coming and tried flying away from the giant raptor, but it was quickly gaining on her. Just as Storm was about to try to fire off another attack, Blue Skies beat her to the punch.

“Sky Pegasus: Crushing Hoof!” She shouted, shooting off a blast of wind form one of her hooves down at the Shinomōkin. The raptor’s gleaming white eyes snapped over to the large orb of wind that was coming its way, but due to the speed the wind attack was coming at, it wasn’t able to do anything. An explosion of wind shot throughout the trees as it hit the Shinomōkin right its side, sending it crashing into a tree as the rest of the wind slice through the air and struck the other trees. Thanks to the cloak of lightning coated grey cloud cloak that the giant raptor was coated in, it destroyed the tree that it was sent crashing in, making it crash to the ground with a resounding boom. The Shinomōkin wasn’t able to get itself out from under the tree in time, and it found itself crushed under the wooden appendage.

“Are you alright Storm Shadow?” Blue asked, looking over at her teammate and friend. “Did the Shinomōkin get you?”

“Thankfully no; I was about to try and blow it back, but thankfully you had stepped in and stopped him.” Storm Shadow replied, smiling slightly at the light grayish white mare. “Thank you for that by the way Blue Skies. I wasn’t quite expecting your interreference like that, but I commend you for coming to my aid regardless.”

“O-oh, well…it wasn’t anything really.” Blue replied, blushing deeply. “I-I just saw you in trouble and about to get, um…eaten. So, I just came in and saved you from becoming the Shinomōkin’s food.”

Lightning Shadow smiled, sweetly and was about say something when there was a huge explosion of wood and flames, following by a powerful screech. All five Shadowbolts looked down to see the Shinomōkin rising from the ground like a phoenix from the ashes, fire replacing the lightning that once coated its body. It glared up at the flyers, its curved beak glinted as its face contorted into a hideous mask before it flapped its powerful wings and ascended towards the Pegasi.

“Maybe we can save the praise for Blue for later! This bird isn’t done with us yet!” Lightning said as deep red wind surrounded her. “We gotta take him out quick so we can get to the ponies that Queen Celestia sent us to protect!”

“Shouldn’t I be the one saying that Lightning?” Violet Fire asked, grinning dryly at the light grey mare. “Then again, I agree with you baby.”

“So do we!” Fast Track grinned. “Come on girls, let’s waste this overgrown chicken!”

“Don’t need to tell us twice.” Storm Shadow murmured as she and the others flew at their adversary.

“Shadow Pegasus: Dark Explosion!” Lightning Shadow shouted, shooting off a large bolt of darkness at the Shinomōkin. It exploded upon impact, sending the Shinomōkin flying through the air, before it righted itself, preparing to retaliate against Lightning. Before it could however, it once again found itself being body slammed into by Violet Fire.

“You should really learn to pay attention to your surroundings sweetie!” She shouted as fire danced around her suited form. “My dear lighting isn’t the only pony here that you need to watch out for!”

Pulling herself away from the giant raptor Violet shot her hooves out and shot a blast of purple flames at the Shinomōkin, only for it to fly above the flaming attack. It looked down at Violet for a moment, before shooting off a bolt of fire at the Shadowbolt Captain, striking her right in her chest. Thanks to the cloak of fire around her, the fire didn’t really hurt Violet, but it did manage to singe her suit somewhat, and make her goggles emit some heat. The ebony mare flinched at the heat in her suit and goggles, but managed to stay focused and met the giant Shinomōkin in a midair clash of garnet and violet fire. Flames and branches caught on fire as the Pegasus and raptor soared about the air, the former’s teammates doing their best to give their captain aid.

“Lightning Thestral: Thunder Drill!” Fast Tracks shouted, descending down form the air and spinning while being coated by purple lightning. He struck the Shinomōkin right in its back, sending electricity coursing through its veins as it faltered in its flight. This left an opening for Violet, and she was able to use that opportunity to attack.

“Fire Pegasus: Whinny!” She yelled, a stream of black and purple fire exploding from her mouth and soaring towards the Shinomōkin. It screeched as its vision was enveloped in purple and black, thus leaving it unable to see one of the other Shadowbolts moving in.

“You still up for more, big guy? Well, why don’t you have some of this?!” Blue Skies said as she drew in a breath. “Sky Pegasus: Neigh!”

A powerful blast of whirling wind tore from the light grayish white Pegasus’s mouth, up at the giant raptor striking it right in its stomach. It nullified a good portion of the flames, draining the Shinomōkin of some of its fire magic and putting it in an even weaker state. It shook off the attack and made to go after Blue, but found itself face to face with the shadow duo.

“Shadow Pegasus: Black Blast!” Lightning Shadow and Storm Shadow both shouted in unison, sending large waves of blackness at the Shinomōkin. They drove the giant raptor even higher into the air, so high that it was hovering well past the trees, unintentionally igniting them on fire.

“Good work team, we’ve managed to drive him up into the sky!” Violet said as her flame cloak continued to dance about her. “Leave the rest to me! I’m going to finish this with one strike!”

Blue Skies looked over at the ebony black mare worriedly. “Are you sure that’s a good idea Captain Violet? What if the Shinomōkin incinerates or electrocutes you or something?”

“Captain V wouldn’t be having all of us stay out of her way if she wasn’t going to end the fight and know that she’d be able to do it Blue.” Fast Tracks chuckled. “Trust me, our Captain has this fight in the bag; she’ll be just fine.”

“Before I do this, I need a little something to help give me a little boost.” Violet said, looking over at Blue Skies. “Blue Skies, honey, do you mind doing me a little favor?”

Blue skies looked over at her Captain, blushed a bit. “Y-yes, what is it?”

“You have efficient control over your affinity to wind, right?” Violet asked, earning a nod from the younger Pegasus. “I need you to send out your strongest blast of wind at the Shinomōkin for me. I’m going to ride it home so I can deliver my final strike to our feathery opponent.”

“Wait, what?” Blue Skies asked, gaining a look of perplexation. “How’re you going to do that?”

“You’ll see sweetheart.” Violet winked slyly. “Go on honey, just do it. Trust me; I’ll be fine.”

Blue Skies stared at her captain for a moment, before looking over at all of her teammates, who were all giving her the same look Violet was. With a sigh, she gave Violet a compliant reluctant nod, before sucking in a deep breath of air.

“Sky Pegasus: Neigh!” She shouted, shooting off as powerful of a breath of wind as she could right where the Shinomōkin was. Upon seeing the blast of wind, Violet Fire smirked as the fire cloak around her grew I strength, before bolts of lightning appeared in it. With a powerful flap of her wings, she took off into the drill of wind, not noticing the jaw dropped look Blue Skies was sending her way. Thanks to the speed that the wind was going, Violet’s own speed was double to what it was mere seconds ago, and she rode the wind blast even after she met the giant raptor right in the air.

“Fire Lightning Pegasus: Electric Inferno Spear!” She shouted as she slammed herself into the Shinomōkin right in the stomach for the third time that night. It was her strongest collision yet, and the combined speed and magic overpowered the Shinomōkin and send it well away from the other Shadowbolts. Flaring her wings out, Violet gave them another strong flap and pulled herself out of th cloak of fire, lightning and wind, letting it send the Shinomōkin flying without her. The ebony mare watched as it soared across the sky its screeches echoing all about as it vanished into the darkness of the trees far beyond her.

“Well, that should be the end of that.” Violet said to herself. “I hope I didn’t hurt the poor baby too bad. He’s probably going to have quite the burnt hide that’ll take a while to heal. Oh well, at least he’s still alive, so that’s a plus I suppose.”

“That. Was. Awesome!” Fast Tracks exclaimed as Violet flew back down to them. “Seriously Captain V, that was so awesome! You just send that giant buzzard flying into space!”

“I wouldn’t necessary say flying into space, but it was quite close to it.” Violet shrugged, before booping Fast Tracks on the nose. “And the raptor is called a Shinomōkin, not a buzzard as you had so casually called it.”

“That was incredible Captain Violet!” Blue Skies said, smiling brightly at the ebony mare. “I have no idea that you could just ride one of the elements of nature like that! How were you even able to do that?!”

“She’s always been able to do that.” Lightning Shadow giggled. “Captain Violet Fire has always had the tendency to use the attacks that that we use to help amplify her own whenever she’s planning to use dish out a devastating blow. None of us have really tried to do it, but Captain Violet loves to use that tactic from time to time; probably because it gives her a real thrill in the heat of the moment.”

“You can most certainly bet that it does.” Violet giggled, patting the light grey mare on her head. “Speaking of which, I have to give you my thanks for helping me in winning against out adversary Blue. Though I have to say, that blast of wind was a lot more powerful than I thought that it was going to be.”

“W-well, you did tell me to give me my most powerful neigh of wind, so…” Blue Skies said timidly, poking her forehooves together. “…I did just that.”

“That you did honey, well done.” The ebony mare said softly, nuzzling the younger mare. “Now, I think we’ve taken care of business here. Let’s get a move on so we can get to our seven brave adventurers…I’m betting that they’re tearing their manes out waiting for us.”

“I’m all up for that Captain…” Fast Tracks said, holding a hoof up. “…but don’t you think we should put the, um…forest fire out? It may not be a good idea to leave it like this, especially since fire does tend to spread pretty quickly in forests.”

“Oh, that’s right; thank you for the reminder Tracks.” Violet said, laughing sheepishly as she brushed her mane away. “Blue Skies, would you be so kind as to do the honors baby?”

“Huh? O-oh, okay!” Blue nodded before she took to the air a good distance away from the rest of her teammates. The young mare summoned a cloak of wind, which grew larger with each second that passed and more magic she produced. Once the wind cloak got to a certain size, Blue Skies spread her wings out and let it explode outward all over the clearing. In a matter of seconds, all of the fire on the ground and trees were extinguished, with a little extra boost to ensure that there wasn’t any leftover fire.

“Well, looks like none of the animals will have to worry about a forest fire.” Lightning mused, looking impressed by Blue’s wind blast. “Well then, shall we proceed captain?”

Violet Fire giggled. “Hmhmhm, yes, we shall Lightning.” She replied cutely, before turning to the rest of her team. “Come on everypony! Let the mission commence!”

Bright orange and yellow flames danced around Applejack in a protective cloak as she slammed into the Doragontora’s stomach, spreading her flames all around it. The feline roared out loudly in angered pain as he swiped at the orange mare, striking her right in her side. She winced at the pain in her shoulder and lower side, but the flames of her boots quickly dispelled the pain allowing her to focus on the draconic feline in front of her. The farmer gave the beast a hard uppercut to the jaw, making the Doragontora’s head snap up as it reeled away from her. At that moment, Applejack felt something hit and stab her in the stomach, this being the Doragontora’s tail club as it sent her flying and crashing across the ground.

“Applejack!” Twilight shouted as she watched the farmer tumble towards them. “Are you alright?!”

“Don’t ya worry ‘bout me sugarcube! Ah’ll end this in a jiffy, Ah promise!” Applejack replied as she quickly got to her hooves. “Jus’ stay back with th’ others while Fluttershy heals ya an’ all come join ya, ya hear?!”

The furious roar of the Doragontora kept Twilight and the other six ponies from saying anything else as it flew at the tangerine Earth Pony. Applejack snorted and once again ran at the beast, her boot flames leaving burnt grass behind her as she evaded the lightning blasts of the giant Doragontora, the spikes on its tail included. At the last second, she whirled around and bucked the feline straight in its face, causing its head to snap the other way, while the rest of its body still moved forward. Unfortunately for Applejack, due to the speed that the Doragontora was going at, the rest of its body fell right on top of the farmer, all but crushing her under its massive weight.

“Dammit, that was a bad move!” Applejack cursed, mentally kicking herself. “Get th’ hay off o’ me ya damn lizard winged furball!”

With a loud yell, Applejack summoned a powerful pillar of flames from under her, sending the giant cat into the air and away from her. Just when the Doragontora was about to collided with a tree, it shook itself out of its shocked and pain filled state. The cat flipped itself around in the air and landed on the tree in such a graceful manner that even Rarity couldn’t hold back her impression by it. It snarled down at Applejack, baring its saber like face at her as it dug it claws into the iron hard bark it was holding onto, while the mare smirked back at him.

“Ah gotta say, fer such a large critter, yer pretty agile on yer feet.” Applejack complimented, flicking her tail back and forth. “Still though, ya think ya can handle this buckin’ bronco b’fore she finally sends ya flyin’ t’ th’ other side o’ th’ forest?”

The Doragontora growled menacingly and roared at Applejack as it slammed its tail club into the tree it was on. It them propelled itself off and descending straight towards the farmer, bright orange lightning coating its body as its tail lashed out behind it.

“Ah’ll take that as a yes!” Applejack shouted, leaping up at the draconic feline.

“Good Faust…Applejack’s not holding back against that cat, is she?” Zephyr asked himself as he watched the fight from inside Fluttershy’s protective healing cocoon. “I know she’s only using the magic in her boots, but still…it looks like she is.”

“That’s because she really isn’t holding back Zephyr.” Rainbow Dash replied, chuckling over at the royal blue stallion. “She’s giving that giant dragon winged bastard a real good ass whooping and showing him what happens when you try to mess with us ponies! That’s what she’s doing!”

“Rainbow Dash, how many times do I have to tell you not to call him that?” Fluttershy asked, glaring sternly at the cyan mare. “I understand that you want Applejack to win, but that doesn’t mean you have the animals of this forest by such cruel names!”

“Why not?” Rainbow Dash frowned. “That thing tried to attack us when we weren’t expecting it! If you ask me, he deserves to get his fur burnt for trying to eat Zephyr, especially since he’s Twi’s foalhood friend!”

“Oh what, so you’re going to get angry at the Doragontora for doing what he was created to do?” The Solar Royal Guard asked with a deadpan expression. “Look, as much as I understand your anger for what almost happened to me, you can’t really get upset at him for doing what many other carnivores would do in his position. I can’t blame him for that, and I won’t. We just happened to camp at the wrong place at the wrong time. The Doragontora saw an opportunity for a meal and, well…he took it.”

“That he did dear.” Rarity nodded. “And now he’s paying the price for it. Though, I would like to think that he’ll be more careful about the, erm…meals that he chooses, least what’s happening to him now, happens again.”

“After what we did to him, I don’t doubt it.” Pinkie Pie said, giving a little giggle. “Still though, I gotta give that kitty props for holding out for this long! If he’s this strong then I can’t wait to see how powerful all of the other Everfree animals are here!”

“Well Pinkie, something tells me we’re gonna find that out pretty soon.” Goku said, frowning slightly. “And we’re not going to like it.”

Fluttershy smiled sympathetically at the tan Thestral. “No sweetie, you’re really not. We’re only just scratching the surface about the power the animals in this forest have. We still have a long way to go before we’re past all of them, and trust me...it’s not going to be pretty.”

Goku groaned, letting her face hit the soft grass beneath her. “Great, I am so excited to find out.” She said, her tone flatter than a wooden floor board.

“Anyway…” Fluttershy sighed. "How’re you all doing inside of there? Is my healing magic doing its work in, um…making you all feel better?”

“Oh, it’s doing just wonderful dear.” Rarity cooed, sighing blissfully. “I can already feel all of these cursed injuries of mine fading away as if they weren’t even here to at all.” She ran a hoof down her mane and tail. “And it appears that’s not the only thing that you’re healing magic is good at doing.”

“That would be the thing you’re most glad about.” Rainbow Dash snorted, rolling her eyes. “I can agree with her on one thing. This magic of yours is really making the pain that cat’s stupid spikes gave me really go away.”

“Yeah…” Pinkie sighed, rolling across the ground on her back. “I feel sooooo comfy right now. I could really get used to this…”

“If I were you, I’d rather not.” Twilight advised, gently nudging the pink pony. “Remember what Fluttershy said; this healing magic of her’s drains a considerable amount of her magic. So, from here on out, I think we should take precaution get as little injury as possible so Fluttershy will be able to replenish her magic through whatever means necessary.”

“Awwww, do we have to?” Pinkie Pie whined.

“Yes Pinkie, we do.” Goku nodded, her tone gentle, yet firm. “We can’t always keep relying on Fluttershy’s healing magic. If we do, she won’t be able to heal us when it’s really needed for the rest of our journey. Plus, we have our own inner healing magic to help us too, especially since all eight of us come from families sworn to protect Equestria. So, you’re just going to have to mare up and accept it honey.”

“Alright, if you say so.” Pinkie sighed. “Still, you can’t deny how cozy this feels. It feels like I’m in my nice cozy bed with Mr. and Mrs. Cake.”

“As glad as we are that you’re feeling so comfortable Pinkie…” Zephyr murmured. “…you may have to get ready for it to end, because Applejack’s fight is about to as well.”

At these words, the six mares followed where Zephyr was looking, and saw Applejack crouched down, flames swirling around her in preparation for an attack. Above her, the Doragontora was hovering in the air, lightning and fire coating its body as it too prepared to deliver the decisive blow to the farmer down below. The equine and feline glared at one another as they waited for each other to make a move so they could get the drop on the other.

“Ah think we’ve had our fun with each other, wouldn’t ya agree?” Applejack said, her eyes glowing brightly. “Whaddya say we wrap this up partner?”

The Doragontora roared back at her in response and took down towards her as its lightning power covered it in a chirping cloak. Applejack didn’t move, but the flames around her fore stronger as she, without warning, reared up in her hindlegs and shot her forelegs straight outward. With a loud battle neigh, a spiraling drill of flames even bigger than the first one right at the cat, who fired of a breath of lightning fused fire. They both clashed in another power struggle that sent thick clouds of dust throughout the camp and beyond. Fluttershy used her wings to cover her head from the dust, not wanting to lose her concentration in her healing of her friends’ wounds. Despite this, that didn’t stop her concern for Applejack, and for just a split second, she wondered if Applejack was really going to be okay.

‘No, don’t you dare start thinking like that now!’ The cherry blossom maned thought to herself. ‘Applejack said that she’d be okay against the Doragontora, and that she’d beat it! She looked you right in your eyes and said she’d do it! You can help her with her own injuries after the fight is over! Just trust her for now!’

For the next half minute, Applejack went on in her fiery power struggle with the Doragontora as they fought for dominance over the final strikes. The former gritted her teeth, her hind hooves digging into the ground as she struggled to keep her footing. The latter continued to hover in the air above her, continuing to fire off its seemingly never-ending stream of lighting flames, its eyes flashing. For a moment, it looked like the Doragontora was gaining the upper hand in the fight, especially with the lightning fused with the flames it was breathing. Then, at the very last second, Applejack turned the tables in the fight.

“AH AIN’T LOSIN’ THIS FIGHT!” She yelled, her eyes blazing as an emerald green aura burst out from under her and went up along with the fire. It fused with the farmer’s own drill of flames and joined them in the power struggle, taking the Doragontora off guard. This gave Applejack the chance to give one final push in her attack, and it completely overwhelmed the draconic cat, enveloping it in the mare’s fire. It roared out in agony as it electrocuted and burnt on all parts of its body, while at the same time send it flying out of the clearing. Applejack continued on with her attack, even as the Doragontora was blown out of sight, and only when she was sure it was well away from the campsite, did she finally stop.

“Heh, looks like he wasn’t able to take the head from this apple.” Applejack said to herself as her flames vanished. With an exhausted sigh, she fell to her haunches as she struggled to catch her breath. “Oh well, at least he ain’t gonna mess with us no more.”

“Applejack!” Fluttershy shouted, making the farmer turn to her. “Are you alright?!”

Applejack smiled weakly at the older mare. “Y-yeah…A-Ah’m doin’ alright sugarcube. Ah’m jus’ really burnt out right now. As a matter of a fact, a feel like Ah’ve had th’ applesauce squeezed outta me fer Applesauce Season.”

“Well, that’s what happens when you use that much magic. Even if it is from normal sources like boots.” Twilight said somewhat dryly, eyeing the burnt grass around Applejack. “I have to admit Applejack; those are some pretty powerful boots that you have there. I didn’t think that they had that much power in them.”

“Well, that’s cause these ain’t normal boots.” The tangerine farmer emphasized, staggering over to her friends and Zephyr. “These boots were specialized by mah family an’ infused with our magic as to where as we can use any o’ th’ elements that we’re connected to. Ya know, like lightnin’, fire, wind, an’ earth, that type o’ magic an’ all o’ that. These fire tattoos on mah boots show that they’re specifically made fer usin’ fire, which is why Ah didn’t bring out any lightnin’, fire, or wind.”

“So, if your boots have any symbols like earth, fire, lighting or wind, you’ll be able to use those elements, besides fire?” Twilight asked, looking marveled. At Applejack’s light nod, the lavender mare looked back down at the boots with fascinated wonder and interest. “Amazing…”

“I wouldn’t get any ideas if I were you Twilight.” Goku said, noticing the look in the other mare’s eyes. “Those boots aren’t made so that just anypony can wear them and use them you know. If you’re an earth pony, a member of the Apple Family, and have an incredible amount of magic, endurance, and control over your magic…using those boots is going to leave you with quite the magic drain. That, and it’ll cause a behemoth of unnecessary destruction…I learned that lesson the hard way.”

“Oooooh, because you’re a Thestral?” Twilight asked, looking at Goku’s bat wings. “And your clan has a good amount of more magic and strength than us ponies do?”

“Eeyup.” Goku nodded, blowing at her mane. “It’d be best of you don’t even try to wear them, let alone experiment on them. Trust me, it will not end well for you, like it did with me.”

“Man AJ, that was totally awesome!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed grinning widely. “You sure did show that damn furball who was boss!”

“Dashie’s right Jackie!” Pinkie nodded. “That was one really wild party that you and that kitty had there! I mean wow, that was just crazy!”

“Heheh, yeah…it sure was.” Applejack chuckled, all but collapsing onto the ground. After a few moments of trying to catch her breath, she looked up at Fluttershy. “Hey Flutters…ya mind if Ah squeeze into this here lil’ cocoon or whatever ya call it?”

“Butterfly Cocoon.” Fluttershy corrected, draping a wing around the larger mare. “As for if you can get in, feel free to squeeze yourself in. Though, you may want to take off your boots before you do, okay? You said before, your boots do contain a considerable amount of magic, and I don’t want it to clash with that of my healing magic. If it does...well, I think you can imagine what will happen.”

“Yeah, good idea.” Applejack said, reaching down and pulling off her boots with her teeth. “Ya mind if Ah set them down next t’ ya while ya patch me up?”

“Sure, I’ll keep them nice and secure.” Fluttershy replied sweetly. “Now, go on and squeeze in there with the others. I’ll have you all fixed up soon.”

Applejack nodded, and without another word, she slowly slipped through the healing cocoon encasing the other six ponies. She gave a sigh of relief as she felt the warmth of the healing magic spread throughout her body, her wounds included. The farmer felt herself beginning to dose off, and would’ve fell onto the grass, had it not been for Zephyr catching her at the last moment.

“Whoa there, Applejack! Easy there.” He said, gently setting the tangerine mare down. “Jeez, just how exhausted are you?”

“Apparently enough where Ah need y’all actin all chivalrous t’ me like Ah can’t set mahself down.” Came Applejack’s dry reply, resting her head in Zephyr’s forelegs. “Still, it feels nice to finally be able to take a breather every now an’ again. Especially after all th’ bullshit we’ve been goin’ through since we’ve came inside o’ this damn forest.”

“Can’t disagree with you on that.” Goku sighed, running a hoof through Applejack’s somewhat messy mane. “Still, the Shinomōkin and Doragontora aren’t the last animals that we’re going to be facing in this forest. From all that Fluttershy told us about these beasts, and the power that they wield…we’re gonna be fighting until we drop, repeatedly.”

“Oh joy…” Rarity groaned, draping a leg over her forehead. “What a divine adventure that will be.”

“Well, we can worry about that later girls.” Twilight said as she leaned against Zephyr’s large frame. “Let’s just focus on getting our wounds healed by Fluttershy. After that, we can start backtracking on the trail that we were on before we were attacked by the Shinomōkin. Goku has an adequately sharp sense of smell, so I’m positive she can retrace our steps while I find where we had last walked.”

The tan Thestral looked over at the lavender Unicorn. “You mean where I had last dragged all of you out of an ice-cold river and pulled onto land?”

“Oh, yeah.” Twilight said sheepishly. “Sorry Goku.”

“Um, Twilight, I had to burst that egghead of a bubble of yours…” Rainbow Dash murmured. “…but I think that’s going to be nearly impossible. You said it yourself, your map and all of our saddlebags were destroyed by that bird! So there’s no way that we can even try to go back to where we were trekking! Even with Goku’s super strong smell!”

Right as those words were said, a soft giggle emitted from inside Fluttershy’s Healing Butterfly Cocoon. They all turned to see Pinkie Pie giggling her head off, holding her stomach as she attempted to keep herself upright.

“Um Pinkie…” Fluttershy said softly, a little taken aback. “…why’re you laughing?”

“Heeheehee~! I’m sorry Fluttershy, it’s just that…!” Pinkie Pie began, trying to get herself under control. “When Dashie said that we had lost Twilight map, I had just remembered something that I had done before we had left! I was so caught up in the fun we were having that it had completely slipped my mind!”

“Ignoring what you said about this trip being “fun”…” Rarity said, snorting. “…would you be so kind as to tell us just what it is that you had forgotten?”

“You remember when Twilight had told us way earlier that our map was burnt up?” Pinkie Pie asked, looking at Zephyr and each of her friends. “Weeeeeeeell…I may have gotten a duplicate just before we had left Twilight’s library.”

“Wait what?” Zephyr asked, his eyes widening slightly. “Are…a-are you saying that-?!”

Pinkie Pie smiled slyly, reaching into her mane with her hoof and digging around in it like she was going through a treasure chest. A couple seconds later, she pulled out a large folded paper and held it out in front of the rest of her friends. “Tadaaaa!”

Twilight gasped, and reached out towards Pinkie, all but ripping the large paper out of her grasp and opening with her magic. After skimming over it for a few moments, she pulled it away and slowly looked over at Pinkie.

“This is…this is the map!” She exclaimed, making everypony else gasp. “P-Pinkie Pie…where did you get this?!”

“Uh, didn’t you hear what I said Twilight?” Pinkie Pie asked, frowning slightly. “I said that I had grabbed an extra map before I we had left your library.”

“B-b-b-but, but, but…how can that be?!” Rarity asked, stumbling over her words. “W-we didn’t see any of you getting anything out of the drawers in the library!”

Pinkie Pie rolled her eyes. “That’s because you guys weren’t looking to where I was. After Spike had given Twilight the first map, I had gotten another one while Spike was giving Twilight the first one. I had a feeling that we may lose the first one in some way, so I had decided to make sure that we’d come a little extra prepared.”

“Pinkie Pie…” Rainbow Dash said slowly. “…that has probably got to be one of the smartest things that you have ever done! You very may well have saved us trying to search all around this damn forest for that old castle.”

“I’m going to have to agree with Dash on this one Pinkie Pie; that was quite the quick thinking that you had done there.” Rarity said, smiling approvingly at the pink pony. It faded away in a few moments later, a small frown coming to her face. “Although, I do wish that you had asked Twilight if you could take an extra map with us before we left. As much as we appreciate you making sure that we were extra prepared, you still could’ve suggested that we bring another map.”

Pinkie Pie’s own smile fell, a guilty look coming to her face. “Yeah, that was probably the smarter option too. I’m sorry Twilight-woah!”

“Oh, thank you thank you thank you Pinkie Pie!” The lavender Unicorn exclaimed, tackling the party pony in a tight hug. “You have no idea how relieve you’ve made me right now! You are a life saver!”

“Life saver?” Pinkie Pie repeated, looking half amused and half confused. “Um, I didn’t really save anypony like Zephyr did to Fluttershy Twilight. I just helped in the fight and brought an extra map along in case we lost the first one.”

“It’s a gif, Pinkie Pie.” Applejack explained. “What Twilight means is that yer savin’ her life by tellin’ her important information.”

“Oooooh I see!” Pinkie giggled as Twilight got off of her. “That makes a lot more sense!”

“Oh Pinkie, you’re such a silly girl you.” Fluttershy said, shaking her head. “So silly indeed…”

“Hey Fluttershy?” Zephyr asked. “I don’t mean to sound like I’m rushing you or anything but, how long do you think it’s going to take for you to heal all our wounds?”

The veterinarian paused, taking a moment to think before replying. “Well, it has been over several minutes since Applejack’s, um, duel with the Doragontora, around the same time that I was healing all of you. Plus, Applejack had just came in, and at the rate we’re going, it may take me about ten to fifteen more minutes to finish up.” She smiled at the royal blue stallion and the rest if her friends. “Although I am a much better mood than I was before, especially after Pinkie Pie had revealed that she had an extra map. So, I’d say that it’ll take a considerably less amount of time, maybe even faster if my mood is heightened.”

“Oh, right!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed “Your magic is powered by the emotions that you’re feeling!”

“That’s right.” Fluttershy nodded. “And the more positive my feelings are, the stronger my healing magic becomes.”

“Is that so?” Pinkie Pie asked, her tone as sly as her smile. “In that case, would you be so kind as to allow me to do that honors of making your positive feelings go sky high Fluttershy?”

“Oh boy…” Goku murmured dryly. “…this should be good.”

Fluttershy giggled, her positive emotions growing even stronger, causing the healing magic she was using to grow in power as well. With a small smile that was even slyer, if not slightly more mischievous than Pinkie’s, Fluttershy replied, “Go for it Pinkie Pie.”

Author's Notes:

Alright, now, before anyone asks me why I didn't entirely go through including the Timberwolves as the next beasts that Zephyr and the Mane Seven go against in the Everfree Forest, I just want to say that while I was writing this chapter, I was thinking about adding the Timberwolves in this chapter. However, as I was thinking about how I should write it while writing this chapter, I felt like it would be more appropriate to add it onto another oncoming chapter. Especially since I had looked back over the first version of it, and saw some parts that I could add back into the story, with some slight changes here and there. Now, I did say that some version of this chapter will remain the same, and some would be different, depending on how much of the chapters will and won't be changed, but I can assure you that there will be some major changes in the much later incoming chapters, especially with the tag of Fairy Tail that I added into this. Speaking of which, for those of you who might want a full explanation about the techniques that I'm giving each of the ponies, let me try to clarify that so you can all understand it better.

For the Earth Ponies, I have them magical techniques that're similar to that of Gray Fullbuster's Ice Maker Magic, so I decided to have the Earth Ponies like Applejack, her family, and Pinkie Pie having the same Maker Magic. Since Pinkie Pie and Applejack are both Half-Pegasus, their Maker Magic isn't limited to the Earth, and they'll be able to use fire, lightning, and wind as Maker Magic as well, like how Gray uses ice.. For the Pegasus Ponies they'll be using the magic that the Pegasi use, which is similar to that of the Dragon Slayers from Fairy Tail, those being Natsu, Wendy, Gajeel, Sting, and Rogue. You guys all saw a good example of that during the Shadowbolt's battle with the Shinomōkin, so you can expect to see much more of that in the future, along with many of the other badass techniques that I'm planning to add from this kick ass anime! For the Unicorns, I'm planning to give them a magic that's like that of Levy's only with them, it won't in the form of words, but in the forms of any kind of weapon that they'd like, like you had all seen with Amethyst when she and Blossomforth were battling the Tantabus. Now, for those of you who may be confused by that, especially since I did the same with with Twilight, let me just say that it's not going to be quite the same thing, despite how they're worded. While the Unicorns are able to use Solid Form Magic, with Twilight, she comes from a clan, on her mother's side, that uses Life Form Magic, somewhat different from the Solid Form Magic that Twilight uses. With her, her entire body turns into the element that she's summoning, while the other Unicorns with the Solid Form Magic will be able to summon solid objects that form into whatever type of weapon that they want. Don't worry though, their attack won't quite be the same, especially when the ascend, like they did in the last chapters. I did at the Fairy Tail Tag for a reason, and I wanna make it as much like Fairy Tail as possible. Oh, and, since I didn't clarify it at the beginning, I don't own any of the Fairy Tail content, or Dragon Ball Z, Attack on Titan, Sonic, Rosario + Vampire, Bleach, One Piece or any anime or game like that.

Well, that's all for this chapter! Next time, the girls are going to find themselves in for a fight that will test the limits of their endurance, with the Everfree Army!!!