When Spike and other fillies had planned to show Sheton the upper part of their clubhouse, Dinky carrying him up there at the risk of zapping him was not what they had in mind. The draconic colt had unfortunately been inadvertedly victimized by the muffin loving filly’s magical bursts of excitement during his time in Ponyville, so he was understandably worried. He could feel his heart bounding against his scaly chest as he watched Dinky levitate Sheton in her magic and carry him around the treehouse upper base of the clubhouse. Thankfully, Sheton didn’t have a single mark of singed fur on him from the assistance up the clubhouse, but that didn’t stop Spike and the other fillies from giving Dinky quite the chastising afterward.

Luckily for her, Sheton stepped in before Dinky could be sent into a fit of guilty tears, and even hugged her to show that he wasn’t made at her for the stunt she had pulled. That part of their playdate was soon quickly forgotten, when Sheton saw with his own eyes the higher part of the fillies’ clubhouse, which looked even bigger, and more amazing than the base downstairs.

“Well Sheton, do you like the clubhouses upper base? Huh, huh?! Do you?!” Spike asked, his reptilian tail wagging like a puppy meeting its owner for the first time. “Do you think that it’s even better than the one downstairs?”

The stormy grey Thestral colt nodded, his blue eyes wide as his dilated pupils shimmered while he walked about the room. He stared in awe at the various posters, beanbags, tables, and chests that were inside the upper part of the clubhouse, and there was even a latter that led to a door above the ceiling. “Yeah, it is…I can’t believe how large it is compared to the room that’s downstairs! How do you even get a room to be this big?!” He asked, his young mind struggling to grasp the sight in front of him.

“Well, like we said before, we had some help from our sisters in helpin’ t’ build this entire place.” Apple Bloom replied, bouncing up and down on a huge beanbag. “Though for this room in particular, we had some extra help by some hooves that’re closer t’ our size, if ya can git mah drift there.”

“Um…y-yeah, I think I can.” Sheton replied, the image of a soft green Earth Pony filly appearing in his mind for some reason. “So, um…this is the upper part of the clubhouse that you guys like to go up to from time to time.”

“Yeah, but it’s not quite as frequent as you may think it to be.” Sweetie Belle replied, her magic encasing a rug that she used to straighten out. “You see, on days that me and the girls like to just come over here and hang out together, we’re usually at the bottom part of our clubhouse. When we need to get away from things that put us in a bad mood, or if we just wanna blow off some steam, we usually come up to this higher point of the clubhouse.”

“Personally, Ilike it more when we come up and stay at the top of this place rather than the bottom.” Fire Flash murmured, zipping around the clubhouse. “I mean, why wouldn’t I? There’s a lot more room for me to fly around, I can do longer stunts and flips in the air while having more time to keep myself from slamming into the walls, floors, or the ceiling. Not to mention that I can look at all of these awesome posters of the Wonderbolts for motivation and inspiration!”

“I take it that you got those from Ms.-er, from Rainbow Dash?” Sheton asked knowingly, walking over and sitting on a large dark blue beanbag. “I mean, you look like the type of filly that would enjoy something like that.”

“That she is! Your eyes are as sharp as ever Sheton!” Crescent Shield smiled sweetly. “Well, yes the posters and comics here are a source of interest for some foals, but that’s just mainly for Fire Flash and her own sister. I prefer more intellectual things like books, maps, stethoscopes, charts and things like that, along with learning about ancient history, legends and supernatural sources and creatures of the past. Of course, you already knew that was my thing, along with Spike~!”

Spike giggled as the ocean blue filly ruffled his mane. “It sure is! Like big sister like little sister! Or more like big sister and little sister and brother~!”

“Don’t I know that one.” Sheton chirped, his fangs shining as he grinned. “So, aside from Crescent Shield, Spike, and Fire Flash’s reason, why do you guys like to come up here?”

“Well, for me, I like to use this part of the clubhouse to try different kinds of arts and crafts, along with writing various different songs I think of!” Sweetie replied, her tail skirt swishing about as she laid on a bright green beanbag. “Some of the chests that we have here have lots and lots of paper, pencils, and coloring pencils that we save so I can do just that! Singing and doing art really helps me feel better if I’m not doing all that good, but I mainly like singing.”

“Oh, okay.” Sheton nodded, waiting until he was sure Sweetie was finished before asking, “So, I guess you wanna be a singer someday?”

The alabaster filly paused, mulling over the words for a moment. “Well…I never really thought about becoming an actual singer to be honest. I mean sure it seems fun, but it’s never really crossed my mind all that much. Though I wouldn’t mind trying it, since I like to sing pretty much all the time, hmhm!”

“Oh yeah!” Dinky giggled, a hoof coming to her mouth. “She really, really does! Even when she’s not really supposed to be!”

“Hush you.” Apple Bloom chided, flicking the back of the filly’s head with her tail. “Fer me, Ah like mainly fer the fact that Ah can watch th’ sunset an’ th’ sunrise from here whenever Ah feel like spending th’ night here. There’s also the fact that there are loads an’ loads o’ apples that Ah can get from here simply just by goin’ t’ th’ windows an’ pluckin’ ‘em off. Another thing Ah like while bein’ up here is that there’s plenty o’ tools an’ wood Ah can use to build somethin’ if Ah feel like it.”

“Oh wow…I can totally see why you like to be up here Apple Bloom.” Sheton nodded, staring at the apple filled branches outside their windows. “I mean, you are a farm filly and all.”

“That Ah am, through and through.” The sun yellow filly replied proudly crossing her forehooves as she straightened up her bow. “Got a problem with that?”

Sheton rapidly shook his head. “N-no! All I was saying that it does make since that you’d like t’ build and make things with wood!” He said quickly, beads of sweat rolling down his face at Apple Boom’s suspicious glare. “S-since that’s generally what farmers are known to do…besides running their acres and harvesting their crops and food in order for them to last through the winter.”

“That an’ two bits will git ya a cup o’ applesauce.” Apple Bloom murmured. “Speakin’ o’ which…when yer sister an’ y’all came onto th’ farm, Ah happen t’ hear form here that ya really like fruit, especially’ drinkin’ from fruit, is that right?”

“Um…yeah?” Sheton asked, one of his tufted ears twitching. “Why?”

“Well, Ya did tell me back on th’ farm that ya did like eatin’ fruit more than any other foods.” Apple Bloom murmured. “So, Ah was thinkin’ that maybe ya wanna try some o’ th’ apples here in this tree?”

Sheton gasped, his eyes widening as his large feathered bat wings flared. With dilated pupils and a big smile, he squeaked, “Really?! Can I?! Please please please please please?!”

Dinky cooed in delight at Sheton’s expression, while Scootaloo used all of her willpower and self-control not to leap from her own orange beanbag and glomp the Thestral colt. That, however, did not stop the one thought coursing through her mind as she fought to keep still. ‘So cute!’

“Alright, alright, take it easy with that face Sheton!” Apple Bloom said, giggling as she held her hooves up at Sheton’s puppy dog face. With a toss of her scarlet mane, she hopped off of her yellow beanbag and trotted over to one of the window. “Jus’ sit tight, Ah’ll git ya a nice basket o’ them of that’s what ya want.”

“Oh yes please!” Sheton begged, his tongue drooling as his tail wagged like a dog and another squee left him. “And after I’m done draining them, I’ll can give you the seeds so you, Applejack, Granny Smith, and the rest of the Apple Family can use them to grow more apple trees!”

Apple Bloom paused, before grinning at the Thestral colt. “Ya know what, that ain’t a bad idea there. Ah’ll have t’ see if Granny Smith can find t’ time t’ plant ‘em when all o’ this is over.”

“Yeah, and we can help you too!” Dinky squeaked as Spike eagerly nodded.

Once Sheton was able to collect himself out of the prospect of getting to drink from a delicious fruit, he looked over to Scootaloo and asked, “Oh, I’m sorry Scootaloo, I didn’t ask you why you liked coming up here. I was uh, too distracted by the prospect of um…drinking from apples.”

“I-i-it’s okay…y-you actually l-looked r-r-really cute w-when you d-did that a-actually.” Scootaloo replied, her orange cheeks sporting a red tint while Sheton blushed along with her. “T-the r-reason I l-like to c-come up here i-is because o-of the p-p-peace and q-quiet u-up here. I-it’s so c-calm and p-peaceful t-that you c-can just l-let your mind w-wander, w-while being s-surrounded b-by a-all the adorable l-little c-creatures h-here.” A blissful smile came to the filly’s face as she ran a hoof through her extended purple mane. “A-and I e-even like t-to s-spend t-the night u-up here, a-and w-watching all t-the n-nocturnal c-creatures roaming a-about.”

“Whoa, wait a minute!” Sheton said, sitting up in his beanbag. “You guys let the animals come inside of this part of the treehouse?”

“Yep!” Spike chirped with a goofy grin. “Whenever I come up here with Crescent, Scootaloo and the others, we sometimes get birds, squirrels, mice, and other tree dwelling animals here. They sometimes hang around with us here in both parts of the clubhouse, and it even got to the point where we’d ask Fluttershy for some extra food in case they happen to come here! One time, we even had a Fruit Bat come in and sleep inside here!”

“Wait what?!” Sheton gasped loudly, his tufted ears perking. “You had an actual Fruit Bat here?!”

“Uh-huh, and it was reallycute!” Sweetie cooed, clapping her forehooves. “It just flew through the window one night while me, the girls, and Spike were spending a night up here when it just flew in out of nowhere! It was probably lured in by the scent of the apple fritters that we had up here, because it kept trying to get at them! He probably thought they were full of juice, and drain them!” The alabaster filly giggled, rolling over on her green beanbag in the process. “Haha, it was so funny; Apple Bloom kept swatting at him to get him to leave out of here!”

Sweetie Belle suddenly found her face meetin her beanbag as a large lump appeared on her head. Apple Bloom, who was now back with a foreleg full of apples, scowled down at her with her other hoof raised. “Now you know darn well that was far from th’ reason why Ah kept tryin’ t’ git at that lil’ critter! Ah didn’t want him t’ burn his mouth from tryin’ t’ drain th’ fritters, ‘r even worse, his tongue!”

“Wait…you were trying to help the Fruit Bat?” Fire Flash asked, blinking in surprise. “We thought you were trying to shoo him out.”

“Well Ah wasn’t,dumbass.” Apple Bloom snorted, her tail smacking the crimson filly’s face. “Ah knew that poor critter would’ve burned his lil’ tongue if he tried t’ latch onto one o’ th’ fritters! So, Ah had Scootaloo hold him fer a minute while Ah got him some apples he could really drink from. If he burned his tongue before that, there’s no way he would’ve been able t’ do it!”

“Apple Bloom’s actually right about that Fire Flash.” Crescent Shield murmured. “From what I’ve read, Fruit Bats, and any kind of bat that eats fruit, have tongues that’re forked and have razor sharp points at the tips of them. They use those forked tips to shoot out and latch onto the fruit they’re aiming for from the branch and pull into their mouths so they can drain it of their juices.”

“E-exactly, w-which is w-why Apple Bloom g-gave the F-Fruit B-bat to m-me while she g-got him t-the apples.” Scootaloo nodded, smiling approvingly at the sun yellow filly. “T-that was r-really smart of y-you by the w-way A-Apple Bloom f-for taking t-that p-precaution.”

“Well, why wouldn’t Ah?” Apple Bloom asked, walking over to Sheton and hanging him his small basket load of apples. “Ah’ve been t’ th’ Western Fields on Sweet Apple Acres an’ watched a good number o’ Fruit Bats an’ Vampire Fruit Bats dine on th’ Apples a good number o’ times. Ya tend t’ pick up a few things along th’ way, forked tongues being on o’ them.”

“Well, I’m glad that you managed to keep the bat from injuring themselves.” Sheton murmured, his fangs piercing the apple in his hooves. After spending more than several seconds of drinking from the fruit, let it fall into the separate bowl of the basket before continuing. “Though, you may not wanna let the scent of any apple goods go out the window so carelessly next time. A Fruit Bat may come and try to have a drink, and you may not be able to stop it this time.”

“Don’t worry, Ah’ve taken that precaution along all others t’ keep that from nearly happenin’ again, an’ Scootaloo an’ Crescent Shield helped too.” Apple Bloom reassured as the aforementioned fillies smiled. “Speakin’ o’ which, that reminds me o’ something.”

Sheton tilted his head. “What is it?”

“You know that Dragons, kinda like how Spike is, have forked tongues right?” Apple Bloom asked, earning a light nod from Sheton. “Does that mean that Thestrals have ‘em too?”

“Uh, what’re you talking about AB?” Fire Flash asked. “What kind of question is that?”

“Why wouldn’t she?” Dinky asked, flicking her tail skirt. “I mean, many bat species do have forked tongue they use to get at insects or fruits, or anything like that. Plus, Sheton is half bat, so he has to have some traits similar to that of a bat.”

“Dinky has a point Fire.” Crescent snorted, frowning over at Fire Flash. “You’ve really gotta pay attention to what ponies are asking.”

“Oh well, um…” Sheton murmured, poking his forehooves together. “…y-yeah, we actually do have forked tongues. Though ponies don’t really believe it because our tongues look like normal tongues, and that is because…we can make our tongues go from being whole to being forked.”

Scootaloo’s single visible eye widened. “W-w-wow, y-you can?”

“Uh-huh, but we don’t do it very often.” Sheton replied, blushing as he rubbed the back of his head. “W-we only do it when we have fruit around is or when we’re thirsty for it. I can do it do, but…I kind of didn’t because of how, um…thirsty I was. So, I just sunk my fangs into it and drained it before I did that.”

“Oooooh, I think I can see now.” Fire Flash said, recognition finally clicking in her. “Can you show us how it works?”

“Fire Flash!” Sweetie cried, looking aghast. “I can’t believe you’d ask such a thing! Why would you wanna know something like that?!”

“What?” Fire Flash frowned. “All I was asking was if he could do the same thing that bats can whenever they drink fruit? I mean, like Dinky said, Sheton’s half bat and has a lot of traits that come with it, besides being so strong, so I has to be able to do that, shouldn’t he?”

“Well, probably but that doesn’t mean that he has to show us right now!” The grayish violet filly replied with a deep frown. “Besides, that’s very personal information, not to mention a little…nasty. No offense there Sheton.”

“No taken Dinky.” Sheton murmured sheepishly. “And don’t worry, it’s fine, I had a lot of foals back in Canterlot City who’re curious about whether I can actually turn my tongue into a tool to pluck fruits off of trees.” Her tufted ears fell limp as he grabbed his tail. “Only…not for the reasons that you’reall wondering.”

“Oh…Ah see.” Apple Bloom murmured, cringing somewhat. “So, ya don’t wanna talk about it then?”

“No, not really…and I’d rather not show the um…freaky thing that I can do with my tongue.” Sheton replied softly, his nose twitching as he pulled at his fedora. “You may be rather, um…put off by it.”

Spike nodded. “That’s understandable, I mean, no normal pony would want to see another pony’s tongue turn into one like that of a snake.” He murmured, before looking off to the side. ‘And I certainly know they wouldn’t want to know what my tongue could do. At least if they were all up to my age.’

There was suddenly a shuffle as Scootaloo crawled off of her beanbag and walked over to Sheton, draping a wing over the colt and pressing him close to her. “It’s o-okay Sheton, y-you don’t need to t-tell us a-about your, u-tm…t-t-trait if y-you don’t w-want t-to. I can s-see t-that it’s a p-pretty sensitive t-topic to you.” She said gently, running a hoof down the colt’s mane in affectionately. “E-everypony has t-their t-things that t-they d-d-don’t really w-wanna share w-with others, m-mainly because it r-reminds them of s-something bad t-that happened to t-them. S-so if you don’t w-ant to tell us, t-t-then don’t worry about it, y-you can a-always t-t-tell us w-when y-you’re ready.” She then brought Sheton into a hug, wrapping both wings around him. “O-or, w-when you a b-bit more c-comfortable w-with us.”

“Thank you Scootaloo, I really appreciate that.” Sheton said, leaning into the bright orange filly’s shoulder. “I think you, me, and the other fillies will be really great friends.”

“M…me too.” Scootaloo nodded, gently rubbing the colt’s back.

Crescent Shield and most of the other fillies smiled and cooed at the tender scene between the two soft spoken foals, while Spike just giggled, and Fire Flash turned away with a gag. Before she could even think of trying to separate them, each and every single one of the foals felt a wave of power wash over them. It went over the entirety of the upper part of their clubhouse, making all of them freeze, not by the amount, but by the eerie feeling of coldness and darkness that came along with it. Shivers of fear when down each of their spines as the wave of power hung in the air, before slowly, almost too slowly, vanishing from the atmosphere.

“W…w-w-w-what was t-t-t-that?!” Dinky cried, clinging tightly to Spike. “D-d-d-did anypony else feel that?!”

“I sure did, and I don’t like it one single bit.” Spike replied, holding Dinky close using one clawed foreleg. “Do any of you know who it is? O-or where it came from?”

Crescent shook her head, rubbing her horn with a delicate hoof. “I don’t know, but whatever it was, it wasn’t like anything I’ve ever felt. And it was definitely not that of either my brother Shining Armor, my sister Twilight, or even my othersister Moondancer, that’s for sure.”

“Whatever it is, Ah’m sure that it ain’t Big Mac an’ mah other sisters can’t handle.” Apple Bloom said confidently, looking a little less worried. “Plus, they have Mr. Moon Blade there with ‘em, which is even better! Ah only wish that Granny Smith were here t’ take care o’ whatever varmint is her on th’ farm…now that would really be somethin’ t’ see.”

“You’re damn right it would!” Fire Flash laughed. “Anypony that messes with this farm, they’re gonna get a nice good ass kicking from your grandma! I wouldn’t be surprised if she felt that wave of power and is on her way here right now!”

Granny Smith’s hooves slammed across the earth of the streets of Ponyville as she neared the end of and towards the path leading towards her farm. The wounds on her bandaged legs and barrel screamed in protest against her frantic running, but she paid it no mind, her thoughts not even focused on her own pain right now. All she was thinking about was reaching her farm before whatever had gotten there was able to get the chance to hurt any of her grandchildren. The Apple Matriarch didn’t know if she’d actually be able to make it in time before that happened or not, but one thing she did know was that either way, if anything like those ethereal creatures tried to hurt her family, there’d be Tartarus to pay.

“Um, Granny Smith, don’t you think that you should slow down just a little?” Blossomforth asked worriedly as she and Derpy flew above the Earth Pony. “You might tear open your wounds if you don’t take it easy.”

“Take it easy? Take it easy?!” Granny Smith shouted, snapping her head up to glare at the pinkish grey mare. “Mah granddaughter is up on mah farm a defenseless victim of whatever may already be up there, an’ yer tellin’ me t’ take it easy?! Ah don’t think so young filly!”

“And it’s not just Apple Bloom either Blossomforth.” Derpy added sternly, frowning hard at her fellow Rosario. “My little muffin is somewhere on the farm too, and she may be in danger as well, along with Apple Bloom, her friends, and maybe even that sweet little colt I meet earlier! I think me and her have every reason to not take it easy right now!”

“Wait, you mean Sheton?” Blossomforth asked, looking taken aback. “How do you know that he’s even there?”

“I don’t, but that doesn’t mean that I’m not going to take any chances in getting him out of danger if I can help it, along with Dinky.” Derpy replied, snapping her gaze forward. “He’s the little brother of one of my best friends, and she’d never forgive me, or herself if anything happened to him. Just like how I know how you won’t ever forgive yourself if you ever let anything happen to Cloud Kicker.”

Blossomforth paused, the mailmare’s last sentence imprinting deep into her minds. “Y-yeah, you have a point there.”

“O’ course she does sugarplum!” Granny Smith snorted, her braided tail lashing as she continued to gallop at full speed. “That’s why none o’ us should be takin’ it easy right now. Especially with all o’ our loved one’s lives that may be on th’ line right now! The sooner we can git’ t’ ‘em, th’ sooner we can ensure that they, along with us, can all live t’ see another day!”

“Hey…I think I see the farm!” Derpy suddenly said as they began to go up a hill. “Yeah, I can see it just up above this hill!”

“Ya can?!” Granny Smith asked, her voice filling with hope. “What else can you and Blossomforth see?!”

“I don’t really see anything else from where I’m seeing, other than some large cracks in the ground and some craters.” Derpy replied. “Other than that, things look pretty quiet and…oh no.”

“W-what?” Blossomforth asked, noticing the pale and terrified look on Derpy’s face. “What do you see?”

With a shaky hoof, Derpy raised a hoof up towards the sky, and the other mares looked up to see a giant inky black stream of smoke sailing across the sky. All three mares watched with ever growing horror as it continued to sail down the direction that they were going, before vanishing over the hill they were galloping on. An earth-shaking explosion suddenly rang out, and a wave of blackness suddenly washed down the hill, sweeping over the three mares. It sent a chill down their spines that nearly made them stop in their pursuit, but the desire to get to their loved ones kept them going. After what seemed like miles of running, they found themselves at the entrance of Sweet Apple Acres, only to gasp upon seeing the black smoke from a gigantic crater in front of Granny Smith’s house.

“What in the world was that?!” Derpy cried, her terror increasing even further. “Was that some sort of meteor or something?!”

“…No, that sure as hell ain’t no meteor there.” Granny Smith replied acidly, her sunset orange eyes flashing brightly. “Ah feel magical power comin’ from that smoke, so Ah know fer sure that ain’t no damn meteor that’s in there. That’s th’ varmint that’s here t’ kill mah grandchildren an’ demolish th’ entire farm like them Tantabus things tried t’ do jus’ hours ago!”

The door to the Apple Family household suddenly burst open, and Scarlet Prism, Honey Blossom, and Jubilee came flying out as if she was being chased. “What in th’ buck was all o’ that rucku-” Scarlet demanded, only to stop when she saw the enormous crater in front of the house. “Whoa, what in th’ hay is that?!”

“Scarlet, git back inside th’ house!” Granny Smith shouted from the other side, her authoritive tone filled with fear. “Ah don’t want ya dealin’ with this varmint!”

“G-G-Granny Smith, is that you?!” Jubilee cried, her voice filled with shock, disbelief, and happiness all at once. “Ya finally came back t’ th’ farm! W-wait, why’re Derpy and Blossomforth here with you?!”

“Never mind that girls, jus’ bit back inside th’ house!” Granny Smith replied, stomping her hoof down. “Me, Blossomforth an’ Derpy will take care o’ this varmint ourselves! Y’all jus’ keep everypony in th’ house an’ barn inside an’ safe!”

Before any of the three mares could protest or even try to help, they all heard a dark and downright psychotic laughter coming from within the smoke. The six mares all watched as the cloak of smoke was blown away by what could’ve only been by wings. Wings that could’ve easily been mistaken for a bat’s or a dragon’s or maybe both, the membranes and feathers as red as the apples hanging from the trees around them. The fur oh the muscular wings were the same inky back color as the smoke that surrounded the being adorning them, along with their entire body, revealed to be as stallion. Their mane and tail skirt were the same blood red color as the wing membranes, while their eyes of deep green draconic slits stared at the ponies with lust and huger. A long sword horn stood tall on top of the pony’s horn, with swirls of red in it, and their Cutie Mark was a set of a red winged and fanged serpent like dragon surrounded by flames.

“Now why would any of you even think of going when I just arrived here?” The bat winged and horned stallion asked. “And here I was planning to have a nice drink with you all while you were here…after we had ourselves a duel.”

“Like hell Ah’d wanna have a cup o’ cider with a dark lookin’ varmint like you!” Granny Smith snarled; her ears pinned back as she violently snorted. “Though if it’s a fight ya want than its definitely one that yer gonna git!”

“G-Granny Smith, who is this stallion?” Honey Blossom stammered, her hindlegs shaking. “W-why is he here on our farm?”

“Nevermind that Honey Blossom, jus’ git back inside th’ damn house!” Granny Smith demanded, stomping her hoof again. “We’ll send this asshole back t’ kingdom come and all th’ way t’ th’ other side o’ this orchard b’fore th’ end o’ this night! Now git yer asses inside b’fore a burn ‘em!”

Realizing that their grandmother was not going to let up, Honey Blossom urged a reluctant Scarlet Prism and Jubilee back inside the house, closing it behind them with a resounding slam. The bat winged alicorn let out a chuckled as he turned from the house, and over to the three mares that were behind him. “Oh, now why would you go and do that? I was hoping that I’d get to face all six of you in battle. I suppose that I’ll just have to stick with the three of you.”

“Yer damn right you do.” Derpy hissed, her crossed eyes coming together as her pupils narrowed into slits. “Neither me or Blossomforth are going to let you face Granny Smith alone in this fight, neither are we going to let you harm anypony else here or this farm! We don’t care if you have both wings and a horn, we’re still going to drive you six feet under the ground!”

“Oh, so you think that you can make me, the great Serafino, cower and tremble before three mares like yourselves?” The bat winged Unicorn stallion, now named Serafino asked with an amused fanged grin. “Well, isn’t that an amusing declaration if I’ve ever heard one. Do you really think that you can live up to that?”

As soon as that question was answered, a green vine suddenly burst out of the ground and slammed directly into Serafino’s chest, knocking the wind out of the stallion and sending him flying. The vine then wrapped around his barrel and slammed him directly into the ground, making the crater he was in even larger than it was before. As he pulled himself out, he found himself blinded by a bright green and blue light that caused his sensitive reptilian eyes to snap shut to keep himself from losing his sight. When it died down, his orbs of green widened upon seeing all three mares in their Ascension Modes.

“We don’t think Granny Smith can bury you.” Blossomforth declared, her soft voice carrying an undertone that could mistake her for being a knight. “We know she can, and with us on her side, we’ll sink you in the earth three times deeper!”

In a flash of lightning, Blossomforth vanished before appearing in front of Serafino, delivering a side kick directly into his face as she sent a volt of bright blue lightning soaring through him. As he flew away from her and the household, Derpy suddenly appeared in front of him and sent a giant slice of wind that sent him smashing into the ground. Serafino hissed and shot a blast of bright green magic at the mailmare, hitting in her in her armored chest and sending her high into the air. Derpy let out a ground before using a giant wing to whack the bolt of magic before diving back down towards the downed stallion. Serafino snorted and rolled to the side, missing Derpy’s hooves as they slammed into the ground, before leaping back to his feet, his horn already ignited.

“Ah don’t think so!” Granny Smith shouted, slamming her hooves down on the ground. “Earth Make Knight: Thorn Vine Snare Trap!”

Channeling her magic through the ground, she sent a group of giant thorn vines flying towards Serafino, either impaling or wrapping around him as they carried him away from Blossomforth and Derpy. The vines once again threw him into the ground, and Derpy and Blossomforth both soared above his greater, shooting bolts of lightning and slices of wind that met Serafino at the same time.

Granny Smith covered her face with her forelegs as she was enveloped by the cloud of smoke that rushed after her and cloaked her entire form. When it cleared, the Apple Matriarch could see Derpy and Blossomforth hovering next to her, much to her surprise. Before she could ask them anything, a burst of green power burst form the crater Serafino was in, and the bat winged Unicorn stallion could be seen slowly walking out of it.

“Well, that was a rather large display of power from you all, I’m impressed.” Serafino said, flicking his tail skirt. “Though I have to ask…that isn’t really all that you have is it? I’d hate for that to be all there is for you to offer me before I kill you all.”

“Oh, trust me, we’re nowhere near finished with you yet.” Granny Smith growled, her hooves digging into the cracked ground as she paws at it. “If ya honestly think that’s all we have packed in our cider barrels, then ya really need a good buck t’ th’ head t’ git that across!”

Serafino chuckled, brushing a scarlet hoof down his chest fluff. “Oh, don’t worry, I know that you have plenty of power nestled within all three of you. Packed with the fire in each of your eyes and the determination that I can see in your bodies…I know that you are more than what you seem, including you.” The bat winged Unicorn stallion grinned widely, his fangs gleaming as Granny Smith merely glowered at him. “And since you were so generous as to show me a taste of your power, allow me to show you a display of my own!”

“W-what kind of display?” Blossomforth stammered, her ears pinning back.

“You’ll see I a moment.” Serafino smirked as his reptilian eyes glowed.“Dark Solid Form Magic: Black Slicing Whirlwind!”

Without warning, Serafino reared up and shot a giant blast of black magic that tore up through the ground due to the size and the power behind it. Granny Smith’s eyes widened at how fast the magic blast was coming, but before she could summon a wall, Derpy and Blossomforth intervened.

“Sky Pegasus Knight: Slicing Whirlwind Explosion!” Derpy shouted her hooves shooting out as a blast of wind at the magical blast. As it clashed with Serafino’s magical blast, Blossomforth followed behind the mailmare shortly after.

“Lightning Pegasus Knight: Thunderous Electric Explosion!” The weather mare shouted, lighting bursting out of her own hooves and joining Derpy’s own attack. The two elements fused into one and did well in keeping Serafino's own attack at bay from them, and Granny Smith especially. The mint green mare was snapped out of her stupor long before the attacks began to collide, and she slammed her hooves down again, trying to summon a large wall of earth.

“Don’t worry Granny Smith, we’ve got you’re back!” Derpy shouted over the roaring power. “Me and Blossomforth aren’t going to let this blood sucking pervert hurt you!”

“That’s right!” Blossomforth nodded, her red and green cape billowing wildly behind her. “As long as we’re here, you’ll be safe!”

“Are you sure the two of you will be able to keep that vow?!”Serafino shouted over his own magic blast.“It looks like you’re having a hard time keeping yourselves safe!”

At that very same moment, the Nightmare stallion’s magical blast seemed to grow in size and intensity and began to push his adversaries’ own back. Try as they might to increase their own, it didn’t seem to be doing them any good, and before they realized it, all three of them were blown back.

“Gah, son of a bitch…that damn…” Granny Smith grunted as she sat up from the crater covered ground. “Should’ve known he was gonna pull somethin’ like that…”

“Are you okay Granny Smith?” Derpy asked as she and Blossomforth flew over to her. “That was one hay of a magical blast there! I really thought that the two of us would be able to take it on, especially with our combined attacks.”

“Me too…I guess Serafino was much powerful than we thought.” Blossomforth murmured, as she and Derpy helped Granny Smith up on her hooves. “Now that I think about it, I think I should’ve seen that coming…especially with the last creatures me and Amethyst ended up facing.”

“Yeah…” Granny Smith sighed, looking up to where Serafino was last seen, only to go wide eyed when he saw that he was gone. “Wait, where did he go?”

“Oh no, he’s gone!” Derpy cried, looking back and forth in search for the Nightmare stallion. “Did any of you see where he went?”

“No.” Blossomforth replied. “But I can certainly feel him…he’s still somewhere around here. The question is…where?”

Suddenly the ground beneath the three mares cracked violently, and all of their heads snapped down to see emerald green light emitting from it. They immediately realized where Serafino was, but by then it was too late, and the stallion ascended upon them. Before she knew it, Granny Smith found herself choking as Serafino lunged forward and sank his fangs deep into her neck, clamping down tight. She didn’t even have enough room in her windpipe to scream as Serafino pinned her to the ground and actually began to drink from her. The Apple Matriarch’s eyes rolled into the back of her head as she felt herself being drained, feeling as if her whole body was burning in the process like somepony had lit it on fire.

“GRANNY SMITH!” Derpy screamed flying over to the two ponies as Serafino continued to drink form her. “Sky Pegasus Knight: Whirlwind Neigh!”

A gigantic yellow blast of wind shot from her mouth as it soared towards Serafino with the intent to blast him away from Granny Smith. The stallion merely ignited his horn and sent another giant blast of magic at the attack, sending it shooting into another direction as Derpy was sent flying into a grove of trees.

“Get away from her you bloodthirsty BEAST!” Blossomforth shouted, her eyes blazing as lightning danced around her form. “Lightning Pegasus Knight: Electric Wing Attack!”

Swinging both of her giant wings forward, Blossomforth shot out flock of lightning slashes that went at a speed much faster than Derpy’s own attack. This time, it did its intended target, but also its unintended target as well, causing both of them to let out screams of pain. An explosion rang out that cause smoke to appear; smoke that Derpy blew away with her wings as she game swooping in, kicking Serafino away from Granny Smith.

“Blossomforth what the hell?!” Derpy shouted indignantly as she cradled the burnt Earth Pony mare. “Why would you go and burn Granny Smith like that?!”

“I-I didn’t; I-I was trying to aim for Serafino!” Blossomforth stammered, flying besides the two mares. “I didn’t mean to hit Granny Smith, I’m so sorry!”

The mint green mare coughed, holding a hoof to her muzzle as blood dripped from it. “I-it’s alright sugarplum…it ain’t the f-first time that Ah got burnt like this. S-so it’s all good, A-Ah can still fight.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that my dear mares.” The lustful and sadistic voice of Serafino murmured said, making all three mares turn to the grinning stallion. “In case you haven’t realize, I had drained a good portion of that Earth Pony’s magic when I had her pinned down. So, I am very much expecting her to not be able to fight as well from here on out.”

Derpy’s pupils contracted. “You what?” She hissed, the sound sending a shiver down Blossomforth's spin. “You drunk Granny Smith’s magic out of her?! Like some sort of Vampire drinking actual blood from a pony?!”

“That I did, and because of that, your dear friend with be severely weakened and will be at a grave disadvantage now that she doesn’t have as much power.” Serafino replied proudly, licking his lips in a way that made it seem like he was cleaning them of blood. “Of course, due to how injured she looked when you had all came here, I suppose she was already at a bit of a disadvantage in this fight anyway.”

“Why you…” Blossomforth snarled, her eyes glowing a bright blue. “You are going to pay for that one. We’re going to show you how you like it when you get your power drained form you!”

“I’d like to see you try, if you actually can that is.” Serafino murmured, getting into an attack position as a bright green aura of power surrounded him. “Though I wonder how you’ll fare now that one of you isn’t as strong as a few minutes ago! Oh, that will be quite the fun fight to discover thatanswer, especially when I turn up the heat!”

“Dammit…” Granny Smith cursed, coughing up another glob of blood.

The sound of roaring winds could be heard throughout the streets and next to the Silver Household as Crimson Skies and Silver Speed both flew at Windslicer. Both their wind and the Nightmare Thestral’s black power collided with one another in an overwhelming power struggle that caused the nearby houses to shake and vibrate violently. They eventually flew back from one another before Windslicer summoned another flock of black swords, sending them flying towards the mares with a motion of his shining white eyes. As before, Silver Speed summoned her bow and arrows, shooting a flock of them right at Windslicer’s swords, an explosion ringing out as they collided. Crimson Skies the cover of the smoke to deliver a sneak surprise attack on Windslicer, and the moment she appeared, she launched it

“Sky Pegasus Knight: Slicing Wing Attack!” She shouted, swinging her wings in a graceful arc which caused a flock of slicing wind to appear. They sailed towards Windslicer, who used his bat wings to split the attacks apart and let them collide with the ground around him. He looked back up at Crimson Skies, only for the young mare to kick the stallion right in his face, sending him flying across the street. Flying back, she inhaled deeply and was about to send a breath of wind at him, only for Silver Speed to intervene.

“Sky Pegasus Knight: Wind Arrow Flock!” Silver Speed shouted, another flock of arrows shooting past the younger Pegasus and towards Windslicer. Crimson Skies watched wide eyed as they either impaled Windslicer or exploded around him as he was driven into the ground. The wind slices cut their way into the Nightmare Thestral, and that, along with flying black blood, was all that Crimson Skies was able to see before it vanished in the blue wind.

“M-Ms. Silver Speed!” Crimson Skies stammered whirling around to face the older mare and mother. “Was that you who shot those arrows?”

“Yes dear, and I’m sorry.” Silver Speed replied, lowering her bow some as she hovered away from Crimson Skies. “I had taken advantage of Windslicer’s distraction towards you, and I, um…took advantage of that. I-I’m sorry if I had startled you back there.”

Crimson Skies shook her head. “N-no, it’s fine, I think it sort of helped me in not being caught of guard by any other move that Windslicer might try on me. I was already on the verge of blowing him away from the both of us anyway.” She murmured somewhat sheepishly. “J…just warn me next time when you’re about to do that, okay? I don’t want to have a repeat of what happened next time when you had uh…accidentally impaled me when I arrived here.”

“Yes of course.” Silver Speed nodded, before she noticed movement that was coming from the swirling wind in front of her. “Crimson, watch out!”

“Nightmare Thestral: Black Sword Flock!” Came the shout of an all too familiar lustful and nightmarish stallion.

The young palomino mare whipped her had around just in time to see a black sword flying towards her, and it was only thanks to her sharp eyes she was able to dodge it. She wasn’t able to do it entirely though, and she found herself getting a savage cut to her left cheek in the process, causing blood to spew out. Crimson Skies winced at the sharp pain in her face, which left her victim to another sword that sliced her along her side, this one going deeper than the last. Out of instinct, her left hoof went to her right side, allowing a third sword to stab her right in her left wing and sent her to the ground.

“Crimson Skies!” Silver Speed shouted flying down towards the younger mare. As she did so, she noticed out of her peripheral vison, another large black sword flying towards her. Just like with last time, she found herself impaled through the stomach and the back, which sent her tumbling across the ground. With a growl, the bluish grey Pegasus yanked the sword out just as it vanished in a swirl of blackness, causing blood to spurt out her wound and onto her armor clothes.

“There’s no need to worry about stabbing your dear partner again, Silver Speed. I already have that move in the bag.” Windslicer said as he slowly emerged from the smoke, black blood dripping from his body. “Although, unlike you, I don’t be as careless where I stab unlike you were, and it will be much more severe than yours.”

“W-what in the…how’re you still standing after that?!” Crimson Skies asked, slowly staggering up to her hooves. “I saw you get impaled by almost all of those arrows and sliced by that wind that Silver Speed conjured up!”

“Yes, you did, and as you, me and Silver Speed can see, it didn’t hurt as much as you had expected.” Windslicer grinned maliciously, as if the wounds weren’t hurting him. “Do you really think that little arrows made of wind and whirlwinds of them are enough to hurt me? I’m afraid that you’ll both have to do much better than that.”

Crimson Skies blue eyes glowed in retaliation. “So, you want the both of us to show you something better? Alright then, I’ll show you better! Ms. Silver Speed, cover me!”

Slamming an armored hoof on the ground, the palomino mare vanished in a flash of blue wind, before reappearing behind Windslicer and elbowing him in the back of the head. Grabbing him by his tail skirt with her mouth, she threw him into the air and sent an explosion of wind at the Nightmare Thestral’s, sending him even higher. Flying in the air, she elbowed Windslicer in his gut, causing a glob of black blood to fly from his mouth as Crimson Skies socked him right in his fanged face. As she flew away from him, Silver Speed suddenly soared passed her, sending a giant wind cloaked arrow up at Windslicer, watching as it impaled him and enveloped him in swirling wind. Before it could fully die down, Crimson Skies flew up above him, taking in another inhale of breath as she dived down towards Windslicer.

“Sky Pegasus Knight: Swirling Whirlwind Neigh!” She shouted, letting he breath of blue wind shoot down towards Windslicer just as he saw it descending. It collided with him as if it was a freight rain falling from the sky, thus sending him crashing to the ground as Crimson continued to fly down at him.

“I’m not done with you yet!” The palomino mare shouted switching positions and letting her hindlegs slam right into Windslicer, driving him deeper into the ground. As she flew back up, she grabbed Windslicer by his wings and hoisted him back up. Holding him out in front of her, Crimson Skies slammed her forehead into the Nightmare Thestral’s muzzle, before throwing him into the air above her. Wind exploded around her, and she extender her hooves upward to send another explosion of wind up at the stallion, that is until Windslicer finally retaliated.

“Oh no you don’t! You’re not going to get the drop on my that easily!”He shouted, flaring his wings. “Nightmare Thestral: Black Nightmare Explosion!”

With yellow blazing in his draconic eyes, Windslicer shot down an explosion of blackness from his own hooves, letting it fall right down towards Crimson Skies. The Shadowbolt cried out in agony as it enveloped her, its burning sensation coursing all throughout her body as she was sent slamming into Windslicer’s crater. Crimson Skies coughed up a mouthful of blood, and opened her eyes to see the Nightmare Thestral hovering above her, but he was far from done.

“There’s more where that came from!” He shouted, his fangs gleaming as he began to swing his wings downward. “Nightmare Thestral: Black Slicing Wing Attack!”

Against the screaming protest in her body, Crimson Skies all but tore her frame out of the ground and shot a large blast of wind up at the flock of black slices. She watched as they clashed with the large bullet of wind before dissolving as her own wind soared up at Windslicer. The stallion’s eyes widened as the attack came up at him, before a scream tore from his throat as it met him in midair, sending him even higher. Flaring her giant wings, Crimson Skies inhaled and shot a large blast of wind from her mouth at the now falling Windslicer, watching as it collided with his back and sent deep cuts all over him. As black blood flew through the air, Crimson Skies made to fly after him to finish him off, only for Silver Speed to stop her.

“Hold it right there, Crimson Skies! Let me have this one!” The older mare shouted to her, aiming her bow and arrows up at a falling Windslicer. Just before she fired them, volts of purple lightning appeared around her and the arrows, the chirping sound resonating within her and Crimson Skies ears. “Lightning Sky Pegasus Knight: Thunder Wind Arrow Flock!”

With her eyes glowing a bright purple, she shot the group of several arrows at Windslicer, the purple lightning and blue wind roaring and crackling around them. Windslicer, sensing the arrows coming for him, turned around to deflect them, but paused upon seeing the addition of lightning that was packed within them. This threw him off guard, allowing a few of them to impale him in his stomach, wings, and legs, slices of wind and zaps of lightning coursing through him. The Nightmare stallion let out an agonized scream as he was caught within another explosion, and as he fell through the ground, Crimson Skies made her move to finish him.

“Alright, it’s time for me to end this!” Crimson Skies shouted, wind swirling around her as she prepared to make her finishing move. Taking a leaf from Silver Speed’s book, she closed her eyes and summoned another one of the three elements in her arsenal, and, seconds later, blue fire burst out of her, joining her wind. Extending her forehooves out, a sphere of fire appeared in he left hoof, while one of lightning appeared in her right. With her eyes blazing and her wings flared to their fullest span, the palomino mare made her move. “Lightning Sky Pegasus Knight: Thunderous Slicing Lightning Whirlwind!”

Slamming both attacks together, the lightning and wind in her hooves burst out into a massive explosion of power that shot towards Windslicer at speed exceeding that of a normal Pegasus pony. The Nightmare Thestral, who was struggled against the burning pain from the electric volts, had enough time to look up and see the fused stream of lighting and wind soar at him.

“Like hell I’m gonna let you kill me that easy!” Thinking quickly, he shot his own forehooves out and sent a wave of darkness. “Nightmare Thestral: Black Nightmare Explosion!”

Cursing under her breath Crimson Skies was forced to watch as their attacks collided with one another in one final power struggle that would ultimately decide to conclusion of the fight. It would be seen that both of the contestants were looking to be on their last legs, something that Silver Speed noticed, which led her to try to help Crimson Skies.

“Just hold on Crimson Skies!” She shouted, flying over to her with her bow and arrow ready. “I’ll send you some of my arrows so you can-”

“NO!” Crimson Skies yelled, making the mare freeze in place. “I’ll be the one to finish this, you just focus on making sure this bastard and none like him get to your kids!”

“Ha, do you really think that you can stop me?! A member of the Dark Army of our beloved Nightmare Moon?!” Windslicer laughed, a wide maniacal grin stretched across his face. “Don’t make me laugh! You’ll have better look getting yourself buried under the very ground you walk than defeating somepony as powerful as me! Not that you ever stood a chance against me even before this fight began!”

Crimson Skies snarled, and her eyes blazed their brightest blue yet. “The only one who’s going to be buried beneath the earth is YOU!” She shouted, her declaration ending in a scream as she continued to fire off her attack. “Now fall!”

With those words, the young Shadowbolt channeled more of her magic through her attack, making it twice as big as Windslicer’s and causing it to be slowly eaten up. The Nightmare Thestral’s eyes widened upon seeing his attack being overwhelmed, and he tried to make it grow in size and strength as well. However, it was too late, and before he knew it, he found himself being consumed in a stream of lightning and wind. His screams echoed about the street as he was sent flying down it, away from Crimson Skies and Silver Speed, the former’s attack dying down only few moments later.

“Heh, I told you that I was gonna make you bleed.” Crimson Skies said, panting as she plopped back down on all fours. “That’s what you get for not taking me seriously, and messing with a Shadowbolt.”

“Crimson Skies, honey, that was incredible!” Silver Speed exclaimed as she flew over to the younger mare. She held her forelegs out and let Crimson Skies fall into them. “The way that you combined to of your three affinities like that; I was not expecting that to happen.”

“W-well that’s what you saw happen.” Crimson replied, giggling slightly as she looked into Silver Speed’s beautiful violet eyes. “Just so you know, I didn’t really think of it from the top of my head. I had seen you do it when you shot your last flock of arrows back at Windslicer, and, I, um…well, I sort of got the idea for my last move. I’m sorry if I made it seem like I was ripping off of you by doing that.”

“Don’t worry about it dear, I’m just glad that you and my children are alright.” Silver Speed said gently, patting the younger mare on the head as if she were her daughter. “Speaking of which, thank you for coming to help my keep them safe. That was very courageous for a young mare like yourself to do.”

“W-w-well, I don’t like it when I see somepony in danger especially if it’s a pony that has a family with them.” Crimson murmured, her cheeks turning a slight pink. “S-so, I just did what anypony would do if they saw something like that happen.”

“Well, since you do look like your part of a military force, I’d expect no less, regardless of how young, timid and inexperienced that pony is.” Silver Speed said, leaning in and kissing Crimson Skies on her forehead. “I can tell just by this fight alone that you’ll make an excellent hero and flyer…you’re Captain must be proud.”

“You have no idea.” Crimson muttered shyly, the blush on her cheeks turning darker as she rubbed her forehead. ‘I can’t believe she did that...’

“Anyway, now that that bloodthirsty pervert is gone.” Silver Speed sighed, stepping away from Crimson Skies and looking over at her house. “I think it’s time that I go and check up on my kids and see if they’re okay. Odds are that they’re going to be asking me a bunch of questions involving this fight…and you too. You’re welcome to come with me if you want Crimson, since you did save all three of us in a way.”

“Um, a-are you sure?” Crimson asked hesitantly. “I don’t know if it’s a good idea, t-there’s a few Wonderbolts and guards I was fighting with a little while ago. If I stay here, I may be too late in giving them some aid after I had felt that you were in danger.”

Silver Speed raised a reassuring hoof, smiling sweetly at Crimson. “Oh, it’s no trouble honey, I was already planning on taking my foals somewhere safer anyway. After what happened here, I don’t think I should be back here for a while. Who knows how many ponies like Windslicer are out here roaming Ponyville right now?”

“Yeah, that does sound like a good idea.” Crimson Skies nodded. “Though, if you want to go somewhere safer, then your best chance is the Town Square. Just to let you know, you may here some ruckus outside and, um…”

“Yes, I know honey, don’t worry. I’ll let you lead me and my kids to a route safe enough to get to the Town Square. It’s the least I can do for you after you risked your life to help me.” Silver Speed said, her sweet smile gaining a gentler edge to it. “Just one more thing…can you handle young foals?”

“Oh, certainly!” Crimson replied, beaming brightly as a smile adorned her face. “I don’t mind being around your foals! I’ve always had a love for them anyway, just like a good member of my family and clanmates.”

“Okay good, I just wanted to be sure, so you don’t feel particularly overwhelmed.” Silver Speed said, sighing with relief. “Well then, let’s get going; the sooner we get my kids to the Town Square the better.”

Crimson Skies nodded eagerly, following behind the older mare with a light skip in her step as they both receded from their Ascension Modes. “Mhm; and the sooner we do that, the sooner I get to pinch their cheeks and tickle them to Tartarus and back!” She chirped happily, earning an amused laugh from Silver Speed.

Author's Notes:

Okay so, just a shoutout, when I had said that I was going to be writing some fluff at the beginning of this chapter, I did not expect to be as long as it was going to make it, and I was having a bit of trouble trying to figure out how I was going to end it. I had even originally though of taking it out and letting the last to scenes be in this chapter, but I had decided to leave it in, for after going through it, I thought that it be more appropriate to leave it in there. I could make another fluffy scene like that the next time I come back to Sheton, Crescent, Spike, and the CMC, so why take one out that I had already made to keep a steady pace in this chapter?

The same thing occurred to me when I was getting back to Silver Speed and Crimson Skies, and I was briefly wondering if I had executed the meeting and the start of the incoming battle between Granny Smith, Derpy, Blossomforth, and Serafino, along with the rest of the Apple Family. Including with the end of the battle between Silver Speed, Crimson Skies, and Windslicer, as well as showing just how strong of a mare Crimson Skies really is on the inside. If there's anything about it that seems off or of there's anything that I can change in it, let me know in the comments and I'll do what I can.

Well, that's all for now; next time we'll be going back on the setting sails in the Everfree, and when we do, I will have an amazing surprise for all of you in store!!!