The sound of thundering paw steps could be heard resounding around the Everfree Forest as the Shadowbolts flew from the ursa minor. The giant bear’s roar tore through the trees and sliced through the air like bombs reining from the sky. Auras that matched the colors of their eyes surrounded the team as they flew as fast as their bodies would physically allow. Their magical cloaks lit the shadows like stars shooting through the cosmos as they speed ahead of the ursa minor. As they flew their ears picked up the beast getting closer, albeit, slowly, but it was that very slowness that put them on edge.

Violet Fire’s goggles flashed brightly as she flew through the flames, holding the motionless body of Blue Skies tightly to her. The sobs and cries of Crimson Skies filled her ears like knives stabbing into her ear as the mare flew beside her. Pain was obvious in her face, along with the tears flowing form her eyes. Tears that the ebony mare desperately wanted to wipe away but knowing there was no time to do so. They had more pressing matters, like getting away from the largest bear that may have ever lived. The very same bear that was now just feet away from the ariel team, looking ready to take one of them in its jaws.

“Oh no you don’t, you overgrown teddy!” True to his name, the light brown stallion came down on the bear fast. He clashed the edges of his wings with the ursa minor’s claws, drawing sparks out of both appendages as they valiantly fought. They eventually separated, ursa minor struck again, shooting off a bolt of fire at the Shadowbolt. “Lightning Thestral: Thunderous Wing Attack!”

Coating his clawed bat wings in bright violet lightning and shooting them out in front of him. The two bolts of violet lightning flew right int the ursa’s open mouth, exploding seconds later. A roar of agony left the ursa’s mouth was pain burst all along the inside of his mouth. It faltered a bit in in its running but managed to shake off the pain to continue. With an ominous growl, it bounded into the air with its claws outstretched.

“Shadow Pegasus: Black Neigh!” A wave of black essence out of nowhere, shooting it from above the ponies and the ursa minor. The star-covered 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 to deflect the attack, using its right paw to backpaw it away.

‘Damn, I was hoping that I’d be able to get him thanks to him being in midair.’ Storm Shadow thought to herself, pursing her lips. ‘I guess I didn’t strike fast enough, which may explain why he was able to see my strike coming and deflect it so quickly.’

A loud roar suddenly came from the ursa minor and its mouth opened again, allowing another stream of ethereal fire to burst form its mouth. The dark grey pegasus tried flying away from the bear, but it was quickly gaining on her. Just as Storm was about to get fried in midair, her sister came to the rescue.

“Shadow Pegasus: Dark Hoof!” Lightning shouted, shooting off a blast of blackness form one of her hooves at the ethereal fire. The ursa minor’s fire clashed with Storm’s wave of darkness, but due to the speed the wind attack was coming at, the power struggle was brief. An explosion of wind shot throughout the trees as the ursa minor got blown back. It was sent crashing to the ground and into a tree as it skidded across the earth. Thanks to the force in which the ursa crashed, the tree it slammed into almost immediately gave way and slowly began to fall. The ursa minor wasn’t able to get itself out of the way in time and it found itself crushed under the wooden appendage.

“Are you alright Storm Shadow?” Lighting asked, looking over at her teammate and friend. “Did the ursa minor 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 Lightning Shadow. 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.” Crimson 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 ursa minor’s food.”

Lightning was about say something when there was a huge explosion of wood, following by a powerful roar and the slashing of claws. All five Shadowbolts looked down to see the ursa minor rising from the ground like a phoenix from the ashes, fire bursting from his mouth it burned in the air. It glared up at the flyers, its teeth glinting as its face contorted into a hideous mask before it charged at the pegasi.

“Maybe we can save the praise for Lightning for later! This bear isn’t done with us yet!” Fast said as lightning continued to surround 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 Fast?!” Violet Fire asked. “Then again, I agree with you there about getting this ursa to lose track of us.” She glanced at the motionless Blue, who was still riding on her back. “For more than one reason...”

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

“Don’t need to tell us twice Fast.” Storm murmured as she and the others turned to face their giant adversary.

Zephyr whinnied loudly as she shot down a giant swirling ball of fire and lightning down at the Doragontora. The cat promptly snarled as it countered it with its own stream of fiery lighting, seeming to be far more intense. The two attacks exploded in midair, creating a huge smoke cloud in midair that concealed the rest of the mares’ presence, and hiding them from view. The Doragontora snarled and looked all around the smoke, trying to sniff out the stallion, the smoke making its eyes sting and water. The flapping of wings coming from behind it alerted the draconic feline for the incoming attack. It spun around just in time to see a lightning cloaked Goku flying towards it.

“Lightning Fire Pegasus: Thundering Hoof of Fire!” Zephyr shouted, shooting a hoof out towards the Doragontora’s face. The Doragontora flared one of its wings out just in time to block the attack, but this did not prevent it from being electrocuted by Zephyr’s lightning and fire. As it roared loudly, Zephyr did a front flip, sticking his right leg out as it too was coated in orange lightning and fire.

“Lightning Fire Pegasus: Electric Flaming Axe!” She shouted, swinging his right hind hoof out right towards the side of the Doragontora’s head. The attack hit home and slammed the giant hybrid cat’s head into the ground, making a crater twice the size of its head. Spreading his giant wings, Zephyr took to the air and grabbed the cat’s tail. Making sure not to grab onto its spiked club, he swung it around the air, even harder than last time.

Just as he began to throw the beast, he felt herself being pulled back and slammed into the ground. The groan that Zephyr let out from the impact immediately turned into a scream of agony as the Doragontora slammed its tail club on the royal blue stallion with the full force of its tail. It sunk its sharp spikes into his chest and barrel, driving him deep into the ground beneath them. A considerable mouthful of blood burst from Zephyr’s mouth as the draconic cat pulled its tail club around the same time the cat pulled its head out of the ground. It snapped its head around to glare at Zephyr, who was trying to sit up, only to stop cold when she locked eyes with the Doragontora. Snarling, it raised its head to crush him again, only to be halted when another voice made itself known.

“Solid Form Magic: Slicing Wave of Wind!” Twilight shouted, shooting off a blast of wind at the draconic cat, who used its wings to block the attack. It ended up getting slammed into a tree to the point where it almost fell right on top of it. It shook the debree of before taking to the air, glaring down at Twilight with hungered anger in its eyes. It flew at her and was about to try to fry her where she stood, when it heard an angry raspy voice from above it.

“Belle Machine Gun: Gattling Gun!” Raity shouted; her eyes gleaming as she blasted a flock of magical bolts out. The Doragontora’s eyes widened at the incoming attack, and it leaped out of the way just as the attack hit the spot where it was standing. Large chunks of earth tore from the ground flew about the air; Zephyr included who screamed out as was blasted repeatedly.

“Zephyr!” Rarity cried, the magic in her horn dimming as she looked in horror at what she had done. “Are you alright darling?!”

Zephyr looked up at with one eye poking through her mane. “Alright?! I nearly got crushed by that cat’s tail club and feel like I have a bunch of bullets in me! Does it look like I’m alright, Rarity?!”

“R-right I’m sorry dear; that was a rather poor question.” Rarity stammered weakly, faltering under the royal guard’s withering glare. She felt herself shrink even further when she saw the glares the rest of her friends were sending her. “I-I…wasn’t exaclty thinking at the moment.”

“No, you were not.” Goku snarled, looking like she wanted to stab her fangs into Rarity’s neck. “I cannot believe you just pulled that stunt! Couldn’t you have stopped until after you had gotten the Doragontora off of Zephyr?! Now he has even more injuries! Injuries that you just caused that will hinder his progress in his fight!”

“I’m sorry! I didn’t see really see Zephyr there!” Rarity said protested, backing away from the advancing thestral. “That giant cat is so big that I couldn’t see much of Zephyr while it was on top of him! I-I just couldn’t let that beast devour our knight in shining armor!”

“Okay, first of all, that was a horrible pun fucking involving Twi’s big bro.” Rainbow Dash deadpanned. “Secondly, if you couldn’t see Zephyr that well, then you seriously need to get your eyes checked if you couldn’t see through something as big as him!” She bared her own fangs shouted heatedly. “Aren’t you supposed to be the one here with the sharpest sense of sight?!”

“I don’t have super sensitive sight hearing or smell like Goku does!” Rarity shouted indignantly. “You can’t expect me to be able to be able to see everything at! Even I have my limits when it comes to certain things!”

“Not from where Ah’m standing!” Applejack snorted. “If you were able t’ unleash an attack like that, then you should’ve been able t’ stop when saw got that critter off o’ Zephyr instead o’ continuin’ on!”

“Look, I was in the spur of the moment, alright?! I didn’t have time to look anywhere else but at that thing!” Rarity growled in irritation. “If I had known that Zephyr wasn’t going to get out of the way quick there I would’ve stopped before I did any added damage to him!”

“Girls, that’s enough!” Fluttershy’s voice cut through the arguing like an axe slamming into the bark of a tree. “This isn’t the time to be fighting like lions over the carcass of a wildebeest! Can you not see that Zephyr is about to get eaten by the Doragontora?!”

“I’m with Fluttershy!” Twilight nodded, stomping a hoof. “This is no time for us to be arguing! We need to get this cat away from us and Zephyr before we all get eaten! If we don’t, we’ll be nothing but sitting ducks!”

“Sitting ducks?” Pinkie Pie repeated with a blink. “Uuuuh, Twilight, do you realize that we’re not actually ducks, right? And I don’t think ducks don’t really sit all of much.”

“It’s a metaphorical way of explaining our situation right now Pinkie Pie.” Applejack explained as patiently as she could. “Twi’s got a point though. Zephyr’s already usin’ quite a lotta o’ his magic, an’ thanks t’ Rarity’s little stunt, it doesn’t look like he’s gonna last much longer. Somepony’s gotta go in there an’ help him ‘r else his goose will be cooked.”

A certain undertone inside of the farmer’s words made Goku and other mare look over at her, the former taking notice of her new body language. Applejack’s brows were furrowed, her emerald eyes were narrowed, gleaming from the light of the battle in front of her. Goku also took notice that she was digging her booted hooves into the ground, the flames on them giving a faint glow that could’ve only been produced by magic.

“Applejack…” Fluttershy murmured. “Don’t tell me that you’re not going to…”

“W-what?” Rainbow propped herself up from within Fluttershy’s healing cocoon. “What’re you planning AJ?”

No words came from the aforementioned earth pony mare, her only action being to let her hat shadow her eyes, as if she was going to cry. She stayed in that position for just a moment, before her tail flicked and her head lifted. The girls were given just enough time to see the emerald shade of her irises glow, before she snorted and leapt away from the group. At the same time, the flames on her hooves glowed even brighter, looking like they were going to become actual flames.

“Applejack!” Each of the girls shouted, Goku and Fluttershy being the loudest.

Against all the pain he was in, Zephyr’s ears heard the frantic cries being emitted from Twilight and the girls. He looked up and went wide in the eyes upon seeing Applejack soaring towards him, legs alit with flames as if they were set on fire. He watched as he sailed over her, crashing into an incoming Doragontora and sending a vortex of fire right into it. Applejack skidded across the ground as the cat plummeted into it, growling in agony as its face burned with pain.

“A-Applejack…” Zephyr stuttered. “W-what’re you doing?”

“What does it look like Ah’m doing sugarcube?” Applejack asked simply. “Ah’m helping you; it’s as simple as that.”

Zephyr’s hear leapt in his throat like he it had bounced of a trampoline. “W-what?”

“Eeyup, ya heard what Ah said hon’. Ah know that you’re our guard an’ all, me an’ th’ girls were by no means ordered t’ not help the one tryin’ t’ protect us.” Applejack added, turning around and winking at the royal blue stallion. “And while you have done a fine job of that so far, you’ve done enough protecting and saving for the moment. So, let one o’ us do th’ protectin’ an’ th’ fighting this time. You can jus’ sit back while Fluttershy helps you get patched up again…and when you’re ready, you can come an’ join in.” She glanced over her shoulder and shot him a stern glare before he could say a word. “But only after you’ve gotten all better...”

“N-no, you can’t…!” Zephyr protested, wheezing as he coughed up a bit of blood. He started to stand towards the ground, only to fall back down like a foal first trying to walk. “Y-you can’t fight that Doragontora on your own! W-we’re not even halfway to the abandoned castle yet!”

“And that’s a reason not t’ defend ourselves ‘r you against any critter that’s trying t’ make a meal outta us?” Applejack asked, the tone in her voice making it seem like she knew the answer. “Sorry Zephie, but that ain’t gonna fly. Ah’m not just going to sit by and let ourselves get killed, and any animal here that does will have to take us down first. Plus, our Adrenaline an’ Ascension Modes aren’t th’ only things that we have stored up. Did you forget that we’re all from the Secret Clans of Equestria other than you?”

Zephyr paused at this, allowing the words to sink in as he took in the determined look on the farmer’s face. He could tell just by looking into her eyes that they weren’t going to budge from this no matter what he said. It was the typical behavior of a farmer, not backing out of any type of challenge no matter how absurd it was. Although he hadn’t really met much farmers in his life, he knew from what his mother told him they were like the ones outside of the Everfree. Strong, powerful, stubborn and relentless, not willing to stop doing something until they saw some form of accomplishment. Although it was those very same qualities that could work against them if they weren’t careful and get them into a heap of trouble.

Form what Zephyr was seeing from Applejack now, he saw that very same weakness was about to come to light, but he could not find himself to stop her. As much as he wanted to, as much as he believed that he needed to keep her from doing something reckless, Zephyr couldn’t muster up the strength to stop her. The farmer had something inside of her, a gleam of in her eyes that told him this was something she could do. Something that she did not need his help him, no matter how much he wanted to say otherwise. That no matter what he said or did, that she wasn’t backing down until she made sure they all got away from this cat alive.

As he laid back against the tree, he couldn’t help but ask, “How…do you know that you’re going to be okay? How do you all know that you won’t end up like I did just now?”

“Well, fer one, if Ah didn’t think Ah was gonna win, Ah wouldn’t be doin’ this right now.” Applejack replied calmly. “Two, Ah’m pretty powerful in our own right along with th’ rest o’ th’ girls. So, it’s gonna be a pretty tough for this lizard cat t’ bring me down. Three…” She looked back at Zephyr, giving him one of the most reassuring smiles he had seen on anypony. “…it’s the honest truth.”

No other words were said between the farmer and the fallen guard after that, and the former turned to face the Doragontora, who was looking to be waiting for them to make a move. A long stretched of silence washed over the clearing for what seemed like hours, before Applejack whinnied and charge. Somehow, the Doragontora got the message as well, and in almost complete unison, they charged each other. The giant draconic cat roared and flew at Applejack, its own body glowing with power as they clashed in a vortex of roaring flames and lightning.

“Shadow Pegasus: Dark Explosion!” Lightning Shadow shot off a large bolt of darkness at the ursa minor as it swiped at her. It exploded upon impact, sending the beast flying through the air, as it tried to leap at her. Before it could however, it found itself being body slammed into by Violet Fire, the mare colliding into its stomach.

“You should really learn to pay attention to your own surroundings sweetie! I’m sure your mother taught you that before you left her!” 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 bear, Violet shot her hooves out and shot blast after blast of purple flames at the ursa minor. To her surprise, it managed to evade the flaming attack, batting at one of the fireballs. It looked down at Violet for a moment, before shooting off a bigger bolt of fire at her, 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 and make her goggles emit some heat. The ebony mare flinched at the heat in her suit and goggles but managed to stay focused enough to dodge another fire breath attack. Flames and branches caught on fire as the Pegasus tried to get away from a flock of ethereal firebolts. As the flaming wooden appendages fell all around them, Violet’s second-in-command came to her rescue.

“Lightning Thestral: Thunder Drill!” Fast Tracks shouted, descending down form the air and spinning while being coated by purple lightning. He struck the ursa minor right on top of its head, sending electricity coursing through its veins as it faltered mid-strike. This left an opening for Lightning and Storm, who use those few moments to create a unified attack.

“Shadow Pegasus: Dark Whinny!” They yelled, streams of blackness exploding from their mouths and soaring towards the ursa minor. It roared as its vision was enveloped in magical darkness like curtain falling over a stage, 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?!” Fast said as he drew in a breath. “Well, why don’t you have some of this shit?! Lightning Thestral: Electric Neigh!”

A powerful blast of whirling Lightning struck out of the light brown stallion’s mouth and at the ursa minor, striking it right in its stomach. It sent the ursa minor into a roaring mess as it staggered back on its hindlegs, trying not to fall over. It shook off the attack and made to go after Fast but found itself face to face with captain herself.

“Fire Pegasus: Scorching Blast!” She cried, sending large waves of black and purple flames that sent the ursa minor falling to the ground. Smoke burst out from under it like a geyser emitting steam as the ground cracked and gave way underneath it. Lighting, Storm and Fast hovered around the beast, watching as it writhed and snarled as it attempted to recover from its wound.

“Good work here team! We’ve managed to keep him down for the time being!” Violet said as her flame cloak continued to dance about her. “Make sure it stays where it us! I’m going to go check up on Blue Skies and Crimson Skies!”

Lighting, Storm and Fast all nodded in unison, replying simultaneously, “Yes, ma’am!”

In a graceful arc, Violet flew down towards the earth and to one of the tree lines, where her two youngest teammates, Blue Skies and Crimson Skies were hiding in. Once she got within reach, her fire cloak vanished, and she plopped down just a foot away from the sisters. Crimson, who was cradling Blue’s head, looked up upon seeing her Captain in front of them.

“How is she Crimson?” Violet asked as he examined the other mare. “Any signs?”

“Nothing…she hasn’t even given a flicker of her eyes.” Crimson said gravely. “She’s just been sitting here, not moving an inch. I-it’s like she’s…s-she’s actually dead!”

“I’m not surprised. She was crushed by an ursa of all animals.” Violet muttered. “It doesn’t take much strength from them to reduce any adversary to a pile of mush of they could. As hard as it is to say, Blue Skies became one of those victims…and right now, she is a fucking wreck.”

That was probably the best word to describe the condition Blue was in, yet at the same time, it may not be the strongest. Her suit was torn and ripped in, including where her head was, showing the parts of her fur that was covered in blood, dirt, cuts and bruises. Her mane and tail were disheveled in a way that made it seem like she had constantly tossed and turned in her bed form a nightmare. Blue’s whole body was covered in blotches of blood, some of its still dripping from her body and painting the ground a reddish color. Her wings were in the worst condition, twisted and messed in a way that made it look like she had not preened them for weeks. In all honesty she really did look dead, and it was only thanks to the faint moving of her chest that the other mares knew she was still alive.

“S-she’s…she’s not going to die r-right?” Crimson asked hopefully, looking like she was going to start crying again. “B-Blue is going to l-live, r-r-right?”

Violet nodded. “She will sweetie, we’ll make sure of it. We’re not going to let her die here, we’re going to get her to Evergreen Valley so Master Gaia and heal her, and she will be back to her sweet timid self again.” She reached over and gripped Crimson by the shoulders. “Do you hear me? Blue Skies is going to live, and nothing is going to keep that from happening.”

Crimson sniffled, rubbing at her face as she forced herself to calm down. “I know Captain I-I know…I’m just…s-scared that s-she might get killed out here.”

“We are too, all of us are, but that won’t happen. We’re going to get out of here, survive this mission and soon enough we’ll be back partying laughing and fucking each other like it had never happened to them.” Violet found herself turning her head behind her upon hearing the ursa minor begin to move. “Starting with getting ourselves away from him.”

“W-what…are you gonna do?” Crimson asked, taking her sister back in her embrace.

“Something that I am very sure we’ll make that ursa change his mind about trying to eat us.” Violet replied, facing Crimson once again. “First though…Crimson, honey, do you mind doing me a little favor?”

Crimson 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 ursa minor for me. I’m going to ride it home so I can deliver my final strike to our feathery opponent.”

“Wait, what?” Crimson asked, looking as if her Captain had explain an extremely complicated plan. “How’re you going to do that?”

“You’ll see sweetheart.” Violet winked slyly. “Go on honey, just do it. Trust me, it’ll only take a second; I’ll be fine. Now come with me~.”

Even though it didn’t sound like a direct order, Crimson followed Violet, nonetheless, casting one last look at her sister. She followed Violet up to where the rest of her team was, still standing guard over the ursa minor, was on its hindlegs once more.

“Alright team, I’m back.” Violet said, hovering next to Fast. “Has the ursa attacked any of you while I was gone?”

“No, our last attacks seemed to have worsened it more than we thought.” Storm replied. “It hasn’t tried to attack once since it last went down.”

“But it definitely looks like it’s going to now.” Fast added, his muscles clenched. “If the pissed off look he’s giving us is any indication.”

“Well, he won’t be angry at us for long.” Violet declared firmly. “Everypony stand back. I’m going to finish this with one strike. Whatever you do, don’t let the ursa minor come after me until I come back.”

Lighting looked at her Captain curiously. “What move are you planning?”

Violet winked at her. “You’ll see~.” She said, looking over at Crimson. “Crimson wait for my signal~.”

“Wait, hold o-” Fast stopped mid-sentence when he saw his main captain fly away from them, turning into a stream of black and purple. He blinked as he watched her go, before his attention turned to Crimson. “Um, Crimson Skies, what is Captain V planning on doing?”

“I’m not exaclty sure.” Came Crimson’s shrugging reply. “What she did tell me was that she wanted me to send a blast of wind at her when she said so. Saying that it was going to help her in saving us from the ursa minor.”

Lighting gained a bemused look. “How is that going to help her?”

“…It looks like we’re going to find out!” Fast cried out without warning. “Look!”

Lightning, Storm, and Crimson glance behind them to see Violet soaring back towards them, her whole body covered in a cloak of fire. This time, it was accompanied by bolts of bright yellow lightning mixing in with the flickering flames of the ebony mare. Her goggles were the only thing that could be seen through the fire, making her look like a ball of fire with yellow eyeballs. The heat produced by the cloak sent the closest trees on fire, even more branches giving way and snapping from their own.

“Oh, that’s what she’s planning!” Lightning cried as it clicked in her mind. “She’s planning to make a final attack with a combination of two attacks while using Crimson’s air affinity to make the attack quicker and more devastating!”

Crimson gasped as well. “Wait, really?! That was her plan?!”

“It looks like it.” Storm replied, looking like she was fighting back a smile. “Why else would she have you do what she wants you to do right now?”

‘She’s right…fire, lighting, and wind are all powerful affinities by themselves alone, but combined together, they can leave damage that most ponies and animals can’t get up from.’ Crimson thought as she mulled over it. ‘Plus, with the added heat, electrical pulses and slices given by the wind, it is not something one can recover form easily.’ She smiled at her incoming Captain. ‘Clever girl…’

“Alright Blue Skies!” Violet shouted from within her cloak. “Fire away!”

Blue Skies didn’t hesitate, inhaling as much air as she could before unleashing it. “Sky Pegasus: Neigh!”

Violet Fire smirked as the fire cloak around her grew in strength, the bolts of lightning chirping louder. With a powerful flap of her wings, she took off into the drill of wind, not noticing the jaw dropped look the ursa sent at her. Thanks to the speed that the wind was going, Violet’s own speed was triple to what it was mere seconds ago. With added speed and power, she flew even faster towards the ursa minor, the speed giving it no time to stop her incoming attack.

“Fire Lightning Pegasus: Electric Inferno Phoenix Sword!” She shouted as she slammed herself into the ursa minor right in the stomach for the third time that night. It was her strongest collision yet, and the combined speed and magic overpowered the ursa minor and send it flying. 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 ursa minor away.

The ebony mare watched as it soared across the air its roars echoing all about as it vanished into the darkness of its cave. Moments later, a loud crashing sound was heard, a gust of smoke and dust exploding from out of the cave, before all grew silent.

“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. At least he’s still alive.”

“That. Was. Awesome!” Fast Tracks exclaimed, his slitted eyes turning into stars. “Seriously Captain V, that was so awesome! You just send that giant teddy bear flying into space!”

“I wouldn’t necessary say flying into space, more like into his cave.” Violet shrugged, before booping Fast Tracks on the nose. “Although, he does look like he was made from the stars and space of the galaxy, so I guess it sort of counts.”

Storm and Lightning sweat dropped in unison. ‘How in the hell does that count?!’

“That was incredible Captain Violet!” Crimson 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, as if she was a filly instead of a mare. “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.” Violet said softly, kissing the youngest mare on her forehead. “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 get Blue Skies out of here first? All of these trees are on fire, and it wouldn’t be a good idea to leave her out where she could get burned alive, or crushed, or both.”

“Oh fuck, Blue Skies!” Violet cried, horror and realization coming to her face. Resisting the urge to go into another flurry of cursing, she flew down to where the mare was. “She's still resting by the tree! Come on Crimson Skies!”

“R-right!” The palomino mare zoomed off after her captain, the team following close behind as they landed in front of Blue. They found themselves cringing once more when they saw her the state she was in, even though they saw it before.

“My Faust, she looks horrible.” Lighting all but whispered. “I wasn’t able to get a good look at her before, but now…”

“I know…that ursa was powerful. A lot powerful than even we probably anticipated.” Storm nodded, doing her best to keep herself composed. “I was not prepared for this.”

“None of us were…and I wish that this didn’t happen to Blue at all.” Violet said softly, her head lowered. She looked up at Crimson, who was stroking her sister’s unkempt mane. “Crimson Skies, I...”

“It’s not your fault Captain.” The palomino mare cut her off, her voice soft. “It’s not your fault, I swear to you it’s not. Nopony knew that this was going to happen, not you, n-not me…o-or anypony else.” She bit her lip as she held her sister’s head close to her chest. “Still, i-it doesn’t make it hurt any less…t-that she was put like this.”

“No, it doesn’t…we’re all hurt right now Crimson. all of us wish this didn’t happen to dear little Blue.” Storm said, her voice low and gentle. “All we can do is take precautions and ensure that it doesn’t happen again. Maybe even have Blue more prepared for any surprise attacks.” Her blue eyes shot over to the cave. “Especially from giant tree sized bears…”

“That does sound like a good plan.” Lightning nodded. “But we can do that after we’ve gotten Blue some medical attention. Let’s go with Violet fire’s first plan and take the fastest route to Evergreen Valley so Master Gaia can heal her.”

“Don’t need to tell us.” Fast Tracks said, shaking his head. “Let’s just get going already. If I have to look at Blue like this one more time I’ gonna kick down on of those trees.”

“Of course.” Violet nodded, glancing over at Crimson. “Blue, would you do the honors of carrying your sister? I’m…feeling a little tuckered out at the moment.”

“Huh? O-oh, okay!” Crimson nodded, taking a second to compose herself. Sucking in a breath, she gingerly hoisted Blue on her back, as if she was a baby that was just born. Once she was secure, she nodded to her Captain, who nodded to her and the rest of the team. Spreading her wings, Violet took off, leading the others out of the trees, leaving them to be burned by the ethereal flames.

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 sugarfoot! I’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 the girls silent as it flew at the tangerine earth pony. Applejack snorted and ran at the beast, her boot flames leaving burnt grass behind her as she evaded the lightning blasts of the giant Doragontora. At the last second, she whirled around and bucked the feline straight in its face. It caused 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, now 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 and fire 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 wha the hell 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?” Zephyr 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, casting a quick glance at Fluttershy. “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, 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 floorboard.

“Anyway…” Fluttershy sighed turning her attention to her two patients. “…How’re you doing inside of there Zephyr? Is my healing magic doing its work in, um…making you all feel better?”

“I’m starting to feel much better, thanks to you.” Zephyr replied, 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.” He ran a hoof down his disheveled mane and tail. “And I can see that’s not the only thing that you’re healing magic is good at doing.”

“Yeah, you got that right” Rainbow sighed, rolling across the ground like a warthog rolling in mud. “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?” Rainbow whined.

“Yes Rainbow, 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.” Rainbow sighed. “Still, you can’t deny how cozy this shit feels. It feels like I’m in my nice cozy cloud, or even in my cloud bed back at home.”

“As glad as we are that you’re feeling so comfortable Rainbow…” Zephyr murmured, gently tapping at the cyan mare’s shoulder. “…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 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. Goku used her wings to shield the others from the dust, not wanting them to get swept away in it. 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 raven-maned fanged mare thought to herself. ‘Applejack said that she’d be okay against the Doragontora, and that she’d beat it! She looked Zephyr right in his eyes and said she’d do it! You can have Fluttershy help her with her own injuries after the fight is over! Just trust her for now and don’t interfere!’

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.

“AH AIN’T LOSIN’ THIS FIGHT!” She roared, her eyes blazing as she turned the tables on the fight. "NOW GIT OUTTA HERE!"

At the last second, 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, only stopping when she was sure it was well away from the campsite. Finally, she let herself fall back to her usual stance, the flames around vanishing, leaving smoke and charred grass around her.

As with the one with the draconic tiger, this chapter was mainly editing and forming new paragraphs and phrases, along with adding some sections of the last versions of this new chapter and make it into how it is now. Not really much to say for chapters like this other than saying that I had formed it up a bit more thoroughly. I made sure to lot leave any type and misused sentences and this, though I did have to emphasize and change certain words inside of the chapters again.... I had thought that my selecting all of this chapter on my Word Doc would help me not to deal with that, but I guess it was a glitch or something. Anyway, I got that over and done with, and ready to read, and I hope you've all enjoyed it as much as I enjoy editing it. Even if I did not have much fun with that at all.

Next time: Nightmare Moon sends Ponyville a bloody and furry Nightmarish gift.