The first thing that Pinkie Pie noticed when she began to come to, was that she had an unbearable headache. One more unbearable than any she had experience in her entire life. It felt like somepony or some incredibly creature powerful was trying cave her skull in and drive a large knife through it at the same time. She could feel each pulse that coursed its way through her head, following in perfect rhythm with her heartbeat. Each beat that followed send another searing stab of pain through her head, causing a groan of agony to escape her lips.

The second thing she became aware of was that her entire body felt numb from head to hoof. It was as if it was filled with led. Each and every time she tried to move, she’d feel parts of her body give off little twitches, along with an incredible amount of soreness following after. All four of her legs felt like they were made of jelly. They shook as if they were covered in coats of ice when she tried to move them. Even her tail was unresponsive when she tried to move it, which really confused her for some reason. Especially since she had excellent control over it. Even more than Goku did with her own tail, despite it being much longer than her’s.

As Pinkie slowly began to regain consciousness and come back to the waking world, was that there seemed to be a lot of talking. Very quiet, but still pretty audible taking, coming from what she believed were her friends.

“How do you guys think she’s doing?” The raspy voice of Rainbow Dash asked, her tone full of worry and concern. “She hasn’t moved an inch since she collapsed in front of us.”

“I have no idea.” The intelligent voice of Twilight replied softly. “I mean, she’s still breathing. And I can see her chest rising and falling. Other than that, nothing.”

“Well, at least we know that she’s still alive an’ kickin’.” Applejack’s drawling voice followed. “Still, she looks more out of shape than an apple rottin’ on a tree.”

“Applejack!” Rarity’s regal and elegant voice suddenly snapped. “How dare you make such a statement about our dear Pinkie Pie?! She looks just as beautiful as she always did! How rude of you to say such a thing!”

“Now Rarity, you know that is not what Applejack meant and you know it.” Goku’s smooth and silky chastised, sounding understandably upset. “All Applejack was pointing out was how bad Pinkie was looking because of the amount of magic that she used in her Lycan form. She was by no means insulting her!”

“Well it certainly seemed like it too me!” Rarity snorted hotly. “It’s bad enough that we have to deal with her suffering from such an extension of magic. Now we have to deal with Applejack here insulting her looks?! I mean look at her! The poor dear looks like she’s been trampled by a herd of cows!”

Pinkie suddenly felt her body give a jolt as a raging soreness made its way through her body, along with another stab of pain through her head. She let out another groan as she felt her insides coil like a colony of snakes. That was probably the best and downright worst way to describe how Pinkie was currently feeling at the moment. Because she really did feel like she was trampled by a herd of cattle, like the ones that Applejack sometimes had come onto her orchard to graze. Except, that’s probably how the farmer would describe herself if she was in her position. For Pinkie, she felt like she had eaten something that was horrible overcooked or made the wrong way.

“And is that really our fault?” Zephyr’s deep and gentle voice asked incredulously. “Look Rarity, I wasn’t really up for her fighting in the first place, especially in her new form. None of us were, and Ah do wish that we could’ve known the side effects of her transformations. But we were in an extremely tight spot, so we had no choice but to trust she wouldn’t burn herself out.”

The sound of Goku dryly chuckling filled Pinkie’s ears. “As if Pinkie Pie of all ponies can be burnt out easily.”

“Then why did you even let her fight it in the first place?!’ Rarity spat acidly. “Why didn’t you all just have her just stay put instead of having to fight those beasts?!”

“Because it was the only option that would keep us from getting eaten alive!” Rainbow snapped impatiently. “You saw it yourself, Rarity! You could tell just by looking at that those mutts that it was not going to let us leave! The only we could get away is if we made them leave instead! So we had pretty much no choice but to fight, including Pinkie Pie! Not to mention that Twi her wanted all of us to hold our ground!”

“Exactly!” Twilight said, sounding thankful that Rainbow brought that up. “While it may not have been the most well thought or and accurate plan, but worked nonetheless! Plus, we’re all still alive! So that should count for something right?”

“It doesn’t matter if we managed to chase those ruffians off!” Rarity hissed at Twilight. “The fact of the matter is Pinkie Pie is hurt, and it’s all your fault Twilight! Maybe if you had though up of a better plan, this would’ve never happened!”

Pinkie could now feel herself become just the slightest bit frustrated. Why was Rarity blaming Twilight for her condition? Why did she keep calling the Everfree animals by such mean names? The party pony desperately wanted to get up from whatever position she was in and put the fashionista in her place. She could feel her body start to respond to her advances, but it was going by slowly. She frowned inwardly; she would have to wait for just a little bit longer. If only to give Rarity a firm chewing out.

“Now don’t you go blamin’ us fer somethin’ that none of us had any choice in doin’!” Applejack shouted, sounding more irritated. “Ah ain’t just gonna sit ‘ere, an’ let anypony, not even mah own friends, go blamin’ one o’ mah other friends fer nothin’! So you better cool that curly little head o’ yers missy! Or yer hide is gonna get bucked all th’ way t’ Canterlot!”

“Yeah! You really need to take a damn chill pill Rarity! It’s not like Pinkie Pie was trying to get herself hurt!” Rainbow Dash added, agreeing wholeheartedly with Applejack. “What, would you rather her have gotten eaten instead?!”

“Of course not!” Rarity replied angrily. “But I certainly would not have put her put herself through such torcher in that retched form of her’s! Something that you all should’ve tried to prevent you-”

“Rarity ENOUGH!” Goku’s voice suddenly yelled out. The moment she made herself known; all sound abruptly ceased as the buttermilk Pegasus felt herself freeze in place. “Listen, I know that you’re upset that Pinkie is in the state that she’s in right now, we all are! However, that is no reason for you to be so hard on everypony and be such a goddamn bitch to the others! None of us knew that this was going to happen, and none of us wanted this to happen, but what other choice did we have?! To just go and let the Shinomōkin, Doragontora, and the Timberwolves eat us alive?!

“W-well! No of course not!” Rarity replied in a completely different tone from earlier. It was if somepony had dumped a bucket of water on the fashionista’s blazing anger and replaced it with a cold fear instead. “B-but-”

“If that happened, any which one of them would’ve torn us apart and had us for lunch! And you know what would've happened if that happened, don’t you?!” Goku continued, cutting Rarity off. “We wouldn’t be able to find the Elements of Harmony, we wouldn’t be able to defeat Nightmare Moon, and we wouldn’t be able to save Queen Luna or anypony in Ponyville! Including our families! If we keep pointing hooves and blame each other for things that we had no idea of happening, we won’t be able to fulfill the task given to us! Which is exactly what’s going to happen if you keep this up! So leave the other’s alone, sit that white plot of yours down be quiet! Before I make your coat whiter than already it is!”

There were no more words exchanged after that last sentence was said, and the silence that followed was so strong, that the only thing could be heard was the sound of what seemed to be the crackling of fire. Pinkie stayed still, silently waiting for any one of her friends to start talking again and converse with one another. When the only thing she heard was the quiet, she again tried to move, and felt her body was less sore than it was a minute ago. Though that didn’t stop another soft groan from escaping her lips as she attempted to gain some control of her body.

Pinkie soon realized that she must’ve gotten the attention of one of her friends, because she felt a warm hoof brush against her forehead. A few moments later, Fluttershy, sounding more hopeful than before, called out to Rarity and the others.

“Girls, look!” The gentle mare cried. “I think she’s waking up!”

Moments after those words were said, Pinkie heard a multitude of hooves galloping over to where she was. She immediately picked up several magical signature around her, seven at that, even in her sore state, she instantly recognized.

‘Wait, there are seven other magic signatures? Is there an eight pony with us?’ She thought, feeling her face morph into a frown. A second later, it clicked, and a certain stallion swam into her mind. ‘Oh right, Zephyr was with us too. I hope he’s okay. Is he okay?’

“Hey Pinkie! Are you alright? Can you hear us?!” The voice of Rainbow Dash shouted, snapping Pinkie out of her thoughts. Before she could try to reply to her friend, she felt a rough hoof start slapping her cheek. “Come on girl, say something already!”

“Dash, don’t do that!” Fluttershy’s voice scolded said sharply. “I know you want her to wake up, but slapping her like that isn’t going to help! Just wait a few minutes and let her do it on her own…”

“Girls look! I think she’s waking up!”

Fluttershy was indeed right, Pinkie was slowly beginning to open her eyes, only to snap them back shut at the light that shined in them. After a few more unsuccessful attempts, she finally managed to open them and adjust to the light, which she could now see was coming from a fireplace. Turning her head, she met the concerned eyes of each of her friends, who were all standing over her from all sides.

“Hey there sleepy head.” Goku said softly with a smile. “Welcome back to the world of the living.”

“Hi, Goku.” Pinkie replied, her voice tired and raspy. “It’s good to be back in the waking world.”

“How’re you holding up there Pinks?” Rainbow Dash asked. “No offense, but you look really like shit.”

“I probably do.” Pinkie giggled softly, moving a hoof to her head. “I’m definitely feeling like it too.”

“Oh, you poor thing.” Rarity cooed, reaching and taking Pinkie’s left hoof in her right. “You must be in so much pain right now! No thanks to-”

“Don’t ya dare finish that sentence.” Applejack growled, her eyes flashing as she glared at Rarity. “Ah swear, Ah will buck ya straight outta this cave!”

“Oooooh…my head! It feels so swimmy-wimmy no good yucky...” Pinkie moaned as she put her right forehoof to her forehead. “Where are we? What the hay happened to me?”

“We’re still in the Everfree Forest sweetie.” Goku replied quietly. “You had fallen unconscious after the fight with the Timberwolves. We didn’t want to take any chances in reviving you where we were. So we left the clearing and came to this cave.”

“Oh…” Pinkie muttered, draping a hoof over her forehead. “Wait a minute, where’s Zephyr?”

“Right behind you Pinkie Pie.” The deep and gentle voice of the royal blue stallion said from behind her. Jumping, Pinkie looked up, while still laying down, and met the garnet eyes of the Solar Royal Guard. The surprise she felt was so strong that she squealed and sat up in the blink of an eye, Goku still hovering over her. With a loud and sickening thud, both mares collided foreheads with one another, and the tan thestral found herself on the ground.

“Gah! Son of a bitch!” Goku yelled as she fell over on her back, both hooves flying to her forehead.

“Whoa there sugarcube!” Applejack rushed over and grabbing Pinkie by her shoulders. “Hold yer horses!”

“Oh! I’m so sorry Goku!” Pinkie cried as she looked back over at Goku. “Are you okay? I didn’t mean to hit you like that!”

“Ugh...yeah, I’m fine Pinkie.” Goku groaned, slowly getting up from the ground and onto her rump. “Geez girl, you really have a hard noggin there, don’t you?”

Pinkie moaned as she gently rubbed the side of her head, trying to lessen the agonizing throbbing. “My head hurts so much. I don’t think I’ve had a headache this bad in, well...ever.”

“I’m not surprised.” Rainbow Dash said with a small chuckle. “With the what happened back at the clearing with your new form and all, we figured you’d be feeling like that.”

“Yeah, you have a point there.” Pinkie nodded as she took in her surroundings. “Where…are we?”

“We’re in a cave of some sort.” Fluttershy replied, stepping back some to give Pinkie space. “We have found it sometime after we had left that clearing about an hour ago. We had all been keeping watch over you and ourselves while you were resting. So far, nothing’s come.”

“For now.” Goku murmured, staring off into the trees.

“Oh, okay. At least nothing is attacking us right now.” Pinkie said, slowly getting to her own hooves. All of a sudden, she stopped, blinked and looked at Rainbow Dash. “Um, Dashie, what did you mean when you said by ‘new form’?”

“You mean you don’t remember?” The cyan mare asked. “You suddenly turned into this giant mix of a pony and a dog right in front of us! Just straight out of the blue! Not only that, but you tried to attack us while you were in that form! You probably would’ve chewed our throats out had it not been for Fluttershy stopping you with her Solar Stare!”

Pinkie frowned hard at her friend’s words. “I…turned into a giant werewolf and tried to attack you?! Now that just sounds ridi-”

She stopped abruptly as the memory of the fight with the Timberwolves came sliding its way into her like melting cinnamon on bread bites. At that moment, her previous transformation clicked inside of her as its physical side effects suddenly landed on her like a set of weights. Her look of indignation quickly softened into one of guilt and shame as her mane and tail deflated a bit.

“Oh. Wait a second…” She murmured softly as she bowed her head. “I remember now… Y-yeah, it’s all coming back to me.”

“There ya go sugarcube. Ah knew you’d remember.” Applejack said, throwing a foreleg around the mare. “Ya really gave us a big scare when that happened. Ah don’t think Ah’ve ever seen ya do somethin’ like that in, well…ever! In all mah time o’ knowin’ ya, Ah did not ever see ya do what ya jus’ did in that there clearin’.”

“Which begs the question that I’m sure is on all our minds.” Twilight said taking a step towards Pinkie. “Pinkie…would you mind telling us just what in Celestia’s name that was back there?”

Pinkie took a tentative step back as if Twilight was trying to back her against a corner. “Uh, t-that’s kind of hard to explain Twilight. It… it’s actually really crazy to put it simply.”

“What could be crazier than seeing one of my friends turn into one of the most terrifying Nightmares ever to exist?!” Rarity cried, throwing a foreleg out for emphasis. Upon seeing Fluttershy’s glare, she recoiled and coughed delicately in her hoof. “Ehem…sorry.”

Fluttershy kept her stern look on Rarity for a moment longer, before focusing on Pinkie with a gentler expression. “Pinkie, you don’t have to tell us if you don’t want to right now. I can tell that this is something that you really don’t want to indulge in, and we understand if you-”

“No.” Pinkie interrupted, the uncharacteristic softness in her voice making Fluttershy pause. “No, it’s okay Fluttershy. I… I feel like you guys deserve to know why I turned what I turned into back there. I can tell that a lot of you guys are really curious to find out about it.”

“Are you sure Pinkie?” Zephyr asked gently, looking unsure. “I’m with Fluttershy on this. If this is something that’s too hard for you to do, then don’t bother telling us. We don’t want to cause you any unnecessary pain or bring up any-”

“I said it’s okay!” Pinkie snapped, looking frighteningly angry as everypony flinched. She took a second to calm her nerves before saying, “It… it’s alright Zephyr. If you really wanna know how I turned and why, I’ll tell you. It’s the least that I can do for you guys after I gave you such a scare when I did.” She looked into Fluttershy’s eyes and added, “And for giving Fluttershy that nasty red frosted scare…”

Fluttershy cringed at the mention of her wound. Her mind fluttered back to the vicious claw swipe Pinkie gave her while going into her lycan form before the battle with the Timberwolves. She felt the urge to reach up and rub at her still injured face, but ignored it for both Pinkie’s sake and her own.

“Alright so, here’s the thing you guys…” Pinkie began as she sat down, curling her tail around her neck she was wrapping a scare around her neck. “You know how I have the name, Lycan D., in my name, right?”

“Yeah, we do. You told us that, like, a thousand times in the past.” Rainbow replied, giving an eye roll. She flinched when she got hard elbow to the side from Applejack. “Ow!”

“Not the time RD.” Applejack hissed lowly, her eyes giving a warning glow. She turned back to Pinkie and urged her to continue. “Now, go on sugarcube. You were sayin’?”

“R-right. L-like I said, you all know that Lycan D. is in my name.” Pinkie continued. “A-and you know how there’s not really anypony else with that name, other than Melon Cake, r-right?”

Everypony flinched at the mention of Pinkie’s little helper. The party pony took notice but made no mention of it; looking guilty for bringing it up.

“Yes darling, w-we do.” Rarity muttered after a few seconds of awkward silence. “Where are you going with this exactly?”

Pinkie did not reply immediately, looking like she was choosing how to word her explanation. It took a moment for her to reply, but when she did, her voice, and question, came out in a slight stammer. “Have, um…have any of you guys ever heard of the island of Freespirit?”

Goku’s ears perked. “F…Freespirit Island?”

“Uh…no Pinkie Pie. Ah don’t think Ah’ve heard of any place like that anywhere around here.” Applejack replied dumbly, slowly blinking as the words of the party pony fully merged within her mind. “Is it, uh…some kind of island of freedom or somethin’?”

“You’re partially right Applejack.” Twilight replied quietly, the knowledgeable side in her mind kicked in. “The island of Freespirit is an island that was said to have once been dotted on the land of Equis some thousands of years ago. It was known for being an island where freedom was the one thing that was held on it, hence its name. At least from what I read from the books that I read about them. In Freespirit, every living thing on it, from the vocalizing creatures, to the wild animals, even to the very plants and weather were unrestrained by nothing. Free to do, grow, and prosper however they please, with nothing and nopony to stop them.”

“…Whoa, talk about unrestrained.” Rainbow muttered, whistling as the sound echoed in the cave. “That sounds like a pretty awesome place to live.”

“It was.” Fluttershy nodded, smiling fondly. “It was home to an abundance of creatures, including those that live in Equestria and live outside of it today. Even in places never discovered before. Besides Equestria, it was said to be the one place where creatures all around the world, even ones that were never seen, come together and live together. Like they’re an entire nation or a country, despite Freespirit Island not really having a kingdom or an empire.”

“Wait a moment, other creatures besides ponies lived in this Freespirit place?” Rarity asked, looking taken aback by the revelation. “Does…does that mean creatures like donkeys, griffins and dragons lived in there too?”

“Yes Rarity, they did.” Now it was Goku’s turn to take over. “However, it wasn’t just dragons, donkeys and griffins that lived on Freespirit Island with ponies. like Twilight said, other creatures besides us and them inhabited the island as well. From kirins, to sphinxes, hippogriffs, sea ponies, changelings and breezies. Even more creatures than that resigned in Freespirit. Such as flutter ponies, gargoyles, perytons, satyrs, kelpies, kitsunes, ookamis, and even sea lions. Every single one of these creatures, all from different corners of Equis, came to this one island and joined together as if they were a single dominant species. Despite the fact that ponies are the most abundant and dominant species of Equis.”

Applejack shook her head. “Okay, Ah could not understand even half th’ th’ names of all o’ them critters to named Fluttershy. Are you sure they aren’t jus’ little nicknames you came up fer ‘em?”

“No Applejack, they’re not.” The veterinarian explained patiently, smiling solemnly at the farmer. “That’s what all of those creatures are called, and no others. I’m sorry if it confuses you sweetie, but that’s all the names those creatures go by.”

“Pushing aside the unusual names for now…” Rarity said, drawing everypony back to the topic at hoof. “Pinkie, how does all of this tie to your powers exactly?”

“It’s because that’s where my powers were said to originate from.” Pinkie replied, rubbing one of her forelegs. At Rarity’s even more confused expression, she sighed and specified, “What I mean is that’s where my clan mates first came from. Meaning the very beginning of the whole Lycan D. Clan.”

“Oh! I get it!” Rainbow Dash said as it finally clicked in her mind. “So you’re saying that this Freespirit place is where the first members of your family came from!”

“Yes Dashie, it is. You at least got the icing on the cake there.” Pinkie replied with a soft giggle, her moon lifting a bit. “Okay, not that you guys know where my family came from, I’d better explain to you how my powers work.”

“Yeah, Ah think you should Pinkie Pie.” Applejack muttered, shuddering as she thought back to the horrid screaming Pinkie gave before her transformation. “After that scare you gave us and makin’ us think you were goin’ into a seizure, Ah really wanna know how that trigger yer new form.”

Zephyr shot Applejack a stern look of warning, elbowing her in her side. “Don’t push her Applejack. Pinkie doesn’t need to tell us about her powers if she doesn’t her.” He said firmly, a slight scowl on his lips. “I know you wanna know about them. I do too. But if it means Pinkie has to go through some unpleasant memories, then I’d rather her keep it to herself.”

“Zephie, it’s fine really. Just give me a second to settle myself.” Pinkie said before the Solar Royal Guard could go further. “Okay, so, you guys know how I turned into my hybrid form back into that clearing with the Timberwolves?”

“Yeah, and we also saw how you totally moped the floor with them.” Rainbow replied, her fangs glinting as she smirked. “Nice job with that by the way.”

“T-thanks Dashie, I’m glad you noticed.” Pinkie said, blushing a bit as she looked away, hiding behind her mane in a way that had Fluttershy gaining the urge to smother her. “A-anyway, the reason why I bring that up is because my lycan transformation is different from the ones that you guys probably heard of. You see… what you guys saw was the first stage of my powers.”

“First…stage?” Twilight repeated slowly, tilting her head. It suddenly licked, like she had managed to find a light in an exceptionally dark room. “Wait, you’re saying that you have more lycan forms than the one we saw you in?!”

“About ten of them, yes.” Pinkie replied, walking closer to the group as she turned around. “Here, I’ll show you what I mean.”

Pulling her mane back, she allowed the rest of her friends and Zephyr as well to see the tattoo on her back. It showed the image of a ten-tailed lycan in a leaping position, its tails spread out like a male peacock displaying its tail feathers to a hen. On the tips of the tails were various different colored spheres having elemental symbols on them. It started with earth, followed by fire, ice, earth, air, and lighting on one half. The other half of the Lycan’s tails were, magic, chaos, poison, light, and darkness. All of them were dull in color, but the one containing the earth symbol was gleaming brightly, like a gold medal glinting in the sunlight.

“Whoa. That’s one sick looking tattoo there, Pinks.” Rainbow commented looking it over like it was the coolest thing in the world. “Is that the one that the rest of your own clan has?”

“Uh-huh, it sure is.” Pinkie nodded, smiling merrily. “This is the big bad wolf symbol that every single pony of the Lycan D. Clan has when they come of age! Admittedly, it does look pretty scary when you first see it, but once you look at it enough times, it doesn’t seem all that bothersome anymore.”

“Amazing… So this is the symbol of your main clan.” Twilight breathed in awe, running a hoof down Pinkie’s tattoo as if it was an incredibly rare book she found. Her eyes locked onto the multiple symbols on each of the tails of the lycan tattoo. “Why does it have those symbols on its tails Pinkie Pie? Do they represent the different powers you have?”

“They sure do Twilight! Every single one of these symbols holds a different power that I can use, but haven’t unlocked yet.” With impressive flexibility, she pointed a hoof down at the bright symbol of earth. “You see that little rock symbol glowing on the left side of its tails? It’s glowing because I was able to unlock it thanks to my connection to the earth. If I’m able to unlock any of my other powers through some means, then they’ll give the same glow that little rock symbol is doing right now! And the more that I gain, the stronger I’ll get in my lycan forms!”

“You will?” Zephyr asked, eyeing the symbols intently. “So what happens when you’re able to go make all of those symbols glow?”

Pinkie spun around and did her best imitation of her back tattoo, which, in all honesty, was a pretty good one. “If I’m able to make all of those little symbols glow as bright as the lights at one of PJ-Pon 3’s, I’ll be able to go into a Lycan form that allows me to use all ten of these powers at once!”

Rainbow backpedaled hard. “Wait, what?! You’re saying you can use each and every single one of those element things at once if you’re able to activate them?! Just like how the symbols on my own back do if I do the same?!”

“I sure can Dashie!” Pinkie replied giddily. “Though the only difference between how you and I unlock our powers is because even though we’ll be able to use them all of we unlock them all, you can only use each of your techniques one at a time. Even when you use that big sword of yours!” She reached out and tapped Rainbow’s large sword for emphasis, earning her a swat to that same hoof by the athlete. “I on the other hoof, can use them all at the same time, which is pretty advanced if I do say so myself.”

“How about too overly advanced.” Rainbow Dash growled, crossing her forelegs. “Talk about overpowered…”

“…Oh goodness! I’ve never heard of a clan that has powers like that. Especially since it mainly has to do with creatures from folkloric tales.” Rarity said, grabbing Applejack’s hat in her magic and using it to fan herself. “Of course, since it is you of all ponies that has powers as wild and unpredictable as that Pinkie dear, it’s not too surprising.”

“Got it in on th’ nose there Rares.” Applejack murmured, taking her hat back. “’Cause if there’s one thing that you, me, and everypony here has learned while knowin’ Pinkie, it’s this: never put it past her to reveal somethin’ way outta this world.”

Zephyr blinked at the farmer. “What do you mean by that exactly Applejack?”

“Don’t worry about it, Zephyr.” Fluttershy said sweetly. “You’ll understand it better when you see Pinkie in…um, action more. It’s best just to do that than have it be explained.”

“Listen to her Zephyr, please.” Twilight all but begged. “It’ll be so much better if you just let Pinkie show you rather than tell. It’ll be a big load of stress of your mentality…” She rubbed at her head as if a splitting headache came in. “…and your sanity.”

Pinkie laughed. “Got the cream in the donut there, Twilight!”

Zephyr paused, understanding immediately morphing into his mind. It wasn’t very often when he heard Twilight say things like that. Especially since she was a pony that wanted things both explained and showed to her in order for her to fully understand it. So for her of all ponies to say that it was better to be shown something you don’t understand rather than having explained in words spoke volumes of what she experienced while in Ponyville. Even if he wasn’t there to see it, he could tell just by the tone in her voice alone that Twilight knew what she was saying. And that it was best to take her advice, least he put himself through some unnecessary stress. Not that Twilight wasn’t good at doing that in the first place, but when she gave it like that, Zephyr knew to either follow it. Or suffer the consequences in the long run.

“Well, if you think that’s best.” Zephyr murmured, wrapping a comforting wing around Twilight and pulling her in close. He nuzzled the top of her head, as if she was a lover rather than just a friend, or beneficial one. “If you of all ponies is giving advice like that, then it’s for me to follow it. Unless I wanna have my mane go up in flames, my eyes red, and my coat looking like I had got downed in bleach.”

Twilight giggled, smiling fondly up at the stallion. “You really do know me too well.”

“Pushing all the mushiness aside.” Rainbow Dash said with an exasperated sigh. “I gotta agree with Rares here Pinks. Those sound like really crazy powers! Even crazier than the things you can do without them! Do the rest of your family have powers like that or something?”

Pinkie abruptly stopped laughing, her mirthful demeanor turning to one of pain and uncertainty as her smile dropped like a deflated balloon falling from the air. The look on her face was the one that a puppy would give when somepony kicked it for no apparent reason. It was shot right at Rainbow Dash, who flinched back at the look like Pinkie had thrown a cupcake at her face. Goku and Fluttershy noticed, and neither of them looked happy about it.

‘Oh no…’ They thought in unison, their hearts skipping a beat as they looked at each other. ‘Rainbow just asked that question. The one question that Pinkie does not like to answer!’

“Pinkie?” The cyan mare asked in a much softer tone. “Are… Are you okay? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I…I-I’m sorry!” Pinkie caught herself, shutting her eyes as she turned her away. “I didn’t mean to… I was just… caught off guard a bit by you asking me that.” Before Rainbow could question her on that, she looked back at her and continued. “To be completely honest with you Dashie…no, they don’t. My family doesn’t have the same powers as I do. I’m the only one that does.”

“Wait, what?” Applejack asked, brows furrowing. “What are you talkin’ ‘bout Pinks? Ah thought you said you come from a clan that has powers jus’ like the ones you have?”

“I do!” Pinkie insisted, holding her hooves up. “What I’m saying is the family I was raised by doesn’t have them themselves. They’re… they’re not from my main clan. None of them are.”

“Not from your clan? Pinkie I don’t-” Twilight’s statement of confusion was whisked away by the gasp that came afterward. Her mind immediately connected the dots, like it was some incredibly hard math equation somepony of only her mind and intellect could solve. “Wait, are you saying that you’re-?”

The lavender unicorn was suddenly cut off when Fluttershy suddenly leapt to her hooves, as if she felt somepony slap her on her rump. Her nostrils were flared while her eyes made her look like she was a deer caught in headlights with the Canterlot Express barreling towards it. As if her neck was moving like a great horned owl, she turned to look at the mouth of the cave, like she could sense something or somepony behind her.

“Fluttershy?” Twilight asked, concern covering her voice. “Is there something wrong?””

“Guys, I think we should go and leave the cave now.” Fluttershy replied, her voice so quiet that only Goku and Zephyr could clearly hear it. “I don’t know what, but something is wrong here. Very wrong.”

“Wait, is there an animal that you sensed nearby?” Zephyr asked urgently, going on high alert. “What animal is it? And which way is it coming from?”

Before Fluttershy could answer, Goku suddenly whirled around, her ears perked up and her eyes trained on the darkness of the cave. Twilight, who was closest to Goku, was the first one to notice the change in the tan thestral’s demeanor.

“What’s the matter Goku?” The lavender unicorn asked, her worry growing. “Did you hear something?”

“I did.” The tan Thestral replied, not looking back at the librarian. “I really don’t wanna worry you guys, but I’m very sure that I heard a growl somewhere inside of that cave.”

“A growl?!” Rarity repeated, her eyes growing wide. “Are you saying that there’s something inside this cave?!”

“What do you think?” Goku asked, shaking her head. “It’s definitely not that of a pony, I’ll tell you that. It’s more animalistic and... feral.”

“Feral?” Applejack asked with a frown. “Are ya sayin’ that there’s some rapid critter in there?”

“I don’t think so.” Goku replied as she took a few steps closer to the darkness. She sniffed the air, trying to detect any kind of scent she could find inside of the cave. “There is an animal in somewhere in there. Not only that, it smells very much like a... bear.”

Now it was Rainbow Dash’s turn to frown. “A bear? What do you mean a bear? I don’t know of any bear that lives in this forest. Are you sure that nose of yours is working the right way?”

Rarity looked over at Rainbow Dash with a disapproving look, having not taken kindly to the cyan mare’s rather rude question. She opened her mouth to scold the athlete, when she and the others all heard the sound of deep growling combined with a bone chilling hiss coming from somewhere deep in the cave. All of the others’ eyes snapped forward to the source of the sound as they all took moved back some, except for Goku, who stayed right where she was.

“Does that answer your question Rainbow Dash?” Rarity asked with a slight hiss.

“Whoa!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, shaking on the spot. “Now that sounded reeeeeeeally scary!”

“Now what in tarnation was that?!” Applejack all but shouted as her eyes narrowed.

“I have no idea.” Goku replied. “Whatever it is, bear or not, it’s big. And its powerful, and it’s getting closer.”

Twilight looked over at the thestral with worry. “How powerful?”

The tan thestral went to answer, when they all heard the sound of something big slamming onto the ground, causing it to shake and nearly making them all lose their footing. A powerful blast of wind suddenly flew out of the cave and engulfed all seven mares in its powerful gust and putting out their fire. They all obscured their eyes from the blast, digging their hooves into the earth beneath them as they fought to withstand unexpected onslaught. Try as they might however, none of them could withstand it, and they all found themselves blown out of the cave, tumbling across the ground.

“Okay…” Rainbow Dash groaned as she rubbed her head. “...that was totally not cool!”

“You said it RD.” Applejack nodded as she got up, shaking the dirt off of her fur. “That sounded more powerful than one o’ Granny’s giant siren power speakers that she uses at th’ Apple Family Reunions.”

“Are you okay Fluttershy?” Twilight asked as she ran up to the buttermilk Pegasus. “That was a hard tumble that you took back there.”

“Yes, I’ll be okay.” Fluttershy replied, holding onto Twilight as she helped her up. “Other than the added soreness and cramps in my body, I’m not too banged up.”

“That’s wonderful and all dear,” Rarity said with a gulp, her eyes wide with fear as she stared ahead of her. “But I something tell me that we’re gonna get more than ‘banged up’, if we get out of here.”

“What makes you say that, Rarity?” Pinkie Pie asked curiously.

“I think she means that Pinkie Pie.” Goku said gravely, putting a hoof on the bubblegum pink earth pony’s head and turning it forward. When Pinkie Pie’s cerulean eyes laid on what the tan thestral, Rarity and the others were staring at, she let out a loud extended gasp of shock. Her fur, mane and tail turned a bright shade of lavender and deep indigo as she and the others stared wide eyed at the sight before them. Only Zephyr looked to be calmed under the revelation, though he also broke into a sweat at what he was seeing.

The creature that was standing just outside the cave, eyes flashing with bloodlust, was probably the most bizarre creature they had ever seen. From what they could see, it was clearly a giant bear. Standing over nine feet tall, though there were some glaring differences. Its fur was as black as Nightmare Moon’s, looking to be wild and matted like a fox that just caught rabies. All four of its limbs held quite the amount of muscularity. More so than any other bear, with all for paws having long sets of curved black claws. It had a huge set of bat wings, with the membranes going to the base of its extended muscular tail and two huge thumb claws as longer than samurai sword.

On its face, were three claw marks on the left side, and its upper back, lower neck and its left flank were burnt, showing off the bear’s black skin. Arrows could be seen stuck around where its lower neck and upper back were, showing that it may have had some run ins with ponies some time ago. Its eyes were two orbs of pure orangish golden that pierced through the darkness of the night like two twin lanterns on Nightmare Night, and it made the eight ponies’ own eyes burn as they looked at them. What was most disturbing, was its gaping canines, which oozed some sort of soft green texture that hung down from its mouth as if it was some mushed up jello. As it ran its tongue along its mouth, the green saliva that was hanging from its teeth fell. It hit the ground with a wet plop, the grass covering the earth immediately sizzling away as if acid was dripped on it.

“My Celestia…” Zephyr gasped as a chill ran down his spine. “What in the name of Celestia is that thing?!”

“Hell if I know!” Rainbow Dash replied, scrunching up her face in disgust at the green substance coming from the bear’s mouth. “I can’t tell if it’s some kind of giant winged wolf or giant bat or whatever!”

Fluttershy gulped inaudibly, fear overtaking her as she murmured, “Battookuma…”

“What was that Fluttershy?” Twilight asked, having heard what the buttermilk Pegasus had said.

Fluttershy closed her eyes and took a deep breath, fighting to keep her heart rate under control as she spoke louder. “I know what that creature is. It’s a Battookuma.”

“A what now?” Applejack asked. “Ya mind repeatin’ that Fluttershy”

“Battookuma?” Pinkie Pie asked curiously. “What’s a Battookuma?”

“It’s the largest species of bear that’s known to live in the Everfree. The only bear that’s known to live in the Everfree Forest, other than the Ursa.” Fluttershy replied, not taking her eyes off of the beast before her. “It looks similar to a Short-Faced Bear, the only difference being that it’s more muscular and is a cross between two animals. That, and it usually lives on its own in caves like the one we were in just a few moments ago. I noticed the claw marks on the cave, which gave me an assumption that we were in its cave.”

“Wait! You saw claw marks around the cave?!” Rainbow Dash asked, growling indignant as she glared at Fluttershy. “Why didn’t you tell us that sooner?!”

“It didn’t any large paw prints or any signs of poison that coated the ground. The claws were the only thing that I had to go by, but it wasn’t enough.” Fluttershy replied gravely. “The Battookuma is known for having incredible physical strength and stamina, equivalent to that of a dozen Timberwolves. It is also incredibly fast and agile, both on the ground and in the air, despite its size. It can suck in huge amounts of air and shoot of enormous blasts of wind that are powerful enough to take town full grown trees. The wings can be used to deliver powerful slices and gusts of wind, pretty much like I can. Though with the amount of magic it has, it’s bound to leave some destruction behind. It can even pull trees out by the roots with its own physical strength alone.” Her eyes narrowed as she stared at its mouth. “Although, that’s not what we need to watch out for.”

“It’s not?” Goku asked, feeling her stomach clench. “What is it?”

“Take a good look at its mouth.” Fluttershy instructed like a teacher to a class of foals. “Do any of you notice the green substance coming out of its mouth?”

“Yeah, we can see it fine Fluttershy.” Rainbow Dash replied; her tone slightly sarcastic as she gave a roll of her eyes. “I mean, it’s not like we haven’t due to the fact that it is glowing!”

“Simmer down there RD, now ain’t th’ time fer sarcasm.” Applejack said firmly, before looking over at Fluttershy. “Now...go on sugarcube. You were sayin’ ‘bout that stuff that was in that critters mouth?”

“The saliva coming out of the Battookuma’s mouth isn’t really saliva.” Fluttershy replied with a grimace. “It’s poison acid.”

“Poison?!” Rarity repeated, whipping her head around to face the other mare. “Why would it need poison of all things?”

“To kill its prey.” Goku replied, giving the alabaster Unicorn a deadpan look. “What do you think?”

“The Battookuma’s main weapon, isn’t it’s strength or speed, or its wing attacks. It’s the acidic like poison that they have packed inside of their mouths.” Fluttershy explained. “Battookuma’s have been known to pack a potent saliva like venom inside of their mouths that is extremely toxic to any creature that it comes across. Their immune to their own poisonous bites. But those that aren’t, be it another carnivore or prey animal, are very unlikely to survive if they get bitten. A single bite, even so much as a flesh wound is enough to send the poison coursing through the victim's body and cause the skin, muscle, and bone to very slowly dissolve. The poison will also spread across the victim’s body, slowly weakening them until the Battoookami goes in for the kill.”

“I-It’s poison can dissolve skin flesh and bone?” Pinkie Pie stuttered, her purple and lavender color becoming more pronounced. “I-including our own?”

“It can.” Fluttershy nodded as her ears flattened. “It hasn’t been known to attack ponies because they normally don’t venture in the Everfree for obvious reasons. However, it’s been said that anypony who encounters a Battookuma, will suffer a slow and brutally agonizing death if not given immediate medical attention. As for the poison…” She paused, taking a deep breath to steady her nerves before continuing. “There hasn’t really been any known cure for it. So, the only way you can stop the poison from spreading as if you drain it not long after your bitten.”

“So basically, what you’re saying is, if we get so much as nipped by that guy, we’re fucked?” Rainbow Dash asked knowingly. “That’s what I’m hearing right?”

“Yeah, that’s just what she said Rainbow Dash.” Zephyr said bluntly. “Were you not listening at all?”

Just then, there was a loud thudding sound as the Battookuma slammed one of its large paws on the ground. It’s feathered bat wings spread to their fullest span as its powerful tail slowly swayed behind it, its jaws drooling with the acidic poison as it hunched its body.

“I think we should save scolding Rainbow Dash for later.” Goku said as she took a step back. “Our new guest looks ready to pounce.”

Rarity glared at the thestral as she viciously spat out, “You think?!”

The Battookuma let out a tooth grinding shriek combined with a howl that echoed throughout the forest. The eight ponies’ ears pinned firmly against their heads as the sound resonated painfully in their ears, making them want to jam their hooves inside of them and rip out their eardrums just to escape the painful noise. It was so loud that they didn’t notice the bat winged wolf had had made the first move until he was already flying right at them.

“Oh crap! Here he comes!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she instinctively reeled back, preparing to face their new adversary. “Lightning Pegasus: Thunderous Explosion!”

The cyan mare’s eyes glowed as she sent a blast of lightning at the Battookuma, the bolts ripping through the ground. The Battookuma stood up on its hind legs, letting out a roar that caused a blast of wind to shoot out of its mouth. It collided with the Rainbow Dash’s wave of lightning and after a brief power struggle, the beast’s attack won out and cancelled out the lightning attack. Rainbow’s eyes widened upon seeing her attack get stopped, and she found herself and the others screaming as they felt themselves being blown away and sliced to ribbons. The Battookuma, seeing its opponents down, took their moment of weakness to move in and deal another blow, hut Zephyr wasn’t about to let him.

“Oh no you don’t!” Zephyr shouted, turning tail and rushing towards the bear. Orange flames came out from under his hooves, causing them to light up as fire slowly began to emerge and flicker around him. “Fire Pegasus: Twin Flaming Hooves!”

Just as the Battoookami was about to reach the mares, Zephyr leapt into the air. The fire around him left a flaming trail as he stretched his forelegs forward. With a heave, Zephyr slammed them both into the Battookuma’s chest, sending a wave of heat throughout the bat winged bear’s body as it roared with pain. The Battookuma didn’t have much time to fight it down before Zephyr whirled around and bucked it in the face, sending it crashing to the ground.

“Alright! Nice one Zephyr!” Rainbow Dash cheered with a fanged grin. “You show that giant mutt what we’re made off!”

“I don’t quite think that now is the appropriate time for cheering Rainbow.” Rarity chastised.

“Are you alright everypony?” Applejack asked, turning to the others. “That varmint didn’t get ya too bad, did he?”

“Don’t worry Applejack. We’re okay. He didn’t get me. Though these wind slashes do hurt pretty bad.” Fluttershy said reassuringly as the tangerine Earth Pony helped her up. As she got back on her hooves, Fluttershy shot Applejack a disapproving frown. “And I would like it if you and the others would please stop the animals those names please. I get that you and the others want to keep each other safe, but that’s no reason to call them such rude names.”

Before Applejack could reply, the form of Zephyr came crashing past them before coming to a stop right in front of Twilight. As she helped him to his feet, she and the others screamed upon seeing the slash marks covering the right side of his face, blood seeping from them.

“Damn it! That varmint got Zephyr real good with that one.” Applejack murmured inspectingly, turning back to the Battookuma. “Looks like we’re gonna have t’ take this up a notch!”

“In that case, why don’t we give this ruffian a taste of our own medicine?!” Rarity asked, igniting her horn. “Belle Machine Gun: Gattling Gun!”

“Oh, wait for me!” Pinkie Pie said, bouncing in between the two mares as she went into her lycan form once more.

When the Battookuma got within range, Rarity fired off with her Belle Machine Gun, sending a flock of magical bolts at the bear. The bear grunted as they hit but managed to use its large forearms and wings as a shield against the assault. With a growl, it flared its wings, sending a blast of wind that eradicated the rest of them, only to see Pinkie zooming towards him. Pain exploded in the Battookuma’s face as the pink pony gave him a slash to the face that sent him flying away and crashing to the dirt ground. He said himself up and glared at the hybrid mare, but before he could get up, vines appeared and ensnared him, holding him in place.

“Earth Make: Vine Snare!” Applejack shouted, her eyes glowing as she grinned at the Battookuma. “He’s all yers Goku!”

“Right!” The tan thestral shouted flying passed the tangerine mare as she ascended high into the air. When she was high enough away, she dived down towards the Battookuma lightning coating her entire body as her cat-like eyes flashed. “Lightning Thestral: Twin Electric Hooves!”

The Battookuma roared loudly as Goku slammed both of her lightning coated hooves into its chest, sending lightning throughout its body. In her haste to take the Battookuma out as quickly as possible, she failed to notice the lightning destroying the vines holding the beast down. This left the Battookuma able to move, and it delivered a powerful blow to Goku’s side. It sent its claws deep into her right side and sending her crashing into a tree.

“Goku!” Twilight shouted as she watched the tan thestral get blown away. Her horror soon turned to fear when she noticed the Battookuma flying towards them. Twilight’s body got rooted with fear as the creature got closer, but luckily for her, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie all intercepted it.

“Stop right there!” They all shouted as they met the Battookuma head on. Rainbow Dash struck with powerful volts of electricity while Rarity fire off more magical blasts. They sent the giant bear crashing to the ground, allowing Applejack and Pinkie to ensnare it in their vines, leaving the other two mares to be able to hit their mark. At some point, Goku had recovered from being thrown, before she too rejoined the fray.

“Wow, they’re really getting into it.” Zephyr murmured, standing close to Fluttershy. “Are the two of you okay?”

“Not as okay as you are Zephyr.” Twilight murmured, wincing at the bloody cuts adorning her body from the Battookuma’s first attack. She looked over at Fluttershy, who was lying in between them. “Are you alright back there Fluttershy? Fluttershy?”

It was at that moment that both Twilight and Zephyr saw the look of absolute horrified shock on the buttermilk pegasus’s face. It wasn’t quite the same one that she sported back in the cave, but it had that addition as to where is she recognized something or somepony from a sensitive part of her past. One that she believed that she would never see again, or ever even wanted to ever see again for that matter.

“Um, Fluttershy?” Zephyr asked. “Is something the matter?”

“T-T-Twilight! t-that Battookuma…!” Fluttershy whispered, slowly looking up at the lavender Unicorn. “I-I know that Battookuma!”

Twilight paused, giving her friend a perplexed look. “Y-you do?”

“Yes, I do!” Fluttershy cried, shooting to her hooves. “Do you remember four years go when you first came to Ponyville?! How Ponyville was attacked by a Battookuma very much like that one?!”

“…Yes, I do. That was when I was around twenty.” Twilight replied, as the memories of the night that Ponyville was attacked by an Everfree creature flooded her mind. “Why? What is it about it that makes this Battookuma connected to it?”

“Take a close look at it.” Fluttershy said hastily. “Do you see the burn marks in between its neck and back, along with the on the left side its leg? Along with the claw marks arrows sticking out from behind it?”

“I saw them.” Twilight replied, looking even more confused. “But I still don’t see how-?”

“Think back on that day when the Battookuma from four years go attacked the town.” Fluttershy said, sharply cutting Twilight off. “What injuries did it sustain?”

“Fluttershy, why are you-?”

“What. Injuries. Did. It. Sustain?” Fluttershy repeated, sterner this time. “Just answer the question Twilight! Please!”

Twilight, sensing the urgency and demand in Fluttershy’s tone, immediately replied. “From what I can remember, it suffered a claw slash to the face. Along with some burns to its upper back and lower neck area, and some claw slashes to the same area as well, and they were done by-” She stopped abruptly, her pupils shrinking to pinpricks as she finally caught onto what Fluttershy had found out. “Oh no. No… y-you don’t mean…?!”

“I think it is Twilight.” Fluttershy nodded. “Without a single shadow of a doubt.”

At that moment Zephyr walked up to the mares. “Um, girls, I don’t mean to interrupt, but could you please inform me on what you found out?”

“It’s worse than you can imagine Zephyr.” Fluttershy replied, unable to hide the fear in her tone. “About four years ago, Ponyville was attacked by a Battookuma, much like this one, and tried to go after the residence for food. Luckily a one of my friends were there to stop it before things go too out of hoof, and chased it back into the Everfree Forest. She gave an audible gulp as she looked back at the Battookuma that was still fighting four of her friends. “That wasn’t just any random attack! This particular Battookuma has been reported to have been sighted in the cities and towns of Hallow Shades, Fillydelphia, Manehatten, and even in Appleoosa! He’s called…Mor’du.”

Well guys, here it is, the newly edited version of the 35th chapter of War of Eternal Night! I have to say, the beginning o this chapter was a little bit easier to do since all I had to do was rearrange who was in the comatose state that I had Pinkie be put into instead of Fluttershy, like how I did at the end of the chapter Howls in the Night. The rest was a bit harder on explaining Pinkie's powers and where her first clan mares first originated, but as for the introduction of Mor'du, from the Disney Movie Brave, it was more or less smooth sailing for me...that last part was honestly pretty fun to do in my opinion. You guys probably weren't expecting me to do that though, but with all the things that have been going on in this story, with the obduction of the foals, the Folkloric Army invasion, and Pinkie's powers...I guess the unexpected is to be expected, isn't it?

Well, that's all for this chapter! Tune in next time for when we see the royal guards in action once more, and Spike faces off against his greatest fear.