The Curse of Pony Tale Island

by Writer of the Storm

(OFFICIAL SEQUEL TO "OUR FRIEND, GODZILLA") After already going through such an incredible, kaiju infested quest once before, fate sends Godzilla and the Mane 6 on another mission to an island far away. Here, they meet several new threats, but just as many new friends that will help our heroes in their task that will determine the future of the world. (Takes place between S5 & S6)

1. Prologue and Ch 1

PROLOGUE

THE WILLOWING FOREST ON PONY TALE ISLAND, LOCATED 79 MILES WEST OF THE MAINLAND AKA EQUESTRIA:

It was a dark night deep within the confines of the Willowing Forest. It seemed even shadier under the cover of the woodland's famously giant evergreen trees. Even still, it appeared to be especially dark this particular night, even as far as the Willowing Forest was concerned. Some would argue it had been like this all across Pony Tale Island for a long time now. That's how it felt to the majority of the pony locals on the island at least.

This temperate forest filled with many different kinds of coniferous and deciduous trees covered nearly eighty nine percent of the island. The only exceptions were the small beaches scattered on the edges of the island, the seaside town built by the locals and most of the volcano located in the center of the island. Some trees in the forest ranged from a decent twenty foot height while the old growth evergreen trees were nearly two hundred feet tall. There was all sorts of other plant life growing in the forest as well, from bushes to shrubs and so on.

In the long time this island had been around, many a tree had fallen across the ground, most of which still laid there, some having broken into several smaller logs. This also left many tree stumps of varying sizes. Several of these stumps, and logs had either been covered by moss or had become home to many of the island's wildlife. There were raccoons, squirrels, several kinds of birds, and even some mountain lions and bears among other animals. Perhaps one of the more terrifying creatures to live in the forest were the magically created wolves made of wood known as timberwolves.

As intimidating as these giant unnatural creatures were, recently even more terrifying beasts had become indigenous to Pony Tale Island. Some were as big as the tallest trees and some were even bigger still. Beyond their varying heights of gigantic magnitude, the beasts' overall outer appearances were just as much of a fear factor if not more. Most of them were even scarier than what could possibly be dreamed in the worst of nightmares.

It was incredibly late into the evening, sometime after midnight, when the stillness of the forest was interrupted. Rather than being a beacon of better nights and days to come, this interruption only served to add to the ominous feeling that covered the island. A white fog quickly spread itself completely over the forest floor. From off in the distance it would sometimes appear as though the fog reached as high as the tops of the near two hundred foot tall trees. It also appeared as though there was a bright glowing light that emanated from inside the fog that only lit up the ground of the forest while all else remained dark.

The creepy factor was magnified by the sounds of the forest's children of the night. In addition to the regular hoots, howls, and hisses, there were many unusual sounds as well. There were low moans, loud, hollering screams, and even howls being made by creatures that didn't usually make that kind of noise. Other noises that broke through the air were the rustlings and steps being made by the running and jumping of creatures making their way through the forest terrain. The last sound being made was a gust of wind from something flying swiftly through the Willowing Forest.

The one flying was a pegasus pony, who flew at an unbelievably fast speed of eighty eight miles per hour. The pink furred mare was flying like death itself was after her, which may very well have been the case. In addition to her mostly pink coat, this pegasus also had a light blue mane and tail. She also had three blue lightning bolts on the sides of her flank that made up her cutie mark and her eye color was pink. This amazing, flying speedster was known as Firefly and she was booking it through the bowels of the Willowing Forest as fast as she could.

Every second Firefly was zooming through the forest terrain, she was trying to force herself to go even faster. Even if it was impossible for her to get to a greater speed than she was already going, she still tried, for it was a matter of life and death. Firefly's head zipped from side to side as she looked for possible danger. She knew it was there, even if she couldn't see it; she could still hear the sounds of her pursuers. The creatures hiding in the dense brush of the forest had been chasing Firefly for several hours trying to catch her before she could escape back to the village where she lived.

Firefly turned her gaze ahead of her and her heart started thumping even harder at what she saw.

"Whoa!" the fleeing pegasus let out as she ducked under an extended tree branch. "Dang it, I gotta keep my focus. A little hard to do in a place like this, even if you have lived here as long as I have. Doesn't help any when you're flying for your life from some goons, either."

It was true that the wild growing plant life of the Willowing Forest was hard for someone Firefly's size to fly through, even if she could keep good concentration. Unfortunately, Firefly was gonna have to try even harder still, though the reason why would make it that more difficult. All of a sudden several projectiles were flying through the air across Firefly's flight path from both sides. There were such weapons as arrows shot from bows, battle axes, knives, daggers, and even shurikens such as a ninja might use. Firefly had to dodge out of the way of all these deadly weapons, which to her credit she was managing to pull off, however difficult it might have been.

"Is there a target painted on me or something?!" Firefly screamed out in aggravation. "This is by far the worst game of darts I've ever been apart of!"

The pink furred flier's ranting was interrupted by the sound of loud howls echoing through the night air. Firefly looked out to her left, though she didn't need to see the creatures to know what they were. She instantly spotted the glowing eyes of the timberwolves glaring out at her from the brush of the forest. Firefly heard the growls, the howls, and the vicious barks of the creatures all running and jumping after her from both sides. Firefly even heard the sounds of timberwolves running up from behind.

The blue maned mare looked behind her and saw three of the giant magical beasts made of living forest terrain chasing her at full speed. As dangerous as the timberwolves were known to be, at that moment Firefly was even more worried about the predators that were actually riding them. Yes, there was a species great enough that they actually kept trained timberwolves and rid them like horses. Firefly and her people have had many a bad encounter with these brutes they shared residency of the island with and this was one of the more dangerous times. These barbaric beasts had every intention of killing Firefly should they get the chance.

Firefly heard a sound come from her right and looked to see an arrow flying directly at her.

"Whoa!" Firefly shouted as she ducked down and pulled back to avoid the flying projectile.

A second after the arrow flew passed her, Firefly heard the sound of it hitting something else. That was soon followed by a yelp and the sound of someone falling down. The speeding flier couldn't help but let a small smirk of satisfaction cross her face.

"That's what you get for messing with me, ya dirty, smelly two hoofers!"

Though she was talking a lot of smack, in truth Firefly was as scared as could be. She always was whenever she and her friends ever came across these evil, vile beasts, though Firefly would never admit to it. She always put up this tough mare image for everyone, but in truth, the current situation she and her people were facing effected her just like everypony else. The pink pegasus fought through that fear every time, though, because she knew she had to and this time was no different.

After several more moments of Firefly dodging the same dangerous projectiles being hurtled at her, the time came for the pegasus to avoid something else. The pink furred pony's eyes widened as she heard a loud hollering noise and looked to see what had made it. The creature she saw was just what she had expected, though it didn't make its sudden surprise attack any less alarming. Being up that close with one of these things usually meant tremendous danger for a pony, including possible death for some lesser experienced ponies and even a few more experienced ones.

This creature walked on only two hooves, stood vertically, and had an incredibly muscular physique, as was typical for his species. In place of a second pair of legs and hooves, the beast had thick muscular arms and large hands with rock hard knuckles. Perhaps most striking of all was its bull-like head covered in a thick, black almost eighties rock star styled wild mane with long sharp horns on top . This was just one of many minotaurs that the ponies of Pony Tale Island have had to deal with in a bitter struggle for over twenty five years.

The minotaur had jumped out of the brush of the Willowing Forest and came at Firefly with a long, very sharp ended, crudely made spear. Luckily, Firefly was able to stop herself so the minotaur went sailing passed her to the ground. The end of his spear ended up getting stuck in the dirt and while the minotaur was trying to pull it out, Firefly flipped through the air and kicked her back hooves into the beast's face. She then reached out her front hooves and wrapped them around the spear and pulled it out of the ground. Firefly landed on the forest floor and spun around in a circle, stabbing the spear through the minotaur's stomach with her back to the now dead beast.

The blue maned pegasus mare was thankful because usually it took a lot more than that to bring down a minotaur. She figured it must've been a newer more inexperienced bull. Firefly wasn't willing to bet that the rest of them were like that, so she instantly took off through the air again. She looked back to see that the timberwolves behind her had gotten much closer than they were before. They were co close, she could see that they were being ridden by minotaurs, just like she was sure the ones hidden by the trees around her were.

Firefly decided to take a risk and flew forth at her full speed to escape. The result of the pegasus' increased speed was a small sonic boom that was somehow made visible in the colors of blue and pink. The force of the sonic boom knocked Firefly's pursuers off their feet. Firefly must've flown a mile and a half before the danger of flying at such high speed in a tight environment took its toll. The pink mare had suffered all sorts of scrapes and scratches from the tree branches and bushes and other products of the forest, which she had previously been trying to avoid.

All the injuries had piled up and their combined pain had forced Firefly to stop and catch her breath. Part of her felt it would be okay since she had left her previous pursuers in the dust. The other part of her, however, was still incredibly cautious, for she knew more could be anywhere out there hiding and waiting to strike. Firefly looked over the injuries she had sustained from her flight while also looking over her shoulder every two seconds. Many of her cuts were bleeding, but none of them were anything too serious.

Firefly was feeling very fortunate because she had stopped flying right in the middle of one of the forest's very few clear paths where there was absolutely nothing in her way. More than that, following this clearing would take her straight to her village. Throughout the chase she just went through, Firefly had hoped she would find this path. While her foes would've had more room to run, she would've had more room to fly, which meant they never would've been able to catch her. Unfortunately she had used her amazing speed to get to this clearing, which left her in her current state.

"Come on, Firefly old girl," the pink mare said to herself. "You're a tough old brod. You've been through worse than this many times before. That was back when you were younger, but still. Besides, this information is way too important to waste time on yourself. I got to get back to the village and tell Moon Bright and the others what I found. This could finally tip the scales in our favor. Let's go, you old bat!"

Firefly fought through her pain, stood up on all four hooves, took one final look around, and then prepared to start flying again. Before she could even begin flapping her wings, however, a loud crash suddenly shook the ground and nearly knocked Firefly off her hooves. Less than a second later a loud howling roar broke through the air and nearly chilled Firefly to the bone. Her eyes stared widely in horror, for she knew that roar all too well and also knew that it meant big trouble for her.

Firefly heard what sounded like large pieces of mountains crashing into the ground ahead of her one after another. She knew, however, that these were not the sounds of large boulders hitting the ground, but large footsteps of a gigantic creature coming in her direction! Firefly was panicking like crazy and wanted to fly away, but before she could, she saw it! Ahead of her, Firefly spotted a massive silhouette breaking through the glow of the fog in the distance. It was in the shape of a giant monster that appeared to be standing on two feet and had large bat-like wings hanging off of its arms, as well as glowing red eyes.

That was all Firefly could see of the over three hundred foot tall shape, but she had seen this same beast several times before, so she knew the sever danger she was in. She knew it was guaranteed doom if the monster caught her. Firefly let out a loud scream, for she was more scared than she had ever been before in her life. She wanted to turn and fly in the exact opposite direction the monster was coming from, but she stopped herself. Firefly realized there was most likely still danger she had left behind that she could run into again or possibly even new ones.

Besides, that direction would take her away from her village, which is where she really needed to be to at that moment. Realizing this, Firefly got as good of a grip on herself as she could and went airborne. She ended up flying off the path and through the harsh and cramped environment of the Willowing Forest. Firefly was hoping she could stay on the path because it was the fastest way back to her village. But she knew very well that it was not worth it to try and go around a giant such as the one she just saw.

So, Firefly flew through the forest's non-flight friendly environment as best as she could in a desperate effort to get back home. She had to get there; everyone she loved and cared about was there, plus she had some info she had to give to them. Their future depended on it, as did the future of all of Pony Tale Island and even the world itself. With all that in mind, Firefly pushed on no matter how much harder it got.

Despite her having trouble flying around, much to Firefly's surprise she didn't run into any more opposition. There were no more minotaurs riding on timberwolves and the monster she had run into had been left far behind. It never came close to catching up with her, though its mighty roars could still be heard echoing throughout the confines of the Willowing Forest. Because of this, Firefly had no problem getting back to Willowbrook, the village where she and all her family and friends lived. Once she was near the outer area of Willowbrook, Firefly flew up towards the treetop her hut had been built into.

Waiting inside the brave pegasus' home was an Earth pony friend of hers named Thunder Jack. The young, tan furred stallion was pacing back and forth impatiently as he had been for many hours now waiting for Firefly. This tall, muscular pony had a long black mane and tail as well as brown eyes. His cutie mark was a golden heart with a rusty horse plow over it.

Thunder Jack was incredibly worried about Firefly. He knew she was a tough mare, but he couldn't help himself. Firefly was almost like a second mother to him. Thunder Jack had known and loved Firefly all his life and in that time, she had become a very close friend to his whole family. That was why he was so worried for her at the moment, because of what she meant to him and his family and what they meant to her.

"Where could she be?!" Thunder Jack said with impatient concern. No sooner than right after the distressed stallion said that did the door to the hut fly open and Firefly came stumbling through gasping for breath. "Firefly!"

"Th... Thunder Jack," Firefly managed to gasp out in between coughs and heavy breaths.

Thunder Jack's eyes widened in horror when he saw his friend leaning up against the side of the doorway. He took notice of all the injuries she had sustained and ran up to catch Firefly in his forelegs just as she was starting to fall to the floor.

"Sweet crimany, what happened to you?!" Thunder Jack asked in alarm.

"I... I..."

Firefly was trying hard to reply, but she couldn't get the words out because she was coughing so much and breathing so hard. In addition to that, every part of her body shook and trembled in aching pain and it felt like her heart was ready to burst out of her chest. Thunder Jack quickly escorted Firefly over to a couch located in the living room that doubled as a dinning room and a kitchen. Thunder Jack gently lowered Firefly down until her body was laid out across the couch.

"What happened?" Thunder Jack asked as he looked Firefly over in concern. "How did you get like this?... Did... Did they attack you?"

Firefly moaned and groaned as she tried to get out a sentence or even one word.

"Thunder Jack, I..."

The Earth pony let out a gasp before his eyes lowered into an angry, yet still concerned glare.

"You went after them by yourself again, didn't you?" Thunder Jack asked, the tone of his voice showing his agitation. He walked over and opened a door to Firefly's small closet where she kept her medical supplies among other things. "Dang it, Firefly, how many times have you've been told not to go after those guys by yourself?! I've told you, my mom's told you, heck, even Sunshine and Muse have told you! And what do you do?! You go anyways and now look what happened!"

"I don't need no sass from anyone! Especially not from somepony so much younger than me!... Well, not that much younger, but you get what I mean!"

Firefly was practically coughing out the words rather than actually saying them. She had finished speaking just as Thunder Jack came over with a first aid kit.

"Oh, come on, Firefly! You know it's only..."

"Yeah, yeah, you care about me! I care about you, too, Thunder Jack. I care about everypony, which is exactly why I do go out... And it really paid off this time."

"You're laying here looking like you just went through a lawn mower! So how exactly could you say it paid off?!"

Thunder Jack grabbed a flashlight in his mouth, turned it on, and then ran the light over Firefly's body to inspect her injuries. That was when he saw the dead serious expression on the blue haired mare's face.

"I found it this time," Firefly said.

The flashlight fell out of Thunder Jack's mouth as his jaw dropped and his eyes widened.

"Really?!" Thunder Jack blurted out. Firefly nodded her head, keeping her serious expression on her face. "Are you sure? You really found where they're hiding this time?"

"I'm positive," Firefly said. "I wouldn't have gone through everything that I did if I wasn't."

Thunder Jack's breaths seemed to be getting heavier as his mind tried to process what Firefly just told him and all the implications it held. His head had slowly lowered as he continued thinking about everything.

"Firefly, this is huge!" Thunder Jack said.

"Well, of course it is!" Firefly said, finally with a normal voice. "That's why I kept going out looking for it. I knew everything that was at stake when I was doing it. Now that I found it, I've got to go tell Moon Bright about it."

Firefly tried sitting up and getting off the couch, but she was quickly intercepted by Thunder Jack.

"No, no, no, no!" Thunder Jack said as he ever-so-gently pushed Firefly back down. "You just stay right where you are. I'll go tell my mom. You know, as soon as I'm done looking at your injuries." Thunder Jack wrapped his right fore hoof around the flashlight and picked it up off the ground and proceeded to run its light over Firefly's wounds. "Then when I'm done here and done telling Mom about this, I'll run into town and catch a boat to the mainland so I can finally appeal to the princesses to help us. Now that we know where they are, if we get the royals' help, we can put an end to those monsters once and for all."

"No way, Lone Ranger," Firefly said. "You go ahead and talk to your mom, but there's no way in Tartarus you're leaving tonight! You got to get back on guard duty when you're done handling your business. Besides that, right now... it's not safe out there."

Firefly was interrupted when a loud roar echoed through the air. It caught both ponies off guard, making them jump a little. They looked to the hole in the wall that was Firefly's only window. The roars kept echoing on and it didn't sound like they were gonna stop anytime soon. Plus they were quickly joined by another set of roars.

"I see your point," Thunder Jack said.

"Just imagine if that was coming from right outside the village," Firefly said.

"No thank you," Thunder Jack replied. "I get it, I'll stay on guard duty. Now, let me finish up my work here."

The tan stallion finished up his analysis of Firefly's wounds and started cleaning them. As Thunder Jack was doing this, Firefly saw the concern deep in his eyes.

"Don't worry about it, TJ," Firefly said.

"I know we have to be strong through this and all, but I still can't help but be concerned. I mean this is the first time any of us have left the island... At least since all this got started. I just don't want to screw it up. Are you all gonna be okay when I finally do have to head out?"

"That's one of the things about you that makes you such a special pony, TJ. You're always thinking about others and wondering if they're doing good."

Thunder Jack looked down and smiled at Firefly, who responded to him in kind.

"Thanks, Firefly... I sure hope everything ends up being okay."

"I'm sure it'll all be fine. Keep your chin up, kid. You're probably the only pony here that's a tougher piece of meat than I am... Don't tell anyone I said that."

Thunder Jack let out a short laugh before he went on cleaning Firefly's wounds. He was unable to keep his smile from melting into a worried frown. Just think, Thunder Jack thought to himself. Tomorrow I'll be heading for the mainland... To Equestria... To Canterlot to meet the princesses. I hope I can handle it and that the meeting with them will mark the beginning of the end of all this evil.

---

CHAPTER 1: FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC

PONYVILLE, THE NEXT MORNING:

The sun rose high into the sky and shined brightly over the large, beautiful land of Equestria. In particular, its light seemed to catch off the side of the mountain Canterlot, the nation's capitol city, was built into the side of. Even further, a special beam of sunlight seemed to gleam over the nearby Ponyville, a small village built in the center of a valley close by the mountain. Because of the added brightness of the sun's rays shinning on Ponyville, it seemed to make the small town appear that much more beautiful.

Other than the sunshine, there wasn't much else about Ponyville that looked different from any other small town. Its outer appearance was just as one would think, a tiny village full of small, not so flashy buildings, mostly little homes and shops. But what made Ponyville so special was its tight knit community of varying ponies. It didn't matter if you were an Earth pony, a pegasus, or a unicorn or even if you were a non-pony species. Everyone in Ponyville lived in near perfect harmony and usually had a smile on their face when they were out walking around on the streets.

The only real spectacle was the large castle just outside the town limits. This amazing sight and most uniquely designed structure belonged to the town's local princess, one of only four in all of Equestria. Starting at the bottom, this castle first seemed shaped like an expanding tree trunk, only it was made of light blue crystal instead of wood. As one went up further, they would see that the color switched to mostly dark purple and began appearing more like a traditional castle.

The two towers of the royal structure were made of gold, as were the two balconies and the frames of the castle's windows. The front gates of the castle and the stairs leading up to them were also gold, as was the flagpole that held a violet flag with a pink six pointed star emblem on it. The star was modeled after the princess's cutie mark, as was the star-shaped crystal that stood atop the castle. Yes, it was truly a unique sight, even more so if one knew how the castle got there in the first place.

The inside was just as big of a spectacle as the outside, with many large, wide open rooms and long halls with quite the royal decor. What made it extra special were the small, homey touches added to remind the princess who lived there of her small town roots when she first moved to Ponyville. Even more special than all that was the princess herself, an alicorn named Twilight Sparkle. She was laying in bed with about five books she had been reading the night before. She had fallen asleep reading them and one had even ended up covering her face almost like a makeshift sleep mask.

Twilight had been snoring all throughout the night and was never once bothered by her being covered in books as she slept. It was at that moment, after the sun had risen and was shinning through her open bedroom window that she was starting to wake up. As she awoke and her consciousness began to return to her, Twilight Sparkle's eyes slowly began to open. Once she was awake enough, the violet furred alicorn instantly realized there was something on her face. Twilight let out an alarmed scream as she sat up and pushed the object off her face.

It went sailing across the room and skidded over the floor a few more feet after landing. Twilight Sparkle was gasping for breath, her eyes wide and alert, and her heart beating rapidly. She looked for whatever may have been on her face and than spotted the book laying on her floor.

"Huh?" the violet alicorn let out in confusion.

That was when she took notice of all the books laying in her bed. She looked around at them for a few moments before turning back to the one on the ground. A smile crossed Twilight Sparkle's face as she giggled in amusement, having realized that the book on the floor was what had been on her face. Though her heart was still beating hard and fast, it was slowly beginning to mellow, as the princess herself had already calmed down.

Twilight Sparkle let out a big, long yawn as she stretched out her forelegs and her alicorn wings. She turned to the window and smiled at the sun that had been given to the whole country by Princess Celestia, the oldest of all the alicorns and ponies in general. As her name would suggest, she was responsible for raising and lowering the sun in addition to being one of the two main rulers of the country. The second highest ruler was Celestia's younger sister, Princess Luna who raised and lowered the moon while also watching over ponies in their dreams. Both had been big inspirations to Twilight Sparkle with Celestia even acting as her teacher for a long time.

Since then both royal sisters had become very close friends with Twilight Sparkle and she felt very lucky to have them along with her other friends. Twilight Sparkle thought, as she did a lot of the time, about how lucky she was to have so many good friends in her life and so dear to her heart. She reflected on this as she got out of bed and walked over to the window to admire the bright, beautiful, sunny day that shined on Ponyville. A small smile was spread across her lips as she looked down at everything before looking at the sun itself and finally turning away back into her castle.

Twilight Sparkle walked over to the calendar on her wall and examined it to remind herself what day it was, though she was pretty sure she already knew. She gasped in joy and her eyes lit up when she saw it was the exact day she believed it was. Twilight Sparkle excitedly rushed through the morning routines of getting ready for the day. This included brushing her teeth, brushing her mostly purple mane, though she also had two stripes in it, one pink, the other dark violet. When she had finished these and all her other morning routines, Twilight Sparkle rushed out of her room.

The excited alicorn trotted down one of the many grand hallways of her castle, this one taking her to a specific room she was looking for. Twilight soon spotted and stopped in front of the door that would take her into her trusted assistant's bedroom. The mare didn't bother to knock, instead swinging the door open as she barged into the room.

"Spike, wake up!" Twilight Sparkle called out. "The day's finally arrived!"

She stood in place beaming for several moments before she realized Spike wasn't getting up, which made her smile fade. Twilight Sparkle walked up to the bed of her trusted assistant to find him there still deep in his sleep. Of course she didn't need to see him to know that since Twilight Sparkle could hear Spike's snoring out in the hall before she ever came into his room.

"Spike! Spike! Spike, wake up!"

The assistant Twilight was trying so hard to wake up was a wingless baby dragon. He was covered in mostly purple scales, though he had a light green underbelly. He had a single row of less light green plates running from the top of his head down his back, the row getting smaller as it went down. Despite his deep sleeping throughout Twilight's attempts to wake him, he's actually been a very loyal and worthy assistant to her. He wasn't without his faults, mind you, for he had many and early mornings was certainly one of them.

"Spike, I'm serious!" Twilight Sparkle exclaimed as she lightly pressed her front hooves against her friend's body. "Get! Up! Right! Now!"

"Agh!" Spike let out as he sat up in his bed and flailed his arms around in surprise.

"Ow!" Twilight let out when one of Spike's hands smacked across her face.

"Whoa, Twilight!" Spike screamed in alarm. "I am so sorry! I didn't mean to! It's just that... you surprised me, that's all! Yeah, I was sleeping and you surprised me!"

"It's okay, Spike," Twilight Sparkle reassured after rubbing the side of her face. "I just need you to get up is all."

"Why are you waking me up like this so early in the first place?" Spike said in a more annoyed tone now that his heart had stopped beating so hard. "What time is it anyways?"

"It's sun up," Twilight Sparkle explained.

"Sun up!" Spike felt his blood start to boil. "You mean you got me up, making me accidentally hit you as soon as the sun's up?!... No! Sorry, I cannot do it, captain! We've already talked about this!

"No more getting me up at such unreasonable hours! I'm more than willing to go through three day reading studies with you, but if I have to, then I gots to get my sleep! Sorry, but I can takes no more! Goodnight- Or good morning- Whatever!"

"But, Spike, this isn't a study session or anything like that," Twilight Sparkle said as she opened up the bedroom curtains. "This is actually something you'll enjoy. Though I don't see how somepony couldn't enjoy a good study session, but still, you'll like this."

"Unless it's a claw massage, I doubt it," Spike said as he pulled his bed covers over his head to block out the sunshine Twilight Sparkle had let in.

Twilight Sparkle merely smiled as she walked over, leaned in close to Spike's ear and whispered, "Today's the day we're gonna go see him."

Only a second later did the young dragon sit up, letting the covers slip off his upper body. He turned to Twilight Sparkle with wide eyes and an expression to match.

"You're not just foolin' me are ya?"

Twilight Sparkle shook her head before saying, "Nope, today is really the day."

A couple seconds went by before Spike's body slowly began to tremble like he was in an intense earthquake. Soon after, the baby dragon shot out of his bed like a rocket that was just launched.

"Yahoo!" Spike shouted loudly as he bounced around the room in excitement. Twilight Sparkle giggled in amusement even after Spike finally settled down. "You mean today's the day we're all gonna go pay him a visit?!"

Twilight Sparkle nodded her head before saying, "Yes, but we gotta hurry. We need to gather up everything before we go out to get-"

Before she could even finish, Spike had all the items laid out on his bed. Twilight Sparkle's eyes widened in surprise before they lowered back down.

"I don't know why this is so surprising," Twilight Sparkle said. "You've always been a prepped and ready number one assistant before. Why should I think you'd stop now?"

"Eh, beats me," Spike said with a proud grin on his face.

"Well, either way, I'm glad you keep up your game the way you do. You rock, Spike."

"Thank you, thank you. Please, hold your applause."

Twilight Sparkle let out a quick chuckle before she checked just to make sure they had everything there. She saw the picnic basket filled with the food they made for the get together, some supplies for the beach and of course some scrolls, quills, and books.

"Well, looks like we're ready to go," Twilight Sparkle said.

"Great, let's go!" Spike spouted enthusiastically before taking off out of the room.

"Wait!" Twilight Sparkle called after him. In less than a second, an impatient Spike was back by the alicorn's side. "Did you tidy yourself up for the day?"

"Of course, I did it while I got everything for the trip," Spike lied.

"Well... okay," Twilight Sparkle conceded. She could tell the young dragon was lying, but in truth, she wanted to get going as much as he did. "Let's go get the others and then be on our way to West Beach!"

"Yeah!" Spike concurred.

The duo gathered everything together, Twilight using the magic of her horn to levitate the saddle bag filled with her scrolls and quills while Spike carried everything else. As they took off and made their way through the castle's interior, they both waved and said their goodbyes to Twilight's pet owl, Owlowiscious. The laid back and calm natured owl simply hooted back as he waved a wing, knowing what a special day this was for his friends. Having said and done all they needed to and having everything in order, Twilight and Spike left the castle and headed out to town.

The duo eagerly made their way through the full, but calm streets of Ponyville. They looked around happily at all the ponies walking along to buy things at the farmer's market in the streets at the center of town. Others were going to make their purchases inside the shops and restaurants littered throughout Ponyville. There was one particular shop Twilight Sparkle and Spike were looking for at that moment and they knew just where to find it. This particular establishment they were looking for was none other than the town's local bakery shop, the Sugarcube Corner.

This bakery also served as the home of the Cake family, as well as Mr. Carrot Cake and Mrs. Cup Cake's top level bakery apprentice. That particular pony was the one Twilight Sparkle and Spike were looking for. They walked up to Sugarcube Corner and were just about to open the door to go inside. All of a sudden it swung open and the two were bombarded with a wave of streamers, confetti, party noise makers, and a screaming pink Earth pony. The sheer force of all this coming at them and the shock it made sent Twilight and Spike flying back as they yelped out in alarm.

They fell on their backs and their supplies nearly went flying across the ground. The surprised alicorn and dragon looked to see that the pink pony that flew at them was exactly the one they had come to see. She was still jumping and dancing all over the place as she screamed and sang at the top of her lungs. To say this hyperactive Earth pony was excited would be the understatement of the century. The eccentric mare stopped zigging and zagging all over the place when she caught sight of her fallen friends out of the corner of her eye.

"Oh, my gosh, you guys!" Pinkie Pie screamed out as she zoomed over to her friends, getting right up close to their faces. The giant grin and wide eyes on her face were almost as unsettling as her high, shrill, squeaky voice full of volume. "Today's the big day! It's finally here! I've been waiting for this day for such a long time! Or maybe it just feels like a long time!

"Does it feel like it's been a long time waiting for you?! Because it sure does to me! It feels like a hundred thousand, ye-!"

"PINKIE!" Twilight and Spike yelled at the same time.

This made the overly hyper Earth pony freeze in place, ceasing all her jumping around, and her rapid fire, fast pace talking. This allowed any nearby to get a clear look at her and see her fur was a regular shade of pink while her tail and mane were a darker shade. Both mane and tail were all big and poofy with very many a curl within both. A particular strand of hair extended out further than the rest of her mane and curved down before curling up again. She had sky blue eyes and her cutie mark was three balloons, the one in the middle being yellow while the other two were light blue.

Pinkie Pie stood with a simple smile on her face seemingly oblivious both to the fact that her friends were agitated with her. She was oblivious to a lot of things, but that was included.

"Why are you guys laying on the ground?" Pinkie Pie inquired.

"All your prancing around put us there," Spike answered.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Pinkie Pie said as an apologetic look crossed her face. "I didn't mean to knock either of you down! Here, let me help you!"

Pinkie Pie reached out her fore hooves and helped pull Spike and Twilight Sparkle back up on their feet and hooves.

"Thank you, Pinkie Pie," Twilight Sparkle said.

"You're welcome. I'm really sorry. I didn't expect you guys to be so close to the door when I popped out. I just wanted to surprise you."

"Well, we were certainly surprised," Twilight Sparkle said.

"I know, but not the way I wanted," Pinkie Pie said as a guilty expression crossed her face.

"It's okay, Pinkie, no one got hurt and nothing bad happened," Twilight Sparkle said. "So you got nothing to worry about."

"Nothing bad happened?!" Spike angrily asked.

"Spike, shush," Twilight Sparkle ordered.

Though he groaned under protest, the little fire breather ceased his complaining at Pinkie Pie's antics.

"I still wish I hadn't knocked you guys down, Twilight."

"Don't think anything of it, Pinkie Pie. I know it's just because you're excited to go see him just like Spike and I are."

This perked the Earth pony mare right back up again, as was indicated by the beaming smile and excited gleam in her wide eyes.

"You bet I am!" Pinkie Pie proclaimed loudly. "I mean, it's been so long since we've seen him! So much has happened since our last visit! I just can't wait to tell him all about it and give him the new recipes I've come up with since the last time I saw him! I hope he likes them all! We really need to go see him more often!"

"Pinkie, it's only been a month since our last time visit," Twilight Sparkle said. "You're acting like we haven't seen him in a century. Spike, you were acting like that earlier back at home, too."

"Sometimes that's how long it feels," Spike defended.

"Yeah, sometimes even longer," Pinkie Pie added.

"Well, at least I got you two on the same page," Twilight Sparkle said. "But you both know all the roles we play in Ponyville and even across Equestria are too important and time consuming to head out to West Beach all that often. We're lucky we're getting to go so soon after our last visit. Usually the wait's even longer."

"Too long if you ask me," Spike said.

"Yeah and this one's no different," Pinkie Pie added on. "But at least we're getting to go now!"

"Yep," Twilight Sparkle agreed. "Do you got all your stuff, Pinkie Pie?"

"Hold on, it only take a sec to get them." Pinkie Pie looked back to the door and called out, "Hey, Mr. and Mrs. Cake, you got the food?!"

Two Earth ponies wearing baking aprons came out. They were holding within their mouths two saddle bags full of small glass tubes containing what looked like a bunch of miniature baked goods. Mr. Cake and Mrs. Cake put the bags across Pinkie Pie's back next to the saddle bags she already had on, which she somehow managed to fit thousands of party supplies into.

"There you go, Pinkie Pie," the blue furred, pink maned Mrs. Cake said.

"You kids have fun now," the yellow furred, orange maned Mr. Cake said. "Tell the big guy we said hi."

"We will," Twilight, Spike, and Pinkie Pie said altogether.

"And tell Pumpkin and Pound that I love them!" Pinkie Pie called back.

"We will," the Cakes said together. "Bye now!"

"Bye!" Twilight, Spike, and Pinkie Pie said as they waved to the Cakes who waved back.

As the trio walked away, Spike couldn't help but steal a glance at all the glass tubes filled with tiny sized baked foods.

"Wow, those looks great... Eh, based on what I can see of them," Spike said.

"Just imagine how great they're gonna look when Twilight uses that magic of hers to turn them back to their full size!" Pinkie Pie responded.

"Right on!" Spike said.

"Good thing the spell also puts all the food into suspended animation so it doesn't age at all," Twilight Sparkle said.

"Absolutely," Pinkie Pie agreed. " I certainly wouldn't want to serve him yucky, oldy, moldy, coldy food. He could probably handle it, but he deserves better!"

"I don't know," Twilight said. "I think even he could stand a big pile of yuck like that."

The trio laughed as they carried onto their next destination.

"HI, GUYS!" two voices called out from behind the trio.

Twilight Sparkle, Spike, and Pinkie Pie all looked to see who it was calling them. They were delighted to see not just one, but two of their very good friends. One of them was Rainbow Dash, a sky blue pegasus mare with a rainbow colored mane and tail. She had pink eyes and her cutie mark was a rainbow colored lightning bolt coming out of a cloud.

She was flying high with a rope wrapped around her waist, which was pulling along an orange furred pegasus filly named Scootaloo. The little filly had the other end of the rope tied around the handle bars of her scooter. The color of her mane and tail was magenta and her eye color was violet. Her cutie mark, which she just recently got, was a red, light pink, and magenta striped shield with a purple wing and violet lighting bolt emblem on it.

"Rainbow Dash, potential jump, one o'clock!" Scootaloo called out as she pointed a hoof.

"I see it, squirt!" Rainbow Dash replied. "Get ready!"

"Ready and set," Scootaloo confirmed as her tiny wings started flapping.

"Okay," Rainbow Dash called out as she increased the speed of her flight.

As the rainbow haired pegasus sped up, so did the rate at which Scootaloo's scooter rolled across the street. Rainbow Dash changed her trajectory so she would pass over a food cart that had a plank laying on its side.

"Who put that there?" Spike wondered.

"It was me," Pinkie Pie confessed.

"Why?" Twilight asked as she and Spike looked in confusion.

"You'll see," Pinkie Pie simply replied.

"Here we go, Scoots!" Rainbow Dash shouted out.

"Disengage!" Scootaloo shouted back.

Rainbow Dash bit through the rope tied around her waist, allowing Scootaloo's scooter free reign to travel wherever it could and would go. The scooter ended up rolling up the side of the plank on the food cart before sailing high through the air just as Scootaloo had been hoping for.

"Whoo-hoo!" Scootaloo whooped as she flew above the streets of Ponyville.

Everyone's amazement turned to concern when Scootaloo let go of her scooter's handle bars, allowing herself to sail freely through open air. Everyone knew her underdeveloped wings weren't enough to keep her up there, so they couldn't help but be worried. Luckily it turned out alright because Rainbow Dash caught the scooter and held it above her as Scootaloo came down. Scootaloo's fore hooves landed on the scooter's handle bars and she managed to keep herself up in the air for one impressive hoof stand. Rainbow Dash lowered herself down until her bottom hooves touched the ground below.

"TA-DA!" both pegasi said at the same time.

Everyone cheered and applauded the duo of daredevils, but none more enthusiastically than their group of friends. Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, and Spike walked over to Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo to greet them.

"Wow, that was amazing!" Pinkie Pie shouted.

"We know," Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo said together as they situated themselves on the ground.

"That was awesome!" Spike added on.

"We know," the two pegasi said again.

"That was dangerous and down right reckless," Twilight Sparkle said.

"We kno..." Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo stopped as their faces went blank for a moment. Seconds later annoyed looks crossed their faces as they looked to Twilight and said, "Hey!"

"It was!" Twilight Sparkle reiterated.

"Oh, come on, Twilight," Rainbow Dash argued. "You act like I've never done anything like that before."

"Yes, you have," Twilight Sparkle said. "But is putting Scootaloo in a situation as dangerous as that is really a good idea?"

"It was my idea," Scootaloo said.

"Not all ideas are good ones," Twilight Sparkle said.

"You mean like intentionally creating a problem by cursing your Smarty Pants doll?" Rainbow Dash asked before smirking. Twilight Sparkle responded with an annoyed expression on her face, to which everyone stole a quick chuckle. "Look, Twilight, I would've been concerned if I hadn't already seen her handle even bigger stunts than that... and if I hadn't been apart of it. Once I found out what she wanted to do, I made sure she included me."

"I wonder, was it for her safety or for the thrill of it," Twilight said with a suspicious smile.

"I'll admit it," Rainbow Dash said. "It was both."

"Either way, it paid off great in the end!" Scootaloo chimed in. "Adding Rainbow Dash's part made the stunt that much more awesome!"

"I make everything that much more awesome," Rainbow Dash bragged. "Even walking down the street I make look cooler with my rainbow swag."

Everypony laughed in amusement, much to Rainbow Dash's confusion and later annoyance.

"Anyways, all things considered, I gotta admit that was pretty awesome to watch," Twilight Sparkle said. "Still, I can't help but be conflicted because of how dangerous it was."

"Oh, come on, Twilight, you were cheering along with everyone else," Spike said.

Everypony looked to Twilight Sparkle who eventually conceded and said, "Okay, yeah, I was."

"Ha, I knew it," Rainbow Dash said brashly. "Even with you trying to be cynical afterwards, I knew you couldn't resist the combined awesomeness that is Scoots and I."

Rainbow Dash wrapped a foreleg around Scootaloo and pulled her in for a side hug.

"Just making sure you're safe is all," Twilight Sparkle said.

"Hey, I don't do anything with Scootaloo that I'm not a hundred percent sure is safe. She means too much to me. I'd hate to lose this awesome little filly."

"Aww," Pinkie Pie let out. "That's so adorable."

"Yeah, yeah, can we move on now?" Spike asked impatiently.

"Anyways, we weren't just heading out this way to do what we just did," Rainbow Dash said.

"We were also trying to catch up with you," Scootaloo added.

"I'm guessing you're both pretty excited for the trip, too?" Twilight Sparkle inquired.

"Excited?" Scootaloo asked.

"That doesn't even begin to cover it!" Rainbow Dash said. "Why I feel like I could do seventy eight stunts like the one we just did in a row with how I'm feeling."

"Ooh, one extra this time," Pinkie Pie said.

"It's true, usually seventy seven is my lucky number," Rainbow Dash admitted. "But that's how pumped I am to see him today!"

"I could probably do seventy nine stunts!" Scootaloo chimed in.

"Aw, who am I kidding?" Rainbow Dash said. "I could do a hundred!"

"I'm out," Scootaloo responded. "Can't go that crazy just yet. But still happy we're going to go see him."

"Apparently you're so excited you couldn't wait for us to come pick you up," Twilight Sparkle said in amusement.

"What're you talking about?" Rainbow Dash inquired. "We did wait... For about five minutes."

"A new personal best for Rainbow Dash in waiting time," Pinkie Pie chimed in.

"Yeah, yeah, moving on," Rainbow Dash disregarded. "Anyways, after waiting for a long time-"

"And by long time, you mean no time at all," Twilight Sparkle said.

"-we headed out to your castle, Twilight," Rainbow Dash finished up.

"You and Spike weren't home," Scootaloo said.

"Obviously," Spike said.

"So, we headed out to Sugarcube Corner," Rainbow Dash said.

"Pinkie Pie wasn't home either," Scootaloo said.

"Also obviously," Spike chimed in.

"But the cakes were," Rainbow Dash said. "They told us you were heading out to Applejack's place, so we rode out to catch up with ya. And now here we are."

"Along the way I came up with the totally gnarly move with the plank and the cart," Scootaloo added on.

"How did you know they were gonna do that, Pinkie Pie?" Spike asked.

"I didn't... But you never know when something awesome involving a food cart and a plank laying on its side is gonna happen. So, I put the plank there to see if it would."

"And it did and it was totally awesome!" Rainbow Dash admired. "Now let's go get everyone else so we can do something just as awesome."

"Agreed," Spike said.

"As do I," Twilight Sparkle said.

"Me, too," Scootaloo said.

"No, no, you third, silly," Pinkie Pie said. Then she screeched out loudly, "Me four!"

"Let's just go," Rainbow Dash said.

"Hey, Twilight, could you shrink my scooter down for me?" Scootaloo asked. "I wanna walk the rest of the way."

"Of course, Scootaloo," Twilight Sparkle replied. "I'd be glad to."

The winged and horned pony used her magic to shrink Scootaloo's scooter so it could fit in the filly's saddlebag.

"Thanks, Twilight."

"You're welcome. Now, let's go, everypony."

The now bigger group headed south west until they were outside of town. They followed a white picket fence that surrounded several acres worth of apple trees. Once they found the fence's gate, they entered the apple farm known as Sweet Apple Acres and walked on until they reached the very center of the plantation. Here they found a barn, a chicken coop, a pig sty, and a house that acted as the residency of the Apples, a family of Earth ponies who ran the farm.

Twilight and the others all looked to see the entire Apple clan waiting on their porch to warmly greet the group. There was Granny Smith, an elderly pony with light green fur and a silver tail and mane both tied up in short buns. She had orange eyes and wore an orange scarf with red apples on it with a white trim. Her cutie mark was an apple pie.

Then there was Big McIntosh, the oldest of three siblings that lived with Granny Smith on the farm. He stood five foot five, a more than decent size for anypony, the usual size being somewhere between four and five feet tall. His fur color was red, his hair color was orange, and he wore a tan yoke around his neck. His eyes were green and his cutie mark was a sliced in half light green apple turned on the side that displayed the seeds in the middle.

After Big Mac was Apple Bloom, the youngest of the apple siblings, the only one still a child in fact. Her fur was yellow and her hair color was red while her eyes were light orange. She wore a pink bow in her hair and her cutie mark was a shield like Scootaloo's. The difference was the emblem on her shield was a purple apple with a pink heart on it.

Then finally there was the middle child, Applejack. Her fur color was orange, though she had white freckles on the sides of her face. Her mane and tail, both of which she had tied in a single braid, were blonde in color. Her eye color was green and her cutie mark was three red apples. She wore a brown cowboy hat on her head, though one was still able to see the front of her hair sticking out from underneath it.

"Yee-haw!" Applejack and Apple Bloom called out excitedly.

"Howdy, y'all!" Applejack greeted in the southern accent her whole family shared.

The Apple family stepped off their porch and met Twilight's group halfway. They greeted each other more properly, exchanging pleasantries and the like.

"So, you two excited and ready to go?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"You bet we are!" Apple Bloom proclaimed.

"And how!" Applejack agreed. "We got our share of the food right here."

The orange furred mare looked to her brother who gently set a saddle bag full of glass tubes on her back. The tubes contained apple fritters to apple tarts and several other apple themed baked goods as well as just plain old apples.

"Thanks, Big Mac," Applejack said.

"Eeyup," the red stallion replied.

Big McIntosh shared a quick hug with his younger sister.

"Oh, that reminds me. Rainbow Dash, do you got your stuff for the trip?"

"It's in Scootaloo's saddle bag, Twilight."

Everyone looked to see Scootaloo and Apple Bloom wrestling and paling around as they usually do being the best of friends and all.

"You kids have fun visiting your friend now," Granny Smith said in her elderly southern voice. "It just does this old heart of mine so much good to see friendship ain't dead in Equestria. I can't remember the last time I heard of a group of friends going all the way to West Beach just to go see one friend."

"Eeyup," Big McIntosh agreed.

"Why don't you two come with us?" Twilight Sparkle suggested.

"Yeah, the more the merrier I say!" Pinkie Pie enthusiastically agreed.

"How about it, Granny?" Applejack asked. "You, Big Mac?"

"Oh, that's a nice invitation there, youngins, but I'm afraid we just can't," Granny Smith replied.

"Nope," Big McIntosh agreed.

"We have responsibilities here at the farm we have to take care of," Granny Smith said. "Somepony's gotta stay and look after things in the meant time. Plus I don't think my old bones could let me make the trip."

"Eeyup," Big McIntosh said.

The elderly mare gave her grandson an angry stare, which he responded to with alarm.

"What're you tryin' to say, sonny?" Granny Smith asked with a slightly intense tone.

"Not yup to the old bones thing, yup to the staying and looking after the farm and responsibilities thing!" Big Mac hastily tried to explain.

Seconds later Granny Smith's frown was replaced with a smile as she began laughing.

"Aw, Big Mac, I was just busting your chops there!" Granny Smith explained. "I gotta have some fun messing with ponies once in a while."

Everypony else began laughing with Granny Smith. Big McIntosh hesitated at first, but eventually he turned his frown upside down and began laughing along.

"Aw, that was good, Granny," Apple Bloom complimented.

"Thank ya, youngin'," Granny Smith said. "But Big Mac's right about the responsibilities here."

"We understand," Twilight Sparkle said.

"We still wish you were coming with us, though," Applejack said.

"Maybe sometime if he ever comes here, you two could get the chance to get to know him better," Spike suggested.

"Now that would be something," Granny Smith said.

"Eeyup," Big McIntosh agreed.

"Though, I must say," Granny Smith began, "as much as I'd like to know that big boy better, I hope he don't ever have to come here to Ponyville. At least not for something that requires his... Oh, um, how do I say this?... Special set of skills. Equestria's still rattled from the last set of vormits he had to take care of. I don't know if she could take another lickin' like that."

"I hear ya, Granny Smith," Rainbow Dash said.

"I get where you're coming from, too," Scootaloo said.

"I think we all do," Applejack said.

"Absolutely," Twilight Sparkle said. "But we don't have anything to worry about as far as those monsters are concerned. He got rid of all of those that were documented in the ancient scrolls."

"Maybe the ones we know of," Pinkie Pie said with a bit of suspicion in her voice. "But what if they weren't all documented?... What if there's more of them out there?! What if there are more giant beasties waiting to spring up out of the blue and beat Equestria within an inch of its life and then-?!"

"PINKIE PIE, HEEL!" everypony else said together.

Instantly a blank expression crossed Pinkie's face as she silenced herself and sat down with her front hooves held up like a dog begging.

"Really, though, nopony has anything to worry about as far as kaiju are concerned," Twilight Sparkle reassured everyone. "They've all been destroyed."

"Well, if you say so, then I'll take your word as a princess and a friend of my sweet bowl of applesauce here," Granny Smith said as she walked up and hugged Applejack.

"Aw, thank you, Granny," Applejack said. "I reckon it's about time we get going."

"I reckon so," Granny Smith agreed.

"Well, then come on!" Apple Bloom urged. "Let's get going!"

"Now you hold up for a moment, Ms. Impatient," Applejack teased. "You're more jumpy than a chicken in a wolf's den. Come say goodbye to Granny and Big Mac first."

"Alright," Apple Bloom agreed. She trotted up and hugged Granny Smith tight. "Goodbye, Granny."

"Goodbye, half pint," Granny Smith replied. "You and your friends have fun now."

"We will," Apple Bloom said. "It won't be the same without you and Big Mac, but I know with everyone else there it'll still be great fun."

"That's the spirit, Apple Bloom," Granny Smith said.

The grandmother and granddaughter smiled at each other for a few seconds before resuming their hug. At the same time, Applejack and Big McIntosh were finishing their own embrace.

"You be sure and take care of Granny and everything now, ya hear, big brother?" Applejack demanded. "Especially Granny. I know it's only gonna be for a few hours that we're gone, but still. Granny and the farm deserve nothin' but top notch work and care."

"Eeyup," Big Mac agreed.

Apple Bloom came charging into the big stallion's embrace, which caught him a little off guard, though he was able to recover.

"See you soon, Big Mac!" Apple Bloom nearly shouted. "I hope you have a good time with Granny while we're gone... Cousin Orchard Blossom."

Big McIntosh could tell by the change in his youngest sister's tone and the look on her face that she wanted him to do the voice, which he hesitantly obliged.

"And you be sure and have a good time now at West Beach, ya hear, Apple Bloom?" Big Mac said in his best lady voice. "I do so hope you don't get too much sand stuck in your fur. Why that would be disastrous! It'd be even worse if you got it in your lovely little mane, as well. Oh, Heaven forbid! Heavens to Betsy! Oh, just Heavens! Ohh!"

The whole group of ponies and the one dragon nearly busted a gut laughing their heads off at Big Mac's shenanigans. None of them could recall ever seeing or hearing something anywhere near as funny as when the big red stallion tried to sound feminine and went so overboard with it. They just thought it was the most hilarious thing in the world. Big McIntosh completely understood why, though, which is why he usually indulged his family and friends in their requests for his impersonation of their non-existent cousin, Orchard Blossom.

Finally it came time for Applejack and Granny Smith to say goodbye, which they began with a simple hug.

"You take care and have fun now, Applejack."

"Thanks, Granny, you do the same."

With that, Applejack and Apple Bloom joined up with the rest of the group and turned as they began making their way out of Sweet Apple Acres. Everyone was waving and calling out one final goodbye as they walked on.

"Tell the big guy we said hi!" Granny Smith hollered.

"Will do!" Twilight Sparkle replied back.

With one final round of goodbyes, the two remaining Apples returned to the confines of their house. Meanwhile the ever growing group of friends continued on to roundup the rest of their companions. They moved south east across the edge of town. They were just close enough that they could still see and wave to anypony nearby and still not get caught in the crowd.

"So, Applejack, how are you?" Twilight Sparkle asked. "How's life on the farm?"

"The work still keepin' you in shape?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Or have you finally lost your touch?"

The southern Earth pony looked to her pegasus friend with a playfully competitive smile.

"You wish, Rainbow," Applejack replied. "Anyways, everything's just same old, same old on the farm. Work ain't changed non; still plowing fields, bucking apples, and all that. It ain't got any easier, but it ain't got harder either. And since the work was never that hard for me to start with, I'd say overall life working on the farm is still a-okay in my book."

"I'm really glad to hear it," Twilight Sparkle said.

"Ooh, Applejack, I almost forgot," Pinkie Pie chimed in. "The Cakes wanted to me to tell you and your family thank you for letting them sell your new flavored apple brown bettys in their store. They're a big hit, so much so that the Cakes want to double the pay of your commission check."

"Aw, that's mighty nice of them," Applejack said. "I'm glad our new line of bettys is helping them out so much. Having to run a business and look after those youngins of theirs, they deserve all the help they can get."

"And I'll bet that double commission don't hurt you non either, eh, Applejack?" Rainbow Dash said as she jabbed her elbow into her friend's side.

"It is pretty nice," Applejack admitted. "Though, honestly, I'd rather that money go where the majority of the money goes."

"Back into the farm," all of Applejack's friends said together.

The blond maned pony looked around at everyone in amusement before sharing a little laugh with them.

"Well, no need to worry about that, Applejack," Twilight Sparkle said. "It's a safe bet that's where the money's gonna go."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Applejack said as honestly as ever.

The majority of the group's attention was taken when they heard the rambunctious antics of Apple Bloom and Scootaloo increase in volume. Everypony looked on in amusement as Apple Bloom and Scootaloo carried on as they had been since they left Sweet Apple Acres. In that time they had been either talking to each other at rapid fire speed, wrestling around with each other, joking and laughing, or running around chasing one another. They even began to play leap frog at one point they were so excited, both for the trip they were taking and to see each other. These two fillies, despite their young age, had a long storied history with each other along with another friend of theirs.

They were on their way to pick that friend up along with a friend of the mares in the group. Their trotting took them to Carousel Boutique, a dress shop that sold some of the absolute best dresses in all of Equestria, all hoof knitted. Well, there was some assistants with unicorn magic, but that didn't change any of the A+ effort that went into the usually stunning outfits made at the boutique. All of these amazing dresses and the like were made by the friend Twilight Sparkle and the others had come to pick up. Like most other shops in Ponyville this boutique was also home to the fashionista who ran it and made the dresses it sold.

The group of friends walked up to the front door, which Twilight Sparkle then knocked on after reading the 'CLOSED' sign. Seconds later the door was opened by a little white furred unicorn filly known as Sweetie Belle. The filly also had pink and light purple striped hair in her mane and tail and her eyes were dark green in color. Her cutie mark was, just like Apple Bloom's and Scootaloo's, a multi-colored shield with an emblem on it. Hers was a purple star with a pink musical note in the middle.

"Twilight?" Sweetie Belle asked in confusion when she saw who it was.

"Hi, Sweetie Belle," Twilight warmly greeted the young pony.

"You know, you didn't have to knock. We were already expecting you. Ya could've just walked right in."

"Well, we didn't want to be rude or anything. Especially when I saw the sign that said-"

Twilight Sparkle was cut off when Pinkie Pie pushed passed her and scooped up Sweetie Belle in what felt like a bear hug.

"Hi ya, Sweetie Belle!" Pinkie Pie said happily. "It's so nice to see you! Is it nice to see me?! Oh, I'm sure it is! So how ya doing?! Me, I'm doing great! I just thought I'd ask you since-!"

"Pinkie Pie..." Rainbow Dash called out, "you are so random."

The Earth pony stood silent for a moment before her smile returned.

"I like chocolate pudding!"

"I rest my case," Rainbow Dash responded.

"SWEETIE BELLE!" Scootaloo and Apple Bloom called out from outside the door.

The unicorn filly's face lit up when she saw her best friends in the whole world. Sweetie Belle jumped out of Pinkie Pie's embrace and ran up to her friends. Together, this trio of fillies spent a large part of their friendship searching for their cutie marks, the symbols on the sides of a pony's flank that represented their special talent. Some ponies even believed the cutie mark represented who you are as a pony altogether while others thought it was the pony that made the mark, not the other way around. Either way, all three fillies worked vigorously through many a task hoping it would lead to the discovery of their special talent, thus making their cutie mark appear.

Everything they tried led to failure in this task until they eventually decided to help other ponies find their cutie marks and their true meanings. On that day, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle got their cutie marks all at the same time in the same place. Since then the trio has had an absolute blast in trying to live up to their cutie marks and what they were meant to symbolize. Before getting their cutie marks, the trio was known collectively as the Cutie Mark Crusaders because of their ever lasting crusade to find their cutie marks. While that crusade had technically ended, the fillies had yet to part with the name because it just didn't feel right not to call themselves that, at least so far.

Once Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle were together as a team, all the excited squealing and chatter was kicked into overdrive. It was still, for the most part, amusing to the mares, though for some it was started to border on annoying. For Spike, however, the border had long been crossed and he was stuffing his ears with the comic books he had planned on reading on the way to West Beach.

"Sweetie Belle, what's going on out there?!" a mid-Atlantic accented voice called from inside the boutique. "What's with all the ruckus?!"

"They're here, Rarity!" Sweetie Belle replied to her older sister before going right back to squealing with her friends.

"Oh, really?" Rarity asked in surprise. "They're here already?! Oh, well. I'm on my way out now."

True to her word, the absolutely stunning and beautiful fashionista came into the room only a moment later. The white furred unicorn mare entered the room all smiles to greet her friends. Her mane and tail color was a dark purple with both being long and curled. She wore light blue eyeshadow and false eyelashes, the latter she didn't care to admit to anypony. Her cutie mark was three light blue gemstones that were hidden at that moment.

What hid Rarity's cutie mark, along with most of her body, was a loose fitting peach colored, chiffon beach dress with a tan collar. Rarity also wore a peach colored beach hat to go with her ensemble and it only helped to add to her stunning appearance just like she was hoping it would.

"Bonjour, mes amis," Rarity said with a French accent. "Are my ears burning? Because with how hot I am, I should be on fire!"

"It's good to see you today, Rarity," Twilight Sparkle said.

"And it's absolutely divine to see you as well, darling," Rarity replied.

"Wow, Rarity, that's a really is a nice dress you're wearing," Twilight Sparkle complimented.

"But of course, Twilight," Rarity replied. "I only wear the best."

The two mares hugged each other, after which, Rarity moved on to greet the rest of her friends.

"Applejack, how nice to see you," Rarity greeted.

"Howdy, Rarity," Applejack responded. "It's mighty nice to see you, too. You sure look all purdied up for today."

"Naturally, darling," Rarity said. "I absolutely had to look my best. It's not everyday you get to see a friend like him, so you should always do your best to look fabulous for him."

"Well, ya certainly did a fine job this time around," Applejack said.

"Thank you very much, Applejack," Rarity said. "So nice of you to say. You're looking rather well fit, if I may say so."

"All that plowing and apple buckin'," Applejack informed her friend.

"Yes, I suspected as much," Rarity said. The unicorn pony turned her attention over to the next friend down the line. "Rainbow Dash, so lovely to see you today."

"S'up, Rarity?" Rainbow Dash asked. She then reached out and hugged Rarity tightly and swung her around wildly before setting her down. "Ready to see the big guy today? I know I sure am."

"So I see," Rarity gasped out. "Oh, yes, so... lovely to see you again, Rainbow Dash."

"Thanks, likewise," Rainbow Dash said, oblivious to the slight growl in her friend's voice.

After taking a moment to calm herself, Rarity moved on to her next friend to greet. This one was practically floating off the ground with a goofy smile on his face and hearts in his eyes.

"Well hello there, my handsome little Spikey-poo," Rarity cooed.

"H- h- Hey, Rarity," the love struck dragon managed to get out as he waved. For as long as they've known each other, Spike has had a huge crush on the beautiful white coated mare. "That's a nice... everything you have..."

"Oh, you're always such a charmer," Rarity said, cutting off Spike as she hugged him close.

The entire time Rarity cuddled him closely, Spike was just going gaga over the pretty pony he loved so much. After it was over, Spike was still head over heels for Rarity while she had moved on to greeting her next friend.

"Why, Pinkie Pie, so glad you could come on this trip we're about to embark on today," Rarity said happily.

"Hi ya, Rarity, that hat you're wearing is really cute ," Pinkie Pie complimented.

"Oh, why thank you," Rarity replied as she brought up a hoof to lightly fluff her hat. "I made it myself."

"I thought so," Pinkie Pie said. "It's almost as cute as your dress is."

" 'Almost'?" Rarity asked slightly in alarm. "But this was suppose to be an ensemble. They were suppose to go together! I made them both with that in mind. And now you're telling me one looks nicer than the other?!"

"Only by a hair," Pinkie Pie said as a single strand of hair poked up out of her mane.

For a moment it seemed like Rarity was about to explode. Her body was shaking and her eye was twitching while the rest of her face wasn't looking so good either. She took in a deep breath and seemed like she was just about to scream. Instead, though, her calm demeanor instantly returned and her face bore a smile as she said, "Well, I'll just have to try harder next time. Hmm... Should I try quickly changing into something that matches more?"

"No, Rarity, you're fine just the way you are," Twilight Sparkle said.

"Yeah, let's just go get the others and be on our way."

"Twilight and Rainbow Dash are right," Rarity said. "We have things to do and even if the hat and dress don't exactly match, I still make it work with my natural fabulousness. Let's go, everypony!"

Everyone spoke in agreement as they began to move on, leaving Carousel Boutique behind. As they walked, everypony was speaking about their excitement about seeing their friend once again. Rainbow Dash flew overhead, Pinkie Pie hopped around aimlessly, and Spike was floating after Rarity. The rest of the mares were simply trotting along while the Cutie Mark Crusaders carried on with their young energy filled gestures of excitement.

"Can you believe it?!" Apple Bloom asked.

"I know, it seems like it's been so long," Sweetie Belle said.

"That's probably because it has been so long," Scootaloo said. "Too long if you ask me."

"Yeah, way too long!" Apple Bloom agreed.

"That doesn't matter anymore," Sweetie Belle said. "We're going now and it's gonna be so awesome!"

The unicorn filly began squealing as she started jumping, skipping, and dancing in place. Soon Sweetie Belle's fellow Crusaders were joining in her acts of excitement.

"Alright, girls, my goodness," Twilight Sparkle said in amusement.

"Well, we're just excited is all," Apple Bloom defended.

"Yeah, it's been a while," Scootaloo chimed in.

"It's true, Twilight," Applejack said. "They didn't get to come with us to see him last time."

"Oh, that's right, they didn't," Pinkie Pie said. "They weren't there! I was there, so that's how I know they weren't there!"

"We know," Rainbow Dash said. "We were there, too Pinkie."

"I know, I was there," Pinkie Pie said obliviously as she kept smiling and hopping along.

"Uh... never mind," Rainbow Dash said in surrender.

"You know, it occurs to me," Rarity began, "that our sweet little angels here didn't have their cutie marks the last time they visited him."

All three fillies gasped as their eyes widened.

"She's right!" Scootaloo said in amazement.

"He doesn't know we have our cutie marks yet!" Sweetie Belle squealed excitedly.

"That should be a nice surprise for him," Applejack said.

"You bet your boots it will!" Apple Bloom proclaimed.

"I can't wait to show him!" Sweetie Belle squealed.

"How shocked do you think he's gonna be?" Scootaloo asked.

"If he could fit in a room, I'll bet he'd hit the roof!" Sweetie Belle replied.

"He could probably do that anyways, but I get what ya mean," Apple Bloom said.

"This is gonna be so sweet!" Scootaloo said.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders continued their giddy squealing and antics amongst each other as the group kept moving on. Their travels took them to a small meadow and cottage just on the edge of the Everfree Forest. It was here where the group would find its last two companions on their planned trip to West Beach. With all the leaves covering it, the cottage looked almost more like a tree or large bush or something like that.

The windows and doors were all still visible, however, which let anyone walking by know this was indeed somepony's home. Another thing that was very noticeable was all the animals around the place. There were birds, squirrels, dogs, mice, cats, rabbits, and even a bear among other kinds of animals. It seemed almost like a zoo or nature reserve except that the animals were not caged or fenced off. They all roamed free like the owner of the cottage wanted.

The group moved over a small lift in the path that took them over the tiniest of creeks before leading up to the cottage's front door. At the head of the group, Twilight Sparkle lightly knocked. Seconds later, the door gently opened to reveal one of the most adorable ponies of all. This, of course, was none other than the kind, pure hearted, animal loving, caring, and peaceful pegasus known as Fluttershy.

Her coat of fur was a creamy yellow color and her mane and tail were pink, both extended longer in length than most ponies'. The front of her mane was brushed off to one side while the back was brushed off to the other, both ending in a single curl. Her eye color was turquoise and she had long eyelashes that, unlike Rarity's, were real. Her cutie mark was made up of three pink winged, blue bodied butterflies.

A sweet and small smile crossed Fluttershy's lips as her eyes brightened up in excitement.

"Hi, Fluttershy," everyone said together.

"Hello, everypony," Fluttershy said. "How are you all today?"

Twilight Sparkle looked around and saw that Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Spike, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were moving around with antsy body language.

"As you can see, we're all pretty excited," Twilight Sparkle answered.

"Oh, so am I," Fluttershy said in her soft little voice. Then she let out in that same voice, "Whoo-hoo."

"Yup, somepony hold her back, she's a fiery one," Rainbow Dash said sarcastically.

Everyone shared a quick chuckle before moving on.

"How about our other guest? Is she ready to go, too?"

"Oh, she's ready, Applejack," Fluttershy answered. "She's just the littlest bit nervous."

"That's usually your gig, Fluttershy," Pinkie Pie said.

"I know. I'll admit, it's a little strange being on the other side of the situation."

"Maybe she should wait for a while?" Rarity suggested. "I mean it hasn't been that long since... Well, you know-"

"I don't think it's necessary to wait," Twilight Sparkle said. "She's made a lot of progress in a short amount of time. I know once we get her out to West Beach, everything will be just fine."

"I think so, too," Fluttershy agreed. "She's already told me several times about how curious and even anxious she is to see him up close."

"Suggesting she join us this time around was a stroke of genius, Fluttershy," Twilight Sparkle said. "We'll be giving them both a new friend, something they both want and have even said they need in their lives."

"Where is she anyways?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Oh, she just upstairs getting the last of her stuff together," Fluttershy answered.

"Ugh, really?!" Rainbow Dash asked. "Is she just now getting ready or something? She should've been-"

"Now, now, Rainbow," Rarity said.

The rainbow maned pegasus sighed before saying, "Fine."

Fluttershy turned into her house and called up the stairs, "Starlight Glimmer, everypony's here and ready to go."

"Alright, I'm on my way down right now," a voice called back from the top of the stairs.

As it spoke, it sounded like it was getting closer. Everypony looked to see this was indeed the case as Starlight Glimmer walked down the stairs and slowly made her way over to the rest of the group at the front door. This unicorn mare had a light pink coat of fur and a mane that was mostly brushed back, except for her bangs in the front. Her mane and tail color was mostly purple with violet and sea blue stripes in it. She had light purple eyes and her cutie mark was a purple four tipped shooting star that left a sea blue tail and had a white light behind it.

"H-Hello, everypony," Starlight Glimmer managed to say.

"Hi, Starlight," everypony else said.

"Are you ready for today?" Twilight Sparkle asked.

"Uh... I guess so-"

"Because we sure are!" the Cutie Mark Crusaders blurted out, interrupting Starlight.

It made the nervous unicorn loosen up a little when she saw how happy everypony else seemed to be.

"Don't worry," Twilight Sparkle said. "Everything's gonna be just fine. I can already tell he's gonna love you."

"Are you sure, Twilight?" Starlight Glimmer asked. "I mean, even after I-"

"He loves just about everypony," Pinkie Pie said.

"And you've become such a sweetheart," Rarity said.

"Thank Fluttershy for that," Starlight Slimmer said.

A light blush crossed the yellow coated mare's face as she said, "Thank you, Starlight Glimmer."

"Thank you, all of you for helping me when I really needed a friend," Starlight Glimmer said.

"It was our pleasure," Rainbow Dash said. "Now let's get going already. I want some fun in the sun with one of our best buds."

"YEAH!" everyone agreed at once.

The whole group made their way back into town to the spot where both the hot air balloons for rent and Twilight's own personal balloon were being kept. The group rented out one other balloon since their group was too big to fit into only one. Rarity and Applejack took the Cutie Mark Crusaders in one while Twilight, Starlight, Spike, and Pinkie Pie took the princess's own balloon. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash tied themselves to the hot air balloons so they could pull them along and hopefully get to the beach faster.

"Is everypony ready?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Everyone made sure they had everything together and secured, including their individual contributions to the picnic.

"It's all good, girls," Twilight Sparkle called to Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. "Let it rip."

The two pegasi looked to each other all smiles as they crouched down like a cat about to pounce. Then they counted down together, "Five, four, three, two, one!"

The two pegasi took off into the air as fast as they could. It didn't take either long to get high up into the sky, but Fluttershy was falling behind Rainbow Dash. The blue furred pony realized this and forced herself to slow down even more than she already was. Rainbow Dash was easily the fastest flier in all of Equestria, maybe even the whole world. It took her a little bit to realize other ponies just aren't anywhere near her speed.

Rainbow Dash offered an apologetic smile first to Fluttershy then her passengers when she realized they may have suffered some slight whiplash.

"So, Starlight, you never seen him before?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"No, I haven't," Starlight Glimmer answered. "But I have heard an awful lot about him, though."

"I don't think there isn't a pony in Equestria that hasn't heard of him," Spike chimed in.

"Be that as it may, I'm surprise you haven't at least seen a picture of him in a newspaper or something," Twilight Sparkle said.

"Well, we didn't have newspapers in... our town," Starlight Glimmer explained. "We only heard about him through stories told by new ponies that came to town. I found it hard to believe, but very intriguing at the same time. Then when I found out he was not only real, but a friend to all of you, I became extremely fascinated and curious to see him up close."

"Well, now the time has finally arrived for you to meet him!" Pinkie Pie proclaimed. "At long last... you're finally gonna meet... Discord!"

Everyone in the basket with Pinkie Pie turned to her and stared in confusion. The Earth pony looked around for a moment before giggling.

"I was just pulling your legs," Pinkie Pie explained. "Of course, we're all going to go visit Godzilla!"

Everypony shared a cheer and a laugh as they looked on in the direction they were going, the same direction that would take them straight to the King of the Monsters.

---

SURPRISE, EVERYBODY! I actually meant for this story to be released earlier, but I went through some stuff in my personal life that kept me from doing so and for a while I lost inspiration to do anything fanfiction related. But now I'm back and I'm ready to kick flank and hopefully entertain you all with this new story. For this sequel I plan to do something as different from the original story as possible. I hope you all end up liking it anyways. As usual, please feel free to leave a review telling me any feelings you might have on this story, be they good or bad (so long as it's constructive). And also, don't be afraid to tell me of any mistakes I may have missed in proofreading, be they spelling errors or grammar errors so I can correct them to the best of my ability. I'm The Guy Who Likes To Write Stuff, AND IT'S GREAT TO BE BACK!