SEASON 1: THE ADVENTURES OF ALEX IN EQUESTRIA

Chapter 12: Shadows of the Past, Part 1.5

(Narration in the third person)

We begin our story as usual, a beautiful morning in the lovely town of Ponyville; however, we will not start in the already familiar cloud house. This time, we will go to the town library, where a certain unicorn was focused on writing a new page in her diary, or as she calls it, "designated logbook for monitoring the human."

Note: The following are Twilight's thoughts, which she writes down as she thinks them.

-Twilight: (Dear diary, I thought I wouldn't be able to write in you again after what happened with the Ursa Major, today marks approximately 19 days since I arrived in Ponyville... and since the human came into my life. Since I met him, everything in my life has been dangerous. Sometimes I wish I hadn't met him... however, then I remember everything he has done for me... - she blushes at the memory of the heroic things Alex had done for her - agh, I'm getting off topic - she decides to cross that last part out of her diary - after having inexplicably returned from that dark place, I finally managed to talk to the human, that is, Alex, about what he told me during the Nightmare Moon attack. According to what he told me, I came to the conclusion that: in his world, Equestria is a story that has already been told, which explains his knowledge about events that haven't happened; but with his arrival, that story was altered, causing things not to happen as they were supposed to, which in turn gave rise to new events that the human is unaware of. Something very curious that he mentioned is that I am an essential part of this world, which I immediately associated with being the bearer of the Element of Magic, but when I asked him if that was it, he denied it, saying, "Don't worry, your moment will come, until then don't give up"... those words made me think about how important my role is for this world... as well as, what if I no longer play an essential part in this world due to this new change? Could it be that a different future awaits me?... for the first time... I fear for my future...)

The unicorn was interrupted from her impressive thesis by the voice of her dragon assistant, Spike, who was calling her for breakfast.

-Spark: Twilight, breakfast is ready!

-Twilight: I'm coming, Spike!

He closed his diary and placed it on a shelf where there was a space just the right size for it, left his pen and inkwell on a desk, and neatly made his bed with his magic so he could go have breakfast.

ON THE LOWER FLOOR

Twilight's dragon, Spike, was serving scrambled eggs with a couple of slices of toast on a plate in front of a pony chair along with a glass of orange juice, while on the other side of the table there was another plate where he placed several gemstones, such as rubies, sapphires, among others; it was quite evident who would eat what. Once the unicorn came down, she headed to her seat and prepared to eat a bit of her toast while Spike went to the other chair to eat his gems.

A few minutes later, the dragon had finished eating and decided to take his plate to a sink where he started washing it; for her part, the unicorn had barely touched her breakfast, looking thoughtful as she stared at her food.

-Spike: Hey Twilight, are you feeling okay?

-Twilight: Huh? What? - she said, coming out of her thoughts -

-Spike: I notice you're a bit distracted, and you're not like that.

-Twilight: *sighs* I'm sorry Spike, it's just that the human won't stop generating questions.

-Spike: Are you talking about Alex?

-Twilight: Do you know another human?

He said the last part with a tone of frustration, which surprised Spike.

-Twilight: I'm sorry, I shouldn't have reacted that way, but it stresses me out to have an unanswered question, and Alex generates hundreds of questions for me every day.

-Spike: Twilight, I think you should give yourself a day off from thinking about Alex.

-Twilight: What?! Who told you?! - she said, flustered and blushing -

-Spike: Tell me what? (I think he's starting to lose it) I'm just saying you should take the day to go out and stretch your legs, I don't know, maybe go out with your friends or do something else to distract you from thinking about Alex.

Twilight blushed like a tomato upon hearing that last part, "Do I really think about him that much?" she wondered in her mind. Although after a moment she decided to follow Spike's advice to go out and clear her mind, not without first eating the breakfast her friend had prepared.

A FEW MINUTES LATER

Twilight was walking through the village, with one of her saddlebags on, looking for something to distract her from thinking about the human.

-Twilight: (Well, now that I'm here, what should I do? ... maybe Alex has time to respond—no! Stop thinking about Alex! That human is not the center of Equestria, just breathe and think about what you could do to have fun)

For Twilight, it wasn't easy to ignore a research task or have fun in any way other than studying, so her search would be somewhat complicated... well, more or less. After walking a bit, she noticed how her friend Pinkie Pie was hiding under a table in front of a small restaurant while wearing a sun hat on her head. This situation caught the unicorn's attention, so she decided to approach and ask.

-Twilight: Hello Pinkie, Can I ask what- AHHH!

She didn't get to finish her sentence because the pink pony grabbed her with her hoof and shoved her under the table at an incredible speed. Being down there, Pinkie started to pet Twilight's mane as if she were her pet.

-Pinkie Pie: That was close, don't worry you're safe now

-Twilight: (Oh~ this feels so good~ focus Twilight!) Pinkie, can you tell me why all of this happened?

-Pinkie Pie: My tail twitched, Twilight

-Twilight: And?

-Pinkie Pie: Every time my tail shakes, it means something is going to fall

-Twilight: How can you know that?

-Pinkie Pie: By my Pinkie sense

-Twilight: What?

The unicorn was surprised to hear such nonsense from her friend, and to avoid being part of it, she came out from under the table and looked at her.

-Twilight: Pinkie, don't try to take advantage of my current weak mental state.

-Pinkie Pie: You... What?

-Twilight: It's impossible for you to predict the future, especially with something called "Pinkie sen-

She was interrupted again before finishing her sentence, but this time not by Pinkie but by a flowerpot that fell from the sky.

-Pinkie Pie: See? I told you something would fall.

-Twilight: Ugh...

The poor unicorn was on the floor, fainted with her eyes spinning like spirals, which Pinkie took the opportunity to put her back under the table and stroke her head.

-The readers right now: Twilight x Pinkie!

After a few minutes, Twilight had regained consciousness, only to realize that she was tied to Pinkie Pie's bed with the mentioned pony above her, who began to slowly approach the unicorn to give her a wet kiss as a sign of her love.

HA! They fell for it! THAT NEVER HAPPENED XD

-Readers who love yuri: ... :'(

NOW, LET'S GET BACK TO WHAT REALLY HAPPENED

After a few minutes, Twilight had regained consciousness, realizing that she was still under that table where her friend had left her to shelter her from falling objects (postscript: the previous flowerpot was the fault of a certain cross-eyed pony); Pinkie Pie was sitting next to the table, enjoying a snack while taking care of her friend.

-Twilight: Ugh... what happened? - she asked while recovering from that blow, still under the table -

-Pinkie Pie: Oh, Twilight! - she said, then peeking where her friend was - I'm glad you woke up, my tail predicted something would fall and a flowerpot fell on your head, you fainted and then I decided to shelter you under the table, after that I waited for you to wake up but I got hungry so I went for a snack and then came back to take care of you.

-Twilight: How long was I unconscious?

-Pinkie Pie: I don't know, let me check the time - after saying that, she peeked out the store window and saw a cuckoo clock hanging on the wall that read 10:22 am - you were unconscious for one hour, 15 minutes, and 22 seconds - she said very calmly -

-Twilight: What?! Was I unconscious for an hour?!

-Pinkie Pie: 15 minutes and 22 seconds

-Twilight: I can't believe I lost an hour-

-Pinkie Pie: And 15 minutes and 22 seconds

-Twilight: Alright, one hour, 15 minutes, and 22 seconds of my time for such an unpredictable event - she said as she emerged from under that table -

-Pinkie Pie: But it was predictable, my Pinkie sense predicted it.

-Twilight: Pinkie, I already told you, you can't predict the future just by the movement of your tail, that's scientifically impossible.

-Pinkie Pie: As you say, Twi-

The party pony was interrupted by another shake of her tail, which made the pony hide under the table out of fear that another object would fall.

-Twilight: Pinkie, enough, the first time was just a coincidence - she said, looking at her seriously - it's impossible for it to happen again

But just a couple of seconds after saying that, it happened again; something fell from the sky, but this time it wasn't a flowerpot, it was a frog. This had fallen from the friend of these two mares, Fluttershy, who was pulling a cart full of frogs and toads that wouldn't stay still.

-Fluttershy: Oh, I'm sorry Twilight, it wasn't my intention - she said very apologetically as her frog fell on the unicorn's face. After apologizing, she prepared to get down and take it to put it back in her cart -

-Pinkie Pie: Hi Fluttershy - she said from under the table -

-Fluttershy: Pinkie Pie? Why are you down there?

-Pinkie Pie: My tail was twitching, that's why I hid

-Fluttershy: Ah! Tail wagging! - the pegasus quickly hid under the table along with her frogs and... the cart? There was definitely a lot of space under that little table -

-Pinkie Pie: Calm down, Fluttershy, the prediction has already passed.

-Twilight: You mean coincidence, and don't tell me you believe in that Fluttershy

-Fluttershy: Um, I'm sorry Twilight, but Pinkie has been right many times with her Pinkie sense, enough times to believe her.

-Twilight: That's nonsense, it's impossible for a pony to predict the future with- AHHH!

Before she could finish her sentence, she was once again pulled under the table by her pink friend, as her tail had started to shake again. And here we have the three ponies under the table with the greatest capacity in Equestria, two of them scared and the other with an annoyed expression. After a few seconds, Pinkie realized it was just a frog in her tail that had caused the commotion. After that, they left the table relieved.

-Fluttershy: Well, I'd better take these little restless ones to the swamp Froggybottom, goodbye

After saying goodbye, the pegasus took flight towards the mentioned swamp, which by the way is located within the dreaded Everfree Forest; after Fluttershy had left, Twilight insisted to her friend that everything that had happened was nothing more than fortunate coincidences that had nothing to do with the movement of her tail.

-Twilight: It's impossible to predict the future just by the movement of your tail.

The unicorn stood firm with its decision.

-Pinkie Pie: Oh, it's not just my tail, my Pinkie Sense makes many parts of my body move to tell me what's going to happen.

-Twilight: Oh really? - she said sarcastically - then tell me what the next 10 years hold for me.

-Pinkie Pie: I can't know that with my Pinkie sense, but if only I had a crystal ball - she said while looking away and rubbing her chin with her hoof -

-Twilight: Pinkie, that's the second most absurd thing I've ever heard in my life.

-Pinkie Pie: And what's the first most absurd thing?

Twilight fell silent for a moment, thinking about what the human said about not being real, and then after a few seconds, she reacted.

-Twilight: It doesn't matter, the point is that your Pinkie Sense can't be real.

-Pinkie Pie: And I tell you that it is real. Why can't you just trust me and believe?

Those words shocked her for a moment, as they reminded her of the words the human used when telling her about Equestria.

-Twilight: (Alex... Ugh! For Celestia! not even talking to another pony can make me stop remembering you! But not this time, I believed what he told me because of the excitement of the moment, but I plan to solve this my way) Pinkie, I can't believe anything that I can't scientifically prove, if you want me to believe you, you'll have to come with me.

-Pinkie Pie: Um... Okay

The pink pony came out from under the table and looked at her friend excitedly.

-Pinkie Pie: And where will we go?

-Twilight: You'll see

After saying that, the unicorn took her friend to her home, where she proceeded to lock her in the basement and strap her to a machine to conduct studies and reach a rational answer about her predictions based on the movement of her body. However, time passed and Twilight couldn't find anything to calm her down; on the contrary, with each passing minute, she became more stressed.

30 MINUTES LATER

-Twilight: Ugh! This doesn't make any sense! We've been here for over half an hour and you haven't moved a single part of your body for no reason!

-Pinkie Pie: My Pinkie Sense isn't something that just happens for no reason, something must be about to happen.

-Twilight: That doesn't make any sense!

The unicorn kept screaming due to the stress caused by not finding the answer to this mystery, which scared her friend.

-Pinkie Pie: ¡Wow! Twilight, calm down, you're not like this...

After saying that, a growl came from the stomach of the pink pony, which made the unicorn get excited.

-Twilight: Finally! What does that mean in your Pinkie sense?!

-Pinkie Pie: Nothing, I'm just hungry, I couldn't finish my snack.

That answer made Twilight's spirits drop. She let out a sigh and looked sadly at her friend as she freed her with her magic.

-Twilight: I'm sorry Pinkie, I don't know why I acted that way... I'm very confused

-Pinkie Pie: Oh, what's wrong Twilight, tell your Auntie Pinkie Pie everything - she said while hugging her and placing her friend's head in her lap -

-Twilight: You're not my aunt, Pinkie... but seriously, I need to get this out of my head.

At that moment, Twilight began to tell her friend how worried she was about her future and how much she thought about Alex, even when she didn't want to think about him. Pinkie quickly associated all of this with a certain feeling.

-Pinkie Pie: Twilight, you're in love with Alex!

Upon hearing that, Twilight turned redder than a tomato and jumped away from her friend (Spike, who was one floor up, also heard the scream, which made him blush a little too).

-Twilight: P-Pinkie! That's ridiculous!

-Pinkie Pie: No, it's so obvious, you always think about him, you blush when you talk about him...

-Twilight: (Do I really blush? And no one told me!)

-Pinkie Pie: You even got nervous, you like Alex

-Twilight: B-b-but that's impossible!

-Pinkie Pie: It isn't

-Twilight: Yes, it is. Love is a chemical reaction in the body that generates the desire to mate with another individual, and I don't want to do that with him!

-Pinkie Pie: I love cupcakes, but that doesn't mean I want to mate with one - after saying that, her stomach growled again, and she pulled out a cupcake from some random corner and ate it with a smile -

-Twilight: It's not the same, there are different types of infatuation.

-Pinkie Pie: And what would you call mine? - she said with her mouth full -

-Twilight: Love for Gastronomy

-Pinkie Pie: - finishes chewing and swallows the cupcake - And how would yours be?

With that question, Twilight fell silent for a moment and looked away, thinking.

-Twilight: ... impossible love ...

-Pinkie Pie: Nothing is impossible in this life, Twilight, everything is possible if you just try hard enough.

-Twilight: *sighs* I'm sorry to tell you that not everything is possible. Pinkie, no matter how hard you try, you couldn't fly like a pegasus or do magic like a unicorn.

-Pinkie Pie: Oh, really? And what about this?

Twilight turned to look at Pinkie, who was floating thanks to some colorful balloons tied around her belly, which were covered by cloud-shaped cardboard figures and using pegasus wings also made of cardboard, while one of her hooves was covered with a handkerchief and her other hoof moved over it making small circles. After a second, she lifted the handkerchief from which an egg emerged.

-Pinkie Pie: Ta-da!

-Twilight: Pinkie, none of that counts as flying or doing magic

-Pinkie Pie: If you believe in it, then it counts.

-Twilight: Ugh, this is useless, I thought I could distract myself with you but I feel even more stressed.

*knock knock knock* Someone was knocking on the library door, and it sounded a bit hurried.

-Twilight: And now someone is knocking at the door, I bet I know who it is - she said annoyed, thinking it would be Alex -

-Spike: I'm coming! - he shouted from the upper floor to the lab -

-Twilight: If it's the human, tell him I don't want to see him!

But when Spike opened the door, it wasn't Alex he heard, but rather the sound of a storm, like thunder.

-Thunder: *Trummmmmm*

That sound changed the look of disgust on Twilight's face to one of surprise; she didn't expect Alex's falcon to come see her without Alex. The falcon, as soon as the library door was opened for him, flew in at great speed heading towards the basement where Twilight and Pinkie Pie were. Upon reaching them, he began making gestures of desperation, as if trying to ask for help.

-Twilight: Hey, you're that hawk from the Everfree Forest. What brings you here?

-Pinkie Pie: I think he wants to tell us something

Thunder began to tremble, as if it were very scared.

-Pinkie Pie: Ah... - she said while touching her chin with her soft hoof repeatedly - a jelly, no, an earthquake, oh I know! a gelatinous falcon dancing "the earthquake"!

Thunder hit his face with his own wing, then flew and landed on Pinkie Pie's head. While there, he arranged his mane so that a lock covered one of his eyes, then pointed at the pony determinedly.

-Twilight: Ah... Fluttershy!

The falcon nodded after Twilight said that name. Immediately after, Thunder started pretending to be a roaring beast.

-Pinkie Pie: Ah... Fluttershy afraid of something?

Thunder nodded

-Twilight: But that's something very normal for her.

Upon hearing that, Thunder rose a bit and positioned himself in front of Pinkie Pie, who still had Fluttershy's hairstyle. Thunder let out a loud scream with his characteristic sound, creating sound waves that messed up Pinkie's hair, leaving it standing on end.

-Twilight: - upon seeing that, she sighed heavily - Fluttershy is afraid of a monster!

Thunder pointed at Twilight and gave him a thumbs up (that is, a thumbs up for him) while smiling.

-Twilight: We must go with her!

-Pinkie Pie: Not long ago, she said she was going to Froggybottom Swamp.

-Twilight: We have to go, now!

At that moment, Thunder, Twilight, and Pinkie Pie ran out of the basement and headed for the exit towards Froggybottom Bog; not before Twilight left Spike in charge of the library in case of a disaster... since Twilight had feared something would happen since that morning...

We change the scene to a few moments after leaving the library. The two ponies and the hawk ran/flew as fast as they could to help their friend in danger.

-Twilight: What kind of beast could it be! - she said very agitated, without taking her eyes off the front -

-Pinkie Pie: I don't know! The swamp is deep inside the Everfree Forest, it could be anything!

After saying that, the mentioned forest could be seen nearby, into which the ponies and the falcon entered without hesitation, with the falcon leading the way to the place where their friend Fluttershy was... but before continuing, we must go back a few minutes before all this.

FROGGYBOTTOM SWAMP, SEVERAL MINUTES EARLIER...

One can admire a wide and muddy landscape, the area was surrounded by trees very different from those usually seen in ponyland; in that swampy marsh, a pegasus could be seen with a cart tied to her waist, carrying a couple of dozen toads, both young and adult. The pegasus was releasing the toads throughout the swamp because in the habitat at her home there was overpopulation, and her plan of action in that case is to move a good handful of the toads to the Froggybottom swamp.

-Fluttershy: Alright little ones, this will be your new home - she said while releasing a pair of frogs, who hopped away very happily - you will surely be very happy here

The pony looked very happy to see that her amphibious friends were quickly acclimating to their new home, meanwhile in the sky above that place, a bird of prey, very similar to a hawk, could be seen hovering over the swamp.

-Thunder: (Everything seems calm, I hope those filthy wooden wolves don't come to this place...) *Thud*

The bird made its characteristic thunderous sound, which was heard by the pegasus, who turned towards the source of the noise and spotted the hawk with a smile. Thunder and Fluttershy had time to bond when the human was hospitalized a few weeks ago and became good friends, which explains why the hawk was watching the mare from above. The pony continued with her activity until she finally finished releasing all the toads that accompanied her; she looked exhausted after pulling that cart full of toads for so long.

-Fluttershy: Phew... that was the last one, I can go back home now - after saying those words, the falcon descended to where she was and perched on her back with great care of its claws, which made the pegasus let out a small giggle - hello Thunder, what brings you here?

-Thunder: *Trummmm*

-Fluttershy: Aw, how sweet, you were making sure nothing happened to me.

The falcon and the pony started to "talk" (although Fluttershy understands animals, it is still difficult even for her to understand storm sounds, it's like speaking the same language but with different accents) for a while while the pony rested her wings to be able to leave, all this ignoring what was happening in the distance...

MEANWHILE, IN THE EVERFREE FOREST

Everything looked calm, very contrary to what one would expect from a place like this... in a certain area quite clear of the forest, a small black glow began to emit, which ended in a small flash from which a large beast in the shape of a bear emerged, which had several constellations engraved on it. It was Ursa Major, but something was different about it; its eyes were different, now having irises of a red color that shone the more one looked at them closely. Its pupils resembled those of a reptile, and its sclera was a bright greenish color, in addition to emitting a very strange energy from them. Meanwhile, in another place far away from there, a pony could be seen immersed in the darkness of an apparently empty room, only its eyes, identical to those of the Great Bear, could be appreciated. When the pony raised a hoof, the bear raised its paw at the same time and at the same speed; apparently, the pony controlled the bear with its movements.

-"Kris": This is how you deal with the big bear Drex... by keeping your body away from it...

The pony lowered its hoof and closed its eyes, the bear imitated all its movements with the difference that upon closing its eyes, it began to become invisible...

-ALTRESMIL: Hello people, how are you?, I know this is weird but I need to tell you a few things. First, you will be reading the chapters as usual from now on, clarifying certain details that I find relevant to clarify at the moment. Second, the Great Bear is capable of becoming invisible because it is made up of stars, and stars are not visible during the day due to the excess light from the sun (I researched it, just like everything else in the story, people, even the gum part, with magic the ponies can move the sun and the moon, do you think they can't make a measly piece of chewing gum?). but it is also visible during the day by decreasing its light level, and third, any questions you have about the story, write them down and I will answer them while avoiding spoilers as much as possible. Without further ado, I leave you with the chapter.

... in that state, the bear began to stealthily approach where the pegasus and the falcon were, distracted by their conversation. Although it was invisible to the common eye, it remained tangible, leaving slight marks on the ground as it walked, which were barely noticeable due to its strange lightness. However, the falcon managed to hear a small and faint sound around him, which made him alert and search for the source of the sound; at the same time, the bear remained completely still to avoid being discovered. For a moment, the falcon pretended not to have seen anything, to which the bear responded by continuing its slow and stealthy walk until it was about 50 meters away from them. It was then that the falcon unleashed a powerful shockwave followed by its characteristic thunder-like sound, raising a large amount of mud towards the bear, which fell on top of it, revealing its presence.

-Thunder: *Trummmm* (I knew I heard something)

Fluttershy, upon seeing the large silhouette of mud, gasped in surprise, while the silhouette was shaking off the mud; in that dark place, an annoyed expression could be seen on the pony's face.

-"Kris": He saw me

That was all she said before lunging into that room without moving from where she was, which caused the larger bear, becoming visible, to pounce on Fluttershy, grabbing her with its claw at an incredibly high speed for such a large creature. The falcon managed to fly away from the bear's attack a second after seeing how it had pounced, but once it saw that the bear had caught the pony, it began to fly near the bear, trying to bite it to free Fluttershy, which were just pinches for the bear. Still, it decided to grab it with its other paw and bring it close to one of its eyes, which shone hypnotically, and after a second, it threw the falcon far away from that place.

Fluttershy was very scared for having been caught by the bear, everything happened so quickly that she didn't even have time to scream, no matter how much she struggled, she couldn't break free even an inch from that grip. The bear began to bring the pegasus closer to its eyes just like it did with the hawk, and when it had her right in front of them, they opened with a frown, generating magical waves that made Fluttershy open her eyes in the same way, sending her mind to a different plane while her body fell unconscious.

ON THE MENTAL PLANE

Only a vast dark emptiness could be seen in that place; there seemed to be absolutely nothing, except for the pegasus that had appeared among a cloud of black smoke, coughing.

-Fluttershy: *cough* *cough* *cough* Where am I? *cough* What is this place?

"Welcome to my domain, little pony," said a voice behind her. When she turned around, she spotted a unicorn with grayish fur and a black mane and tail. Its eyes were identical to the bear's, and its horn was unlike those of other unicorns; it was mostly covered in red energy, and its cutie mark represented crystals.

-King: My name is Crystal, King Crystal, sovereign of the Crystal Empire, perhaps you have heard of me.

-Fluttershy: Um... not really, Mr. Crystal - she said in a timid tone, afraid of offending him, which did offend him a little -

-King: What, really? - he said very surprised and a little offended - King Crystal, creator of dark magic, one of the ancient kings of old Equestria, really nothing?

The poor pony just shook her head in fear, which made King tap his hoof on his face, then slide it down with an expression of annoyance.

-King: This generation of ponies lacks culture - he said to himself, still with his expression of annoyance, but then he composed himself and continued with his dialogue - anyway, even if you haven't heard of me (which surprises me), you should know that my goal is not to hurt you... unless you give me trouble

That last part made Fluttershy swallow hard.

-King: All I want is to use you as bait to lure the human to this abandoned place and finish him off without harming any pony, I hope to have your cooperation.

-Fluttershy: Wait, do you want to kill Alex? That's terrible - he said, fearing for his friend's life -

-King: If that's what the human is called, then yes, I never bothered to find out their name.

-Fluttershy: But, Mr. Crystal-

-King: Call me King, my little pony

-Fluttershy: Ah... Mr. King, why do you want to hurt Alex? He hasn't done anything wrong.

-King: Probably, but their race did, humans are a threat to this world, and if I don't take care of them, no one will, I don't ask you to understand, just not to interfere.

-Fluttershy: But Mr. King

-King: No

-Fluttershy: But-

-King: Silence! - he shouted, interrupting the pegasus and making its mouth disappear -

-Fluttershy: ...

-King: I will eliminate that one and the rest of the humans no matter what it costs me, whether they like it or not!

-Fluttershy: ... - even without a mouth, she looked terrified and on the verge of tears -

After that, King took a deep breath trying to calm down, it wasn't normal for him to act like that.

-King: *sigh* I'm sorry, little pony, it's not your fault, I just... want to rest... once and for all

Having said that, she prepared to wait for the human to arrive at the swamp. The great bear closed her eyes and lay down on the ground of that swampy place, holding Fluttershy who was still asleep, all to save energy.

Minutes after that conversation, the ponies arrived at the place where the hawk had guided them, but they suddenly stopped upon noticing the threat in front of them. Both Twilight and Pinkie Pie were about to scream in terror but were silenced by Thunder's wings, which then fell to the ground for stopping flapping.

-Twilight: It's not possible... - she said in a low voice - It's not possible that that bear has Fluttershy.

Thunder, upon hearing that, stood up and nodded to the unicorn.

-Pinkie Pie: Don't you think she ate it, or did she? - she asked nervously -

-Twilight: There's only one way to find out

The two ponies began to stealthily approach the beast, slowly surrounding it until they realized that their friend was asleep in the bear's claws. Seeing this, on one hand, relieved them because now they knew they hadn't eaten her, but on the other hand, they didn't know how they were going to get Fluttershy out of there without waking the bear.

Twilight used her magic on the bear's fingers trying to open them, but they didn't move even a little.

-Twilight: Ugh... even asleep she's very strong - she said, still straining -

-Pinkie Pie: Maybe this will help - she said with a metal bar between her hooves -

-Twilight: Where did you get that?

-Pinkie Pie: I have bars hidden in many places in Equestria in case my party chest gets stuck

-Twilight: But how- ugh, never mind just give me that thing

Using her magic, she took that bar and, with some difficulty, wedged it between the bear's fingers. Then, using their two hooves, the two ponies began to pull to leverage it, hoping to free their friend. On their faces, a great effort was evident.

-Twilight: Pull! - she shouted and then yanked hard -

-Pinkie Pie: Pull! - she shouted before pulling harder -

Her efforts were futile, the bear's fingers didn't move even a little... until...

IN ANOTHER PLACE, IN A DARK SPOT

That grayish pony was resting on the floor of a completely dark room when suddenly a small alarm clock began to ring, causing the pony to open its eyes wide... at the same time that the Big Dipper did.

BACK IN THE SWAMP

The bear had opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was two ponies with a lever trying to open her paw. Seeing this, she decided to slightly open her finger, causing the lever to slip and the two ponies to roll to the bear's feet with their eyes spinning.

-Pinkie Pie: Ouch... Did we make it? - she said before falling to the ground from the previous event -

Twilight shook her head a bit to compose herself, only to realize her situation.

-Twilight: Um... I doubt it was us, P-Pinkie

Twilight looked up as the bear stood up, which filled her with fear and made her fur bristle. The bear let out a roar that sent the two ponies flying several dozen meters, making them roll in a puddle of mud.

-Pinkie Pie: What was that?! - she shouted, scared and with her hair all messy -

-Twilight: The bear Pinkie! It's awake!

You could see how the bear was approaching angrily towards the ponies while they just watched her, scared.

IN THAT DARK ROOM

One could see that grayish-furred pony looking annoyed at the void.

-King: What are they doing here?I clearly told that birdbrain to bring the human!

BACK IN THE SWAMP

While King complained about how his plan had failed, the bear let out small growls as it moved towards the ponies. The two friends began to back away, not knowing what else to do, except for starting to tremble intermittently, which Pinkie Pie began to do, and it was also gradually removing the mud.

-Twilight: Calm down, Pinkie

-Pinkie Pie: It's not because of fear, Twilight - she shuddered again - well, a little bit; it's my Pinkie sense

-Twilight: Are you serious? Are you going to keep that up now? This is serious, Pinkie!

-Pinkie Pie: I'm not joking - she kept shaking - and I don't know what it is either

The unicorn got annoyed when she saw that her friend was still doing her "little play" even in such a delicate situation, so she decided to do something. She aimed her horn at the bear and concentrated all the magic she could at its tip, a glow began to appear before releasing all the magic in the form of a lavender-colored laser. For the bear, this was nothing, so much so that when the laser got close, she deflected it with her fingers as if swatting away a simple mosquito. Twilight, seeing this, no longer knew what else to do. She insisted on shooting at the bear, but each shot was less bright and less precise, to the point where the bear didn't even bother deflecting them, just moved its head.

The ponies kept backing away as the bear got closer and closer.

BACK WITH KING

-King: I should have known I couldn't trust a bird, I said I wouldn't hurt any pony, but if I get rid of them I doubt anyone will care, besides... - he looked in a certain direction, making the bear focus its gaze on Twilight - I still have an outstanding debt with you.

BACK IN THE SWAMP

The bear took a long step forward, making the ponies take another step back; it opened its mouth and began to inhale to prepare another roar, but was interrupted by a thunderous noise in its ear, it was Thunder, he had thundered in its ear to distract it and moved away towards the ponies, but this only made King angrier.

-King: ¡Agh!... And with you, let's not even talk, you're not even good enough to be a messenger pigeon! And now you'll pay dearly for it.

King, looking at the falcon, stood up on his hind legs, which the bear imitated; he brought the hoof/claw holding Fluttershy closer and threatened the three of them to eat her if the human didn't arrive soon. Both the falcon and the ponies were very desperate to see that the bear was going to eat their friend.

-Twilight: Fluttershy!

The poor thing didn't know what to do; if she shot the bear, it might drop Fluttershy right into its mouth, but if she didn't, they would eat her anyway. She closed her eyes in desperation, tears streaming down her face, begging for someone to come and help.

-Twilight: (Where are you when we need you...) - inhaled deeply and shouted - Alex!

At that very moment, the bear let out a great roar filled with pain, releasing Fluttershy to cover its eye with that paw. Upon hearing this, the ponies looked up at the sky and noticed a silhouette that had caught Fluttershy in the air and was now descending towards them at great speed. When it got close, it landed with a skid, kicking up a large amount of mud.


BACKGROUND MUSIC: Megaman X - Zero's Theme


It was Alex! He had hit the bear in the eye to make it release his friend and then caught it in mid-air. Back on the ground, he had a serious expression as he carried Fluttershy in his arms, and he was also breathing heavily from flying so fast and almost seeing his friend being eaten.

-Alex: *pants* *pants* Are you okay?

TO BE CONTINUED... IN THE NEXT EPISODE (THE SEASON FINALE)